Waste Mail 012: The best music of 2023 🔥

Waste Mail's End Of Year round up is here

Dec 21, 2023

Welcome to Waste Mail, the newsletter that’s dedicated to cutting-edge club music and is written by Seb Wheeler on behalf of Tropical Waste 🔥

I weighed up the pros and cons of sending out an End Of Year mailer. I’m not a fan of ranking music but I do think it’s helpful to take a moment and look back over the year – there’s always good stuff that’s been missed, buried or not shouted about enough.

And the whole point of this mailer is to platform brilliant music that’s not being hyped or talked about elsewhere. So here’s ‘the best’ music that’s been featured in Waste Mail since January, listed A-Z as usual.

Everything that’s been featured over the last 12 months is worth your time (check out the full archive here) but there’s certain tracks, EPs, albums and DJ mixes that have pushed things forward in really special ways and don’t seem to have got the appropriate level of shine from Big Electronic Music Media. So hopefully this reminds you of some great music and takes you to some unexpected places too.

One more Waste Mail will land before the end of the year. I’m faithfully listening to the very end, so a round-up of December’s releases will drop soon. And thanks for taking the time to read these things – we go again next year and will continue to stay stoked on cutting-edge new music 🙌

Dedicated to anyone who likes dancing to weird shit 💖

Photo: SHERELLE raving to Rashad & Spinn’s ‘Brighter Dayz’ at our 160 Unity party

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Tracks & EPs 🔌

Agostino ‘Ziona Sisri’ Technopizzica is an electronic take on Italian folk music that originates from the southern regions of the country and dates back to the 90s. Here, Agostino uses Technopizzica and its rhythmic and percussive elements as inspiration for his own form of dance music. The results are thrilling, tapping into the current slow/fast dance music movement in a totally original way Listen
ALEROJ X WATARA ‘KE KALOR ESTA JUKUARACHA’ Keep an eye on ALEROJ’s Bandcamp ‘cos there’s gems to be found there. The Colombian has been developing a fusion of Chicago juke and Cuban guaracha and the results are dynamite Listen
aya & BFTT ‘Up And At Them!’ The kind of EP that makes you fall in love with club music all over again (as well as reminding you why you write a music round-up newsletter every month). Three tracks weigh in at around 160, 130 and 100bpm, built with delicious sound design and loads of cool, unpredictable ideas. It’s beautiful and bangin’ and everything you’d expect from a collab by these two (25% of label profits go to Medical Aid For Palestinians) Listen
Badsista ‘Gueto Club’ The TraTraTrax label is writing itself into history and it’s beautiful to experience in real time. Now three years old, the quality just gets better and better. Case in point: three new ones from Badsista, a collision of techno, kuduro and baile funk that ripples with percussive energy and the constant, undeniable, incendiary throb of the current Latin club music wave. Remixes from Marfox and Batu too Listen
Bitter Gold ‘Absent EP’ Ambient/club sonics from the shadows of the internet, for anyone who digs static, crackle and big forlorn synths that appear like lighthouse beacons in the dead of night. And then out of nowhere comes a warehouse beat… Listen
BJF ‘Pressure’ Really exciting EP from BJF, who bangs out the kind of uptempo, hybrid club music that feels fresh at the moment. Fast, wrecking ball rhythms come hurtling down the lane like a bowling ball, picking up vocal snips, low-end gurgles and flickers of mutant melody from grime, drill, kuduro and baile funk Listen
Carré ‘Tilted’ Debut two-tracker from the LA local and Fast At Work crew member. Deep, dark, acidy dubstep/electro mutations that harness the underground sonics of London, Detroit and the LA warehouse scene, where you’ll find Carré pushing her vision for low-end culture Listen
DJ Manny ‘Feet Start Dancing’ This EP for Moveltraxx will end up being some of the best footwork to be released this year – an expert take on the form, full of energy, emotion and sheer danceability. No surprise from an artist who’s been scoring hits since 2011 Listen
Dj.Mc ‘Relentless’ Tracks on this EP include ‘Who Wants Smoke’, ‘Chicago Flow’ and ‘Space Godz’, creating a flawless render of footwork as battle site, folk music and Afrofuturist exploration Listen
Everett ‘Orange Slices EP’ New player alert! Manchester’s Everett comes through with downtempo weirdo techno that could open up a portal of low-slung rhythmic whomp or be flipped into slow/fast gunfinger chaos. Geezer knows exactly what he’s going with these ones, absolute belter of a debut EP Listen
Florentino ‘Kilometro Quinze’ Florentino’s debut EP for XL sees the British-Colombian producer flex across a number of club styles with an enviable array of special guests. This one has been teased for a good few months now and the final results are his best work yet Listen
Ice_Eyes & Locre ‘Dreamless Shadow’ Been waiting for something like this to come around! Twisted metal workouts at 100/130/150bpm meaning no tempo is safe from destruction – out on Fixed Abode with some killer remixes too Listen
Ikonika & 45Diboss ‘Supernova’ These two fire up their impeccable partnership for the first time since 2019, presenting eight tracks of Afrofuturistic dancehall full of astral synths, tuff low-end and killer vocal hooks Listen
jahanam x Haydn ‘Need 4 Speed’ Totally obsessed with this belter that’s been cooked up by this Stockholm duo. A fast ‘n raw beat comes spattered with eski bleeps while a fully-charged, punk-as-fuck vocal implores you to get out on the floor and sweat your ass off. An anthem in the making Listen
JSPORT ‘Out Of Bounds’ Stripped-back drum tracks that are crying out to be played on a loud system late at night. Taking inspiration from the Caribbean, South America and elsewhere in the African Diaspora, JSPORT is aiming straight at the hip here Listen
Jurango / Glances - PSEU004 Heavy split EP from Jurango and Glances on London’s Pseudonym Records: Jurango comes through with rumbling, percussive techno-footwork while Glances brings finely sculpted rollers that are reminiscent of early Pearson Sound and Addison Groove - don’t miss this Listen
Ma Sha ‘Elastik EP’ Proper deadly EP from New York’s Ma Sha, who seems to have a whole sound world nailed already and it’s exhilarating to experience. She spans tempos with a smooth, fluid style that prioritises low-end, rhythm and psychedelic earworms. Can’t wait to hear this in a club Listen
Nikki Nair & Breaka ‘Never Let Them Know Your Next Move’ This fits right into the Hemlock/Night Slugs/Fractal Fantasy continuum of ‘WTF?!’ club music that makes you feel like you’re doing a backflip. The production zaps all over the place and there’s a killer vocal sample too. Hopefully I get to hear this out soon and completely lose my mind Listen
Nymity ‘like a rose’ In love with this courageous blend of sound design, field recordings and messy club beats. Does the hard/soft thing really well Listen
Piezo ‘Cyclic Wavez EP’ Proper sweat-soaked, roof-raising leftfield experimental club bangers that run at a few different tempos. Piezo’s on fire at the moment and the productions on the Milan-based artist’s EP are full of “WTF?!” moments, which is just how we like it. Out on Nervous Horizon, I know TSVI and Wallwork will be toasting this with Italian pride – forza club! Listen
Please ‘Orbital’ Any sound that comes into Chicago can be flipped and re-werked, as evidenced by Please who’s invented a brand new sub-genre by fusing footwork and drill. Genius Listen
Shell Company ‘Adorn EP’ One for the night bus / the solo midnight bike ride / the walk home after a big ‘un. Nails that melancholy glow perfectly. Out on Rainy Miller’s Fixed Abode which is on a right roll atm – can’t wait to hear more Listen
Sobolik ‘Packet Loss’ Bonkers neo club music that zooms around the tempo scale. Slick, fun, sweaty Listen
Teraphonique & DNZL444 ‘Mob Ties’ Screwface amapiano with a dank bassline that’ll fully test your speaker system Listen
Zora Jones feat Golin ‘Miau’ NEW ZORA 🚨The Fractal Fantasist links with Japanese vocalist Golin to forge a sparkling mutant grime gem, hopefully one of many beats to come from Zora’s JP artist residency Listen

Albums 💿

ABADIR ‘Ison’ ABADIR follows on from his incredible ‘Mutate’ album with another LP that continues to redefine contemporary club music. Inspiration from chants, hymns and choirs adds an ambient, melodic layer to the Egyptian producer’s fierce productions, allowing for impressive builds and drops which tower in size by the time the record ends Listen
DJ K ‘PANICO NO SUBMUNDO’ Unhinged baile funk from São Paulo scene leader DJ K, who pushes everything into the red and makes sure every drumbeat and bass bump is as heavy as a punch to the gut. But there’s no coming up for air as a storm of squalls and sirens follow. Only the fittest dancers need apply Listen
DJ Znobia ‘Inventor Vol 1’ The first in a four-part (!) retrospective of bangers from Angola’s DJ Znobia, who is credited with inventing kuduro and is also a pioneer of the slower tarraxinha sound. Essential Listen
Felicita ‘Spalarkle’ Says a lot that the opening seconds of this album sound like a post-genre combo of Bjork, Nirvana, James Holden and Aphex Twin. In that brief moment, it feels like anything could be about to happen. And it does, as Felicita adventures around a sonic kaleidoscope that warps and bends with the familiar and the uncanny Listen
Florence Sinclair ‘departures, wonders & tears’ Florence Sinclair opens a dream pop portal into the joy, pain and paranoia of city life. These songs tell stories using samples, motifs and ice-cold verses and come sequenced like chapters from a deeply personal journal. And just like the city, the more time you spend in this album, the more you’ll get back Listen
King Vision Ultra ‘SHOOK WORLD’ Emotive rap concrète from based New Yorker KVU, who always seems to be two steps ahead Listen
IFS MA ‘Reifsma’ IFS, a duo from Poland’s fertile footwork scene, link up with Japanese rapper MA to concoct a potent, trippy album that lands somewhere between Foodman and King Midas Sound Listen
Loppy B ‘A Loppy Lesson’ A kind of ecological club music that unfurls like a timelapse video of dawn breaking across a rainforest. You can hear moisture dripping, moss growing and branches bending as the rhythms grow and evolve throughout. A collab from SCAM and Air Max ‘97 so you know you gotta hit play Listen
MoonDoctoR & Surly ‘10 Days In San Antonio’ Super smooth ‘n soulfull footwork that features some sweet samples, dank breakdowns and a couple banging collabs with DJ Earl. Essential new 160 Listen
Mun Sing ‘Inflatable Gravestone’ A welcome return for Mun Sing, who shares an album full of flexible, backflipped club music and wayward, flubberised electronics. These tracks have helped the artist navigate a period of grief and the album is powered by a strong sense of catharsis Listen
Nídia ‘95 MINDJERES’ Nídia’s third album is named after the military unit of 95 women who fought for the independence of Guinea-Bissau (freedom from Portuguese colonial rule came in 1973). The whole record sounds like liberation, Nídia’s rhythms encouraging freedom of movement, while her synth pads and stabs paint every track in brightness and warmth Listen
Qeei ‘Luminous’ Next level reconstructed club music from the Infinite Machine label, which really should be getting more flowers for weathering the ebb and flow of hype and focusing on releasing mind-bending music. Qeei’s production is super fun and beautifully abstract, the sound of an ingenious mind at work Listen
UNITY VEGA ‘Two Sword’ Fully psychedelic meditations that sit somewhere between dancehall, dub, trance and ambient. Feels like it was carved out of ancient stone, dust and light, and is as trippy and ecstatic as that sounds! Listen
Ziúr ‘Eyeroll’ Seven years since her debut EP and now onto her fourth album, it’s crystal clear that Ziúr refuses to stop pushing herself as well as the corner of electronic music that she inhabits. Every record is an evolution, a challenge, a step into a place that few others would be brave enough to go Listen
Zoë Mc Pherson ‘Pitch Blender’ Here’s a riot of skittering beats and rubberised textures, a welcome blast of pure energy Listen

Compilations 💿

77Silverline ‘Celeb’ Treasure trove compilation of net music and avant ambient from the 77Silverline label out of Brazil. Reminiscent of PAN’s now seminal ‘mono no aware’ Listen
Bubblin ‘Launch Compilation’ Darama and yourboykiran have set up a label dedicated to ‘bass face x wind your waist’, a strapline that’s more than enough for me to want to check the imprint out. Nine party-starting low-end bangers inside which sets out the label’s agenda nicely indeed Listen
DJ Babatr ‘Las Lomas / Fuma Con Los Panas + Remixes’ Completely bonkers remix package that features a mad amount of reworks of two DJ Babatr bangers. Love the way this centers the Venezuelan’s frenetic raptor house and then throws it out to a slew of the world’s most exciting producers Listen
DV Records ‘Dreaming Vinyl Compilation 01’ Nine tracks from the likes of Tim Reaper, Sister Zo and Impey are each paired with a unique visualiser on this comp from DV Records, with all proceeds going to the MAP charity in Leeds. Nice to see such care and attention being put into an A/V project Listen
King AGee ‘We Are Chicago Footwork Vol. 1’ Big footwork drop from the heart of the Windy City featuring all of the big names (including another new DJ Rashad track!) and the young guns too. If you’re into OG footwork (which you should be), then this is a must Listen
Moveltraxx ‘MOVELT JUKE JAM’ God bless Moveltraxx! The French label has by now formed a deep connection with the frontrunners of the Chicago juke and footwork scene and is doing the work to make sure there’s a steady stream of releases for DJs/dancers and a connection between the US and Europe. This one’s full of jams from an all-star cast (including a new DJ Rashad track), with a really nice emphasis on the house-ier side of juke Listen
Nehza x XXIII ‘NEHZA XXIII’ Wrote about RONI’s killer mixing in the last issue, now here’s a compilation she’s work on via her Nehza label. The Parisian links with Porto’s XXIII so curate a V/A that links Europe with South America and delivers some thrilling new club music, which ranges from tuff baile funk and electro through to lively techno and some weird, off-kilter club music. Absolute TIP! Listen
REBOTE DISCOTECA ‘REBOTE VOL 1’ Curated by the REBOTE DISCOTECA label out of Argentina, this comp totally nails the ‘cutting-edge club music’ brief. There’s distortion, deconstruction, industrialism and fierce rhythmic energy. Enjoy! Listen
UFO Parfums ‘165 BPMs’ So now there is a record label that pairs scent with music?! As someone who was recently brainwashed by Le Labo, I am incredibly here for it. 165bpm probably smells like dry ice and endorphins so I’d be intrigued to experience what UFO Parfums has bottled. In lieu of the perfume itself, this compilation presents red-hot 165bpm experiences from heads like Tim Reaper, DJ Manny and Carré, among others Listen
Woozy ‘WZY3.5’ Dublin label Woozy drops a comp of bass mutations that will fit right into the Rekordbox crate of anyone into twisted, broken, whompy UK warehouse music. Turn the light down and throw the gunfingers up! Listen
Worst Behaviour Records ‘Worst Behaviour Vol. 4’ Anna Morgan’s label delivers a lively stash of dance music that moves between 130-160bpm. You’ll get acid, breaks, electro, footwork and jungle, as well as some mutant hybrids that blend the boundaries between those genres. It’s mastered really nicely too, so you can jam on headphones or roll it on a system Listen

DJ Mixes 🎧

Aba Shanti-I live from Waterworks Festival Glorious session from the dub master recently uploaded by RA. The word, sound and power of an Aba Shanti-I set captured in 60 mins Listen
Async Figure - Crack Specialist Mix To compliment their killer new EP (reviewed above), Async Figure drop an hour of unreleased music, focusing on “the more heartfelt, emotional side of our productions” Listen
Diaki: Kiosk Radio Unmissable session of balani dance music from Diaki as well as a front-row view of how the Malinese artist sculpts his breakneck sets Watch
Doctor Jeep - System Mix 094 The aforementioned Doctor Jeep rides out for the trusty System mix series, delivering a session that’s as blistering as you’d expect from a producer who’s been making some of the must essential club music recently Listen
DJ Wiggles - untitled 909 Been thinking about how important it is for DJs to nail their own style or sound. In comes this mix from DJ Wiggles (for the ever reliable untitled 909) that sounds like every track has been thought about and played with intention. The music lives up to the name as wiggly monochrome rhythms bury into the deep Listen
Hermeneia - System Mix 092 Deconstructed dancehall that becomes more eroded and abstract as the mix goes on. Another killer outing from the Warsaw DJ to watch Listen
mi-el - Boiler Room Fast, furious and innovative; mi-el connects the dots between various styles of rhythmic, percussive, bass-heavy dance music and shows why she’s one of the most exciting DJs on the LDN circuit right now Listen
Noia - Keep Hush Berlin The XXIII label co-founder (whose excellent comp featured last month) comes through with an hour of 170bpm adrenaline. Things begin with various juke mutations, Noia expertly controlling the linear, pumping spring-loaded energy, before letting loose with breakbeats, rave stabs and face-melting bass Listen
Precious Metals w/ Endgame & Safety Trance I’ve been nicking track IDs off Endgame for years now (dw, I’ve admitted it to him on more than one occasion) Dude is always two steps ahead and this latest radio show is particularly explosive, showcasing his ongoing status as one of experimental club music’s key selectors. Safety Trance joins to add even more blistering catharsis Listen
RP Boo - Footwork Jungle Vol 100 RP Boo is hardly a hermit but a mix from the Godfather of Footwork still feels like a big event. It’s super stylish, as you’d expect from the don, with underground workouts rubbing up alongside supremely well chosen edits and bootlegs Listen
Scratcha DVA & Omagoqa - Rinse FM Feels like Scratcha is the DJ who’s having the most fun at the moment. There’s palpable energy and excitement in the music he’s making and sparks are flying from the links he’s making with artists out of South Africa, Tanzania and Mali, connections that regularly turn up as collaborations (with Menzi) and radio shows (DJ Travella and DJ Diaki). There’s pure joy in the booth during this link-up with Durban trio Omagoqa, as pounding, screw-face Gqom basslines pour down like fat drops of hot rain. Tracks appear quickfire as the DJs fall over themselves to pack the bangers in, the heavy precision of Gqom becoming reminiscent of instrumental grime as the styles and sounds of South Africa and East London blend, blur and explode Listen
SHERELLE - Lot Radio Our high speed hero steps into the Lot to drop a frenetic blend of 160 styles, deploying footwork, jungle, juke, techno and hardcore – as well as mutations that incorporate one or all of those styles – along with some well-timed edits. Don’t sleep Listen
The Nammy Wams Show – Latin Drill Takeover Brilliant two-hour session of grime, drill and rap beats that crescendos with an interview and live studio performance from Big Tega and friends. This is what radio is all about Listen
SOFTI - Kindred Travel into the eye of the storm, guided thru electrical crackle by intricate, high speed rhythms. Dance music from the outer edges for heads who are brave enough to accept the mission Listen
Teklife Records w/ Jana Rush Paul Johnson taught Jana Rush how to produce back in the day and she’s recognised as one of the most uncompromising artists in the scene thanks to a flurry of albums on Planet Mu. This is an instant listen Listen
Unity Sound - Give Dem An Update Dancehall Mix – April 2023 I’ve been looking for reliable sources of brand new dancehall and Unity Sound’s ‘Give Dem An Update’ seems a good place to start. Two hours of riddim juggling that’ll bring you up to speed with what’s going on in JA Listen
Venus Ex Machina - XLR8R Podcast 809 With a tracklist that includes Ziúr, Nkisi, Jlin, Objekt, E-Sggila, 3Phaz and a bunch more, you best not sleep on this wonderful trip through abstract, pumping electronics 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

With Love From Tropical Waste ✌️

Out to everyone who made it to 160 Unity 💖 All the highlights are up on IG
Our NTS show with DJ Earl, Big Dope P and Seb is here
Our Reprezent show with Big Dope P and Seb is here
The Reprezent sets are also on YouTube: Check Big Dope P and Seb
Next party in LDN on Feb 23 🙏🏻