Best Albums

April 2023

- Tartelet Records
  Doc Sleep - Birds (in my mind anyway)
  
  A gorgeous collection of ambient techno and downtempo IDM from Jacktone's cofounder.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / Soundcloud
- Kynant Records
  Paul St. Hilaire - Tikiman Vol.1
  
  A welcome return from Tikiman, and the most complete insight into Paul St. Hilaire's singular take on dub we've heard yet.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Self-released
  Yazmin Lacey - Voice Notes
  
  Astounding, progressive soul music from an artist with a wonderful voice and a keen grasp of rhythm.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Deeptrax Records
  Joey Anderson - Exotic Sequence
  
  Eight icy-cool slabs of house and techno from one of the US's most inventive producers, who takes something of a back-to-basics turn here.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / SoundCloud
- Live From Earth Klub
  Brutalismus 3000 - ULTRAKUNST
  
  An alternately frightening and snotty blast of curdled rage and humour that sounds like a really good party gone off the rails.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify
- Planet Mu
  DJ Girl - Hellworld
  
  The Detroit producer's debut album rekindles Planet Mu's '00s character with its hodgepodge of fast-paced styles and unruly energy.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify
- PAN
  Tzusing - 绿帽 Green Hat
  
  Using ideas from techno, EBM, gqom and hard drum, Tzusing probes cultural alienation and issues of identity with his trademark razor-sharp club music.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- XL Recordings
  Yaeji - With A Hammer
  
  Yaeji's second LP comes to terms with anger and resentment she had suppressed as a child, expressing it through bright and often vulnerable trip-hop, drum & bass and indie rock.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Kranky
  Tim Hecker - No Highs
  
  Tim Hecker returns to solo ambient music with an album that rails against a positive-vibes-only ideology and focuses on the mundanity and chaos of everyday life.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- Cracki Records
  Superski - Mondo Moderno
  
  Lighthearted but seriously groovy Italo-infused techno from Voiski and Eliott Litrowski.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud

Best EPs

April 2023

- Kulør
  Courtesy - Violence Of The Moodboard
  
  Courtesy continues her exploration of what she calls "ambient trance," where, without percussion, she emphasises the moodier elements of trance in its mid-to-high ranges.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify / SoundCloud
- PC Music
  Holly Waxwing - The New Pastoral
  
  PC Music's latest signing makes music that is propulsive but dainty, like listening to an Armin van Buuren track coming out of a hand-cranked music box.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify
- Planet Euphorique
  LUXE - Mineral And Moss
  
  Dubsteppy bass science meets trance euphoria on D. Tiffany's unstoppable Planet Euphorique label.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp
- Time Is Now Records
  Introspekt - Forlorn
  
  Introspekt offers a masterclass at 140 BPM, from sultry 2-step to vintage grime—it's hard to believe she hails from LA and not London.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp
- Livity Sound
  Peverelist - Pulse
  
  Peverelist returns with what he does best: quietly brilliant broken techno, and this time, a little house, too.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Apple Music / Spotify
- Rekids
  Eddie Fowlkes - Forever
  
  The Detroit legend's Rekids EP captures his two sides—the rowdy and the deep—and brings them together into something party-starting.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Spotify
- Marginal Returns
  Gwenan - Activation Energy
  
  A lowkey hero of the underground's long-awaited debut is a little bit cathartic and a little bit creepy—but all about the funk.
  
  Listen:
  SoundCloud
- Steel City Dance Discs
  Pretty Girl - One Night, One Time
  
  Bubbly, effervescent crossover dance jams from a star in the making.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music
- Animalia
  LOIF - Plunge
  
  The four psy-laced jams on this new EP are a robust representation of cutting-edge sounds from Australia's thriving doof scene.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp
- HE.SHE.THEY. RECORDS
  Marhu - Through My Veins
  
  No-nonsense acid house with a brawny techno backbone.
  
  Listen:
  Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music

Best Mixes

April

- Karim Olen Ash
  Rinse FM 15 March 2023
  
  The Pep Rally cofounder takes over Chippy Nonstop's Rinse FM show for two hours of skippy house, garage and club mayhem.
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- Ani Phoebe
  Mogra Radio #049
  
  Hong Kong-based DJ Ani Phoebe pulls out serious sass from her seemingly bottomless record bags for Vietnam's Mogra Radio, with 56 minutes of Balearic, Italo disco and Brasilian boogie.
- Helena Hauff
  EXHALE Radio 053
  
  Helena Hauff is a very different kind of big-room techno and electro DJ. Get a taste for what sets her apart in this hour-long mix for Amelie Lens's EXHALE Radio.
- Nick Höppner
  The Little Finger Show
  
  On his latest Refuge Worldwide show, Nick Höppner digs into his bag of UK garage records old and new for an hour of pure shuffle and swing.
- Thomas Bangalter
  NTS April 12 2023
  
  Daft Punk member Thomas Bangalter, fresh off the release of his new solo classical album, shares some of his influences and inspirations on this NTS Radio session.
- Bashkka
  Blitzcast 014
  
  Bashkka, a resident at Munich club Blitz, reps her hometown endlessly, but her long-time admiration for New York house music shines in this mix, which is equal parts retro, futuristic, funky and trippy.
- Devoye
  Juanita's Mix 086
  
  New York DJ Devoye delivers an ultra-deep mix for Juanita's, full of massaging basslines, killer organ riffs and husky vocal samples.
- Merve
  Daisychain 273
  
  This excellent Daisychain mix from the Berlin-based, Melbourne DJ Merve is full of gurgly synths and boinging rhythms, touching on old-school techno and trance with a decidedly modern approach.
- Sassmouth
  Bottom Forty Mix 128
  
  Sassmouth has been wowing crowds in Chicago and San Francisco for years now, and more and more recently, around the US, too. Get to know her funky, old-school-leaning house sound with this mix for Seattle queer party Bottom Forty.
- DJ Babatr
  NTS March 31 2023
  
  Venezuela's DJ Babatr pioneered raptor house back in the late '90s. It still sounds fresh today, and the Caracas DJ laid down a session of zippy, bouncy, often raucous grooves on NTS last week. Get to know these sounds, because you'll be hearing a lot more about Babatr this year.

Best Albums

April 2023

Self-released

Best EPs

April 2023

Best Mixes

April