Refined hybrid club music from SlowRolla and NovTheKID that hits somewhere between jersey club, juke, and breakbeat, all filtered through the sieve of a buttery RnB croon. This is from the Hybrid Pulse compilation, the inaugural release on Sonora Destroy Records, a new label based in Bogotá. The whole record is really solid, and covers a ton of ground — truly a global effort. Grab it on bandcamp, or stream it all over.

SlowRolla & NovTheKid – “DNR” (mp3)

Puerto Rico’s Katan Roman blends NY rap, reggaeton, Sandungueo, and Funk Carioca on this absolute brutal bop. This deserves to be playing at deafening volumes from every Slingshot parked in front of a Borinqueño or Dominicano bodega in the Bronx. Asicalao. No bandcamp for this, unfortunately, but stream it all over, or grab it below.

Katan Roman – “Crazy” (mp3)

Remix of Hatis Noit, the Japanese experimental voice artist on Erased Tapes whose wild video I featured a couple of months ago. Following excellent reworks by the likes of Matthew Herbert and William Basinski, this version is delivered by DJ Preservation, who’s produced for the likes of Yasiin Bey, Roc Marciano, DOOM, and RZA, GZA, and Raekwon. I also know him from Afu Ra’s “Dynamite” which might not be that well known to many, but was on heavy rotation at a formative moment in my life. For the remix, Preservation brought on billy woods and ELUCID, collectively known as Armand Hammer, one of the acts that’s been valiantly buttressing underground NY rap from constantly threatening tides. Grab this on bandcamp or stream it all over.

Hatis Noit – “Jomon” (Preservation Rework ft. Armand Hammer) (bc)

Desert esoterica from IDDO and OKADOSH. Hard to pin down these songs, but they feel to me like what Cristobal Tapia de Veer might create if he was a Burner and he accidentally took a hit from the wrong person in a chill out tent (gosh, maybe he actually is a Burner?). All the songs on the pair’s collaborative EP Erokanji, have that same sort of warbling dissonant sweetness that de Veer’s music captures, but here they feel like they’re behind some sort of veil—as if the DMT’s haze is making it impossible to quite zero in on a central motif. The whole record is quite lovely in its distinctiveness, so don’t take my tongue-in-cheek descriptions as anything but a somewhat reductive attempt to describe something for which I lack quite the right words. Just have a listen. My favorite is definitely the EP’s closer, “Momentum.”

Erokanji is available now on bandcamp, or for streaming, wherever you do that sort of thing. The image I’ve featured above isn’t actually the record’s cover art, but I would be remiss if I hadn’t featured some of IDDO’s portraiture, more of which you can find on his instagram.

Tongue-in-cheek outsider house from German Guetta Thunberg, who clearly doesn’t take themselves all too seriously. They describe themselves as “making the world a better place,” which I’m not sure is a reference to Greta or David, or both. But for all the irreverence of their name and presentation, the music’s definitely good. No bandcamp for this, so grab the mp3 below, or find it for streaming wherever.

Guetta Thunberg – “The Music’s Good” (mp3)

Sharp and effective lofi house/UKG hybrid from So Only. I’m not sure where in the UK So Only is based, but perhaps Lancashire, as he’s been getting robust support from BBC North West, despite having only released a handful of songs so far (all of them quite good). Strong showing here though, a promising sign of what’s to come. No bandcamp, so grab the mp3, or stream it all over.

So Only – “Belle” (mp3)

Simple but solid emotive breakbeat done the LA way, from newcomer Soki. This is definitely in the vein of what Shawn Reynaldo has been calling big room sad, which feels like a slightly derisive descriptor, but honestly it works. Mainstream melodramatic tears in the club for zoomers, what can you do? I like it. No bandcamp for this, but it’s available for streaming wherever you may prefer to do that.

Soki – “Without You” (sc)

Strong early showing from Leeds-based producer Fine. A cyclical piano motif and the distant sounds of a theme park undergird Molly Rymer’s lulling vocal on this first single from Fine’s debut record, Then, Now, Until due out in May. Pre-order the album on bandcamp, and grab the song below, or find it for streaming all over.

Fine – “Empty Space” (ft. Molly Rymer and Jonah Evans) (mp3)

This is the closing track on the latest record from Melbourne’s re:abel. I wrote about the previous single from this record a couple of months ago. Where that one was all deep red crushed velvet 2-step, “Otherside” is more cerulean fogged glass electronica. But no less evocative. No bandcamp for this unfortunately, but grab the mp3 below, and stream the EP at all the usual outlets.

re:abel – “Otherside” (mp3)

Dublin’s XXXX In Stereo sent over this smoldering jungle roller, made in honor of Northern Ireland and Man U legendary winger George Best, who some call the best dribbler of all time (debatable obviously, but damn, he was no slouch). This is a free download, but support the artist on bandcamp, or stream this anywhere you do that sort of thing.

XXXX In Stereo – “Ode to Best” (mp3)

Aatocaster is LA-based Alex Lubeck. His latest release is this pair of bright rays of delicate electronica. According to the artist, both songs are about gratitude. “Pendant” tells of a talisman—either object, person, place, or being—that can be relied upon to save you in your moments of greatest need. However amorphous, it’s so important to have emotional and psychological backup, a support system of some sort, even if not in the form of friends and family. I shudder to think what would have happened to me in the past were it not for the support of my personal outlets, my favorite places, my people. “Exp” is meant to illustrate the result of that support — what one can then contribute to the world as a result of having survived it.

These songs are out now on bandcamp or for streaming, and will apparently be part of a larger release coming later this year.

Aatocaster – “Pendant” (sc)

Aatocaster – “Exp” (sc)

Fluttery drum-n-pop from Malaysian artist Lunadira. The most obvious reference here is PinkPantheress, but this song also really brings to mind that Sassy 009 song I wrote about a couple of years ago, “Blue Racecar” — that’s a good reference coming from me; I constantly have that song stuck in my head. No bandcamp for this, but catch it on streaming.

Lunadira – “crying over nothing (wah wah)” (sc)

Tightly-knit drum patterns, staccato synth shimmers, and indecipherable vocal sample dust on this sharp percussion workout from Madrid’s frankydrama. I can see this going off on the right floor. Grab it on bandcamp or for streaming.

frankydrama – “Y.E.I.S.” (sc)

Icy North Sea-inspired breakbeat angst from Drive to Tears, about whom I don’t know much except that this is the third song he’s made public. But he’s open about the fact that he’s using his music as a direct outlet for his depression, which is more than respectable. Strong early showing. No bandcamp, so find it on streaming.

Drive to Tears – “Running” (sc)

Celestial-scale breakbeats from British-Croatian Morwell, off of his newly released remix EP on which he reinterprets the tracks from his previous record from early last year, Resonance. In the case of “Loving You,” the dissonant rave stabs of the original are swapped out for cosmic piano chords, and vocals read from HP Lovecraft’s Beyond the Wall of Sleep, and the clobber of the break is dialed back (but just a smidgen). While these two versions exist in the same general orbit, the other remixes on the new record tend to be more severe departures from the originals upon which they’re based, often dipping dramatically in tempo or shifting genre altogether.

You can grab both the Resonance remixes or the originals on Morwell’s bandcamp, and while you’re there, check out his whole catalog. He’s impressively prolific; there’s tons of good stuff to get lost in. You can also find all of his stuff from streaming, if that’s more your speed.

Morwell – “Loving You” (Remix) (sc)

Morwell – “Loving You” (sc)

Infectiously odd experimentation from New Zealand’s Havening. I’m telling you, they do it weird in NZ. I wrote about some of Havening’s compatriots last month—about how well those artists from NZ captured a sense of everyday dread and gloom, and that maybe that was part of the Kiwi condition, so to speak. But this track, and Havening’s other work, leads me to believe it may be more accurate to describe a willingness to embrace esoterica, and let the everyday weird in. This song is just as strange as those I posted from flip for garth and Qwazdyn, but most of the gloom is replaced by a sense of calm curiosity. There’s still an underlying current of mild dread in that arpeggiating synth line, but don’t we all wake up some mornings with a combination of resignation and optimism? I may dread one part of my upcoming day, and look forward to another.

I’m not sure if there’s more direct meaning intended here. ‘Gorp’ is a funny word, and that may be the extent of it, or maybe Havening is referencing the act of eating greedily, or an affinity for trail mix. Either way, I like this song.

You can find this for streaming anywhere you do that sort of thing, or support the artist by grabbing a copy on bandcamp.

Havening – “gorpt up” (sc)

First up is Syglit, an artist from Russia about whom I know just about nothing else, but both tracks on their new record are sublime exercises in mood and glitch. Find them streaming all over, or grab them on bandcamp.

Syglit – “you_re late” (sc)

Syglit – “source .env” (sc)

Next is the new single from Iranian artist Pari Eskandari. I posted the video for Eskandari’s previous single a couple of months ago, which was a vivid exploration of the struggle of women in Iran, made in-part as a tribute to Mahsa Amini. This new song is equally compelling, and was produced by Eskandari, together with Tricky and Peter Kirn, and released on Tricky’s False Idols imprint. Find it for streaming, or on bandcamp.

Pari Eskandari – “Drehmoment” (sc)

The last one is from another artist I know little about: London’s Omar Moon. This is from a charming beat tape that you can find on all the streamers, but unfortunately not on bandcamp. Thankfully, Moon okayed me sharing with you all the mp3, which you can download below. Lovely stuff, this.

Omar Moon – “i love us” (mp3)

I’ve got so much good stuff coming in all the time, and I don’t always have the bandwidth to cover as much as I’d like. So, in the interest of not letting too many gems fall through the cracks, I’ll occasionally be collecting a handful of recent contributions into a new From the Mailbox feature.

Wonderfully idiosyncratic club music from Perth’s Nikolas Thompson. I love when a song feels totally built for purpose, like it was produced by a DJ just to fill a specific hole in their set. Grab the mp3 so it can serve that purpose for you too. Thompson seems full of personality, zeal, and good ideas, so I’d keep an ear out for more from him.

Nikolas Thompson – “On The Sure (Waiting For Me)” (mp3)

Next, it’s more dancefloor frenzy from Norway’s Dr. Sepi. This time it’s breakneck triplet carioca syncopation meets 170bpm breakbeat fury. DJ’s: grab the mp3 for free below (and don’t miss that last one I posted too).

Dr. Sepi – “IceDrop” (mp3)

Finally, another slice of ambient breakcore / online jungle vibes from ERRx, who I’ve covered in the past. Two pristine minutes of flow state music.

ERRx – “breaking down” (sc)

More unabashedly vulnerable dance music from North London’s Sound of Fractures (aka Jamie Reddington), who I’ve covered a couple of times now. This is the third single from Reddington’s interactive album Scenes, a project that encourages listeners to contribute their own memories and rewards them by generating unique album art for the next song in the series based on their contribution (plus one of the submissions becomes the official artwork). Participate in the project, and in so doing get to have a listen to the next single.

The Scenes project is also emblematic of Reddington’s approach. I’ve been following him on socials the past few months, and the guy is clearly working hard to try to create something special — leaving no stone unturned. I know he has young children, as I do, so I’m extra impressed by what he’s managing to accomplish. He’s seemingly using even the most peripheral of moments to generate content that may inch him forward. I can’t always say the same for myself, but his determination is almost as inspiring as the music itself.

Find this song, along with previous Sound of Fractures material, on all the streaming services, or support the artist and grab this one on bandcamp.

Sound of Fractures – “Don’t Worry” (bc)

Glittery and tense breakup pop from Oslo’s Maud, real name Kristine Hoff. The gist here is straightforward, but familiar to many: it’s after a painful breakup and you’d rather never see that other person again (or at least you need some real distance for a minute), but you keep running into them, either actually, virtually, or at least mentally.

This is from Maud’s upcoming full-length The Love That Remains, which you can pre-order on bandcamp. It’s out February 16th. You can also find this for streaming all over.

Maud – “Wherever I Go” (sc)

Filter house meets g-tech from Baltimore’s club queen, TT The Artist, together with Noisia’s Thys and Big Dope P himself. Doppie and Moveltraxx continue their neverending quest to remain the most productive ass shakers east of the Atlantic.

Taken from the upcoming SBF26 compilation, out 2/26. Preorder on bandcamp, or find it for streaming wherever.

Thys, Big Dope P, TT The Artist – “Squad Up” (sc)

More of that internetcore-adjacent online jungle I was on about a couple of months ago. This time it’s this very playstation roller from miiinty, who I know nothing about except that they’re [maybe] from the UK. Besides the song’s bloodshot title, the only indication of miiinty’s inspiration is the following statement: “born to uwu forced to thug it out tbh.” Like any good loading screen song, this song’s appeal is immediate and it remains engaging throughout, in a way that could probably go on forever before you’d notice the game had frozen.

Not on bandcamp, but you can find it for streaming anywhere you’d think to look.

miiinty – “playing spyro on a ps2 emulator gave me a hit of dopamine!!!” (sc)

Like many of her fans, I became aware of LA-based bad snacks from that great track she made during a session of Andrew Huang’s “4 producers 1 sample” challenge. Notwithstanding her violin chops, at the time, she was primarily putting out LA beat scene-type stuff (there’s still no great name for that subgenre, but you know the wonky stuff I’m referring to, right?), which she continued to focus on for quite a while afterwards. She did some great performances in that context too, including online during the pandemic for the likes of Brainfeeder’s twitch channel.

Lately though, she’s been putting out sublime dance music. She shies away from calling it house music, instead referring to it as “home music.” Cute joke, sure, but it’s honestly a pretty apt description. I can’t really see “iiwannabe” fitting all that well in most club sets, but I sure do see plenty of people (myself included) really enjoying a romp around the living room to it.

Grab this on bandcamp or find it for streaming. Her youtube persona, much like her music, is also as earnest as can be, and a great resource for producers and other music people of all sorts—I recommend you check that too, if you’re not already there.

bad snacks – “iiwannabe” (sc)

Today is just a day for experimental composition and ambient explorations, I guess. Seattle-based composer and producer Stephen Karukas, aka kmodp sent me this curious piece a couple of weeks ago. The title refers to Samuel Morse’s first message sent over telegraph: “What Hath God Wrought.” As Karukas tells it, because this first transmission was the basis of all electronic communication that followed—including music distribution—he sought to write something that would juxtapose Morse’s “weathered quasi-religious” message with other elements more “enigmatic and futuristic.” The song does just that. It feels like its the product of time travel, like something that might have been made by a church organist from 1844 transported to the present and plopped in front of an open Ableton Live session.

The song is available now on bandcamp or for streaming. It’s the first single from kmodp’s upcoming album Crimée No. 7 scheduled for released in early February.

kmodp – “2023:01.2 Electric Telegraphy 24 May 1844” (bc)

Pristine percussive downtempo from Icelandic couple Keli (Hrafnkell Örn Guðjónsson) and EstHer (Esther Þorvaldsdóttir). “Gufunes” is named after the area of Rejkavik where the couple live — once a thriving settlement, it became a waste disposal site, and has now been repurposed as a sculpture park and center for creative innovation. Þorvaldsdóttir is herself a member of the Intelligent Instruments Lab, which developed the proto-langspil—used as the lead on the song. The instrument is based on the traditional Icelandic langspil or trichord, but has been augmented with an embedded computer running algorithms to manipulate the strings’ vibrations, in an effort to bring unpredictability to the instrument’s tone and resonance. Guðjónsson, an accomplished drummer and percussionist, used a violin bow to create the lead rhythm, while Þorvaldsdóttir adjusted the strings’ suspension in real time to modulate the instruments’ pitch and rhythm. The result is haunting.

Pick up the song on bandcamp, or stream it anywhere streaming is done.

Keli & EstHer – “Gufunes” (bc)

When Joseph Salazar, a producer and composer from Austin, sent over this song, he included only a link to the following tweet by writer and illustrator Tim Urban:

The last stars will die out 120 trillion years from now (at most) followed by 10^106 years of just black holes.

Condensed, that’s like the universe starting with 1 second of stars and then a billion billion billion billion billion billion billion years of just black holes.

Stars are basically the immediate after-effects of the Big Bang. A one-second sizzle of brightness before settling into an essentially endless era of darkness.

We live in that one bright second.

As much of a mind fuck as the thought of all that is, how can you not feel a little luckier to get to live within that “one bright second”? The thought of an eternity of darkness before and afterwards is terrifying, but I’m comforted by my luck to have landed where and when I did. I think this is applicable on a smaller scale too: sometimes I wish I’d been born in another era, especially when I worry about how the world will change throughout my daughter’s lifetime, but I should ultimately just count myself lucky that I get to have lived now versus having missed it all altogether. The luck is in the living itself.

This song must have been made in the same stargazing frame of mind. It sounds it–contemplative synthwave with a fuzzy euphoric finish.

Grab it on bandcamp for whatever you wish to pay, or find it for streaming anywhere.

Joseph Salazar – “The Main Sequence” (bc)

Apache chops and hurdy-gurdy drone on this bouncy breakbeat number from Berlin-based an:mu, who describes their material as “just some music.” Their naming conventions are similarly understated—despite having released dozens of tracks on several releases in the past year alone, almost all the songs are just numbered, with no names, and the EPs are also just named by catalog number. “04” is from an:mu’s latest AN016, which includes five other similarly expressive breakbeat-heavy tracks. “02” is from their previous AN015, released this past October, which is a little deeper and nods closer to outsider and ambient house.

Grab these on bandcamp for whatever you wish to pay. Or stream them to your heart’s content wherever you do that.

an:mu – “04” (bc)

an:mu – “02” (bc)

Gentle warble meets satisfying rattle on this easygoing breakbeat exploration by Toronto-based Fermi Lëkundë. The winter feels insurmountable here right now (Toronto’s probably worse), but as its title would imply, this track has genuine springtime vibes. I’m here for it; sun and sky, please.

Grab this on bandcamp or stream it wherever you do that. (And while you’re there, check the club mix version, which is something else entirely.)

Fermi Lëkundë – “April” (sc)

Clean lines and overall precision on this lovely bit of melodic brain dance from Guadalajara-based Australian pianist Bermano. I’m also including an older track— “Humo”— which he sent me a couple of years ago and I previously overlooked. Similar melodic exactness on this, but based on a 2-step shuffle.

Grab these on bandcamp or stream them on your outlet of choice.

Bermano – “Xyloflare” (sc)

Bermano – “Humo” (sc)

Seven minutes of dramatic metallic techno from Chaos Control (aka Darion Bradley). Bradley is based in Greensboro, NC, but there’s no doubt this cut from his latest EP Shed Skin is waist deep in the waters of Lakes St. Clair and Eerie. It’s undeniably Detroit.

Grab Shed Skin on bandcamp or stream it wherever you do your streaming.

Chaos Control – “Praying” (bc)

Two and a half minutes of jitter, spikes, and wash-out from German producers Maurice Schirm and Panksovic. Isolating Northern European melancholia complement perfectly these dreary midwinter days here in the Northeast.

Out now on Schirm’s own Signal Weltfunk imprint as part of the Absence Presence EP. Grab it on bandcamp or stream away.

Maurice Schirm & Panksovic – “Plethora” (sc)

It’s the second time this week I’m covering an artist from New Zealand. This time it’s a young producer named Qwazdyn who I don’t know much else about except that they’re 18 years old. The first track they sent has some of the same loose everyday gloom I described the other day, but this time in the deceiving form of a mellow little dub roller. I’ve never been to NZ, but maybe this kind of gloom isn’t an uncommon emotional mode there? I always imagine it lush and framed by exceptional landscapes, but I expect as westernized as it is, it’s probably plenty ripe for the same afflictions as anywhere else. The other track is much more ominous — still essentially rooted in dub and 2-step, but with a lead that says the world isn’t just sick and tired, it’s fucking dying.

Both of these are available on bandcamp pay-what-you-wish, or on streaming services.

Qwazdyn – Lamp (sc)

Qwazdyn – Kownk (sc)

London-based producer Nodal Edge (real name Antoine Follea) recently sent me this crisp treatment of label mate Nimbe‘s latest single. The single title probably doesn’t refer to the ongoing atrocities in Isreal/Palestine, but the sentiment is applicable. More than ever, we need to be promoting the concept of truce, all over.

This is out now on One Horse Town records, grab it on bandcamp, or stream it all over.

Nimbe – “Truce” (Nodal Edge Remix) (sc)

Sometimes the right kind of gloom can really be charming. I like when a song isn’t too overtly drenched in melancholia, but still has enough drowsiness and dread to let you in close to the artist and whatever they may be struggling with. I can get into the full-on drama of vibrant sorrow or heartbreak, but I don’t think that’s where most people actually spend most of their emotional time—we only have enough fuel for that much intensity of emotion sometimes. For most people, even those of us with mournful or depressive streaks, the applicable feels level isn’t usually at a ten, it’s more a six. I count myself lucky to be one of those people, because I’ve known too many bright stars who burned out too quickly because they felt all of their feelings so much.

These songs from Wellington, NZ’s flip for garth capture that more everyday dread and gloom. This isn’t necessarily the music of heartrending pain or uncontrollable love, but rather the more everyday human versions of those feelings—the versions of those feelings that persist and that usually still make it possible for us to get up in the morning and go to work or cook for our families. I really appreciate the sincerity of expressing the versions of sadness and woe that feel compatible with real life.

Both of these songs are from flip for garth’s 2023 record Automosphere. Grab it on bandcamp for whatever you wish to pay, or find it on all the usual streamers.

flip for garth – “Tortoise” (sc)

flip for garth – “Gentle Breeze” (sc)

Assiduous mid-tempo acid from Utrecht’s Robin Meure. It feels as if more and more of the acid I hear lately is rising to nosebleed tempos, probably to fit in with all the hi-NRG techno, gabber, and trance that’s en vogue. Not knocking it, but it’s nice to hear some are sticking to the basics, not overcomplicating a good thing, and giving the 303s a little room to breathe.

These are both available on Meure’s latest EP, available on bandcamp, or wherever you do your streaming.

Robin Meure – “Solo” (sc)

Robin Meure – “Jack” (sc)

PS. did you know we have an acid playlist? If you like acid, give it a follow.

image/ NYT & phatmedia.co.uk

Rex Kalibur (real name David M. Young) is an artist based in Joshua Tree, California, making downtempo inspired by the desert. Until I read that, if I had to pin an element to this music, it would have undoubtedly been water, not air. But maybe that’s just as fitting — the desert conceals its water, but it’s no less important. To the contrary, it’s all the more important in the desert, and every bit of it needs to be treasured, preserved, and reused as much as possible.

Young is dedicated to connecting his music to nature; he releases each of his records on the first day of a given season. Both of the included songs are delicate short-form explorations of a respectively tidy melodic theme. The first one “Sidequest LM” is from Young’s latest record, Lopen (released this past winter solstice). Its title is perfectly apt; it really does sound like the music you might encounter during a sidequest in a game like Ecco the Dolphin or Fez, full of slightly uneasy beauty. The second is from his previous record, Diametric (released this past autumnal equinox), and it’s a burst of gentle romance, really sweet stuff.

Find Rex Kalibur’s catalog on bandcamp, or for streaming.

Rex Kalibur – “Sidequest LM” (sc)

Rex Kalibur – “Love, Pt. I” (sc)

Appropriately tongue-in-cheek title for this lovely submission from North London’s Jamie Reddington, aka Sound of Fractures, whose previous single I covered last month. Reddington describes it as one of his favorites of his own songs because it feels “so [him]” including for its wonkiness and imperfection. It’s a tough thing as an artist to strike that balance of trying to perfect one’s work, but also leaving in enough of the idiosyncrasy to assure the listener knows it was made be a real life human with real life feelings. Reddington definitely keeps this human, but it’s also plenty polished. Just a lovely track, and yeah, totes emosh.

No bandcamp for this, so catch this streaming. Or/also, check Reddington’s super-cool Scenes project, which allows listeners to generate the official artwork for each of a series of six singles (this one’s the second). Give it a try and also get to listen to the next single in the series. You can also buy the downloads through the platform if you’d like. The whole thing is really nicely executed.

Sounds of Fractures – “Totes Emosh” (sc)