Pinch & Shackleton: S/T LP (Honest Jons) Dubstep artists….ten a penny nowadays, but "back in the day" (a phrase which grants it a nostalgic aura, but in reality was only 6 years ago) there wasn't barely enough to fill the front room of Plastic People. Pinch was one of those who was submerged in EC2 darkness from the start. Sadly, his recorded output never really grabbed me. All seemed totally safe and by the numbers - best exemplified by the slightly misjudged 'Underwater Dancehall' album (even though the single 'Qawaali' was pretty boss)

At the other end we have Shackleton, who's carved out a pretty distinct and skewed trajectory from the start with his Skull Disco imprint. As well numerous releases and collaborations for others - most memorably a debut album disguised as a Fabric mix CD. As you can tell I'm a fan of the latter rather than the former. Pinch sticks to the script whereas Shackleton doesn't have one.

And whilst I frankly can't be bothered to work out who did what on this collaborative album for the legendary west London label. All you need to know is that its abstract, pretty dark and what I expect bass music to sound like in 2012. Repeat plays yield greater detail.

John Tejada: Parabolas LP (Kompakt) Always take my eye off the Kompakt machine every now and again because I just can't bothered to keep up. There's only so much teutonic house music one can take. So I switch on my filters and only focus on the long players. But somehow I missed this when it was first released way back in June 2011.

I've always liked Tejada's bright summery take on 4/4 and this debut for the influential German label doesn't escape my praise. Nothing unexpected here; warm melodies, deft rhythm programming and a finely judged sense of space. 'The Living Night' being a near perfect example and possibly the greatest house track ever as a result. But it was the deeper electronic tracks that piqued my interest, the wonderful but all-too-short 'Subdivided' and the Orbital-evoking rave-like mantra of 'Unstable Condition' stood out for their sense of displacement.

You people like lists don't you. Here are some more….

The top ten albums that I bought on vinyl in 2011:
1. Martyn: Ghost People (Brainfeeder)
2. Hecker: Sun Pandemonium Re-issue (Pan)
3. Sandwell District: Feed Forward (Sandwell District)
4. SBTRKT: SBTRKT (Young Turks)
5. R/S: USA (Pan)
6. Junior Boys: It's All True (Domino)
7. Biosphere: N-Plants (Biophon)
8. Omar-S: It can be done, but only I can do it (FXHE)
9. Surgeon: Breaking The Frame (Dynamic Tension)
10. Sunn O))) meets Nurse With Wound: The Iron Soul of Nothing (Editions Mego)

The top ten 12"s that I bought on vinyl in 2011:
1. Floating Points: Shadows EP (Eglo)
2. Octave One: Revisited Series 2 (430West)
3. Appointment: To Raw 4 You (Appointment)
4. Sbtrkt / Objekt: Sbjekt#01 (Young Turks)
5. Massive Attack vs Burial: Four Walls / Paradise Circus (Inertia)
6. Various Artists: The Bedroom Club (No Pain In Pop)
7. O/V/R: Post Traumatic Son Remixes (Blueprint)
8. Le Petit Garcon: Traena (Breaking Olympic)
9. Various Artists: Vibe 2 (Future Times)
10. Reson: Aftermath (Sex Tags Mania)

The top ten releases that I illegally downloaded in 2011 (sorry):
1. ASAP Rocky: LiveLoveA$AP Mixtape (Self Released)
2. Eleh: Floating Frequencies / Intuitive Synthesis CD (Important)
3. EQD: Equalized #111 CD (Equalized)
4. Lego Feet: Lego Feet Re-issue CD (Skam)
5. John Tejada: Parabolas CD (Kompakt)
6. Vladislav Delay: Vantaa CD (Raster Noton)
7. Vril: 5 -7 12" (Geigling)
8. Scuba: Jungle Rinse Out 1993 - 2001 Mix (Studio!K7)
9. Lil B: Rain In England CD (Weird Forest)
10. Popul Vuh: Revisited & Remixed 1970 - 1999 Compilation (SPV)

The top ten record stores that I visited sometime in 2011:
1. Second Layer Records, Highgate, London
2. Sounds Of The Universe, Soho, London
3. Phonica Records, Soho, London
4. Black Market Records, Soho, London
5. Alan's Records, East Finchley, London
6. Hardwax, Berlin, Germany
7. Honest Jons, Portobello Market, London
8. Sister Ray, Soho, London
9. Dub Vendor, Clapham Junction, London
10. Remix, Rome, Italy

Martyn: Ghost People LP (Brainfeeder)I bought Martyn's debut album 'Great Lengths' at the time of its release cos I felt I had to. Bass music's man of the moment, string of quality 12"s under his belt, impeccable credentials, friend to the innovators and future-thinkers of the genre, reviews bursting with superlatives. I didn't mind the 12"s, especially that one on Apple Pips and his 3024 label is pretty nifty at times.

So was disappointed to find the album underwhelming, a bit of a chore to get through. Despite some decent moments - the step'n shuffle of 'Seventy Four', the dub undertow of 'Little Things' - it all felt a bit too controlled and restrictive. Over polished and lacking in danger and sex. But his new album for Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label, 'Ghost People' is much quirkier and better, so I recommend that instead.

Sbtrkt / Objekt: Sbjekt#01 12" (Young Turks) I like SBTRKT (the bloke with the african mask). I like OBJEKT (dunno what he looks like). So imagine me squealing with delight when I hear these two come together as SBJEKT (geddit?). For what will be a techno face-off of gargantuan proportions. Actually it's not that tough, but they don't half dish out generous helpings of sub. The A-side just edges it with its euphoric synth elevations and bone-crunching rhythm programming. Made my joints creak.

STL: Nocturnal Mixdowns 2 x 12" (Something) Was a rushed visit to Honest Jon's Records in Ladbroke Grove. Had one of those brief bromances with the guy behind the counter when we realised we had respective stiffies for all things bass. So in his effort to woo me, he made me buy this. Initially I hated it, to the point that I was considering a trek back to West London and asking for my money back, no matter how stupid I looked. But after a while I let it slide and this just got dumped along with all the other anonymous looking twelves marked 'faceless techno'.

That was way back in January 2009 and I've only just now managed to get over my indifference to STL's efforts and appreciate his unique take on drum-machine abuse. The seven tracks all shift and propel as the titles and blacker-than-black palette suggest, but its the muffled acid pulse meets scratchy dub of 'The Taphead' that steals it. I've since atoned for my sins and have now downloaded everything this man has done.

Powell: The Ongoing Significance Of Steel & Flesh 12" (Diagonal) Continuing techno's rather annoying pillaging of industrial music for track titles (I blame the Sandwell District lot) comes this. It's not bad, but nothing to blog about….the title track is like dark tribal shit that doesn't do much, '09' sounds like a really poor mans Pan Sonic. Even the presence of Karl Connor on remix duties does little to elevate this. Only the parting 'Robotics' perks things up before buggering off. Must try harder….natty packaging though.