Waste Mail 016: March's best music 🔥
Hi-def club music, futuristic footwork & emotional classics
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 🔥
So this one arrives a little late but I was determined to get you last month’s best music despite life doing its thing.
Excuse the scheduling – you’ll still find a bunch of great recommendations that haven’t been shouted about elsewhere, delivered with signature Waste Mail hype that’ll make you want to cop the music / go out and dance.
Next one is on the way soon. Feels like there’s a lot of good stuff coming out from club music and the wider underground/crossover scene. Writing this listening to the brilliant claire rousay and Shabaka LPs.
The next Tropical Waste party is on May 3 and we have the London debut of Regal86. Last party before a long summer break. And I’ve started to upload sets from the parties, starting with my warm-up from the one back in Feb. Really happy with the selection, sets the intention for the Waste dancefloor perfectly.
Enjoy the music and catch you next month <3
Dedicated to anyone who likes dancing to weird shit 💖
Photo: DJ N Fox, Tropical Waste x Unbound Events, Feb 2024
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Tracks & EPs 🔌
aya ‘Lip Flip’ Really enjoying these EPs on aya and BFTT’s YCO label. Here’s some sticky, clicky, hi-def club music from aya, which is fully loaded with cool ideas and also sees a collab with OG alias LOFT Listen
Carré ‘Soft Fascination’ Carré’s productions get better and better. This EP for her Fast At Work label contains fluid, uptempo workouts that are built around agile rhythms and purring basslines. Can’t wait to dance to these Listen
DJ Polo ‘If The Glove Fits’ UK fusions on this EP from Bristol’s DJ Polo, who blends UK funky and gqom to soundsystem-testing effect. The title track is also a deliciously fast take on amapiano, so have fun mixing it with whatever’s in your 150-160bpm crates Listen
EL PLVYBXY ‘Trinchera’ Big, loud, drum tracks from the Argentine producer. Hot tip for DJs looking for muscular rhythms that get the waist moving, especially ‘TRN01’ and ‘TRN04’ Listen
Flore & Only Now ‘Morphers’ Choppy, inventive techno on this split EP. The title track and main collab is purpose-built for warehouses whereas each artist’s take on ‘Cut & Run’ takes things in weirder, worm hole directions Listen
John Glacier ‘Like A Ribbon’ Obsessed with how effortless John Glacier’s delivery is. The most chill, diary-entry flows sitting amidst emosh, minimalist production. Little main character vignettes that have this close-up intimacy that make you feel like you’re really there with John Listen
Less-O ‘Last Mic Jack’ Backflipped (deconstructed) club music that chops up the percussion of techno, the bass bumps of footwork and the angular synth stabs of grime. An evil track that’ll blow your mind on the floor Listen
Nabihah Iqbal ‘DREAMER (Remixes)’ I first started writing about Nabihah’s music back when she was releasing on Kassem Mosse’s label and she’s whipped up the dancefloor at Tropical Waste on a couple of occasions since. A natural born raver, this remix package covers everything from strobe-lit house to juggernaut EBM, and even includes a remix from Frank Wiedemann (!) Listen
Regal86 ‘Grand National’ Regal86’s music kind of has it all: attitude, soul, speed, unrelenting rhythm. I love the way he mixes without headphones, rapidly selecting across three decks in a way that sends sparks flying. ‘Grand National’ is his latest drop and a great portal into his mesmerising production style Listen
Sarah Farina & Tish Bailey‘Stay Soft’ Did you know the singer on DJ Deeon’s ‘Freak Like Me’ was never credited? It’s one of Sarah Farina’s favourite songs, so she tracked down Tish Bailey to make an EP that pays homage to the Chicago vocalist. The pair link up for three house tracks, drawing influence from US garage, gospel house, acid and juke Listen
Albums & Compilations 💿
CEE ‘Primary Forest 002’ Barcelona label CEE drops a load of experimental club music that veers toward splintered rhythms and mutated low-end. Features bits from Piezo and 3Phaz Listen
Clasico ‘Superclásico Vol. 1’ Clasico kicks the year off with a packed compilation that showcases the label’s taste in ‘global cutting-edge club music’. That’s a manifesto that makes this an instant cop and DJs will be pleased to know the mastering sounds weighty for the club Listen
Heavee ‘Unleash’ 2024 is a landmark year for footwork as the Chicago sound enjoys a boom of creativity and on the 10th anniversary of Rashad’s passing no less. Maybe it’s cosmic, but I also suspect things have been bubbling beneath the surface, ready to pop, like this long-awaited Heavee album for Hyperdub. Previous singles and EPs have displayed the producer’s avant garde approach to the dancefloor and now we have a full LP of glorious twists, turns and backflips Listen
Jlin ‘Akoma’ Every Jlin album is a gift, in the way her music pushes footwork’s elemental features even further into the future. ‘Akoma’ features collabs with Philip Glass and Björk, continues to display Jlin’s masterful approach to percussion and rhythm and there’s real emphasis on the low end, rounding out the artist’s signature jagged edges. Moments like ‘Grannie’s Cherry Pie’ reveal a new, sentimental side too Listen
Kindergarten Records ‘Fluo IV’ Kindergarten is a very sick crew/label out of NYC and is emerging as a trusted source of avant club. There are eight choice forward-thinking workouts on this, featuring input from Ma Sha, Sobolik and Despina, among others, with all proceeds going to Medical Aid For Palestinians Listen
Leisure Time ‘Burn Brighter’ Leisure Time takes influence from city pop and juke to create sparkling nocturnal vignettes, perfect for soundtracking the neon of downtown at night Listen
Mana Club ‘CLUB POTIONS VOL. 1’ Danish label mana curates five cuts that are purpose made to melt your face off in a warehouse at some ungodly (or perhaps holy, depending on your state of mind at the time) hour. Stinks of big rigs and floors wet with sweat Listen
Shabjeed ‘SULTAN’ Heavyweight rap out of Palestine on the consistently great BLTNM. Shabjeed’s full-bodied flows move nimbly across mind-bending productions that blend up trap, jungle, synth music and abstract beats Listen
Sonora Destroy ‘Hybrid Pulse’ Feels like there’s a lot of great compilations floating around atm as various smaller / net labels set out their vision of The Club. Sonora Destroy from Colombia present techno, acid, breaks, juke and jungle mutations from a long list of producers I’ve not come across before. Time to get digging Listen
Blank Mind ‘Lost Paradise: Blissed Out Breakbeat Hardcore 1991-94’ One of life’s simple pleasures is hearing sweet synths paired with jagged breakbeats. Here’s an awesome compilation of deep cuts that’ll remind you of every time you saw the sun rise and/or felt the sun on your face at 6am after experiencing a full-bodied rave epiphany 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 🎧
BUSHBBY - Pound & Yam BUSHBBY runs London Latinx rave EPOKA alongside Papaoul and has quickly turned the selection skills forged as a resident DJ into a slew of standalone bookings. Here’s a scorching session that showcases the sound of a BUSHBBY dancefloor Listen
Jana Rush - Elevator Music Chicago OG Jana Rush steps up for Elevator Music, one of the many new post-lockdown live stream platforms (more the merrier imo). Rush deploys footwork in a cold-as-ice way that only a true veteran can Listen
Jurango - CRACK 562 You know by now that this is a Jurango stan account. The Bristol don is rewiring UK club music at fast and slow speeds so get stuck in to this one to hear where his head’s at right now Listen
Charli XCX - Boiler Room Kinda struck me how hyperpop is one of the longer lasting UK music phenomena of the 2010s. The strobe-lit impact and unpredictability of it still slaps all these years later, still has that newness to it. As such, this DJ set from Charli and friends rocks Listen
Introspekt - RA. 929 An LA DJ mixing a masterclass in dark garage and OG dubstep tells you everything you need to know about the current 140 revival (I reckon we’re now on the 6th wave of dubstep?!) Truly inspiring crate digging Listen
Kelela - Tiny Desk Concert Kelela reworks her emotional club classics for Tiny Desk, making them even more intimate and spellbinding. Sublime tbh Listen
OKO DJ - Unsound A live recording of the most confounding and no-f*cks-given DJ set I saw at Unsound back in October. Maximalist rave energy for the post-everything generation Listen
RAPRAVE with HiTech - Lot Radio Probably the most fun you can have during a 60-minute radio show (both in the booth and as a listener). The Detroit trio lay down red-hot ghettotech, juke and footwork in their inimitably hype style Listen
SULTAN listening session - NTS ‘SULTAN’ is a brilliant album of Palestinian rap by Shabjeed and Al Nather. This radio show, hosted by Nihal, contextualises the record and features an interview with Shabjeed as well as some record selections too Listen
Thakzin - Rinse FM 3 Step is an evolution of afro house from South Africa that’s making its way onto the wider international scene. Imagine a sweet spot between afro tech, deep house and amapiano and you’re just about there. Anyway, allow this blurb and let Thakzin be your guide Listen
Live From Tropical Waste 🔊
Seb - In The Club Before 12 O’Clock (Live from Tropical Waste x Unbound)
Seb's warm-up set live from Tropical Waste x Unbound, Feb 23, 2024. Creating a mood, setting sonic intentions, testing the subs… Full tracklist on SoundCloud <3
Next party ✌️
Next rave is May 3 at Ormside Projects. Last one before summer / for a while. See you down the front x
