The 10 Best
By Dummy
The 10 Best Garage Remixes, according to Conducta
Conducta is the producer leading the charge for the new school of UK garage. The Bristol-born artist started making his own music aged 15 - guided by a love of early R&B and New Jack Swing as much as Sweet Female Attitude and DJ EZ. Conducta’s debut single, ‘Change My World’, caught the ears of legends he’d long admired like Tuff Jam, MJ Cole, Craig David and Artful Dodger. ‘Ladbroke Grove’, his hit with AJ Tracey went double platinum, and it’s been pointed out that it will have streamed more than Daniel Bedingfield’s ‘Gotta Get Thru This'. As well as making his own music, Conducta heads up Kiwi Rekords - a growing family that includes Sammy Virji, Prescribe Da Vibe and Sharda. Through the label he’s been nurturing new talent via his Kiwi Kup remix contest, and keeping people sane throughout the pandemic by throwing his Conducta’s Crib livestream series. The prince of UKG has been called on to put a garage spin on hits like ‘Boasty’, J Hus’s ‘Did You See’ and more recently, Headie One’s ‘Aint It Different’. As someone with an encyclopedic knowledge of the genre, we asked the 2-step obsessive to name his favourite garage remixes. Discover more on dummymag.com.
The 10 Best Vinyl Releases, according to Kelly Lee Owens
Genre-blurring producer and vocalist Kelly Lee Owens makes music that - in her words - is to “dance & cry in the club to”. Her most recent album, ‘Inner Song’, was written following the hardest three years of her life, and it finds her processing that trauma via hypnotising loops and tight pop structures although there are some straight-up techno tracks in there too. Born in Wales, Kelly Lee Owens used to work as an auxiliary nurse in a cancer ward in Manchester before moving to London and pursuing music. Her self-titled debut album, filled with dreamy pop-influenced techno, marked her out as a talented artist to watch, and she’s since come to collaborate with Jon Hopkins, St. Vincent and Björk. A self-proclaimed “record nerd”, Owens spent a long time working behind the counters of some of the country’s best record shops. Her obsession with wax and all things analogue made her the perfect choice to speak about her favourite vinyl releases. Discover more on dummymag.com.
The 10 Best Production Hooks, according to Jae5
Also known as Jae5, Jonathan Mensah is the producer who has undeniably shaped UK music as we know it right now. He’s best known for collaborating closely with J Hus and helping bring afrobeats into the wider consciousness, firstly on debut mixtape ‘The 15th Day’, which he followed up with ‘Common Sense’ and more recently ‘Big Conspiracy’. With Jae5’s bright, instrument and texture-filled productions, they’re a series of records that would go on to define a whole new sound, whether you want to call it afrobashment, afrobeats or afroswing. Born in Ghana, Jae5 moved to East London as a kid before going back to West Africa and getting into production while he was bored out there, not realising the impact downloading a cracked copy of some software would have. His sound is a product of that cross-continent upbringing, fusing hiplife with UK garage, dubstep, bashment, grime and hip-hop. His musical arrangements have found him equally as comfortable producing for huge pop names like Jess Glynne as well as artists like Burna Boy and NSG. As someone who knows a good production hook when he sees one, we asked Jae5 to name his favourites. Discover more on dummymag.com.
The 10 Best Video Game Soundtracks, according to Daniel Avery
Daniel Avery is the UK producer and DJ behind some of electronic music’s most unique and inspiring cuts. His 2013 record ‘Drone Logic’ was a landmark debut album, combining electro, acid and no-nonsense techno, released via Erol Alkan’s Phantasy Sound, the label he would go on to build a longstanding relationship with. Avery followed that up with ‘Song For Alpha’ in 2018 and a joint record with Nine Inch Nails keyboardist Alessandro Cortini. His surprise third studio album, ‘Love + Light’, emerged over the first lockdown. Avery didn’t come from a techno background, growing up on guitar music like Black Sabbath and Kyuss as well as glitchy electronica like Squarepusher. He first started DJing aged 18 at alternative club night Project Mayhem in Bournemouth, his hometown. This would eventually lead to an opening slot at Fabric - and later, a residency. Avery was championed early on by the late, great Andrew Weatherall (who once described his sound as "gimmick-free machine-funk of the highest order"). After his passing earlier this year, Avery released a tribute to him, the melancholy but playful ‘Lone Swordsman’. Though it’s club-influenced, Avery’s music has always taken inspiration from other realms of sound, including his rock past and video game soundtracks - and it’s this topic that we’re exploring on this episode.
Discover more on dummymag.com.
The 10 Best Tracks To Cry To, according to Arlo Parks
For the first episode in the series we meet songwriter, poet, visual artist and mental health ambassador Arlo Parks. Since writing from her South West London bedroom aged ten, she’s channelled her thoughtful and sensitive nature into confessional, coming-of-age music. It’s music that’s resonated not just with her fellow Gen Z-ers but the world at large. At only 19 years-old, she’s been added to practically every 2020 tip list going, even winning a fan in Michelle Obama. Her music inspires a wide range of emotions – including, naturally, sadness. With that in mind, we talked through Arlo Parks’ favourite tracks to cry to. Discover more on dummymag.com.