Rekid: Made in Menorca (Soul Jazz) - CD
Highly skillful re-interpretation of the house template as laid down by Chicago and Detroit originators. Rekid's previous work - under alternative pseudonyms - seems incredibly commercial but this feels like a statement of a more personal nature.

Tracks like 'Lost Star6', 'Diamond Black' and 'Tranzit' embody an almost hip-hop feel. Summery melodies against bright, high-contrast beats that is prone to sudden shifts in direction. But I keep returning back to the slow-mo-apreggio of '85 Space'; echoes of Italo and Transmat-era Motor City clatter. Not without its problems though: a culling of some of the latter tracks during its 60 minute + running time would have helped.

Rhythm & Sound: The Versions (Burial Mix) - CD
A greater sense of diffusion and dispersement at play here on the instrumental versions of Rhythm & Sound's sublime original selection. The contributing vocals from the likes of Tikiman, Jenifer Lara and Cornell Campbell now sound like ghosts. Occupying the ether whilst digitally emitted pulse rhythms and sub-bass propulsion take over.

Radian: Juxtaposition (Thrill Jockey) - CD
Terrible title for this, Radian's third full length. They might as well have called it "Music for Web Designers" or something. But despite a cliched appearance, they've somehow managed to knock up an album that's pretty decent.

Ok, so it's Chicago post-rock laced with a micro-tonal palette. Some moments sound like Tortoise (John McEntire was producer) and you could call some of it 'noodly' like a lot of this stuff is. But the standout moments like the tense 'Tester' and the freefall jazz crash of 'Shift' have kept me coming back to this more often than I thought.

Peter Rehberg: Kaptte Muziek (Korm Plastics) - CD
Seems that Mr. Rehberg's work (aka Pita) is slowly moving away from the dead-channel, digital noise that he's been known for into more ambient (but equally unsettling) territories. A single piece, seventeen minutes long. Metallic interference, engines that sound submerged: diffusion / dispersive / decay. A slow descent into the abyss.

Christmas time: Ayla's away in Istanbul, Louis the cat is here for company, staying in N10 'cos it's too cold to go home, neighbours are away so that means I can listen to all those bass-heavy records. This pagan holiday does have its benefits after all.

Juju: Red Up (Narco.Hz) - 12
Coki: Tortured / Shattered (Tempa) - 12"
Subterranean dub dripping from this excellent 2-tracker by Juju. Both cuts wallow in sound system crackle and hiss: artificially degraded digital dubstep of the highest calibre.

One of the guys behind the counter at Black Market Records scowled and said "Is that all it does?" upon hearing the repeat-fire riff of Coki's 'Tortured'. I replied back that that was part of the appeal - causing much slow hand waving action at the DMZ nights whenever this got dropped.

Border Crossing: City of Love (Kartel) - 10"
London dub collective that hasn't really fired my imagination thus far finally make it to Fail with this 10". Ex-Renegade Soundwave member Danny Briottet has a hand in this. So it's all pristine production, filmic aspirations, deft touches and bass, plenty of bass. The positivity further enhanced with a sprightly delivery by Ricky Ranking. Warm dub for cold nights.

Grand Masterz: The Shadow Technique / Decent Exposure (Vampire) - 12"
One half of now-defunct jungle doom-mongers Source Direct resurfaces with this brooding, kung-fu influenced bass workout for the A-side. The B-side however sounds like the sort of jazzy rolling jungle that I thought we did away with.

N-Type: Way of the Dub (Dub Police) - 12"
Caspa: For The Kids (Dub Police) - 12"
Rusko: SNES Dub (Dub Police) - 12"
To be honest, anything on this label is worthy of investigation. Basically peddling ganga heavy dubstep with satisfyingly well-placed rastafari samples. N-Type fills the space usually left empty by most practitioners with bursts of sped-up breakbeat; 'Tred' is the prime directive.

Caspa fuses samples from 'Willy Wonka' on 'For the kids' but it's the bleep-infected, half-time jungle swagger of 'Jeffry & Bungle' that I keep going back to.

Rusko takes it even further, succesfully merging this new sound with its links to the past. 'SNES Dub' easily up there as one of dubstep's more party-friendly moments, recalling Skream's 'Midnight Request Line' arpeggio riff. But the B-sides also contain moments of tremendous weight.

Broker / Dealer: Initial Public Offering (Asphodel) - CD
Shit. I have to stop reviewing records so late, this came out in January 2003 for fuck's sake. But such is the brilliance of what Broker / Dealer do, that as we hurtle towards 2007, this still sounds refreshingly zestful. The San Franciscan duo of Ryan Fitzgerald and Ryan Bishop obviously consider Berlin as some sort of mecca, for this is sprightly house with basic channel propulsion.

Just listen to the opening salvo of 'Take your time' and 'Satin Jacket' and tell me it doesn't push all the right buttons in the right order. Lacing their 4/4 with a plethora of spacious fills and decayed chords gives the album a slow vibe. Head-nodding tempo's that allow ideas to drift and swirl, but still remains incredibly detailed. The near perfect ride of 'Can't Believe' being the best example.

Jazzkammer: Panic / Pulse (Bottrop Boy) - CD
Some might start to suspect that this blog is turning into some sort of shrine for all things Marhaug. The Norwegian master of noise here under his Jazzkammer project (with John Hegre). Two releases: both different, both brilliant.

'Panic' is a single 35-minute piece that moves through passages of solemn ambience to rusting guitar shrills. Does the whole "loud-quiet-loud" routine to a tee. Tense as fuck and proved an apt soundtrack to wandering the streets of Soho on dark, wet nights.

'Pulse' which is the earlier release, is less textural but still manages to contain layer upon layer of discreet detail. A isolationist orchestration of ticks that recall dense jungle, insect patterns and night heat. Both releases are stunningly presented with beautiful photography by Yuen Chee Wai.

Marc Houle: Bay of Figs (Minus) - CD
Something tells me I should spend more time with the debut album from Marc Houle, but I'm not entirely convinced by this. On first listens I found it a pretty dull affair, certainly not an album as such. But as my friend Jason put it "I took it as a great set of plates for DJ's, just a bunch of singles." Can't argue with that.

Marclay / Tone / Wolff: Event (Asphodel) - CD
Created specifically for a dance piece choreographed by the New York-based Merce Cunningham Dance Company, this would probably sustain more of an interest within the context of its original intention. But isolated from the visual synchronisation, it's still an intriguing albeit tortuous affair.

Marclay creates narrative with passages of plunderphonics, Wolff tries to interject with real instruments whilst Tone does his usual 'sound-of-a-CD-dying' routine. All three eventually maxing out their assigned channels until we reach the frenetic conclusion. Individually these artists are pretty essential, but I'd really have a tough time recommending this release.

Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto: Insen live (Raster Noton) - DVD
Out of all the projects that the ever prolific Alva Noto (aka Carsten Nicolai) is involved with. It seems his long-term collaboration with legendary Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto is the one that gains the most attention. And rightly so, it takes the micro-sound palette of his Raster Noton label and supplants it within Sakamoto's accessible strain of classicist piano.

Yielding two pretty essential albums of post-digital ambience ('Vrioon' and 'Insen'), this DVD aims to capture their live rendition of the aforementioned works. The widescreen digital backdrop is the main focus. Synchronised to both Sakamoto's chord strikes and Nicolai's frequency manipulation, the results are a joy to watch. But its the visual contrasts that make this recording. Aside from the HD-definition of the generated graphics and the futurist sheen of Nicolai's desk you have Sakamoto's professor-like demeanour, earthy piano and sheet music.

And of course, it's breathtakingly put together. The lavish booklet that accompanies the DVD sharply defines the visual presence of their set. The extra's are involving too: the alternative viewing angles of 3 tracks and an awkwardly delivered interview with the two creators. Who obviously haven't really thought about trying to describe this project with words. But who have a firm idea of musical and visual restriction. Limitations never sounded (or looked) so good.

Various Artists: Geezers Need Excitement EP (!"@.*!%) - 12"
Mizek leads with a progressive melody that sounds very 'now'. Milos fashions a jerky, spasmodic rhythm out of off-key bleeps, clipped vocals and anything else that happened to be at hand, whilst managing to make everything accessible via the 4/4 template. But Loktibrada kills it with a bass-heavy monster that throbs and shudders in the right places. Superior upbeat dance music from Bratislava.

The Mole: Conversations with the past (Wagon Repair) - 12"
A mix up in the mp3 promo distribution network that we privileged few have access to has meant that the first track on this 12" ('Jingover') has been incorrectly attributed to Mike Shannon. As I said then: "clipped vocal soul samples and hand-claps punctuate a bouncy uptempo groove." The missing Mike Shannon track 'What's your pleasure' isn't much cop, in case you were wondering.

Substance & Vainqueur: Surface / Immersion (Scionversions) - 12"
Sadly, the kind of music that gives me an instant hard-on. Tags: Berlin. Dub. Techno. Need I say more?

Tetine: A Historia Da Garca / Slum Dunk (Soul Jazz) - 12"
Was told by the powers that be that this is some Brazilian post-punk band, which usually would have had me running the other way. Except this sounds neither Brazilian nor post-punk. Instead its a pretty quirky / catchy slice of computer pop that seems to worm in its way deeper into my brain the more I hear it.