It could have been Lorn who brought on the impending apocalyptic 'solar flare' staring down upon us; this dark wobbly warrior happens to possess some seriously grim arsenal. His name has been bandied around in the familiar circles of Gonjasufi, Darkstar, Mount Kimbie and Flying Lotus. It's some seriously epic and melancholy stuff, with tracks like 'Suicide Note' and 'Army of Fear', you can see what we mean.

Known by the real name Marcus Ortega, his debut Nothing Else dropped in June, being not only Lorn's first album but also Brainfeeder's first full-length debut. This LP has been in the making for three years, centered literally in a musical void, Illinois. The only way he could find out what was going on was communicating with French artists since 14 years old on the web.

So, when asked where he gets inspiration for this seriously dark, nightmarish electronic music, Ortega says: "childhood, dreams, nightmares and shit from my mind." WOW, intense.

Musically speaking he says, "I was listening to Aphex Twin and a lot of drum & bass... Ed Rush & Optical and Technical Itch, things of that nature, and a lot of metal, rock and classical music."

Listening to an interview with Ortega, to be honest, we're quite scared of him. He sounds like the kind of guy you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. This isn't dance music, nor dubstep, it’s just really well thought out ghoulish-electro, if you can call it that. Ortega is also quick to make it known, that he doesn't and will never "make music for people to dance to."

Illinois is such a strange point of reference, it must bring out the Lost Highway in people, just have a listen to his tune 'Void II'

Few artists know how to articulate their penchant for pessimism in music, but when artists like Fever Ray and Lorn turn their hand on it, it can be used as a near perfect form of expression.

'Bretagne' below is a good example of this, it's like a dream you've had yet you can't quite make out exactly what happened.

Listen to a short interview with this bleak producer right here.

The thing about DJ names is that they are famously hard to get right. Of course, the success of a DJ is very much down to his ability behind the turntables, in front of the crowd and behind a production desk in the studio making music. Needless to say though, a good DJ name is pretty essential, but that’s not to say that bad names can’t be successful - look no further than Fat Man Scoop or Mix Master Mike.

David Wolsencroft also known as Trus’me, hails from the musical Mecca that is Manchester and is responsible for one of the best DJ names I have come across in some time, “It all stems from the saying "trust me" which is often used as a confirming close to a sentence by various people in all genres of soul music, especially in the UK. When spoken, it is abbreviated to "trus'me", hence the name. The idea being that I would like people to trust in me as a DJ and as a producer.” Trus’me is without a doubt a producer and a DJ who we can trust as well as being the man behind one of the most consistent house imprints; Prime Numbers and the Disco 3K Festival.

Pre 2007, David ‘Trus’me’ Wolsencroft was still very much under the radar. In fact it would be safe to say no-one had even heard of him, but since the release of his debut album Working Nights, Trus’me quickly become the DJ’s DJ and began to receive more hype than anyone in clubland. Pioneer of worldwide beats, visionary and guru; GillesPeterson (click for our interview with the man himself) claimed that “if there was ever a house record made for him it would be this one [Working Nights]”. The question is though, what was Trus’me doing before he became one of the most sought after house jocks on the planet, almost overnight?

“I've always been into this music shit! Soul, reggae, disco, Hip-Hop, techno, house and so on. I guess my constant obsession with music has helped me become a better producer. I started like most DJ's do playing around the bars of Manchester, learning what music works a crowd and more importantly which music doesn't. It's practicing your craft like any art form, these new producers out there, big names who suddenly have a list down there arm of DJ dates hit the road with zero experience and it shows. So next time your nagging a Bar DJ to play your request or even looking down on them in some way as there playing your local boozer you could be knocking the next Derrick May.”

Then came Trus’me’s second album In The Red which drew heavily on 70’s and 80’s funk, soul and disco references as well Detroit techno, Chicago house and of course his beloved Manchester. Although both his albums could easily be considered house records, there is no doubt that they are too soul records and at times disco, boogie or jazz records. It is obvious that Trus’me is a true crate digger and his musical knowledge is evident.

“The records I cherish the most are the 6 to 7 track LP's from the likes of Roy Ayers and Marvin Gaye. These were LP's that were made with one goal in mind to produce a cohesive piece of music that tells a story form start to finish.” Both Working Nights and In The Red have the same feel; they are complete albums. Although there are stand out tracks on both and tunes which are floor fillers, they are albums which to be appreciated fully need to be considered as one piece of music. “Too many records are made with the intention of just putting hits together, but for me this is a tired method. I wanna sit down with a cup of tea and listen through a full length not noticing where one track ends and another begins, apart from when the record needs flipping”.

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It seems in the last four years an awful lot has happened in an extremely short time for Trus’me. He has established himself among the elite of Dj’s who enjoy a busy international tour schedule from Japan, USA and the UK to Europe. There is his own imprint Prime Numbers which has seen releases from himself as well Linkwood, Fudge Finers, Mr. Scruff and Motor City Drum Ensemble. Surely one of the finest boutique house labels around at the moment. All this, as well as his Disco 3K Festival which could be last found in Croatia, it is obvious to see that Trus’me is destined for great things.

“There is one gig that really stands out in my mind. It's no secret that Detroit is a huge influence and building block to my sound as the music of Detroit and Manchester have been interlocked way before I was even alive. So growing up and clubbing in Manchester you couldn't help but be inspired by these big DJ names from Detroit. So when I visited Detroit it was kinda like a priest performing a mass in Rome. They were all there; Theo, Rick, Kenny, Malik I mean all of them. So here I am playing in Detroit tearing it up with all these heavy weights dancing their tits off in the booth with me. A feeling of acceptance by your peers I guess can't be beaten.”

As Trus’me’s tour schedule has now calmed down a little, he has set to work on his 3rd LP, which from all accounts is a much more Chi-Town affair, which if any of you have seen him DJ recently will come as no surprise as his sets have become much centred in deep, jackin’, Chicago House.

We wait in anticipation.

Almost a year in the making, Modern Romance is by far my most personal and heartfelt mix. It was originally recorded the afternoon of Valentines Day 2009 for the girl i was feelin at the moment, she had a 20+ hour flight to Vietnam the next day, so i wanted to make her something special for her to listen to on her trip. Needles to say she absolutely loved it (it has 100+ plays in her itunes); it became an icon in our relationship, being something only we knew about for quite some time. After the inevitable happened, i rediscovered it while i had my ipod on shuffle, so i decided to pass it around to some of the fourth level guys, as well as Drone and some other homies, who really digged it and encouraged me to put it out, so i decide to re-record and remaster the mix and share it with everyone. This is by far my favorite mix that ive done, hopefully youll enjoi it as much as i have… ?

23 year old Robert Verrecchia, aka Ghost Hunter, may be a new name to most, but it’s one you are going to hear a lot more from in the coming months. After turning out a number of blog happy remixes for the likes of Charlotte Gainsbourg and These New Puritans, it’s time for his debut release on niche label House of Anxiety.

However, if you think that Ghost Hunter is another Hype Machine-chancer with a copy of Ableton and a bunch of second hand ideas, think again. His debut release is inspired by a box of faded photographs he found of his dad on holiday in the Caribbean in the 1970’s and in this post-dubstep, future genre world, his aesthetic chimes as neatly with chill wavers as it does with fans of Actress and James Blake.

A vintage synth obsessive, the fact that both Jimmy Edgar and Gatekeeper (of Kompakt sub-label Fright) are amongst those remixing ‘Island Barbados’ tells you pretty much everything you need to know about Verrecchia’s music making credentials.

Dreamy and jumpy, cool and warm in equal measure ‘Evening Drive ‘ - the flipside to the debut single - goes someway to demonstrating the considerable breadth of this young producer from Sheffield. Conjuring vague feelings of loss and wistfulness out of brittle strips of electricity every bit and byte is fused with longing. A definite one to watch.

You can grab the Jimmy Edgar mix – for free – here

Say what you want about music these days, every category, every genre, every style has been mashed up, over described and calculated to the nth degree.

The only thing left to do is denounce everything and start from the beginning, which is why we like Emeralds so much. They are like cavemen trying to start a fire, trying to reconstruct something totally new. A genesis perhaps?

When Philip Sherburne’s first initial review for this three-piece group from Cleveland reached Pitchfork, they were almost totally unknown. But thanks to the profile of such a glowing review and website, Emeralds are now slowly settling into people's consciousness.

It really is strange music, but not because the actual music is strange, it's more because Emeralds is like a Pandora’s box, once it's opened, it does strange things to you, making you feel all woozy, shiny and delirious. Without referencing Sherburne too much, he eloquently summed it up best when he said: "Describing Emeralds' music feels a little like capping that underwater oil spill must: how do you get your hands around this stuff?"

Apparently this Cleveland trio, made up of John Elliott, Steve Hauschildt and wonderful guitarist Mark McGuire, has been overly prolific releasing about 40(!) CD-R's in just over four years. But this first 'official' LP Does It Look Like I'm Here? really does cement them as ones to watch.

It's a strange journey, one where the music drifts and roams in what seems to be endless amount of time. Different time signatures, over lapping guitars with a multitude of effects we've never even heard of before, they all sit comfortably in this twelve-track album.

Emeralds - Does It Look Like Im Here

Recently titled the "newly-crowned Kings of Kosmische" by the BBC, people have begun referencing all sorts of German pioneers to Emeralds including Tangerine Dream, NEU!, Cluster etc.

But this certainly is a new kind of music. One where conventional production techniques are thrown out the window. Guitarist Mark McGuire should take credit for this, he effortlessly binds a rhythmic and sonic escapism throughout his work, one which Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie should be credited for.

Take for instance probably their most accomplished track, 'Now You See Me': guitars pirouette, underlined by sharp crystal blips and blurbs, then at the middle mark, the track totally changes to a different track and then back. Totally odd, but works somehow.

Emeralds - Now You See Me

Imagine Emeralds like a small island in the middle of nowhere, one where palm trees walk on their own, the sand radiates like small green emeralds and the only lone inhabitant never takes his eyes off the sky. Fuck New Age, this is the age.

Wow. I’m tired. Here is every tune I’ve done since 2002, minus 8 tracks I couldn’t find good mixes for, or find at all for that matter. I managed to keep this mix under 3 hours, but the mixing is very quick… Sorry for not having it up sooner. It’s safe to say that I bit off a bit more than I could chew with this mix. Now…

…go get down and shake it.