The latest releases reviewed

Berlin duo Modeselektor's mishmash of electro, hip-hop and techno was a standout live performance at last year's Electric Picnic festival. Boogy Bytes, their first mix CD, suggests that their DJ sets are just as unpredictable. Stressing offbeat rhythms rather than instantaneous dancefloor gratification, Boogy Bytes joins the dots between The Detroit Experiment's moody soundscapes, Spank Rock's goofy funk rock, the broken beats and pristine trance melodies of James Holden, Nathan Fake's pastoral take on electronica, and TTC's hilarious Euro-rap. Modeselektor's gleeful disregard for structure and unwillingness to stick to one sound is refreshing, though the mix occasionally loses its flow. But whenever this happens, they simply pull out a long-forgotten classic (such as the evocative break beat of Mike Paradinas's U-ziq Theme) and quickly regain control. www.bpitchcontrol.de    RICHARD BROPHY

Download tracks: James Holden: Idiot; Spank Rock: Rick Rubin

Last year's outlandish YoYoYoYoYo album shoved the Baltimore-bred, Diplo-approved Spank Rock crew into the limelight, as their bass- heavy electro-bop won friends and influenced other new-school hip- hop travellers at every turn. While the Fabric series has tended to be a hothouse for various European micro and minimal scenes, the Spank Rock lick could never be classified as either little or sparse. Instead, a head-spinning trip round the Spank Rock laptop uncovers Brazilian hipsters CSS and Bonde do Role; Uffie's sleazy electro; the groovy, pulsating disco of Metro Area; Hot Chip's tribute to Talking Heads; and Owner of a Lonely Heart by, yes, Yes. There's little in the mix to rival the out-there punch of their debut (and some of the selections are a tad obvious in these days of rampant music bloggism), but the Spank Rock party does sound like one you'd want to know about. www.fabriclondon.com     JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: Uffie: Hot Chick; Metro Area: Orange Alert; Bonde Do Role: Melo Do Tabacco