Digging in the Digital Crates: Vol. 1
Thanks to our ultra-centralized musical landscape, if you wished to access just about any song released nowadays you would be able to find it on Spotify/Apple/Soundcloud etc. for streaming and iTunes/Bandcamp for purchase. However, there are some songs, often released 5 or more years ago, that have eluded these websites - something like that won’t stop real music nerds like myself from locating them, of course. This is the beginning of a recurring feature where I share some gems from artists’ discographies that are a bit more difficult to find - some more popular than others, but they are all excellent tracks nonetheless. They are all unavailable on these services in the United States, at least.
Anz – “Stepson”
Anz has been one of the titans of the UK club music scene for the last several years, mainly bolstered by her excellent electro song such as “You Could Be” and “No Harm.” Here on “Stepson,” a track from the first installment of the incredible HeForShe x femme culture V/A compilation series, she gives a go at a Baltimore/Jersey club style track and executes it to perfection with a well-utilized Nicki Minaj sample. This compilation is only available on Bleep, so it’s a hidden gem in her catalog, but definitely one of my favorites of hers.
Julio Bashmore – “Battle for Middle You”
This is one of the most essential songs from the “post-dubstep” era of electronic music (or whatever umbrella term you choose to refer it as), but unfortunately if you were to go to an essentials playlist on your streaming service of choice you won’t find it, as they only possess the Maurice Donovan (a Pearson Sound alias) remix. However, it is thankfully available on Beatport, so you could drop it in a set to please and impress all the millennials heads on the dancefloor longing for the days of yore.
Dismantle – “Broke”
The always-versatile Dismantle first made waves in 2011 for his unique mix of Dutch House and dubstep on tracks like “Computation,” but “Broke” on dubstep legend N-Type’s label is an early example of the breakbeat-driven sound that would become a hallmark of his later work. This stellar tune is only available to purchase on Boomkat.
Dorian Concept – “The Fucking Formula”
Dorian Concept, for my money, is one of the most brilliant minds to ever grace the genre of electronic music. The way he’s effortlessly melded different styles and scenes over the years - often in just one song - simply blows me away, he is completely beloved and respected in all corners of music. 2008’s “The Fucking Formula” fit in perfectly with the burgeoning Low End Theory/LA beat scene at the time despite Dorian being all the way from Austria (he would eventually join Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label many years later), but it also showed up on drum & bass outfit Noisia’s Essential Mix in 2010, a testament to the wide reach he possesses. For now, this one is only available on Beatport.
EPROM – “Shoplifter”
EPROM is another one that is hard to categorize - over his long career he’s traversed all sorts of genres but often specializes in bass heavy bangers, of which “Shoplifter” is a great example. It’s almost hard to believe that this song came out all the way back in 2010 - I’ve heard him play it as part of his “Vault Set” recently and it goes just as hard as anything else. It’s currently available on both Beatport and Bleep
Joy O – “Jels”
In 2024, Joy Orbison has been setting dancefloors ablaze with his “Flight FM,” but he is a seasoned veteran at making club bangers at this point - “Hyph Mngo” on the Hotflush label from 15 years earlier garnered a similar reaction and made him one of the biggest names in the UK dance music scene. He finally returned to the label two years later with the “Wade In/Jels” single, the former of which I believe to be the strongest of the two. It sounds like it would fit in nicely nowadays in a set by somebody like DJ ADHD, it is a very minimal-yet-banging house tune with just the right amount of cowbell. Available on both Bleep and Boomkat.
Kahn – “Badman City (feat. Flowdan)”
In 2024, Flowdan is a Grammy winner thanks to his appearance on “Rumble” with Skrillex and Fred Again.. and became a hugely sought-after presence by the dance music world at large as a result. This is no surprise to anyone who’s paid attention to dubstep and grime over the years, because he’s been one of the best MCs in that realm for at least two decades now, and I’d say one of his top 5 all time songs is this one with legendary producer Kahn - “Badman City.” Flowdan’s deep voice and haunting lyrics often pair quite nicely with dark dubstep & grime productions - Kahn’s beat here is pure evil and it’s absolutely wonderful. Available on Bleep.
Rod Lee – “Let Me See What U Workin’ With (Rustie Remix)”
Early on in the career of the legendary Glaswegian producer Rustie, he did a remix of Rod Lee - best known for his Baltimore Club classic “Dance My Pain Away” - on a precursor to the Numbers record label. Around this time Rustie was collaborating frequently with producer Joker and the sound of this remix definitely reflects that, it’s very reminiscent of the “purple” sound of that era. A few years later, Pearson Sound came out with a highly sought-after remix of this song that’s unfortunately vinyl-only, but fortunately this version is on Boomkat and Bleep.
Nu:Tone – “Our House (Calibre’s Lounge Remix)”
If you were to ask a collection of drum & bass fans who their favorite producer of all time is, chances are a decent amount of them would say Calibre - and for good reason. He’s been a consistent, elite-tier producer for 25 years with no signs of slowing down, and as an added bonus he frequently dips into other genres as well and produces them at a very high level too. One of my favorites in his vast catalog is this 2003 remix of Nu:Tone that’s a bit of a misnomer - he’s often known for his soulful, R&B influenced productions that are perfect for just lounging around but this is definitely not one of those. This remix is way more high-energy and jungle-influenced, and I think it would work well on a dancefloor in 2024. Available on Beatport.
Trends & Boylan – “Norman Bates”
This is one of the defining grime tunes of the last ten years - the Psycho and ODB samples are simply perfect, and it is absolutely guaranteed to smash any dancefloor anywhere if it’s dropped (ones with a proclivity towards grime & 140 bpm music, at the very least). Despite its significance it is unavailable on streaming or Bandcamp (aside from the Cimm remix, which is also great), but you can find it on Bleep.