Chapter

01

Best albums

January 2017

Sublee
Ideepsum
Metereze

Rolling Romanian grooves rooted in classic tech house.

SW.
Untitled
SUED

SW.'s beautiful debut album evokes the likes of Plaid, Photek and Galaxy 2 Galaxy while still sounding utterly singular.

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Melanie Velarde
Parcel
RVNG Intl.

The experimental artist's first album is a bewitching mix of treated instruments and pastoral tones.

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Bandcamp

Filter Dread
Tribal Data
Unknown To The Unknown

Tribal Data is a peek inside Filter Dread's manic mind, which seems to shift focus—and genre—every few minutes.

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Apple Music

Spotify

Burnt Friedman
The Pestle
Latency

An essential retrospective that shows how Burnt Friedman has been reinventing rhythms for over two decades.

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SoundCloud

Brian Eno
Reflection
Warp Records

The ambient master turns in a contemplative 54-minute piece.

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Apple Music

Spotify

Various Artists
Up Too Early
Friends Of Friends

The LA label's roster makes music to soundtrack your morning, from gently bubbling techno to half-lidded folk to bright modern classical.

Age Coin
Performance
Posh Isolation

"It could be described as industrialised bass music," said Holly Dicker in her RA review, a fitting term for the work of this duo from the Posh Isolation label.

Calibre
Grow
The Nothing Special

Dominick Martin is known as a drum & bass maestro, but this LP shows he's just as impressive making deep house, techno and downtempo.

Various Artists
Club Chai Vol. 1
Club Chai

Vital experimental club sounds from around the world and across the spectrum.

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SoundCloud

Bandcamp

Tornado Wallace
Lonely Planet
Running Back

Lonely Planet is, as you might have guessed, a journey through the Australian artist's rich world of sound.

02

Best singles

January 2017

Superficie
Hélices
Salviatek

This addictive EP from the Brazilian producer is an explosion of percussion.

East Wall
Eyes Of Glass
Dark Entries

Bittersweet Italo disco with an unforgettable melody.

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SoundCloud

Mr Beatnick
Dawn Vapours
Tief Music

Elegant house music that borrows as much from West London as it does from Chicago.

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Bandcamp

Varg
Nordic Flora Pt. 1: Heroine
Northern Electronics

This four-track EP distills the sound of Varg's expansive techno catalogue into a single potent 12-inch.

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Bandcamp

Spotify

Lord Of The Isles
Parabolas Of Neon
Firecracker Recordings

On this stellar companion to his 2016 album, Neil McDonald balances house and techno with lush ambient.

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SoundCloud

Bandcamp

Various
Dille
Stoscha

This first release from the label Stoscha showcases seven promising producers who twist techno and club music into new shapes.

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Bandcamp

SoundCloud

Sakro
No Time To Explain
Raum...muzik

Remember that video of Ricardo Villalobos riding the fader at last year's Dekmantel festival? "No Time To Explain" is the bomb he was teasing.

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dBridge
Fashion Dread / Digital Dread
Sentry

The first release on Youngsta's new label sounds like exactly like something he would play: timeless, brooding dubstep.

Yotam Avni
Tehillim
Stroboscopic Artefacts

The Israeli techno artist sounds inspired by Steve Reich on this gorgeous EP full of mallets, pianos and strings.

Kinetic Electronix
Music For Beings
Mood Hut

The trio formerly known as Aquarian Foundation deliver a double-pack of dubbed-out techno, electro and deep house experiments.

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SoundCloud

Juju & Jordash
What About Tuesday?
Dekmantel

This EP, apparently based on a week in the life of a touring musician, offers three different flavours of the duo's improvised techno.

Ancient Methods
The First Siren
Persephonic Sirens

The German techno producer expertly balances funk and intensity.

Second Woman
E/P
Spectrum Spools

Jlin's computer-music-goes-footwork remix of "VII" is worth the price of admission alone.

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Bandcamp

Flørist presents V. Rosso
Windows On The World
World Building

Logan Sturrock shows his ear for detail on this EP of fluttering house grooves.

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Bandcamp

SoundCloud

Pan Daijing
A Satin Sight
Bedouin Records

Fiery techno full of eerie synths and snares burnt to a crisp.

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Bandcamp

03

Best mixes

January 2017

- Eli Verveine
  Nightime Drama Podcast 001
  
  Deep techno and electro from a DJ who always seems to deliver killer mixes.
- DJ Taye
  Crack Mix 131
  
  An hour-long Teklife extravaganza that showcases some of the crew's best producers.
  
  Barbara Preisinger
  Phonons Podcast 037
  
  The Berlin stalwart delivers a deep and subtly swinging blend of house and techno.
  
  Henrik Bergqvist
  Phonica Mix Series 32
  
  The recent RA podcaster continues his hot streak.
  
  Jayda G
  Discwoman 16
  
  Jayda G's second consecutive appearance on this list finds her in typically relaxed form.
  
  VC-118A
  Podcast De Onda
  
  One of electro's on-form producers shows that his talents extend to DJing.
  
  Bwana
  Beats In Space Radio #868
  
  This mix from the Canadian artist is a must-listen for fans of trance and prog.
  
  Antal
  South African Jazz
  
  The Rush Hour boss's collection goes far beyond dance music, as he shows in this mix of jazz records collected on trips to South Africa.
  
  Shapednoise
  Solid Steel Radio Show 13/1/2017
  
  Shapednoise blends Mika Vainio, Babyfather, Pinch and Coil into an eerie whole on this mix for Solid Steel.
  
  Dinky
  Live Mix at ....July 2016
  
  The Berlin DJ shares a pumping four-hour house set recorded at an undisclosed location in July.