Waste Mail 014: January's best music 🔥
Deep low-end, fire footwork, out-of-body moments 🔊
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 🔥
Here’s the first Waste Mail of 2024, sent somewhere between the fall of P4K and the upwinds of the micro blogging revival.
It’s surreal that an audience as big as Pitchfork’s (said to be even bigger than GQ’s) hasn’t been effectively monetised. It’s also time for readers to start paying for music journalism – if the writing runs dry then we’re all at the whim of the algorithm…
And so to the music, where – thankfully – things are bubbling with optimism. Chicago footwork is on fire atm; a clutch of DJs including EMA, Dj wiggles and Softi are fusing a new kind of deep low-end music via fantastic DJ mixes; and various artist comps continue to drop at a rapid rate as crews from around the world gang up to make an impact on the club scene. You’ll read all about this and more below…
Before we get going, a shout about the next Tropical Waste party. We’re collaborating with fellow fearless LDN promoter Unbound Events. It’s on Friday Feb 23 at Ormside and we’re putting on a truly unique line-up to get the year going. Tickets here, full line-up art at the bottom.
Dedicated to anyone who likes dancing to weird shit 💖
Photo: Tom Ling buffs the surfaces of the Unit 137 soundsystem before a dance in East London
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Tracks & EPs 🔌
Coffintexts ‘Suave’ Coffintexts sends the tresillo rhythm into some deep, dark ‘n sensual places on this EP for Florentino’s Club Romantico. This is music to truly lock in to, each track a fluid movement that’ll hypnotise you into dancing like no one’s watching. Collaborator Gaby G drops some dead sultry vocals and the label boss himself turns out a remix to round off the package. More great club stuff for the grown ‘n sexy 130bpm gang Listen
dogheadsurigeri ‘Fluid Matter’ Love to see a DJ morph into a producer. dogheadsurigeri (surely one of the coolest names in dance music) has been banging out hard ‘n fast sets across Europe and now she’s making her own club tools. ‘Fluid Matter’ could soundtrack the rave scene from a film like Blade; it sounds like a strobe-lit moment in a cyberpunk techno club with only a looped neon vocal snippet to remind you where you actually are. Fire it up and head towards the light Listen
Drumskull ‘Scrolling Shooter’ An EP for Hooversound which contains a variety of rave clobber: the title track is thrilling mutant ‘ardcore, while ‘Unknown Structure’ throws it back to astral jungle and ‘Switch Up The Flow’ sounds like free party tekno retooled for the modern club dancefloor. A Dwarde remix rounds up this quality package Listen
Entrañas ‘desprenderse’ The Ecuadorean producer turned up on a ton of label and crew compilations in 2023, kicking out unique productions at a rapid rate. Here’s something different for the new year – an EP containing waves of immense and heavy ambient, some rolling out for nine minutes Listen
Heavee ‘Sumthin’ Different’ Heavee’s collab with Sinjin and Zora, ‘Loud’, is one of the greatest mutant footwork tracks of all time. Those thirsty for more backflipped 160 (me!) will be stoked on ‘Sumthin’ Different’, the opening salvo from the Chicago artist’s forthcoming album on Hyperdub. It lives up to its title, fusing elements of synthy experimentation, grime and dancehall into a minimalist banger. Can’t wait for the LP Listen
Jlin feat Philip Glass ‘The Precision Of Infinity’ Of course the lead single from the new Jlin is a collab with Philip Glass. She continues to transcend, pushing the limits of footwork and the very parameters of dance music. The throb of a Chicago dance battle underpins this track, Jlin layering in gorgeous, cascading piano and majestic choral voices. It sounds big and bold, primed for soundsystems as well as concert halls Listen
Manni Dee feat Manuka Honey ‘All Of It’ Manni Dee and Manuka Honey go straight for the jugular with this walloping crossover club cut. Sleek rhythmic weight comes topped with choppy neon vocals and it’s all brought vividly to life with a suitably unhinged music video Listen
NKISI ‘DJ KITOKO VOL. 4’ NKISI’s alter ego strips it back to pure rhythm across four mesmerising drum machine jams. These minimal beat sculptures will take you out of body, aided by cinematic synth tones that further enhance the spiritual experience Listen
Samurai Breaks x Audio Gutter ‘Party Jackals’ My first rave experiences were at actual raves: free parties in Devon where the only options were tear-out d’n’b, psy trance, pummeling tekno or a multitude of different breakcore mutations. So I have a softspot for anti-everything rave music and while not a total connoisseur, have been following the fast ‘n ‘ard renaissance over the last few years. This is music that’ll make you smile even through the toughest times and keep you dancing with your friends until your feet hurt and the sun comes up. It’s beautiful silliness and a full-throttle riposte to normy dance music Listen
Albums & Compilations 💿
DJ Chad ‘Raw Is War’ DJ Rashad’s son DJ Chad comes through with urgent, raw, loop-based footwork that’s primed for battle. The tracks here purvey a cold, calculated tension built from eerie synth lines and nagging stabs, leaving your feet little choice but to move (work) or get caught out by a jolt of electricity Listen
DJ LUCKY ‘TRIPLE 7’ Teklife gets it goin’ for 2024 with DJ LUCKY’s new album ‘TRIPLE 7’, which hits the high notes of the footwork crew’s sophisticated production palette. Collabs with Teklife mainstays DJ Manny and Taso are a highlight, as are original productions like minimalist workout ‘Lost Without You’ and acid battletrack ‘GAWD’ Listen
Fractal Fantasy ‘FF Club Edits 2’ I’m a Fractal Fantasy stan so this package of edits from Sinjin, Zora and the gang would be the soundtrack to my perfect clubnight, from start to finish, from the sonics to the samples. It’s nearly 10 years since the label’s landmark ‘Visceral Minds’ comp and this stuff still sounds like the future Listen
Moveltraxx ‘TRAXXOLOGY Vol III’ The Paris label kicks off its 17th (!) year with a comp of club music that zips between Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Baltimore and Glasgow. It’s an exhilarating joyride that flexes the Moveltraxx roster, its deep love of regional US scenes and the strong connection the imprint keeps between North America and Europe Listen
Regal86 ‘Unearthed Vol. II’ 100 tracks for 10 bucks – can’t say fairer than that! The prolific Mexican producer throws down a treasure chest of low-slung beat loops, trademark tough ‘n groovy techno rippers and speedy excersises in breaks and juke. Killer way to kick off 2024 Listen
Stranacorpus ‘LIBERI OBLIVIONIS’ Deconstructed club’s not dead, it’s being made by crews outside of electronic music’s central hubs by artists who are still intent on reconfiguring dance music into head-spinning new shapes. Source material such as hyperpop, grime, techno, trance and internet core gets spliced and diced on this compilation from a squad/label out of Geneva. All funds go to the family of Mike Ben Peter, who died in police custody in Lausanne Listen
Traxman & DJ Twan ‘GOAT TALK 2’ Traxman and Twan get footwork off to a fierce start in 2024 with this 25-track album that’s packed with heat. There’s a ton of good stuff for DJs and dancers to play with and it’s also a portal for casual fans looking to see what’s going on in Chicago right now: the urgent soul music of ‘DANCIN HEAT’ with its thunderbolt bassline that drops at the 2-min mark; lover’s jam ‘DON’T SNOOZE ON ME’; rhythmic hallucination ‘HUMAN TRAXBOX’; the clean minimalism of ‘LOWGROOVE’ and, of course, battle tracks like ‘YA FUKIN WARNED!!!!!!’ Yup, that’s exactly six exclamation marks, which is also how gassed I am on this record Listen
XXII ‘Volume 12’ XXIII is a Porto label that’s created an active club music connection between Portugal and Brazil, bringing together breaks ‘n bass and funk in packed compilations and red-hot club nights. This is the label’s 12th comp, with contributions from Brazil, Europe and the US, and is a digger’s delight of fierce new dancefloor sonics 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 🎧
Carré - Fast_Cast 014 A live recording from Fast At Work, the LA party that Carré co-runs with a crew of committed underground DJs and ravers. I’ve written about her mixes before but this one feels like a reflection of her own musical journey, starting with the grime and rollage of the UK before moving into faster, leaner tracks that no doubt sound amazing in an LA warehouse, before ending on the kind of futuristic bass music that she’s been releasing as a burgeoning producer Listen
EMA - Truancy Volume 322 New genres have historically come from DJs blending existing tracks together to create strange and wonderful new forms. You can hear that happening here as EMA fuses deep dubstep, liquid d’n’b and sub-aquatic techno seamlessly to the point where the idea of BPM or genre boundary dissolves. What’s left feels like a fresh kind of low-end dance music – rhythmic and slinky with a moonlit, marshy ambience – and you wonder how long it’ll be ‘til its distilled even further into tracks cut to wax Listen
HOWE - POUND AND YAM One that I missed from late last year… HOWE goes in on mutant club, funk and trance edits, grime instrumentals, hard dance workouts and blasts of deconstructed detritus. The adventurous mixing is reminiscent of the halcyon days of parties like Endless, Bala Club, Janus and Trance Party, presented through a crystal clear 2023/4 lens Listen
Ice_Eyes - Stegi Radio Ice_Eyes’ brilliant ‘Dreamless Shadows’ EP from last year (a collab with Locre) was kinda slept on so here’s a reminder to check it out and also lock into this mix, which hones in on tight, muscular rhythm ‘n bass Listen
Janesita - Footwork Jungle 106 Chicago’s Janesita jumps into the booth for one of the internet’s best mix series, blending up acid, breaks, funk and footwork. She moves between sounds easily, making sure the heartbeat of the Windy City is never too far away – like when a prize DJ Rashad cut drops with euphoric effect near the end of the session Listen
Jealous Orgasm - SHOCK VALUE Came across this face melter after seeing Juliana Huxtable post the deliriously cool cover art that she created for the mix. She’s in TONGUE IN THE MIND with Jealous Orgasm and Via App and here Jealous Orgasm goes solo to collage an hour of deconstructed club concrète, punching in and out of solo piano, walls of synth, breakneck electro, distorted euphoria, pummeling tekno, neon indie sleaze and a ton of crazy, rhythmic, experimental dance music from deep inside the Jealous Orgasm harddrives. Kinda like the soundtrack to the best night out of your life that you haven’t had yet Listen
Manuka Honey - RA.921 Manuka Honey forges DJ sets from rage and libidinal energy, making space for dancers to revel in communal catharsis. It’s a heady experience as she makes sparks fly between rebel music and aphrodisiac tracks and this one for RA is a great snapshot of how it goes down when she’s at the controls. It’s packed full of cutting-edge club tracks and plenty of new ones from herself and her circle Listen
NADĪ - TM 079 A set of fwd-thinking party music from NADĪ, who starts down in the bump ‘n grind of dancehall, mutant riddims, slow/fast and dembow before making a sudden switch to hot, incendiary, low-end techno. Also marks the return of TT’s mix series - TIP! Listen
Nervous Horizon w/ Tommy Wallwork & Saroor Nervous Horizon was one of the most consistent labels of 2023, putting out 7 releases of mind-expanding club music. The label’s radio show has also been contributing to the overarching vision, spotlighting who’s likely to be your new favourite DJ months ahead of other platforms. Here, Tommy Wallwork sets it up with 60 minutes of his trademark freneticism, with Saroor knocking it out of the park for the second hour, delivering a brain-and-body dance of pulsating techno, in which multiple rhythms seem to be weaving in and out of each other at any one time Listen
Ryo Kurashina - kinetic mix 022 kinetic is a party, mix series and newsletter curated by DJ Wiggles, who’s been featured here before and is steadily creating a deep, dubby, explorative wormhole for us all to rejoice in. Fellow Londoner and Strirations party co-founder Ryo Kurashina steps into the mix for 022, expertly selecting two-hours of wiggy rhythms and fast/slow explosions that sound like taking a hike through deep, humid forest. Are you ready to trip out? Listen
Seraphim w/ Ziúr - Hong Kong Community Radio Ziúr has always been an antidote to boring dance music and this mix should provide inspo to anyone craving fierce energy and unexpected turns. She used to be a punk in a past life (still is, tbh) and you can feel that fuck-’em-all energy when she touches deck Listen
With Love From Tropical Waste ✌️
Next rave on Friday 23 Feb at Ormside, South London. Special link-up with Unbound Events. Art by Lawrence Abbott as per. Tickets here
