This year threw everything at the world of music, but the individual track stood tall against the storm. Singles are the blood of the underground, they’re energy exchanges, brimming with the possibilities of success. This list is full of sonic victories, heartfelt messages, and above all incredible composition – these are the best singles of … Continue reading THE TOP 10 SINGLES OF 2020
As singles continue to dominate charts and listeners’ attention, EPs are becoming more and more important. In the underground especially they’re a crucial platform for quick yet brilliant ideas, introductions and reintroductions, and lightning-in-a-bottle moments. 108MICS’ top five list is full of brilliant examples. These works are the best of a uniquely essential format; these … Continue reading THE TOP 5 EPs OF 2020
Vernacular represents the third time that the Lo$tboy$yndicate collective has featured on 108mics, and with their newest release the trio are more deserving of praise than ever. At seven tracks long, this is their best collection of music to date. Right out the gate, the ‘Syndicate’ prove that they’re not messing around. The raps are … Continue reading 2020 REVIEWS: LO$TBOY$YNDICATE – VERNACULAR
Perfect Chao’s new EP-going-on-mixtape is true to the artist’s name – charismatic and playful at every turn. Perfect Chao’s almost self-titled new project “Prfct!cha0” better captures nostalgia than any music released this year. The California musician uses synthetic sound palettes to illustrate generational yearning for colour and simplicity, contrasting this with blistering, euphoric drum and … Continue reading 2020 REVIEWS: PERFECT CHAO – PRFCT!CHA0
A producer almost a decade into the game, levitatingman’s work carries a serious legacy. An initial glance at his production credits will tell you that he’s worked with some of the most vital underground artists of the past 7 or 8 years, and his skills are only growing with each passing drop. I’ve caught up … Continue reading 2020 ARTIST INSIGHT: LEVITATINGMAN
Big Pete and Ell’s collaborative mixtape is anything but invisible – the record is a raucous twenty minutes of conspicuously stylish southern rap. Big Pete isn’t the type of rapper to dance around the beat on “Invisible Tops”. He’s technically proficient, sure – he rarely gives a line any less than enough room to play … Continue reading 2020 REVIEWS: BIG PETE & ELL – INVISIBLE TOPS
The title may convey grandiosity, but on his latest EP Bad Luck Ab gets straight to the point. Long Island rapper Bad Luck Ab is elastic on his recent EP, the eloquently titled “Bad Luck Scriptures: Essence of Earth”. Whilst the title seems dead set on divine aspirations, the content of the album is more … Continue reading 2020 REVIEWS: BAD LUCK AB – BAD LUCK SCRIPTURES: ESSENCE OF EARTH
The fifth mainline record from a charity supergroup reckons with Africa’s most populous nation, and its ongoing battle against state-sponsored persecution. We Like Chops make hard-hitting music. The group – more a global organisation than a collective – is composed of people who really know their way around a sampler, who know how to get … Continue reading 2020 REVIEWS: WE LIKE CHOPS – WE LIKE CHOPS V5: NIGERIA
Filipino act HAUTE COUTURE impresses, with disparate worlds of shoegaze and trap wrapped into one melancholy adventure. November is a hell of a month. In the UK at least, things start to get cold, and dark, and isolated. But there’s also an obvious beauty about this time of year. There’s the comfort of finality with … Continue reading 2020 SINGLE REVIEWS: HAUTE COUTURE – WINTER SOLSTICE W/ SHUICHI
One of the most exciting production cliques in operation right now, MasterCardBoyz haven’t skipped a beat on the seventh installment of their instrumental series. More condensed than June’s monolithic Vol. 5 and a slightly longer offering than Vol. 6, this might be just be the collective’s most essential work yet. As with previous installments, production … Continue reading 2020 REVIEWS: MASTERCARDBOYZ – MASTERCARDBOYZ VOL. 7
