Ivy Lab ‘Infinite Falling Ground Pt. 2’ (20/20)
Just a little under two years since the release of their last full-length album ‘Infinite Falling Ground’, Ivy Lab return with a follow-up to their cinematic, instrumental beats-filled release with a more experimental record combining elements of trap and halftime across 14 tracks. “I’m journaling an era of contemplation about the experience of fatherhood, both as a parent but also as the child of a fascinatingly mysterious father,” says the duo’s Gove Kidao.
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Tommy Holohan ‘Temple Theatre’ (Steel City Dance Discs)
It’s a rare treat to be delivered a new EP from Tommy Holohan, and his latest offering, ‘Temple Theatre’, was worth the year-long wait. Landing back on Steel City Dance Discs, the Irish-born producer brings four peak-time club anthems spanning garage, jungle, and, on the record’s title-track, euphoric techno laced with rave sensibility.
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Submerse ‘Fifteen Blocks’ (Breaker Breaker)
Tokyo-based Submerse offers up four blistering new jungle tracks inspired by video games, titled after the “sacred space on a PS1 memory card”. ‘Fifteen Blocks’ is at once futuristic and wistful with a true sense of nostalgia, featuring dusty, old skool breaks and masterful vocal splicing.
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gyrofield ‘These Heavens’ (XL Recordings)
Hong Kong-born, Bristol-based producer gyrofield expands their visionary drum ‘n’ bass on XL debut ‘These Heavens’. “I see a lot of value in creating danceable music that also touches base on atmospheric and spaced-out sounds,” they said, naming I Hate Models, Djrum and Björk as some of the broader influences behind this brain-rewiring record. It catapults towards the stratosphere with a blend of jungle, acid, dub, techno, and more, all tweaked with flair and idiosyncrasy.
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KMRU ‘Natur’ (Touch)
Kenyan sound designer KMRU has marked himself out as a modern great of electronic music in recent years with his industrious run of detailed, leftfield and often thought-provoking soundscapes in recent years. Last album ‘Natur’ is a 52-minute, single-track epic which stretches themes like the unique sonic identity of different locations and scientific phenomena such as electromagnetic frequencies through its reality-shifting runtime.
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1tbsp ‘megacity1000’ (Suboclic)
Maxwell Byrne, AKA 1tbsp, has been having plenty of fun since veering away from his alt-pop alias Golden Vessel. His second full-length under his dancier alias is a ride around the streets of a fictional metropolis full of possibility, as a spoken word intro tells us. “Maybe I’ll go to the best club in the city and hear a nice DJ play some records that I love. Anything could happen,” the hypnotic opener ‘City Affirmations’ intones expectantly, before the 10-track, 24 minute record powers through a selection of incisive beats, trancey euphoria, and Latin club-inspired heaters, including vocals from rising reggaeton and Neoperro artist Cherry Chola.
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Toxe ‘Toxe2’ (YEAR0001)
Toxe came firing out the blocks with a slew of potent club tracks while still a teenager in 2015. But in this post-COVID mania where it feels like most of the dance music world has pushed to go harder and faster, Toxe has taken the time to slow down. The Swedish’producer’s new album signals an evolution to ‘Toxe2’, with a new dimension to her sound using her own vocals and lyrics, and a more gentle exploration of experimental sounds, while still evoking the emotional heights some of her club tracks nailed.
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Vigro Deep & Mr JazziQ ‘The Grass is Greener’ (Sony Music Africa / Black is Brown Entertainment)
At just 23 years old, Vigro Deep is an established key player in the amapiano scene. For his latest project, the South African star collaborates with compatriot Mr JazziQ, previously one half of JazziDisciples. The DJs have joined forces for an eight-track experimental amapiano EP that takes the genre in new and interesting directions by fusing it with Afrotech, as well as more unusual elements such as folk-inspired strings, jazzy horns and ambient sounds. It is a vibrant and exciting project that demonstrates the versatility of amapiano and the daring, artistic skill of its creators.
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Nathan Haines ‘Notes’ (Loop Recordings Aotearoa)
Taking a staggering 10 years to complete, ‘Notes’ is the eleventh studio album from New Zealand saxophonist and producer Nathan Haines. It is an impressive piece of work, with each track embodying a completely distinct character. While some demonstrate the musician’s famed and masterful fusion of jazz with electronic music, others take their cues from house, funk, broken beat, soul, hip hop and disco.
The album features contributions from a number of key musicians including LA producer pianist Mark de Clive-Low, Razor-N-Tape label founder Jkriv, and one half of 4Hero Marc Mac, as well as the legendary British house and broken beat producer Phil Ahser, who sadly passed away during the album’s recording. Among others, ‘Brother of Mine’ is a stand-out collaboration between Asher and Haines, with stunningly silky vocals from Vanessa Freeman.
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Poison Zcora ‘Return of the Rattle Pendants’ (Tiff’s Joints)
Dublin-born, London-based producer Poison Zcora, AKA Sean Keating, brings us a high-energy, mood-boosting four-track EP filled with bouncy synths and rapid-fire basslines. Influenced by everything from soca to broken beat to house, Poison Zcora’s productions are typically genre-bending, but always sure to get you dancing. Released on Keating’s own label, Tiff’s Joints, ‘Return of the Rattle Pendants’ is fresh, groovy, and the perfect soundtrack to keep the summer vibes going through autumn.
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Coco & Clair Clair ‘Girl’ (Nice Girl World)
After skyrocketing to fame and becoming viral hits as every wannabe’s girly-girl idol, Coco & Clair Clair have returned. This dreamy album covers their holy trinity of self-love, female empowerment and putting boys in their place. As a sugar-coated project filled with pop-rap and lightweight dance tracks, Coco & Clair Clair have seduced us with their hypnotic fashion and attitude.
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JPEGMAFIA ‘I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU’ (AWAL Recordings)
As you’d expect, JPEG has released yet another chaotic album. Following a similar thread to last year’s collaboration ‘SCARING THE HOES’ with Danny Brown, this project combines rap with a frenzy of samples, jazz-like melodies and now more of a punk twist. An example of this progression to a more noise-centred style is Peggy’s remix of his recent release ‘don’t rely on men’. Just months after the release, the reworked version now features on his album with a bold and deep take. The album's standout must be ‘JPEGULTRA!’ featuring Denzel Curry. Using what sounds like a cinematic soundtrack, the song is grand and adventurous with movie star charisma.
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Mura Masa ‘Curve 1’ (Pond Recordings)
Edging away from making pop, Mura Masa has reunited with his roots by taking a step back from producing for others and making the music he wants to share. This new album has the artist turning a new page from his 2022 ‘demon time’ LP and experimenting more than we’ve ever seen before. Opening the album, he takes an unexpected turn with a twitchy sample and dives back into the dance field with a mild drum ‘n’ bass track ‘Whenever I Want’, before going straight into a six-minute-long experimental piece. As the album continues, Mura Masa weaves through genres including the electroclash vibes of ‘We Are Making Out’ to the floaty UKG-inspired ‘rep 4 me’.
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