We're officially in the final month of 2025! 🫨
It's also Monday, which means new BBB time - enjoy! 🗞️✨
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NEWS
Vaultage 004 release date
It's the one we've all been waiting for. The fourth instalment of Space Laces' Vaultage mini-mix series will be dropping this Thursday, 4th December. Mr Laces, real name Ian Slider, took to social media last week to share said release date along with the artwork - a mammoth-sized, thunder-engulfed werewolf bellowing at a sword-bearing warrior, with the caption '32 demos and rarities unleashed from the vault' stamped in the top left.
He celebrated the upcoming release in style with a show at Mission Ballroom in Denver on Saturday, where he played the Vaultage 004 tracks out for the first time. The night also featured sets from Getter and Automhate B2B Aweminus, as well as surprise features from both Svdden Death and G Jones, who each went B2B with Slider during his solo set. It was clearly a night of epic proportions, and my FOMO is immense, especially seeing as I'd strongly considered going. If you went yourself, please do let me know how it was in the comments section!
Another interesting thing to note, as picked up by the Space Laces 'day counter without a new song' X account - similarly to Skrillex's F*CK U SKRILLEX ... , Vaultage 004 will be posted to streaming platforms not as one continuous mix, but with each tune individualised within the overall project. Vaultage 001 - 003 have all been uploaded as one continuous mini-mix with no division into individual track names, but for Vaultage 004 it will be different. I personally prefer having it as one big project as it places more emphasis on the continuous, story-like nature of it, though I understand the decision he's made here, because there are tracks that people will just want to listen to over and over. It worked for Skrillex on FUS, no doubt.
So yes, after 4.5 years the wait is finally over, and a new Vaultage mix will be with us very soon. The first three have been some of my favourite bits of Bass music ever released, so it's safe to say I'm extremely excited for Thursday.
Or should I say Wednesday? I think so, as I'm going to be streaming my reaction to it on Twitch at 12am UK time on that day this week. I'm also gonna be streaming a run-through of Vaultage 001 - 003 tonight in order, as preparation for the drop of 004, so if you're around later today please do tune in for that!
IT'S SPACE LACES WEEK GUYS ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡
Excision does not use AI
In the midst of much conversation about Artificial Intelligence in the Bass scene over the last couple of weeks, Excision took to social media to dispel any links between it and his own work. Ex, real name Jeff Abel, wrote about artist Ven Locklear, who he said 'has hand drawn all of my releases since 2017 along with all of the Subsidia, Lost Lands, Bass Canyon art etc. Mad skills and an amazing talent'. He also linked Locklear's Instagram account so that people could see some of the videos showing his artistic process, which can be found @venlocklear on that platform.
Beyond the Bass scene, AI does seem to have laid its claim within the music industry at large recently, what with Warner Music Group and Suno launching a new joint venture, AI music topping the US charts and more. So it's good to see the extent to which Bass artists, fans and followers alike are collectively pushing back hard against it, and especially a figure as significant and influential as Excision.
More on AI music in the Bass scene later though ...
5 years since i_o passed away
This left me sad and shocked in equal measure. I really can't believe it's been half a decade since predominantly-Techno producer i_o died, and whilst this news took me right back to all the amazing music that he made - which I duly listened to once again in honour of him - it also reminded me of how much incredible potential was lost the day he passed away. This is an artist whose impact can still be felt by many, whose spirit still lives strong in the EDM community today.
As heartbreaking as it is to say, I think i_o was lined up to be one of mainstream modern electronic music's truly generational artists. The way he was bridging the gap between the underground and festival mainstage of Techno with his music and brand was unparalleled, as he refashioned that deep big room sound in more accessible ways through labels such as mau5trap, Armada Music, Anjunabeats and more. Who knows, maybe if the tragic event of his passing hadn't happened, we'd be talking about big room Techno in the same way we've been talking about Drum & Bass and UKG in the last few years - styles of music with pioneers of their own, who've inspired others to make it, and have propelled it to one of the biggest genres in electronic music as a result.
I'm going to be celebrating him and his discography - his legacy - a little bit more this week by listening to his catalogue some more, methinks. I hope you're resting easy, Garrett Lockhart 🕊️❤️
MUSIC
Eptic shares string of IDs to Instagram
It seems like it's not only Space Laces season, but Eptic season too?! The Belgian, real name Michaël Bella, took to Instagram last week to share a slew of new IDs that will get a lot of fans and followers alike extremely hyped. This came from a recent show he did in his native Belgium, which he said is 'once again my favourite set of the year i love my country man ... I don't have to get on the mic, i can just play whatever i think is cool and y'all do the rest'.
As you all know, it isn't usually my thing to go through a collection of IDs, so as to ruin the surprise, though I did go through these ones I have to say. The Crankdat collab sounds great, and the Space Laces one sounds fantastic too - might that be on Vaultage 004, or an Eptic project instead? We'll have an idea of that by Thursday I suppose!
But yes, seek this post out if you haven't already, for his visuals as well to match the ID bonanza. It's a must watch!
Peekaboo shares posts cryptic new teaser
Hello, what's this then? Peekaboo shared a 16-second clip to X last week with a slightly muffled, gloomy couple-note instrumental, and a chilling voice saying "Shake your body", before what sounds like a classic Flowdan "Yo" rounding it off at the end. Peekaboo has been on a bit of a tear in 2025 with releasing tunes, so this would be the latest in a succession of cuts he's put out in the recent past, potentially to cap off the year. A teaser for a big project? I imagine not, but another single before 2026 comes around? I think almost definitely yes.
Watch the trailer here: https://x.com/peekaboobeats/status/1993742765348282615?s=20
Kill The Noise & Barely Alive sounds sick!
Get to Instagram in the next few hours if you can, just to watch Barely Alive's story and a clip of this mad collab ID with Kill The Noise that should be dropping at some point in the near future! This is pure growl central, and sounds like both artists properly reengaging their early-to-mid-2010s Brostep selves. It's probably worth mentioning that this clip has come from a Kill Safari (Kill The Noise & Bro Safari) set, and they're tagged in the post, which could just mean they were playing it out and so had to be tagged, or that it's actually a Barely Alive & Kill Safari ID that's in the snippet, not just Barely Alive & Kill The Noise.
Either way, I'm hyped at this conjoining of artists - 16/17-year-old Connor is screaming right now! Even the thing of seeing both the KTN skull and Barely Alive WATT microwave in one place is getting me going. We're experiencing a true modern Dubstep revival right now, it's fair to say.
Instagram: @barelyalive
G Jones reaches out to grape milk
This is one of my favourite Twitter interactions of 2025 so far. It's pretty simple - Bass fan favourite G Jones reached out to one of the most forward-thinking artists in the underground, grape milk, with a straightforward 'yo hmu [hit me up]', most likely suggesting that he'd love to work with him on some music. Everyone in the replies got very excited because it's a potentially fantastic melding of styles: two abstract approaches from different corners of the Bass sphere, what's not to like?
A few hours later, grape milk duly responded with, umm ... well you can see it below 😂
grape milk is definitely a funny individual, and this is probably a typical response of his that should be taken light-heartedly. But I have to admit, as much as this response made me laugh, I was also sat there thinking "mate do not fuck this up by saying something stupid!" G Jones will almost definitely not care at all, and it probably breaks the ice between them somewhat, but there was still an element of risk in saying what he said! I am still laughing reading what he said though, I can't lie.
And what a collab this would be by the way. I'm hoping it bears fruition at some point in the near future!
DISCUSSION
Multiple producers speak up about AI
Following my earlier post (above) about Excision making it clear he doesn't use AI for his artworks, I'm here to happily talk about other Bass producers speaking up against it in various ways over the course of last week. First of note is a Kill The Noise video that can be viewed @killthenoise on Instagram. He talks about when we was working together with fellow electronic musician Mat Zo a lot, and they found a sidechaining method that helped immensely with their production process, but it took ages to integrate into all the different project files they had in operation. Kill The Noise said "I wish we could press a button that would just do it all for us," and was left startled when Mr. Zo said in response "That's how it starts," alluding to anything AI or AI-related. This prompted some deep thought from KTN, leading to an ultimate, open-ended question in his video of "What are we doing here?" And that, I think, is the ultimate question, and the main one I wanna pose to you guys today.
Reel link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRfo9osEgLD/?igsh=MXM5d3lueGwwYms4bw==
I've also gotta highlight this video from underground Dubstepper Digitist, who shared a clip from a Teminite-esque pirate / Brostep-themed fusion that is very clearly AI, both sonically and visually, and has a load of bot comments bigging it up. His caption for said video was 'remember guys, this is what we're up against. this is what's "lowering the barrier to entry for music creation" because "Creativity is boundless, and there is room for everyone in it."' That end quote is in reference to the words of @jasminericegirl on X, real name Rosie Nguyen, who is Head of Creators (creating what exactly?) at AI music corporation Suno. You absolutely have to check out how ridiculous this clip is in its entirety: https://x.com/DigitistDubs/status/1994943538803741101?s=20
I also wanted to highlight a truly superb ratio from the one and only Svdden Death, who completely and utterly trounced the flailing @jasminericegirl on X, mentioned above. Her main point was 'lowering the barrier to entry for music is a good thing', before following that up with a stealthy 5-paragraph tweet talking about how many people Suno has helped with their music-making process. Enter Mr. Danny Howland, who counted her - at the time of writing - 639-like post with a colossal 3.8k-like video sharing a track he made and performed on his iPhone. When someone gets their music how they want it without any work or endeavour, whilst others put that graft in to achieve that result, that's where you have an inevitable clash.
Taiki Nulight has also been on a bit of a tear, especially in the last half day or so, slamming AI-positive rhetoric and trying to put everything into perspective. His X page for the last few tweets is a good read, in all honesty.
And at this point, I just wanna do a little check-in with you guys as to how you're feeling about all of this. I know it can be quite overwhelming to think about how AI will affect music going forward, so if you have anything you wanna share or vent, please do in the comments! I will absolutely be hearing and responding to everything you guys have to say, coz it's a pretty scary thing! I'm finding that, at least.
FUNNIES // COOL STUFF
Flux Pavilion to be a dad again!
This was the loveliest thing from the Bass scene last week - congratulations to Josh Flux and his partner on this amazing news! 👶🏻 ✨
I often wonder about the longevity of Bass music, and if there'll ever come a point where it actually stops being made. But this, I think, ensures that'll never happen, and by 'this' I mean the legends of the game spawning their own and giving them all of that expertise to make Bass music themselves.
Phonon's biggest production tip
Producers, this is your must-watch content of the week! This is Jazz / Bass fusion superstar phonon talking about the '5% rule', where he maps out how it's important you spend as much time on the final 5% of putting a track together as the first 95% making the bulk of it.
This is sound advice (quite literally) and an absolute must-watch if you are someone on this Patreon that makes music. Watch here: https://x.com/phononmusic/status/1993813090044113010?s=20
Not funny or cool, actually
I didn't know which segment to put this in, but I had to include it even if it isn't particularly nice. It wasn't a discussion point beyond 'Why are people mean?', and wasn't big enough to be news-worthy, but I'm placing it here because it's still important that people see it and realise what they're doing in berating people for their music taste.
We can give opinions on music guys, but the specific thing of hating on people for enjoying something particular? Yeah, hopefully we can leave that in 2025.
One of the funniest things I've seen in a while
This reel is funny enough that I can't give too much of a clue as to what it's about, what happens in it, just anything about it. Go and watch it RIGHT NOW 😂
Reel link: https://x.com/Kompanymusic/status/1993723011548205078?s=20
Can also be found @kompanymusic on Instagram.
A Bass phenomenon
Where does LYNY's 'Section' rank amongst the most influential Bass tracks of 2025? 🤔
Deary, deary me
No words. None at all.
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Did I miss anything from the last week in Bass music? Let me know below! 😌