031: May's best music 🔥
The art of the elevated DJ edit 😈
Sorry this issue is a little late, I just got back from paternity leave. Welcoming my son to the world has been an incredibly joyful and surreal experience. I’ve ordered his first pair of festival-ready ear defenders already – see you at Carnival!
Speaking of which, your summer should be soundtracked by truly elevated edit packs from Toumba and OSSX, who’ve both delivered album-length drops of artful bootlegs. The DJ Shaun-D album and the ‘Road Fever’ compilation will keep the solstice energy high, alongside crucial mixes from The Large and musclecars. Rainy Miller, Ehua and Xenia Reaper keep the flag flying for the avant club crew, all coming with brilliant LPs that reconfigure electronic music.
That’s just some of the selections below. This being Waste Mail, it’s always all killer. Happy digging!
Been writing this mailer for two and a half years and never included a picture of myself. So here’s Seb b2b ex.sess (in our matching tanktops) at Ormside back in April
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Tracks & EPs 🔌
BRAVA & Dj.Mc ‘DO U LIKE SUSHI?’ This came out a couple months ago but the video just dropped so here goes… Proper unhinged hybrid footwork from Spanish vocalist BRAVA and Chicago producer Dj.Mc. Frenetic production and vox that big up the noble art of pussy lickin’. Can confirm it did damage at the last 160 Unity Listen
Burna ‘Pingo. EP’ Australian producer Burna is your fav DJs fav DJ. Many of the fiercest club music DJs are running his tracks and this new EP, featuring a trio of minimalist low-end workouts, comes as he plays his first European shows, including a UK debut Listen
DJ Babatr ‘Sunshine Tribe’ When it feels like the world has lost its head, just know that DJ Babatr has released a raptor piano house tune on the legendary NYC label Nervous Records and that, you know, maybe things’ll be alright Listen
badsista ‘CUTEBOYZ’ Brazilian producer badsista drops a set of tracks that blend elements of big room techno, euphoric prog house, baile funk and guaracha. badsista tracks are always built from springloaded rhythms and that underground rave energy powers ‘CUTEBOYZ’ but the epic breakdowns and euphoric rushes feel programmed to cast a spell on bigger congregations. Would love to hear this stuff while coming up alongside a couple thousand other dancers, basically Listen
DJ Hank ‘Pressure Points’ Some of DJ Hank’s previous output has seen him fuse Chicago footwork with r’n’b and UKG, a winning combo as I’m sure you can imagine. ‘Pressure Points’ explores this intersection further, chopping up samples with glee and even roping in elements of speed garage and Jersey club. Say no more Listen
Heavee ‘Charged Up 2’ Heavee had a killer 2024, exploring both the conceptual and battle-ready possibilities of Chicago footwork. Back on Moveltraxx, this EP contains his love of fierce dancefloor energy, crunchy 16-bit melodies and drum programming that’ll melt your brain. Plus the coveted ‘Icemaster VIP’, another certi 160 Unity anthem Listen
Mantra ‘Shades Of Rave Vol. 1’ Mantra – resident of legendary London jungle rave Rupture – steps out with a debut EP flying across soundsystem techno, spectral jungle, minimalist d’n’b and, of course, some old-school rudeness. Deep, spacey and bound for the reload – don’t sleep! Listen
Mia Koden ‘Keep It Steppin’ Mia Koden is one of the leaders of new gen dubstep and her self releases via Bandcamp have showcased her evolving career as a producer, bringing her fans along for the ride with insightful ‘making of’ videos and ‘which demos should I release’ polls on social. It’s a wonderful – and refreshing – way to involve her audience as she develops her tekkers on the buttons. ‘Keep It Steppin’ contains three bubbly soundsystem steppers, skeletal rhythms paired with precise melodic stabs ‘n samples. This is bassbin music that’s funky to its core – dubstep for dancing, as the Ashanti interpolation in ‘Skank Steady’ more than hints at Listen
Om Unit ‘Euphoria Dubs’ This edit drop reminds me of white label dubstep remix 12”s I used to buy off Juno back in the day. Lovely 140-ish clobber to draw for to unite a crowd or provide some instant rave bliss. DJs, check this! Listen
Toumba ‘VIP Edits Vol. 2’ Toumba drops an edit pack just in time for festival season. The pioneering Jordanian producer recontextualises rappers and singers from Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan and his home country with his fwd-thinking club music that spans tempos and energies. This being Toumba, these tracks elevate the very concept of a club edit Listen
Albums & Compilations 💿
Colombian Drone Mafia + Gibrana Cervantes ‘Memoria’ Of course I’m going to listen to an LP by ‘Colombian Drone Mafia’ and of course it weighs in at the dense, heavyweight end of ambient. TraTraTrax founder and sound artist Nyksan links with composer and violinist Gibrana Cervantes to create ethereal catharsis Listen
DJ Shaun-D ‘From Bubbling To Dutch House’ The lineage of Dutch house music continues to be documented with this set of post-bubbling tracks by DJ Shaun-D, who was a leader of the ‘bubbling house’ genre that sparked in the late 2000s. Crack this open for raw, hype party music Listen
Ehua ‘Panta Rei’ Martyn is one of the masters of the Dance Music Album so it’s no wonder that the A&R of Ehua’s debut LP on his 3024 imprint is impeccable. ‘Panta Rei’ bangs from start to finish, while broadening Ehua’s artistry as a producer and vocalist. Club heat at various tempos is sequenced seamlessly alongside glimmering, low-end songwriting Listen
King Agee ‘Come Home With Me’ King Agee’s sprawling ‘Chicago Footwork’ compilations have documented the city’s bustling post-lockdown scene and proved he’s got most of the Chi on speed dial. Now he presents an album of collabs with the likes of Manny, Corey, Dj.Mc, Chad, Elmoe, Cuenique and more, further showcasing Chicago’s current network of footwork artists Listen
OSSX ‘World Keeps Turning’ A phenomenal set of East Coast club tracks inspired by some fully classic disco, house and UK funky samples. The source material is used with utmost care and the production is tuff and propulsive. There’s also some banging transatlantic junglism on offer too. Gonna be rinsing this all summer Listen
Planet Mu 30 Planet Mu celebrates three decades in the game with a sprawling compilation of braindance, mutant jungle, neo ‘ardcore, footwork and other head-spinning, high tempo configurations. Plenty of WTF?! moments to be heard. Could do with a drop like this every year tbh Listen
Principe ‘Não Estragou Nada’ New 37-track comp from the legendary Lisbon label featuring material that spans all the way back to 2010. Batida heaven! Listen
Rainy Miller ‘Joseph, What Have You Done?’ Manchester’s deconstructed poet laureate comes through with another essential full length of autotune catharsis and scorched-earth production. There’s wreckage, pain and maybe, just maybe, a glimmer of hope Listen
Road Fever: New Generation Carnival Riddims from St. Lucia and Dominica An explosive compilation of bouyon and dennery segment from St. Lucia, Dominica and Guadelope, offering 25 exhilarating instrumentals made by various producers for vocalists to mash up carnival and soundsystem dances with. A great primer to the worlds of bouyon and dennery segment, two sounds that are becoming increasingly more present on European dancefloors and an instant cop all round. Just do it! Listen
XENIA REAPER ‘Gambling’ Gorgeous weightless trance that adds to the digital era’s spectral rave canon. Ghosts of peak time for fans of Malibu, Lee Gamble, Lorenzo Senni, Fracture’s Slow860 project etc Listen
Waste Mail Playlist 🚨
Listen to all of the music included in this issue of Waste Mail via a playlist on Buy Music Club, which allows fans to curate lists of music available to buy via Bandcamp
DJ Mixes 🎧
ABADIR - Kiosk Radio ABADIR is a demon in the booth, drawing for avant garde club and unashamed anthems, drums always pushed right up to the front. I’ve not seen a tracklist but I’m sensing percussive heat from Brazil, Venezuela, Egypt, London, LA and many more locales besides. Rhythms tumble and bang, with timely edits of ‘You’re Not Alone’ and ‘Breathe’ providing peak-time mayhem Listen
Dj.Mc - Lot Radio Nice to see Chicago footwork don Dj.Mc get a set on Lot Radio. Great chance to hear one of the Chi’s most prolific producers get into the mix Listen
DJ RENA ‘5298sec TURNTABLISM MIX’ RAWFILA runs GRASSWAX records out of Japan and consistently releases his own red-hot footwork tracks backed by remixes by Chicago’s finest. Here, he’s got 20-year-old turntablist legend and DMC world champion DJ Rena to mix together the whole of the label’s catalogue. Sick! Listen
ESEA Sisters w/ ixxi & Metal Upa - Voice Radio ixxi hosts the ESEA Sisters residency, which creates space on radio for East and South East Asian women, trans, non-binary and genderqueer folk. Special guest Metal Upa shares her own productions and some of the influence behind them, including the glory years of post-dubstep Listen
Fea - The Sampler Mixtape London musician Fea selects tracks for The Sampler Mixtape, the radio show from new music charity Sound And Music. The selections reflect the charity’s dedication to forward-thinking artists, ranging from doom folk to spaced-out bass music Listen
musclecars - Kiosk Radio at Horst musclecars set at last year’s We Out Here was one of my favourite DJ sets of 2024. Deep, joyful, avant garde, rhythmic and super brave with the selections. I danced my ass off, so please enjoy this live set from this year’s Horst festival, where the New York house duo deliver much of the same Listen
Slap City w/ Kieran Dotwav, Rome & Floetic - NTS Slap City is Architect’s excellent rap show on NTS and last month he handed over to DJ/promoter/label boss Kieran Dotwav and MCs Rome and Floetic. Kieran warms up with a slew of brand new bangers before Rome and Floetic touch mic to deliver their brand of incisive UK rap Listen
The Large - NTS The Large has one of the best mix shows on NTS. If you need an hour that’ll make you feel like you’re front left with your best mates at the perfect rave, then look no further than the NYC-based selector’s show archive. This month touches on amapiano, afrohouse, UK funky deep cuts and rowdy UKG. Superlative vibes guaranteed Listen
Traxman - Elevator Music Traxman delivers a footwork masterclass featuring many of his own hits and some from his OG peers in Chicago. Another great session on Elevator Music, which is based out of the Windy City and doing a nice job of pushing footwork into the live stream era Listen
With Love from Tropical Waste ✌️
After Werks hosted the May edition of the 160 Unity radio show. Big up sohotsospicy and Malt Bev. Crucial selections inside
Craic David b2b Seb with a dope interview too over on Subtle Radio
Kieran Dotwav b2b Seb doing up 160 hype
160 Unity in The Wire!