It's my birthday this week. I won't tell you how old I am, but I've been digging through this scene for well over 13 years, which is longer than some of the people on TikTok saying it's weird to still be raving past 28 have been allowed to cross the road on their own. Weird? If anything, it gets better. You spend less time getting battered with your mates and more time actually getting into the music (mostly). Anyway, I'm not entirely sure what the point of this intro was. Onto the music.

Record of the Week: Sammy Virji - Light Work

Sammy Virji dropped a surprise album this week, announcing it at a London pop-up with 90 minutes' notice, which is the musical equivalent of telling your mum you're bringing six mates home for tea. Open Late is meant to feel like being in the club while he's playing, complete with "weird key changes and moments in the breakdowns" that mimic his live sets. Light Work captures it best. Midway through there's a very Daft Punk-esque breakdown where the key shifts as if someone's leaning on the pitch fader of a CDJ, then it drops bass-heavy into Virji's own flavour of speed garage. It'll have you moving, and possibly pulling a bass face you'll regret seeing on someone's Instagram story. You have to know the rules very well to break them this nicely. Go and hear the full album.

You may remember me rambling about Casey Spillman getting Record of the Week a few weeks back, because it was Hessle Audio's first release in nearly a year. Well, the whole EP is here now, and Petunia is an absolute banger: gritty bass music with a dark melody laid over the top. I love this stuff.

The free downloads don't disappoint either: a mad, heavy dub of IPC's Memories and two more minimal garage records. Doktor - The Ward is one of my favourite free downloads I've featured on here in a while.

Plenty more to get your ears around.

Tom (japanese.knotweed)

The good: Serato DJ is now on iPhone and iPad, and there's a free version
Stems, FX, streaming from Spotify, SoundCloud, Beatport and more, plus support for over 120 controllers. DJ Suite subscribers get the full app at no extra cost. Bad news for whoever sits next to you on the bus.
Read it on rekkerd

The bad: A Hackney record shop that was there first now faces a licence review
The BBE Store opened in 2016, before the flats whose residents are now complaining about the noise. Over 2,500 people backed it in under a week. Moving next to a record shop and moaning about music is like moving next to a bakery and moaning about bread.
Read it on NTIA

The ugly: IAMDDB says the Israeli government turned her into an AI propaganda clip
The Manchester artist says an AI character built on her likeness appeared in a now-deleted video on the Israeli government's X account. "I did not authorise, approve, participate in, or consent to my image or likeness being used in this video."
Read it on DJ Mag

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Ben UFO @ Dekmantel (RADAR): If Ben drops a new set, it goes in the Set of the Week. That's the rule. I never tire of him: always the sickest selection, the best mixer this side of the Bake Off tent, and a crowd that is always into it. You'll notice something slightly off, though. Dekmantel has blurred the crowd's faces, which is probably sensible, and actually makes the whole thing look like an edgier music video.

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