Chapter

01

Best albums

September 2019

- Jenny Hval
  The Practice Of Love
  Sacred Bones Records
  
  This broody synth pop album from the Norwegian artist interrogates what "love" actually means.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- xin
  Melts Into Love
  Subtext
  
  A mesmerizing album that finds transcendence in experimental club music.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Soundcloud
- Iona Fortune
  Tao Of I Volume 2
  Ecstatic
  
  Beautiful ambient inspired by the ancient history of the I Ching, made with a mix of synths and traditional Chinese instruments.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Complete Walkthru
  Scrolls
  Numbers
  
  Max McFerren returns as eclectic and quirky as ever, but with a stronger grasp of what he does best: playful beats, fun samples and great melodies.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Klein
  Lifetime
  ijn inc.
  
  Klein weaves tangled narratives on this spellbinding album.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- E-Saggila
  My World My Way
  Northern Electronics
  
  This burst of breakcore and blazing-fast techno shows the Canadian artist thriving in extremes.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Barker
  Utility
  Ostgut Ton
  
  Sam Barker delivers masterful techno full of glistening synths, non-standard rhythms and barely-there drums.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Octo Octa
  Resonant Body
  T4T LUV NRG
  
  Bliss conveyed through soaring breakbeats and slamming house from the always-excellent Maya Bouldry-Morrison.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Chris Korda
  Akoko Ajeji
  Perlon
  
  A complex process (in which every instrument is played in a different meter) conjures extraordinary rhythms and gorgeous melodies.
- Not Waving & Dark Mark
  Downwelling
  Ecstatic
  
  Surging synths, gravelly singing and poetic spoken word from Alessio Natalizia and the grunge icon Mark Lanegan.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud

02

Best singles

September 2019

- Héctor Oaks
  We Met Under The Strobe Light
  OAKS
  
  The Herrensauna resident serves up blistering techno EP rooted in '90s techno.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Soundcloud
- W00dy
  My Diary
  W00dy
  
  Footwork, drum & bass, noise and breakcore combine for an exhilarating storm of sound.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Soundcloud
- Slikback & Hyph11E
  Slip B
  SVBKVLT
  
  East Africa meets East Asia on this wild and dynamic EP.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Various
  3024 FYE4
  3024
  
  Martyn's label expertly mines the middle ground between techno, drum & bass and dub—and serves up an out-of-this-world cut by Parris in the process.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Walton
  Depth Charge
  Ilian Tape
  
  Ilian Tape taps a UK beat scientist for three tracks of garage and weightless.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Soundcloud
- Bergsonist
  Femme
  Self-released
  
  A slow-burning techno gem for daring DJs.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp
- Rey Sapienz
  Mushoro
  Hakuna Kulala
  
  A taste of Congolese dancehall from one of the East African club scene's key artists.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Helena Hauff
  Living With Ants
  Return To Disorder
  
  The kind of slamming electro you expect to hear deep into one of Hauff's blistering DJ sets.
  
  Listen: Soundcloud
- Ariel Zetina
  Shell
  Head Charge
  
  The up-and-coming Chicago producer softens tough house beats with plaintive synth work on a stellar EP. Fans of DJ Sprinkles take note.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Soundcloud
- Stanislav Tolkachev
  When I Was A Boy
  Semantica Records
  
  This stunning techno track is the Ukrainian mastermind's most touching effort in years.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Soundcloud
- Joe
  Get Centred
  Cómeme
  
  Tropical, scattershot and utterly weird—it can only be Joe.
  
  Listen: Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud

03

Best mixes

September 2019

- Batu
  Beats In Space #1008
  
  Techno, but scrambled—an essential session from Bristol's leading light.
- Miss Jay
  HNYPOT 334: Miss Jay's Need For Speed Mix
  
  Blistering jungle hybrids from a rising Amsterdam DJ.
  
  Blawan
  RA Live At Dimensions 2019
  
  An hour of banging techno from Blawan live at our tunnel party during Dimensions 2019.
  
  L U C Y
  SZNS7N MIX 0
  
  The Bristol DJ announces her SZNS7N label with a mix that packs more genres and tempos into 30 minutes than most DJs can in two hours.
  
  Ben UFO
  Rinse FM 09/09/2019
  
  An unreal Rinse FM session from Ben UFO at the height of his powers.
  
  Soraya
  DISCWOMAN 76
  
  The cofounder of Truants—one of dance music's best zines and mix platforms—gets her own moment in the spotlight.
  
  Geng
  FACT Mix 726
  
  The PTP head goes deep with this hour-plus mix of live tapes, readings, field recordings and other odds and ends from the early '80s till now.
  
  yone-ko
  Wordless At Hoppetosse
  
  The long-time Japanese DJ shows his range, starting out low-key and then getting nice and bumpy.
  
  Via App
  Crack Mix 307
  
  This stellar mix showcases blazing techno and outré experimental music from across the Brooklyn scene.
  
  Federico Molinari
  Timeless Series #12
  
  Deep acid and hypnotic house that shows the trippier side of the Argentinian DJ.

04

Reader favourites

September 2019

A selection of picks from our readers.

- Djrum
  Hard To Say / Tournesol
  R&S
  
  Beautiful, ecstatic rave with tempos soaring past 170 BPM. (Thanks to yorjj and Erwacht.)
  
  Listen: Bandcamp
- Jorg Kuning
  BH002
  Bakk Heia Records
  
  Crisp sonics and sideways rhythms from a core member of Bakk Heia, a label and regular party at Manchester's White Hotel. (Thanks to DJ Bob in Brooklyn.)
  
  Listen: Bandcamp
- Love Letters
  Cast Off EP
  The Bunker New York
  
  Made in part with boths arms in casts (hence the title), Maxime Robillard's debut for The Bunker reveals him as one of New York's hidden talents. (Thanks to Zlatko in Chicago.)
  
  Listen: Bandcamp
- A Psychic Yes
  Maze Dream EP
  Kalahari Oyster Cult
  
  Lush, psychedelic grooves from a new artist on the quirky Dutch label. (Thanks to Oliver Payne in Solihull.)
  
  Listen: Bandcamp