November has been a month full of reminiscing and reassessing. It is no coincidence that over the last four weeks we have witnessed the release of the 10 Years of Technique album, looking back on a decade of Bassline Smith’s Technique Recordings. We’ve also had the 15 Years of Metalheadz birthday bash at The Arches, London; the reemergence of Dom & Roland and the incredible No Strings Attached LP, featuring collabs with Amon Tobin, Noisia, Hive, Audio, and Rob Playford (Dom’s old label boss and co-producer and engineer of Goldie’s Timeless album, in case you didn’t know!); Blu Mar Ten’s Natural History album and Hospital’s Future Sounds of Russia compilation.

Then there’s been the smash hit singles from Chase & Status, D*Minds, Break, Spectrasoul, and Netsky; remixing by Sub Focus (is there ever a month without a new Sub Focus remix?), Heist, Original Sin and plenty more. Anyway, you know the drill by now…here’s the run down of top ten releases for the month:

1. Dom & Roland feat. Noisia / “–Tajitusu” (Dom & Roland Productions)
After a long cinematic intro full of sci-fi soundscapes, watery synthetics, beautifully articulated, jingling sound effects and a gradually building, industrial-tinged beat that slowly gets harder and harder, “Tajitusu” explodes into the drop with all the chiming, eerie, tech-step infused energy you would expect from a collaboration between the mighty Dutch trio and legendary Dom & Roland. Tough beats prevail with trademark depth and a hypnotic quality underpinning it. Without a doubt the best release this month. My advice would be to buy the album. Now.

2. Chase & Status feat. Plan B / “End Credits” (Vertigo Records)
Appearing on the soundtrack to Brit grit-flick thriller Harry Brown, this one definitely wins “rip-stormer of the month” accolade, if not the year, having swiftly reached number 9 in the UK Top 40 singles chart earlier this month, securing Chase & Status’ position as mainstream media darlings and D&B duo du jour. Oh, and if that’s not enough, they’ve also launched their own record label, MTA Records, this month as well. But back to “End Credits,” think plaintive (a just-erring-on-the-side-of-soulful rather than whiny-voiced Plan B) but punchy (thanks to rock star-style guitar, hammering drums and warm b-line).

3. Break / “Progression” (Utopia Music)
Wheyy, hold up, hold up. Without wanting to sound too much like a sports pundit, brand-new Bristol label Utopia Music bring us their first release and with Break on the A-side it’s a strong bold entry onto the D&B scene for the burgeoning young imprint. Crisp, rattling breaks, a cheery tunefulness, echoing vocal snippets and delicate atmospherics blend together in this delightful and compelling, melodic track. The flipside’s pretty good too, as the revered D Bridge remixes label-owner Mako and Andyskopes’ lovely In “The Raw.”

4. Drumsound & Bassline Smith feat. Spyda / “Law Of The Jungle” (Technique Recordings)
Perhaps a bit of a token nod to old-school jungle, the tripartite unit—Drumsound and Simon Bassline Smith—reference elements of jungle in the breaks and iconic vocal, courtesy of MC Spyda, and bring the whole thing massively into the present day, with lashings of Pendulum-esque energy, crashing synths and stomach-churning drops, showing us all just how far D&B has come in the last decade. Whether you like that or not, it’s a chunky tune and brings the past and present together pretty well. Hear it out, especially within the context of the Ten Years of Technique album.

5. Blu Mar Ten / “Grey Area” (Blu Mar Ten)
A mid-way point on the fantastic album, Natural History, Blu Mar Ten return to their roots with this one, as Grey Area crackles into the auditory range with an unnerving, yet thought provoking tone, spitting drums, eerie, spaced-out atmospherics and some occasional snatches of ethereal female vocals. It’s pretty abstract and out there, but is a definite contender for the month’s top ten list, as is much of the content from the rest of the album.

6. Aquasky / “You Know We Do It Big” (Friction RMX) (Passenger Recordings)
You can always rely on Shogun Audio’s head honcho, Friction, to merk it good and proper like the assassin he is, and this super-fresh remix is no different. Taken from the second part of the Deep Fat Frequencies EP, he comes in, takes Aquasky’s 4/4 original and transforms it into a rollicking slab of high-caliber D&B, complete with rowdy stabbing drums, screeching synths and a warm oozing b-line underneath.

7. Subwave / “Stars Get Down” (Hospital Records)
Taken from the fresh Slavic sumptuousness that is the Future Sound of Russia album, alongside prominent fellow D&B producers—Bop, Mendelayev, Mr. Sizef—this gorgeous number is absolutely stunning. It’s one of those tunes that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up—no wonder Hospital have snapped him up and gone and signed Subwave as soon as they could! He’s got his debut gig in the UK coming up soon as well (Hospitality Bristol, in case you were wondering!) But I digress… “Stars Get Down” has an expansive sonic landscape, clicking fidgety breaks, crescendoing bass and evocative yet bleak vocals, with a beautiful catchy and rhythmic beat, at once subtle and withheld. It’s full of these fine, fine balances, which is what makes it such a superb track and Subwave such an incredibly talented artist.

8. Netsky / “Everyday” (Liq-weed Ganja Recordings)
With a string of releases behind him already this year and a reputation as “one to watch,” Netsky certainly reaffirms where he’s at with this new release on Hype and Pascal’s offshoot label, Liq-weed Ganja. A melodic, tingling intro with echoing vocals, tapping breaks and artificial sounding piano keys make for a deceptively wistful intro that soon drops into a rolling, upbeat, vocal-led track that will move the dance floors with it’s chunky b-line, and fast-paced action, with a dash of soulful lyricism in there too.

9. D*Minds / “Maniac Cop” (D Style Recordings)
After their brief hiatus from the studio, D*Minds are back with a vengeance, following on from the release of their remix of DJ Prime Cuts & Dynamite MC’s “Warning” on DStyle’s sister label, Stereotype, just a week before, this brand new release is hot, dance floor-focused stuff with plenty of vim and vigor. Ominous vocals from some carefully-selected vintage film sampling, sirens and helicopter chopper sounds, rather reminiscent of their old partner-in-crime, DJ Hazard’s productions, give way to some nasty, grizzled synths, rolling b-line and steady breaks. “Thief” on the flip is a proper stomper and racking up the hits on the D&B Arena downloads front. It’s a killer 12” all round from D*Minds. We’d expect no less.

10. Spectrasoul / “Guardian” (Metalheadz Recordings)
Spectrasoul’s trademark tunefulness and haunting sparseness makes a welcome comeback in this compelling, stripped-back but ever so evocative stunner for the illustrious label of the moment. A steady beat builds with rippling piano flourishes, tinkling bells, and sweeping atmospherics and textured sound effects coming in and out of focus, along with some hoarse, slightly empty, but intriguing vocals. It’s classic Spectrasoul, tuning into a classic Metalheadz sound, say no more. Big ups all round!