Rosalía 'LUX' (Columbia Records)
Daring, avant-garde, idiosyncratic, so much has already been said on the defiant nature of Rosalía’s fourth album in the few short weeks since it landed — yet with record-breaking streams, chart success and even a co-sign from the Vatican, it feels apt to recognise ‘LUX’ as a pop culture phenomenon. With lyrics spanning 14 languages, and each of its 18 tracks inspired by a female saint, ‘LUX’ manages to toe the line between captivatingly beautiful and provocative intrigue, utilising classical arrangements side-by-side with effervescent production. With the Spanish pop star having enlisted everyone from Björk to Charlotte Gainsbourg, Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel to Venetian Snares to work on the album, there’s endless threads within ‘LUX’ that are unlocked from one listen to the next. It’s an album like nothing else, an album that surely only Rosalía could possibly create – yet, it also feels in line with a wider movement in pop records, where major label artists are seemingly swerving the formula and finding success in experimentation. Long may it continue.
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Low End Activist ‘Airdrop II' (Peak Oil)
As the follow-up to last year’s ‘Airdrop’, you would assume Low End Activist’s new LP takes on a similar nostalgic, albeit otherworldly, look at the golden-age of rave — and while there are still visitations to the hardcore continuum, ‘Airdrop II’ takes a far more haunting outlook. Described as “channelling the ghosts of foundational tech step”, you can see the Berlin-based producer’s eerie working within the warped bass bins accompanied by breaks that seems to rattle instead of roll on ‘Dion’s Amnesia’; On tracks like ‘Baldy Bins’, ‘Jim’s Dub’, and ‘Colin’s Golf’, ccuttling percussion, often in the form of spine-tingling hi-hats, shattering basslines and foreboding synths — all recognisable as markers of ‘90s jungle — take on a bewitching quality guaranteed to stiffen the hairs on the back of your neck.
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Nikki Nair and Foodman ‘Nagoya’ (Hyperdub)
It’s always a distinct pleasure to hear two producers at the top of their game let loose on a collaborative record, and on ‘Nagoya’ Atlanta speed king Nikki Nair and Japanese full throttle aficionado Foodman seem to really just be having fun. On ‘Sorry I Lost My Glasses In the Bathhouse’, Nair can be heard playfully showing off his live drum skills, later warped into a frenetic footwork-esque beat by Foodman; whereas on ‘Deep Miso’ each seem to throw in colliding percussive elements, daring the other to kick up the tempo like a rowdy jam session. The result is a record that perfectly combines their styles without feeling manicured — what we’d have given to be a fly on the wall in that Nagoya studio.
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Ma Sha & Hodge ‘No One Moves Alone’ (Kindergarten Records)
Merging their cross-continental bass prowess – from New York club mutations to Bristol low-end – Ma Sha and Hodge link up on an all-killer EP that was produced, impressively, in just one sitting during a studio session in Montreal. Inspired by both producer’s recent live appearances at experimental festival MUTEK, this four-track EP glides seamlessly from the ferocity of sub-bass chainsaw synths and scattered breaths and pulses on opener ‘Middle Ground’, right through to its wigged-out, electro-leaning finale ‘Memory Split’.
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Maude Vôs ‘Astral Intervals' (Delusional Records)
Usually one for a much bassier spread of releases, LA’s Maude Vôs tries their hand at ambient and IDM in their latest release, a six-track EP titled ‘Astral Intervals’. As the result of an exploration into “musical metaphysics” and the philosophical study of music’s harmony with the cosmos, this record is an otherworldly journey through spaced-out breakbeats and twinkling synthlines – a wormhole into unusual sounds and textures.
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COLA REN ‘Mekong Ballad’ (Human Pitch)
Both instrumental and minimalist in equal parts, the latest release from Guangzhou-based DJ and producer COLA REN, ‘Mekong Ballad’, is easy listening for any point of the day. With features from several jazz musicians (saxophone by rising Chinese talent tga and trumpet by Thai improviser rrrrrm), COLA REN infuses her own vocals for the first time across a handful of the record’s five tracks, interwoven with drum patterns, soft strings, and romantic arpeggios.
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Danny Brown ‘Stardust’ (Warp Records)
A spectrum of the rave, ‘Stardust’ marks Danny Brown’s first fully dance music-focused album. The title-track is a rollercoaster of experimental beats and textures that sporadically jump in and out of chaos. Moving on from the rock and jazz sounds of 'Quaranta', this new project has Danny work with a variety of artists, all somewhat underground in the dance field. Joining him on two tracks is underscores, who brings a hyperpop energy to his lyrics. Other features include Jane Remover, Frost Children, Quadeca and more.
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Kelly Lee Ownes ‘KELLY’ (dh2)
Formed to aid energy, passion and catharsis eruipted on the dancefloor, Kelly Lee Owens’ latest EP is an atmospheric piece of work. Along the four tracks is the highly-anticipated release of ‘ASCEND’, which has become an emotive ballad for her fans. Kelly explains that each track is “shaped by the physical spaces and communities that leave their mark on us after unforgettable nights out. I wanted the sounds to feel raw and urgent, a little unruly, visceral and ominous, direct and deliberately uneasy at times.”
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Shygirl ‘ALIAS is ME’ (Because Music)
Five years after the release of ‘ALIAS’, Shygirl returns to the EP with fresh new reworks. Remixing and adding their own flair to the EP include the likes of Nick León, Sega Bodega, and rap sensation JT. ‘LENG is SEXY’ is the perfect example of the transformation these tracks have gone through. What was once a sultry, laidback, spoken word cut from Shygirl becomes club-ready with Alex Chapman’s bouncy bassline and rave whistles paired with George Riley’s harmonic vocals. Shygirl shares: “I really wanted to go back to what inspired me the most at that time, which was collaborating with artists who inspire me, people who I think are pushing boundaries and being bold sonically”. So take a trip down memory lane with ‘ALIAS is ME’.
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object blue ‘what resembles the grave but isn't’ (TT)
Object blue affirms there’s plenty of life in the album format yet with a debut LP that envelopes listeners in a gripping, vivid sonic world across eight tracks. Opener ‘telling secrets’ draws you in through shimmering textures that sound like backing for the ascension to heaven, and the remainder delivers on the sublime, ranging across erratic percussive hits, propulsive club ryhthms, seductive tones, and a cult film sample among its awe-inspiring collision of elements.
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G Jones & Eprom ‘Disk Utility’ (Illusory Records)
Pure hyperactive mania in an EP from chaos merchants G Jones and Eprom. Opener ‘Slamming Keys’ sets the tone with haywire rave chords and hectic breaks smashing together in delirium, though the standout is the palpitating 8-bit bliss of closer ‘By Your Side’, which feels like racing through a Mario level while candy flipping.
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V/A ‘no pare, sigue sigue 4’ (TraTraTrax)
TraTraTrax go four for four (or 4/4) with another exceptional compilation of dancefloor-optimised cuts. All 18 tracks, which includes some first-time collaboorations, are bangers, from the gradually heightening intensity of Ma Sha’s introductory ‘Ear Pressure’ right through to the jerky climax of Loris’ ‘Tribal (Club mix)’. The title of second cut ‘Ultra—Feral’ by Brenda doesn’t lie. Lock in and feel your senses set ablaze, with the likes of Dual Monitor’s simmering ‘Bodies’, T.NO’s punchy ‘Terminal’ and LUCAS KID, MC MARSHA, BIEL DO ANIL’s springy ‘BOTA BOLHA’ doing the honours.
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SPFDJ ‘Heel Thyself’ (Intrepid Skin)
Long-awaited and highly anticipated, Berlin techno favourite SPFDJ’s debut EP delivers with the type of pounding, atmospheric and at-times idiosyncratic beats that have made her one of the most in-demand DJs in Europe. That latter quality most shines in ‘“That Stiletto Track”’ in which an acerbic vocal rides right through the middle of a maelstrom of rave chaos, while ‘F*ck-boi’ has no time for any serious, snotty behaviour, bringing horror film-esque tones to nod to its subject matter.
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K-LONE ‘sorry i thought you were someone else’ (Incensio)
K-Lone just keeps on delivering. After celebrating the 10-year anniversary of his Wisdom Teeth label, founded alongside Facta, last year with some landmark events and releases, he’s keeping the momentum going with some of his best work to date, this time in the form of a new album on Incienso. Comprising 10 tracks, it follows similar sonic footsteps of his previous LP, weaving warm, textural sounds into blissfully captivating tracks.
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