Five blissful, beguiling beat bombs for mid-September that are sure to cure your back-to-school blues.

Barbara Morgenstern
“Come To Berlin (Rice Twins Mix)”
Monika

It’s a big fall for Berlin’s Monika Enterprise label, with boss woman Gundrun Gut on tour in Europe and fellow globetrotter Ms. Morgenstern in Seattle on September 25 for the Decibel Festival. This single is a perfect celebration of their accomplishments, with suburb remixes by Telefon Tel Aviv and DJ Chloé. But The Rice Twins steal the show, with their great indie-dance version of the track, with vocoder effects and gradually building rhythms. A perfect set opener.

Large Pro
“Pump Ya Fist”
Gold Dust Media

Punchy, JBs-type horns, swiveling tambourines, and subtle scratches make this Large Pro album cut a sure single candidate in the vein of Beatnuts’ “Of The Books” or Gang Starr’s “Dwick.” In other words, classic heat! Mikey D and Lotto add some battle-worthy verses, while Pro lays back in the cut, veteran that he is, and runs the mix like a hip-hop Godfather.

Madlib
“Go feat. Guilty Simpson”
BBE

Taken from WLIB AM: King of The Wigflip, the final Beat Generation compilation series (out September 30), assembled by Otis Jackson, Jr, a.k.a. Madlib, this track compliments venom-spitting Guilty Simpson perfectly. Simpson’s in “nobody smilin’” mode over Lib’s moody, clipped, cinematic samples. Wu-Tang fans gotta cop it.

Yellowtail
“Warrior Youth Featuring Nuras”
Amalgama

If you fell off the broken-beat radar, time to check back in, especially with Yellowtail, who’s been busy issuing rock sold, ragga-influenced gems. “Warrior Youth” comes with a jump-up riddim and ragga lyrics reminiscent of MC Zulu or Turbulence. If you like Daz-I-Cue or Sterotyp’s future-dancehall jams, seek this one out.

Skream
“Hedd Banger”
Tectonic

Wot, is Ollie Jones a heavy metal’er now? No, “Hedd Banger” is a dubby cut, incorporating a hypnotic Missy sample and alternating synthy and subby basslines. On the flip is the equally engaging “Precression,” which features an excellent car alarm sample. Nice one boyo!

Pictured: Madlib. Photo by Christopher Woodcock.