028: February's best music 🔥
Better late than never 😎
Trends recycle every 10 years so it makes sense that deconstructed club – the often misunderstood but highly influential genre that gave us ‘Paleta’, ‘Heterocetera’ and ‘Piteous Gate’ back in 2015 – is quietly re-influencing club music. Check out the mindbending things that Mun Sing has been doing (new EP and radio interview below), Aja Ireland’s distorted post pop (album below) and a fresh DJ set from Venus X, whose style, DJ blends and club nights laid the foundation for the movement (radio session below). I’ve mentioned the D word in Waste Mail a few times recently, and as someone who enjoyed the freeform chaos of club music in the mid 2010s, I’m glad the energy of the unfairly maligned genre is still pulsing.
As you know my other great love is footwork and there’s plenty of fresh 160 bits inside this issue, including the new Traxman album, mixes from the bubbling LDN footwork scene and some great, turbocharged mutations too. Our party with RP Boo and DJ Spinn - where the two played on the same line-up in London for the first time – went all the way off, so if you were inside, thank you for making history with us. Next one April 26.
The recordings will be landing soon (!) but for now you can relive the hype via our NTS session with RP Boo, my recent set at Planet Wax or a session from Heavee, which features UK footwork dancers on a live DJ stream for the very first time.
For the hardcore Wasters (I know there’s at least a few of you out there), check the interview I did with THEMPRESS recently, where I discussed the history of Tropical Waste, the birth of 160 Unity, promoting post lockdown and even some thoughts on Waste Mail.
Finally, I’m sorry that this issue is late. My life has been lifing, as the kids say. Back on track next month. Better late than never <3
Enjoy the music!
Photo: RP Boo chillin’ before 160 Unity, Dalston, Feb ‘25
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Tracks & EPs 🔌
Conzi ‘AU2 EP’ Fully stinking heavyweight dubstep on the super consistent Bait label out of France. Deep, dark dungeon vibes but with the kind of rhythmic dexterity that’ll make sure this goes off in the dance. Comes with serious remixes from N:in and Ambit too Listen
DJPJMADEDISTRACK ‘She Thick Again’ Was cool to hear Traxman shout out DJPJMADEDISTRACK in his RA Exchange, and then shortly after this cut of minimal, futurist booty music dropped via the illustrious producer’s Bandcamp Listen
DJ Hank ‘Heat Check’ West Bengal’s soundsystem culture – featuring towering, technicolour rigs – has been going viral on Reels over the last year or so and forms the inspiration point for Chicago footwork DJ/producer DJ Hank’s latest EP. The soundsystems play turbocharged remixes of Bollywood songs and battle each other for supremacy, drawing parallels with the way footwork tracks rework North American pop music and provide the setting for frenetic dance battles. Hank smashes the two together, creating a chaotic homage and fwd-facing new fusion Listen
DJ Travella ‘Twende - Dance Classics’ Life affirming singeli from Dar Es Salaam scene leader DJ Travella. Four tracks pop off with maximalist, high speed percussion, melody and bass Listen
ERAM ‘Summer Bangers’ Festival season is nearly upon us so ERAM comes correct with a handful of tracks made to get the floor bouncing. There’s super smooth 160bpm flips of ‘Summer Jam’ and ‘Push It’, while ‘DA DA DA’ is for the turbo-juke headbangers and ‘10KG’ is a very UK-friendly mash up of baile funk, grime and ghettotech Listen
Mun Sing ‘Frolic’ Mun Sing’s scarecrow era is heralded by a fresh approach to the Bristol producer’s backflipped avant pop sound. Sparkling melodies, stomping Big Room drums and, dare we say it, some proper songwriting push Mun Sing’s canon beyond noise and into an exhilarating, shiny, strobe-lit realm. Check the live show asap too! Listen
NAINA ‘Survival’ What would fast, mutant club music sound like when fused with a bright, pop-leaning sensibility? Hooversound co-founder Naina emerges from the studio with her debut tracks, where system-shaking jungle, tekno, breaks and turbo juke are laced with her own lyrical hooks. The start of an exciting new era Listen
Nectax ‘IWTTY’ I opened my set at Planet Wax with this Alicia Myers edit and it got an instant reload. Nectax joins the dots between disco and footwork (a lineage that is very much championed and upheld by OGs like RP Boo), blending the vocal and rhythmic triplets to sublime effect. Download this immediately Listen
Piezo ‘Deepa’ Deep breakbeat rave taken from Piezo’s new EP for Dekmantel. Dusty, hypnotic, pirate radio drums loop for blissful eternity beneath spectral pads and MDMA bloops, beeps and swooshes. Full 5am gunfinger anthem Listen
Yas Reven ‘Bolle’ Percussive, slippery techno mutations that unfurl and thwack, sound design and dancefloor energy combining nicely. Out on NEHZA, which should get more dues for consistently releasing great underground club music Listen
Albums & Compilations 💿
Aja Ireland ‘Cryptid’ Infinite Machine continues to quietly, consistently release records (including a decent clip of albums) from an innovative roster of artists who are rewiring the DNA of club music. Aja Ireland pushes it all into the red, a heady brew of blown-out low end, cascading drumbeats and ethereal lyricism Listen
Breaka ‘Aeoui’ Love to see Breaka self-releasing music and setting a template for creative freedom. On to his second album of fwd-thinking UK club music, ‘Aeoui’ is a succinct 10-track mission statement that slices and dices breaks, acid, broken techno, amapiano and low-end whomp into tricksy new fusions that prove there’s life in the hardcore continuum yet Listen
Kelela ‘In The Blue Light’ Kelela drops a gorgeous live session recorded at the Blue Note in New York, a full acoustic set that started life with her recent Tiny Desk performance. Kelela classics are given intimate reworks, and she drops some jazz and an amazing Joni Mitchell cover too. Stans will also enjoy the between-song chat, which riffs on Kelela’s relationship with the Blue Note and her approach to songwriting, among other things Listen
Moveltraxx ‘Street Bangers Factory 29’ Here’s Moveltraxx casually dropping club bangers, yet again. The VIP of Heavee’s ‘Icemaster’, which has been causing chaos at 160 Unity, finally gets an official release; DJ Manny’s ‘Shake Sexyy 23’ is pure party hype; and Mars Kasei comes through with acid madness. Big Dope P, Miggy & Ron Mercy and stuckinwaveforms also contribute to this rowdy package Listen
Om Unit ‘Acid Dub Studies III’ High grade new-school dub from the daddy, Om Unit, who summons swampy soundsystem music that’ll fry yr mind Listen
Traxman ‘Da Mind Of Traxman Vol.3’ More good news for footwork fans: this latest instalment of Traxman’s album series for Planet Mu is as strong as you could wish for, aided by goated producer and footwork stan Sinjin Hawke on A&R duties. You know things are red hot when stand out tracks like ‘Kill Da DJ’ were originally written back in the mid 2000s (!) and the LP lines up battle tracks (Benny The Butcher-sampling ‘I’ll Write The Hook’ is my fave), raw drum machine workouts that stomp with the spirit of ghetto house, sparkling footwork-disco jams (the closing one-two of ‘It Never Rains’ and ‘Day And Night’ is killer) and straight-up anthems like ‘Tha Wolf’ Listen
The Waste List 🚨
The Waste List playlist includes all of the artists that are featured here and is updated every month alongside each new issue of Waste Mail
DJ Mixes 🎧
2k88 - Kiosk Radio Polish soundboy 2k88 makes Kiosk Radio shake with seamless blends of mutant dubstep, avant dub and percussive workouts. If this is the new future of soundsystem music then I’m all in! Listen
Bombo: National Juke Service - Mode FM Bombo is part of a wave of talented new footwork DJs in London and is also behind the 160 Is Too Fast mix/stream platform. His Mode FM show goes deep on footwork and juke, threading the needle through soul and jazz cuts, party-starting edits, rap samples and devastating battle tracks Listen
CHEZA LUCINA ‘Melanistik Kod Kod Mix III’ A hype session of rhythmic, bass-heavy styles recorded in Saint Vincent by Bumpah co-founder CHEZA LUCINA. The first half blends up soca, bouyon and juke, which is an exciting intersection I’d love to hear more of, before dropping down to explore (slightly) slower club and techno hybrids Listen
Craic David w/ sohotsospicy - Subtle Radio Two active members of London’s footwork community link up to deliver a fierce b2b, with an accompanying interview that covers sohotsospicy’s involvement in the After Werks crew and event, the capital’s revitalised footwork scene and memories of 160 Unity at MOT, which sohotsospicy warmed up in fine style Listen
Dimmer Switch w/ Mun Sing - Subtle Radio Out to Dimmer Switch for dropping this show in my DMs, and for attending our party with Mun Sing back in November. The Bristol artist’s new, scarecrow era is spotlighted with a Q+A and minimix of productions, as well as a selection of heavy, deconstructed club cuts from the Dimmer Switch residents. Great radio! Listen
Heavee - Elevator Music Heavee’s set at 160 Unity last year went down in Tropical Waste legend, so any chance to relive the energy and hear him spin is a must. Lock in for the Chicago visionary’s signature, cutting-edge footwork Listen
Magic City w/ Jubilee & Venus X - Lot Radio New York’s finest in the booth as Jubilee hosts Venus X on her Magic City residency. Jubilee takes the first hour, running her own crucial club productions, before Venus X gets into her GHE20G0TH1K bump ‘n grind. A fantastic combo, especially given that a guest mix from Venus is a rare and mythical gift Listen
MELBA - Matière Podcast 53 High speed net music, banging edits of 2010s rap anthems, hyperpop mutations, fluro bass and big juke energy swirl like a gunfinger cyclone on this blast of a session by MELBA Listen
Moesha 13 ‘Jazz Club’ Noise, percussion and deconstruction/reconstruction underpin this headspinning mixtape by Moesha 13 on Hakuna Kuala, whose DJ style is a frenetic collage of outsider club anthems Listen
Nectax - SUNANDBASS podcast #154 I only ever drive when I’m on holiday or on a surf mission in the South West. The sleek, supple, breakbeat funk that Nectax draws for here reminds me of cruising toward city lights on six-lane highways or down country lanes as dawn cracks the sky and swell lines become visible through hedgerows… Lithe suburban grooves that’ll make you feel like you’re gliding Listen
Teddy Kitano b2b Emma Korantema - Rinse France Teddy and Emma go round-for-round on party-starting club music, fizzy grime moments and, of course, some very well timed edits. Teddy’s been hosting some killer b2bs recently and this is one of them! Listen
TORI - 160 Is Too Fast 160 Is Too Fast is a mix/stream series that’s grown out of London’s footwork community, joining After Werks, Workaholix and 160 Unity as grassroots initiatives flying the flag for footwork, juke and 160 sounds. TORI jumps into the booth with smooth, flighty jungle, peppered with juke and footwork. Don’t sleep! Listen
With Love from Tropical Waste ✌️
160 Unity returns on April 26. Sign up to get early / cheap tix first
Tropical Waste w/ RP Boo live on NTS
Seb footwork & 160 set live from Workaholix at Planet Wax
Heavee w/ Tiger, Nik & Malt Bev live on Pound & Yam
Seb & THEMPRESS interview live on Voices Radio