With his latest long player Chasm continues making massive strides forward as the most versatile and potentially the best producer in Australia. From start to end on This Is How We Never Die he creates waves of sound to suit to the note his impressive array of guest MCs. From smooth-as-fuck tracks like I Am Legend with the genius pairing of AG and Delta and Highs And Lows featuring a well-matched trio, Fawshan, Solo and David Dallas – incidentally the first track with a New Zealand MC I’ve liked in years – through to party rockers like The Truth. The Tongue rips his opening verse to shreds while there is something about Hau’s presence in this track that screams ‘swag’. Later on things take on a reggae tinge – not too dissimilar to his collaboration with Vida Sunshyne – the standout being Dreamin. Other standouts include Intergalactic, which sees Dialect alongside Vast Aire, Ruthless, which sees Guilty Simpson and Brad Strut pair up and King Pin Shottas. One of the year’s best releases.

SHANE SCOTT

Ministry Of Sound’s Masterpiece series hasn’t lived up to its title despite showcasing mixes from some of club music’s most prestigious names; Gilles Peterson, Francois K and Fabio & Grooverider. The DJs simply haven’t nailed the format for a three-disc mix. What is the ideal format? Do they go for a disc of classics, a disc of contemporary favourites along with a style you are known for? Do they go club on one disc, chill on another and eclectic on the third? Or does each disc represent a different city? Legendary producer and UK club institution Andrew Weatherall hasn’t followed any of those routes. He’s gone the simple but brilliant route of presenting the three discs as one three-hour mix. This spacey collection of house just works when you forget about each disc representing a theme and you listen to it as a continuous set. Featuring a gang of Weatherall remixes, Masterpiece throws together contemporary house jams that churn along with an indie flavour, which is druggy, chuggy and spacey.

JEFF SPICOLI

“I paint what I wanna be like a portrait, you let other people paint you... (poor trait).” I had never heard of these cats before I got my hands on this heat, so I was free of preconceptions when I dropped it in the player and hit go. And so it was that my friendship began with the boys Harley and Jordan, the two MCs that constitute Rizzle Kicks and who are responsible for the tight debut Stereo Typical. Hailing from the London borough of Camden, these cats sure look young as per the album cover, but prove this advantageous as they propel forth on the first track Dreamers, where they pit their rhyming abilities against fresh beats, big hooks and imaginative production. Track two steps it up with the dope D&B skank of When I Was A Youngster, a reflective piece about dreams as a little kid of being a big deal, but settling in to reality and what is within your grasp. Different styles are played with too, such as the fat 4/4 bounce on Down With The Trumpets, the wicked swing of Demolition Man, or Prophet’s ‘80s stylings and sung hooks, and the anthemic Traveller’s Chant is a proper joint. So if you’re a fan of Pete Philly And Perquisite and that sung/rapped style (and no, I’m not referring to that fuckslot Drake), then this record will appeal big-time. More so, it’s a refreshing change from the grime-y steez that has dominated UK hip hop for too long.

TEXJAH

There is a fine line between imitation and ripping-off, channelling and biting, singing falsetto and singing like a big girl. When it comes to where Electric Empire sit in relation to that fine line, it is very much within the integrity and pure class hemisphere, as these are some seriously talented individuals with a real ear for harmony and composition. And although their sound borrows strongly from the Stevie Wonder school of soul, the joints on this record are so rich in authenticity and so nicely crafted that I cannot help but love their homage-like output. Like The Commodores, Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield all lovingly rolled into one, the music on this album is heartfelt and pure make-out session stuff, filled with warm electric piano, funky Moog bass and the odd shimmer of brass. The collective vocal harmonising of band members Dennis Dowlut, Jason Heerah and Aaron Mendoza is impressive. When added to their combined musical abilities these attributes are something sweet to behold – and the fact that this album was recorded in South Melbourne just adds to the city’s rep for producing real soul musicians. This album really works as a whole, with tunes like Baby Your Lovin, Brother and Have You Around really vibing that classic 1972-‘76 era of Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book through Innervisions albums.

TEXJAH

It was one hell of a double bill at HQ last Friday, with Evidence and Atmosphere rocking a huge show, and Onion’s writer Shane Scott was there to witness it all.

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