The 7 best underground dance tracks of October

Given the sheer volume of new music that comes out every day, sifting through the filler to find gems for your record bag, USB stick or iTunes collection can be a real time drain. Luckily inthemix’s resident music nerd ANDREW WOWK is happy to carry some of the burden, by picking out the underground cuts from the last month that you need to hear. Get acquainted below.

#1 Marshall Applewhite & The Friend – ‘Where Is Harry Truman?’

Two masters of the “Sludge” sound – the slow, low-down, gritty, and dark wave of house and techno that takes its influences from electro, EBM and industrial – join forces to create a deadly late night acid-fueled stomper full of attitude.

#2 Code 23 – ‘Want My Love’

There’s no denying that old school rave influences are back in a big way at the moment, and some of the best nods to the 90’s are coming from breaks and drum & bass producers. S.P.Y. and Shadow Child come together as Code 23, producing a heavy hardcore breakbeat stormer complete with chopped-up apache and amen breaks, distorted sub bass hits and vocal hits.

#3 Bjarki – ‘Æ’

The Icelandic prodigy who broke onto the global techno scene last year with I Wanna Go Bang has released three full-length albums in as many months on Nina Kraviz’s label, and they show a depth and breadth to his sound that many may not have realised he has. Æ is a beautiful slice of four-to-the-floor electronica that combines subtle breakbeats with lush pads, warm bass and dreamy atmospherics.

#4 Fur Coat – ‘Twenty Eight’

Spain’s Fur Coat are at the forefront of the new breed of producers blending elements of progressive and tech house into a stripped-down, rolling sound that is equal parts heady and heavy. Twenty Eight uses its simple, minimal percussion to great effect, leaving plenty of room for moody chords and a driving, punchy bassline to snake their way in and out of the mix.

#5 Om Unit – ‘Fuzzd An Soup’

Expertly blending elements of the past, present and future in his music, Om Unit creates a unique sound that skirts the edges of drum & bass, jungle, footwork and future beats. Taken from the third release in his Torchlight series, Fuzzd An Soup layers tribal percussion over steppy beats, heavy sub bass, and wonky blips and bleeps.

#6 Michael Mayer & Barnt – ‘Und Da Stehen Fremde Menschen’

The legendary Michael Mayer is back with a new album on !K7 recordings, which seems him teaming up with a laundry-list of his contemporaries for some of the best music of his career. His collaboration with Barnt is a deep, hypnotic trip through haunting synths, chunky percussion and a punchy, incessant bassline.

#7 Abstraxion – ‘Just What I’ve Always Wanted’

A wonderful piece of emotive, swirling electronica that is made for headphone listening. Layers of swirling chords, trippy guitar plucks, echoed vocal cries, and spaced-out effects saturate the mix, while a round baseline and crisp percussion cut through the white noise.

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