Dro Carey & Pinz – Hellish Plasma
Sharp-as-nails breakbeat-meets-punk from Sydney’s Dro Carey (Eugene Ward), in collaboration with fellow Sydneysider Pinz (producer and vocalist Andy Lowe). I first became aware of Dro Carey’s work a little over a decade ago via his collaborations with the late genius Napolian (Ian Evans), whose unfairly limited catalog I hold incredibly dear. This track is the first single from Ward’s latest album, Denim Iron, which is blistering, kinetic stuff–and which actually features a lost collaboration with Evans from 2013, lovingly completed in 2025 by Ward alone, in Evans’ absence. The whole album is absolutely worth your time, but this first single is without doubt among its high points. Grab Denim Iron on bandcamp or find it for streaming all over. I was also kindly permitted to share with you the mp3 of the single below.
Dro Carey & Pinz – “Hellish Plasma”
Feadz – Mecanic
It was really fun to see a song from French legend Feadz (Fabien Pianta) in my mailbox last week. For those who may not remember (or whose consciousness had yet to emerge 20 years ago), Pianta was a central member of the Ed Banger crew in the early 2000s, notably producing almost all of Uffie’s early work. Before that, he released a series of great records on Ellen Alien’s BPtich Control imprint. Always one to defy genre boundaries, this latest three-tracker–the Mizuno EP, released on the ever-consistent Moveltraxx–finds Pianta stuffing everything from acid, footwork, 80s hiphop, rave, and turntablism into a single petite parcel. As he was always adept at doing, Pianta manages here to subvert expectations and deliver something supremely fun and unpretentious. Grab this on bandcamp or for streaming via the usual outlets.
Feadz – “Mecanic”
Nectax – Cool Runnings
Last up today is an excellent new two-tracker from Newcastle-born, Naarm-based Nectax (Oliver Underhill). The A-side here is a refreshingly controlled mid-90s-style jungle workout, orbiting the Goldilocks zone between throwback and innovation. The B-side finds the modern-day legend Fracture (whose Astrophonica imprint consistently ranks among my favorites of the past decade) delivering a remix that does what he is wont to do: push the envelope, morphing the track into a restrained four-to-the-floor/jungle hybrid. Grab the record on bandcamp from Milan’s Beat Machine Records, or find it for streaming.
Nectax – “Cool Runnings”
Nectax – “Cool Runnings” (Fracture Remix)
PS. Apropos of the above song title, did you know that the famous 1988 Jamaican bobsleigh team was financed by disgraced late commodities trader Marc Rich after a decade of making shady oil and alumina deals with the Jamaican government? There’s a good Freakonomics episode about it that I can recommend.