SHERELLE is a firm believer in the power of 160—that’s shorthand for the tempo that encompasses jungle, drum’n’bass, footwork, and other full-throttle styles of dance music. Since her breakthrough Boiler Room appearance exactly four years ago, in early 2019, the London musician has become an increasingly visible ambassador for the zone, both in her DJ sets and, increasingly, her productions. In 2021, she released her debut single, “160 Down the A406,” and followed up with the boisterous “Jungle Teknah,” the centerpiece of her fabric Presents mix. Her new single “GETOUTOFMYHEAD,” backed by fellow rave nostalgist I. JORDAN’s “M1, M3,” is the inaugural release on fabric Originals, a new label from the London club, and it’s every bit as exhilarating as its predecessors.
Part of the pleasure of SHERELLE’s mixing is the way she switches up styles and beat structures. Rather than beginning with a jungle break or a footwork lurch here, she kicks off with a four-to-the-floor house beat that zips along like greased lightning, syncopated woodblocks clattering furiously away. A ghost of a breakbeat hovers over the groove, a barely perceptible mist of cymbals that floats like a halo of white noise around the pile-driving kick drums. That unsettling air carries through in a dissonant streak of sampled vocals, a distant echo of UK hardcore at its most psychedelic, and thundering piano stabs that drive home the peak-time intensity. But a warm wash of synth pads is tender and reassuring, offering a gentle counterpoint to the track’s whirlwind force—a reminder that even the most barnstorming tracks can both batter the senses and tug at the heartstrings.
