Photo of Girl Unit by Steve Braiden

This month, a selection of some of the finest sounds around...

Girl Unit: "Wut" [Night Slugs]

Is this the tune of the year? Jam City's "Ecstasy Remix" and Addison Groove's "Footcrab" might argue otherwise, but it's in with a very good shout. If it cements itself in pole position it will be a testament to the power of Bok Bok and L-Vis 1990's Night Slugs camp-- and to the most exhilarating DJ on radio right now, Oneman. "Wut", with its epic synths, crunk claps, and warped R&B hooks simply floods into your soul when dropped. Wut ever you were just listening to, stop and get with Girl Unit.

Jamie Woon: "Night Air (Ramadanman Remix)" [Candence Music]

After the epic Burial remix three years ago, you would have thought it couldn't be repeatable, but Jamie Woon's done it again, this time letting himself be re-rubbed by the in-form Ramadanman. Woon's a white soul singer with a gospel voice, and the Hessle Henchman's remix is 110 bpm house, so it's not clear what this says about the state of what is or indeed was dubstep in 2010, beyond the obvious lack of definition and surge in quality. The "Night Air" remix is as epic as it is haunting, part Burial part Romanthony circa "The Wanderer (Temple Vox Mix)". Let it into your life and you too will "acquire a kind of madness..."

Don Strapzy: "Tears From Da Heart"

When an underground hood video gets over 140,000 YouTube views in five months, it's hard to deny something's bubbling under London's streets. This new movement shares slang, demographic, and lyrical content with grime but is spat over locally made hip-hop beats, articulating their rhymes at the expense of grime's verbal impact. Drawing parallels with how dubbage producers went back to trad house in the face of UK funky, an audience that might once have listened to grime have returned to hip-hop and made it their own. And, as "Tears From Da Heart" recognizes, it's not afraid to express sorrow, a brave emotional admission not seen in grime since Dizzee Rascal's "Brand New Day".

Jamie xx: "Far Nearer" [Numbers]

Steel drums? Oh yes. Euphoric 2step? Double yes from Mr. xx himself, on his debut solo single-- forthcoming on Numbers. The interesting thing about "Far Nearer" is that, unlike say the xx's covers of "You've Got the Love" or "Teardrops"-- both of which forsake percussive propulsion-- this track does real damage in clubs with a lilting soca beat and a warm infectious steel pan riff.

Mickey Pearce: "What's Mickey Talkin' About?" / Brackles & Shortstuff: "Good Foundations featuring Terrible Shock" [Blunted Robots]

It's fair to say that in 2009 Shortstuff, Brackles, and his brother Martin Kemp were ahead of the game, if the name of the game was to make mutant funky with early dubstep-inspired sub bass. And while many other producers have grabbed more headlines of late, this pair of productions from the Blunted Robots camp goes a long way to addressing the balance. "Good Foundations" is a ludicrously infectious groove, with catchy bars from Terrible Shock and an arpeggio-laced remix from and the remix by Doc Daneeka.

And if that quality isn't enough, check "What's Mickey Talking About?" from the mysterious Robot, Mickey Pearce. A bootleg using the a cappella of Redlight and Ms Dynamite's "What You Talking About?", it sounds as if Wiley had been inventing UK funky, not eski, in 2003. With tough, swung donks it causes the kind of WTF damage in clubs only Untold can get near of late.

The Fives [ft. Vanya Taylor]: "It's What You Do (Hottest By Far)"

If there's any of London's urban genres naturally set up to produce pop hits, it's UK funky, yet it has some way to go if it's to replicate the chart success of its older brother UK garage. "It's What You Do" does more than its bit to redress this by having not one but two catchy choruses, back to back. Brash and seductive, it's the kind of underground pop record that you take to your heart when discovered deep in the underground but by the time it gets to daytime on Housewife FM, it feels dirty and cheap. Get seduced now before it's too late.

Becoming Real [ft. Trim]: "Showdown in Chinatown" / "Like Me____"

If there's something lacking grime it's the jaw-dropping factor so present in early phases. Thankfully Trim's become the go-to guy for producers unafraid to take risks of late, be it Mumdance's "Acid Techno" [ft. Trim] or Becoming Real's pair of tracks with IoD's finest wordsmith. Coming like fragmented 8bit R&B, "Showdown in Chinatown" is malevolent and jumbled, in the nicest possible way. "Like Me" is sharp, jagged and more than a touch reminiscent of Wiley's "Icerink"-- surely one of grime's greatest WTF riddims-- and Zomby, marking Becoming Real as producers to watch. Trim's legend status remains unchanged.

The next release on Keysound Recordings is LHF "EP2: The Line Path". Download Dusk + Blackdown's latest Rinse FM show here...