Palms
Out
Sounds

Self Tape – Uninvited

First up tonight is a big tune from Sydney’s Stuart McNair, aka Self Tape. I’ve covered Self Tape a few times over the past couple of years, including twice this year, as he’s been releasing a series of singles in the lead-up to his second LP, Vibrations, out September 25th (that’s also my birthday, so I’m biased when I say it’s a great day for a release). The past two singles have also been club-focused, but they were both a little more left-field than this one, each incorporating some eerie or otherwise peculiar element. This one is far more of a straight four to the floor tool — and no worse for it. The vocal fragment around which the track is centered is catchy as hell, and the rhythm section does its job immaculately. Excellent stuff all around. You can preorder Vibrations on bandcamp, and until then, you can find this one for streaming all over.

Self Tape – “Uninvited”

Brukker – Breathing You In

NYC-born, Berlin-based, producer Brukker (Sally O’Connor) sent over this lovely spacey bit of broken beat a couple of weeks ago. Landing somewhere between deep house and Detroit electro, this was an easy win-me-over. It’s evident that O’Connor’s primary influences for this were likely Drexiyan. How can one even begin to trace the scope of Stinson and Donald’s influence on dance music? I will never tire of other artists working in the path they forged. Honorably walking that path, O’Connor does an excellent job crafting something elegant and refined here — using several machine funk hallmarks, but casting it all behind a vocal refrain that leads to something pleasantly more silky and restrained. This is only the third Brukker release, but I expect there is plenty more good work to come. I was kindly given permission to share the mp3 with you here, but if you dig this, definitely go support the Brukker on bandcamp (or via streaming).

Brukker – “Breathing You In”

Flame Orange – Coma

Finally tonight is this dramatic piece of breakbeat electronica from New Zealand’s Flame Orange (Alexander Cherkasov). I don’t know much about Cherkasov’s work, except that this is the third single from his debut album as Flame Orange, Density. The whole record is full of deep, shimmery stuff like this — most at this sort of mid-tempo dance music pace, with some sludgy, inky half-tempo material too. It’s a great listen all the way through. Other than that, Cherkasov’s online presence doesn’t reveal much about his music; instead, his instragram is focused on his photography, and he’s quite good. No bandcamp for this, unfortunately, but Cherkasov generously allowed me to upload the mp3 for you here — and you can find the album on all the usual streaming outlets.

Flame Orange – “Coma”

Swick & King Doudou – Haloumi Drums

An absolutely giddy little heater from Melbourne’s Swick (Danny Omerhodic) and Lyon’s King Dou Dou (Hugo Passaquin). Both of these guys have been hustling for many years and used to make regular appearances in my sets — and on the blog — in the early and mid-aughts. Both handed in excellent remixes for releases on Palms Out too; unfortunately, Swick’s never ended up coming out (because the release was unfortunately pulled and released in Sweden only on Universal, leaving Swick’s great remix on the cutting room floor). Both artists have continued unabated in the years since, developing healthy fanbases and securing placements and releases on all manner of significant projects. Together, they’ve released a handful of stellar collaborative singles and EPs. The latest is the Digi Mangal EP, on which this beaut is the closer. While much of the EP focuses more on the duo’s bread and butter current styles of dancehall-adjacent and vocal reggaeton stuff, this one harkens back to the days I was first introduced to these two, with uptempo dembow-inspired drums and a fidgety Dutch house-style hi-tom lead. It’s joyful, ecstatic, and soft around the edges. Impossible not to bop to. Swick and Doudou are kind as ever to let me share the mp3 on the blog, but go grab the EP on bandcamp (incl. in a nice vinyl package) or stream it to your heart’s content.

Swick & King Doudou – “Haloumi Drums”

Badjokes – Hold On

Next up, more dancefloor ammo, this time a dusky wub-heavy roller from another Frenchman, Marseille’s Badjokes. Historically, Badjokes has stayed further into the harder and grindier sides of bassline house, but this one sees him getting a touch deeper and dubbier. He also does this a bit on his latest album, Rewind, which he released earlier this year on his own Snack Time imprint — but today’s track is a single on LA’s Nightmode label. Unfortunately Nightmode doesn’t do bandcamp releases for some reason, but you can find this on all the streaming outlets instead. You can, however, grab Badjokes’s Rewind LP on bandcamp, which you should absolutely do.

Badjokes – “Hold On”

KLP – 2AM

Coming full circle today is a slice of perfectly digestible ear candy from Sydney’s Kristy Lee Peters (aka KLP). That makes two Australians and two Frenchmen today. It’s also nicely fitting that Peters does publishing and A&R work for Australian label Sweat It Out, which happened to have released several Swick records way back when (the label also released a very early remix of mine on one of their first releases, prior to labelhead DJ Ajax’s tragic accidental death in 2013). As the name alludes to, this track by KLP is full of headliner energy, presumably built for the night’s peak. Centered around a vocal hook that is perfectly familiar, KLP nonetheless manages to find a balance here that bridges full-on bigroom pop house energy and slightly more emotive sunset vibes. Not the kind of thing I usually cover here these days, but I couldn’t resist this as I begin to miss the summer days. No bandcamp for this one either, I’m afraid — but you can find it on all the streamers.

KLP – “2AM”

Mattr – Walk / Take / Tessela

Three hypnotic new ones from Londoner Matthew Clugston, aka Mattr, whom I’ve featured several times over the past couple of years. The first was released earlier this summer; it feels like a glide down a glass staircase and has me imagining Fred Astaire in the future, reincarnated as an android, more nimble than any high-rise pleated trousers could impede, just about floating above the clouds. The second two are the A/B of Clugston’s latest single, out last week on Ocean Dark. Both decidedly murkier, they maintain Clugston’s signature crystalline aesthetic, but dip in and out of gloom a little more than usual — suggestive of what the future might feel like for those living beneath the clouds. These are out for streaming all over, or grab them on bandcamp.

Mattr – “Walk”
Mattr – “Take”
Mattr – “Tessela”

Casha Mour – Oath

More class from London — this time from Casha Mour (Daniel Alan Smith), whom I’ve also written about a couple of times. Smith has a fantastic knack for syrupy romanticism. His music is rich with a level of almost grotesque yearning that it would make Mary Shelley proud. I don’t particularly consider myself someone with chromesthesia, but Casha Mour music is so obviously deep red. Consistent with the other stuff I’ve covered of Smith’s, this song is like crushed velvet, wilted flower petals, and spilled pinot noir. Melodramatic, maybe, but totally worth it. Also, in writing this, I realized I managed to miss the fact that Smith put out a gorgeous LP last fall, AA00; I’m including a couple of songs that I really enjoyed from that too. You can find all Casha Mour music for streaming, and Smith has generously released “Oath” on bandcamp as pay-what-you-wish, so go support him at the level you’re able.

Casha Mour – “Oath”
Casha Mour – “Something”
Casha Mour – “Michael”
Casha Mour – “Capacity”

JumpGlxtch & Total kaos-719 – DECEPTION VIP

Last up tonight is a rough and tumble jungle track from two semi-anonymous American artists, JumpGlxtch and Total kaos-719. I can’t help myself but continue to find charm in the way online jungle and breakcore artists seem to largely just let their music be what it is, without overworking it. These kinds of guys don’t seem precious about this stuff; they just make it, call it done, and then make more. JumpGlxtch in particular seems to put something new on his soundcloud like every 4 days, and that doesn’t include all his official releases on streamers, of which there are no less than 13 in 2026 (some of which are several tracks long). Among these official releases is the 8-song Y2KAOS, out earlier this summer, which is all produced together with Total kaos-719. The track below is a VIP of a prior collaboration between the two artists. Its influences are pure. Aesthetically, it pays clear tribute to classic junglism tropes, and its methodology feels just as reverent of the old. This was undoubtedly not made on an old S950, but there are no fancy Ableton production tricks at work here; this is just simplicity and chaos, for the fun of it all. No bandcamp unfortunately, but the artists kindly let me share the mp3 with you here — and you can find the album on spotify or wherever else you stream.

JumpGlxtch & Total kaos-719 – “DECEPTION VIP”

Baychimo – Magical Keygen

Brilliant piece from Danish artist Baychimo (Frederik Meyer), from his latest full-length Personality Computer. The album is an ode to the optimism of nascent Y2K internet culture, its atmosphere of exploratory hopefulness, and lack of cynicism. Specifically, this song pays tribute to the often gorgeous — but anonymous and completely ephemeral — songs that accompanied software keygens, which were presumably made by the crackers themselves or their friends. While this doesn’t incorporate the 8-bit elements that regularly dominated keygen music, it nevertheless captures the swelling dream-like quality of many of those forgotten bits. The album covers a lot of territory, and doesn’t just focus on the small tertiary joys of piracy, but I am also including one more that manages to capture another side of that sort of keygen music (with a title that also implies as much). It evokes the more frenetic stuff that accompanied some keygens, the sort that had you quickly reaching for the little white knob on your Altec Lansings so you wouldn’t wake up your parents. Meyer was generous enough to let me share the mp3 for one of these with you here (fair to expect that, given the subject matter), but do grab the rest of the album on bandcamp, or find it for streaming all over.

Baychimo – “Magical Keygen”

Baychimo – “E-Shoplifting”

Fangstar Forever – W8

Up next, a weird, impossible-to-define, sort of magical tune from Guatamalan artist Fangstar Forever. It feels like some sort of incantation, the kind of surreal thing that one might experience in a DMT trip, out of time and space. That may be a hyperbolic description, but sometimes a song feels to me like it is just pure flow, the product of an autotelic experience where — in Csikszentmihalyi’s terms — the process itself was the artist’s reward, not the eventual result. That’s not to say the result isn’t valuable; it most certainly can be for the listener, as is the case here. This feels like the raw ego of youth, self-important in a pure and unfiltered way, unshaped by social expectations, or at least a confident middle finger in the face of those expectations. I know nothing about this guy, but I envy his access to his own water source. Fangstar Forver has kindly let me share the mp3 with you here, but you can find this and his other two releases on bandcamp for pay-what-you-wish (or for streaming all over).

Fangstar Forever – “W8”

ERRx – ether

Two more lovely ambient dnb / jungle / breakcore tunes from anonymous artist ERRx, who I’ve covered several times before. The first, “ether,” is far too short at just over a minute long, led by a pining, sweetly melodramatic melody atop resampled pads and straightforward resequenced breakbeats. This is the blueprint for this kind of thing these days, and it works swimmingly well. The second, “rebirth,” uses slightly grittier percussion and relies more on choppy chords, but maintains the aesthetic well. These are both prerelease singles from ERRx’s upcoming Chaotic Digital full-length, out next month, but you can grab each on bandcamp now (or stream wherever).

ERRx – “ether”

ERRx – “rebirth”

APOTEK – Just you and I

First up on another night full of tidy UKG-adjacent stuff is this lovely warm bit from Brussels-based Italian producer Elisa Di Riccio, aka APOTEK. It’s been a demanding few months for me — mostly, work has been a bear, but also because raising two young children is such a constant challenge. In a way, the common thread is how hard management is. The role of the middle manager probably gets even less societal respect than the role of parent, but both really deserve a few more flowers. Handling people is fucking daunting, regardless of the context in which it occurs. I say all this because I’m so incredibly excited for the vacation I’m about to go on, and the sentiment and vibe of this song is timed just right. A ghostly spectral voice repeats ad nauseum over the lull of a buttery bassline and phantom pads: I can hardly wait. I feel kinship with that disembodied figure. I just keep repeating to myself — and anyone who will listen — how much I need to get away from this face-melting grind, into a few weeks of mild northern European weather (cross your fingers for that), and into the comfort of my family, immediate and extended alike. Grab this on bandcamp or find it streaming at all the usual outlets.

APOTEK – “Just you and I”

HAELIUM – Levitate

Next up, Parisian producer HAELIUM (Gabriel Kadiri) delivers a gentle 2-step ditty full of only nice and round sounds; soft edges only here, nothing harsh for miles. Since I’m about to embark on that vacation, this will hopefully set the right tone for lifting off and softly breaching the clouds — maybe not quite levitating, as the title might suggest is possible, but the closest most humans can get. I’m also posting another one from Kadiri, from his New Era EP, released late last year. It’s a touch heavier than the new one, but with a great gospel-ish sample that makes it equally transcendent. You can grab both of these on bandcamp, or find them for streaming all over.

HAELIUM – “Levitate”
HAELIUM – “Cherish The Peace”

Voka – P’s and Q’s

Last up before I leave, anothe run UKG cut, this time from Canadian producer Voka (Hayden Gullins). As the vocal directs the listener to be, this is a well-mannered track: clean, minimalist production, no sound out-of-place or offensive. But while there aren’t any risks taken here, Voka pushes the buttons right, and delivers a nice little late night snack. Apropos, I learned recently that the origin of phrase “mind your Ps and Qs” isn’t settled, and there are a few theories. The historical theories relate to typesetting and bartending: early typesetters had to be careful not to confuse the mirrored lower-case letters ‘p’ and ‘q’; bartenders had to be careful not to confuse pints and quarts. There are several others, but my favorite is that ‘P’ is shorthand for please and ‘Q’ for thank you. Mind your manners this summer, friends; see you in a month or so. No bandcamp here, but you can find this for streaming anywhere you do that sort of thing.

Voka – “P’s and Q’s”

DMG – Live the Dream

Skittering glitchy rave from Daniel McGurty, aka DMG, now based in Edinburgh but a native of Blackburn. McGurty is painting with a delicate brush here, sketching around an absence of overt dancefloor kick/bass spine, but these two tracks from his upcoming album Live the Dream nonetheless evoke plenty of nostalgia for UK hardcore and rave. Blackburn was the epicenter of illegal raving in the UK in the late 80s and early 90s. Kids making great use of all the abandoned mills and factories that followed Thatcher’s hollowing-out of the industrial core of Northern English society is the perfect historic encapsulation of how and why raving was birthed as a response to economic insecurity and the chaotic approach of a post-industrial world. That large-scale raving has now become hijacked by tertiary and quinary sector corporate interests — a product to be delivered by hospitality and media companies, owned by the very sorts of global capital firms that pulled the plug on Western manufacturing in the first place — is ironic, or at least paradoxical. But where stadium-sized, glossy, befeathered spectacles are not much more than parody — and the music designed for them tends to be too — McGurty is instead paying sincere and affectionate homage to the history of his community here, without doing something retro. The album is out July 23rd, but you can grab the first two singles on bandcamp now (or find them for streaming)

DMG – “Live the Dream”
DMG – “The Rebirth Continues”

Self Tape – London Baby

In keeping with loving tributes to UK dance music culture, next up is a romantic ode to late nights in London by Sydney’s Self Tape (Stuart McNair), whose music I’ve featured a couple of times previously. As has been my experience with all of McNair’s music, he manages to coax something atypical out of all of his songs, many of which at first blush could appear to be straightforward emotional dance music or “cry music” as I’ve increasingly seen that sort of thing described (who thought of that term? it’s not good). Much of this sort of emotional house stuff really doesn’t ask much of the listener — four to the floor with some shuffle and a nice sentimental chord progression can take you pretty far, and I’m not totally against picking that kind of low-hanging fruit sometimes; it’s fair enough. But McNair manages to consistently take an initial simple idea like that, and stretch it a bit further, whether through surprising sound design, unexpected arrangement, or some kind of calculated risk. He’s a step above a lot of the folks pulling these easy wins. No bandcamp for this, unfortunately, but McNair was nice enough to let me post the mp3 for you all here. You can find the release streaming at all the usual spots.

Self Tape – “London Baby”

Heitech & LUI – Rise with the Lark

Last up tonight, a quirky, psychedelic bit of 2-step, honoring the impressive songflights of the lark. Male larks spiral high into the air — sometimes hundreds of feet — singing continuously for minutes to mark their territory and attract potential mates. We should all be so dilligent in our dedication to our musical craft. This is from Heitech (Hamburg-based Heiko Bader), along with LUI (Marcus Lowtrap, also from Germany). While it’s tongue-in-cheek, it’s also totally satisfying stuff, blending sugary synth work and pleasantly distorted rhythm with weird new age jazz and self-help music. Can’t be too mad at that. Not to mention, the b-side of this honors the most famous bird in dance music history, the loon. Grab these on bandcamp or find them for streaming.

Heitech & LUI – “Rise with the Lark”
Heitech & LUI – “Dawn by the Loon”

Lowdoses – La Calavera

Up first tonight, a shadowy bit of contemplative drum n bass from El Paso, TX-based Lowdoses (real name Samuel Molina). Calavera translates to skull, including in reference to the sorts of celebratory skulls decorated for Día de Muertos to honor ancestors. Where those skulls are usually brightly colored and joyous, I’d guess the skull reference here is a more somber one. The whole EP of which this is a part, Smelter Town, is sinister minimalist stuff — meant to reflect life in an industrial border town. An enormous copper and lead plant operated for over 100 years in El Paso, with an residential village for the workers called Smeltertown immediately adjacent, a proximity that led to the poisoning of several generations of Mexican and Mexican-American kids. In many ways, this is mournful music, but at the same time, there’s affection evident here for that setting. That kind of place can steel and strengthen too. Grab Smelter Town on bandcamp or find it for streaming anywhere.

Lowdoses – “La Calavera”

Crimson Child – Untethered

Kinetic leftfield downtempo from Vancouver native Yashar Tafazoli, aka Crimson Child. This is the eponymous single from the Tafazoli’s upcoming EP. As uliginous as the rhythm is on this new single, its bassline would slice through any amount of sludge; it almost sounds more like the propeller on a swamp boat than it does a bassline — and it moves the air enough to leave just enough room for a delicate, tender, little melody. I’m also posting a track from Tafazoli’s Floating, Falling EP, which came out early this year. Where the new one saws through the tree sap, this older one delicately dances atop it on tiptoes. No bandcamp for any of this, unfortunately, but you can find Crimson Child records for streaming all over.

Crimson Child – “Untethered”

Crimson Child – “Hale”

Josspoop – Ordinary Hurdles

Last up, a lovely cut from Austrian producer Josspoop (Leon Kügler). I’ve often remarked that with the right basic combination of elements and a hooky lead, less is almost always the most. Such is the case here — a largely unprocessed 1/8th note wobble bass undergirds a totally gratifying set of melodies, creating a perfectly pleasing earworm. Add to that a nice, shuffling breakbeat and a few well-chosen drum hits, and you’ve got it all in place. Go any further with a track like this, and you risk losing whatever magic glue is holding it all together so nicely; Kügler resists the temptation to overwork this, and has a real winner as a result. This is from Josspoop’s latest album Slow Compile, out now on bandcamp or for streaming–Kügler was also kind enough to let me share the mp3 with you here.

Josspoop – “Ordinary Hurdles”

Ghost Cartridge / Mantrakid – looking into people’s windows

First up tonight, on a night when I’m seeking a semblance of harmony amidst the roar of preparation for a long vacation with a toddler and a preschooler, are three songs from Mantrakid (Nate Schmold) of Canadian duo Ghost Cartridge. These are from an upcoming album, looking into people’s windows, composed of several snapshots of an evening stroll around a residential neighborhood, each piece a voyeuristic still of a private human moment. All three of these vignettes are compelling, but the opener, ‘a loving couple talks about their future together,’ is my favorite. I easily slip back to a memory of lying in an unmade bed on the first night in an apartment I had rented with my now wife, together on an adventure, living in a new place where we knew no one but each other, following our noses, hand in hand. This is music that seeks cooperation between your temporal and occipital lobes; it’s picture music. The album is out on June 29th for streaming or on bandcamp.

Ghost Cartridge – “a loving couple talks about their future together”
Ghost Cartridge – “family dinner”
Ghost Cartridge – “bugs all over me”

Vijunns – 1991/Void

Vijunns is LA-based producer and art director Jeremy Raskin. His latest record takes inspiration from Warp’s beloved Artificial Intelligence compilation series from the early 90s, music billed at the time as electronic listening music. ‘1991’ hits that mark pretty masterfully — the song’s pleading 303 and wistful pads absolutely sound like a young Speedy J could have programmed them, and the drums feel a bit like a modernized higher-res take on some of Darrel Fitton’s earlier Skam releases as Bola. This is elegant pastiche at its best – a talented artist conjuring new material out of a cherished but overlooked space in the ether. It’s out now for streaming or on bandcamp.

Vijunns – “1991”

Domy Castellano – Near the Creek

Finally tonight, another lovely piece of unabashedly pure nature-infused ambient released by Canadian label Signal Alchemy, which seems to have a located a vein of this stuff from which to mine. This piece — which feels to me like the color of the sun through one’s eyelids -— is by Italian artist Domy Castellano. Castellano makes heavy use of field recordings and takes an aleatoric approach to writing music, allowing a degree of indeterminism to dictate his compositions. No bandcamp for this or anything from Signal Alchemy, unfortunately, but the label was generous enough to let me share the mp3 with you here, and you can find it simmering on ambient playlists all over the streamers.

Domy Castellano – “Near the Creek”

DOS – Future Paradise

Crystalline modern electro from Austrian producer DOS (real name Noah Gorbach). The drums are ace here, but it’s hard to focus on anything but that enormous mid-90s ROMpler piano riff. This is what it would have sounded like had Robert Miles decided to produce electro instead of radio trance, and gosh, I really wish he had. As someone who finds classic machine funk rhythms deeply irresistable and infectious, I often wish more producers of the genre would stray a bit from the arpeggio basses, robot vocals, and bleep boops. I love all that, but there’s so much more gold to be mined here. DOS does that with flying colors; can’t get enough of this one. No bandcamp, unfortunately, but you can find this for streaming or buy the vinyl direct from the label. (Maybe it’s also on places like beatport?)

DOS – “Future Paradise”

Gliesse – Metadata

OK, now regardless of what I was saying before, I still do totally get down with some proper robotic machine funk. As much as I meant what I said about the untapped potential of the genre to explore other melodic avenues, there’s still plenty to be said for metallic percussion, bubbling synthetic basslines, and disembodied mechanoid vocals. Case in point, this track from Moscow-based producer Gliesse (Ilya Chunakov). This warbles its way up and down your Ethernet cables, knocking down any trojan horses in its path, eating all your cookies along the way. Mean stuff in the best way. Grab this on bandcamp or find it for streaming all over.

Gliesse – “Metadata”

Majorvoid – Ether

I learned recently that temperature affects the way we perceive sound. There are obviously more factors at play than I can list here, but generally speaking, at higher ground temperatures, sound waves tend to move upward and outward, whereas when ground temperatures are lower than the air above, soundwaves bend back toward the ground, allowing them to be heard from farther away. That’s apparently the reason why we can hear distant sounds better on crisp, cool mornings and cold nights than we can on hot days; it’s not just perception but rather a real physical phenomenon. All this to say, Majorvoid (Ofir Marcovich) is an artist who claims to live in Antarctica. I won’t question the veracity of his claim; it’s just fun to imagine that maybe the jungle he makes, inspired by early 2000s console games, sounds totally different aired across the continent’s vast ice sheets. Or maybe he’s broadcasting it on McMurdo Station pirate radio. This track doesn’t give icy vibes, though; it reminds me more of the music from a tropical level in Sonic Adventure 2 on Dreamcast. I suppose if you’re freezing on the South Pole, you would be inclined to make aspirationally warm music. No bandcamp for this, but Marcovich was kind enough to let me post the mp3 for y’all here. Streaming all over, too.

Majorvoid – “Ether”

BGDN – do what the fk you like

All dark 2-step for you tonight. First up, from BGDN (Bogdan Bobrov), a producer from Los Angeles. True to its title, this track has a rakish, devil-may-care quality that’s immediately disarming. It’s hard to say whether the track’s impeccable balance is a happy accident achieved in flow state or the result of meticulous care, but whatever bred this, I can’t get enough of that big perc hit that comes somewhere just off the 2 in each bar. It sounds sort of like dropping a box full of rusty metal baking sheets. That sound in particular, but really the whole energy of the track, makes me think about cheekily peering over the edge of a great height, stumbling, and then catching oneself right before slipping over the edge; like cocky foolishness followed by dumb luck. No bandcamp for this one, but Bobrov generously let me share the mp3 for this (and another new one) here, and you can always find these on streaming too.

BGDN – “do what the fk you like”
BGDN – “srry”

LOWT – Rattle The Saxo

Next up, a neatly packaged inky little club tool from Scottish producer LOWT (Louis W T Buick). While disappointingly brief at just over two-and-a-half minutes, this nonetheless manages to be a journey. I would have liked another minute or two, but the track does really say all it needs to — succinct and direct, this is a trip in a matte black, tuned-up Elantra, reverberating through tunnels and under bridges, ending with cyclones outside the warehouse, trunk rattling enough to compete with the rave’s sound system. Sharp as a tack, this. You can grab this on bandcamp or find it for streaming, but Buick kindly let me post the mp3 for you here too.

LOWT – “Rattle The Saxo”

Roscoe Strill – Knocked Out

Finally tonight, Drill meets mutant-UKG on this bizarre one by Roscoe Strill, the alter ego of professional bassist Will Strickler. The track started as a joke among friends, using a voice memo of bird calls as its basis, set to the sounds Strickler has been exposed to since moving to the UK from Ohio. That humor lingers in the finished track, but it hits hard nonetheless, and those bird calls end up functioning as pleasantly unnerving ear candy to balance it all out. And really, so much good music starts as inside jokes and friends just fucking around, so it’s no surprise this joke led to something substantive. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Strickler has a mysterious dog named Subwoofy who is a talented sound designer, but all his work is in the 30khz – 47khz, so humans can’t hear it. But you can bet your dog would tilt his head waaay to the side if he heard Subwoofy’s work. No bandcamp here, but Strickler was a gent and let me post the mp3 for you below; you can also find it for streaming, of course.

Roscoe Strill – “Knocked Out”

Psychic Driving – This Devil Ship

First up tonight, rage bathed in tranquility — or maybe more accurately, a representation of the sort-of relieved quality that resignation can sometimes take on. This song by Scottish producer Psychic Driving (real name Ross Drummond) centers around the final transmissions from Vladimir Komarov, the Soviet cosmonaut who boarded Soyuz 1 despite knowing it was critically compromised, irate at the people who sent him to his death (his was the first in-flight death in the history of spaceflight). While Komarov’s words were apparently furious (he is said to have fumed, “This devil ship! Nothing I lay my hands on works properly”), Drummond frames them in celestial and hauntological beauty, a pining for an unrealized future, the merging of space-age optimism against the corporeality and tangible quality of facing one’s death. You can grab this on bandcamp or find it for streaming, but Drummond was also nice enough to let me post the mp3 for you below.

Psychic Driving – “This Devil Ship”

You Are Here – Hover

For me, so much of the experience of listening to ambient music is down to setting. I’ve been pretty averse to gentle ambient soundscapes lately. It’s likely a result of feeling deeply stressed and overwhelmed at work and having two very young children and not enough money, and those feelings have me gravitating towards music that propels me forward. But I happened to listen to this song by Texas-based composer You Are Here (real name Tyler Martin) while drinking cranberry juice at dusk in my backyard, and in that setting, this hit just the right notes at the right moment. Maybe it will for you too (I recommend it with a cool drink on a warm night). You can grab this on bandcamp or find it for streaming all over.

You Are Here – “Hover”

Sun Echo – Echoes in the Dark

In the same vein as the previous track, this ambient piece by Sun Echo, Toronto-based composer Rob McAllister, embodies setting. The song centers around a field recording McAllister captured on a summer night on the banks of a babbling stream, crickets peacefully chirping away. That recording alone communicates plenty, but add to it some soft, angelic chords and a few subtle interwoven melodies, and you can rest your head on a pillow of sound. This was released by Canadian label Signal Alchemy, which releases loads of serene organic ambient music. If you like this sort of thing, their catalog is a treasure trove. No bandcamp, unfortunately, but you can find this for streaming anywhere, and the label was kind enough to let me share the mp3 with you here.

Sun Echo – “Echoes in the Dark”

Anna Lysis & F. Sonore – Smashed Sweetness

Isn’t it nice that we’ve gotten away from that 90s and 2000s thing where anyone singing in English would put on an American accent? Part of what makes the vocals so nice in this track by French artists Anna Lysis & F. Sonore is how much Lysis’s French accent comes through in her delivery — and not in the ironic or too-cool-for-school way often heard in mid-naughties French electro. Lysis’s lyrics and delivery are earnest — naive almost — sailing, self-assured, and natural. Atop propulsive drums and loosely layered plucked instruments coproduced with F. Sonore, the whole song has this great unencumbered quality to it; the two aren’t concerned with precision and perfection here– it’s just about wide-eyed fun. This is from Lysis’s recent EP, Blossom, which is out now on the streamers. No bandcamp, unfortunately, but she was kind enough to let me post the mp3 for you here.

Anna Lysis & F. Sonore – “Smashed Sweetness”

Syncia x Cash Only x Eljé – Something Something

Next up is a collaboration between producers Syncia and Cash Only, with vocals from Eljé — all three from the UK. There really isn’t much I can say about this–it’s perfectly crafted main room dance music. It’s house music, I guess, in the way that smoothing out all the edges of UKG turns it back into the house music it was always rooted in, but this is a track where subgenre discussion is really pointless. Eljé’s vocals are as radio-ready as anything and a killer earworm; the bass is round enough at the top and bottom to work just as well in the cab on the way to the club as it will on the dancefloor. Just an undeniable winner here. No bandcamp unfortunately, but you can find this for streaming at all the usual outlets.

Syncia x Cash Only x Eljé – “Something Something”

Self Tape – Feelings In The Way

Last up tonight is a lovely track from Sydney-based Self Tape (Stuart McNair), whose music I covered a couple of years ago. This is the first single from his upcoming sophomore album. I said something similar last time I wrote about him, but in a rising sea of so-called emotional club producers, McNair manages to float to the surface. It’s not just that the music is well executed — these days so much mediocre music is actually really well produced — it’s that McNair has a knack for drawing out real character from otherwise pretty in-your-face sounds. Specifically, the bass and lead sounds here are not particularly gentle or warm in and of themselves, but he gets them to hum and purr in a way that really soothes the nerves– and without numbing them out with syrup. It’s an excellent trick, and he’s been able to repeat it, so I expect the album will be something special. No bandcamp for this one either, I’m afraid (that’s 0 for 3 tonight), but McNair was generous enough to let me post the mp3 below. You can find the release at all the usual spots here.

Self Tape – “Feelings In The Way”

Jake Back – keep it simple/rytm start

New music from Jake Back, the LA-based artist I covered a few months ago. I hesitate to call these two new ones from Back part of the subgenre ‘outsider house’ — partly because the term was always reductive, but also because these are really more in the world of the subsubgenre ‘lofi house’ with their shared focus on bleached chords, romantic vocal bits, and comparatively clean drums. But I have a hard time using that term either; don’t get me wrong, I do love when sound gets distressed and weathered, but ‘lofi’ feels too ambiguous at this point (and the lofi girl kinda ruined it, right?). Really, these are best described as deep house, but talk about a once-wonderful subgenre becoming associated with so much schlock. So we can’t call it outsider, we can’t call it lofi or deep either–let’s just describe it: both of these are warm, well-composed, and supremely pleasant. Maybe that just makes them effective house tunes in the grand old tradition. Grab these on bandcamp or find them for streaming all over.

Jake Back – “keep it simple”
Jake Back & Sabbia – “rytm start”

Zach from sales – Want u back

Speaking of good house music, we’re blessed by yet another new one from Dutch producer Zach from sales. This might possibly also suffer from the subgenre syndrome I described above, so let’s not rehash that again; instead, let’s learn from our mistakes and just describe the damn thing. Crisp piano stabs, a warning refrain (is it a threat?), a perfectly staggered 4th kick drum to keep you on your toes. This has gotta be my favorite bit from Zach thus far — so much so that I’ll even dispense with the ironic corporate speak this time — and that’s saying something, because I’ve really loved the prior ones I’ve covered over the past few months. Zach was kind enough to let me share the mp3 with you all here again, but you can also support him by grabbing this on bandcamp, or help him rack up the pennies on your streamer of choice.

Zach from sales – “Want u back”

never leave – Colour

Finally tonight, we leave the realm of four to the floor for something a bit more ambiguous stylistically and shuffled rhythmically. Exactly two minutes of tightly packed, amorphous, and emotive bedrooom club music from Danish duo never leave (Leo Peter Larsen & Benjamin Konge Henriksen), this is full of accessible melodic character and enough mildly glitchy ear candy to fill a track twice as long. But none of us have super healthy attention spans these days, do we? Besides, 2:00 is the new 3:30. Kidding aside, this really is a nice one–a deservingly captivating finisher for an evening full of overwhelmingly hyggelig dance music. No bandcamp, unfortunately, but the duo was nice enough to let me post the mp3 for you here (you can also stream it in the usual places).

never leave – “Colour”