Buscar:lean year

Claus Voigtmann has built his reputation away from excess, favouring precision, patience, and a deep understanding of the dancefloor over trend-led movements. Emerging from a punk background, his approach to music carries that same raw intent, translated into rolling, groove-led sets that blend movement with a stripped-back sense of pressure and release. As co-founder of the influential Toi.Toi.Musik party series, he helped shape one of London’s most respected underground movements, while later channelling his focus into his label Subsequent - a platform for more exploratory, long-form expression that has found its way into the crates of DJs including Zip, Ricardo Villalobos, and Sonja Moonear.

Having already landed on Enzo Siragusa’s FUSE imprint in 2023, remixing the label boss’s ‘Laughing Tones’, and after featuring heavily across the brand’s global events for years, his ‘Elevate’ EP distils his ethos into four direct, function-led cuts. Built with clarity and intent, the record reflects his commitment to music that works in the room first and foremost, resulting in a collection of tracks shaped by experience rather than excess, and where every element serves a clear purpose.

‘Bass Tool’ brings low-end pressure and tightly wound percussion, setting the tone from the off , while ‘Loading Complete’ leans into a more cosmic roll, layering shifting textures over a forward-driving framework. On the B-side, ‘Sidequest West’ keeps the focus in the sub-bass realms while still maintaining focus on groove and flow, before the title cut closes the release by opening things out, balancing weight and space in a way that reframes the EP’s direction and journeys into the late hours.

Bristol-born, London-based DJ, producer, trailblazer and label head, Conducta announces his brand new EP, SOUNDBOY JOHNNY slated to drop on the 29th May via Up Ya Archives Records.

The new single sees Conducta link up with one of Jamaica’s most original and exciting artists, for a high-tempo cut that channels UK breakbeats into a bassy club roller. Built around an irresistible hook that sticks, ‘Low Can U Go’ sets the tone for the wider project, with BLVK H3RO’s vocal collaboration bringing a fresh edge to accompany the raw, driving intensity Conducta is known for.

The EP, SOUNDBOY JOHNNY sees Conducta lean further into the sounds shaping his recent DJ sets, channelling his long-standing love of jungle and breakbeat into a focused body of work. Across the project, he experiments with faster tempos and chopped breaks, stepping into new territory as a producer. As his first solo release of the year, it marks a confident return with a clear sense of direction, underlining his versatility across different sonic spaces.

Mana is the International Anthem debut by trombonist and composer Kalia Vandever. The collection carries the spirit of their first solo album, We Fell In Turn, while entering a new landscape of spacious songwriting. Mana, which in Hawaiian means "foundational, supernatural, or divine power and strength", reveals more of their voice and words, drawing from yearning, loss, and bewilderment. Vandever"s music has quickly and widely gained traction in the last few years despite the fact that their style has been consistently difficult to pin down, boasting a compositional scope ranging from the palatial modern jazz of their quartet work to the synthetic, gauze-like droning ambience of their solo material. Mana leans into the expansion of the latter: solo trombone filtered through a well-dialed pedalboard, manipulated live; spare piano à la the late-career work of Ryuichi Sakamoto; electroacoustic interplay simultaneously echoing and transforming the long-note melodicism of Vandever"s melancholic brass work; head-on, unambiguous, and deeply personal lyricism - a particularly fresh move for the composer... Appropriate for the early riser"s first step into the day or the night owl"s weary and quiet walk home.

Rising star Storm Mollison lands her debut on Heist with an ep blending House & R 'n B and we're completely hooked.

The future is looking bright for Storm Mollison - Heist's newest. Marked as artist to look out for by Shazam on their fast forward 2026 list, Storm's got a bright and busy year ahead, after an already big 2025. Last year alone, she featured on Kiki's hit 'Getting ready for the party', featured on a Mixmag London event and a Raw Cuts X Heist ADE party, had her first cover feature on Spotify, multiple radio 1 appearances, released several singles, a full EP on Noir Fever and a Luuk van Dijk remix.

If that's not enough to get you excited, we suggest you just listen to her 'Act like that' EP on Heist. In Storm's own words: "it's the most exciting music I've made so far" and we couldn't agree more. Her EP is a perfect blend of her love for house music and soulful R 'n B with its 4 tracks smothered in deep chords, smooth vocals and crunchy textures.

EP opener 'Doing Sumthin'' has been a staple in Dam Swindle's sets ever since receiving Storm's first demo and has never failed to make the crowd bounce from left to right with its quirky and equally cool vocal courtesy of Aaron Pfeiffer. Sometimes, you just need someone to tell you which way to move and before you know it, the whole club is doing it. The beat is chunky, and the sax lick is a nice wink to the old school house that has influences Storm's sound so much.

Act Like That - the EP's title track -, is a modern R' n B song that could have easily been on Rochelle Jordan's latest album. The lyrics are perfectly delivered by Storm herself and celebrate women who stand up to unreliable men. It could well be the badass soundtrack of womanhood for 2026 delivered in a silky-smooth package that'll live rent-free in your head for the foreseeable future.

On the flipside is "Gotta Go', an undercover dancefloor burner with lush keys and a lean-back groove. The track relies on crisp textures and little frizzles all throughout the track, with a big breakdown for ultimate release.

Ep closer 'Workin' takes us back into R 'n B territory, this time in a very danceable form. Storm's soft vocals lie on top of a steady beat with deep chords and a bassline so sexy It'll make you get down no matter where you're hearing this.

It's hard to speak about a breakthrough for an artist that has already seen such a rise in the scene, but if we're talking about her music, this will be the record that people come back to after years and say, "remember when she releases ALT!?"

As always, enjoy the music and play it loud!

Yours, Maarten & Lars

Mathias Kaden announces the ‘Three Decades’ LP on Rekids, releasing 3rd April 2026, with single ‘Fyutr’ featuring Zoë Xenia and a remix from the legendary Dennis Ferrer available now. His third full-length, following 2009’s ‘Studio 10’ on Vakant and 2015’s ‘Energetic’ on Freunden Am Tanzen, ‘Three Decades’ spans nine tracks and celebrates Kaden’s 30-year career as one of Germany’s most enduring House and Techno figures.

The ‘Three Decades' album opens with a title intro, in which Mathias Kaden expresses gratitude to those closest to him before moving into his signature deep, emotive House sound. Tracks like ‘Keep Balance’ set the tone with sub-heavy bass and crisp, driving drums, occasionally punctuated by vocal snippets, while ‘I Got You’ features Cassy for a high-energy, soulful dancefloor moment. Reminiscent of Kaden’s work as Mathimidori, the dubbiness of ‘Getting Closer’ sets the stage for ‘Inner Signal’, which leans into wiggy electro territory, before the second record shifts gears with ‘Next Wave’ and ‘Shelter’, returning to pacey, piano-fuelled rave energy.

‘Viral’ follows with tough drums and excellent stab work, before the album closes on ‘Fyutr’, Kaden’s collaboration with Zoë Xenia, already supported by Honey Dijon, DJ Deep, Laurent Garnier, and more. Active since the mid-90s, Mathias Kaden quickly became one of the artists at the forefront of Germany’s flourishing rave scene. He began releasing music in the early 2000s, first collaborating with Marek Hemmann on a series of EPs for Freude Am Tanzen, before establishing himself as a solo artist with more than two dozen EPs on labels including Desolat, Watergate Records, Pets Recordings, Diynamic, Ovum, and Cocoon. Since first appearing on Rekids in 2019 with the ‘Control Your Mind’ EP, Kaden has released multiple projects on the label and remains a regular contributor to its catalogue.

Alongside his own productions, he has remixed artists such as DJ Koze, KiNK, Monika Kruse, Trentemøller, and Sven Väth, while under his Mathimidori alias, he has explored more spacious territory with releases on Mule Musiq, Ornaments, and Freund der Familie, including an additional album, ‘Akebono’, on Echocord.

Continuing its faithful documentation of the early years of Monolake, Field Records proudly present the first-ever vinyl pressing of seminal 1999 album Interstate. In a kaleidoscopic lattice of micro-rhythms and exquisitely dynamic textural work, Robert Henke and Gerhard Behles fully collaborated for the final time on this record — and created an electronica landmark in the process.

Monolake's evolution from their earlier dub-techno-tinted works saw their exploration of Max/MSP go further out. The duo yielded greater complexity in the behaviour of their sound palette to achieve an organismic quality that remains an enduring influence on so many strands of experimental electronic music today. Interstate is a vivid record that builds up eight different ecosystems of sound and subtly threads elegant grooves through their root structures.

There's a house-like undulation to the low-end driving 'Tangent-I' and 'Tangent-II', but the infinitesimally detailed layers of sound on top swoon from techno synth shimmers to trickling waters, snaking delay trails and pin prick percussion. You can hear the unmistakable, snappy rhythmic thrust of drum & bass driving 'Ginza', but here it's used as an engine for the crispest array of designer percussion and dub-soaked synth chirrups. Across every track, Henke and Behles demonstrate a potent combination, both groovily instinctive and eternally fascinating to try and pick apart.

After Interstate, Behles departed to focus entirely on the development of Ableton Live and Henke steered Monolake towards a leaner — but no less pioneering — sound. Every Monolake record has its own unique context and sound, and the circumstances of Interstate could never be repeated. Capturing the leaps in progress that were being made in digital music production at the end of the millennium, it's an information-rich document of a moment in time that still sounds wildly futuristic 27 years later.

Now marking eight years in the underground, Blur Records delivers a various artist collection that reflects its sound across always floor-facing cuts across a house and disco spectrum tinged with retro flair. 'Back To The Disco' by Hotmood opens with big loops and a hands in the air grove that is high on funky-disco vibes, while Delfonic keeps things tight on 'Let's Do The Magic' which centres a vocal hook and busy chords. Elsewhere, Crackazat's sultry rework of Scruscru's 'Just House' adds a jazz-leaning touch and 'Touch Me' shifts into a more restrained, late-night mood. Closing with the deep, plump drums of Sven Wegner's sexy, sax-laced 'Chuck The Boom', the collection stays consistently accessible and groovy throughout.

Polished and forward-looking even 40-odd years on from its initial release, Bourbon Suite captures Japanese female keyboard trio Cosmos at a time when fusion leaned into pop accessibility without losing technical finesse. Built around layered keys and crisp studio musicianship, the album moves with a sleek, late-night feel. 'Midnight Shuffle' stands out for reworking earlier material into a smoother, instrumental-led groove, while 'Cosmic Cosmos' drifts into more spacey territory and is driven by elastic bass and shimmering synth lines. There's a clarity to the arrangements that keeps things light on their feet and means this remains a refined example of early 80s crossover fusion.

&Co. debut on A Quiet Village. The US-based trio drop the third release on Quiet Village’s eponymous imprint March 20th. &Co. Is a project from multi-hyphenate and Bianca Chandon founder, Alex Olson, pianist, composer and producer Alberto Bof (known for his work on ®Oscar ®Bafta ®Golden Globe and ®Grammy award winning ’A Star is Born’) and DJ/fashion luminary, Paul Takahashi. The trio’s second release, ‘Staycation’ follows 2015’s ‘Best of Friends’, and sees these rare talents create a two-tracker that explores a uniquely evocative, cinematic and dubby Balearic aesthetic. ‘Staycation began as a follow-up to the first EP, Best Friends.

As a result, ‘Staycation’ came together in fragments. The first track was built over a handful of short studio sessions, each only about an hour long, driven by brainstorming and reworking ideas. With Alex away, Alberto and I continued refining the piece in Los Angeles, sharing updates for Alex’s approval until it was completed. The track remained unmastered and was quietly circulated to a small circle as a promotional piece. The second track, “Lean Like a Cello,” was initially conceptualized together. However, with Alex now based in New York and less available, we completed the arrangement in Los Angeles, sending versions back and forth for Alex’s input and feedback. Nearly a decade later, the idea resurfaced, and the recordings were finally mastered and released. A friend, Justin Van Der Volgen, handled the mastering. What began as a plan to give the tracks away as a promo evolved when Justin encouraged the group to shop the release. With help from Eric Duncan of Rub N Tug, the music reached Matt (Edwards, aka Radio Slave/ 1/2 of Quiet Village).

Ten years after the first sessions, Staycation arrives as a document of distance, collaboration, and time. A project shaped as much by separation as by shared intention.’ (Paul Takahashi, Feb 2026)
A piece of art from a powerhouse creative team operating at the intersection of skate culture, music, design and fashion, ‘Staycation’ by &Co. Arrives on The Quiet Village 12” and digital/streaming on March 20th.

Rob Clouth returns to Mesh with Cicada, a follow-up to his EP earlier this year and a continuation of his ever-curious approach to the outer limits of electronic music.

An artist who has spent much of his career committed to a dialogue between scientific phenomena and music built for big soundsystems, Bichillo signalled a segue into a more free-running idea of creativity - one that didn’t pander to unrealistic expectations and, essentially, brought the fun back to Rob’s production process. A theme also explored in a link-up with long-time collaborator and label boss Max Cooper on their recent joint EP 8 Billion Realities, out now on Mesh.

Cicada, he continues to expand on this universe, prioritising experimentation over concept, and arriving at some of the funnest music he’s ever made.

Like a field of insects, ‘Cicada’ opens with cross-rhythmic layers of animated glitches, soon joined by huge bass swells that gradually build into a maximal tranced out build-up and a swarm of vocal chops. ‘Core’ builds a quietly dramatic symphony of machinist built sound - a soothing polyphony of computers singing. Leaning into an off-kilter 2-step, ‘Gummy Clusters’ swirls into a hazy blur of distorted voices and acoustic rhythms. Closing things off, ‘Grefuser’ puts pedal to the metal with a high BPM storm of pointillist drums and melancholic leads.

Cicada is music that twitches and mutates, but most importantly, breathes fun into the circuitry.

‘Cicada’ lands Friday 20th March via Mesh.

After a two-year pause, CHILDHOOD returns with a new 12", GROUND SUPPORT by REDUKS The release introduces REDUKS, a young Munich-based artist whose path crossed with Muallem through Blitz. What began as a working relationship quickly turned into a shared musical understanding. Despite the difference in generation, both are connected by a similar sensitivity: a deep respect for the past, an awareness of the present, and a clear instinct for what lies ahead. Sharing a studio, this connection naturally translated into music. REDUKS brings a rare combination of emotional intuition and technical precision -- a producer with a deep-rooted understanding of club music, yet unbound by formula. The result is a collection of four dub house cuts, each shaped for a different moment across the night. Timeless in character, the tracks lean into subtlety and function -- built for the dance floor, but never confined to it. This record also marks the beginning as the first release of an ongoing series.

2026 Repress

since his first ep tips' on luciano's label cadenza in 2007 producer and dj petre inspirescu emerged into one of the key figures of the romanian electronic music scene.

so far he released music on labels such as vinyl club, lick my deck or amphia. together with his buddies rhadoo and raresh he also launched in 2007 the label (a:rpia:r) -  a platform where he, his two friends and many producers from romania and abroad released detailed grooving house and techno, that stands out with delicate structures and one-of-a-kind grooves.

both of his more dance floor oriented solo albums intr-o seara organica...' and gradina onirica for (a:rpia:r) are enlarged with melodies, sounds and harmonies that go beyond the usual characteristics of a dance album.

furthermore his love for classic musicians like mily alexejewitsch balakirev, alexander porfiryevich borodin or or nicolai andrejewitsch rimsky-korsakow can be felt in the album padurea de aur (opus 2 in re major) and two more eps that he released under the alias pensemble on the romanian label yojik concon in order to unite classical spheres with analogue electronic music production.

in february 2013 he also released his highly acclaimed fabric mix cd that only features dance floor leaning music produced by himself. with talking waters' he published in late 2014 his first 12inch on mule musiq that is now followed by the full-length album vin ploile' which he produced without the intention to entertain with easy to hook up rhythms, melodies and harmonies.

even tough he established himself as a internationally playing house dj that regularly performs at all major clubs, festivals and other party destinations around the globe: as a musician petre inspirescu always tries to enter new territories to explore with a heartfelt human touch the infinite space of sound.

for his latest album the man that originally comes from the eastern romanian town braila stepped away from his former experiments of melting classical spheres with electronic music. instead the 36-years old man from bucharest only used some piano, string and wind instrument elements and analogue electronics to arrange a gracefully deep ocean of sound.

all slow grooving tracks spread the atmosphere of live improvised sessions that are edited, tweaked and mixed to perfection. in-the-moment moods of strange and unusual analogue synth sounds groove in a fluid quality with subliminal bass shapes, latinate percussions, jazz rhythms and acoustic melodies.

together they create a gaseous kinetic atmosphere full of tangible rhythm patterns, delicate chords and ghostly modular synth pads - all mixed subtle to create space for the tones between the tones.

you can call it a hypnotic after hour album for after hours that are dedicated to a deep listening experience. you can tag his arrangements as brilliantly textured and musically super-charged ambient, which goes beyond the usual definition of the genre.

all nine suspenseful compositions seduce with a deep melodic sensibility, harmonic adventures and an overall rhythmic ambiance of freshness and laidback enthusiasm. together they represent a challenging auditory experience that will resonate in your mind long after the music has finished. 

Continuum Recordings’ debut is signed by Rambal Cochet: Dimensions Drift. Over recent years, the prolific Krasnodar-based producer has steadily built a reputation within the global underground scene through releases on labels such as Junction Forest and space lab, where EPs like Seeds of Unconsciousness and Galatians Syndrome showcased his ability to merge hypnotic techno frameworks with trance-driven atmospheres and progressive momentum. His productions are defined by fluid arrangements, immersive textures, and a strong sense of narrative movement, earning consistent support and recognition as an undisputed, emerging force. Limited to 300 copies, the inaugural release on Continuum Recordings, CR-001 sets a clear foundation for the label’s vision: bridging timeless club, trance-infused aesthetics with forward-looking electronic exploration.

Artwork by @leandrofaina

The fledgling Supremus is back to roll out a second edition of the London-based Frenchman Giom's classics series with three more carefully chosen cuts that underline his club clout. His own remix of 'As Darkness Falls' returns with warming chords and bright keys over a rolling groove and Apple Rochez vocal that oozes r&b appeal. 'Summerized' resurfaces after years out of reach with a more tight, tense groove and diffuse synth work that washes over the mix. Closing track 'Play On' leans into warm days and outdoor dancing with a nu-disco vibe that's effortlessly lush and absorbing, so it will likely be big all over again this year, especially after a fine remaster for 2026.

Super Rhythm Trax are proud to present this reissue of one of the most loved, most underground and most sought after Breakbeat Hardcore records from 1991. Raw rugged and authentic, no silly chipmunk vocals or twee piano here, oh no!

Carefully remastered from the original dat tapes, both original versions of Underkut “Both Ends” are now available at a reasonable price after 35 years!!

Since its original release in 1991 it quickly gathered legendary status with it’s super slamming breaks and ‘that’ huge Bassline, it doesn’t get any better than this.

On the DAT tape, we also chanced upon an unreleased, unheard version, and We include this unheard vocal mix as an ‘of it’s time’ artefact for the collectors, as it really accentuates the record’s obvious HipHop leanings and there are parallels to be drawn with the whole Britcore movement of the time, where crews like Hijack, Gunshot, Cash Crew, Demon Boyz and London Posse were flourishing.

Intriguing Siberian B-Boy roots informed Anton LTF's first solo album last year and its mix of funk, hip-hop and early turntablism influences really worked. He's back now with a tidy two-tracker on Soul Service Sabrosura that leans into Latin funk. It's raw, direct and charged up tackle for once again getting under the skin of b-boys and girls thanks to the killer breaks. 'Garra' is lit up with shuffling percussive keys and rhythms and big brass horns, while 'Aroma Sunset' is more pared back and loose. There's a celebratory vibe that's smoother and more languorous, with sunny flutes leading the way and irresistible Latin charm in the ways the keys dance.

Fides Records is ready to introduce the 4th chapter of the10-year anniversary series with. X4 leans into momentum and contrast with its hard-groove pressure, dub-chord depth, and melodic release that showcases a side of the label where functional club tools and emotional storytelling sit naturally together.

Side A begins with Rebecca Delle Piane’s “Genomica”, a driving techno train powered by tightly layered elements and rhythmic tenacity, marking another step forward for one of Italy’s most exciting rising artists. Rorschack follows with “Primeriti”, weaving dubby chords and rolling basslines around a haunting female vocal. Closing the side, Berlin-based SLV lands with “Ritual Resonance”, a hard-groove banger that fuses percussive urgency with dub-chord sophistication.

Flipping to Side B, OFF GRID’s “The Roots” stands out as a colorful, mental hardgroove tool: elegant in detail yet built for drive, striking a heady balance between control and impact. Francesco Devincenti’s “Joanaz” brings trance tinged melodic techno with harmonic depth and cinematic intensity, opening the door to a more emotive register. The record closes with Endrew’s “Alright”, a powerhous

Following her debut album, I’ll Look for You in Others (Past Inside the Present), earlier this year, Patricia Wolf joins Spain’s Balmat label with See-Through, her second album. See Through finds the Portland, Oregon musician and field recordist continuing to develop her signature style of ambient, balancing radiant soundscaping with a carefully expressive sensibility. But the new album is also marked by an important difference. Where I’ll Look for You in Others was largely written in response to the death of a loved one, See-Through represents a kind of rebirth.

“After a long period of grief, I had been hoping to find my way to a place of lightness, peace, playfulness, curiosity, and sensuality again,” Wolf says. “What I was surprised and pleased to find is that for the most part, I had.”

She wrote and recorded many of the album’s songs quickly, in preparation for an August 2021 broadcast on the online radio platform 9128 Live. Excited for the opportunity to play live after more than a year of the pandemic, Wolf decided to write all new material for the event, working with a lean setup of Octatrack, Roland Synth Plus 10, Make Noise 0-Coast, and Novation Summit. (In fact, Wolf was the first sound designer invited to create patches for the Summit.) She also picked up an acoustic guitar that her brother had loaned her. “I decided to take the surrealist approach of ‘pure psychic automatism’ to see what poured out of me,” she recalls. “Woodland Encounter,” “Under a Glass Bell,” “The Grotto,” “The Mechanical Age,” “The Flaneur,” and “Psychic Sweeping” are all products of those sessions; the through line holding them together is their exploratory spirit and clarity
of vision.

Other songs, like “A Conversation With My Innocence,” “Recalibration,” and “Psychic Sweeping,” wrestle with the traumas of the preceding year. Though they may linger on the heaviness of loss, Wolf says, “What I discovered is that a stronger archetype had grown inside me to steer my emotions and thoughts to a better place.” Likewise, “Wistfulness” and “Upward Swimming Fish”—her first experiments with VST synthesizers—balance the bittersweet embrace of melancholy with the freedom to choose happiness.

“Pacific Coast Highway,” the album’s lone song with drums, might at first seem like an outlier. But it also signals Wolf’s interest in finding a fusion between the introspection of ambient and the togetherness of beat-oriented music. “Experiencing loss and isolation is what drove me into gentler territories of sound,” she says, “but I want to start making more beat-oriented music. After an extended period of loss and isolation, I’m ready to experience more joyous and social things.”

Listeners with keen ears might recognize the album’s closing song, “Springtime in Croatia”: A different mix of the song originally appeared on the 2021 digital compilation secondnature & friends Vol. II, from the Seattle label secondnature. This marks its first appearance on vinyl, however, and its spiritual home is undoubtedly here, at the close of See-Through. As the bookending answer to the opening “Woodland Encounter”—another song in which field recordings play a crucial role—it closes the circle of an album that is itself keyed to the steadily turning cycles of life.

Stepping up for Punctuality number 8 is the dynamic duo of Ciel and Matthis Ruffing. Needing little introduction, both artists are prolific producers and collaborators across tempos and genres. Toronto-based Ciel has released music on labels like NAFF, Peach Discs, and !K7, while Berliner Matthis Ruffing’s work can be found on International Chrome, Infinite Drift, and Strictly Strictly, to name just a few.

Bonding over a shared love for the techno stylings of Claude Young and early 2000s tech/prog house from labels like Future Groove and Slide, the duo’s collaboration began with a spontaneous jam in Ruffing’s Berlin studio during the summer of 2022. With an organic studio chemistry, the pair continued to jam over the following years. Hot Squid is the result of these studio experiments: five tracks of sleek, muscular, contemporary tech house that fluidly distill the creative visions of both artists—slick, shimmering grooves, heavily weighted for the dancefloor.

The title track, Hot Squid, weaves dubbed-out waves of FX and low-end sonics around metallic, staccato drum bursts, sci-fi pads, stuttered vocals, and syncopated snares that flit and flicker around a rolling bassline reminiscent of golden-era UK tech house from the late ’90s. Roza Terenzi’s remix flips the original into a modern, low-stepping tek roller—a mind-bending re-fix that puts more focus on the snaking vocal groove and a sparser percussion arrangement, filled out with lustrous textures and razor-precise sound design.

On Little Voice, glossy synths and spiraling atmospherics cascade around a mesmeric vocal line, while tightly wound, minimal drum loops give way to a swaggering bassline that barely relents throughout the track. The result is a satisfyingly boshy, groove-driven roller, fit for the dancefloor at any time of day.
Late Summer maintains the EP’s high-grade production standard in the form of a dreamy, electro-leaning tech house number, resplendent with deep, pummeling kick drums, woozy low-end, and organic sonics. Its plucked melody and introspective pads nod to halcyon-era IDM and the Detroit techno that inspired the duo in creating Hot Squid.

The release culminates in Bong Bong—a meditative dancefloor tool suffused with ASMR-like nature documentary samples that lend the track a psychedelic intimacy. Careening percussion lines and swooning chord stabs anchor the rhythm, while the title’s “Bong Bong” mantra hums beneath the surface, carried along by barely perceptible sub fills and ultra-processed percussion. A cohesive, unique, and enduring take on seminal tech house and Detroit techno from Ciel and Matthis Ruffing.

FLO are leading the modern revival of the British girl group — and doing so at a scale not seen in over two decades. With over half a billion global streams, the trio have delivered the highest-selling tour by a British girl group in more than 20 years, becoming the first since the Spice Girls to reach that milestone. They are also the first British girl group to receive a Grammy nomination in two decades, alongside three MOBO nominations in 2026, cementing their status as both a commercial and cultural force. Rather than simply revisiting the past, FLO are reshaping the possibilities for what a contemporary girl group can be.

Comprised of Renée Downer, Stella Quaresma and Jorja Douglas, FLO’s story is one of intention, craft and deep-rooted connection. The trio had long been aware of one another through theatre school circles, social media and shared creative worlds before coming together as a group in 2019. That early familiarity quickly grew into a sisterhood, shaped behind the scenes through years of studio work, vocal development and trust. Raised by strong single mothers and immersed in performance from a young age, each member brings resilience, emotional intelligence and discipline into the group — qualities that underpin both their sound and their dynamic.

Individually, FLO’s balance comes from contrast. Renée is the group’s compass: composed, business-minded and creatively precise, grounding the trio with clarity and vision. Stella is the spark and the glue — sociable, emotionally intuitive and collaborative — shaped by a childhood between England and Mozambique where music was communal, expressive and felt. Jorja is the fire: outspoken, instinctive and vocally commanding, with a natural ear for harmony and arrangement. Their roles shift and evolve, but together they form a unit built on mutual respect, honesty and shared authorship.

That chemistry is central to FLO’s music. Drawing from classic R&B and soul while pushing it forward through modern production, their sound centres vocal harmony, emotional nuance and storytelling that reflects the realities of young womanhood. FLO reject the idea that strength requires emotional distance; instead, they explore power through vulnerability, confidence and control. From independence and self-worth to intimacy and desire, their writing is direct and unapologetically theirs. As Jorja puts it, FLO are “the brains, the heart and the soul” behind everything they do.

The success of their debut album marked a defining moment — not only for FLO, but for British pop more broadly. It confirmed the appetite for harmony-led, female-fronted groups operating with creative agency, and propelled FLO onto global stages, from sold-out headline tours to major festivals and international television. Along the way they have earned respect from R&B legends and peers alike, performing during Grammy Week for icons including Mariah Carey, Brandy and Chaka Khan, and showcasing their vocal chemistry on NPR’s Tiny Desk — a moment that further underlined the trio’s technical precision and emotional depth.

With their next chapter, Therapy At The Club, FLO expand this emotional honesty into a fully realised creative universe. The concept reimagines the club not just as a place of nightlife, but as a site of release, confession and self-possession — encompassing the moments before, during and after the night out. From mirror affirmations and pre-game chaos, to late-night Uber conversations, dance-floor catharsis and the clarity of the morning after, Therapy At The Club captures how women process desire, heartbreak, confidence and healing in real time, together. It is both fantasy and reality: cinematic, fashion-led and emotionally raw, grounded in sisterhood as a form of survival.

Sonically, the new music leans into dark, euphoric R&B and pop with sharper edges, built on vocal mastery and diaristic storytelling. Lead single “Leak It” sets the tone for the era — playful, charged and unapologetically self-aware — exploring what happens when desire spills over, secrets surface and control is reclaimed. Across the new songs, FLO move fluidly between intimacy and euphoria, turning the club into a space where vulnerability is power and feeling everything is the point.

As a trio built on discipline, joy and deep creative trust, FLO represent a new model for the British girl group: one rooted in authorship, harmony and cultural impact. Balancing softness with strength and ambition with authenticity, they are shaping the future of R&B and pop on their own terms. FLO are not looking backwards — they are setting the standard for what comes next.