Lee Bannon has earned his corn and rep as an astute, agile producer whose beats add smartly coated oomph to work by Joey Badass, Busta Rhymes and others. Here the New York-based producer demonstrates another set of smarts, pushing and pulling at jungle drum'n'bass and rave templates until something new falls into place. The jittery and glitchy patterns suit Bannon's nimble ears as he turns rugged, rough and grimey sounds into barnstorming, dark and complex grooves. You can hear his hip-hop lineage in the gigantic wallop he applies to NW/WB, but there are equally supersized strides taken and ideas executed on the likes of 216 and Resorectah. There's no doubt Bannon knows his rave and hardcore history, but the freshness with which he approaches this material is both impressive and audacious. soundcloud.com/bannon
Download: Resorectah, 216, NW/WB