Weekly Roundup: 2nd August 2019

Welcome to the Bleep Weekly Roundup, our guide to the best new releases. Our album of the week this week is from saxophonist Nubya Garcia's group Nérija produced by Kwes. Our EP of the week comes from Itoa & Bad Taste Records boss Lean Low with an EP moving beyond genre classification in a way befitting its anything-goes, no-nonsense dancefloor magnetism.

Elsewhere this week we have fresh remixes from Thom Yorke’s Anima album, now available in a limited deluxe edition while stocks last. Hyperdub’s new spoken word focussed sub-label, Dorian Concept’s return to Brainfeeder and Inna Duppy SKRS Soundclash on Bokeh Versions. Be sure to check out our format roundup too for our selection of the best cassettes this year.

Our Bleep Mix this week comes from Activia Benz label boss and producer of many styles: Slugabed.

Album of the Week

Nérija – Blume

It’s easy to argue that jazz is once again having its moment in the sun, but for those who know where to look, its solidity as one of the 20th century’s defining art forms extends well into the 21st. As for the future, you’d be hard-pressed to think back on a more scene-defining septet than London’s Nérija, even with the city’s years-strong, zero-shortage pool of talent. What’s more, Nérija’s LP Blume, a ten-fold expansion on their scintillating Domino self-titled debut EP, might just go the length to cement their legacy.

Single / EP of the Week

Itoa & Lean Low – Icy

What makes the pairing of London-based producers/DJs Itoa and Lean Low so significant is the revelatory unity of their individual styles. Itoa — aka Alex Godoy, according to the only vague sources readily available — loudly made his name in the left-field clubs of London by mixing Jamaican sound system bombast with the comparable high-energy chicanery of footwork and juke, putting his breakneck speed cuts on lock with 2016’s Persuasive Percussion. Meanwhile, serial collaborator Lean Low proves harder to pin down, having worked in multifarious veins of off-kilter trap instrumentals and left of centre UK funky and garage, joining forces with the likes of DJ Dubplates, Walter Ego and vocalists Gavlyn, Slick Don and Blimes.