Two of the best artists forged in Stockholm’s impressive experimental scene join forces for this club-primed banger on YEAR0001. Varg²™’s production is ecstatic and maximalist, laying a hard-as-nails foundation with pneumatic gabber kicks and trancey synths that burst euphorically with the power of solar flares, while Thaiboy Digital, who’s a master of riding unorthodox beats, weaves his infectious flow into the the track, artfully skipping between energetic and introspective. A low-key jungle rinse out in the closing moments is the cherry on the cake.

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Work on SHERELLE’s debut album was well underway when she suffered every creative’s biggest nightmare: her laptop was stolen and she lost everything. It’s the type of blow that can be fatal to the motivation of a musician. Superproducer Ryan Leslie famously offered a $1 million reward for a stolen laptop in 2010, and disappeared from music for a decade after failing to retrieve the lost files (as well as being dealt the doubly sickening blow of being made to pay $1.2 million for the returned laptop without his work still on it). The experience was also traumatic for SHERELLE. “I didn’t pick up my laptop or go anywhere near my computer to make music for a long time because I wasn't in the headspace to do so,” she revealed. But this year she found the energy to go again, resulting in ‘HENRY’S REVENGE’. “I felt so relieved making it. It felt like a fresh start,” she wrote in the release notes. A sense of anger and catharsis is audible in the track, channeling all the pent-up frustrations in a pacey heater that journeys through collapsing bassweight, clattering breaks and clicky, atmospheric synths.

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You can always rely on yourboykiran to serve up rowdy club bangers. His remix of ‘Ri Chi Chi’ by Montreal producers Boogieman and Samito is dancefloor artillery-and-a-half, building tension from the start with its urgent vocal refrain, shuffling percussion and dramatic synth notes. When it lets loose, the payoff is spectacular, introducing earth-shattering bass throbs that will make a dancefloor lose their minds.

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Rejoice! Charli XCX is making a club record. “I was born to make dance music.. I came from the clubs.. xcx6 is the album I’ve always wanted to make,” she recently revealed of the upcoming LP, now known to be titled ‘brat’. The first single ‘Von dutch’, produced by Easyfun, is tantalising first taste, with fraught, fast synths driving through its core and Charli’s self-aggrandising lyricism elevating the club banger to attitude-soaked anthem.

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Dropped on Valentine’s Day, this single from bbymutha’s upcoming album ‘sleep paralysis’ is for the lovers - albeit the obsessive, anxious kind. With her inimitable flow, bbymutha spins a story about finding someone you love intensely and how the fear of losing them sends you a little loopy. Cute bars such like “I be needing kisses in the morning / Cuddles in the evening” are followed up with more jittery admissions (“Hate it when we argue / Feelin' like you wanna leave me / Sorry I'm so crazy / So emotional and needy”) that spiral close to revenge fantasy (“But if you dippin', I'm on the news / I can't allow you to step on my heart”). The accompanying beat from Rock Floyd is stylish and a little eerie, with twinkling tones that echo below the bars.

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Lord of the viral moment Fred again.. is at it again with this latest collab with Overmono and Lil Yachty, marking the release with a surprise group set at The Lot Radio and releasing a cute video of Yachty hearing the track on a whopping system for the first time at NYC’s Knockdown Center. Yachty is feeling it in the video, and so are we: it packs a dancefloor and emotional punch at the same time, with an irresistible synth patch melody scything through shuffling percussion and Yachty’s autotuned vocals with the poignant refrain: “You’ve got a life / stay in it”.

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It may be February but this very Vengaboys-coded single from Miami duo SoFTT has us sounding the summer siren. A free download gift to boot, it’s just what we need to get us through the bleakest month of the year (which we even had to endure an extra day of in 2024). If you ‘Like To Party!’ and have appreciated both the Latin club and Europop renaissance taking over dancefloors in recent years, then you’ll love this rolling, sexy banger.

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The start to 2024 has had us exhaustedly proclaiming “wow, what a year” and then realising we’re only two months deep. Bright spots have been found, though, like the title-track of the new EP from Toronto-based production duo Cloudsteppers, comprising Ciel and Dan Only. It’s a blissed-out take on UKG, with gently soothing pads, earworm production flourishes and some signature stepping percussion in the mix.

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What happens when the buoyant, high-NRG stylings of Chrissy meet the all-out bassline decadence of Big Ang? Dancefloor magic, that’s what. As part of the West Coast producer’s remix package for last year’s Shall Not Fade-released single, ‘You Don’t Have to Worry’, the First Lady of Niche administers a generous dose of her trademark wobble to the effervescent breaks of the original. Putting a focus on the track’s effusive vocal sample and rapturous piano keys, Ang transforms the track from peak-time roller to an eye-crunching speed garage banger.

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Gafacci’s remix of ‘Who Let Him In’ is perhaps the ultimate tribute to Nigerian R&B star Obongjayar’s 2023 single. Pulling through the rich textures of the original, Gafacci manipulates the cacophony of percussive elements into a fractured, high-tempo beat - distorting Obongjayar’s vocals to the point where they melt into the low-end synths that bleed through the middle of the track. While it may usher in some frenetic, Baltimore club-inspired breaks, some classic electro “WOMP” and blistering deep bass à la Jersey house — Gafacci’s reimagining still remains true to those Afropop markers, acting less as a genre-reimagining and more a demonstration of how blending through disparate global sounds can complement their source material. The remix master strikes again.

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Mashing together the eerie, crackling percussion of UK techno with the frenzied tempo of footwork, Austrian producer Toupaz’s contribution to ANISA’s ‘Fast Fists Fest [ANSIA007]’ compilation is designed to have the hairs standing up on the back of your neck. Managing to walk the tightrope of leftfield and danceability, the pounding kick drums and shuttling hats of ‘Bona Fide’ remain at just the right consistency throughout to allow the rest of track’s amalgamating percussion and bubbling synths to scatter and trickle at will. The result is a club banger that will have you scratching your chin with one hand, and raising a gun finger to the air with the other.

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A dreamy duo of Logic1000 and vocalist Rochelle Jordan have assembled a groovy, deep house track. ‘Promises’ melts a stubborn drum beat with Jordan’s R&B-styled angelic voice. This tender track incorporates the simplicity of what makes a soulful anthem. Perfect for both the dancefloor and casual listening, Jordan’s gentle tone complements this hearty rhythm.

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The loved-up couple of Mall Grab and Effy shared a sweet treat this Valentine’s. This highly-anticipated track has been heard a handful of times pre-release from at the pair’s gigs and with snippets doing the rounds on socials. It's a joy for it to finally come out. ‘iluv’ delivers an almighty, ethereal and catchy synth pattern, bringing a euphoric feeling above pacey percussion. This is without a doubt a song we’ll be hearing throughout summer.

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Vegyn enlists experimental poet and rapper John Glacier for this transcendent five minutes. It blurs the borders of electronic and alt-rap into a blissful haze, with the tongue-twisting lyrics of Glacier bouncing on top of Vegyn’s marching beat. Softly breaking through, we hear the twinkles of synths and long rings of strings. Much like Glacier’s lyrical imagery of the sun shining, Vegyn unlocks a matching soundscape.

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salute dropped their first single of the year, ‘system,’ this month, and it's already a firm favourite. Premiered by BBC Radio 1’s Clara Amfo as her Hottest Record, ‘system’ encapsulates the salute’s joyous sound. The Manchester-based artist described the track to Amfo as one of their “favourite tracks” they’ve ever made. With Empress Of delivering the lyrics (“turn it up for me, I wanna see if we can test the speakers”) over nostalgic club fadeouts and jumping rhythms, ‘system’ is not only hard to resist, but asks, why would you want to?

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If you’re not keeping a keen eye on JEV, you should be. The project was started by self-proclaimed bedroom producer Jack Evershed in a college dorm in Santa Barbara - taking inspiration from a trip to London and the UKG sounds he discovered on the city’s dancefloors - and has now expanded to be a collaboration with visual artist Marcus Dergosits. With a history of music releases dating back to 2021, last year the project hit new heights with the ‘Talk2Much’ mixtape clocking up millions of streams, and providing inspiration for young, experimental producers who are just having fun with it. Now they’re keeping that energy rolling, with latest single ‘SPEAKING OUT LOUD’ riding a mischievous melody that weaves around distorted vocals, retro synths and chewy piano.

If 2018’s ‘Pronounced McGhee’ is early afternoon on a lazy midweek summer day, then the new album from New Jersey musician Mk.gee, ‘Two Star & The Dream Police’, is that moment after dusk in autumn, just before night, as the chill settles in. ‘Are You Looking Up,’ is the third track on the latter LP, with an experimental R&B sound reminiscent of Frank Ocean’s 2016 album, ‘Blonde’ crossed with Sting & The Police. We’ve had it on loop since we first heard it. A gorgeously distorted, yet strikingly simple track, ‘Are You Looking Up’ features a tingling guitar melody that chimes through murky poetic lyrics. Mk.gee’s vocals are creatively disrupted, ringing powerfully through, yet at times audibly distant. This leaves his words mostly indecipherable aside from a soulful hook that asks “are you looking up, are you asking why?”.

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Serving up weighty four-to-the-floor on his latest release, Korzi makes it known that his industrial-sized productions don’t fuck about. ‘Salford Crunch’ is the Manchester-based artist’s love letter to minimal and UK techno, topped and tailed with a hefty, stripped-back bassline.

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Wisdom Teeth boss K-LONE makes an appearance on High Praise this month with a rework of Dampé’s 2-step belter ‘Clay’, remoulding its choppy vocals and sticking it back in the kiln. The end result is a shiny peak-time roller with a few fleeting garage elements, primed for summertime sets.

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After a huge response to his 2023 club cut ‘Billa’, London’s Fold follows up with his next single ‘Bottomless Brunch’, this time diving deeper into shadowy 140 BPM. Picking up support from the likes of Ben UFO and Joy Orbison, ‘Bottomless Brunch’ solidifies Fold’s name as a purveyor of mutant club productions.

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