On Our Radar: July 2021

DJ Polo’s defining the new sound of UK funky and invites the biggest names in gqom, kuduro and afrobeat to bring the heat to his home city of Bristol in his aptly named UK Funky Party. A Club Djembe resident and regular on Rinse and SWU FM, DJ Polo loves a good MC, which is why he invited MC Ramzee to add some adrenaline to his 2021 summer anthem “Funky Party.” With releases on Roska’s Kicks and Snares, More Time Records and Super Kitchen, he teamed up with Tribal Brothers for his latest release on Livity Sound to create a homage to the pirate radio sets of the ’90s and the garage scene of the early 2000s. Don’t forget your suncream, it’s an absolute scorcher.

AP & Husko are driving the nu disco party train, producing tracks so euphoric even the most serious techno head will get lost in their groove. “You” on Pommes Frite has made waves the world over with just about every disco act poised to drop it during their next day-party set. No wonder their tracks are so summer-friendly — the pair hail from Malta and grew up on a diet of house, funk, disco and relentless sunshine. They recently released their double track EP “Round The Bend” on Monki’s &Friends label, as well as tracks on Bump Cut Records, Sour Edits and Glasgow Underground. Their music’s pretty irresistible, especially when the sun’s out — and Annie Mac, Denis Sulta and Danny Howard agree.

Sarah Story didn’t sit on her laurels during lockdown — instead, she flexed her radio skills on BBC Radio 1’s Future Dance, stepped in to cover Annie Mac’s Dance Party while she was on her holiday and launched her own podcast series, BACKSTORY. Sarah’s a deft DJ — she plays upbeat house, funk, garage and disco, but she doesn’t stop there. She also hosts discussions and workshops with Level Up, an initiative to give women and non-binary people a step up in the music industry. With previous stints on Capital FM, Sarah’s a singer too and performs at festivals across Europe, and she hosts Brits Week. As you can see, unstoppable doesn’t quite cut it.

Eden Prince is on a mission to brighten up the world post-lockdown; he’s the musical equivalent of a fresh sea breeze on a hot day. The London-based artist released his first EP Memories in summer 2020, harnessing the energy of the Black Lives Matter movement to create a homage to house, exploring the ways in which the genre has existed and resisted. His open, expressive production style has won him hundreds of thousands of streams as well as recent releases on Axtone, Big Beat and Parlophone. In April he released “Love You Again” on Defected’s sub label D4 D4NCE and “Hang Tight” is out now on SOLOTOKO.

Ten Toes Audio, Deviant Audio and Sweat Equity NYC all agree that producer/DJ/multimedia artist Bell Curve has more than her fair share of talent. The New York-based artist and Worst Behavior label head produces a fusion of jungle, grime, dancehall and footwork and everything else in-between. On 15th June she released her debut album Unstable Orbit on Worst Behavior with the single track “Lifted” featuring Rider Shafique MC hailed a reggae-ton gem. Isabel plans to release visual art to run alongside every track in the coming months. In just over 2 years Worst Behavior’s become a reputable rave-head label and the rest of the world is catching on fast, with guest mixes and appearances on Rinse FM, Magnetic Mag, DJMag and Groove Mag.

Black Cadmium is the moniker for Joginda Macnack and Mike Richards, two Dutch DJs, producers and radio hosts of Surinamese descent who create authentic and emotive dance tunes. They’ve released tracks on Naive, Variety Music, Vault Wax and are heavily influenced by the rich underground of London and Detroit. Their hi-tec, grimy house is cultured and intuitive, a product of the gritty ‘90s era they grew up in. Listen to their recent release on Art Creations Vol. 5, a hypnotic, deep house zinger that’ll warm you up for their I Told Ya EP which came out in June on Vault Wax. Expect five fine, future-facing cuts inspired by the deep house, techno and electro of ‘90s Detroit.

Alice Austin is a freelance writer from London, based in Berlin. She writes for Mixmag, Beatportal, Huck, Dummy, Electronic Beats, and more. She likes to explore politics and youth culture through the lens of music, a vocation that has led her round the world. She can be reached and/or followed via Twitter and Instagram.