Best Albums

April 2021

- Wisdom Teeth
  Facta - Blush
  
  The UK artist sounds content and refreshed on an LP of gentle yet still powerful club experiments.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Planet E
  DJ Holographic - Detroit Love Vol. 5
  
  The sound of Detroit house and disco from one of the Motor City's key DJs.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Haus of Altr
  AceMoMA - A Future
  
  The New York duo continue their unstoppable streak with this goldmine of frolicking breaks and gorgeous melodies.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify
- Axis Records
  Shinedoe - The Observer
  
  This new addition to Jeff Mills' Escape Velocity series almost outdoes the techno master in its pure spaciness and sleek production.
  
  Listen:
  Axis Records / SoundCloud
- Modern Love
  Andy Stott - Never The Right Time
  
  The Manchester artist continues his relentless progression, this time with a deft combination of bass weight and 4AD-inspired synth pop romanticism.
  
  Listen:
  Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- BLKRTZ
  Deadbeat & The Mole - Deadbeat Meets The Mole
  
  This collaboration between two legends of Canadian dance music, who have been friends for decades, sounds like an intimate jam session.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify
- Mysteries of the Deep
  Christina Chatfield - Sutro
  
  Majestic ambient techno inspired by San Francisco.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Editions Mego
  Caterina Barbieri - Fantas Variations
  
  An unusually ambitious remix album featuring classical reinterpretations, East African singeli and a capella performances.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Planet Mu
  Meemo Comma - Neon Genesis: Soul Into Matter²
  
  An album of futuristic and often tender electronic music inspired by '90s anime and the Kabbalah.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Avian
  Shifted - Constant Blue Light
  
  Shifted builds left-field techno at a molecular level on his most recent—and most outré—LP.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud

Best Singles

April 2021

- UNO
  Malibu - One Life: Four Remixes
  
  One of ambient's most exciting young producers gets remixed by four visionaries.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Self-released
  Kareem Ali - Getting Through
  
  The breakout house artist of the pandemic era drops one of his best EPs yet.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- OTMI
  Anz - OTMI001
  
  Anz launches her new label with excellent tracks inspired by West Coast hip-hop, '90s UK rave and more.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- SVBKVLT
  Osheyack & Nahash - Club Apathy
  
  One SVBKVLT veteran and one newer artist team up for a pulverizing club EP that mashes up hardstyle, hard drum and gqom.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- LPZ Records
  Amanda Mussi - Rave Dreams
  
  The Brazilian-Paraguayan artist wears many hats in the dance music industry, and it turns out she's a killer producer too, with two cuts of breakneck techno along with remixes from three of Paraguay's most important producers.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- SVS Records
  Kamron Saniee - Euphoric Studies
  
  Startling avant-garde club experiments for fans of Minor Science and Rian Treanor.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Superconscious Records
  YUF-O - You Eff Ohh
  
  Yu Su and Francis Inferno Orchestra teamed up in 2019 to escape their immigration woes for a day or two, and came up with something that sounds like lounge music for a space station.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Moray Discs
  Various - Planisferios Sonoros
  
  This new compilation from Peruvian label Moray Discs shows a slice of the bustling Latin American dance music scene.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Equiknoxx Music
  Time Cow & RTKal - Elephant Man
  
  This haunting tribute to the Jamaican legend might be the first example of "ambient dancehall."
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Love Injection
  Conclave - Perdón (Louie Vega Remix)
  
  A zesty Afro-Latin house track that encourages you to surrender to life's unexpected detours.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- XL Recordings
  Overmono - Pieces Of 8 / Echo Rush
  
  The duo dust off one of their most sought-after early tracks along with a B-side that injects some trance into their sound.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud

Best Mixes

April 2021

- Tomu DJ
  Production Mix (Rinse FM)
  
  Tomu DJ was the special guest on Ciel's Rinse FM show in April, delivering a spirited all-originals mix that shows off her bouncy and melodic sound.
- Tarzsa
  The 'Shine A Light On' Mix
  
  There's a tinge of laid-back jazz musicality to Tarzsa's excellent mix for The Ransom Note.
- Sunil Sharpe
  HATE Podcast 234
  
  The Irish legend tears through 75 minutes of techno, hardcore and more for HATE.
- Ivy Barkakati
  1800 triiip Mix 025
  
  The Maryland-born, Barcelona-based artist Ivy Barkakati has an ear for classics, old and new.
- Gavsborg
  Hard Wax In-Store
  
  Gavin "Gavsborg" Blair rocked up to Hard Wax with a record bag full of exclusives. What happened next was pure magic.
- Gore-txt
  Hunter Thompson Invites 029
  
  Omaha-based DJ and Coma Party cofounder Gore-txt delivers a gorgeous techno mix with near-perfect pacing.
- Mamacita
  Fun Fun Mix 24
  
  The latest entry in DJs Pareja's FUN FUN series comes from Santiago de Chile's all-round star Mamacita, who delivers an extremely vibey house mix.
- Stathis
  HNYPOT 383: Stathis' Ascent Of Persephone
  
  A two-hour journey through lovely Balearic sounds, from tropical grooves to deep acid trips.
- Jordana
  Dekmantel Podcast 327
  
  Drum & bass made for the biggest rooms, with plenty of soul, nuance and killer vocal hooks.
- Livwutang
  Honcho Podcast Series 95
  
  Livwutang's mix for Honcho is easily one of the best in the series, featuring plenty of dub, left-field minimal techno and some truly wonderful blends.

Best Albums

April 2021

Best Singles

April 2021

Self-released

LPZ Records

Best Mixes

April 2021

Gavsborg

Gore-txt

Stathis

Jordana