Vex’d – Cloud Seed

Planet µ not only introduced Dubstep to a new audience outside London’s mini-scene with three excellently curated compilations by BBC presenter Mary Ann Hobbs. The label was also its restless, probing spearhead for years to come. Over the past 20 years, the label has released more new, exciting morphisms of the genre, which has long been annexed by the pop circus, than all the classic Dubstep labels combined. “Cloud Seed” by Vex’d is therefore exemplary in this regard – shoulder to shoulder with his peers Boxcutter, Pinch, Ital Tek, Starkey, Milanese, Benga, and, more recently, Slikback. The album is a darkly dazzling jewel, raw, atmospheric, dystopian, constantly changing dimensions and – in a strangely morbid way – romantic.