I’m currently posted up in Hamburg for six weeks, planning a few Berlin weekends (including this past one where the musical highlight was First Lady of DnB DJ Storm crushing Femme Bass Mafia) and hopefully a pilgrimage to Open Ground. Still amazed that for about $75 I can ride transit across the entire country for a month.

Anyways, enough about me. The world is chaotic, but at least we still have art.

Which brings a small update for this here ‘sletter. With the site down for the foreseeable future and other lanes taking up more space in my life, I’m going to start expanding beyond music a bit. I’ve fallen back in love with reading over the past couple years (I won’t elucidate here, but the Kindle changed the game), so expect books to start appearing alongside the usual musical dispatches — and maybe podcasts or other media down the line.

On the music front, the cold abyss of this brutal winter release season is finally thawing and some interesting sounds are blowing in.

I’ve gotten back to DJing this year and recorded a guest mix for Near Stoic’s Heartstrings show on Radio Flouka. The prompt was simple: emotive music, no dance music. I took that as an invitation to wander across genres and pull together songs that actually make me feel something.

And now, into some of the music from the last two months.

Albums

Nashpaints - Everyone Good is Called Molly

Nashpaints’ stretches dream pop into something deeply nostalgic and slightly unreal — swooning ‘50s croon, foggy guitars, and melodies glowing through haze. Like Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee, it feels obsessed with a past that never quite existed. Mesmerizing enough that the early “instant classic” chatter doesn’t sound entirely crazy.

Jana Horn - Jana Horn

Jana Horn leans into quiet on her third record — sparse acoustic sketches where her feather-soft voice and warm basslines drift through the room like dust in afternoon light. The songs move slowly, intimate and fragmentary, somewhere between Cat Power and early Angel Olsen. It’s the kind of album that barely asks for your attention, but rewards you the longer you sit with it.

I would say catch Jana live but I just saw her at the last stop in a six week tour last night. It was magical and she said not to write about it but her banter and stage presence was very endearing and silly in contrast to the sparse dreamlike tracks.

Shane Parish - Autechre Guitar

Shane Parish pulls off a beautiful bit of alchemy on Autechre Guitar — translating the duo’s tangled mid-’90s IDM into intricate fingerstyle guitar. The tracks blur blues, jazz, and chamber minimalism until Autechre’s circuitry feels strikingly organic. Even if you don’t recognize the originals, the virtuosity and quiet intensity are unmistakable.

Erik Hall - Solo Three

A natural companion to the Autechre guitar experiment above, Erik Hall dives deep into minimalism — dense motorik oscillations slowly locking into a meditative state. The longer pieces, especially ‘Strumming Music’ and his take on Steve Reich’s ‘Music for a Large Ensemble’, reveal the hidden groove inside those interlocking patterns.

Mitski - Nothing’s About to Happen to Me

Mitski knows how to deliver consistently but to me this is the best album she’s made in 10 years.

By Storm - My Ghosts Go Ghost

By Storm emerges from the ashes of Injury Reserve after the death of bandmate Stepa J. Groggs with a sound that exhales instead of implodes. Minimal guitars, flickering percussion, and psychedelic glitches open wide corridors for Ritchie’s voice to roam through loss, memory, and fragile optimism. The experimentation is still there, but the darkness now feels softened — searching for light rather than drowning in it.

Bill Callahan - My Days of 58 [Drag City]

My Days of 58 feels like Bill Callahan throwing open the curtains: warm horns, loose flourishes, and a fuller band sound give these songs an ease and confidence that makes this his most accessible record in years. There’s still plenty of dry wit and hard-won reflection, but the mood is lighter now — the sound of a man aging into himself, coffee in hand, finally comfortable enough to let a little sunlight in.

Matryoshka - Blasé Saint

Matryoshka builds a hazy world of dub techno rhythms and weightless ambience, where everything feels purposefully out of focus.

Find a playlist with a track from all the projects featured on this newsletter here.

Nashpaints, Joshua Chuquimia Crampton, and Matryoshka are missing because they aren’t streaming.

Honorable Mentions

Hemlocke Springs: The Apple Tree Under the Sea [AWAL]

Victoryland: My Heart is A Room with No Camera

Dry Cleaning: Secret Love [4AD]

Buck Meek: The Mirror

Tony Bontana: My Name

Ulrika Spacek: EXPO

Joshua Chuquimia Crampton: Anata

fakemink: The Boy Who Cried Terrified [EtnaVeraVela]

Hen Ogledd: Discombobulated

Books

As alluded to at the top, some literary highlights from the last year.

I’ve started a new tab here on substack to hold all of these recs in one place.

Piranesi by Susanna Clark

Piranesi starts quietly, almost too quietly, but patience pays off. What begins as the diary of a man living alone in an infinite labyrinth of statues and tides gradually reveals a mind-bending mystery about identity, memory, and parallel worlds. A genuinely fresh piece of surreal fantasy.

Mood Swings by Frankie Barnet

Frankie Barnet’s debut imagines a slightly off-kilter world not unlike our own where animals are gone, internet poets hustle for survival, and a tech billionaire promises to restore reality with a time machine. The result is a spiraling tale full of sharp satire of tech wealth, internet culture, and modern malaise. Weird, funny, and surprisingly moving.

Waiting for Britney Spears by Jeff Weiss

As someone who was just a kid when the Britney saga peaked, I remember the tabloid covers at the grocery store, but not the timeline or weight of it all. In Waiting for Britney Spears, Jeff Weiss recounts his years covering her for a third-tier LA gossip rag, circling the pop star’s orbit as her fame, and life, spun out of control. Part gonzo memoir, part cultural autopsy, it captures the strange pre-social-media era when paparazzi obsession and celebrity mythology collided.

When these get too long people never reach the end, so I’m going to cut things here.

I’ll be back soon with a look at some electronic EPs and mixes from the last couple months, plus another more club-focused radio mix I recorded recently.

The playlists here pull one track from every record across all tiers. Think of it as a map rather than a summary, a way to move quickly between worlds before deciding where to linger.

Apple Music Playlist

If something clicks, the album it came from will reward the time.

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For part 1 in this 2025 round up, the real essentials can be found in the last post below.

Tier 3 — Notable Albums

The albums collected here are records I genuinely recommend, many of which already have their own conversations, coverage, or cultural momentum. In some cases I came to them late. In others, I felt I couldn’t add much beyond pointing you in the right direction. If you like the genre, they’re absolutely worth your time.

YS - Burn [trip hop]

YS take the shadowy language of Bristol trip-hop and push it harder and dirtier, layering baggy basslines and digital pressure until Burn feels charged, unstable, and unmistakably contemporary.

Rainy Miller - Joseph, What Have You Done? [post-industrial, alternative r&b]

Rainy Miller’s latest filters industrial drill, ambient ruin, and scorched poetry through the haunted stillness of Northern England. He fuses voice notes, choral smears, rusted guitars, and grime-fractured beats into something both intimate and mythic.

goldenstar - goldenstar ep [slowcore, slacker rock]

It’s like Duster x Alex g x Slint

Hannah Cohen - Earthstar Mountain [indie folk, chamber pop]

Earthstar Mountain is a warm, psych-folk record rooted in the Catskills that feels at home next to Big Thief and Angel Olsen, built from gentle guitars, open space, and slow-blooming calm.

Alpha Maid - Is this a queue [noise rock, post-industrial, sound collage]

Alpha Maid deliver a growling, groove-first debut that pulls from post-punk, noise, and free improv, fractured and reassembled into something thrillingly unstable but fully in control.

Armand Hammer & The Alchemist - Mercy [experimental hip hop]

Mercy finds billy woods and ELUCID once again in perfect alignment with The Alchemist, building a world that feels dense with blood, empire, and everyday absurdity.

Water From Your Eyes - It’s A Beautiful Place [experimental rock, noise pop]

Jim Legxacy - black british music

Raisa K - Affectionately [neo-psychedelia, hypnagogic pop]

Lo-fi guitars, clattering beats, and quietly piercing vocals — Affectionately is a claustrophobic, deeply personal breakup diary and solo debut that hums with everyday psychedelia and dubby domestic tension. Tirzah / ML Buch / Copenhagen scene fans, take note.

NEW YORK - Push [electropop, glitch pop, uk bass]

Light, infectious, and quietly intense, Push turns indie-sleaze electronics and hardcore bass into liminal post modern pop that feels best dancing shoulder-to-shoulder, emotions buzzing just under the surface.

Oli XL - Lick The Lens Pt 1 [glitch pop, uk bass, post-dubstep]

A clear step forward that folds obsessively detailed glitch and leftfield bass into sleek, hook-driven pop without sanding down the weirdness.

Harry the Nightgown - Ugh [progressive pop, indietronica]

Ugh channels anxious maximalism into dazzling pop, where wobbling, overstuffed soundscapes still make room for intimacy and communal joy. surprising intimacy.

Daniel Kleederman - Another Life [art pop, folk]

After half a decade as a collaborator and music director for indie darlings Bartees Strange, Daniel Kleederman steps forward with Another Life, a quietly ambitious pop-rock debut that recalls Jeff Buckley, early Arcade Fire, and Grizzly Bear in its emotional reach and instrumental confidence. It’s astonishingly assured music for an artist with so just a few hundred listeners (as of this writing)

Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out [gangsta rap]

Jerskin Fendrix - Once Upon A Time... In Shropshire [art pop, chamber pop]

Big Thief - Double Infinity [folk rock, neo-psychedelia]

Smerz - Big city life [art pop, alternative r&b, alt-pop]

Stereolab - Instant Holograms On Metal Film [neo-psychedelia, indie pop]

Laurie Torres - Apres Coup [modern classical]

Los Thuthanaka - Los Thuthanaka

Los Thuthanaka sound like they time-traveled to a Bolivian cyberpunk nightclub in 2077, fusing Latin electronic chaos, Andean rhythms, and neo-psychedelic sprawl totally unpredictable.

Abdullah Miniawy - Peacock Dreams [post-minimalism, Egyptian music]

A surprise at this years Unsound Festival in Krakow.

THE NECKS — Disquiet [avant garde jazz, totalism]

Disquiet is three hours of mesmerising, slow-motion jazz minimalism that proves The Necks are still refining their ultimate form nearly four decades in.

Oklou - Choke Enough [alt-pop, alt r&b, trance]

EsDeeKid – Rebel [drill, trap, uk hip hop]

Powered by Wraith 9’s industrial-leaning beats, Rebel sits between rage rap, UK drill lineage, and cloud rap, with EsDeeKid’s delivery transforming local tics into audacious, addictive flows.

TLF Trio - Desire [chamber jazz]

Ruth Maine - Found Keys

Found Keys is a quietly beautiful debut built from sixteen brief piano sketches, recorded once each and left unpolished by design

Wednesday - Bleeds [alt country, slacker rock]

Other Albums

A few more for good measure.

Chuck Roth - watergh0st songs // Dove Ellis - Blizzard // Courting - Lust for Life, Or: How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story // They Are Gutting a Body of Water - LOTTO // Richard Dawson - End of the Middle // Nick León - A Tropical Entropy // Nourished By Time - The Passionate Ones // Dijon - Baby // Anna von Hausswolff - ICONOCLASTS // Hannah Frances – Nested in Tangles // Jules Reidy - Ghost Spirit // Voice Actor, Squu - Lust (1) // Sword II - Electric Hour // Kathryn Mohr - Waiting Room // Titanic: Hagen // MIKE - Showbiz! / MIKE & Tony Seltzer: Pinball II // Navy Blue: The Sword & the Soaring // Georgie Sweet - I Swear to You // Jadelain - Cara’s Desk // Anika - Abyss // No Joy - Bugland

Mixes

I ran out of time to write about any of these but here’s a playlist of some favorite mixes from 2025.

A couple selects for a taste…

Electronic Releases

I fell off the wagon keeping up with electronic music this year big time. In the summer work kept me from the dancefloor and my fall in Europe didn’t include many nights out dancing for various reasons.

One notable exception to this was my visit to Open Ground, which I now probably have to consider my favorite club in the world. Sure it might feel a little stiff and professional but the sound quality really deserves all the hype it’s received. I went on a night I didn’t even know anyone playing and had my mind properly blown. It’s worth the trip and at least in my experience it was an easy place to make friends and meet people impressed that you made the effort to visit.

I made a Buy Music Club list to highlight some of my favorite electronic releases from the year. In many ways it’s been an exercise to catch myself up on exciting new sounds as I feel inspired to get back to DJing this year. As always the picks tend towards various strains of bass and breaks.

Buy Music Club list

I will continue adding to this list but this post needs to go live.

If you made it this far, thank you. I hope something here sticks, opens a door, or becomes part of your own year in listening.

This list is late as always because I couldn’t stop pulling threads. I listened through just about every year-end list I could find, the tabs stacking up as I revisited or discovered albums that hadn’t landed for me yet. It’s tireless but worth it for the handful of records that emerge through the cracks.

This transmission focuses only on those standout records, grouped into two loose tiers: Essential and Really Great. The distinction is personal rather than prescriptive. Some albums stick immediately, others almost do. Taste works that way.

I’ve included two tracks from each album in an accompanying playlist. These records are meant to be heard in full as playlists inevitably flatten them but consider this an entry point rather than a substitute.

There isn’t an album here that will waste your time if you have even a passing interest in the genres involved. Electronic releases are mostly going to be featured next week in a part two alongside mixes and extended playlists.

Spotify Playlist

Apple Playlist

Youtube Music Playlist coming soon

This email may be cut in your inbox so click the title above to open it in a new tab for the full list and embedded players to listen along.

As always: support the artists, labels, writers, and small platforms doing this work outside the algorithmic churn.

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Tier 1 - Essential Albums

These are the records that defined my listening in 2025, albums that revealed more with time and felt fully realized in vision and execution.

Maria Somerville - Luster

Somerville filters dream pop through a misty lens of drone, ambient, and slowcore, landing somewhere between Grouper, Cocteau Twins, and Mazzy Star. Luster expands her sound with help from Suzanne Kraft and Lankum’s Ian Lynch, blending smudged melodies and spectral textures into something intimate yet cinematic.

Helen Island - Silence Is Priceless

Fractured euro-pop at its most fevered and fragile—pitched vocals, warped piano, and breakbeat-adjacent rhythms crash through a digital haze. It’s lush, desperate, and strangely devotional, like a late-night prayer in a flickering club. Must listen material for fans of Eartheater, James K, Smerz, or any of the nordic ambi-pop women.

Racing Mount Pleasant - s/t

On Racing Mount Pleasant, the seven-piece show remarkable control for a band this early in their arc. The arrangements breathe, with brass and strings taking center stage without ever crowding the songs. Explosions are held back until they matter, allowing slow, cathartic swells to feel intimate with silence and restraint doing as much work as the climaxes.

The album sits comfortably in conversation with the post-rock / art-rock lineage that followed Black Country, New Road and the Windmill scene, without slipping into imitation. Repeated lyrical motifs and careful dynamics give it a cyclical, lived-in quality that rewards full (and repeat) listens. It soundtracked some of the best days of my year, while quietly shaping them with its tension and release.

Ohyung - You Are Always on My Mind

A luminous, shape-shifting diary of gender and memory — OHYUNG fuses trip-hop, shoegaze, and plasticky string loops into a downtempo dialogue between selves. Beats shimmer, pianos ascend and the production pushes into oblivion. It’s heartfelt, hazy, and incredibly fresh and essential listening for fans of dean blunt, yves tumor, tirzah, and avant garde pop music.

caroline - caroline 2

caroline 2 feels like a love letter to the labor of making art with other people. In an era shaped by algorithms and AI, caroline’s second album is intimate and deeply human. Songs are built through patience rather than momentum, swelling, pausing, rupturing, each movement earned not forced. Folding Appalachian folk, post-rock, and emo into something purely cathartic, the album’s power becomes unmistakable in a live setting, where those slow accumulations open into communal release.

Feeo - Goodness

On Goodness, Theodora Laird’s voice feels ancient and immediate at once. Muggy, softly psychedelic electronics warp and buzz beneath vocals that recall trip-hop’s rainy nostalgia and the quiet ache of classic soul. Spoken passages and drifting textures deepen the atmosphere, blurring song, improvisation, and ambient composition. The result is immersive and quietly devastating.

Rat Heart - Dancin’ In The Streets

On Dancin’ in the Streets, Tom Boogizm lets stylistic boundaries fully dissolve. The double album slides from dream pop to busted boogie, flamenco flourishes to post-punk murk, outsider blues into footwork-adjacent rhythms, grime heft, and warped pop reverie, all somehow held together by instinct rather than logic. It shouldn’t cohere but somehow It does.

Beneath its eccentric genre-hopping ambition lies a quietly devastating emotional core, shaped by hard times, dry humor, and strange flashes of optimism.

Addison Rae - Addison

Addison is one of the most surprising and genuinely rewarding pop records of the past few years. Rae presents a mirror-smooth surface where fantasy and confession blur together, drawing from Britney Spears, Madonna, Lana Del Rey, and early-2000s alt-pop with glossy, eerily assured execution. The album balances club-ready euphoria with distance and restraint, sidestepping pop maximalism in favor of something sleek and hypermodern.

Without Andrew Ryce’s excellent deep dive into the album, I likely would have overlooked this entirely. Don’t make that mistake, go watch a few of the music videos and then get into this work of pop art perfection and read Andrew’s love letter to the album below

Futureproofing

Futureproofing #18: On Addison Rae

Edited by Tom Gledhill…

Read more

a year ago · 19 likes · Andrew Ryce

Geese - Getting Killed

By now it’s hardly controversial to call Geese the hottest rock band of 2025, but Getting Killed makes clear how collective that achievement really is. Kenny Beats’ feral, disciplined production gives the album its snap, while Max Bassin’s reckless drumming, Emily Green’s wiry guitar lines, and Dominic DiGesu’s elastic bass all lock into something volatile and unmistakably alive. Classic rock swagger and post-punk abrasion collide without ever tipping into nostalgia.

At the center is Cameron Winter, whose deserved reverence only continues to grow. Fresh off a spellbinding solo turn at Carnegie Hall marking one year of Heavy Metal, Winter brings the same feral intelligence here, twisting paranoia into poetry and tenderness into spectacle. Getting Killed sounds dangerous, funny, and alive in a way few rock records do right now, and we’re lucky to have Geese operating at this level in the middle of the present-day mess.

ROSALÍA - LUX

On LUX, Rosalía graduates into a new level of self-assuredness. Orchestral weight, operatic form, and classical discipline are handled with total control, but her pop instinct never disappears. On “Berghain,” soaring operatic vocals give way to a sudden left-hand turn, where Yves Tumor cuts through repeatedly with the blunt provocation “I’ll fuck you ’til you love me”.

Sung across fourteen languages and anchored by the London Symphony Orchestra, LUX is devastatingly beautiful, a maximalist orchestral pop album worthy of its scale and confidence.

gingerbee - Apiary (EP)

Screeching angst, saccharine romance, orchestral flourishes, and digitized chaos collide across six songs that burst and vanish like fireworks. On Apiary, Gingerbee sound like a band raised entirely online and proud of it — peppy, video-game-esque joy threaded with twinkling synths, skittering breakbeats, and vocals that jump from whispers to full-throated screams. It feels playful, maximal, and sincere — a love letter to music-making itself.

“The fakest and gayest emo music ever made.” (Their words, not mine.)

Viagra Boys - viagr aboys

viagr aboys is the band at their tightest and most unhinged—grooves oiled to perfection, chaos choreographed just enough. Knotty basslines, deranged sax, and deadpan monologues turn modern decay into a clown car joyride—equal parts post punk absurdity and no-wave groove. It’s grotesque satire soaked in sweat and sincerity.

If you’ve never listened to Viagra Boys, start here with “Man Made of Meat” below which pushes their absurd, confrontational, and ripping nature to extremes in controlled chaos.

Tier 2 - Really Great Albums

These albums stayed in heavy rotation and consistently delivered. They didn’t land in the top tier, but each is deeply worth your time.

Betty Hammerschlag - Fake Girl [psychedelic folk, bedroom pop, ambient pop]

Fake Girl arrives as a set of hushed, abstracted folk sketches. It hovers between song and texture, where murmured vocals and brittle guitar lines blur into melodies half-buried beneath hiss, space, and weightless detail.

Ninajirachi - I Love My Computer [electropop, bubblegum bass, edm]

Ninajirachi revives the rush of early EDM, trance, and dubstep with addictive force, capturing a time when computers felt like like portals to a new world instead of surveillance tools meant to extract and steal your time. I Love My Computer is synthetic serotonin with real emotional depth beyond the sugar rush.

I needed the euphoria of a new year, a blank slate, and the consequent mania for this record to fully hit.

Acopia - Blush Response [dream pop, trip hop]

Blush Response channels melancholic ’90s songwriting through slacker downbeats, quivering guitars, and hushed trip-hop blues. It’s a soft-spoken, emotionally suspended record where distance, restraint, and unresolved feelings give the songs their quiet pull.

Felicity J lord - FJL [sound collage, hypnagogic pop, poetry, vaporwave]

Felicity J Lord is less a band than a loose collective of misfits, internet lurkers, poets, and forever-kids, and FJL plays like the first act of an ongoing world rather than a conventional debut. Built from phone recordings, low-bitrate rips, uncleared samples, and micro-songs stitched together in a South London Ableton haze, it channels British gloom, art-school collage instincts, and post-internet brainrot into something improbably coherent. Clunky, funny, and emotionally sharp, it captures the texture of being online in 2025 better than almost anything else this year.

Naemi - Breathless, Shorn [shoegaze, dream pop, ambient]

Breathless Shorn is a full-throated turn toward classic shoegaze, trading the electronic haze and dubby ambience of previous Naemi releases for perfectly fuzzed guitars, boxy drums, and delirious multi-tracked vocals. It’s addictive, emotionally resonant, and deeply committed to the MBV lineage without feeling like cosplay.

TLF Trio - Desire [chamber jazz]

[2026 update] Seeing TLF Trio live pushed Desire firmly into my favorite albums of the year. Piano, cello, and electric guitar swell and breathe like one organism—effervescent on record, almost weightless in the room.

Camille Keller - Lack of G-LIP [alternative r&b, art pop]

Lack of G-LIP scratches a familiar itch for anyone who came of age holding Blonde close. Camille Keller wraps velvety strings and soft-focus loops around longing and emotional suspension, channeling flashes of mid-2010s Young Thug and Future into a tender, hazy strain of melancholic pop.

Mark William Lewis - Sparkles 22-24 [singer-songwriter, slowcore, neo-psychedelia]

Mark William Lewis’ mixtape Sparkles 22–24 collects previously unheard recordings from 2022 to 2024, not as sketches but as a fully realized set of psychedelic slowcore and mellow atmospherics, drifting between distorted guitars, chilling harmonica, and hazy, unhurried moods in the orbit of Dean Blunt, King Krule, Yves Tumor, and Nourished by Time.

Shallowater - God’s Gonna Give You A Million Dollars [dirtgaze, country-emo]

Slowcore that captures the wide, unhurried feel of the Texas plains. It’s basically Alex G before the polish. Twang slipping into hazy guitars and long, patient builds that drift toward catharsis without ever rushing it.

Orcutt Shelley Miller - Orcutt Shelley Miller [live, experimental rock, noise, blues]

Bill Orcutt, Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley, and Comets On Fire’s Ethan Miller lock into two kaleidoscopic sides of burned-out psych rock, chugging deep into stoner-American bedrock with surprising looseness and momentum. Recorded live in Los Angeles, Shelley and Miller keep things buoyant and grounded while Orcutt’s guitar lurches overhead, blues-rooted, punk-frayed, and constantly threatening to fly apart.

Ear - the most dear and future [glitch pop, electropop, idm]

Loose grooves and inventive, synth-forward indie that pulls from hyperpop’s flipped structures without losing its footing. It arrives fully formed and immediately compelling, the kind of debut that makes you want to know what comes next.

Dean Blunt x Elias Rønnenfelt – Lucre [indie rock. jangle pop, post punk]

Slacker rock haunted by heartbreak and beauty in decay — Lucre is a quietly devastating collage of lo-fi folk, post-punk shadows, and dream pop haze produced by Dean Blunt and Vegyn, with Elias drifting through it all like smoke in a sunbeam. Lush, haunting, and quietly unforgettable.

billy woods - GOLLIWOG [abstract, experimental hip hop]

GOLLIWOG isn’t a record you pick apart so much as sit with, letting its paranoia, deadpan humor, and unease seep in track by track. billy woods delivers some of his bleakest and sharpest writing here, where personal grief, structural violence, and moments of grim hilarity exist side by side with no relief offered.

(see also the remix album)

Stone - dream curtain eternally gentle [trip hop, downtempo, illbient]

A hazy mix of downtempo, trip-hop, and beat-tape textures, all warm bass, soft breaks, and blurred vocal fragments that recall early-2000s electronic music without feeling retro.

Blood Orange - Essex Honey [alt-pop, sophisti-pop]

Dev Hynes channels hometown nostalgia into a warm, tactile soundworld of strings, saxophone, and lived-in texture. Even with heavyweight guests, the album remains deeply personal, tracing how grief lingers in streets, rooms, and passing moments.

It is an album about loss that finds its power in restraint, melody, and memory rather than spectacle.

U.e. (Ulla) - Hometown Girl [ambient, sound collage, chamber jazz, electroacoustic]

Intimacy captured through distance, as if Ulla placed a tape recorder across her bedroom before vanishing into soft piano notes and wandering woodwinds. A lo-fi collection of dawn lit sketches that blur the line between ambient haze and jazz inflected pop as they dissolve into each other in melancholy bliss.

Zastava - Buildings [post punk, noise rock, post hardcore]

Zastava’s record captures the same nervy intensity that made their live set one of the best rock shows I saw this year. Chugging shoegaze riffs, Windmill-adjacent talk-singing, and a wiry, restless energy build pressure from the first moment, all muscle and momentum without excess.

Bassvictim - Basspunk 2 [bass punk, art pop, electroclash]

I was introduced to Bassvictim at Unsound Krakow last October, where they blew me to bits and wiped away the anxieties of adulthood for 45 minutes of pure, unfiltered euphoria. It was one of those rare sets that recalibrates your nervous system. (Read more about the performance and Unsound here.)

Building on their excellent debut Basspunk 2, the Polish-American duo add to the bass-punk canon with raw, irresistible momentum. Maria Manow’s vocals slice through grinding basslines and frenetic beats that feel at once bedroom-made and stadium-sized. Electroclash reborn for the Instagram age, part digicore tantrum, part witch house séance, and somehow wholly their own.

Maybe the live context shaped my attachment, but even months on this still feels impossibly joyful. If you’re new here, start with Basspunk, which narrowly takes the crown overall.

PinkPantheress - Fancy That [dance pop, dnb, r&b, bassline]

A joyful return to PinkPantheress’ sample-heavy roots, channeling UK garage, jungle, and big-beat nostalgia into a sugar-rush mixtape that feels effortless and alive. Short, sweet, and one hell of a 20-minute ride.

Eliana Glass - E [vocal jazz]

Built from voice, piano, and negative space, E is a jazz record in soft focus—intimate, elliptical, and full of quiet longing. Glass’s playing is sparce but expressive, letting each note ring out like breath on glass. Her voice curls around the keys like smoke, confident yet searching, pulling memory and melody from the blur.

Sudan Archives - THE BPM

Sudan Archives turns everything up on The BPM, snapping between jungle, industrial, electro-pop, and warped strings with fearless momentum. It’s maximal and kinetic but threaded with melancholy, her most fully realized album to date, thrilling in motion and quietly bruised beneath the surface.

Quade - The Foel Tower

There’s a quiet gravity to The Foel Tower—an album shaped by its surroundings as much as its players. Written and recorded in a stone barn tucked deep in the Welsh hills, Quade’s second LP swaps pulses with dusky folk, low-end dub pressure, and slow-burning post-rock. It’s music that contemplates loss—of land, of connection—without preaching. Instead, it invites you in, gently, to sit by the fire and listen

Saffron Bloom – Saffron Bloom

Sepehr’s trip-hop alias dives into illbient swamps and ghosted breakbeats, conjuring a raw, eerie beauty that lingers like perfume in a dark room.

I’ll be publishing a follow up shortly that expands the frame: notable albums, playlists, electronic releases, and mixes that shaped the wider listening landscape of the year. Records I admired, enjoyed, or discovered late, but didn’t feel the need to litigate at length.

If this first article is about depth, the next one is about breadth. Find it below:

If you made it this far, thank you. I hope you discovered some new music you love.

This playlist pulls together the individual tracks that really did it for me in 2025, real standouts that live at the forefront of their respective genres and niches. Unlike the albums list, it leans into singles and standout cuts from otherwise uneven records.

A companion playlist featuring tracks from every album on the 2025 albums list is coming in early January.

Until then, this is an already late deliverance of some of the best of the year, I hope you enjoy and discover some new to you sounds.

Apple Music Playlist here

Notes on a couple of tracks

James K - Play: A track discovered in 2024 when CCL closed an Antidote party with it. Pure euphoria, and the glowing core of James K’s full-length released this year.

Viagra Boys - Man Made of Meat: A perfect distillation of Viagra Boys’ bombastic, hilarious post-punk. Feral, danceable, razor-sharp.

Pike - Fallen Angel / Concrete Dub: The only double inclusion on the playlist because choosing between two near-perfect tracks was impossible, both drawn from a striking debut that channels UK bass, rock, dub, and avant electronics into something visceral and cathartic.

Bassvictim - Alice: Bassvictim hold a spot in my heart since Unsound 2024 where their performance and this track carried me into a pocket of blissful euphoria during an otherwise hard year. A perfect snapshot of their riotous basspunk sound

Fib, Chalk, and Pry: Three snappy bands names behind a few of the hardest hitting post punk singles of the year.

Mija Milovic - Not Offended / James Messiah - Might Be the One / Most Things - Shops: Three tracks tied to Ormside Projects in my head where I met Most Things leadman Tom Phillips as he was working sound. I discovered the other two through his bookings. London and the UK remains the most exciting scene to me.

Tracey - Sex Life: simply one of the rowdiest tracks of the year

….

more words to come

I fell off writing here for the past six months, not from disinterest, but because 2025 demanded deeper recalibration before output. Big relationship shifts, working too much, and months spent moving through Europe chasing curiosity and presence in the physical world and new careers. Less publishing, more living.

That time wasn’t empty. It was reflective. A lot of quiet sorting, recalibrating, and laying the groundwork for 2026, focused on stability, consistency, and intentional creation.

The music never stopped. Listening stayed constant, even when writing didn’t. These playlists are part of easing back into output with exciting plans for the new year.

Stay tuned for the 2025 albums list coming next week (approximately) and subscribe below to get it in your inbox.

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Cheers to 2026 and thanks for reading.

April and the whole spring has brought a wave of records too rich to rush through. From Viagra Boy’s bombastic chaotic hilarity to the cracked club ghosts of Nazar, from Quade’s pastoral dub-folk to Jenny Hval’s misted-over art pop, these albums aren’t just good—they ask to be lived with. Each offers a different kind of atmosphere: some murky, some radiant, all deeply personal. If this roundup arrives behind schedule, blame the quality. 2025 is already making a strong case for itself.

I’ve updated the playlist featuring picks from this month that you’ll find below.

If you’re not already, subscribe so you can catch each helping of quality new music directly in your inbox.

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Albums

Viagra Boys - viagr aboys [Shrimptech Enterprises]

viagr aboys is the band at their tightest and most unhinged—grooves oiled to perfection, chaos choreographed just enough. Knotty basslines, deranged sax, and deadpan monologues turn modern decay into a clown car joyride—equal parts post punk absurdity and no-wave groove. It’s grotesque satire soaked in sweat and sincerity.

Helen Island - Silence Is Priceless [Knekelhuis]

Fractured Euro-pop at its most fevered and fragile—pitched vocals, warped piano, and breakbeat-adjacent rhythms crash through a digital haze. It’s lush, desperate, and strangely devotional, like a late-night prayer in a flickering club. Must listen material for fans of Eartheater, James K, Smerz, or any of the nordic ambi-pop women.

Maria Somerville - Luster [4AD]

Somerville filters dream pop through a misty lens of drone, ambient, and slowcore, landing somewhere between Grouper, Cocteau Twins, and Mazzy Star. Luster expands her sound with help from Suzanne Kraft and Lankum’s Ian Lynch, blending smudged melodies and spectral textures into something intimate yet cinematic.

Rainy Miller - Joseph, What Have You Done? [Fixed Abode]

Rainy Miller’s latest filters industrial drill, ambient ruin, and scorched poetry through the haunted stillness of Northern England. He fuses voice notes, choral smears, rusted guitars, and grime-fractured beats into something both intimate and mythic.

Unsound Aside

I regret missing all but the last 10 minutes of Rainy performing this album at Unsound last year but luckily he’s back on the lineup with an absolutely insane collaborative live performance alongside 2K88, Lauren Duffus, and Bianca Scout.

Lauren just released one of my favorite EPs of the year featuring this incredible track.

I missed Polish experimental rap group 2K88 last time—caught another set instead—but everyone I talked to said it was wild. Bianca Scout adds a haunted, unpredictable edge to the whole collaboration that makes it feel even more unmissable.

The first wave of the lineup just dropped and I bought my tickets to go back this year. There are still full week passes available for sale that include the club nights as well as all of the live performances around the city of Krakow. I also have two full week passes available for sale at face value, just respond to this email.

The Unsound team really just has their finger on the pulse of avant leaning music and I can’t wait to see the second wave of artists.

Ehua - Panta Rei [3024]

A bold step forward, Panta Rei brings Ehua’s voice to the forefront for the first time, transforming her fractured club roots into something more fluid, expressive, and emotionally layered. Skewed percussion, broken rhythms, and ghosted melodies orbit soulful vocals, tracing a path between the club and experimental pop introspection.

Quade - The Foel Tower [AD 93]

There’s a quiet gravity to The Foel Tower—an album shaped by its surroundings as much as its players. Written and recorded in a stone barn tucked deep in the Welsh hills, Quade’s second LP swaps pulses with dusky folk, low-end dub pressure, and slow-burning post-rock. It's music that contemplates loss—of land, of connection—without preaching. Instead, it invites you in, gently, to sit by the fire and listen.

Nazar - Demilitarize [Hyperdub]

Demilitarize trades shattered rhythm for shape-shifting sound collage—half-sung, half-ghosted through glitch, silence, and soft rupture. It's less club, more séance: R&B fragments, watery percussion, and choral residue swirl through a fogged emotional landscape. It takes me back to listening to early lorraine james in the best way.

Niontay – Fada<3of$ [10k]

Niontay levels up his sound blending regional trap flavors with sharp, introspective, off-kilter flows and self-produced beats that hit hard without overreaching. With support from MIKE, Tony Seltzer, and Surf Gang, this is his most complete and confident project to date.

Eliana Glass - E [Shelter Press]

Built from voice, piano, and negative space, E is a jazz record in soft focus—intimate, elliptical, and full of quiet longing. Glass’s playing is sparce but expressive, letting each note ring out like breath on glass. Her voice curls around the keys like smoke, confident yet searching, pulling memory and melody from the blur.

For more see this excellent interview with E on the Tone Glow Substack

Anika - Abyss

Live-wired and unfiltered, Abyss channels timeless raw emotion through driving rhythms, jagged guitars, and confessional vocals that split the difference between post-punk and grunge bringing to mind artists like PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, or recent favorite Voyeur. It's visceral, unvarnished, and impossible to ignore.

Spool - Spool

Delicate loops, smeared piano, and ASMR textures drift in the space between Romance, Malibu, and Dean Hurley. Spool feels ghostly but grounded—hazy ambient pop threaded with a deep emotional pull. Music that shimmers at the edge of the real.

Jenny Hval - Iris Silver Mist [4AD]

Hval’s latest drapes her singular art-pop in a gauze of synths, field recordings, and softly surreal detail. Her voice, light but assured, slips between melody and monologue, pairing abstract reflections with lines that land like inside jokes or quiet revelations about life’s absurdities.

Other Noteworthy Albums

Valentina Magaletti & Fanny Chiarello - Gym Douce

Djrum - Under Tangled Silence

Black Country, New Road - Forever Howlong [Ninja Tune]

Model/Actriz - Pirouette [True Panther]

SHERELLE – WITH A VENGEANCE

Car Seat Headrest - The Scholars [Matador]

EPs

Jetty brings together a cast of vocalists across six tracks of soft-focus, slow-motion beauty—drumless lullabies, airy ballads, and beats that shimmer like breath on glass. A tender, collaborative daydream.

A cloud-soft producer tape that pairs Jetty’s airy beats with six distinct voices—whispers, coos, and confessions floating over pillowy textures and subtle rhythmic shifts. Intimate, weightless, and full of feeling.

Soft-focus pop wrapped in haze and tape hiss—drum machines tick, vocals blur, and melodies drift just enough to catch on something tender.

Smooth r&b, jazzy hip hop, stutter-y sampling and noname-esque sing rapping.

Compilations

ruff n tuff dubstep

The third Shelter compilation gathers 17 raw, genre-agnostic dispatches that cut through the noise of the mid-2020s—emotionally charged, quietly defiant, and searching for something pure.

Mixes

Just a few standouts, find more on this playlist of favorites for the year updated reg.

Thanks for reading, see you soon back with more cool music.

That’s where this list comes in. The running concert calendar at the bottom of every post isn’t perfect, but it’s my way attempt at closing the info gap. This special summer preview highlights standout shows I think deserve your attention. I’ll be doing these quarterly, so stay tuned for the fall edition.

A few other Substacks worth your subscription if you're serious about live music in NYC:

• – A weekly Bklyn Sounds digest calls out eclectic picks across the city.

• – A master list for contemporary classical, experimental jazz, and uncategorizable new music.

• – An essential sub for anyone following the bleeding edge of the NYC scene. Their weekly updates are short, sharp, and packed with last-minute gems—often free.

• - The venue that preceded Night Club 101, newsletter follows a similar playbook with a bit more personal perspective

Since last summer, Night Club 101 (the venue, not just the newsletter) has emerged as a major force, booking day-of Model/Actriz shows and multi-month residencies for local bands like voyeur. Because their programming is fast and loose, this list likely misses a few major moments—but trust, it’s a venue to watch.

Before diving into the full calendar, a few special shouts for shows from early 2025 that already rocked my world…

voyeur

voyeur residency show at was legendary and one of the best shows i’ve seen in years. I wrote at length on the instagram about the show and bought the live recording sold as a CD on bandcamp. Keep your eye out for them on lineups and catch them if you get a chance. (caveat: they are basically a carbon copy of sonic youth, but that’s okay because they do it so well)

ohyung

ohyung’s album is one of my favorites of the year so far, I wrote about it last month in the monthly roundup as “heartfelt, hazy, and incredibly fresh and essential listening for fans of dean blunt, yves tumor, tirzah, and avant garde pop music.”

Their live performance was visceral and impactful and highly recommended, they’ve been popping up on undercards around the city a lot so keep your eyes peeled.

—

That’s all for now though, enjoy the recommendations below and I hope to see some of you at the shows. The concert list is updated regularly so subscribe to keep up.

Subscribe now

A couple standout shows and tracks from the lineups for the next few months. Some already past shows have been deleted out of respect for your time.

Tue 6/25 - Black Quantum Futurism (Moor Mother ++) @Performance Space [Pay-What-You-Want]

The closing performance of The Memory Vortex Inn on Tuesday at Performance Space will feature Moor Mother and Co weaving sound, memory, and Black futurism into a space-time bending finale. I’ve seen Moor Mother a handful of times and each instance left a real impression and this one is pay-what-you-want.

Tue 6/25 & Wed 6/26 - Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ Pioneer Works

julie kim wrote about seeing GYBE last year, I’ve archived that poetic review here but to summarize the experience she wrote:

tl;dr: GYBE somehow conveyed all the pains and joys of existence in one hour. it was heavy, painful, mesmerizing, healing. never have I heard such a vivid story told with zero words.

It’s a performance you wont forget if your into post rock and a particularly rare opportunity to catch such a show in an intimate setting.

Fri, June 27 – Julie Doiron, Caged Animals, PYNKIE

Julie Doiron, revered for her emotive songwriting and haunting vocals, brings a rich tapestry of indie folk to the stage. Her collaborations with Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie delve deep into themes of love, loss, and introspection. Supporting acts include Caged Animals, delivering dreamy synth-pop landscapes, and PYNKIE, whose bedroom pop melodies resonate with heartfelt authenticity.

A treat for admirers of Mount Eerie, Cat Power, Ryan Adams, and Bill Callahan.

Sat 7/12 - MIKE’s Young World V: Roc Marciano & The Alchemist / more @ Herbert Von King Park (Free)

MIKE has been curating a celebration of underground hip-hop culture for the past five years. This year, Roc Marciano's intricate wordplay meets The Alchemist's masterful production. Set in the heart of Bed-Stuy, this free festival fosters community and showcases the genre's evolving landscape. The full lineup hasn’t dropped yet but it’s sure to include rising stars on MIKE’s label, 10k.

Thurs 7/17 - Conditioner and OST present: Anysia Kym, Car Culture, ESP, Fergus Jones, Organ Tapes @ Nowadays

A stacked night of leftfield electronics curated by Conditioner and OST. Anysia Kym crafts skeletal soundscapes threaded with eerie, melodic tension. Car Culture, ESP, and Fergus Jones (aka Perko) blur the lines between ambient, dub, and percussive club forms. Organ Tapes lends his signature warmth—blending autotuned balladry with ambient pop drift. For fans of Dean Blunt, Huerco S., and Visible Cloaks.

Fri 7/18 – Friendship / 22º Halo

Philly slowcore at its most tender.
Friendship’s Dan Wriggins spins quiet, devastating tales with deadpan grace.
22º Halo offers hushed, lo-fi hymns for grief and late-night introspection.

For fans of Mount Eerie, Horse Jumper of Love, and Bill Callahan.

Saturday 7/19 - Vegyn + Loukeman @Public Records: The Nursery

A midday dive into genre-bending beats. UK producer Vegyn crafts warm, glitch‑riddled R&B textures that feel equal parts late‑night and introspective. Opener Loukeman complements with soulful loops and subtle percussive flair.

Wed 7/24 - Jessica Pratt / Cameron Winter / Daryl Johns @ Summerstage Central Park (Free)

Jessica Pratt's delicate folk melodies drift like smoke, intimate and otherworldly and her album last year was truly essential listening. Cameron Winter brings a quietly radiant presence, blending poetic restraint and vintage warmth. Daryl Johns' jazz-rooted bass rounds it all out.

For fans of Aldous Harding, Adrianne Lenker, Cindy Lee, and Angel Olsen

Friday, 7/25 - Eliana Glass, Melody English, and Amiture Music @Public Records

Built from voice, piano, and negative space, E—Eliana Glass’s stunning debut—feels like a lucid dream in jazz form. Her melodies stretch and sigh with purpose, balancing restraint with emotional depth. Gentle, strange, and beautifully unresolved. Melody English and Amiture round out the bill with their own emotionally charged pop experiments. Fans of Julia Holter, Mary Lattimore, and Frankie Cosmos, take note.

Fri 8/15 - MoMA PS1 Warm Up w/ Special Request, NEW YORK and Authentically Plastic

An electrifying turn in MoMA’s open-air series. Special Request brings high-octane UK breakbeat fury and Authentically Plastic conjures radical club deconstructions rooted in East Africa’s future-facing underground.

Then there’s NEW YORK—the deadpan duo making detached, glitch-heavy anti-pop for the chronically online. Sardonic, disorienting, and unexpectedly soothing, they sit somewhere between electroclash greats, FCUKERS, and Bassvictim and they were just confirmed to be on the lineup for Unsound 2025 in Krakow.

Sunday 8/17 - Blacktronika Festival: Black Quantum Futurism featuring Moor Mother & Rasheedah Phillips / Vijay Iyer / Joy Guidry & Niecy Blues / Sonic Messengers @ Summerstage Central Park (Free)

A celebration of Black electronic music's past, present, and future. Featuring performances by Black Quantum Futurism, Vijay Iyer, Neicy Blues, and more. Curated by King Britt, the festival offers a diverse lineup that challenges and expands the boundaries of genre.

Thurs 8/21 - MoMA PS1 Warm Up DJ Stingray 313 / DJ Travella / Natural Wonder Beauty Concept

DJ Travella’s cyber-singeli detonates at 200bpm—blending ATL rap, dembow, film samples, and blistering melody into something chaotic, sexy, and radically futuristic.

Natural Wonder Beauty Concept—DJ Python and Ana Roxanne—offer the comedown: bittersweet ambient pop that glows with quiet intensity.

Detroit legend DJ Stingray 313 keeps things sharp and surgical on either side.

Mon 8/25 - LSD and the Search for God

psychedelic shoegaze perfection, enough said

9/18 Elias Ronenfelt & Joanne Robertson @Le Poisson Rouge

A rare convergence of two of Dean Blunt’s most enigmatic collaborators. Elias Rønnenfelt, known for his work with Iceage, and Joanne Robertson have both contributed to the hauntingly beautiful Backstage Raver EP. Rønnenfelt's ethereal vocals intertwine with Robertson's minimalist guitar work, creating a soundscape that's both intimate and otherworldly.

A must-see for fans of Dean Blunt, Babyfather, Mark William Lewist, and King Krule.

Sat 9/27 - Zola Jesus @ National Sawdust

Zola Jesus returns with her haunting blend of operatic vocals and industrial soundscapes . Her performance promises an immersive experience, delving into themes of identity and transcendence. A fitting finale to the summer's eclectic concert offerings.

Full NYC Concert List (updated 5/20)

Mon 6/2 – MOURNING [A] BLKSTAR, FATBOI SHARIF, YAZ LANCASTER @ TV Eye
Wed 6/5 – Turnstile, Teezo Touchdown, Boy Harsher, Big Boy @ Under the K Bridge
Wed 6/5 – Sunny Day Real Estate @ Ashbury Lanes
Wed 6/5 – Courting / Slow Fiction @ Night Club 101
Fri 6/7 – Lucy Liyou + Eliana Glass @ Public Records
Tue 6/10 – Perfume Genius @ Brooklyn Paramount
Multiple Dates – The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital
Thu 6/13 – Gil Scott Heron Festival @ St. Mary’s Park (Free)
Sun 6/15 – Nordic Next: Jakob / Sarah Klang / Astrid Sonne / Joalin @ Summerstage Central Park (Free)
Sun 6/15 – Astrid Sonne / Anysia Kim @ Baby’s All Right
Tue 6/17 – Special Interest, True Body @ Elsewhere Rooftop
Mon 6/23 – Nai Palm (of Hiatus Kaiyote) @ Baby’s All Right
Tue 6/25 & Wed 6/26 – Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ Pioneer Works
Tue 6/25 – U.S. Girls @ Bowery Ballroom
Fri 6/27 – Julie Doiron, Caged Animals, PYNKIE @ Baby’s All Right
Sat 6/28 – Downtown Boys @ Trans Pecos
Sat 6/28 – Neggy Gemmy @ Baby’s All Right
Mon 6/30 – Fievel Is Glauque, Flanafi @ Elsewhere
Sat 7/12 – MIKE’s Young World V: ROC Marciano & The Alchemist / more @ Herbert Von King Park (Free)
Sat 7/12 – Jockstrap / Kenny Mason / Jane Remover / HiTech / Dazegxd / Kassie Krut @ Knockdown Center
Mon 7/14 – Tyler, the Creator / Lil Yachty / Paris Texas @ MSG
Tue 7/15 – Tyler, the Creator / Lil Yachty / Paris Texas @ MSG
Fri 7/18 – Friendship / 22º Halo @ Baby’s All Right
Wed 7/24 – Jessica Pratt / Cameron Winter / Daryl Johns @ Summerstage Central Park (Free)
Wed 8/13 – Titus Andronicus @ Elsewhere
Thu 7/31 – Dear Silas @ Baby's All Right
Sat 8/17 – Blacktronika Festival: Black Quantum Futurism featuring Moor Mother & Rasheedah Phillips / Vijay Iyer, Shana Redmond & LaFrae Sci / Joy Guidry & Niecy Blues / Sonic Messengers / King Britt
Mon 8/25 – LSD and the Search for God @ Baby’s All Right
Thu 9/12 – Model/Actriz @ Warsaw
Sat 9/13 – Goat Girl / Maria BC @ Baby’s All Right
Sat 9/13 – Pup / Jeff Rosenstock @ Brooklyn Paramount
Tue 9/16 – Soccer Mommy / Hurray For The Riff Raff / Dummy @ Central Park SummerStage (Free)
9/16 & 17 – Devendra Banhart / Kath Bloom @ National Sawdust
Thu 9/18 – Divorce @ Elsewhere
Fri 9/19 – Wolf Alice @ Brooklyn Paramount
Sun 9/21 – Lightning Bolt @ The Ruins at Knockdown Center
Tue 9/23 – Haru Nemuri @ Elsewhere
Sat 9/27 – Zola Jesus @ National Sawdust
Wed 10/1 – Kneecap @ The Rooftop at Pier 17
Thu 10/2 – Dry Cleaning / Infinity Knives / Brian Ennals @ Warsaw
Wed 10/8 – Alex G / Nilüfer Yanya @ Radio City Music Hall
Sat 10/11 – Sun 10/12 – Air performing Moon Safari @ Brooklyn Paramount
Mon 10/13 – Grizzly Bear @ Brooklyn Steel
Tue 10/14 – Grizzly Bear @ Brooklyn Steel
Thu 10/16 – Grizzly Bear @ Brooklyn Steel
Thu 12/11 – Cameron Winter (of Geese) @ Carnegie Hall

Playlists

quick plug for these regularly updated playlist

If you know someone who wants more live music in their life, send this their way. And drop a like or comment with the shows you're most excited for—engagement helps more than you’d think.

Thanks for reading!

- Aleksander

it started with a deep, guttural drone. self-assured, self-important. it took its time to reach every corner of the space, which had chattered indulgently throughout the three prior performances and was now hushed. it filled the room until it had full command of the audience’s sense of time (and language, and history). the members walked out unceremoniously and assumed their instruments. to see humans with flesh begin to participate in the drone was disorienting. the ensuing sound felt as if it came from an entity beyond our years to the nth degree. wise— orating to us both our history and our fate.

the drone swelled with dissonance that spoke to a primal, simple pain: the burden of existing. if the drone were a mind, the layered instruments were extremities—breathing with and yet rejecting their host. they spoke of inner conflict, of our desperation for acknowledgement, of the inevitability of death. the frustrated noise smothered its audience, soundtracking the images of fire and war and anarchy cast by the spinning film reel—relentless.

eventually the dust settled, and the images turned to a whiteness reminiscent to me of blindness, as if sight were no longer relevant. the sounds thinned out, the drone dissolved, and I was finally relieved of frustration. I was reminded of how pure death could be—how innocent and equal it makes us as humans. how laughable perversion becomes when everyone ends up naked in the dirt. the soundforms were pensive and mournful, but radiant.

as my tears dried, the noise brightened and accelerated. it became cacophonous (cue the coda of A Day in the Life by the Beatles, but instead of an orchestra there were nine people onstage—I couldn’t believe it). it felt like we were no longer human but particles at light speed, reaching our finale. like how time accelerates as we age—this was the fastest we’d ever feel it. like the end.

the final chapter was sullen and passive. meditative. like the beginning and the middle, it was patient. lovingly, it returned me to time as I’ve known it to be for as long as I can remember: confined by seconds and minutes and hours.

tl;dr: GYBE somehow conveyed all the pains and joys of existence in one hour. it was heavy, painful, mesmerizing, healing. never have I heard such a vivid story told with zero words.

my favorite things and people in this world are both greedy and giving. this performance was exactly that.

—julie kim

Festival season is almost here. I’m gutted to be missing Dripping in New Jersey (June 12-15) and Nono Gigsta’s rare US performances along with many other incredible artists and vibes. Her set at Freerotation last year, The House of Crocodiles Part 2, was my pick for mix of the 2024 — a masterclass in tension, release, and fearless genre alchemy. It’s a shame to miss her likely one-time US visit.

I’m working on a summer concert highlights list to help you catch the best live music in the coming months in NYC. You’ll find a partial list at the end of this newsletter — best viewed in the app or browser but a full post is coming soon.

Looking ahead, Eris Drew and Octo Octa’s System Activate Fest (August) in Vermont promises something special that I hope to partake in — 450 souls dancing under the trees to 42,000 watts of T4TLUVNRG.

I’ve updated the playlist featuring picks from this month that you’ll find below

If you’re not already, subscribe so you can catch each helping of quality new music directly in your inbox.

Subscribe now

Albums

Ohyung: You Are Always on My Mind [NNA Tapes]

A luminous, shape-shifting diary of gender and memory — OHYUNG fuses trip-hop, shoegaze, and plasticky string loops into a downtempo dialogue between selves. Beats shimmer, pianos ascend and the production pushes into oblivion on what immediately felt like an AOTY contender. It’s heartfelt, hazy, and incredibly fresh and essential listening for fans of dean blunt, yves tumor, tirzah, and avant garde pop music.

Shinetiac - Infiltrating Roku City (West Mineral Ltd)

Born as a live set for a 29 Speedway x Conditioner’s show, Infiltrating Roku City sees Pontiac Streator, Ben Bondy, and Shiner twisting ambient-dub into a fractured, algorithmic dreamscape. AI whispers, glitched pianos, and digital detritus spiral through pixelated noise, capturing the beauty and chaos of our digital world.

Raisa K - Affectionately

Lo-fi guitars, clattering beats, and quietly piercing vocals — Affectionately is a claustrophobic, deeply personal breakup diary and solo debut that hums with everyday psychedelia and dubby domestic tension. Tirzah / ML Buch / Copenhagen scene fans, take note.

HTRK – Live at Cafe OTO

HTRK bring their twilight country noir to life in this stripped-down, spellbinding set. Sparse guitars, ghostly vocals, and flickers of ambient haze conjure a quiet storm,

ECHT! – Boilerism

Boilerism is pure sub-pressure chaos — SOPHIE’s hyperpop shine collides with Simo Cell’s bass weight and Sully’s rhythmic wizardry, all funneled through ECHT!’s explosive live jazz chemistry. It’s club music played like a rock band on the brink.

Dean Blunt x Elias Rønnenfelt – Lucre

Slacker rock haunted by heartbreak and beauty in decay — Lucre is a quietly devastating collage of lo-fi folk, post-punk shadows, and dream pop haze produced by Dean Blunt and Vegyn, with Elias drifting through it all like smoke in a sunbeam. Lush, haunting, and quietly unforgettable.

Om Unit - Acid Dub Studies III

Swampy 303 squelch meets smoked-out sound system science — Om Unit’s latest Acid Dub Studies entry blends rave nostalgia and dub futurism into something deeply hypnotic and endlessly tweakable.

YHWH Nailgun: 45 Pounds [AD 93]

A 21-minute typhoon of twisted guitars, guttural screams, and polyrhythmic chaos — 45 Pounds is experimental rock balancing chaos and control with all the finesse of a crashing helicopter. Definitely an NYC band to watch.

Bambinodj - Silent Dispatch

Imagine Aphex Twin ghost-producing for a sunlit Berlin dembow set — Silent Dispatch bends African rhythms, vaporwave nostalgia, and slick 80s textures into something tender, strange, and totally new.

Saffron Bloom – Saffron Bloom

Sepehr’s trip-hop alias dives into illbient swamps and ghosted breakbeats, conjuring a raw, eerie beauty that lingers like perfume in a dark room.

MK Velsorf & Aase Nielsen - Opening Night

A sun-soaked hallucination of ambient jazz and muzak — Opening Night drifts through LA’s gallery glow with eerie calm, evoking Satie, Arthur Russell, and Michael Mann in equal measure.

Nels Cline: Consentrik Quartet [Blue Note]

Avant-jazz with teeth and tenderness. Cline’s latest swings, grooves, and hypnotizes with a dream team of improvisers in a set that channels Brooklyn’s restless spirit.

EPs

Conna Harroway - Spatial Fix

Conna builds a sonic river of slippery, tumbling beats — where glitchy textures and slippery percussion melt into each other in a beautifully off-balance fashion. Spatial Fix flows like ambient on a bender, always shifting, always alive.

Sa Pa - The Fool

Sa Pa’s latest EP — the first release on Short Span, a new label from Matthew Kent, who previously ran the mix music platform Blowing Up The Workshop — is all about pressure. Slow, cavernous basslines carve through misty ambient layers, creating a soundscape you can feel in your chest. Warm, hypnotic, and beautifully heavy.

96 Back - Catford Jewelzz [Tempa]

Half-step dubstep with a psychedelic mutation — Catford Jewelzz blends Coki-era sub weight with rubbery synths and fractal percussion, pushing Tempa’s reboot into unpredictable new territory.

Boylan – Tunnel

A molten blast of apocalyptic breakbeat — timeless, physical, and ice-cold. Shard View launches with 10 heavy, percussion-led missives from the depths of Peckham’s war room with London, Detroit, and Berlin colliding in a war drum of bass futurism.

Compilations / Singles

A very light section this month but both of these comps sing in their own ways.

Deep, rumbling—a shift in the seasons. Serious stuff, but always with a grin—Ommaya Vol. 3 back for round three, bringing in friends from Tokyo to Berlin alongside familiar faces to properly bass-boost this entry

A forward-leaning selection of producers navigating the outer edges of Bass Music. Swerving between weighty low-end pressure, footwork tempos, dubwise manipulations, and seismic percussive workouts, this release captures a raw, unpolished energy built for low-ceiling rooms and sound system explorations.

Malibu-esque ambiance drifting through the abyss.

Mixes

"64 tracks in 2 hours. All vinyl. Recorded in two overdubbed takes on 3 turntable setups - kinda like going back to back with myself."

Shouts to Osmosis which seems like an incredible festival and Michael McKinney (via Passion of the Weiss) for his always excellent monthly mix roundups. He wrote of this set “Osmosis in the Trees 2024 starts out as a survey of zero-grav electronics, all deep-space pings and bleary-eyed ambience. But it’s not long before the silhouettes start to sharpen, and, suddenly, yumi’s off to the races, speeding between vein-popping footwork, billion-ton dancehall, mile-a-minute drum workouts, and just about anything else liable to crack the dancefloor in half. It’s a remarkable set that, on paper, ought to disintegrate”

NAP's pi/live is a three-hour whirlwind of dance music’s wild fringes—scorching reggaetón, foggy dub-techno, stomping UK garage, psychedelic trance and more —spun with the fearless, boundary-smashing energy that defines his legendary sets.

A convergience of friendship from the organizers of Sweat Sessions and Final Passage featuring Purelink, Significant Other, Yushh, and adjacent bass / dubwise productions.

Upcoming Shows and Concerts

An expanded list with callouts will be coming soon with the entirety of summer.

Fri 5/23 [Of Montreal] performing ‘The Sunlandic Twins’ / cumgirl8 @ Brooklyn Steel

Fri 5/23 [Squid] @ Warsaw

Wed 5/28 [death's dynamic shroud + Vitesse X] @ Elsewhere

Thu 5/29 [Pachinko / Alison’s Halo] @ Brooklyn Paramount

Sat 5/31 [MIKE] @ Irving Plaza

Sat 5/31 [SMINO] @ Terminal 5

Mon 6/2 [MOURNING [A] BLKSTAR, FATBOI SHARIF @ TV Eye
Wed 6/5 [Turnstile, Teezo Touchdown, Boy Harsher, Big Boy] @ Under the K Bridge
Wed 6/5 [Sunny Day Real Estate] @ Ashbury Lanes
Wed 6/5 [Courting / Slow Fiction] @ Night Club 101
Fri 6/7 [Lucy Liyou + Eliana Glass] @ Public Records
Tue 6/10 [Perfume Genius] @ Brooklyn Paramount

That’s all for this week, if you enjoyed this newsletter please share it with a music loving friend and subscribe for more <3

Open this newsletter in your browser or the substack app to hear each release here, or you can also just head over to this Buy Music Club list if you prefer to listen to them all in one place.

If you prefer streaming (despite all of it’s negatives) there are also regularly updated playlists on Spotify featuring everything here + more.

EPs

JZKL - Pancake of the Infinite

Emerging from Pittsburgh's rustbelt chasms as a triumphant declaration for punks, queers, weirdos, and freaks seeking knee-bending dancefloor chaos. Johnny Zoloft's rhythmic backbone and Kiernan Laveaux's explosive zaps converge most brilliantly on "Horse Girls"—a lesbian musique concrète turned oddball anthem that blends organic breakbeats, turntable mischief, and prismatic melodies into something uniquely flamboyant and psychedelic.

No Sir - Decoys

Wicked sound design engineered to light up dance floors. Sonic exploration of relentless momentum with layers of found sounds, ghostly ambiance, and chest-rattling low end that constantly mutates between paranoid tension and breathless release.

Champa B & Tim Reaper - Pandemonium

Heads down gun fingers up old school hardcore jungle

Thread Heather - La Distance

The solo debut of Diskotopia co-founder Matt Lyne, stepping away from his uncategorizable A Taut Line project into pure H-O-U-S-E territory fueled by funky hand percussion, syncopation, shuffle, and intricately tuned harmonics.

Sard - POSM

Watery, organic Detroit techno

Herbalistek - Diraliavoid EP

Unbelievably deep dubstep that pierces the chasm and tickles the mind.

Sub Basics - Phase Drift [Osmura]

Osmura is a newly formed London-based record label focusing on hypnotic and dubby techno alongside deep and techy soundscapes. Phase Drift is only the label’s second release but the future seems very promising.

Secret Third Thing - Bedrock (DEMO)

Rooted in his grade-school-era passion for “postrock, grunge, emo math slacker rock” J. Albert’s Bedrock (DEMO) under his new cheekily named alias, Secret Third Thing, is far from the oddball electronics he’s known for but just as enthralling.

Clara Kimera - Dial 8

Breaky, boppy (occasionally ripping) pop with a touch of sleezy electroclash for fans of oklou, PinkPantheress, BaBii, AG Cook, or maybe the Bassvictim album mentioned in the last newsletter.

Singles

London percussionist Pike emerges with a debut that transforms his behind-the-scenes mastery into a striking solo statement. His unique rhythmic fingerprint—equally indebted to UK bass, rock, dub, and avant-garde electronics—results in a dynamic exploration of live instrumentation's cathartic potential. Truly special stuff, and I can’t wait to see what else Pike has to offer.

Through distorted yet juicy textures, standout track ‘Frayed End’ opens with gritty halftime grooves and meticulously crafted distortion, building an atmosphere thick with tension that is as dystopian as it is captivating.

[to borrow from youtube comments as the bandcamp description does]

This track is like being swept away by a never-ending river while gently descending from the stratosphere, or gazing upward in a cathedral the size of Manhattan. This remaster adds new depth to what was already one of the deepest cuts in existence, extracting heaven into pure wet bliss that continues to inspire and shape tastes seven years later.

A prime example of the exhilarating French bass/dubstep/techno scene.

A system-rattling fusion of UKG and baile funk rhythms that transcends border with sweltering production that delivers infectious vibrancy and larger-than-life presence.

A select from an hour long electroacoustic ambient record influenced by 90'-00’s era new age tracks by buttechno.

Absurd, acidic electro footwork.

Compilations

Guy McCreery’s London label Third Ear has evaded genre for almost 25 years now but it’s always had a signature sound. It’s all about ultra-minimalism, slow-build grooves, and sounds that really come alive on high-end rigs. It’s super high-tech in aesthetic, but never, ever sterile.

Mixes

An ongoing lists of my favorite mixes and sets from the year can be found here but below are a few from last two months that stood out.

‘Breaks_2_Fuck_2'

Deep dubbed out chuggers and downtempo mystic wizardry from Motion Ward label boss JS recorded at Osmosis in the Trees 2024 @ Club Membrane

A blistering hour of turbo-charged four-deck mixing from Waterworks 2024

Transmissions from the Outer Rim/Inner Edge. “you know the gates themselves are made of flood."

An almost frustratingly restrained mix that edges but never lets loose featuring intros, interludes, and breakdowns from primarily dubstep classics.

Lojeh invites Lady Late, DJ from Rennes and founder of Else Recordings, for a Jungle and Drum & Bass vinyl set.

That’s all for this one, hopefully I’ll be back shortly with a roundup of standout music from March. As always if you enjoyed reading please share it with a music loving friend and subscribe for more <3

I still stand by this playlist and I’ve had many friends tell me how much they love it. It’s a sampling of all the flavors 2024 had to offer and if you don’t have much time just stop reading right here, save this playlist, and listen through over the next week. Shouts to Sacre who shared the graphic used for the cover, don’t sleep on their album featured on the 2024 year end list.

Below you'll find a roundup of albums from the past quarter that broke through my mid-life malaise. I'll follow up with EPs/Singles/Mixes in a separate newsletter later this month—nobody has the bandwidth for all that at once.

After the albums, I’ve featured some picks for upcoming NYC shows worth checking out.

*Big Tip* Click the title to view this in your browser or open it in the Substack app, where you can listen along as you read.

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Albums

Bassvictim - Basspunk 2

I was introduced to Bassvictim at Unsound Krakow last October where I was blown to bits leaving behind all the anxieties and stresses of adulthood and life for 45 minutes of unadulterated euphoria and bliss unlike anything I've felt in ages. (Read more about the performance and Unsound festival here)

Building upon their excellent debut, Basspunk 2, adds to the bass punk cannon with bombast defined by raw, irresistible, frenetic energy. This Polish-American duo crafts bangers that somehow feel both bedroom-recorded and stadium-ready with Maria Manow's vocals slicing through grinding basslines and frenetic beats with hypnotic swagger.

It's Electroclash reborn for the instagram age, part digicore tantrum, part Witch House séance, and yet wholly original.

Maybe witnessing these tracks live first colored my judgment, but months later, this remains some of the most infectiously joyful music I've encountered in a long time. If you’re new to the duo, start with the OG, Basspunk, which edges this out slightly overall.

Richard Dawson - End of the Middle

Richard Dawson conjures everyday magic from the mundanities of life in middle England, where wedding guests paralyzed by depression and bullied schoolboys are rendered in his unmistakable voice against sparse guitar and sudden clarinet eruptions. His characters, as always, are painted lucidly as songs leap across generations and middle age confronts mortality.

In a recent Bandcamp interview, he joked that he should print business cards with the title "Master of Song"—but in reality, this isn't such a stretch, as few could claim to match his skill in crafting accessible yet profound vignettes in such a beautiful manner.

Mark William Lewis - Sparkles 22-24

Mark William Lewis' new mixtape, Sparkles 22-24, brings to light previously unheard recordings from March 2022 to December 2024 but these aren’t just half baked sketches, they’re a refreshing collection of psychedelic slowcore and mellow atmospherics. The tracks flicker between distorted guitars, chilling harmonica, and sluggishly mellow dreamlike musings in the style of Dean Blunt, King Krule, Yves Tumor, or Nourished by Time.

DJ MC - I’m So Cold

I'm So Cold slices through the darkness like neon on a foggy night. It’s a brain-melting evolution of Chicago footwork that rivals Jlin or Jana Rush at their most diabolical. DJ MC weaponizes fleet-footed percussion into something wickedly aerodynamic and profoundly unsettling – a predatory juke monster that stalks the shadows between the outer limits of rhythm in 2025.

Blue jazz fragments and chopped dialogue on highlight "If You Want Some Juice" evoke the soundtrack to a noir film set in a haunted warehouse. Give this track a spin and you’ll know if you want to dig deeper right away.

V/Z - It’s Cold in Baltimore [Offen Music]

A mixtape of thrilling improvised chaos where Valentina Magaletti and Susumu Mukai abandon the refined collaborations of their debut for something far more untamed. Militant hip-hop drums collapse into shivery post-punk as ghostly radio transmissions slice through the mix. Each track a new urban hallucination swinging from poignant string arrangements to icy trunk-rattling bass lines on a dime.

Kathryn Mohr - Waiting Room [The Flenser]

Waiting Room haunts like a ghost trapped in an abandoned Icelandic fish factory (which is actually where this album was recorded), with Kathryn Mohr’s lone voice and skeletal instrumentation echoing through desolate concrete corridors. Gothic post-punk collides with Grouper-esque ambience as metallic frigidity strangles every note. It’s a disarmingly barren exploration where PJ Harvey-inspired guitar rumbles and electronic whirrs result in offputting beauty.

Gaiko - Gaiko [Nous'klaer Audio]

A debut that weaves left-field electronics, IDM precision, and DnB intensity into a tapestry that breathes with rare sophistication. Piano melodies cascade through atmospheric textures before dissolving into tight, propulsive beats—a push-and-pull balancing euphoria and introspection with unusual playfulness. “Dance music with a conservatory soul.”

Jules Reidy - Ghost Spirit

Constellations of fractal guitar flit about microtonal explorations and ethereal vocal wisps. Jules Reidy’s berlin-honed technical mastery transforms personal dissolution into transcendence and with each listen the textures bury deeper into your mind. This is guitar music at it’s most adventurous drawing from avant folk and minimalism alongside playful experiments with blurry pop melodies and sampling.

DJ Daria - Fairyhouse

Bored Lord under a new alias as DJ Daria, what more needs to be said. Big t4t energy and the perfect amount of funk and groove.

Ø (Mika Vainio) - Metri

If you found the Loidis album a bit lacking but want something to scratch a minimal itch, look no further than this heady remaster of a hidden gem from the early 90s.

X or Size - All Avail

An LP that trudges dance music's murky subconscious like a sleepwalker navigating a fog-drenched warehouse. Scuzzy, textured ambient house where dusty samples crumble under their own weight.

Josiah Wolfson plays in the territory of Huerco S, Actress, or Michael J. Blood but pushes beyond his influences into territory that's more groggy and loose limbed, crafting a slow-motion psychedelic journey for bodies on a slow arc toward the very edges of the dancefloor. "Anonymous AD" and the title track stand as particularly potent gateways to submersed trippiness.

Comechelet x ϙue - TIME [re.core]

Comechelet and ϙue submerge listeners in aquatic depths where time suspends itself between heartbeats and horizons. Swelling angelic synths rise and recede like tides against shores of absence while restrained trancelike elements create tension that never fully releases. For fans of the 3xl extended universe, theory therapy, mu tate, chantsss, purelink, etc

Voice Actor, Squu - Lust (1)

Voice Actor trade their debut's sprawling cut-and-paste chaos for a luminous 45-minute journey into reverb-soaked dreamscapes where vocals drift between hypnotic drawl and breathy not-quite-singing. Squu helps cultivate this new sonic architecture with textures that flow between Burial’s UK atmospherics, new age ambience, and cinematic Bjork-like avant pop.

U.e. (Ulla Straus) - Hometown Girl

Intimacy captured through distance, as if Ulla placed a tape recorder across her bedroom before vanishing into soft piano notes and wandering woodwinds. A lo-fi collection of dawn lit sketches that blur the line between ambient haze and jazz inflected pop as they dissolve into each other in melancholy bliss.

Kenny Segal & K-the-I??? - Genuine Dexterity [BackwoodzStudioz]

Head swirling, heavily swaggered abstract hip hop with beat chef Kenny Segal dripping screwed boom bap beats and stellar (often hysterical) features from Armand Hammer, Open Mike Eagle, ShrapKnel, and more.

Oklou - Choke Enough [True Panther]

I really wanted to like this album more than I did but it just hasn’t clicked like Oklou’s older projects. The husky edges of 2020’s Galore mixtape with its tastefully minimalist art pop and r&b feel sanded down and replaced with 2000’s pop and dance nostalgia courtesy of A.G. Cook and Danny L Harle. It’s still worth listening to for an interesting take on restrained hyperpop but I was just hoping for more.

Other Notable Albums

Anna B Savage - You & i are Earth

FKA twigs - Eusexua

It’s not MAGDALENE but FKA Twigs is always queen and everyone should at least hear this album.

MIKE - Showbiz! [10k]

Big love to big MIKE always, one of brooklyn’s finest and most consistent stewards of hip hop artistry

Squid - Cowards

av moves - luna aux

Edward Skeletrix - Museum Music

tunng - Love You All Over Again

Rose Gray - Louder, Please

One for the fans of Brat and 2024’s big pop girlies

Klein - thirteen sense

Looking to dive into these albums? Check out this playlist featuring some highlights from them alongside exciting singles from the year so far.

Upcoming NYC Shows and Concerts

Thu Mar 6 [TONIGHT] SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE / Kassie Kurt / Polo Perks @Warsaw

Fri, Mar 7 - Ian Sweet @Night Club 101

Fri, Mar 07 - Friko / Peel Dream Magazine @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

3/17 - SahBabii @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

3/18 - Ela Minus @ Public Records

3/21 - Oklou @ Elsewhere Hall

3/22 - Maruja @ TBD (nYc location)

3/22 DARKSIDE, Kalia Vandever at Brooklyn Steel

3/25 - Astrid Sonne @ Pioneer Works

3/27 - Beak> @ Elsewhere

3/30 - Outline: Michael Rother plays ‘Neu!’ + ‘Harmonia’ / Thurston Moore / HTRK / Eiko Ishibashi @ Knockdown Center

4/1 - The Weather Station @ Bowery Ballroom

4/1 - Poppy @ Brooklyn Paramount

4/2 - The Weather Station @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

4/3 & 4/4 - FKA twigs @ Knockdown Center

4/5 - Nubya Garcia @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

4/12 - Mercury Rev @ National Sawdust

4/12 - Outline: Explosions In The Sky / Mum / Mae Fratti / There Gutting a Body of Water / UPSAMMY / Diles Que No Me Maten @ Knockdown Center

4/17 - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds / St. Vincent @ Barclays Center

4/23 & 24 - Lucy Dacus / Katie Gavin / jasmine.4.t @ Radio City Music Hall

4/30 - 5/4 - Charli XCX @ Barclays Center

5/3 - Max Richter @ BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House

5/3 - George Clanton @ Webster Hall

5/3 - Jane Remover @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

5/5 - SASAMI @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

5/7 Mei Semones @Music Hall of Williamsburg

5/8 - Kendrick Lamar / SZA @ MetLife Stadium

5/9 - Nils Frahm @ Kings Theatre

5/9/25 - Japanese Breakfast @ Brooklyn Paramount

5/9: C2C Oneohtrix Point Never, Nala Sinephro, Two Shell, Evilgiane, John Glacier @knockdown center

5/9 - SPELLING @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

5/10 & 11 - Japanese Breakfast @ Brooklyn Paramount

5/15 - Amyl and The Sniffers / Sheer Mag @ The Rooftop at Pier 17

5/16 - 5/18 - Fontaines D.C. @ Hammerstein Ballroom

5/17 - Geordie Greep (Black Midi) @ Brooklyn Paramount

5/23 - Of Montreal performing ‘The Sunlandic Twins’ / cumgirl8 @ Brooklyn Steel

5/29 - Pachinko / Alison’s Halo @ Brooklyn Paramount

5/31 - MIKE @ Irving Plaza

5/31 - SMINO @ Terminal 5

6/10 - Perfume Genius @ Brooklyn Paramount

6/25 & 26 - Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ Pioneer Works

That’s all for this one, thanks for reading and I hope you found some new music you love and/or some shows to check out. If you enjoyed this email please share it with a music loving friend and subscribe for more <3

So what makes this list different?

This list comes late because every year I sift through every other list I can get my hands on before finishing. This list is a result of that deep digging, that I love to do so others don’t have to. It’s also a result of some selective culling, there’s no need to reiterate albums on every other year end list (sorry Charli, Clairo, and Co).

There isn’t an album on this list that will be a waste of your time if you have at least a passing interest in the genre. This list largely skips electronic releases because those were already spotlighted on another post this past week. Thanks to all who shared and commented and engaged with that list, it was amazing to see such reception.

In the last few years I stopped numbering and instead bucket albums into 3 categories. This list will follow that format also with Essential, Really Great, and Notable.

The complete list with embedded players and blurbs for each album is live on the website but I’m only featuring picks here that I didn’t cover on Substack throughout the year.

I’ve always made it a point to include some reference genres for each release on the site as that kind of orienting information isn’t alway as accessible. Genres in 2024 are blurry things but I added some semblance of them here for some guidance.

‍I’ve selected a standout track from each album for a playlist on Spotify for easy discovery. This format inherently hurts most of these albums because they’re pieces of art meant to be consumed in full. However, these playlists are a sample platter that exhibit standouts from each album for those not interested in reading.

There is also a Buy Music Club page featuring everything available on Bandcamp.

This email will be cut in your inbox so click here to visit the Natural Music site for the full list which includes writing on all of these albums and embeddable players to listen along.

Tier 1 - Essential Albums

If you haven’t checked these albums and have an interest in the genres listed I can’t recommend these projects enough. The albums that will stick with me from 2024.

Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch [contemporary folk, bossa nova, brill building, lounge]

Jessica Pratt transforms her intimate folk into something grander on Here in the Pitch, where her ghostly voice floats through baroque arrangements and noir-tinged shadows. It's a bewitching reinvention that feels both timeless and fresh - like discovering a lost classic from an alternate past.

Chanel Beads - Your Day Will Come [dream pop, hypnagogic pop]

A hypnotic debut that defies easy categorization as a striking document of New York's underground. It’s an album of pure earworms that masterfully flutters between whispered confessions and cathartic screams and I just couldn’t get enough of it this year. I don’t think the band has had an NYC show that hasn’t sold out and Shane Lavers is an absolutely electric live performer.

Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee [brill building, psychedelic pop, indie rock]

Diamond Jubilee is a haunting, genre-bending must listen masterpiece that blends vintage aesthetics with modern production. The album's dreamy ballads, funk jams, and ghostly melodies evoke a sense of longing and nostalgia for the the faded dreams of a bygone era, while its lo-fi style creates a fragmented, hypnagogic version of Americana.

Astrid Sonne - Great Doubt [art pop, trip hop, ambient r&b]

Classical viola and detuned pianos collide with compressed percussion and dry 808s as Sonne's hushed vocals float through the mix. It’s avant-garde R&B and bizarre pop reimagined as a fever dream, where every element is twisted just enough to become thrillingly strange. Living in the greater orbit that is Denmark’s underground pop scene alongside innovators like Clarissa Connelly (featured below), ML Buch, Molina, Fine, and Erika de Casier.

Hannah Frances – Keeper Of The Shepherd [progressive folk, singer-songwriter]

In a remarkable year for folk music, Keeper of the Shepherd emerges as a stunning achievement. Frances’ commanding voice soars over sparse arrangements that blend traditional folk with experimental flourishes, recalling Sandy Denny while carving out entirely new territory. Through abstract, deeply affecting lyrics about loss and renewal, Frances creates an album that feels both timeless and urgently contemporary.

Lip Critic - Hex Dealer [synth punk, digital hardcore, post-industrial]

Lip Critic's debut album sounds like the fucked up amalgamation of Death Grips, The Garden, Machine Girl, Model/Actriz, and Daughter. Noisy, twisted electronic garage punk madness that hits like a freight train with massive sub warping basslines but also surprisingly wicked hooks that claw through the barreling assault of noise.

MIKE & Tony Selzer - Pinball [trap, east coast hip hop]

MIKE takes an exhilarating detour on "Pinball," trading his signature introspection for unabashed swagger over Tony Seltzer's psychedelic trap beats. The 20-minute collaboration finds the typically contemplative rapper flexing with newfound energy, while still weaving in his trademark existential bars.

Jawnino - 40 [uk hip hop, experimental hip hop, grime]

A rising star in the UK underground rap scene, known for his laidback flow and unique blend of grime, jungle, cloud rap, and dream-pop. His debut combines bass-driven beats with coolly delivered freestyles over warping breakbeats and airy synths. Nathan Evans of wrote a stellar profile on the anonymous artist for Crack thats worth reading if you vibe with the sound.

Spresso - Pretty Penny Slur [noise rock, stoner rock, garage rock]

Alpha Maid and Mica Levi's 'Pretty Penny Slur' is a masterclass in controlled chaos – sixteen tracks of twisted punk squeezed into twenty breathless minutes. Like archaeologists with sledgehammers, they excavate '90s grunge and DIY punk, reconstructing the pieces into something thrillingly askew. Alpha Maid's serrated guitar work tangles with Levi's fractured rhythms, while hidden production tricks create deliberate glitches that feel like your record player is haunted. It's both a love letter to basement show energy and a subversive dismantling of it.

Rich Ruth - Water Still Flows [jazz fusion, nu jazz]

An unlikely fusion of meditative ambient and crushing metal that shouldn't work but emerges as something transcendent. The Nashville artist weaves together harps, roaring saxophones, and droning guitars with the precision of a jazz composer and the spiritual weight of a shaman. A delta where heavy metal meets minimalism, krautrock flows into jazz fusion, all unified by Ruth's adventurous vision.

Geordie Greep - The New Sound [jazz/art/prog-rock, samba]

Geordie Greep's solo debut pirouettes like a deranged carnival through brass-soaked Brazilian tropicália, prog jazz-funk and unfashionable Broadway excess. The Black Midi frontman's theatrical speak-sing delivery leads a 30-piece ensemble with cartoonish flair that's equal parts vulgar comedy and profound tragedy.

YATTA - PALM WINE [art pop, neo-psychedelia, experimental] *

A kaleidoscopic homecoming, where ancient West African storytelling collides with avant-pop experimentation. The album weaves together sacred hymns and irreverent covers, traditional palm wine melodies and digital dreamscapes. It's a fascinating family legacy twisted into new shapes – YATTA's granduncle pioneered the palm wine genre, and now their descendant reconstructs it through a prismatic modern lens.

Tier 2 - Really Great Albums

I really loved these projects and I’m sure I’ll come back to them. I struggled with honing the essentials list so the albums at the top here are almost as essential.* denotes not mentioned on Substack before

JPEGMAFIA – I Lay Down My Life For You [experimental hip hop, rap rock]

Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future [singer-songwriter, contemporary folk]

Martha Skye Murphy - Um [ambient art pop, avant-folk]

Martha Skye Murphy's debut album "Um" is a stunningly original and diverse work of art pop that showcases her ethereal vocals set against meticulously crafted soundscapes. Think Slauson Malone meets Kate Bush.

Anastasia Coope – Darning Woman [freak folk, avant folk]

An album of heady, forward thinking pop music that might be described as freak folk by some. It’s sparse and quant at times but full of pleasantly unusual earworms with melodies that float around a room.

Moin - You Never End [experimental rock, post rock, spoken word]

Cappo - S.T.A.R.V.E. [UK hip hop] *

Every year I seem to come across a banging heady UK hip hop record that feels absolutely essential. Last year was Brother May’s Pattern With Force and this year it’s this album. S.T.A.R.V.E. brims with fearless post grime boom bap production and head spinning production alongside Cappo’s smooth accented bravado.

Blue Bendy - So Medieval [art rock, indie rock, post-punk revival] *

A glorious contradiction – baroque pop flourishes and post punkish math-rock precision colliding with raw emotional voltage. It's the rare debut that feels both experimental and warmly inviting, where every sonic detour leads somewhere unexpectedly beautiful. Hailing from South London the band often gets swept into a pool with Dry Cleaning, Squid, or Black Country, New Road and if you’re into that sound this isn’t an album to miss.

samlrc - A Lonely Sinner [post-rock, ambient, shoegaze]

Julie: The release oscillates between shimmering shoegaze and crushing post-metal with lo-fi acoustic/ambient stitches between. It’s a collection of dramatic but soft sounds that turn life into cinema.

tldr: like GY!BE for zoomers.

Forgetting You Is Like Breathing Water - s/t [post rock, jazz, ambient]

Kneecap - Fine Art [political hip hop, hardcore hip hop] **

A fearless second album that weaves Irish and English rap with biting social commentary and dark humor. A concept album of sorts alongside their breakout film of the same name, we follow the lads on a meandering night out, replete with skits and interludes, on a no-holds-barred journey that builds on their signature style with ambitious production ranging from dubstep bangers to reflective collaborations with Fontaines D.C.

English Teacher - This Could Be Texas [indie rock, art rock, post-punk, art punk] *

English Teacher's Mercury Prize-winning "This Could Be Texas" reinvents British guitar music with fearless imagination. The Leeds quartet combines razor-sharp wit and working-class narratives with an expansive sonic palette, proving art-rock can be both adventurous and accessible without compromising either.

Sacre - Orchestration of My Joy [idm, glitch, ambient]

This is slightly haunted headphone listening music for fans of Actress, Space Afrika, and the likes. It’s a thrilling swirl of lush breaks, beautiful piano bits, and heady textures which at moments (like on ‘substitutes’) is complemented by subterranean drum and bass.

BABii - DareDeviil2000 [uk bass, alternative r&b]

BABii flexes her Björk-level aptitude and penchant for deep world building as she enters something akin to Dante’s Inferno. It’s the pure unadulterated fun we all need sometimes and a comforting salve to those who felt pain listening through SOPHIE’s posthumous release.

Malibu - Essential Mixtape [ambient, electronic, field recordings] *

The Essential Mixtape is a cleansing, water-like album that washes over the mind. Malibu and Merely’s music is swelling and stormy, navigating space to achieve resolution time and time again. Like all well-balanced ambient tracks, the celestial elements and vocals are articulated with rumbles, pulses, and waves of bass, delivering a heaviness and texture necessary to feel the release of music in its entirety. It’s invigorating and soothing, consuming without suffocating, providing air. - Julie Kim

Ekko Astral – pink balloons [queercore, post-hardcore, noise rock] *

pink balloons "is about disruption. But it’s also about Washington, DC, queerness, partying, money, violence, difference, irony, and religion. And also: fuck you. The debut LP from DC-based Ekko Astral is a complex mesh of bubblegum noise punk and no-wave art rock that holds an elastic space for the knotty, tangled horrors of living in the imperial core.

Julie - my anti-aircraft friend [slacker rock, shoegaze, noise pop]*

julie's debut "my anti-aircraft friend" reinvigorates '90s alt-rock with a potent blend of shoegaze, grunge, and slacker rock. Raw emotions burst through seas of atmospheric distortion and muscular noisy guitar work.

This email will be cut in your inbox so click here to visit the Natural Music site for the full list which includes writing on all of these albums and embeddable players to listen along.

Tapir! - The Pilgrim, Their God and The King Of My Decrepit Mountain [indie folk, chamber folk, post rock]

RIYL: Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Black Country New Road, and GYBE

Laura Marling - Patterns in Repeat [chamber folk, singer-songwriter] *

Laura Marling's "Patterns in Repeat" captures the quiet revelations of new motherhood through intimate folk arrangements wrapped in warm analog hiss. Her eighth album finds profound beauty in domestic life, where flutes, rustic strings, and her devastating voice turn everyday moments into tender poetry

Mount Eerie - Night Palace [singer songwriter, post-rock, avant-folk, drone] *

Phil Elverum taps into the little universe he's created as Mount Eerie over the last 25 years for a double album that's among his best. Leaving behind the minimally instrumented profoundly worded death songs of his last two releases he captures something larger drawing from rock, metal, drone and folk textures.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - “No Title As of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead” [post rock]

2K88 - SHAME [instrumental hip hop, uk bass, jungle]

2K88's debut album “SHAME” is a sonic tapestry that fuses classic Polish rap samples with innovative soundscapes, blending ambient textures, dub basslines, and frenetic jungle beats. The album reflects on Poland's post-communist cultural evolution while pushing the boundaries of the country's vibrant hybrid club scene.

Able Noise - high tide [experimental rock, post-rock, sound collage, free improv] *

Able Noise's "High Tide" warps post-rock foundations into something thrillingly new through meticulous tape manipulation and fractured rhythms. The Dutch-Greek duo builds vast sonic landscapes where violins, saxophones, and clarinets weave through the chaos with surprising grace. Even at its most experimental, the album maintains a magnetic pull - finding meaning in the spaces between noise and melody.

Beak> - >>>> [krautrock, post-rock, neo-psychedelia]

The Body & Dis Fig - Orchards of a Futile Heaven [death industrial, post-industrial]

Milan W. - Leave Another Day [neo-psychedelia, dream pop, ambient pop]

Brittany Howard - What Now [psychedelic soul, funk rock]

Clarissa Connelly - World of Work [progressive folk, art pop] *

Clarissa Connelly weaves medieval mysticism and modern philosophy into ethereal folk explorations of labor and desire. Her haunting voice guides us through gothic ballads where church bells meet electronics, transforming personal longing into universal poetry.

Jabu - A Soft and Gatherable Star [dream pop, dub, downtempo]

Jabu explore abstract textures and echoing dub with deep bass lines and minimal, sparkly guitar lines for a modern take on bristolian post punk / trip hop.

Still House Plants - If I don't make it, I love u [experimental rock, post-rock]

Guests - I Wish I Was Special [ambient pop, spoken word, field recordings]*

Hypnotic DIY pop with Jessica Higgins' deadpan poetry drifting over dreamlike soundscapes. The Glasgow duo builds intimate collages where café ambience, primitive synths, and spoken word blur into something quietly mesmerizing. RIYL: Headache

Goat - Goat [psych rock, funk, heavy]

Goat are back with their rollicking, blown out take on bluesy psychedelic biker rock. Featuring hedonistic funk, merciless fuzz, and hypnotic grooves that ignite alongside unexpected detours into free jazz, hip hop, and breakbeats showcasing a band effortlessly straddling past, present, and future.

meaningful stone - angel interview [dream pop, shoegaze] *

A standout shoegaze album that thrums with delicate radiance and brightness.

Marika Hackman - Big Sigh [indie folk]

Marika Hackman's latest melds 90s grunge grit with classical piano flourishes, exploring darker introspection and cathartic moments of tension and release.

Mount Kimbie - The Sunset Violent [indie rock, post-punk, dream pop] *

An album that leaves behind the band's electronic roots (and last album) for hypnotic post-punk, where krautrock rhythms meet shimmering guitar work. The London duo expands their sound with a full band and taps King Krule for two tracks creating their most accessible yet emotionally resonant album to date.

Colle — Montalvo [dream pop, ambient pop, trip hop] *

While known for her work in Chanel Beads (an essential 2025 listen), Maya McGrory also stepped into stunning new territory on her solo debut as Colle this year, weaving childhood memories into crystalline electronic landscapes; "characterised by expansive glacial synths and strings, while trip-hop and shoegaze-inspired beats push her music into an experimental realm of electronic indie-rock"

ØKSE - ØKSE [avant-garde jazz, experimental hip hop]

Masaka Masaka - Barely Making Much [experimental hip hop, jungle, techno]

A sprawling, ambitious album that's as sculptural as it is explorative, reaching through genre membranes and refusing to stay still for a second. Masaka Masaka drew inspiration listening to the sounds of Dean Blunt, Slauson Malone, Arca, Jpegmafia and Vegyn and you can really hear it (in the best way).

Winged Wheel - Big Hotel [post-punk, shoegaze, krautrock] *

Winged Wheel's Big Hotel brings together an all-star cast of experimental musicians to craft hypnotic krautrock grooves and cosmic textures. The supergroup, featuring members of Sonic Youth and Matchess, channels the spirit of Can and Neu! into a singular, pulsing journey through space.

Yu Ching - The Crystal Hum [neo-psychedelia, ambient pop] *

An album that haunts the space between dream and reality, where minimal arrangements of reverb-soaked guitars and vintage Casios create spectral Lynchian love songs. Yuching Huang's debut weaves spectral vocals through nocturnal soundscapes that feel like getting lost in midnight streets of an imaginary city.

Tristwch Y Fenywod - Tristwch Y Fenywod [darkwave, avant-folk, gothic rock]

Ludwig Wandinger - Is Peace Wild?

In hotel rooms between shows and heartbreak, Ludwig Wandinger strips rhythm bare to craft beatless nocturnes that search for serenity, while guest vocals float through like midnight whispers questioning the nature of peace itself. Don't miss ‘Fire’, where Evita Manji transforms Lana's 'Young and Beautiful' into a spectral lullaby.

Daudi Matsiko - The King of Misery [singer-songwriter, indie folk]

Casey MQ - Later That Day, the Day Before, or the Day Before That [ambient, art pop]

Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn - Quiet in a World Full of Noise [ambient, art pop, new age, chamber music, minimalism] **

Dawn Richard trades in her maximalist sound for an avant-garde take on R&B and ECM style jazz atmospherics on her second collaboration with Spencer Zahn. Through whispery vocals, orchestral textures, and minimalist piano compositions, she crafts a dreamlike meditation on trauma and healing.

Naemi - Dust Devil [ambient pop, dub]

Chuck Johnson - Sun Glories [ambient, post-rock, drone, ambient americana]

RIP SWIRL - Perfectly Blue [dream pop]

GB - Gusse Music [art pop, chamber music]

A collaged symphony of experimental music with a pop sensibilities where tracks bleed into each other, like videos in a feed, momentarily grabbing the listener's attention only to be forgotten again shortly after. A 33-minute textural plunge into the melancholy of the infinite with lofi vocal delivery reminiscent of Dean Blunt and instrumental flourishes sure to please fans of Tirzah or Vegyn.

Tier 3 - Notable Albums

I didn’t get enough time with a lot of these records because I came across many of them late in the year during list season. I think there are some real gems here that I didn’t have time to fully digest that might otherwise be in Tier 1 or 2.

Lifted - Trellis [nu jazz, experimental rock]

Belong - Realistic IX [shoegaze, post punk]

Holy Tongue meets Shackleton - The Tumbling Psychic Joy of Now [neo psych, ambient dub]

Dummy - Free Energy [neo-psychedelia, noise pop, post-punk revival]

Dummy's "Free Energy" transforms drone-punk into a joyfully kinetic fusion of IDM electronics and motorik precision.

Father John Misty - Mahashmashana [singer-songwriter, baroque pop, chamber pop]

Iceboy Violet & Nueen - You Said You'd Hold My Hand Through The Fire [UK hip hop, weightless]

More Eaze - lacuna and parlor [ambient americana, electroacoustic, minimalism]

Ambient country pocked with the subtlest, most provocative matrix glitches, sentimental and hyperreal.

22º Halo - Lily of the valley [slacker rock, bedroom pop]

LICE - Third Time at the Beach [post punk, experimental rock]

Julia Sabra - Natural History Museum [singer songwriter, indie folk]

Lyndsie Alguire - time is but the drawing of a sword [new age, ambient pop]

Jlin - Akoma [footwork, idm]

Bill Callahan - Resuscitate [progressive folk, live]

Mo Dotti - opaque [shoegaze, dream pop, noise pop]

Gerald Cleaver - The Process [techno, abstract hip hop]

Black Decelerant, Contour & Omari Jazz - Reflections Vol. 2: Black Decelerant [ambient, progressive electronic, ecm style jazz]

Nala Sinephro - Endlessness [jazz fusion, space ambient]

Rogê - Curyman II [mpb, samba-rock]

Ka - The Thief Next to Jesus [drumless, east coast hip hop, abstract hip hop]

Kendrick Lamar - GNX [hip hop, pop rap]

Deadletter - hysterical strength [post-punk, art punk]

Mu tate - wanting less [ambient, dub, downtempo]

Dean Blunt - Hackney Commercial Waste (2022-2023) [neo-psych, art pop, indie rock]

Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us [indie rock, chamber pop]

Claire Rousay - Sentiment [slowcore, bedroom pop, emo]

Dekalb Works - For Barney, Who Was A Bad Dog, But A Good Boy, And Very Much Loved [experimental, ambient, trip hop]

Maya Beiser - Terry Riley’s in C [minimilism]

Florian T M Zeisig - Planet Inc [ambient, dub techno]

Kevin - Laundry [ambient pop, slowcore]

Cowboy Sadness - Selected Jambient Works, Vol 1 [ambient americana, drone, post rock]

Michael A. Muller - Mirror Music [neo classical, new age, ambient]

Danny Paul Grody Duo - Arc Of Night [ambient folk, american primitivism]

light decline - grey area [hypnagogic pop, glitch pop]

Ulla & Ultrafog - it means a lot

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wild God

Arooj Aftab — Night Reign

Mk.gee - Two Star & The Dream Police

If you made it this far, thank you. I hope you discovered some new music you love.

Many of these picks have been highlighted throughout the year but I tried to pull the cream of the crop for this transmission. I recycled some copy because the album list has really consumed my time and these are already late. New inclusions not featured in a past month denoted by **

For easy listening this Buy Music Club features everything on this list or the following playlist on Spotify does the same alongside some standout tracks of 2024.

Electronic music is made for the mix and I know readers won’t make it to the bottom so I’m pulling these to the front.

Mixes

Freerotation 2024 : The House Of Crocodiles Part 2 (Live Recording)

I know this is like the consensus mix of the year which felt obvious from the first listen, if you’ve somehow avoided it until now then strap in.

Nono Gigsta's latest offering live from Freerotation 2024, “The House of Crocodiles Part 2," is a masterclass in tension and release that defies categorization. From the moment the needle drops, Gigsta propels us into a sonic whitewater adventure. Like a skilled river guide, she navigates us through genre-defying rapids, each track a new bend in the stream. By mid-set, the energy pouring from Room 2 is palpable – a crescendo of collective ecstasy. This isn't just a mix; it's a journey through sound, where Björk, Miles Davis, AC/DC, and gut-twisting dubstep coexist in perfect harmony. Gigsta doesn't just play tracks; she weaves a tapestry that must be experienced to be believed. This is mix that demands your full attention and I’m sure it’s one many DJs will be thinking about and aspiring to for years to come.

See also: Gigsta explores bell sounds for the March edition of Fictions in a mix that’s a calming balm for any stressors you may have.

Unsound Podcast 104: gummi **

My favorite DJ set of Unsound Krakow (read our full festival review here). Gummi weaved together grimy ambient and varieties of r&b / rap with jungle, DnB, dubstep, and all flavors of bass weight in between.

Julie: Each blend indistinguishable, nothing disturbing, everything exciting. She mixed with precision and grace, with a deep understanding that the remaining hundred people on the dance floor were hanging on to every last beat.

naffcast002 ⦾ Special Guest DJ @ Osmosis in the trees ⦾ Club Membrane **

This feels like the spiritual predecessor to my introduction to Shy in the Grove at Sustain in 2022 as its a live recording of Shy's set at Osmosis fest recorded in the trees. Chaotic forest dub and in his words “beat play (kink), backwards and forwards, rough n raw wild card pressure from the start with sewn leather to korn at the finish line.”

DJ Plead - Sustain Release Year 9

A quick read through the comments should tell you all you need to know about this mind bending set from the Grove at Sustain Release this summer. A true standout moment from a festival with a very high bar for sonic hedonism.

Top sustain set…ever - Baby Leo

—- “Top festival set ever…” -DJ POSSUM

Mix of the year confirmed - Sputnik One

Unsound Podcast 100: phil in a maze

Phil In a Maze’s set at the Unsound Closing Party harnesses the power of tech-inflected dnb and the impressionistic sophistication of dub. It's a game of tempo division and multiplication, featuring stuttering drum patterns and sludgy dancehall.

dBridge B2B Ehua at Draaimolen Festival 2023

Titans in their own right, this pairing exceeds expectations with a live recording from Draimollen, a festival in the Netherlands known for interesting b2bs among immaculate lineups (e.g. Blawan b2b Skrillex & Darwin b2b Mala). The pair deliver a particularly lethal second hour as they take a turn towards darkness and really lock in.

New Year's Nonstop - Jan 1 2024 by DJ Voices

A good DJ set should tell a story and many have tried but few in recent memory tell such a vivid and legible journey. It was halfway through the month hearing this mix that finally kicked my ass into gear to start on this newsletter finally.

kinetic mix 027: Ikävä Pii

A high energy hour of weird swampy sounds, eery melodies & intricate detail, put together with so much love and care it feels like one full track. Shoutout kinetic <3

Neffa-T with Manga St Hilare & Micofcourse

Filthy grime and dubstep mixed by the maestro Neffa - T with MCs Manga St Hilare & Micofcourse spitting on top like mad men. I’ve truly never heard MC’s spitting like this with the two gliding in and out with unparalleled precision, velocity, wit, and plenty of laughter.

Edwin N°124 - Darwin

Sustained bass-bin shattering sub and what feels like her Nowadays’ set folded into a tight 46 minute mix.

Outsiders: Minor AM w/ Razrbark @ Kiosk Radio 28.02.2024

Razrbark weaves across sludgy slowcore, freaky neo folk, detuned shoegaze, spoken word, dream pop and more in the first half before veering into electronic territory in the back half. Her deft touch and precision when jumping across such sonic variety is nothing short of masterful and she’s quickly becoming a favorite selector of mine.

Daydreaming w/ Shorlax @ Kiosk Radio**

A daydream of tripped out music across every genre kicking off with washy, liquidy ambience. Shorlax glides from jungle to trip hop to art pop and back to trippy heady techno all in a tight hour.

ani/live Fifty One: Ophélie @ Floorless Festival

An incredible mix from Ophélie live from Floorless Festival, this would have been so much fun on the dancefloor. Often holding onto tight subby loops for a long time in what sounds like dexterous 3-4 deck masterclass.

Faery ❍ Live at Exchange, Bristol [17.05.24]

Mesmerizing dnb and uk bass mutations live from Bristol.

Tim Reaper b2b Dwarde at Parameter 2024, San Francisco

Live recording from a massive b2b set at Parameter 2024 in San Francisco - Utter "Mayhem", "Insanity", and "Madness”.

100% Chinese Shoegaze - maxiu - 20 Sep 2024

New wave shoegaze is all the hype lately but I assume few people are on the Chinese shoegaze wave, Maxiu is here to change that with a beautiful sampling of the scene.

Assyouti @ Berlin Atonal 2024

RA.962 Joker**

If you liked this list you can find my complete list of mix highlights here.

EPs

Bukkha - Solace [Five Alley]**

Heady, dubby soundsystem music that wobbles in the best way possible.

Kercha - Absurd EP [DNO]**

Dark 2-step mutations produced to perfection, “rhythms of postmodern realism”

Anta Doma - Mn25/Temples**

Dark, psychedelic mutant bass of the highest caliber oscillating between percussive grooves and deep atmosphere.

WZ - IMRV041 [Innamind Recordings]**

Skanky tuff as hell dubstep giving an old school sound a modern twist.

Carré - Air Sign [SPE:C]

Slinky, wonky, slightly proggy dubstep from the Fast at Work boss.

E Wata - EP 1 [Slink]

As 50% of SLINK (along with Simisea and rrao) the duo worked together for years throwing events and honing a sound before working together in the studio.

These tracks emerged from a series of late night sessions marked by “what if?” wormholes and “why not?” arrangements for a live set at Sustain Release in 2022 and refined over the following year.

Joey - Ten Sixty [Elicit Records]

A masterful blend of innovative soundscapes, complex textures and trippy, percussive madness from the rising NYC-based artist, Joey.

One Hundred and Fifty Steps VEP [Bait]

French imprint Bait by Beatrice M is a label focused on the crossover of two spheres: snare heavy bass-music and immersive mental techno. The outcome is psychedelic, contemplative and at the same time calls for gun fingers and backspins. Bait’s second VEP is a 4-track dive into a rather modern phenomenon: 150bpm dubstep.

Less-O - Cri du Cœur [TemeT]

Simo Cell’s young brother Maxime makes music as Less-O and this mini album is bursting at the seams with fresh ideas as he traverses high definition, percussive, rolling club music across various tempos. The title track in particular is a standout.

Slolek - Object Desire [Of Paradise]

Slolek, returns to Of Paradise with Object Desire, a 4-track collection of saturated electronica, experimental bass, and fractured jungle.

‘A cinematically tinged journey across arid landscapes and through cavernous rooms, Object Desire is a desert-kissed masterpiece of expertly harvested sounds, an incredibly majestic and thought-provoking journey with a darkly ambient core.’

LT - Verb​—​0 [Tech Startup]

Sparkling, floaty, beautiful, dubby ambience that I could see working functionally in so many settings as a DJ. ‘Verb — Z’ cradles you like a forgiving goddess of bass, luring you into a floaty trance before turning off the lights about 2/3rds of the way through for a more muted and broken outro well suited to the EP.

V.I.V.E.K - Ghosts EP

Deep sound system exploration and innovation delivered the way only VIVEK can, essential dubwise listening.

TMSV - Antagonist

TMSV delivers four killer tracks of relentless subwoofer shaking wobbles and dubby percussion; bass face guaranteed.

Cristoph De Babalon - Ach, Mensch

Christoph de Babalon continues to innovate pushing the boundaries between his shadowy and haunting variant of breakcore, drum 'n bass, jungle, drone, and dark ambient. This EP is Christoph's continual evolution into territories few will dare risk.

Albums

I’m featuring some electronic leaning albums on the top albums list but these are some other full lengths that stood out.

Martyn - Through Lines [3024]

A collection of hand picked tracks by genre nomad and bass innovator Martyn, made between 2005 and 2015, remastered for release on 3024. A document of UK inspired dance music where ideas, genres, tempos and scenes rapidly merge and splinter off.

CHANTSSSS - Shyness [Theory Therapy]**

“Over 10 tracks of spacious, sub-aquatic ambience, CHANTSSSS pulls you deep into his vaporous sound world. The songs themselves, a blend of ambient pop, chamber music and pulsing low end rhythms, feel cloaked in mystery. Layers of reverb and zonked vocals float in the atmosphere, moving between and through one another, mist on mist.”

Priori - This but More [naff recordings]

Jlin - Akoma

Jlin transforms footwork into high art, weaving dizzying rhythms with classical sophistication. Her percussion programming dances between genres while collaborations with Philip Glass and Björk amplify rather than overshadow her vision. The result is both cerebral and visceral - unpredictable club music elevated to the avant-garde.

mu tate - wanting less

A nocturnal journey of watery, dubbed-out electronica. Crackling field recordings, mesmerizing atmospheres, and jazz-tinged melodies coalesce into a weightless, mind-tingling bliss.

Fury - 44 Minutes

A flurry of experimental footwork dealing in drugs, depression, domination and darkness from Blood Frenzy Records boss & maintainer of grimearchive.org, Fury.

Recorded in 2018, primarily during a caffeine-fueled all-nighter, 44 minutes, is a manic but precisely produced smattering of samples and mashups like ‘Marshalsea’ featuring spliced lines by Lana Del Ray and Lorde pitted against each other along with the occasional bark and a fury of subby percussion.

Emma DJ - Lay2g

Lay2g is a frenetic, genre-defying album that blends elements of blog house, EDM, donk, and hyperpop with nods to new wave and industrial music, a sonic landscape that's both nostalgic and futuristic. Lay2g masterfully balances destructive rhythms with emotional melodies, offering a punk-inspired approach to dance music.

Toma Kami - missed heaven

Born in his grandmother's countryside sanctuary, Toma Kami's 'Missed Heaven' trades his signature club thunder for crystalline detail, weaving hyperpop euphoria, sweeping pads and rhythm, and breaks into pristine emotional landscapes.

J. Albert - I want to be good so bad

Bandcamp user stoneinfocus describes this better than I could ever dream to:

“A dash of Basic Channel, a sprinkle of Shinichi Atobe, a little bit of Huerco and a healthy serving of whatever magic sauce J always seems to be cooking with to bind it all together, and we've got something truly special.”

Xenia Reaper - Luvaphy [INDEX:Records]

It’s unknown who’s behind the Xenia Reaper alias but it’s clear they’re a masterful producer. Luvaphy is a warm hug, a vast and weightless excursion through sonic space.

Aroma Nice - Old Haunts [YUKU]

A trip down memory lane of breakcore, jungle, DnB and mid-to-late 90s IDM offering a bonanza of breakneck breaks, earth-shaking bass and floaty melancholy pads. A surrealist tale told through a whirlwind of eclectic, sub-heavy dance styles that pummel with hardcore drive and club-focused sound design, ultimately delivering in the words of bandcamp comment “technicolor breaks-phoria”

Xylitol - Anemones**

Shouts to with the tip on this, he wrote about the album (his AOTY) and interviewed Xylitol on his substack here.

TURQUOISEDEATH - Kaleidoscope**

Gerald Cleaver - The Process**

DJ Birdbath - Memory Empathy**

Added after the fact, shoutout boxofbox on the tip.

Comps

Blank Mind ‘Lost Paradise: Blissed Out Breakbeat Hardcore 1991-94’

A compilation of deep cuts that’ll remind you of every time you saw the sun rise and/or felt the sun on your face at 6am after experiencing a full-bodied rave epiphany.

With an intrigue for a particular niche of old UK hardcore which takes cues from Sheffield bleep ambience, heady rave futurism and soft, almost new age synth pads, Blank Mind presents ‘Lost Paradise: Blissed Out Hardcore 91-94’

Pressure Dome Comp 005

A perfect blend of atmosphere, low end and tricked-out drum workouts in proper Bristol style.

Of Paradise Found VA Comp

Explorative bass music meets hypermodern techno and hypnotic dubstep explorations on the latest V.A. from Of Paradise. The comp brings together a cluster of artists hell-bent on shaking up the underground with music that bubbles through the aether and then demands you sit up, listen, and take notice.

WZY4.5 VA

Woozy’s annual compilation gathers for its fourth installment, celebrating 9 artists of dubwise disposition that maintains the label and its founder EMA’s spellbinding tradition in futurist soundsystem music.

3024 Undercurrents Vol 2

The second of three compilations featuring artists from Martyn’s 3024 Mentoring Program released in the past three months exploring what a record label can be in 2024. All three comps are worth listening through, sheesh.

EARFUL OF WAVS | VOL.3

That’s all for today, if you found some music you loved here I’d really appreciate if you could share this list with a friend. Stay tuned for the best in non-dance music the rest of this week, it’s a super diverse mix of sounds coming your way.

I finally came home from Europe this week but before I left Milan I got the opportunity to play at Radio Raheem Milano. I called the show Dub Pressure and focused it around dubstep adjacent tunes I’ve been collecting the past few months. I hadn’t touched DJ equipment in a few months and my latest playlists didn’t sync to my USB so it was a bit bumpy but it was amazing to get a chance to play internationally at such an amazing station located in the beautiful Triennale.

I’ve updated the playlist featuring picks from this month that you’ll find below

Albums

A barrage of killer new albums in October. It was near impossible to hone this into just 10 picks  but I’ve ordered the releases to follow some flow, from the haunted post punkish releases of Jabu and Moin, to the frenetic freewheeling Goat and Geordie Greep, and the SOPHIE-esque excursions of Toma Kami and Babii and more.

Jabu - A Soft and Gatherable Star

A beautifully haunted record that slowly reveals itself and grows with each listen. Jabu explore abstract textures and echoing dub with deep bass lines and minimal, sparkly guitar lines for a modern take on bristolian post punk / trip hop.

Moin - You Never End

Moin's enigmatic post-rock takes on new life as vocalists join the fray intertwined with re-framed grunge and shoegaze, creating a heady alchemy that's both unsettling and comforting. A new phase where the abstract becomes strikingly direct.

Goat - Goat

Goat are back with their rollicking, blown out take on psychedelic biker rock featuring hedonistic funk, merciless fuzz, and hypnotic grooves ignite alongside unexpected detours into free jazz, hip hop, and breakbeats that showcase a band effortlessly straddling past, present, and future. 

Geordie Greep - The New Sound [Rough Trade]

Geordie Greep's solo debut whirls like a deranged carnival through brass-soaked Brazilian tropicália, prog jazz-funk and Broadway excess. The Black Midi frontman's theatrical speak-sing delivery leads a 30-piece ensemble with cartoonish flair between the absurd and the profound.

Toma Kami - missed heaven 

Born in his grandmother's countryside sanctuary, Toma Kami's 'Missed Heaven' trades his signature club thunder for crystalline detail, weaving hyperpop euphoria, sweeping pads and rhythm, and breaks into pristine emotional landscapes.

BABii -  DareDeviil2000

BABii flexes her Björk-level aptitude and penchant for deep world building as she enters something akin to Dante’s Inferno. It’s the pure unadulterated fun we all need sometimes and a comforting salve to those who felt pain listening through SOPHIE’s posthumous release (along with Toma Kami above).

Ludwig Wandinger -  Is Peace Wild?

In hotel rooms between shows and heartbreak, Ludwig Wandinger strips rhythm bare to craft beatless nocturnes that search for serenity, while guest vocals float through like midnight whispers questioning the nature of peace itself. Don't miss ‘Fire’, where Evita Manji transforms Lana's 'Young and Beautiful' into a spectral lullaby.

Forgetting You is Like Breathing Water - s/t

FYILBW's debut is a whip-smart fusion of powdery ambience, low-key Americana, and tempered free jazz. Trumpeter Will Evans and multi-instrumentalist Theo Trump, childhood friends reunited, trade deep, memorable phrases alongside provocative found-sound experiments and brass murmurs into a haunting, picturesque tapestry.

Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn - Quiet in a World Full of Noise

Dawn Richard trades in her maximalist sound for an avant-garde take on R&B and ECM style jazz atmospherics on her second collaboration with Spencer Zahn. Through whispery vocals, orchestral textures, and minimalist piano compositions, she crafts a dreamlike meditation on trauma and healing.

Milan W. - Leave Another Day

Belgian producer Milan Warmoeskerken makes a hard shift into oaky, autumnal dream pop and neo-psychedelia with an unusual suite of twisted love songs poisoned by toxic desire with a heavy nostalgic '80s tilt.

Molina - When You Wake Up

Following in the sonic footsteps of her college classmates Astrid Sonne, Clarissa Connelly, Erika de Casier and ML Buch, Danish-Chilean artist Molina’s debut brilliantly blends MBV-esque shoegaze, ethereal ambience, and scuzzed out trip hop.

DANIAILYAS - Enough For Me to Remain

DANIAILYAS weaves gossamer threads of sound across oceans as Barcelona's Dania Shihab's otherworldly vocals float through Portland-based Ilyas Ahmed's delicate guitar work like morning mist through bare branches. Not one to miss for fans of Grouper (Ilyas has played with Liz Harris in fact).

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - “No Title As of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead”

A raw distillation of resistance and hope, GYBE's most vital post-reunion work transforms war’s horrors into orchestral swells that pierce like air raid sirens, while beneath the chaos, a defiant heartbeat urges listeners to choose love over despair.

Fergus Jones - Ephemera

The debut album from Fergus Jones (FELT founder formerly known as Perko) floats through rain-slicked streets where turn-of-the-millennium dub techno melts into ambient dreamscapes with brief guest excursions into trip hop and hip hop.

Other Albums

VITESSE X - THIS INFINITE 

Spiral XP - I Wish I Was a Rat 

Chat Pile - Cool World [The Flenser]

Machine Girl - MG Ultra [Future Classic]

Elucid - Revelator

Clinic Stars - Only Hinting [Kranky]

Electronic Albums

Low End Activist - Municipal Dreams

Loe - 2k17

Caspa - ORIGINAL BAD BOY SELECTOR

Compilations

Switching up the order this month because there have been some stellar comps and I’ve realized the end of this newsletter often gets cut off in your inbox. I will try to get more concise in these roundups but make sure to load the full email to catch all the picks or view it in your browser where you can also listen along with embeds.

A heady crew of artists invited to interpret sheet music to play with musical notations and explore what it would mean to explore sound through a series of questions. 

The result is “ethereal scorescapes to hyperstimulating scratches. Sounds and shapes weave together, blurring the boundaries between the two” [Pay What You Want]

Woozy’s annual WZY.5 compilation summit gathers for its fourth installment, celebrating 9 artists of dubwise disposition that maintains the label and its founder EMA’s spellbinding tradition in futurist soundsystem music.

Debut compilation by Leenie’s Black Petal party out of denver, colorado featuring a crew of locals alongside some hot club music provocateurs from across the continent.

The second of three compilations featuring artists from Martyn’s 3024 Mentoring Program released in the past three months exploring what a record label can be in 2024. All three comps are worth listening through, sheesh.

EPs

Few words this month for the EPs because it’s really all about the albums and comps.

Singles

Obsessed with some of these tracks, give ‘em a quick spin here by reading in browser.

That’s all for this month, thanks for reading and stay tuned for end of year lists. If you enjoyed this email please share it with a music loving friend and subscribe for more <3

We timed the release of this article to coincide with Unsound New York in hopes that readers there will be encouraged to attend. Shows, except for the club night at Nowadays, are free or choose-what-you-pay (CWYP)

14 November: Opening night presented by Dripping. Shyboi b2b Bobby Beethoven (fka Total Freedom) / Atrice LIVE (big tip) / bela / 2k88 at Nowadays

15 November: Chuquimamani-Condori (aka E+E, Elysia Crampton) / Piotr Kurek presenting Smartwoods at at Lincoln Center (Free)

16 November: Kali Malone presents All Life Long for organs, choir and brass / Raphael Roginski Plays John Coltrane at Lincoln Center (CWYP)

17 November: Sunn O))) / Mabe Fratti at Lincoln Center (CWYP)

Julie: My first encounter with Unsound was last fall in New York. The theme of 2023 called to the Dada movement of the early 1900’s that rose as a response to the brutality of WWI and “rejected ideas of progress, logic and rationality in favour of nonsense, outrage and radicalism” (Unsound). The choose-what-you-pay show at Lincoln Center’s Geffen Hall was a double feature, with Moor Mother spewing poetry on hypnotized listeners, and The Caretaker soothing them back to rest with distorted lullabies.

Aleksander: I’ve known about Unsound for years, and things finally lined up this year so I could fulfill my dream of attending. My father was born in Krakow where the festival is based, and I’ve always felt at home in the city.

J: At first glance, Krakow resembles any quaint Eastern European city, marked by a quiet stoicness. People are reserved and proud. There is an unassuming resistance in the form of youth complaining about the stifling politics. However, since the Soviet era, it has been a hub of counterculture, experimentation, and acceptance of left of center sounds; adopting Jazz, Punk, and the Beatnik movement with open arms. The more time you spend with its art and artists, the more you notice this spirit (Rebellion in the System).

The theme of Unsound 2024 was Noise. “NOISE, the conventional thinking goes, is unwanted sound: pops and scratches on a vinyl record, the ringing of tinnitus, the din of traffic. But this immediately gives rise to questions: unwanted by whom? and why?”

A: Noise in this telling was artists pushing outwardly against the confines of genre or tradition, presenting a maelstrom of sounds and visuals that represent the Noise of the post-whatever experimental underground.

Unsound is an inner-city festival that has programming across many venues throughout the day. This review focuses mostly on club nights.

This article will be cut in your inbox. To read the full review, click on the title.

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Thursday - Bill Callahan

J: We love Bill Callahan. His music is matter-of-fact and listless, calm and poetic. Some people have the ability to say a simple phrase one hundred times and make each repetition meaningful. Bill is one of these bards.

His live show was solitary; on the stage of a cinema, in front of a massive screen containing a wispy cloud-speckled blue sky. Southwestern soundscapes, a man on his guitar with the occasional harmonica, the finicky harmonica holder clunking against his other instruments from time to time, or being tossed aside rather awkwardly. He hopped around on stage whenever he interluded, first backwards from the mic and then side to side. His words were calming and lovely.

The day before, we attended his interview with Philip Sherburne, and his music that we adore made sense—the way he talks in stilted phrases, as if his sentences must be ⅔ the length of a standard being’s, the way he sings in stout lyrics, parroting himself over and over.

Thursday Club Night - UPROAR

A: I regrettably only caught the last track of Rainy Miller’s live performance. When I walked in, he was dramatically playing a guitar with a violin bow. Awe-inspiring ambience and spoken word reverberated around the room. If I had the chance to catch him again I would, in a heartbeat.

Next up was Zuli, taking cues from his hometown, the Egyptian capital of Cairo. He levied mutant basslines, twinkling rhythms, and Egyptian vocalizations reverberated about. He played a set stylized around his recent boundary-blurring release ‘Lambda’ that felt like the proper warmup to the chaos ahead.

In an exclusive debut live performance for Unsound, Aya brought an intensity the night needed. In the words of Mackenzie Wark, she was “letting the music fuck her.” Eccentric, unhinged energy overflowed with ear-pummeling drill obscurities, sweaty rave nods, and hybridized global experiments. See footnote 3 for another view.

J: Her set was a humorous staccato of performances and quips, wrapping with the remark “I’ll play my weird metal shit for you because you love that kind of stuff.” She did indeed play that weird metal shit and the people did indeed love it.

A: I was excited to catch DJ E's performance, having been a big fan of their past music as Elysia Crampton. On their last album, 2023's 'DJ E', they drew on the traditional drum and ceremonial music of their family, fusing vivid synths with Andean flutes and cacophonous rhythms. They presented an interesting canvas of sounds which I would have appreciated in a different headspace, but I was called to dance and Heavee had just started in the other room.

Upon entering, it was clear the party had really started and the motionless Unsounders had faded as the clock struck 2am. We found a vast space at the front left flanked by some soon-to-be friends dancing like maniacs, silhouettes of their hair bouncing to the intoxicating blends of footwork, r&b, and party popping bass. He was locked in for the entire set and vastly blew out my expectations.

After a quick snack (1) I got caught outside talking with the friends I met at Heavee. This led to what was probably my biggest regret of the festival, as I only caught the last 10 minutes of Assyouti. From the moment I walked in, the frenetic insanity propelled my body through space and in every direction.

There wasn’t a body in the room not being thoroughly washed by Assyouti’s insane selections of drum n bass, dubstep, and noisy spastic breakbeats. The undecipherable dexterity and controlled chaos of the blends triggered flashbacks of Djrum at Sustain Release and worked the crowd into a screaming frenzy.

Assyouti released some PREMIXED tracks in July—a quick listen will give an idea of what he delivered.

Overall, the first club night suffered from some audio issues. The sound was far too quiet and lacked the necessary sub weight it needed to be felt viscerally.

J: I was so upset about the lack of sub that I was on the brink of tears. I thought Unsound hadn’t invested in an adequate system, and began to have serious qualms about my regard for this esteemed festival. Kode9, in particular, saddened me further with his choice to turn the lows all the way down for seemingly every track (or so Bint Mbareh told me). Productions like this are unengaging, and disservice artists like CCL, Zamilska, and Heavee who lean heavily into sub frequencies. Thankfully, I was in for a nice surprise the next night—a certain redemption.

Friday Club Night - PEAK

A: With Thursday’s audio issues fixed and the crowd loosened up from day one, Unsound began to feel like a playground. It’s rare in the U.S. to attend festivals or parties where I don’t know most of the artists. I think this is largely due to the difficulty and costs involved for artists obtaining Visas but also the cautious approach in nightlife where safe booking is valued over experimentation. The last two nights of the festival gifted me with novelty, bringing many new artists to my radar.

Florence Sinclair stepped up with laid back UK flair of frequent collaborator Dean Blunt, crooning and rapping over his dreamy blur of grime, ambient, and chamber pop.

J: His crisp outline against the hazy green lights was cinematic. The sheer scarf on his head had a presence of its own, lazily hanging at the same angle of his leaning torso. His hands pantomimed to his lyrics in perfect time.

A: Next, we turned to Crystallmess, an uncompromising DJ, writer, producer, and artist premiering her live A/V show, a collaboration with Xquisite Releases co-founder Oxhy.

The first half of the performance featured the two b2b in classic Crystallmess style (unleashed mix), jumping between jungle, hip hop, ambient, and more. In the final 15 minutes Crystalmess stepped out from behind the booth for a debut performance that found her freaking the dance over crazy blends, like one featuring Astrid Sonne.

The final minutes found the beats softening out and Crystallmess singing and rapping through a heavy autotune filter over an oscillating swelling instrumental.

J: She made a soulful turn, paying homage to her roots and pouring her heart out to kids who share analogous histories.

A: I was very excited to catch Nidia and Valentinni Magdelini after their recent album Estradas featured in last month’s roundup, but struggled to enjoy the live performance due to the packed out room. It was impossible to dance. This problem affected the first three or four hours of each night but eventually subsided as the crowd thinned.

We found ourselves at a crossroads, so we stumbled into Rick Farin and Actual Objects’ audiovisual performance. Unlike some other A/V sets designed for contemplation, this set was clearly built to overwhelm as the pulsating screens flashed with grotesque inhuman faces and shapes over shifts from techno to bass to trance and beyond.

J: The next unexpected highlight reshaped the crowd around a platform in the middle of the room. A drum kit fitted with tabs and wires waited patiently as people flocked around and the lights dimmed.

We positioned ourselves well for the solo percussion performance from Daniel Szwed, facing him from behind his hi-hat. He was a man possessed whose features and long hair disappeared into waterlike motion as he attacked his drums for half an hour over low droning soundscapes. I drowned in the river too. He broke at least three drumsticks and eventually sent every backup rolling off the trembling platform. He wasn’t given the volume or respect that ferocity of this sort deserves, with idle chitchatting near the bar warranting sharp shushes from annoyed fans.

A: Catching this performance meant that I missed Lord Spikeheart who, by all accounts, was a rolling mosh of flesh and sounds between metal, grindcore, hardcore techno, and more. At a festival, you simply can’t see it all.

J: Better to have too many good things to miss than to have to pick between the lesser of two disappointments…

Saturday Club Night - IMPULSE

A: We started the day with a visit to Nowa Huta, the suburb my dad grew up in. If you ever find yourself in Krakow, I highly recommend a stop in this historic Soviet district and the Muzeum Krakowa, which features a communist era bunker and history of the area.

Next was the historic Wieliczka Salt Mines, a mind-blowing underground network spanning 10^2km wide and 9 levels deep. The three-hour, 3.5km tour covers just 2% of the vast system and displays massive rooms supported by elaborate constructions of timber, vast cavernous spaces with luminescent brine ponds, and a grand cathedral, while teaching you about Poland's history. See Julie’s footnote for more on the mines.

A: If it’s not clear by now, Unsound Krakow should be on everyone’s list. Not only is the music incredible, Krakow or Poland more generally, is a wonderful place full of delicious food, kind people, scrumptious doughnuts, and beauty at a great price.

After a long day of exploration we rested up and arrived a bit later to the festival’s final night. We caught the last track or two of Bianca Scout, eventually losing attention and journeying over to an A/V performance by some artists unknown to us.

J: Irish artist Eomac was djing over a video project by Saint Abdullah and Rebecca Salvadori. It was A/V at its best. Home videos spanning the growth of child siblings into young adulthood graced the screen with interludes of reflection, captioned with thought provoking and reassuring lines on what it means to grow up, to be of a family that has migrated. Messages like these remind you that humanity is one (growing up across the world I experienced this too, like you).

“Just as if I had all the time in the world”

“Everything unnecessary is committed, All you need to know is what you’re told”

“A million stimulations laid upon your eyes, Impossible to comprehend all at once”

“So your sense of being out of sync suddenly becomes in sync”

The screen was accompanied by strobes and other fx, while the music evolved from sparse Middle Eastern melodies to bouncier ukg adjacent sounds and grime before finally arriving at grumbling dragging grinding dubstep, experimental jazz, and bass. It was a frenzy. I headbanged so my neck was sore for days. It was liberating to be in a foreign place and yet understood, deeply.

A: About halfway through this performance I ventured off alone to catch Bassvictim. I came in with few expectations and by the end I felt euphoria like I hadn’t felt in years, like I was back in college with no worries in the world as I thrashed around in ecstasy.

Bassvictim is what Charli XCX and Eartheater wish they could be, floating between ethereal moments and jump-up headbanging mosh-oriented trap. They possess the big room bombast of DJs that excite rolling lads and frat boys of the world. In Unsound’s words, “an effervescent concoction of bass-heavy dancefloor sounds and neon-hued EDM—and a supple selection of forward-facing, genre-agnostic pop initially a reaction born from their dissatisfaction with the scene at large.”

The duo gave a view into a queer, goth-leaning Polish indie sleaze wave I didn’t know existed. The crowd seethed, beaming and sweaty as they bounced and moshed around to the EDM-adjacent hyperpop in a massive left turn compared to the rest of the particularly hardcore night.

Throughout the performance, Bassvictim hit the room with numerous backspins to restart a song requesting this time, more energy. Already aware of the hilarity incoming, the room would explode in joy.

Following this carnal pleasure was no easy task but AKA HEX, a new collaboration between Aïsha Devi and Slikback, managed to do just that. According to the press copy, "they synthesize their artistry welding kinetic, bass-heavy rhythms to zig-zagging, sci-fi tinged soundscapes and mutant vocals. It's Devi's most dancefloor-focused material in years, and Slikback's most alien to date, bridging the chasm between avant-pop, experimental club and hallucinogenic ambience.”

In my own words, it’s Slikback’s signature sub-heavy pummeling as Devi pierces through the upper register with her angelic vocals. It’s Arca-esque heart-stopping breaks fused with the strobes that annihilate the senses.

As promised, towards the end of the performance they brought out some fellow Unsound performers as guests. Starting with Bela and closing out with Lord Spikeheart, who came screaming and growling into oblivion while the sub bass mauled the room, melting faces and psyche away through the pulsation of pressure.

After a long night of energetic release, we finally came to Gummi's closing set. Everyone in our group wanted to go home, but having done some research, I knew we might be in for something special from the Warsaw DJ and organizer. I made my case to give her a chance.

She very much lived up to this hype and laid down what was, to me, the best DJ set of the weekend. We stayed ‘til the lights came on and the sun was rising as she weaved together grimy ambient and varieties of r&b / rap with jungle, DnB, dubstep, and all flavors of bass weight in between. Chunky’s ‘GNG’ on a proper system was a highlight for me; the sub hits shook me to the bone.

J: The set captivated and revived me in every sense of the word. It was me (my dead dancing legs) and Gummi against the world. I couldn't leave to use the toilet, I couldn’t turn my attention away. Each blend indistinguishable, nothing disturbing, everything exciting. She mixed with precision and grace, with a deep understanding that the remaining hundred people on the dance floor were hanging on to every last beat.

There are few DJ’s I’ve seen that have made me feel like I’m at a masterclass; I can count these on one hand. Gummi has joined the pedestal. My breath was taken away and given back to me constantly. For a program to give the closing set to someone with (it’s shitty to even have to mention this facet of the world) 1k followers, shows that for Unsound there is a different vetting process. It is not about aesthetic, clout, or status. It is about raw talent and capability. It is about finesse. Gummi is, and has, all of this.

A: I went away from the weekend feeling incredibly moved and inspired, and in years to come I hope to return with many friends in tow.

The semi-irony in this enjoyment is some grumblings from people I met and online readings that the festival has actually devolved from its earlier iterations with Club offerings taking place in interesting venues with some soul, not Hype Park, a venue more suited to EDM and uni students. Despite the less than ideal setting of the club program it didn’t much matter when the music and audiovisual art presented was so visceral and mind-blowing.

J: Weeks later, I am wrapping this article in our temporary Milan apartment, sitting very upright, sweater sleeves rolled up to my elbows, listening to cars and motorcycles rumble by on Via Savona. The chills in my body from recollecting those three nights make my mind alert and my heart soft.

Unsound was thoughtful and difficult to put into words. It made me feel a lot. As an observer, if there ever was the ability to distinguish someone doing art because they want to vs someone who needs to, it was holistically the latter. People born to do this, music of the highest caliber. Artists turning into animals before our eyes, not even human anymore, channeling it from the very core. It was amazing to witness and to participate in.

I will remain astonished for some time.

If you have the curiosity to attend, I cannot recommend it enough.

Appendix

For further reading on the excellent edition of Unsound Krakow we recommend ’s piece

Futurism Restated

Futurism Restated #85: Unsound 2024 Turned Noise Inside Out

It began in silence, peaked—multiple times—with various shades of maelstrom, and concluded with one of the most beautiful performances I have ever heard. In between, over the course of its weeklong marathon, Unsound pushed in every conceivable direction: deconstructed bagpipes and Afro-Portuguese batida, Catalan folk and South American cumbia, guitar sh…

Read more

2 years ago · 34 likes · Philip Sherburne

And ’s review

Waste Mail

Waste Mail 023: Unsound Festival special 🔥

Welcome to Waste Mail, the newsletter that’s dedicated to cutting-edge club music and is written by Seb Wheeler for Tropical Waste 🔥…

Read more

2 years ago · 3 likes · 2 comments · Seb Wheeler

Footnote 1

A: I’ll pause here to shout out the food and beverage at the club nights. In NYC I usually avoid buying drinks because it’s so cost prohibitive. I’ll often bring a protein bar in my pocket rather than purchase food, which is even costlier. At Unsound there were ample bars and rarely a line to be waited on. Beers and mixed drinks were $4-8. Food trucks offered wurst, burgers, and fries at comfortable prices.

On the flipside, there were no water stations, which I would be more disappointed in if not for the fact that it seems to be a cultural norm. Polish restaurants don’t even serve tap water free. Water was available at reasonable costs, but this would be an easy area of improvement for future years.

Footnote 2

J: I have claustrophobia. I committed to going to the mines out of excitement, and out of respect for a unique experience and UNESCO heritage site, but the reality of being 135m (440 ft) underground for hours hit me as we were driving closer. I began to bawl, begging to be left in the car, hands shaking. With some gentle coaxing, which included a pitstop for a scoop of chocolate ice cream, I made my way to the entrance.

The tour goes down one level, then gradually, two more. The first level descended 40m, on countless spirals of narrow wooden stairs. I gripped Alek’s hand as we made our way down one flight, then the next, stopping occasionally for the traffic jams ahead. I didn’t know when it would end. Each pause added to my apprehension. I didn’t dare look up or down, and took each flight as it came, with a big breath and a nervous smile at bystanders glancing over sympathetically. One of them turned out to be a co-founder of Lost Festival in Parma, which we are eager to visit in the future.

Once we arrived at the landing, everything vanished. I kept from thinking about the end, or the beginning, and again took each room as it came. The air was clean and cold. It was gorgeous. I dreamt of having a wedding in the cathedral. I licked the salty walls. The tour was informational, engaging, and as ecstatic as I was to leave, I was very thankful to have done it.

Footnote 3

A: I couldn’t pick a favorite video of Aya so here’s another

Outside of this exciting life development my trip was truly a dream. I started in London for the first time and got to meet some awesome people at Ormside Projects (and see long time favorite Tess Roby, Laura Groves, and Organ Tapes) and see the Tate Modern (my new favorite museum). Next was Paris where I wondered around and caught an amazing party featuring killer sets from Hassan Abou Alam and Jan Loup b2b Gamma Intel. Then it was off to Venice for the Biennale, the studio art minor in me found joy, and then Milan where my vacation turned into a new life.

The trip was ultimately built around Unsound in Poland, a festival that I’ve dreamed of attending for years. My dad was born and grew up in Krakow so I’ve always felt some pride that his hometown hosts one of the best experimental music festivals in the world. The festival more than lived up to the hype and I discovered so many new artists, witnessed mind blowing performances, and made a ton of new inspiring connections. I’m working on a writeup on the experience and can’t wait to share.

The trip wrapped with some hiking in the Polish mountains, Budapest, Rome, and more amazing people largely courtesy of the amazing community on Couchsurfing.

I look forward to my time ahead in Milan and if anyone has any connections or recommendations in Milan I’m looking to tap into the music scene and make new friends so hit my line. 

The writing below is pretty rushed in the name of getting this out but there’s some real quality so click the title and view this newsletter in your browser to listen as you go or visit the Buy Music Club playlist.

Inspired by a new blog and party series from Suze (Surusinghe) & Cali dedicated to underground music culture I started a new playlist featuring picks from this month which will then be transferred to archival playlists.

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Albums

A nocturnal journey of vaporous, dubbed-out electronica. Crackling field recordings, mesmerizing atmospheres, and jazz-tinged melodies coalesce into a weightless, mind-tingling bliss.

ØKSE's debut melds avant-garde jazz with razor-sharp verses from the Backwoodz crew (Armand Hammer & co) - freewheeling live breaks, spastic sax, and looping basslines like nothing else I can recall outside of Moor Mother.

Immaculately meditative grooves that find a sweet spot connecting jazz and ambient with a killer cast of players.

A blend of ambient pop, chamber music and pulsing low end rhythms reminiscent of the misty, dreamy atmospheres of Malibu, Space Afrika, and Grouper.

Brödföda unfolds like a slowly blooming flower with delicate flourishes and vaporous textures echoing Tangerine Dream and Huerco S.

julie's debut "my anti-aircraft friend" reinvigorates '90s alt-rock with a potent blend of shoegaze, grunge, and slacker rock. Raw emotions burst through seas of atmospheric distortion and muscular noisy guitar work.

An exhilarating debut and relentless rhythm assault from Nyege Nyege Tapes. Custom-built 808s layer hypnotic percussion, while ghostly vocals and industrial synths emerge from the rhythmic maelstrom.

Frenetic breakbeats with only a few purchases on bandcamp, hidden gem from Multi-genre label and party series Stolen Groove.

Other Noteworthy Albums

Okay Kaya - Oh My God - That’s So Me [OneRPM]

Lice - Third Time at the Beach

Sarah Davachi - The Head As Form’d In The Crier’s Choir

Wendy Eisenberg - Viewfinder

Other Noteworthy Dance Albums

Tim Reaper & Kloke - In Full Effect [Hyperdub]

Hysteria Temple Foundation - Hypnostra

EP’s

An amorphous EP of half time menace, threading sharp grooves with brooding drum workouts from the sea floor that typify the exciting experimentation within the London club underground (shoutout )

Lush, botanic, intricate bass infusing woodland echoes and field recordings with folksy dub stylings - in other words wood-pigeon wub for the funglist massive.

A 3 track EP that defies description, blending genres and identities. Think Tirzah meets Dean Blunt, with a dash of King Krule and early Yves Tumor straight from the heart of the UK underground.

A collaborative percussive masterpiece between Valentina Magaletti - a drummer who has played with everyone (Moin, Holy Tongue, Vanishing Twin, CZM, etc) - and Kuduro producer / Príncipe Discos affiliate Nídia.

Futuristic club ready chaos from an artist known for bridging the gap between traditional sounds borrowed from his egyptian heritage and the future with mind blowing sound design.

Three tracks somewhere along the dubstep and IDM continuum, built with the signature shiny Y2K futurism to be expected from the Co-Founder of Infinite Drift.

Four cuts spanning broken beat, garage, and jungle, all dub-infused. Raw, weighty basslines meet heavenly pads and chopped breaks – pure SYSTEM DNA from start to finish.

Straight from the Myrtle Av/Broadway intersection Fcukers' debut EP "Baggy$$" brings irreverent late 90’s dance vibes and NYC grit to the club accomplishing what the new The Dare record was trying to in a far more interesting fashion -  part sleazy electronic revival, part genre-bending experiment.

Compilations

Perfect blend of atmosphere, low end and tricked-out drum workouts in proper Bristol style. 

A full spectrum of bass driven flavours, undefined by genre.

Singles / Tracks

So many standout tracks this month I broke into into 3 loose sections 

boundary - blurring / experimental / mutant

A mind-bending rollercoaster of experimental hyper-colorful audio candy. Blending polyrhythmic techno, housey vocals, cutting edge sound design, and microtonal madness.

bass / sub

big chiller vibes

Mixes

An ongoing lists of my favorite mixes and sets from the year can be found here but below are a few from last two months featuring lots of headier ambient stuff suited to personal exploration and traveling around new places.

New wave shoegaze is all the hype lately but I assume few people are on the Chinese shoegaze wave, Maxiu is here to change that with a beautiful sampling of the scene.

Live recording from a massive b2b set at Parameter 2024 in San Francisco - Utter "Mayhem", "Insanity", and "Madness”.

If you enjoyed this newsletter I’d really appreciate if you shared it with a friend or two.

Playlists

NYC Concert List

Sun, Oct 20 - Sega Bodega @ Knockdown Center 

Mon, Oct 21 - The Voidz @ Knockdown Center 

Mon, Oct 21 - Air performing 'Moon Safari' @ Beacon Theatre 

Tue, Oct 22 - Air performing 'Moon Safari' @ Beacon Theatre 

Tue, Oct 22 - Fat Dog, Lip Critic @TV Eye 

Tue, Oct 22 - HOMESHAKE, Freak Heat Waves @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 

Wed, Oct 23 - Chris Cohen @ Baby's All Right 

Thu, Oct 24 - Massive Attack @ Forest Hills Stadium 

Thu, Oct 24 - Osees @ Warsaw Fri, Oct 25 - Naima Bock / Frances Chang @ Union Pool 

Fri, Oct 25 - Contour @ National Sawdust 

Sat, Oct 26 - American Football @ Warsaw 

Sun, Oct 27 - American Football @ Warsaw 

Tue, Oct 29 - Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn @ National Sawdust

Wed, Oct 30 - Cassandra Jenkins @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 

Thu, Oct 31 - Touche Amore @ Warsaw 

Thu, Oct 31 - Machine Girl @Brooklyn Steel 

Fri, Nov 1 - Cursive @ White Eagle Music Hall 

Fri, Nov 1 - TR/ST @Brooklyn Steel 

Sat, Nov 2 - Show Me the Body, Zelooperz, HiTech @Knockdown Center 

Thu, Nov 7 - Spirit of the Beehive @ Warsaw 

Fri, Nov 8 & Sat, Nov 9 - Lankum @ Warsaw 

Sat, Nov 9 - The Garden @ Brooklyn Paramount 

Mon, Nov 10 - Caribou, yunè pinku @ Brooklyn Mirage 

Mon, Nov 10 - Croatian Amor, Ex Wish @Baby's All Right 

Mon, Nov 11 - Laura Marling @ Bowery Ballroom 

Wed, Nov 13 - Pond, Fazerdaze @ Brooklyn Steel 

Thu, Nov 14 - Slow Pulp, Hannah Jadagu @ Webster Hall 

Thu, Nov 14 - Unsound: VTSS b2b TYGAPAW, Atrice, Shyboi b2b Bobby Beethoven, 2K88 and bela (live),7038634357 @Nowadays 

Thu, Nov 14 - Bodega @Brooklyn Made 

Fri, Nov 15 - Piotr Kurek / Chuquimamani-Condori @lincoln center 

Sat, Nov 16 - Kali Malone's All Life Long / Raphael Rogiński @lincoln center 

Sun, Nov 17 - SUNN O))) / Mabe Fratti @lincoln center 

Fri, Nov 15 - Slow Pulp, Full Body 2 @ Webster Hall 

Fri, Nov 15 - A.G. Cook @ Knockdown Center 

Sat, Nov 16 - Ratboys @ Warsaw 

Sun, Nov 17 - Haley Heynderickx w/ tilt @Music Hall of Williamsburg

Mon, Nov 18 - Slowdive @ Brooklyn Paramount 

Mon, Nov 18 - Adrianne Lenker (of Big Thief) @ King's Theatre 

Mon, Nov 18 - Slowdive @Brooklyn Paramount 

Tue, Nov 19 - Mount Eerie @ Warsaw 

Wed, Nov 20 - Crack Cloud @ Bowery Ballroom 

Wed, Nov 20 - Porches @ Brooklyn Steel 

Wed, Nov 20 - Bill Orcutt + Ethan Miller + Steve Shelley (Record Release) @Union Pool 

11/21/24 - Hemlock Ernst / Wave Generators / PremRock @ Baby’s All Right 

Thu, Nov 21 - Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ Pioneer Works 

Thu, Nov 21 - Caribou, Yune Pinko @ Brooklyn Mirage 

Fri, Nov 22 - Wild Pink & John Francis Flynn @Union Pool 

Sat, Nov 23 - BODY MEAT, ANYSIA KYM, DORIS @Elsewhere 

Thu, Dec 5 - Geese / Lip Critic / death's dynamic sound @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 

Fri, Dec 6 - Ride @warsaw

Fri, Dec 6 - MARTIN REV, LITURGY, BODY STUFF @knitting factory 

Fri, Dec 6 - Geese / Guerilla Toss / Cold Court @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 

Sat, Dec 7 - Geese / U.S. Girls / Fantasy of a Broken Heart @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 

Sat, Dec 7 - Billy Woods and Kenny Segal Perform Hiding Places @Warsaw

Sun, Dec 8 - WILL LIVERMAN @national sawdust 

12/10/24 - ML Buch / Molina @ Pioneer Works

Thu, Dec 12 - Mono @ Pioneer Works 

Sun, Dec 15 - The Blood Brothers @warsaw 

Sat, Jan 25 - Porridge Radio @ Warsaw

1/18/25 - Elucid @ Baby’s All Right 

Fri, Feb 14 - Toro Y Moi, Panda Bear, Nourished By Time @Terminal 5

Tue, Feb 25 - Father John Misty, Destroyer @Kings Theater

Sat, Apr 5 - Nubya Garcia @Music Hall Of Williamsburg

Mon, Apr 28 MJ Lenderman & The Wind @Brooklyn Steel

4/10/25 - Mogwai @ Brooklyn Steel  

4/17/25 - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds / St. Vincent @ Barclays Center 

Apologies on this being a few weeks late but life has been just been wild lately as I’ve spent the month without a home base staying with friends, working a ton, attending Sustain Release, and getting ready to leave for a 3 week euro trip.

I’ll be stopping by London, Paris, and Milan before Unsound in Krakow at the start of October. Following that it will be some hiking in the Tatras, Slovakia, Budapest and I’ll probably end the trip at Climate of Fear in Berlin. I’d love to connect with any European readers who might be attending these events or able to offer some guidance in any of these locations.

I’m working on a Fall Concert Preview that will cover live music through the end of 2024 so stay tuned for that post soon.

To listen along as you read click the title and view this newsletter in your browser or visit the Buy Music Club playlist.

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Albums

Belong - Realistic IX [Kranky]

The Kranky duo merges shoegaze and noise-rock in a gauze of smoggy distortion on their follow-up to 2011’s Common Era, letting subterranean earworms wriggle up through your subconscious with bleached guitars, metronomic drums, and buried voices reving, swirling, and seething across shifting gradients of haze and hypnosis.

JPEGMAFIA - I Lay Down My Life for You [AWAL]

A tour de force of experimental hip-hop, blending punk aggression with tender vulnerability showcasing Peggy's versatility, from abrasive bangers to soulful introspection, all underpinned by his always bonkers production. It's a complex, layered work that cements JPEGMAFIA's status as a boundary-pushing artist in contemporary hip-hop and his strongest offering since his breakthrough album "Veteran".

Cecile Believe - Tender The Spark

An innovative and captivating EP from the artist most known as the vocalist on some of SOPHIE’s most iconic tracks like “Ponyboy” and “Faceshopping”. Oscillating between brooding, sexy club bangers and tender, reflective pieces Cecile carves out her own sonic territory while echoing the spirit of PC Music. 

Tristwch Y Fenywod - Tristwch Y Fenywod

Tristwch y Fenywod's debut is a bewitching blend of ancient and modern, marrying spiky double zither with robotic drums and cavernous Welsh vocals. This Leeds trio conjures a uniquely hypnotic avant-pop that feels like Celtic darkwave dredged from a moonlit bog and infused with queer magic.

Phantom Handshakes - Sirens at Golden Hour

A mesmerizing dream-pop album blending ethereal soundscapes, groovy basslines, and jangly guitars that crescendo at times into a wall of sound. The album delivers a nostalgic atmosphere that transports listeners to a beautifully imagined past.

Lyndsie Alguire - time is but the drawing of a sword [Hush Hush Records] 

A enthralling exploration of whimsical ambient passages and dream-pop ballads that captures a magnetic melancholic tone with flickers of glimmering hope over its sweeping 10-track journey.

Chuck Johnson - Sun Glories

Chuck Johnson’s latest work marks a significant evolution showcasing his versatility, from patient, reverb-laden rock to intricate ambient compositions, culminating in an anthemic seven-minute distortion-fueled finale not unlike the soaring post-rock grandeur of bands like Mogwai and Sigur Ros.

Andy Martin - La creaci​ó​n de las aves

Andy Martin's latest LP masterfully blends Berlin-style depth with Latin American rhythms, creating a hypnotic, psychedelic soundscape inspired by surrealist art. This is minimalist yet potent techno that prioritizes atmosphere and spaciousness.

Expugnantis - Return to Madadeni [enmossed]

A hypnotic journey through minimalist dub soundscapes, blending foggy memories with precise, crystalline production that masterfully balances emotive depth and driving rhythms, evoking a dreamlike state akin to being lost in a sea of mist.

Ghost Dubs - Damaged

This is dub so atomized that it disintegrates within your eardrums. Relentlessly hypnotic, seriously sedated, 'Damaged' celebrates the point of departure within it's mesmerising low end grooves in a wonderfully warm sea of hiss and static bliss.

Fake Fruit - Mucho Mistrust [Carpark]

Fake Fruit’s visceral indie rock careens with volatile energy and lyrics are enveloped with sardonic humor and resonant perceptiveness. Across 12 propulsively unpredictable tracks, the album is both their most immediate yet.

Kloke - The Cosmik Connection Lost Tape [UTTU]

An 8 track voyage into the outer reaches of jungle’s far reaching atmosphere crafting well used breaks into exciting new ideas. 

Other Noteworthy Albums

RXKNephew - Always Remember me

Lucy Sissy Miller - Pre County [Métron Records]

Spirit of the Beehive - You’ll Have to Lose Something [Saddle Creek]

Fontaines D.C. - Romance [XL]

Navy Blue - Memoirs in Armour [Freedom Sounds]

Other Noteworthy Dance Albums

blue ringed baby - born online / not ur bride 

Regal 86 - Stereographs

AceMo - Inter Transit

EP’s

Nectax - Body Talk EP

Pure heat, cover to cover - unwieldy sub pressure, excellent sampling, and precisely programmed junglish breaks

E Wata - EP 1 [Slink]

Enayet + K Wata = E Wata

As 50% of SLINK (along with Simisea and rrao) the duo worked together for years throwing events and honing a sound before working together in the studio.

These tracks emerged from a series of late night sessions marked by “what if?” wormholes and “why not?” arrangements for a live set at Sustain Release in 2022 and refined over the following year. (really kicking myself for missing that set)

Slikback -  FORZA EP

New Slikback is an auto buy every time (and always pay what you want) but now that Bandcamp Fridays are back save it to buy on Oct 5th unless you have a set coming up where you need a couple sparkly and euphoric but somehow also grimy gabber and trap leaning tracks. 

Submerse - Fifteen Blocks [Breaker Breaker]

4 cuts of retrospective, video-game-inspired Jungle from Tokyo based Submerse full of of deftly cut breaks, convivial pads and tightly sprung bass tones with a clear sense of mastery and ease.

Hotline TNT - Cartwheel (Remix)

5 remixes of one of the hottest shoegaze revival albums of 2023 from the likes of TAGABOW, DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ, Poisonfrog, and Physical Therapy.

FKA Boursin - you just give in, giving it all to the wind [Accidental Meetings]

Two heady, deep extended excursions into the dubby ether mastered without compression in an attempt to counter the over saturation of three minute, brick-walled, max-energy production trends in contemporary dance music.

Tim Reaper - Scorched Earth [Future Retro London]

This month is heavy on jungle but I missed this one back in May and it’s a well known fact that Tim Reaper doesn’t miss but this is on a whole other face melting level.

Compilations

A dub/sub heavy compilation of the best of Perfect Records so far, part 2. 

In a bold return to '90s white label culture, unknown - untitled's latest compilation serves up a raw, eclectic feast of UK bass music, ranging from mutant dancehall to Drexciya-inspired electro. This innovative label strips away modern marketing fluff, letting six anonymized tracks speak for themselves in a refreshing celebration of pure sonic diversity.

Singles

Mexican producer OMAAR has been pumping out just about an EP per month this year and while I haven’t gotten to listen to it all yet this track will give you all the reason you need to dive in. 

Om Unit adds a fair heap of dub to lush sub bass

Special Guest DJ & Ben Bondy in the blissful 3XL bag

An exquisite downbeat shoegaze gem from the Bristollian trio

 A 20 minute exploration of classical guitar and effects conceived in a period of experimentation guaranteed to set you on a peaceful trajectory.

Mixes

An ongoing lists of my favorite mixes and sets from the year can be found here.

I decided to push mixes from August to the next transmission because this post is already too long but this live morning set from Bobby at Lodge (which is described as “More than a music festival, closer to a family reunion.") is too good not to share.

If you enjoyed this newsletter I’d really appreciate if you shared it with a friend or two.

Playlists

NYC Concert List

I’m working on a Fall Concert Preview highlighting the most exciting NYC shows worth your time and dollars in the next few months and will post a full list in the next week or so but for now here is the next 10 days.

Thu, Sep 19 - Nina Night: Cousin, DJ Lostboi (live), ex wiish, James K, Pavel Milyakov (live) @Nowadays 

Thu, Sep 19 - Caterina Barbieri, Valentina Magaletti @knockdown center 

Fri, Sep 20 - Magdalena Bay @ Brooklyn Steel 

Fri, Sep 20 - Sarah Davachi @ LPR 

Sat, Sep 21 - Special Interest @ Le Poisson Rouge 

Sat, Sep 21 - Yaeji, Sofia Kourtesis, Nourished by Time, Malibu @knockdown center

Sun, Sep 22 - Rapsody @ Bowery Ballroom 

Mon, Sep 23 - Astrid Sonne + Christelle Bofale @ Public Records 

Mon, Sep 23 - Luna Li @ Bowery Ballroom 

Mon, Sep 23 - Mabe Fratti @ Public Records 

Wed, Sep 25 - The Armed / H09909 @ Pioneer Works 

Wed, Sep 25 - Mk.gee @ Terminal 5 

Wed, Sep 25 - JOHN GLACIER, IFE RADIO, ANYSIA KYM @ Elsewhere 

Wed, Sep 25 - NABIHAH IQBAL, SUGAR MILK @ Elsewhere 

Thu, Sep 26 - Deerhoof, Ekko Astral, model home @knockdown center 

Fri, Sep 27 - IDLES, The Walkmen @ Forest Hills Stadium 

Sat, Sep 28 - Objekt, See Mask, ADAB @ Knockdown Center Ruins 

(selling a ticket for this one ^^ , hmu on Instagram)

Thx for reading, cheers til next time 🫂

I’ve been finally feeling creatively motivated and excited for life. I played last week at Jupiter Disco b2b with egavas for a restorative ambient night. In Evan’s words we were “slanging absolute relaxers, cutie peepers, soft sleepers, and a handful of blissful bangers all night, ambient finger guns only type beats.” I’d never DJ’ed for 3 hours straight before and it was a really beautiful time finally getting into the chilled out recesses of my USB. Still waiting on the recording but something related will be floating your way soon.

I also recorded a wild ambient DnB, 3XL adjacent mix that I would love to find a mix series for. Happy to share a private link for anyone interested (hmu).

Sorry these newsletters are so long, I’m working to write less but there is just so much exciting music out there. If you just want to listen to the picks hop on over to the buy music club list or open this NL in your browser to play the embedded music throughout.

As always I’ve included a list of interesting shows over the next 6 weeks in NYC at the bottom of this NL (or this list that goes through the end of the year) - don’t sleep on live music!!

Support Natural Music 🙏

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Albums

Not many albums caught my attention in July, but there are tons of EPs to make up for that.

Later that day, the day before, or the day before that | Casey MQ [Ghostly]

Shifting from his electronic roots to piano-led baroque pop, Casey crafts a haunting, introspective album that questions the nature of remembrance blending minimalist arrangements with ambient textures as his tender falsetto guides listeners through it all. I can’t wait to catch him live at LPR on August 23rd alongside 7038634357 who’s wonderful album Neo Seven was featured in the best of 2023 list.

I want to be good so bad | J. Albert 

Bandcamp user stoneinfocus describes this better than I could ever dream to:

“A dash of Basic Channel, a sprinkle of Shinichi Atobe, a little bit of Huerco and a healthy serving of whatever magic sauce J always seems to be cooking with to bind it all together, and we've got something truly special.”

British Murder Boys - Active Agents and House Boys

Mabe Fratti - Sentir que no sabes

"Sentir Que No Sabes" is a captivating blend of avant-garde and pop sensibilities that offers a surprisingly accessibly entry point into her catalogue. The album showcases Fratti's striking voice and experimental cello work, balancing melodic accessibility with brooding, melancholic instrumentation.

Other Noteworthy Albums

De Schuurman & DJ Chuckie - Bubbling Forever [Nyege Nyege Tapes]

Christian AB - The NU Life

Total Blue - Total Blue [Music From Memory]

Jan Loup - Ardifaon [Jupiter4]

EPs

Ebbb - All At Once [Ninja Tune]

Elusive London trio Ebbb showcase their genre-defying sound, blending ethereal vocals with industrial beats and electronic production. Self-described as "Brian Wilson meets Death Grips," the EP captures their live energy and unpredictable musical style, solidifying their reputation as an emerging underground sensation.

Precocious Neophyte - Stony

Korean shoegaze veteran Jeehye Ham evolves her Precocious Neophyte project and builds on her debut's dreamy soundscapes. Recorded in her Chicago appt, the EP blends intimate lo-fi aesthetics with wall-of-sound ambitions.

Similar to another favorite discovery of the year, Mei Semones, Jeehye transcends language barriers, offering a poignant journey through nostalgia, longing, and hope, wrapped in layers of fuzz that would surely please any fan of Parannoul.

DONIS - Metamorphosis02

The second edition of Donis’ Metamorphosis series, continuing to explore “Deep, Dub and Ambient sonic aesthetics between House and Techno”

Oma Totem - The Trick [Kalahari Oyster Cult]

Polyrhythmic, Progressive and Psychedelic. 

Carré - Air Sign [SPE:C]

Slinky, wonky, slightly proggy dubstep from the Fast at Work boss.

Leenie - Night Baby

Freaky techno and bass from Denver artist and party organizer Leenie with mastering by the prolific Evelyn.

O.M. Theorem - Corollary 1

O.M. Theorem delivers mesmerizing, unpredictable bass heavy music across a span of tempos, rhythms and time signatures. 

X-Altera - Groundswell [BOPSIDE]

Tadd Mullinix (aka James T. Cotton) is back on his X-Altera alias with an EP of deadly neo-retro jungle tracks pulling equally from Detroit techno, UK hardcore, and DnB.

INVT x Introspekt - TECTONICA [Ec2a / Original Pirate Material]

INVT & Introspekt team up for an EP of dark, genre-bending UKG wobblers and sexy dubby grooves.

Night Cycle - Demo ‘24 

I’m upset I can’t remember who recommended this (it was a newsletter writer) but this 3 song demo from Night Cycle shows incredible promise and I can’t wait to hear more from of their hypnotic meld of textured post-pop-rock, soaring, fuzzy sheets of guitar and misty, lush vocals.

Other Standout EPs

Water From Your Eyes - MP3 Player 1 EP [Matador]

The band’s cover of ‘Someone Like You’ is incredible

Compilations

Explorative bass music meets hypermodern techno and hypnotic dubstep explorations on the latest V.A. from Of Paradise. The comp brings together a cluster of artists hell-bent on shaking up the underground with music that bubbles through the aether and then demands you sit up, listen, and take notice.

Ambient, downtempo, techno out of SE London that lives at least in the same neighborhood as 3XL, West Mineral Ltd, Kwia, and co.

"Natura 2009-2012" compiles 76 minutes of hushed, ASMRbient dream pop by Russian duo Vladimir Karpov and Dmitriy Borodin, spanning their early "northern environmental folktronica" to later ambient voyages that blend Soviet synths, windswept guitar, and field recordings into a poetic, remote soundscape of isolation and myth.

Mixes

An ongoing lists of my favorite mixes and sets from the year can be found here but these are a few that particularly caught my attention this month.

Nono Gigsta's latest offering live from Freerotation 2024, “The House of Crocodiles Part 2," is a masterclass in tension and release that defies categorization. From the moment the needle drops, Gigsta propels us into a sonic whitewater adventure. Like a skilled river guide, she navigates us through genre-defying rapids, each track a new bend in the stream. By mid-set, the energy pouring from Room 2 is palpable – a crescendo of collective ecstasy. This isn't just a mix; it's a journey through sound, where Björk, Miles Davis, AC/DC, and gut-twisting dubstep coexist in perfect harmony. Gigsta doesn't just play tracks; she weaves a tapestry that must be experienced to be believed. Clear your schedule and buckle up – this mix demands your full attention and I’m sure it’s one many DJs will be thinking about and aspiring to for years to come.

Read more in her own words in this excellent Substack write up ()

See also Pariah’s excellent mix from Free Rotation.

Succubass rocked my world at the last Recess party and she offered up that same energy at the Lot before her recent Studio appearance in July.

A daydream of tripped out music across every genre kicking off with washy, liquidy ambience. Shorlax glides from jungle to trip hop to art pop and back to trippy heady techno all in a tight hour.

MI-EL weaves a audio narrative around a traumatic experience at glastonbury and the festival itself as an entity punctuated by moments of protest music, r&b, funk, and haunting sound design.

Two hours of leftfield dance and beyond from AD 93 boss Tasker. Pure NTS core drawing heavily from dreamy, ambient, jazzy releases of that last few years.

Tower head DJ Deadname tearing in the first hour before Kindergarten resident Despina takes over.

Mesmerizing dnb and uk bass mutations live from Bristol.

Singles

If you’re looking for a beautiful track to send you to sleep or find peace in the daytime this is the one.

If you enjoyed this newsletter I’d really appreciate if you shared it with a friend or two.

Playlists

NYC Concert List (see full list through the end of 2024 here)

Fri, Aug 16 - MomaPS1 Warm Up: Kode9 | Cashu | SoFTT
Fri, Aug 16 - Helado Negro @ Knockdown Center Ruins
Sat, Aug 17 - King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard @ Forest Hills Stadium
Sat, Aug 17 - Music at MoMA: Jlin and Suzi Analogue [free w admission]
Sun, Aug 18 - Big Brave @ TV Eye
Sun, Aug 18 - Washed Out @ Brooklyn Paramount
Thu, Aug 22 - Ojerime @ Cafe Erzulie
Aug 21-27 - Jeff Rosenstock @ Warsaw
Fri, Aug 23 - Pure Bathing Culture @ Union Pool
Fri, Aug 23 - Casey MQ w/ 7038634357 @ LPR
Sat, Aug 24 - DAZEGXD, QUINN @ Elsewhere
Mon, Aug 26 & Tue, Aug 27 - Childish Gambino, WILLOW @ Barclays Center
Fri, Aug 30 - Yara Bey @ The Sultan Rooftop [Free]
Wed, Sep 4 - Crumb @ Brooklyn Paramount
Thu, Sep 5 - Okay Kaya @ Xanadu
Sun, Sep 8 - Manchester Orchestra / Militarie Gun @ Starland Ballroom
Mon, Sep 9 - MARIKA HACKMAN, ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND @ Elsewhere
Mon, Sep 9 - Charly Bliss @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Tue, Sep 10 - St. Vincent / Yves Tumor @ Brooklyn Paramount
Tue, Sep 10 - The Beths @ Sony Hall
Thu, Sep 12 - MAVI / Pink Siifu @ Webster Hall
Thu, Sep 12 - Hans Zimmer @ MSG
Sat, Sep 14 - JPEGMAFIA / Jane Remover @ Terminal 5
Sept 14-19 - Claire Residency @ Webster Hall
Sun, Sep 15 - Weird Science: Container / Nose Drip @ TV EYE
Sun, Sep 15 - The Killers @ Forest Hills Stadium
Sun, Sep 15 - PJ Harvey @ Terminal 5
Tue, Sep 17 - Perfume Genius Too Bright 10th Anniversary & Julianna Barwick @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Fri, Sep 20 - Magdalena Bay @ Brooklyn Steel
Fri, Sep 20 - Sarah Davachi @ LPR
Sat, Sep 21 - Special Interest @ Le Poisson Rouge
Sun, Sep 22 - Rapsody @ Bowery Ballroom
Mon, Sep 23 - Astrid Sonne + Christelle Bofale @ Public Records
Mon, Sep 23 - Luna Li @ Bowery Ballroom
Mon, Sep 23 - Mabe Fratti @ Public Records
Wed, Sep 25 - The Armed / H09909 @ Pioneer Works
Wed, Sep 25 - Mk.gee @ Terminal 5
Wed, Sep 25 - JOHN GLACIER, IFE RADIO, ANYSIA KYM @ Elsewhere
Wed, Sep 25 - NABIHAH IQBAL, SUGAR MILK @ Elsewhere
Fri, Sep 27 - IDLES, The Walkmen @ Forest Hills Stadium
Sat, Sep 28 - Objekt, See Mask, ADAB @ Knockdown Center Ruins
Sun, Sep 29 - Mica Levi, Still House Plants, claire rousay @ Knockdown Center Ruins

Thx for reading, cheers til next time 🫂

Music discovery should be easy, so just save these playlists and let ‘em rip.

Before getting to those, I wanted to use this platform to say that I am actively looking for

1. A job, ideally in product management, growth, data analytics, or other tangential areas. Also open to service roles (waiter, bartender, etc) and I’d love to play more gigs (see my new mix below)

2. Roommates and/or a sublease for this fall in NYC (Sept/October)

If you have leads on either please hit me up on instagram 🙏

Electronic Standouts

Standout singles and tracks from albums/eps/compilations that have really made my ears perk up. A smattering of genres and influences with a preference towards sub bass, the uk hardcore continuum, and abstract sound design forward compositions.

2024 Standout Tracks

Incredible tracks across every genre and vibe with a focus on singles and featuring at least one track from every project that I’ve highlighted this year in this newsletter.

If any graphic designers out there are interested in a rebranding project or some playlists covers — I’d love to talk.

A new mix from myself

Back in february I threw a party at bossa nova civic club.

I tapped Echor, Oscar Huang, and Ronan for a pretty open-format night musically driven by the theme of Polarity. 

I took the closing slot because I wasn’t going to make someone else play from 2:30-4am on a Tuesday. 

I knew the club would be passed any semblance of peak time that we might be able to muster on a weekday so I decided to build a playlist around the slow rolling comfort of dub with some subby dubstep moments.

I attempted to bridge the gap between the heady low energy cool down I had imagined while also trying to retain the energy among the sparse dance floor crowd (listen to some highlights on instagram)

I was feeling particularly inspired by a couple mixes that I listened to early in the year that were mentioned in my second newsletter. I still wholeheartedly recommend all three of them if you’re in the mood for dubby lush textures and heart warming sub bass.

Other Finds

Some articles and podcasts that caught my attention in the past months.

What Is Noise? (New Yorker)

Sometimes we embrace it, sometimes we hate it—and everything depends on who is making it.

No Tags 17: Fred Again walked so Fish56Octagon could swim ()

Payola and nepotism in dance music

Search Engine Berghain Part 2  ()

An excellent one hour podcast on the history of berlin techno (skip part 1)

PJ really doesn’t miss, search engine is an incredible podcast

Get Off Kate's Lawn - zensounds with

An ode to art pop’s greatest auteur (Kate Bush)

Herb Sundays - Herb Midyear MMXXIV ()

The prompt: “What song hit you hard in 2024 (new or old)?” answered by 77 writers and artists.

Back to the Lab: Hip Hop as Studio Art ()

Why Is Chile So Long?

A quick read that will blow your mind, geography is crazy

my qualms with the lululemon crossbody bag ()

The Never-Ending Party: Don’t let going out, wear you out. ()

EX.716 Wolfgang Tillmans ⟋ RA Exchange 

July Hits

In an effort to keep the July highlights a bit shorter here are a few mid-month picks.

A project that reminds me of Vegyn’s Headache project with the largely spoken word delivery and sparse vocal melodies accompanied by finger picked guitars and delicate chamber instrumentation.

“hope this helps get you through stuff. hope this makes you feel warm and ok.”

ZULI's new album blurs the lines between ambient, trip-hop, industrial music, chamber pop, and symphonic noise.

Two primo selections from highlighting the UK-influenced sounds coming out of Brazil spearheaded by the Speedtest Rave label founded by Chediak- read more here.

A dreamlike atmosphere influenced by folk and minimalism and making use of magnetic tapes, field recordings, vocal samples of contemporary thinkers and philosophers, and an array of strange instruments and vintage textures.  

Trap, bass music, dubstep, ambient, hauntology and contemporary music flow side by side here, no pushing around, free of interpretation.

My goal here is to share tunes that stand out among the rest for one reason or another. The hours of digging and contemplation are too numerous to count but it’s all worth it if I’m bringing new music into ppl’s lives. 

Live music is one of the reasons I chose to move to NYC but it’s a challenge to keep up with what’s happening. If you’re looking for concerts this summer in the city make sure to give the last newsletter a read below.

I’ll probably post some footage from the first three featured shows that happened last week on Instagram but I’ll just say that Naima, Horse Lords, Leya, Mei Semones, and Chanel Beads absolutely delivered. 

For those receiving this in your inbox I recommend clicking the title or the ‘Read in App’ to view this article where you’ll be able to just press play and listen to the embedded music while you read. Alternatively, if you’re just here for the tunes you can head over to Buy Music Club to listen to everything featured all in one place.

Support Natural Music 🙏

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• Forward this on to a friend who’s into good music

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Albums

Anastasia Coope - Darning Women [Jagjaguwar]

An album of heady, forward thinking pop music that might be described as freak folk by some. It’s sparse and quant at times but full of pleasantly unusual earworms with melodies that float around a room like on “What Doesn’t Work What Does” and “Woke Up With No Feet”.

Catch her live at Baby’s All Right on August 1st alongside Kevin Krauter and Pleasure Systems.

2K88 - SHAME [Unsound]

2K88's debut album “SHAME” is a sonic tapestry that fuses classic Polish rap samples with innovative soundscapes, blending ambient textures, dub basslines, and frenetic jungle beats. The album reflects on Poland's post-communist cultural evolution while pushing the boundaries of the country's vibrant hybrid club scene, creating a forward-thinking sound that acknowledges the past without succumbing to nostalgia.

GB - Gusse Music [Posh Isolation]

GB's debut album is a collaged symphony of experimental music with a pop sensibilities where tracks bleed into each other, like videos in a feed, momentarily grabbing the listener's attention only to be forgotten again shortly after. Its makeshift compositions offer a 33-minute textural plunge into the melancholy of the infinite with lofi vocal delivery reminiscent of dean Blunt and instrumental flourishes sure to please fans of Tirzah or Vegyn.

Emma DJ - Lay2g

Lay2g is a frenetic, genre-defying album that blends elements of blog house, EDM, donk, and hyperpop with nods to new wave and industrial music, a sonic landscape that's both nostalgic and futuristic. The Paris-based producer masterfully balances destructive rhythms with emotional melodies, offering a punk-inspired approach to contemporary dance music,

Catch Emma DJ this summer on Fri, Aug 9 at MomaPS1 Warm Up alongside Ash Lauryn and Juliana Huxtable’s new band Tongue in the Mind.

Sacre - Orchestration of My Joy

I'm picking up on a pattern in this month's picks. Pretty much all these albums play with the idea of collage, disregarding genre boundaries and tossing lots of ideas into a mix.

Sacre’s album here sounds like “like re-glued fragments, like a broken mirror that was re-composed but with layers this time. It sounds like regeneration and hope, but also like defeated batteries and burnout.” 

This is slightly haunted headphone listening music for fans of Actress, Space Afrika, and the likes. It’s a thrilling swirl of lush breaks, beautiful piano bits, and heady textures which at moments (like on ‘substitutes’) is complemented by subterranean drum and bass.

SLIKBACK - s/t 

SLIKBACK has been dropping pay-what-you-want insanity for years now (this included).

Finally on offer here are some of the best previously released tracks (from 2021 - 2023) pressed onto a single definitive SLIKBACK album ranging from banging trap, gnarled electronics, heady ambience, and more. In his own words “going in different directions sonically but always staying connected to my emotions”.

Martha Skye Murphy: Um [AD 93]

Martha Skye Murphy's debut album "Um" is a stunningly original and diverse work of art pop that showcases her ethereal vocals set against meticulously crafted soundscapes that range from intimate ASMR to expansive synth architecture, blending influences from baroque pop to ambient experimentation. Think Slauson Malone meets Kate Bush.

Dylan Henner - performs Raymond Scott's Soothing Sounds for Baby

Dylan Henner reinterprets a selection of Raymond Scott’s iconic work originally released in 1962. The “the ineffable beauty and warm gentleness” at times reminiscent of SeeFeel or Aphex Twin’s ambient excursions is sure to please any resting baby or adult looking for an emotional reset.

Other Noteworthy Albums

Black Decelerant, Contour & Omari Jazz - Reflections Vol. 2: Black Decelerant

Iceboy Violet, Nueen - You Said You'd Hold My Hand Through The Fire

Skee Mask - Resort [Ilian Tape]

Solpara - Melancholy Sabotage 

Margaux - Inside the Marble

Fine - Rocky Top Ballads [Escho]

Tashi Wada - What Is Not Strange? [Rvng Intl.]

Actress - Statik [Smalltown Supersound]

Been Stellar - Scream From New York, NY

Charli XCX - Brat [Atlantic]

EPs

Joey - Ten Sixty [Elicit Records]

A masterful blend of innovative soundscapes, complex textures and trippy, percussive madness from the rising NYC-based artist on Kessler’s newish label.

El Blanco Nino - Echoes in the Stu 2

The sequel to Echoes in The Stu exploring more ambient club.

Drumskull - Champion Sound 

Nasty sub riddims, proper bass bin rattling jungle 

Less-O - Cri du Cœur [TemeT]

In recent years Simo Cell’s label TEMƎT Music has cemented itself as an impressive hub for cutting-edge bass music. Simo’s young brother Maxime makes music as Less-O and his mini album, Cri Du Cœur, is bursting at the seams with fresh ideas as he traverses high definition, percussive, rolling club music across various tempos. The title track in particular is a standout.

COIDO - Traces [YUKU]

An album that could be played at both fabric london and tresor berlin to equal effect. Coido merges post-dubstep and broken techno brilliianly, YUKU isn’t missing lately. 

DIVPRO - TWIST001

NYC’s Twist crew inaugurates their new imprint with an EP from Texan DivPro and London MC Renz showcasing a dynamic fusion of UK bass music styles, blending elements of 2-step, grime, dubstep, and garage across its tracks, featuring sharp drum work and heavy basslines.

Daisy Moon - System Creak [Peach Discs]

Daisy Moon delivers playful, proggy, and sparkly dance music perfectly tuned for the summer featuring uplifting synth lines, field recordings, and submerged vocal chops, all mixed with vibrancy and dynamism for maximum vitality. 

Ma Sha, Sobolik - Slipstreaming

Taking cues from each other’s unfinished projects and bouncing ideas back and forth, the pair serve up the fastest EP the label has released to date. 

Compilations

A superb compilation from Obligated, bridging the gap between genres like techno, baile funk, dembow & 140 featuring tracks from Skee Mask, Bluetoof, Sister Zo, Swimful, Jossy Mitsu, and more.

A stunning variation of tunes with a wiiide sonical pallete and diverse naratives and approach from some of the freshest name in the electronic experimental field.

Usually riding the line between dubstep, bass, DnB and at times bearing tastefully towards the wookish tear-out zone. Who knew crazy such music was coming out of Minnesota courtesy of Renraku

Pay what you want (!!)

The fifth compilation pushing Early Reflex's mission to propel leftfield techno and experimental club music into uncharted territory featuring Ma Sha, No Sir, ZULI, Young Muscle, Ziyiz and more.

Mixes

An ongoing lists of my favorite mixes and sets from the year can be found here but these are a few that particularly caught my attention this month.

An incredible mix from Ophélie live from Floorless Festival, this would have been so much fun on the dancefloor. Often holding onto tight subby loops for a long time in what sounds like dexterous 3-4 deck masterclass.

ani/live just rarely misses and sustain release pool party always hits.

I highly recommended a college friend to attend this all night session at Sameheads in Berlin and her review was simple “Nona gigsta is funny as fuck, and she has raaaannnngggggeee”

Eva Loveless on the first hour with lots of dubstep and Drummy b2b Sobolik in the second hour for some signature kindergarten chaos.

I finally published my set from my party, Polarity, at Bossa Nova Civic Club. I was hoping to use it for a mix series but I need more mixes up, so enjoy this closing set of slow rolling sub bass and dub. Ronan also posted his set from the party here.

Singles

Some standout tracks from the month of June.

If you enjoyed this newsletter I’d really appreciate if you shared it with a friend or two.

Playlists

NYC Concert List (Next 6 Weeks)

For a full list through the end of the year click here.

Thu, Jul 11 - Cassandra Jenkins @ Public Records 

Sat, Jul 13 - Mabe Fratti @ Public Records 

Sat, Jul 13 - MIKE'S YOUNG WORLD IV: EARL SWEATSHIRT / STACY EPPS / MYAAP / SIDESHOW / MIKE @Von King Park [Free] 

Tue, Jul 16 - Snooper @ Elsewhere 

Wed, Jul 17 - Hurray for the Riff Raff @ National Sawdust 

Wed, Jul 17 - Cola @ Bowery Ballroom 

Thu, Jul 18 - Ben Howard / John Francis Flynn @ Central Park Summer Stage

Thu, Jul 18 - Arushi Jain, Contour, Daytona 500 @ Nowadays 

Fri, Jul 19 - MomaPS1 Warm Up: Nick León b2b DJ Python | Safety Trance | Lolina | FITNESSS 

Mon, Jul 22 - Hana Vu @ Bowery Ballroom 

Tue, Jul 23 - Margaux (Album Release Party @Union Pool 

Wed, Jul 24 - Medhane + Kahlil Blu @ Public Records 

Thu, Jul 25 - Model/Actriz & Water From Your Eyes @a boat leaving from pier 36 

Tue, Jul 30 - Lianne La Havas @ Webster Hall 

Thu, Aug 1 - Kevin Krauter, Anastasia Coope, Pleasure Systems, Chanel Beads (DJ) @Baby's All Right 

Thu, Aug 1 - Bent Knee @Brooklyn Made 

Sat, Aug 3 - The Body & Dis Fig w/ Cel Genesis @ Le Poisson Rouge 

Sat, Aug 3 - Drugdealer @ Bowery Ballroom 

Wed, Aug 7 - DIIV @ Brooklyn Paramount 

Fri, Aug 9 - Tirzah, Loraine James, Purelink @ Knockdown Center 

Fri, Aug 9 - MomaPS1 Warm Up: Emma dj | Ash Lauryn| Tongue in the Mind

Sat, Aug 10 - Juan Wauters @ Bowery Ballroom 

Sat, Aug 10 - CCL (open to close) / Sister Zo + x3butterfly @ Public Records 

Mon, Aug 12 - WILD NOTHING, PEEL DREAM MAGAZINE @ Elsewhere 

Fri, Aug 16 - Helado Negro @Knockdown Center Ruins

 Sat, Aug 17 - King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard @ Forest Hills Stadium 

Sun, Aug 18 - Big Brave @TV Eye 

Aug 21-27 - Jeff Rosenstock @Warsaw

Fri, Aug 23 - Pure Bathing Culture @ Union Pool 

Mon, Aug 26 & Tue, Aug 27 - Childish Gambino, WILLOW @ Barclays Center

Thx for reading and listening and sharing 🫶🏻

- Aleksander

The regularly updated concert list at the bottom of every post isn’t perfect but its my attempt to address that information gap. This special newsletter transmission was to call out some shows taking place this summer that I think deserve your special attention. I will be doing this quarterly so stay tuned in the fall.

There are promoters in the city that embody this idea (not enough live music) into their event curation like Dripping which does a great job crafting lineups for their Nowadays nights and their annual festival that bridge the gap between live performance and DJs.

29 Speedway is a platform for artists exploring the fringes of interdisciplinary art, featuring forward-thinking improvisational music, live multimedia, and even dance and puppetry into the mix.

Conditioner has also been throwing parties with really strong lineups spanning experimental live music / dj sets and together with 29 Speedway they’ve curated one of the events highlighted below.

There are a also couple great Substack newsletters that regularly feature and cover other live music happening in spheres that I’m not plugged into that I can’t recommend enough:

- a weekly Bklyn Sounds newsletter calling out interesting shows for the week.

- keeps a regularly updated Master List of upcoming performances of interest to the new-music community: contemporary classical music and jazz, electronic and electroacoustic music, and idioms for which no clever genre name has been coined.

—

That’s all for now though, enjoy the recs below and I hope to see some of you at the shows!

A couple standout shows and tracks from the lineups for the next few months. Many of these shows are free and the first few happen to be this week. A full list of summer shows that I will continue to keep updated is below.

Tue, June 25 - Sen Morimoto, Naima @TV Eye

Naima is potentially the most slept-on discovery I’ve stumbled upon this year. The Queens based artist has just a few hundred monthly listeners but her City Lights EP (highlighted on the last NL) is incredibly vibey, dreamy bedroom r&b perfect for fans of L’rain, Blood Orange, Tirzah, Kelela, or Solange. 

Wed, Jun 26 - Horse Lords w/ Leya @ Le Poisson Rouge 

Horse Lords is an experimental rock band that makes pulsating music that employs ideas such as minimalist composition, just intonation, polyrhythmic patterning, free jazz and improvisation.

Their 2022 album was described perfectly by one bandcamp comment. 

BenPujara - "A jangled euphoric jam like shaking an etch-a-sketch and making Matisse. Masterful."

The band is performing “in the round” at LPR which essentially means performing on a stage surrounded on all sides by attendees and its sure to be an experience.

Fri, Jun 28 - Chanel Beads, Mei Semones @ Bryant Park (7-10pm, FREE)

Chanel Beads is one of the hottest bands coming up in NYC right now. Every show they’ve had has sold out, quickly, and for good reason. When I saw them open for Mount Kimbie they really stole the show for me and I felt more inspired from live music than I had in quite a while.

Shane Lavers incorporates the scrappy sonics of post-punk, the gripping sentimentality of pop tunes, and the spectral artifice of electronic music, blurring the lines through unconventional song structures that build into transcendental climaxes.

Mei Semones is a self described “Jazz influenced DIY artist based” and her recent EP is a wonderful showcase of her unique blend of jazz, bossa nova, and math-y indie rock. Mei’s tender bilingual lyrics float over her intricate guitar work and sweeping string arrangements. 

Sun, Jun 30 - Lip Critic @ TV Eye 

Noisy, twisted electronic garage punk madness that hits like a freight train with massive sub warping bass lines reminiscent of Death Grips, The Garden and Machine Girl.

Sat, July 13 - MIKE'S YOUNG WORLD IV: EARL SWEATSHIRT / SKAIWATER / STACY EPPS / SIDESHOW / MIKE @Herbert Von King Park [Free]

Local hero MIKE has been steadily building a vibrant hip-hop community of like-minded souls at his annual Young World festival. This year the event returns to Herbert Von King Park in Bed-Stuy with Earl Sweatshirt, who has been the voice of a generation and the face of a corner of hip hop for a decade now.

With a focus on black musicians and creatives, the festival provides a fully accessible afternoon of music, visual art, food, clothes, and children’s activities in Bed Stuy. The ultimate goal is to inspire the next generation of black youth to see creative professions as a viable option and create their own creative communities – thus “Young World.

Thu, Jul 18 - 29 Speedway x Conditioner: Arushi Jain, Contour, Daytona 500, Isabella Koen @ Nowadays

Arushi Jain brings Hindustani classical music alive for a new generation. Armed with modular synths and a beautiful voice, she creates an unorthodox vision of centuries-old traditional music through an ambient lens.

Contour’s latest album in collaboration with Omari Jazz is a lushly spirited, sanguine salvo that meditates on matters of “Black being and nonbeing, life and mourning, and the individual and collective” that floats somewhere between neo-soul and ambient classical. 

Daytona 500 is the duo of DJ Deadname and Eva Loveless, two important individuals in the brooklyn bass scene that I wrote about in May. I’ve yet to catch them but I have no doubts they’ll deliver a percussive, dextrous excursion into the low end for this 29 Speedway x Conditioner showcase. 

Thur, Aug 1 Anastasia Coope, Chanel Beads (DJ) @

Anastasia’s recent debut is an album of heady, forward thinking pop music that might be described as freak folk by some. It’s sparse and quant at times but full of pleasantly unusual earworms with melodies float around a room like “What Doesn’t Work What Does” and “Woke Up With No Feet”.

Sat, Aug 3 - The Body & Dis Fig w/ Cel Genesis @ Le Poisson Rouge 

The Body and Dis Fig find kinship in reimagining what it means to make “heavy music”. Their debut album highlighted back in the march transmission is the perfect synthesis of two forces, twisting melodicism and intoxicating rhythms, layering a dense miasma of distortion with intense beats and a soaring voice clawing its way towards absolution. 

I’m unfamiliar with Cel Genesis but two bandcamp comments on their latest album compliment the live experience enough that I’m intrigued.

“See them perform live if you want to experience a true rebirth.”

“One of the best live performances I’ve ever experienced.”

Fri, Aug 9 - Tirzah, Loraine James, Purelink @ Knockdown Center 

Tirzah had to cancel half of her North American tour in 2023 after getting sick but she returns to Knockdown Center August 9th alongside UK experimental composer, producer and singer Loraine James, and ambient-dub-techno trio Purelink. Three of the best doing it today and surely not one to miss.

Tue, Sep 17 - Perfume Genius @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 

It’s not exactly summer but Perfume Genius is an incredible performer and this will sell out. He moves with grace on stage fully displaying his passion through expressive movements as he delivers stunning vocal performances. This tour is in support of the 10th year anniversary of his excellent break-out album ‘Too Bright’.

Full NYC Concert List (updated 8/7)

Sun, Aug 11 - Robber Robber, This is Lorelei @ Baby’s All Right
Wed, Aug 11 - Activity • Frances Chang @ Union Pool
Mon, Aug 12 - WILD NOTHING, PEEL DREAM MAGAZINE @ Elsewhere
Fri, Aug 16 - MomaPS1 Warm Up: Kode9 | Cashu | SoFTT
Fri, Aug 16 - Helado Negro @ Knockdown Center Ruins
Sat, Aug 17 - King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard @ Forest Hills Stadium
Sat, Aug 17 - Music at MoMA: Jlin and Suzi Analogue [free w admission]
Sun, Aug 18 - Big Brave @ TV Eye
Sun, Aug 18 - Washed Out @ Brooklyn Paramount
Thu, Aug 22 - Ojerime @ Cafe Erzulie
Aug 21-27 - Jeff Rosenstock @ Warsaw
Fri, Aug 23 - Pure Bathing Culture @ Union Pool
Fri, Aug 23 - Casey MQ w/ 7038634357 @ LPR
Sat, Aug 24 - DAZEGXD (EXHIBITION MODE RELEASE SHOW), QUINN @ Elsewhere
Mon, Aug 26 & Tue, Aug 27 - Childish Gambino, WILLOW @ Barclays Center
Fri, Aug 30 - Yara Bey @ The Sultan Rooftop [Free]
Wed, Sep 4 - Crumb @ Brooklyn Paramount
Thu, Sep 5 - Okay Kaya @ Xanadu
Sun, Sep 8 - Manchester Orchestra / Militarie Gun @ Starland Ballroom
Mon, Sep 9 - MARIKA HACKMAN, ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND @ Elsewhere
Mon, Sep 9 - Charly Bliss @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Tue, Sep 10 - St. Vincent / Yves Tumor @ Brooklyn Paramount
Tue, Sep 10 - The Beths @ Sony Hall
Thu, Sep 12 - MAVI / Pink Siifu @ Webster Hall
Thu, Sep 12 - Hans Zimmer @ MSG
Sat, Sep 14 - JPEGMAFIA / Jane Remover @ Terminal 5
Sept 14-19 - Claire Residency @ Webster Hall
Sun, Sep 15 - Weird Science: Container / Nose Drip @ TV EYE
Sun, Sep 15 - The Killers @ Forest Hills Stadium
Sun, Sep 15 - PJ Harvey @ Terminal 5
Tue, Sep 17 - Perfume Genius Too Bright 10th Anniversary & Julianna Barwick @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Fri, Sep 20 - Magdalena Bay @ Brooklyn Steel
Fri, Sep 20 - Sarah Davachi @ LPR
Sat, Sep 21 - Special Interest @ Le Poisson Rouge
Sun, Sep 22 - Rapsody @ Bowery Ballroom
Mon, Sep 23 - Astrid Sonne + Christelle Bofale @ Public Records
Mon, Sep 23 - Luna Li @ Bowery Ballroom
Mon, Sep 23 - Mabe Fratti @ Public Records
Wed, Sep 25 - The Armed / H09909 @ Pioneer Works
Wed, Sep 25 - Mk.gee @ Terminal 5
Wed, Sep 25 - JOHN GLACIER, IFE RADIO, ANYSIA KYM @ Elsewhere
Wed, Sep 25 - NABIHAH IQBAL, SUGAR MILK @ Elsewhere
Fri, Sep 27 - IDLES, The Walkmen @ Forest Hills Stadium
Sat, Sep 28 - Objekt, See Mask, ADAB @ Knockdown Center Ruins
Sun, Sep 29 - Mica Levi, Still House Plants, claire rousay @ Knockdown Center Ruins
Sun, Sep 29 - Mk.gee @ Brooklyn Paramount
Tue, Oct 1 - Nilüfer Yanya @ Brooklyn Steel
Tue, Oct 1 - Erland Cooper w/ Clarice Jensen @ LPR
Wed, Oct 2 - The Softies @ Public Records
Wed, Oct 2 - Tropical Fuck Storm @ Warsaw
Wed, Oct 2 - A. Savage (of Parquet Courts) @ Union Pool
Thu, Oct 3 - Toro y Moi @ Knockdown Center
Thu, Oct 3 - Hotline TNT @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Wed, Oct 2 - Duster @ Webster Hall
Mon, Oct 7 - Kishi Bashi @ Warsaw
Wed, Oct 9 - Half Waif & Lori Sax @ Brooklyn Made
Wed, Oct 9 - Public Memory, Mint Field @ TV Eye
Thu, Oct 10 - Moses Sumner, Mustafa, & more @ Knockdown Center
Fri, Oct 11 - Nia Archives & hitech @ Brooklyn Steel
Sat, Oct 12 - Haru Nemuri @ Elsewhere
Tue, Oct 15 & Wed, Oct 16 - Fontaines DC @ Brooklyn Paramount
Tue, Oct 15 - Xiu Xii @ LPR
Fri, Oct 18 - LSDXOXO (live) @ National Sawdust
Fri, Oct 18 - The Voidz @ The Apollo
Fri, Oct 18 - Vince Staples @ Terminal 5
Sat, Oct 19 & Sun, Oct 20 - Orville Peck @ Brooklyn Paramount
Sat, Oct 19 - Hania Rani @ Warsaw
Sat, Oct 19 - CHANEL BEADS, LUCY (COOPER B. HANDY), FEARDORIAN @ Elsewhere
Fri, Oct 18 & Sat, Oct 19 - ANOHNI and the Johnsons @ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
Sun, Oct 20 - Sega Bodega @ Knockdown Center
Mon, Oct 21 - The Void @ Knockdown Center
Mon, Oct 21 - Air performing 'Moon Safari' @ Beacon Theatre
Tue, Oct 22 - Air performing 'Moon Safari' @ Beacon Theatre
Tue, Oct 22 - HOMESHAKE, Freak Heat Waves @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Wed, Oct 23 - Chris Cohen @ Baby's All Right
Thu, Oct 24 - Massive Attack @ Forest Hills Stadium
Thu, Oct 24 - Osees @ Warsaw
Fri, Oct 25 - Naima Bock @ Union Pool
Fri, Oct 25 - Contour @ National Sawdust
Sat, Oct 26 - American Football @ Warsaw
Sun, Oct 27 - American Football @ Warsaw
Tue, Oct 29 - Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn @ National Sawdust
Wed, Oct 30 - Cassandra Jenkins @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thu, Oct 31 - Touche Amore @ Warsaw
Fri, Nov 1 - Cursive @ White Eagle Music Hall
Thu, Nov 7 - Spirit of the Beehive @ Warsaw
Fri, Nov 8 & Sat, Nov 9 - Lankum @ Warsaw
Sat, Nov 9 - The Garden @ Brooklyn Paramount
Mon, Nov 10 - Caribou, yunè pinku @ Brooklyn Mirage
Mon, Nov 11 - Laura Marling @ Bowery Ballroom
Wed, Nov 13 - Pond, Fazerdaze @ Brooklyn Steel
Thu, Nov 14 - Slow Pulp, Hannah Jadagu @ Webster Hall
Fri, Nov 15 - Slow Pulp, Full Body 2 @ Webster Hall
Fri, Nov 15 - A.G. Cook @ Knockdown Center
Sat, Nov 16 - Ratboys @ Warsaw
Mon, Nov 18 - Slowdive @ Brooklyn Paramount
Mon, Nov 18 - Adrianne Lenker (of Big Thief) @ King's Theatre
Wed, Nov 20 - Crack Cloud @ Bowery Ballroom
Wed, Nov 20 - Porches @ Brooklyn Steel
Thu, Nov 21 - Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ Pioneer Works
Thu, Nov 21 - Caribou, Yune Pinko @ Brooklyn Mirage
Sat, Dec 7 - Billy Woods and Kenny Segal Perform Hiding Places
Thu, Dec 12 - Mono @ Pioneer Works
Sat, Jan 25 - Porridge Radio @ Warsaw

Playlists

quick plug for these regularly updated playlist

It would be amazing if you could share this newsletter with a friend that wants more live music in their life and comment what shows you’re most excited for this summer below.

Thx for reading!!!

- Aleksander