01

Best albums

January 2019

- DAWN
  New Breed
  Local Action
  
  Dawn Richard blends R&B and funk with her signature sci-fi style for an LP that's both futuristic and personal.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify
- Nkisi
  7 Directions
  UIQ
  
  Haunting polyrhythms inspired by Bantu cosmology on the London-based artist's first LP for Lee Gamble's label.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- James Blake
  Assume Form
  Universal Music
  
  James Blake ruminates on depression, love and hope in his most confident album yet.
  
  Listen: Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- E.R.P.
  Afterimage
  Forgotten Future US
  
  Warm, precise, sci-fi-flavoured electro.
- Various
  Life & Death On The New York Dance Floor 1980-1983 Part I & II
  Reappearing
  
  Tim Lawrence curates an essential companion piece to his book about New York's '80s downtown scene.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp
- Jonny Nash
  Make A Wilderness
  Music From Memory
  
  "Slowly does it" is the unspoken motto for this enveloping ambient album.
  
  Listen: Soundcloud
- Céline Gillain
  Bad Woman
  Drama
  
  The Belgian artist's debut album is minimal electronic pop at its most incisive and eccentric.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify
- Steve Spacek
  Natural Sci-Fi
  Eglo
  
  This collection of minimal soul, pop and broken beat shows Spacek at his charismatic best.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- DJ Bone
  Beyond
  Subject Detroit
  
  A beloved Detroit DJ delivers a techno album full of light and optimism.
  
  Listen: Soundcloud
- Leon Vynehall
  DJ-Kicks
  !K7
  
  Leon Vynehall's DJ-Kicks entry encapsulates what makes the series great, falling somewhere between the club and home listening.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Demdike Stare
  Stitch By Stitch
  DDS
  
  A four-hour, four-cassette compilation that reaches into the furthest depths of the Demdike Stare sound, from gritty jungle to avant-pop.
  
  Listen: Soundcloud

02

Best singles

January 2019

- Substance
  Rise & Shine
  Ostgut Ton
  
  DJ Pete returns to his Substance alias with an EP that blends pitch-perfect big room techno with dub(step) influences.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Jordan GCZ
  Pinball Lizard
  Rush Hour Music
  
  Psychedelic grooves from one half of Juju & Jordash.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Kokoko!
  Liboso
  Transgressive Records
  
  Compelling beats and melodies made with DIY instruments, offering a glimpse into the forward-thinking sounds you'd hear on the streets in Kinshasa.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- SHXCXCHCXSH
  Word
  Mord
  
  Seven years into their career and this creative Swedish duo are still finding new ways to breathe new life into dark techno.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Various
  From The Dark Volume 3
  Cultivated Electronics
  
  This high-energy collection of modern electro gathers some of the scene's key names, including Carl Finlow and Alpha 606.
  
  Listen: Soundcloud
- Valentino Mora
  Transmagnetic
  Spazio Disponibile
  
  With his debut on Donato Dozzy and Neel's label, Valentino Mora continues his transformation into a purveyor of trippy techno.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Dave Aju
  Off Weed Or Sane
  Accidental Jnr
  
  Oddball house cuts to freak out the afterhour.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Michelle
  Zocco
  My Own Jupiter
  
  A newcomer from Montevideo's thriving scene emerges with a mature mix of techno, electro and minimal.
- Bergsonist
  Heat
  Optimo Music
  
  A blend of house, techno and synth pop that fits perfectly on Optimo Music.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Lara Sarkissian
  Disruption
  Club Chai
  
  Tender club sounds with samples from Armenian folk music.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud

03

Best mixes

January 2019

- Danielle
  Oscillate Podcast N°31
  
  The London DJ rolls through all kinds of moody and atmospheric sounds on a mix Oscillate rightly tagged as "freakin' sick."
- Peverelist
  Truancy Volume 223
  
  Pev goes for the jugular on this mix of undulating club sounds.
  
  Edge Slayer
  FACT Mix 689
  
  Rattling bass and pop edits from New Orleans.
  
  Laurine Frost
  Fasten Music Podcast 172
  
  Laurine Frost strings together hard-to-place tracks from all over the rhythmic spectrum.
  
  Der Kindestod
  Brown Smolder (Halcyon Veil)
  
  A disorienting 20-minute experience from a rising San Antonio artist.
  
  Jane Fitz
  TPF-002
  
  Three hours of the unstoppable London DJ Jane Fitz playing on home turf.
  
  Paul Johnson
  Fame September 9th 1995
  
  A 1995 recording of the Dance Mania head at the top of his game.
  
  Darwin
  The Bunker Podcast 185
  
  The rising Berlin DJ goes full-bore techno for her contribution to New York's long-running Bunker podcast.
  
  So
  Labyrinth 2018
  
  The man who runs Labryinth called this set one of the best at last year's festival.
  
  Jackie House
  HNYPOT 300: Half A Bar Will Do It
  
  A comedown special of ambient and downtempo from the Honey Soundsystem head honcho, celebrating 300 mixes in the crew's podcast series.