Picked!

Following up 2010's Volume 1, London's Night Slugs crew manage to consistently throw together a follow up compilation with almost as much grime/bass/house bravado as its predecessor. Alongside Bok Bok, L-Vis et al, newer signings Helix and Morri$ with Jam City's 'How We Relate...' a stand-out.

French beat-smith Fulgeance drops his second album, showing off his impressive range across 12 tracks that blend classic hip-hop, sparse electric Dabrye-style beats and dubstep-infused bass speaker assaults. Kelpe remix of the title cut tacked on as a bonus. Recommended.

Philadelphia beatmaker Knxwledge gets ready to extend his internet fame to the real world with his brilliant debut album on Dublin's All City. 'Klouds' comprises 15 tracks of varying rhythmic structures, lengths and speeds, throwing snippet jazz, 8-bit bleeps and sloppy beats into the mix.

Picked!

Parisian beatsmith Débruit appears with a stunning new album on Civil Music. His vivacious synths and off-kilter hiphop grooves this time sampling his recent collection of field-recordings from Africa, he harnesses these intensive energies and produces something unique and completely infectious. Big up.

Ian Grant returns to Kindred Spirits for his first album since 2008's 'Zen Badizm', and once again 'Soulful Shanghai' is laid out as a sprawling journey through soul-infused hip-hop, with influences coming from jazz, latin, and electronic music. Epic.

Total WTF chopped, screwed and spat back out hip-hop that manages to sound like both the Gaslamp Killer and Duran Duran (Duran). Judging by his inventive use of familiar samples, and knack for audio mangling that gets right inside your head, we reckon Maxmillion Dunbar is a name you are going to hear a lot more of soon.

Picked!

Ras G compiles his latest LP, 'Down 2 Earth', arriving this time on Ramp Recordings packed with 21 slices of raw, uncompromising hip-hop as can be expected from the acclaimed Brainfeeder-affiliated, LA-based beatmaker. Ras G is undoubtedly in a class all his own!

Picked!

Londoner Paul White's experimental hip-hop has earned him well-deserved attention since he first appeared on One-Handed Music in 2007. With vocalists bridging UK and US, such as Guilty Simpson, Danny Brown and Jehst, his lovingly bizarre and imaginative productions make a stunning album. Recommended.

Onra's 2007 'Chinoiseries' was a wonderful journey into oriental-tinged experimental hip-hop, now he returns a few years later in a similar style. Keeping the quality high across 32 short tracks, dicing and traversing vintage Eastern samples with yes, Dilla-esque multi-fluidity. Lush.

Four years after the glitch-hop debut album, 'Appetite For Disctruction', Funkstörung returned in '04 with 'Disconnected', which added a dimension to their productions previously only hinted at: vocals. A new, more accessible, and engaging direction that further defined the duo's unique sound.

Selected as Label of week #38