Siteclubbing: August’s best underground electronic music with guest selector Sully
Connecting the best in URL and IRL club music, this time with input from one of the UK's most exciting junglists
Now that the clubs have been properly open for a little while and more of us have had the chance to experience dance music in its natural habit, this edition of our monthly Siteclubbing roundup (coming to you a bit late – blame EOTR) feels particularly exciting. After all, you might actually hear some of this stuff in a full room with a proper soundsystem.
This month our guest selector is one of the most respected names in the underground jungle scene. Following the release of the stellar 5IVES/Sliding this month on Over/Shadow, Sully took the time to pick a few of his favourite new tracks for us.
Our selections
STILL & Biga Yut – Tukoona Nalo (PAN)
An excellent collaborative mixtape concocted by producer STILL, Ugandan label Nyege Nyege and its sublabel Hakuna Kulala. Blending elements of trap, drill, cut ups, kuduro and more, the tracklisting hosts a rotating set of Kampala-based vocalists. The full release is a triumph of the collaborative process, with highlight ‘Tukoona Nalo’ almost bringing to mind the frenetic energy of grime, with its unmatched vocal flow from MC Biga Yut, glitched out melodies and forward bass. Unmissable.
Gremlinz & Jesta – Infinity (DROOGS)
Gremlinz & Jesta balance nihilistic atmospherics with sheer juggernaut force on what may be one of the most unrelenting tunes of the year so far. This slice of top-tier amen terrorism continues to establish DROOGS (a sister imprint of UVB-76) as the place for the best in dark drum and bass.
Georgie McVicar – Live Stills (Mutualism)
Errant phone signals, fleeting found voices and caustic foley bind and build throughout ‘Live Stills’, the highlight of Georgie McVicar’s latest project for Mutualism. A haunting, forlorn piece that remains that happily raises more questions than it answers.
Box 5ive marries crystalline sound design and loosely swinging beats on this highlight from the latest Panel compilation. Elsewhere, the release covers the convergences of leftfield garage, soundsystem bass and UK techno, maintaining a thankfully oddball slant across the tracklisting, with further highlights including tracks from Korin Complex, Debba and Cassius Select.
KETTAMA – Picanya 2400 (Steel City Dance Discs)
KETTAMA comes through with a slice of dancefloor jubilance, anchored by a gleefully animated rave melody that brings to mind Lone at his most unashamedly euphoria-goading. There’s an emotional depth to the arrangement, the kind that lingers well beyond a night out has passed. Rave tropes are deployed tastefully, circumventing cheap thrills in favour of encapsulating the aforementioned afterglow.
Sicaria Sound – 5th Gear (Self-released)
The esteemed London duo deliver with tough, tuned kicks that lapse between staggering triplets and pulverising insistence, accented throughout by jagged vocal cuts, forebodingly distant drones and haphazard flutes.
Stones Taro – Rare (Cheeky Music Group)
Stones Taro once again strikes the fine balance between tasteful junglist homage and contemporary creativity; the result is as always a track that feels considered in both its approach and execution, and forever evolving in it’s structure. No half measures. The EP’s title track ‘Yakusugi’ also demonstrates this to fine effect.
Sully builds on the cinematic scale of his previous release Swandive; precision-cut breakbeats, rattling melodics, grand strings and bruckout basslines come together on a tune that’s been setting raves alight since dropping on Over/Shadow earlier this month.
Hard rave elements are reconstructed into something altogether more off-kilter on ‘2 Live’. Dominant trance stabs instil a sustained state of paranoia, as rolling breaks urge proceedings forward. Pepperings of airhorn and the recurring mantra of “Rude boy” further develop what falls somewhere between dense sound collage and a fascinating rethink of hardcore sensibilities.
Sully’s selections
LMajor – Can’t Do It (Astrophonica)
Sully: “The title track is just a banger. Played it every chance I got before the clubs shut and was the first tune I was itching to play now we’re back to it. That laugh that starts spinning out of control and then slides into thundering bass, yes mate!”
SP:MC – Cargo Dub (Declassified Records)
Sully: “SP:MC came out of nowhere with ‘Vintage’ in 2019, I really didn’t see that one coming, and a year down the line I thought the dabbling with garage was a one-off. But here we are and I’m bloody glad it wasn’t. The slink of ‘Cargo Dub’ is something else – snake-like!”
96 Back – CeeGap (Self-release)
Sully: “Not a proper release* this one but the tunes speak for themselves. Stuff is flying all over the shop with this pack. Drums and synths squirming around like mercury. ‘CeeGap’ is the highlight for me. Sublime.”
NB: This is a loose pack of unreleased tracks – be sure to download them before they’re gone!
Mix of the Month
Yung Singh | BR London: Yung Singh Pres. Daytimers
Yung Singh brings an undeniably energy to this livestream; an infectious synergy with the crowd. Leading a showcase for the South Asian collective Daytimers, he effortlessly mixes UK bass, breaks and club classics with Punjabi edits to joyous effect. If you haven’t made it out to any live events yet, this is a good reminder of what good night out looks like.
