Countless albums are described as an artist’s “most personal yet”, but few carry that tagline while sending us into the kind of demented soundscape found in Blawan’s ‘SickElixir’ — and that’s probably why it feels so justified. Pre-release literature had alluded to the Yorkshire-born producer’s struggles with grief, mental health and addiction as a key inspiration behind his first LP on XL Recordings, though within its shattering kicks, devastating bass and piercing, eerie vocals there is something you can’t help but identify with. In balancing the dark, unsettling elements with moments of unexpected, tongue-in-cheek rhythm and a familiarity that pulls us lithely back from the abyss, ‘SickElixir’ becomes more than simply a shockfest – instead it marries together the angst and reality, dread and a bit of common sense. 

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Dutch-Argentinian producer Jasmín has described the inspiration behind her new EP as the “formative era of girlhood where you're growing up online and building your world digitally.” Across three tracks, ‘Bite The Hand That Feeds You’ traverses spine-tingling synths, pounding kicks and white-hot basslines that would put ‘Flight FM’ to shame. Lisbon-based vocalist Older Brother provides an eerie, rumbling energy to ‘Overdriven’ and ‘Ride’, while ‘Bite The Hand’ combines mesmerising, alien loops with hypnotic percussion to send us fully into the void. 

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It's difficult to really explain grief in a tangible way; it’s bewildering, brutal, delicate, and clarifying — interchangeably and simultaneously. An experience of loss that leaves you hollow sitting side-by-side with the most immense, earnest understanding of love that you likely wouldn’t have thought your body would be capable of holding. On ‘Daughters’, Jennifer Walton tries her hand at communicating this strange feeling, combining mythical inspirations with her real-life experiences of losing her father to cancer. ‘Saints’ utilises soft, hopeful synths alongside samples of hospital machine bleeps as she details taking her father to medical trials, while the wholly-shattering ‘Daughters’ delves into the unearthly feeling of falling apart while the world continues as normal — airports still suck, people are still on their way to work. Walton captures how dreams and reality mix in grief, the moments of softness and the crushing intensity crashing and bashing together in an attempt to fit. This is best encapsulated on the title-track, which begins with haunting, sweeping guitar strings as she narrates her innermost realisations before descending into a sweet-tinged disco beat in a brief, fleeting instance of escapism. While the raw helpless moments on ‘Daughters’ are beautiful, the final track shines in its stripped-back serenity, utilising the often-used pearl of wisdom by just about anyone who has experienced grief as its title, ‘The Only Way Out Is Through’ details those moments of reflection; calm beyond the chaos; coming up for air and realising that there is light at the end of the tunnel.  

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Tokyo rave collective Minna-no-kimochi have built a reputation for inducing overwhelming ecstasy on the dancefloor with euphoric, trance-fueled sounds. This month they launched the first instalment of a planned five-part compilation themed around five seasons — 春 Spring / 夏 Summer / 長夏 Long Summer / 秋Autumn / 冬Winter. 

First up is ‘Long Summer’, which leans into associated atmospheres of the sublime and gorgeous. Yaka’s opening ‘All I think About Is You’ hums with lush, serotonin-soaked bliss while ballad’s closer ‘Joon (Spirit Mix)’ fizzes with transcendence. In between, there’s punchier cuts like Sanjonas’ techno-tinged ‘Club Khatulistiwa’ and Sport DJ’s noisey and industrial ‘Exelsior (feat. unfold33)’, as well of intricate songwriting and sampling from Lorenzi and shades of instrumental grime via T5UMUT5UMU’s ‘Clouds’.

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Obeka makes a powerful statement with his astonishing debut album ‘A World No More’. Informed by his experiences relocating from his birthplace of Bermuda to Stockport and the frostiness of the immigrant experience as well as the solace found in ancestral music and rhythms, the 13-track LP taps into the potency of music as a vehicle for unpacking and affirming complex feelings. The fusion of sounds explored blends global club music from Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and diasporic-led UK movements with impactful sonics that are both unifying and confrontational.

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After dealing with years of stigma and ridicule from a Venezuelan public who didn’t understand his radical raptor house sound, which challenged racial and classist divisions in the South American nation, Dj Babatr’s self-worth flatlined and he retired from music. More than a decade later, his catalogue caught the ears of intrigued music hunters and momentum began to snowball. Now he’s firmly earning his dues and taking global dancefloors by storm. HIs newest album ‘Root Echoes’ is crowning moment for Dj Babatr’s ascent, combining a thrilling range of sonics, from live Afro-Venezuelan drumming to hard house extravagance amid fast, aggressive and tropical beats. 

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Bass head Josi Devil is back after a killer debut on Hessle Audio, this time landing on Tommy Wallwork and TSVI’s Nervous Horizon imprint with a three-track trip through some of the naughtiest club weapons we’ve heard in 2025. Intense, raw, and full of sub-bass power with an added collab from Josi and TSVI — ‘No More’ is here to get you psyched up for the depths of club season. 

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With a sonic devotion to dubstep, grime, and drill, Ship Sket’s first album is a powerful ode to the underground UK bass sounds that shaped him. There’s a playful approach taken with ‘InitiatriX’ — which also marks his first outing on Planet Mu — it’s filled with crackling, textural explorations and glitchy IDM, a wholly complete experimental project that puts Ship Sket in the spotlight as an artist to watch out for. 

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Bristol producer Sir Hiss has been grinding for years in the resurged dubstep era, and his debut full-length album is a long time coming. After returning to shift work in the pandemic and falling into “stasis”, as he explains, a joint tour with Sam Binga and Addison Groove brought him back to the sound that originally built him. Now releasing his first record on Sam Binga’s Pineapple Records label, ‘Time Dilation’ proves that Sir Hiss is back in full force. A homage to UK grime and dubstep, this album carefully weaves a story of Sir Hiss’ journey so far. 

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Whispering vocals, impressive productions and an atmosphere of peace and serenity, ‘Humanise’ is the raw new album from HAAi. Like a breath of fresh air, HAAi pieces sounds together so perfectly you won’t be able to help but listen on repeat. Working with a concept of the human body operating as a machine rather than the technology that is constantly surrounding us, we hear more of HAAi’s vocals than ever before and a more gentle approach when compared to her previous work. The project also features Jon Hopkins, Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, Obi Franky, KAM-BU and James Massiah. 

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Jumping from rock to industrial techno in a dramatic album, Daniel Avery has returned with his most ambitious project get. From the heavy clangs of ‘Haze’ that hit you slap bang in the gut to the soft strings of ‘Neon Pulse’, this is an unpredictable piece of work that shows a new side to Avery.

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This New York link-up is a great example of the pure wizardry that is currently pouring out of the city. Merging punchy brass, some strong 909 kicks and soulful keys altogether. Four tracks that you’ll be playing on repeat.

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CRRDR, the Colombian artist and figurehead of the Latincore stylet, lands with his most expansive and explosive showcase of the breakneck genre yet. Unleashing 25 tracks for this debut album ‘LATINCORE LEGEND’, the music is irrepressible, hard-hitting and sexy. Bringing along collaborators such as MISS BASHFUL, Entrañas, MJ NEBREDA, Clementaum, FREEBOT and WhisDrop along for the ride, it’s a cross-border connector for an intoxicating fusion of Latin American music that pushes the movement’s world-conquering trajectory.

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London-based duo Bassvictim have built a reputation for unruly live shows and a spiky, aloof demneaour, On new album ‘Forever’, they unlock new angles to their intriguing world, collapsing a kaleidoscopic range of sounds - art pop, electroclash, lo-fi bass, even neo-classical and folk - into a rousing 11 tracks.l