Under the Radar - April

First Funky Adjacent compilation. Third Funky Adjacent release. Nine burgeoning producers. Three continents represented. One mission succeeded; A rich tapestry of sounds, weaving together elements of pan-African club genres, techno and bass with classic UK Funky bounce. Fun, mischievous percussion & wobbly basses from the likes of Burna with ‘Peak Hour’ and Ovid with ‘Contingency’. Lúnasa’s contribution goes hard incorporating a multitude of samples giving the track non-stop energy and freshness throughout. Perfect for the encroaching Summer festies.

Big-sound-small-space group Ar Ais Arís gather their ensemble of past party DJs for a well thought out club release. The fab five on the line showcase their bass studded productions and it embodies AAA’s vibe to the absolute max. Volume 1 serves as an outstanding pilot EP with plays coming across the world from the likes of the Hessle Audio gang. Doubt, Plus One, SLOUCHO, Roo Honeychild, and a Luke Kiid edit on the creds.

Artist Ira Bespalova curates filthy electro-armored jams for the two part V/A. Choose at random from any of the nine tracks to fully test the limits of your speakers. ‘Lakad Matatag’ by Any Act surrounds your head with a nasty sidechained stereo bass, ‘wig split’ by skrpump boosts the bpm with some breaks, and ‘Electro System’ by Trust True closes the V/A with distortion at its limit. Cherry on top with ‘Chevo Chevo’ by Locked Club appearing after a tough year for their crew. True punks of the electro scene showing the very real avant-garde of rave in Russia atm.

Chicago-inspired footwork from afar. Manchester based crew Brick Sweat Records curate a stripped back collection of club selects. ‘Beastie Balls’ by DJ Ends lands on top for us with the glitchy use of bballin samples.

Granddaddy Dj Babatr boldly reimagines electronic music within the nation's unique context, shaping and redefining the global landscape with Raptor House, also known as changa tuki. Here he releases a mixed bag of moods. ‘The Journey’ is a soothing House opener that misleads your expectations for the rest of the EP. ‘In The Groove’ stomps along with a teasing Love Parade synth, with ‘XPansion Move’ and ‘In The Jungle’ continuing the punchy trend. ‘Ayesha's Drums Are Sex Dub’ is a solid closer to wrap it all up.

Parisian imprint Travaux d’Internet General with their second V/A in as many years, collecting proceeds for Les Midis du Mie @lesmidisdumieofficiel, a collective in solidarity with Unaccompanied Foreign Minors in Paris since 2016 who provide meals, guidance and support to teenagers in exile. Volume 2 offers up an array of club orientated sounds from over 30 artists across 30 tracks, with contributions from artists like Bok Bok, Merca Bae, SAME O, Cardozo, and many more. There are some absolute pelters packed in there!

Naarm’s Recluse introduces new series ‘Encore Memories’, with the artist sharing remixes of club favourites from years gone by. First up is Drippin’s ‘Memory Foam’ which the Oz producer transforms into a speedy 152bpm booty shaker, riding high on shuffling drums and hot vocal chops.

INTENSE. AGGRESSIVE. SCREECHY. Glasgow’s Noise Hz samples ‘Rhyme On’ by Discarda on this ferocious grime-into-hardcore blitzer, finishing hard with a euphoric 4x4 jump-up section.

The sonic brainchild of Glasgow-based DJ Fluffie, SLEEPIE returns for its second instalment of all out trance-n-more! Featuring hits from DJ Tinyhandz, Smilax Huntress, Cat Lady, GT Halo, Speedyboarding, as well as Fluffie themselves, the compilation mines through big beat belters, euphoric trance, deconstructed bass fusions, on top of moments in hardcore and ambient.

Rawa Club presents its first EP of 2024 from Peruvian producer Lukrø. The four track EP is composed of two original works from the Matraca label founder. The stomping baile-funk of ‘Picosa’, produced alongside Venezuela’s Data High, and a tribal guaracha chaser on ‘Choqewillka’, featuring Mexico’s El Chico Callado. Both tracks come accompanied by a pair of stellar remixes with Texan SEWA shining a light of glitched out tribal funk on ‘Choqewilka’, whilst Moroccan artist Gj Leith adds a feverish pump of footwork & dancehall elements to ‘Picosa’.

A rather sleazy low ender from Girl Tool on ‘Enxame’. Cranking up a groovy swing with a bass fuelled reggaeton arrangement, the Boorloo based act creates a pulsating club tension on this quick-fire no-nonsense number.

After breaking through on Bogota imprint Trampa last October with the ‘Augurio EP’, Manchester based act Petfood has left us thirsty for more of their penchant club transmissions. Initiating in an ambient scape, before transitioning into a realm of techno and pop club, 'Mary Lou Loves You' embodies the Petfood mind, with sounds readily available for both the club & beyond.

We finally had the chance to sit down for a quiet cup of tea and listen to ‘Valley’ after Julia Louise KnifeFist and E The Artist smashed their world tour (of Ireland) after many Piña coladas were consumed and many locals were scared. JLK presents four files of unconventional rhythms and earth shattering kicks paired with intimate thoughts and rebellious arrangements.

Name Your Price remix of Katy B’s On A Mission. Baile Funk inspirations are always worth checking out.

Tech steppin’ tune by Airdrop is yours for a sweet price of £999 on CloudCore. They’re keeping the train moving with weekly releases on their unique website.. You can get access to tracks with your CloudCore key.

R. Kitt returns with two bouncin club numbers on dual single All Night at the Front/ From the Top. Acidic breaks, sensual vocal chops, and sludgy into pumpy electro are the order of the day across both numbers. These be hot!

Rising Dublin producer XXXX In Stereo continues to revel in his alluring world of jungle and breaks. His deft touch in crafting thudding percussion arrangements in amongst angelic atmospheric backgrounds continues to catch our attention, and they seem to just keep getting better and better! Forthcoming from his ‘M3 Sounds EP’ landing on May 16th, this one is really lovely. (LUVLY).

Haunting noise experiments from Edinburgh’s Duty Paid. Personal and thought provoking work from a mysterious Auld Reekie act who has plenty of range in their locker.