On Our Radar: September 2021

Raised in Miami, Wave Point (born Bryan Jones) moved to Detroit to pursue his love of house, which he released under several aliases, most notably as one half of Golf Clap. Wave Point produces a unique brand of lo-fi house, and Bryan utilised lockdown to work on his debut album Higher Dimension, released on Even Smoother in March 2021. The album explores feel-good funk, including standouts like the title track left-field lounge-bass with “Different Sounds,” while “Feeling” uses brass and orchestral elements to add warmth and texture. The result is a subversive album that’s as suited to the dance floor as chilling at home with the gang.

Glasgow’s Anna Gram’s on a mission to bring expansive electronica to the masses. Also known as one half of Lezzer Quest, Anna’s long been an integral part of Scotland’s LGBTQI+ scene and recently teamed up with Bonzai Bonner to release her first single, “Heaven Help Me.” It’s a rolling, melodic house production, and the third track to appear on Anna’s debut Celestial Objects EP on Remmah. It’s a deep exploration of those foregone years where Orbital, Future Sound of London and Global Communication dominated our earholes. The precision and depth of production is so skilled, it never falls into nostalgia or cliché, instead feeling like a futuristic tribute to the era. Catch Anna Gram turning Glasgow’s dance floors inside out with her residency at SysGlasgow and in assorted venues across the UK.

“How the f*ck do I intro this guy?” Says Daytimers co-founder Provhat ahead of Yung Singh’s recent Boiler Room set. It’s a big question. London’s Yung Singh has spent the last two years bringing the sound of the South Asian underground to the masses, celebrating the vibrancy of his heritage with Punjabi garage alongside break, grime and hip hop for Rinse, Seoul Community Radio, Lobster Theramin and more. Yung Singh’s a driving force behind Daytimers, a UK collective that champions South Asian artists with events, mixes, radio shows and their recent Boiler Room. In September they’ll co-host Dialled In, a festival in Walthamstow that celebrates South Asian talent. Provhat finds a way to sum it up: ”I have honestly never met anyone who brings up their community like this guy. His rise as a DJ has been astronomical but he’s brought each and every single one of us along with him.”

The sound of South London DJ and singer Ell Murphy isn’t new to the dance floor. She’s been sharing high-octane UKG, break and jungle mixes on Peckham’s Balami radio for years, releasing tracks alongside DJ Crisps, Daffy, TSHA, & Bumpi Biznizz. If her debut EP Freedom on Time Is Now is anything to go by, Ell’s showing no signs of slowing down. With collabs from UKG heavy weights Stones Taro, Highrise and Tuff Trax, Ell’s cementing herself as a pillar of UK dance music. Radio 1’s Jaguar’s a fan – she features Ell’s tracks on Dance Floor Moments – and there’s more to come with releases lined up on Jucey Tunes and a collaboration with Dansu Discs. Ell Murphy’s one to watch, hear, and see.

BluePrint’s packed a lot in to his two decades on earth. His debut release, Context Is Everything gained instant support from The Blessed Madonna and Pete Tong, who then shared his mixes on their shows. Born and raised in Merseyside, BluePrint fell in love with dance music as a teen via Kölsch, Joris Voorn and Rex The Dog and soon turned to Ableton to try his hand at producing. His progressive, hypnotic house tunes soon caught the attention of Stress Records, Tinted Records and Toolroom. If 2020 gave BluePrint the time and space to perfect his production skills, then 2021 is all about his DJ sets. He played his debut Creamfields last month and released a “Sweatbox” mix for BBC Sounds, and there’s way more to come this year.

Described across all channels as an “enigmatic Russian techno head,” Dawn Razor is not for the faint of heart. His productions span straight and breakbeat techno, electro, mutated bass, post-trance and everything else in-between to create soundscapes that blur the line between dystopia and utopia. Dawn Razor’s become somewhat of a cult producer, releasing on Planet Rhythm, Arts and Otake Records since 2017. But Be As One 2 on Holding Hands Records is his Christmas number one, topping Beatport’s Breaks and Breakbeat charts late last year and cementing Dawn Razor’s reputation as one of Russia’s most versatile and unexpected producers.