Recommended music: 'First Wave' by Dam Mantle

Dam Mantle (a.k.a. Tom Marshallsay) is one of the brightest new stars to emerge from the increasingly brilliant and varied electronic music scene in the UK. If you liked releases last year from the likes of Gold Panda & Mount Kimbie, or more dubstep-type stuff from Joker, Skream and Magnetic Man, then imagine them played back to back (and sometimes all at once!) and you'll start to get a feel for what this sounds like.

I bought this album off Tom in a sun-drenched alley in Austin after watching him perform twice in 2 days at this year's South by South West Festival. Essentially it's a compilation of the tracks from his first two E.P.s 'Grey' and 'Purple Arrow' with 5 new tracks. The music is an intriguing blend of sound collages, cut-ups, dubstep rhythmns and some pretty solid beats. If at first listen it sounds just a bit too off-kilter to get into then stick with it - gradually patterns and shapes emerge as you immerse yourself in the soundscapes.

As you work through the album Tom seems to hone his style so that by the end of it you really get a sense of where his work is going. This bodes well for the future, as does the live set I saw him perform, which was almost all new material and was more than a match for anything on this release - especially the one where he sings a mad lyric about monks, which was my particular favourite!

Dam Mantle performing at SXSW 2011

If you get a chance make sure you go and see him live, dates lined up so far are;

• 01.05.11 - Camden Crawl, London
• 11.06.11 - Doune the Rabbit Hole, Perthshire
• 09.07.11 - 1234 Festival, London
• 22.07.11 - Wickerman Festival, Dumfries

You can listen to the whole album below, and then buy it here:

Dam Mantle - First Wave by forcefieldpr

There's a free download of the track 'Theatre' if you sign up below