These haters can’t hold Son Raw back. You’ve gotta love Hyperdub. It would be all too easy to sit back and count stacks every time Burial drops a new single, but so far, the label has all but avoided the easy path, searching far and wide for artists as likely to confound as to engage. […]

Son Raw holds the cards close to his chest. Here’s a dirty little secret about commercially released mixes: often enough, they’re far less interesting than what you can get online for free. While a good radio or Boiler Room set is spontaneous and full of unexpected moments spurred on by crowd and twitter reactions, a […]

Son Raw is studying hard to get his R&B critic license. We slept on this Destiny’s Child reunion track because hey, it’s a Destiny’s Child reunion track and the proud writers of Passion of the Weiss haven’t listened to nearly enough Brandy album cuts to pass the required R&B-critic approval process and/or care. Besides, if […]

Son Raw has no inner peace. Or outter peace for that matter. Quiet as kept, Deep Medi creeped up to become my label of the year singles-wise. That will probably make me an exception to the rule as their tempo of choice is out of fashion amongst the trend-spotters and their groove is too broken, […]

Son Raw is dreader than dread. Of all of Keysound Records’ qualities, and there are many, perhaps the most notable is the label’s hunger for progression. While artists and labels on both sides of Dubstep’s noise/dance divide have responded to larger audiences by smoothing out their rough edges and generally becoming more accessible, the house […]

In one year, DJ Mustard went from practically anonymous to $20,000 a beat. That’s how it goes. All you need is one hit and Mustard’s “Rack City” became Las Vegas’ most significant cultural contribution since Fear and Loathing (or maybe “Leaving Las Vegas:” Sheryl Crow edition.) But at home in Los Angeles, Mustard had earned […]

Son Raw is Iron Man. I’ve probably, nay, DEFINITELY listened to Master of Reality more times this year than I have any contemporary rock music so I was sold on Geng Grizzly’s chopped and Screwed version of Sabbath from the start. It’s all there in the formula: foundational metal band’s catchiest, hookiest material made even […]

King Foe “Goth Swag” from BLKHRTS on Vimeo. Son Raw always had a thing for goth chicks. To art rap or not rap? Fuck if I know: I think A$AP Rocky is top 5 spitting right now but you couldn’t pay me to write about LE1F or Dominic Lord. No seriously, no publication that cares […]

Son Raw keeps a full fridge. When I last spoke to HGLDT (in the back of a rather smoky car on a deserted Canadian highway for those keeping score), he laid out as concise a mission statement as any for his new record: the tempo’s changed, there’s a few extra drums but what matters to […]

Son Raw is bringing back the 8-track. New York invented the mixtape but London perfected the tape pack: multi-cassette recordings of the best Jungle and Garage raves for those too young attend and those who want to relive the magic. In the days where 12” singles were the medium of the mix, these epic compilations […]