US label Dubporn have been impressing of late and the recent Imaginary Friend and Innana releases showed a label with an ear for new talent.

The latest to join their roster are Fau & Deam, a new name but one that’s sure to be making it’s mark in 2012. Across the EP’s six tracks, elements of dark house, garage, electronica and even dub float around, all easing their way into the mix.

Check out sub bass monster “Blank Faces” below.

You can pick up the EP now at Boomkat and grab a freebie in the shape of bonus track “Tomorrow’s Always Better” below.

Edinburgh’s Profisee has a history of quality beats with the Scotland Yard Emcees, The Great Ezcape and guest vocal work for the likes of Neil Landstrumm and Hexstatic. He also delivered a brilliant EP in the shape of “Logan’s Run” for our Phuturelabs label.

2012 however is the year where he stands at the forefront and finally releases his debut solo album – “From All Angles”. A taster appeared at the end of last year in the shape of the Dam Mantle produced “Mind Over Matter”.

The next installment to appear is the Starkey produced “Hold Up”. Set for release on February 20th through Edinburgh label Abaga Records, the pack comes filled to the brim with remixes from local talent including Tactus and The Setup. The real gem however is the original and sees Prof’s brilliant vocal expertly placed inside Starkey’s dubstep tinged backing.

Profisee’s also been giving away some unreleased gems via his Soundcloud, the latest of which is the brilliant “Demons” from the unreleased “Scotland Yard LP”. Hop on over and scoop the rest up before they go.

Italian producer Seth first came to our attention in November when we heard his “Cloud Gazing” EP on Skint Records offshoot Under 5′s. Composed of a variety of cross genre sounds it was an excellent debut which was also accompanied by an excellent video.

Fast forward a couple of months and we have managed to catch up with the producer to get the low down on what makes him tick while also securing an exclusive mix for our Test Tube podcast series.

Download Seth’s Test Tube mix or stream via the nifty Mixcloud player below (jump to tracklist) and read on to hear what he had to say.

There is not too much out there about you so can you give us a quick rundown of who you are?

I’ve been doing music for quite a while, going through different genres from dnb to electrohouse for example with the alias Pink a pad’s (a duo with the producer Iamseife). Then I started my own solo material.

I signed my first tracks to a label in 2009 but unfortunately they waited over a year to release it and I almost forgot about it. Now I’m producing, djing and working as sound designer for advertisments, movies and installations.

You have worked with Under 5′s, sub label of the legendary Skint Records? How did that come about? 

I didn’t know whether to send my ep to Skint or not as I didn’t think I’d ever hear back. After less than three days however I got a mail from Richard at the label telling me he really liked the material. Shortly after that I was offered a remix for Skint, they believe in my music and their team is great, they’re a bit “like a family”.

Do you hang with the Fat Boy much?

I remember I was in secondary school listening to his music, I was drawing out a kind of sequencer on paper to try to understand how he put the snare in “Push The Tempo”. Then I was coming back home and trying to do that on my MC-505. It was what turned me from rock’n'roll to electronic and resampling music.

What do we have to look forward to in 2012?

I’m getting a new EP together, then I’m working on a very special collaboration, it’s still in construction for the moment, but it’s going to be finished soon.

What was the music that ignited the DJ and production fires in you?

In the beginning it was The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Aphex Twin and so on. I grew up with that when I was 15.

Then I started to turn more in club music like breakbeat (Atomic Hooligan, NAPT, Stanton Warriors etc) then Drum’n'Bass and I fell in love with Hospital Records releases from London Elektricity, Nu Tone, Logistics, Cyantific then onto a bit of everything from the UK scene to the Berlin’s vibes passing all over the “good music”..

You have put out some great videos with your tracks so far, how did that come about and who is responsible for them?

Her name is Rahel Ali. We worked on a short movie together for a University project and she was the sound engineer. We had great time working together and I knew she was a talented photographer and film maker.

When we finished that project we decided to work together again in the future, but in a more creative way.So as I finished the tune “Coquette”, I sent it to Rahel to find out what she though. She immediately had an idea for an underwater vibe for the video and shot between Istanbul and Dub. I think she’s great and I’m looking forward to working with her again soon.

How does your production process work? Program and equipment wise?

I’m working much with Ableton Live rewired from Logic and a couple of hardware synths. I’m working a lot with software though so when I play out I like to use CDs or vinyl, I’m spending too much time in front of a computer monitor and like to get away from it.

Who are the producers and DJ’s at the moment who are really pushing your buttons?

Sepalcure, Submerse, George Fitzerald, Anex, Crypt, 2562, Joy Orbison, Ghostek, Volor Flex, Encode, Dark Sky, Powder Hill, Hybu, Made and much more!

Tell us a little about the mix you did for our podcast series.

I just turned up the mixer and started to play some tunes that I was in the mood to mix and to listen to. I usually adapt my set for the club, crowd, line up etc but when I do mixes like this one here, it’s just me, so it’s more like the music I like with no rules, I hope your gonna like it.

What advice would you give to any budding bedroom producers?

Right now it’s so easy to find ways to do music, I mean, one pc, two pieces of cracked software and that’s it, you don’t really need a studio, professional gear etc. All you need is passion. The music is already inside you, you just have to find your best way to create it.

If you were to be transported to a Lab in the Phuture and a mysteriously crazy scientist were to grant you one superpower – which would you choose?

Since I was a child I’ve known the answer to this question! If being invisible includes even to pass through the walls, I’m going for that! Otherwise I wanna fly

Mix tracklisting

1   Intro –  Cyrus – Manhatten Blues 
2   Mike Dehnert – Moment
3   A Made Up Sound – Cange
4   Sepalcure – Love Pressure
5   Submerse – 2ru Groove (Duncan Powell Remix)
6   Cosmin TRG – Now You Know
7   Mosca – Orange Jack
8   Beastie Respond - Syncopy_(Blawans Trecther Mechanica)
9   2562 – Yes/No
10 Martyn – Vancouver (2562 Remix)
11 Havantepe – Butterfly
12 Zack Marullo – Pumpydum (Domyan Remix)
13 Hatikvah - In The Spirit (Rod Modell  Deepchord Detroit Kinematic Mix) 
15 Lusine – Two Dots
16 George Fitzgerald – Don’t You (SCB Edit)
17 Scuba – Lights out
18 Starkey – Lost in Space (ft.Charli XCX) (Darling Farah Remix)
19 Roof Light – Around Here

Ifan Dafydd looks likely to force his way to the front of a busy pack following a couple of rather huge bootleg remixes last year and dj support from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Jamie XX and Sinden and this hugely impressive 12″ on Push and Run.

His smokey garage tinged beats have rightly been likened to the work of James Blake but this outing, his first official release, shows that he’s his own man with a mark to be made on the world.

First track “Treehouse” takes a moody garage lean and slowly fills out, adding layer upon layer before hitting its peak. “To Me” follows and muddies the waters a little, driven by a short piano hook but underpinned with enough sub bass to keep a Funktion One system happy.

It’s a brilliant debut that will ensure you keep an eye on this young producer throughout the year. Released on vinyl on 30th January with digital to follow on Feb 6th.

Glasgow dwellers can catch Ifan making his Scottish debut for Mixed Bizness at the Glasgow School of Art on Feb 9th.

Well if you were living under a rock and missed any of Om Unit’s brilliant 2011 releases, here’s a rather tasty mix courtesy of Kid Kameleon that should bring you right up to date.

Showcasing the producer’s brilliant talent for dodging pigeonholes and taking in elements of electro, dubstep, IDM and most other electronic music genres, each track is more than worthy of its space on the mix with absolutely no fillers.

01. Om Unit – Naiad
02. Om Unit vs. Kromestar – Merkabah
03. Krampfhaft – I Needed You (Om Unit Remix)
04. Om Unit – Fibonnaci 10
05. Comma – Mezcal Hologram (Om Unit Remix)
06. Om Unit – An Eternal Way
07. Silent Dust – The Giant (Om Unit Remix)
08. Ital Tek – War of the Ants (Om Unit Remix)
09. Arp 101 And Om Unit – Dr Funkenstein
10. Om Unit – Cold World
11. Starkey – Lost in Space (feat. Charli XCX) (Om Unit Remix)
12. Take – Juniper (Om Unit Remix)
13. Pixelord – Cybernator (Om Unit Remix)
14. Om Unit – Prawn Cocktail
15. Om Unit – The Timps (Alternative Version)
16. Om Unit x Lorn – Obsidian

We have had a great response to our 2011 lists so far and as its coming up to Hogmanay (Scottish for New Year) we thought we would pick out some of our favourite mixes of the year to either get the party started or keep the party going.

There have been hundreds of quality mixes and live sets this year with the like of Fabric, FACT, XLR8R really upping the anti as well as the artists themselves putting things out there.

First in is one of our favourite DJ’s and a man to get any party started, Jackmaster. After his triumphant Fabric mix CD the boy is back with a belter for Resident Advisor. Party vibes all the way. Click for a tracklisting.

Jackmaster – Resident Advisor Mix 289

We have waxed lyrical about Scuba all year and we also love when he gets his SCB suit out for a bit of techno nonsense. Delighted we were, when he did a mix for XLR8R this year that contained many of his own productions

Paul Woolford had a massive resurgence in 2011. His productions were top class and he started to make a move towards a more eclectic DJing style covering not only techno and house but also some bass flavours. This epic mix from Berghain is vinyl only and is sure to make the party happen.

We had great fun listening to RinseFM this year and the Numbers show was always a highlight. Great banter and interesting guests. They managed to get Ben UFO, Floating Points, Jackmaster, Spencer, Joy Orbison, Pearson Sound and Bok Bok all in the studio at one time……what a show!

Rinse FM – Tuesday 30th August 2011 – Ben UFO, Floating Points, Pearson Sound, Bok Bok, Joy Orbison, Jackmaster & Spencer

One of the best DJ’s we saw live this year was Levon Vincent. If you know his awesome productions then his DJ sets are just an extension of these. He did this to celebrate his Novel Sound label. Banging.

On one of his many visits to Glasgow, Andy Weatherall played Melting Pot to a packed crowed. Is was a blinder with a dark slow house and disco vibe. We just had to search out a similar and found one from Disco Deviant earlier this year. Brilliant!

Rounding this off we’ve got a rather tasty Essential Mix from Jamie XX. The man had a phenomenal year and proved himself as more than competent on the 1s and 2s.

Kicking off with an Orbital classic and moving through some amazing house, techno and other bass driven shenanigans, it’s a bit of a belter. Click for tracklist.

Well, as 2011 draws to a close, it’s time for us to look back on some of our favourite tunes from the year.

It’s been another 12 months of brilliant music and here’s ten of our favourites, in no particular order because putting a number on art is nonsense, or something.

Joe Goddard – Gabriel

As if the big man wasn’t busy enough with Hot Chip and The 2 Bears, he also turned out this monster slab of house goodness on his lonesome. With a vocal hook to die for, it also had a bundle of remixes from the likes of Seiji and Compound One which further extended it’s life cycle.

Africa Hitech – Out In The Streets

Although dubstep and 140 based beats took a bit of a dive in 2011, there were still some producers churning out quality beats within the genre.

Mark Pritchard and Steve Spacek’s brilliant Africa Hitech project produced this absolute monster – turn yer bass to 11.

Jamie Woon – Lady Luck (Hudson Mohawke rmx)

Woon’s original was pretty damn good but when Hud Mo sprinkled his magic on top, it was as if the skies opened and went “ahhhhhh”. Simply brilliant.

Lory D – Acidronix

No messing about – bangin’ acid at it’s finest. Click play and within 10 seconds you’ve got your eyes shut and a fist in the air. Just one of the many brilliant releases from Numbers in 2011.

Blawan – Getting Me Down

Its was an exceptional year for Blawan not only for his solo work but also as part of Karenn.

The pinnacle of his work so far was “Getting Me Down” which leans heavily towards a garage vibe with the infectious vocal sample that blew up every dance floor it touched.

Daphni – Ye Ye

Another producer who keeps getting better and better is Caribou. In 2011 he unleashed his Daphni moniker with his eyes firmly set on house and afro beat productions.

If this is the shape of things to come then Daphni is going to do big things in the next 12 months.

Julio Bashmore – Battle For Middle You

2011 was the year when many dubstep producers started heading down more house and techno avenues, Bashmore was one of these producers and perhaps the finest to move over to the 4/4. This track almost slipped past as it came out in January, but it still finds its way into the sets of many.

The long synth notes, echoing vocal and subtle drums combine to make this track a thing of beauty. We expect big things from Julio Bashmore in 2012.

Junior Boys – You’ll Improve Me (Caribou Remix)

A late one to the party this as it only came out in the last few weeks but every time it graces the speakers its stock rises. The electronic pop act Junior Boys always seems to produce tunes that are primed for a remix and when they gave the reins to Caribou it could not have been in better hands.

Starting slow and soft the tunes rises up to an acid filled crescendo a mear 6 minutes in. Joy!

Jamie XX – Far Nearer

One of the most uplifting tunes of 2011 had to be Jamie XX‘s “Far Nearer”. It’s had been played by many a DJ in their set and captured the crowds imagination with the use of steel drums and pitched down vocals.

Then with almost no promo and activity the Numbers crew just released it. It puts a smile on our faces every time.

Last Christmas, instead of giving you his heart, Skream delivered the goody bag that was “The Freeizm Album” (you can also still grab Vol 1 and Vols 2 & 3). This year he donned his Santa hat again to offer up a lesson in the history of dubstep.

Digging into his hard drive he’s zipped up 11 unreleased tracks from between 2004 and 2006 that offer an insight into the origins of the genre and include some of his finest moments.

Download Skream – Freeizm History

And here’s a couple of my favourites to give you a taster

Skream – Sound Trak

Skream – Potent Cloud

Greek producer Imaginary Friend is a new name on me, his debut album “Dark Matter” however has swiftly placed him into the list of “ones to watch for 2012″.

Over the 11 tracks contained within, the producer showcases his talent to take in elements of house, techno, dubstep and dark electronica and spin them into his unique output.

From the downtempo dub flavours of “No Need To Change” to the spacey chopped beats of “Exploration of Science”, it’s a cracking piece of work and works well as a long-player that deserves your attention from start to finish.

Out now on Dubporn Records.

With a new EP landing on December 12th through Rwina, Glasgow-based producer Taz Buckfaster’s set to bring a successful 2011 year to an end and nicely whets everyone’s appetite for more new material in 2012.

As a wee bonus, he’s sneaked out this quality freebie (courtesy of XLR8R) and it’s a bit of a belter. A big chunky 8-bit style synth hook wanders over thumping drums and a sea of sub bass deep enough to drown any winter woes.

Taz Buckfaster – She Makes Me

Here’s a preview of the EP entitled “Neurotica”: