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Superb deep half-stepping Drum & Bass versions

For its 30th anniversary, Kruder & Dorfmeister’s DJ-Kicks is available for the first time in mixed form on 3LP, remastered by Bernie Grundman and packaged in a special box set including original imagery. Kruder & Dorfmeister's rendition of the series created an era defining moment, which tied together a glowing array of musical registers. The Viennese downtempo royalty blended a fusion of slowed down moments across many genres with rolling Drum and Bass from the likes of Aquasky, the melting acid lines of deep Hardfloor and the 90s boom bap sampling, smoked out atmospherics of Thievery Corporation amongst many more.

These masters of mood channeled the sound of a moment with their DJ-Kicks, which still retains a certified cinematic sheen, the patina of the real – curation and mixing at its most playful and refined. It remains to this day one of the most recognizable DJ-Kicks and mixes of all time. Containing two certified cuts from K&D themselves; the wooze is strong on “High Noon” with Dorfmeister's intoxicating jazz flute licks and a trembling harmonica atop a mirage of breaks. Their DJ-Kicks original and legendary tune “Black Baby” closes the mix providing a piece of grandeur, riding off into the distance deep to the vanishing point.

When the mix dropped in 1996, the slo-beat pioneers were among the hottest producers in the dance universe. Even though they only produced two unreleased maxis, names like Count Basie, Bomb The Bass, Alex Reece or United Future Organization had some of their tracks remixed by these exceptional producers. Rumour has it during the work for DJ-Kicks and their debut album they refused doing remixes for U2, Grace Jones, Elvis Costello and the Fantastic Four! ‘DJ-Kicks: Kruder & Dorfmeister’ took its place in the pantheon a long while back, effortless in its ability to traverse sounds, styles and tempos while retaining a selection which remains timelessly recognisable as: Kruder & Dorfmeister.

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.

Near the end of fifth grade, Eli Edwards’ mom gave him $20 and told him to go find a friend. His team had won its soccer game that day, so they were out celebrating at a local pizza parlor with games. But, more importantly, there had been one other Black kid that day on the pitch in Spanaway, WA, a Tacoma suburb and military-base town at the rainy northwest corner of the United States. That kid just happened to be Xayvien Young. An instant deep connection was formed between Edwards and Young—Eli and Xay, as they prefer to be called were inseparable— and now twelve years later they are the electrifying, boundary-skipping duo Casi.

Along the way, Eli had relocated to Los Angeles with the indie rock band Enumclaw he had helped found, but he found himself flying home maybe a little too much. He was ostensibly visiting his girlfriend, but he spent most of his time with Xay. They cut tracks in every bit of free time they found until they had an epiphany: Maybe this music they’d made together for a dozen years was actually something special. Casi’s 10-track, self-titled debut out on Carpark Records is the electrifying proof they needed.

On the record, they enthusiastically explore every musical interest they have ever had—explosive hip-hop and unbridled hardcore, high-gloss nü metal and a little bit of emo—as a pair. These songs don’t ignore genre lines; they delight in destroying them, in finding ways to slam hip-hop and hardcore, emo and nü metal together until it seems illogical that they were ever apart. Take “Jumper,” where heavy metal guitars and face-kicking drums stir the moshpit for rabid verses about crushing ICE and the lessons you learn riding the poverty line. And take closer “Bridges,” where the melodic imprint of Deftones meets the relentless confessions of Death Grips. Here are the hard, funny, and loud stories of two 23-year-olds, screaming about the world over a breathless composite of all the music they’ve ever loved.

When Eli was in Los Angeles, Xay missed his friend. But in his absence, he also felt the spark of inspiration. Music was something that had just been their childhood hobby, but now Eli was in a rock band that had press accolades and tours. He got serious about the craft. Eli would write about the dislocation and isolation he felt in California, while Xay would document the hardships of being a young Black man with a complicated family while working menial jobs in Spanaway.

This isn’t a coming-of-age album for Casi; it is, instead, a raw and riveting snapshot of that process, painful as it can be. “Eleven87” is a breakup song, a soul beat springing beneath arching emo vocals. And “Intrusive Thoughts” treats that topic like a punching bag, Eli and Xav fighting against the mental habits that keep them down. These 10 songs instantly close that gap.

Vincenzo De Bull follows up his initial 4 Kicks EP with a truly fitting set of 4 smooth grooves on Kicks 4 Life EP.

Kicking off the A Side is the energetic bass workout of The Jaunt. Driving mix of filtered loops and persistent bass carry this along with accented punctuation courtesy of trippy oscillating vocals, pianos before it’s all brought home post-break with a lovely pad driving more tension to add to the effortless progression. B2, Make It Smooth will contain some recognizable elements for most of the selectors out there, before the cut develops into a new context which will immediately remove your previous associations and make way for a fun, new groove – we don’t have to tell you, but Vincenzo does a superb job of ‘Making it smooth.’

Flip to the B Side for smooth R&B style house vibes courtesy of Move Your Body, an ethereal workout grounded by a solid low and a tugging looped groove, interspersed with enough energy via vocals to keep the floor engaged and moving, but at a lower energy level. Perfect to move into later nights. Tatsuro Lovers rounds out the EP with a midtempo chugger perfect for starting the evening, groovy pool parties or just sitting at home, enveloped in the heady, swirling vibes underpinned by crisp drums and deep low end.

M-Plant's Perpetual Masters series continues throughout 2026 with Robert Hood's "Spectra" EP up next. Remastered once again by legendary German producer, Thomas Heckmann, the individual tracks have been dropping digitally through April and are now followed by a full vinyl release in June.

Robert Hood's "Spectra" EP, originally released in 2001, stands as a defining example of his stripped-back, conceptual approach to techno. It sees Robert Hood operating at his most stripped-down and hypnotic, built from tightly looped drum patterns and shadowy synth fragments that slowly evolve. Hood's precision is evident in every detail, as he balances repetition with crisp percussion and a tightly controlled groove.

More deep, immersive and hard-hitting minimal techno from the master.

Soul Jazz Records celebrate 25 years of working in partnership with Studio One with brand new editions of FIVE of their best-selling CLASSIC Studio One collections all released on limited-edition one-off pressing coloured double vinyl. Also available in new limited-edition card wallet CD editions. The new edition featured albums are Studio One Funk, Studio One Dub, Studio One Ska, Studio One Roots and Studio One Classics.

A blistering collection of non-stop Ska classic tunes featuring classic cuts from the originators of Ska alongside a heavy dose of superb rarities from the might vaults of 13 Brentford Road - pure fire! This compilation features classic tracks from The Skatalites, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Delroy Wilson alongside super-rare tracks from the likes of Ken Boothe, The Maytals, Jackie Mittoo, Tommy McCook and many more. Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s musical empire was founded on Ska, the first explosive and most exciting music to come out of newly independent Jamaica. This album is a celebration of the music of Studio One Records’ seminal Ska releases and features a who’s who of some of the most important artists in the history of reggae music.

Always lurking amidst the underground Porto music scene is Spitbender, the most stable moniker of the ever-morphing Francisco Antão. Spin gathers a collection of tracks that demonstrate his experimentalism & coy sonic precision. Spitbender takes cues from Jungle & Hip Hop producers to create his own unique blend of Downtempo. What becomes clear throughout the album is the attention to detail: it is infused as much by Industrial's red-line spectra as it is by the dubplate logic of the Darkside Continuum, yet it does so at its own tripped out speed.

Spin begins with the laid-back but constantly shifting 'Global Overgroove'. Its breakbeat science moves in & out of DSP glitch-work & dub reflections. When its slinky bassline melody arrives, a certain dread sets in.

'Weyward Fold' drops into a driving, hard-edged chug, threaded with snippets of Malcolm X's disobedient pedagogy. The momentum carries into 'Headnod Doctor', where the bass distortion thickens & the cymbal circuit is overloaded, landing somewhere between Hip‑Hop grit & metal weight.

Side A ends with the downtempo roller 'Dogs and Moles (Skylurk Mix)'. The familiar break drifts into new territory, pulled along & wrapped in a slap-back echo. A quirky melody cuts through the haze, giving the track a fresh tilt. The mulch of the track forms a steady, unhurried pulse.

Spitbender's spacious atmospherics & groove-focused approach comes further into focus on 'Nothing Here But the Recordings'. Creating his own chapter in the book of Trip Hop, his minimalist touch is laid out in full.

'Force the Hand Ov Chance' pulls Boom Bap gently into dub mechanics, letting space do the heavy lifting. Its simplicity hides a deep pocket.

Returning to broken-up distortion, 'Mirrors of Flesh (Dub Mix)' finds Spitbender using the mixer as an instrument to push & pull the heavy drums of Benjamin Brejon of Méchanosphere alongside the voice of Rui intoning the title phrase.

Sitting between the album's two poles, 'Out Take Dub' fuses the clipped‑obsession timbres of Spin's heavier moments with its blissed out flow. Feedback & distortion are welcomed & drawn long.

In the end, Spin hits like a fully formed statement—lean, focused, & unmistakably Spitbender. Every track pushes its own angle, but together they land with a clarity that feels earned. It's a sharp marker in his trajectory, & it leaves a charge in the air.

One of the true, undisputed pioneers of Dutch techno, Steve Rachmad appears on Dekmantel for an EP of peerless machine music. On the 3-6-9 EP, the artist also known as Sterac, Parallel 9 and many other names plies a powerful trade in funked up, gritty and soulful techno made the proper way.

The connection between Rachmad and Dekmantel reaches back many years via his frequent appearances at the Dekmantel Festival — he has two performances at the 2026 edition as well as sets at Dekmantel Selectors lined up later in the summer. The 3-6-9 EP lands ahead of an album and world tour that marks 45 years in service to electronic music, nodding to Rachmad's earliest roots in electro funk through to his day-one embrace of house and techno as it made its way across the Atlantic from Chicago and Detroit.

There's a rowdy, rave-spirited energy to the synth hook bucking its way through the centre of '3 Creation Energy', coming on in brassy tones laced with artful distortion while the drums dutifully jack the way they ought to. There's a more linear, pressure cooker quality to the tidal filter work guiding '6 Physical Manifestation' to its own energetic peaks, while '9 Completion and Delivery' surfs on coursing waves of arpeggiated lead lines before breaking through to the oceanic calm of grandiose pad tones.

There's no mystery to unpick here — this is quite simply techno perfection made with the instinct and experience of a master of the form, whose life is synonymous with every inch of the culture.

Berlin-based label Ascension on Wax continues its deep, jazz-inflected trajectory with the forthcoming release A Quiet Storm EP from DFRA, arriving June on 12" vinyl and digital formats (Cat No: AOW005). Available to buy and pre-order from May 15, the EP showcases DFRA's refined blend of soul, jazz, and classic house sensibilities, enriched further by a remix from Detroit's Jon Dixon.
Hailing from Colombia and now based in Buenos Aires, DFRA (Diego Ruiz) brings a deeply musical approach shaped by formal studies in composition and a lifelong immersion in hip-hop, gospel, soul, and disco. His productions balance two complementary sides, lush, jazz-rooted musicality and the raw, driving energy of Detroit and Chicago house. This duality is fully realised across A Quiet Storm EP, marking another step in his evolving sonic identity.
The title track, "Quiet Storm," opens the record with a deep, rolling groove elevated by exquisite saxophone work, setting an introspective yet dancefloor-ready tone. "Strings" follows with a dreamy atmosphere, rich piano textures, and a warm jazz undercurrent that highlights DFRA's compositional finesse. On "Charlene," soulful vocals intertwine with chord progressions reminiscent of early Motor City Drum Ensemble, delivering a nostalgic yet forward-looking house cut.
Completing the package, Jon Dixon reimagines "Charlene" through a distinctly Detroit lens. Stripping the track back and rebuilding it with deeper textures and signature keys, Dixon channels the spirit of Underground Resistance while pushing into more meditative territory, bridging jazz improvisation with machine-driven rhythm.
Founded in Berlin, Ascension on Wax continues to honour the legacy of jazz within house music, pairing contemporary producers with a strong visual identity and limited vinyl releases. With A Quiet Storm EP, the label reinforces its commitment to soulful, authentic club music rooted in the traditions of the 90s US scene while looking firmly ahead.

The Austrian imprint Fortunea Records took a little break to fill up their batteries and comes back now this summer with a release by the Bavarian duo Decent Rides. They are around for a couple of years and are also the masterminds behind the label Interloot Records.

On the ‚Like We Do‘ EP they are your guides for a versatile house infiltrated tour. The title-track is an energetic floorfiller with modulated synth sequences and heart stomping drum patterns. Definitely the killer app on this wax.

The second track on the A-side features the tune ‚Mind Maze‘. A funky bouncing bassline, reverberant almost siren sounding tones, staccato vocal samples and high accentuated hats make you blister your feet from your high intensively dance moves.

On track B2, the duo adds further "Colours" to the record. This melancholic deep house tune exudes a beautiful, somber, and yet captivating atmosphere that is impossible to resist. This track could be very effective when played during sunrise or sundown.

And finally, they round off this release with cosmic dub sounds and shimmering chords. "Lembo" invigorates the senses. Every beat on this tech house track is an invitation to let go and feels you the pulse of the underground scene.

Go check this out!

Limited to 200 records. There will be no repress!
Mastering by Patrick Pulsinger.

Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley was still establishing his unique identity on his early Blue Note sides including the 1957 sextet album Hank Mobley (BLP 1568) featuring saxophonist Curtis Porter, trumpeter Bill Hardman, pianist Sonny Clark, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Taylor. The set swings mightily while showcasing Mobley’s lyrical flow throughout.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is mono, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl.

Nobody knew. Not the crowd packed into Circolo Kessel that Sunday evening, not even the six musicians on stage. When Giardini di Mirò played on March 19, 2023, it was supposed to be just another homecoming show in Cavriago, the kind of night where you play for the people who’ve known you longest. Some were missing from the audience, though: “Our closest friends stayed home to watch the football match tonight,” Jukka quipped from the stage. “But that’s fine, we’ll deal with them tomorrow.” In hindsight, even Juventus fans who celebrated their 1–0 victory over Inter made the wrong choice.

Seventy minutes in, all the instruments converged into a one-chord riff, driven by the drums and punctuated by screaming guitars. A repetitive rhythm that paired brutal volume with hypnotic precision. Even those at the back of the room felt it: that trance-like state where sound becomes physical. Then the wall of sound collapsed. Guitar feedback lingered in the air for a few seconds before fading into nothing.

This was the last sound Giardini di Mirò made. They haven’t played since, and there are no plans to do so again. But in that moment, nobody knew.

The closing song that night was also the opener of their debut full-length, recorded more than two decades earlier. Its title, A New Start, carries an unintended irony the band would likely appreciate. It is also oddly fitting that their final show took place in the same building where they began. Circolo Kessel, previously known as Calamita, served as the band’s rehearsal space for many years. Yet since their rise to becoming one of Europe’s defining post-rock acts, they had never performed a concert there.

In a fortunate coincidence, Markus Mathis – a longtime fan who had recorded several of their shows before – also captured this final concert using two room microphones and a feed from the mixing desk.

Quasi Casa is the complete, unfiltered document of that night: an “official bootleg” spanning over 70 minutes of purely instrumental music, drawing on material from across their entire career, from the earliest releases to Del Tutto Illusorio. It captures, with striking clarity, the intensity that defined the band’s live performances.

Rather than simply uploading the recording and calling it a day, the band chose to assemble a physical release as a parting gift to their fans. The double LP includes a 16-page booklet with extensive liner notes and visual material.

Planar Traits adds to the Spectral Bounce catalog with SPEC08: Distance EP. Since 2021 the Stockholm-based artist’s creations have combined evocative soundscapes with dancefloor functionality. Here he steps up with four hydrographic cuts spanning the groove-led, the mysterious and the cerebral.

Beginning the expedition with the type of psychedelic and lithe tech-house for which Spectral Bounce is known, the A-side is glistening with aquatic shimmer. “Variations in Hue” and “Distance” are club cuts embellished with mystical melodies and sonar pulses, both propelled by chunky drums and driving sub frequencies.

The B-side goes deeper, revealing a more contemplative zone in which soft echoes of Detroit (“Bloom”) are spliced with 1990s Artificial Intelligence sensibilities (“Never-ending Light”). A perfect soundtrack for living room transcendence, as much as pelagic immersion.

SPEC08 — Dive in!

Credits:
Words by Cameron Leaf
Art by Susanne Janssen
Mastering & Cut by Analogcut

Strut Records presents a brand new reissue of the 1975 Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express original album Reinforcements. A gem from the later years of the Oblivion Express band, Reinforcements sees Auger evolve from his early ‘70s jazz-rock fusions towards smoother jazz funk sophistication, continuing his journey from the previous year’s Straight Ahead.
With two former Oblivion Express drummers joining Average White Band, there are obvious comparisons to draw as several tracks lean into groove-driven arrangements and polished mid-’70s production.Never one to follow a predictable path, Auger crafts a steadfast, stylish album that captures the evolving sound of the era, offering a rich snapshot of mid-’70s British soul and jazz-funk.

A fan favourite, the album also marks the return of vocalist Alex Ligertwood (later of Santana), whose soulful delivery is a highlight of many Oblivion Express recordings.
He is joined by Jack Mills (guitar), Lennox Langton (percussion), Dave Dowle (drums), and new addition Clive Chaman (bass, flute) – a family affair with their various kids joining for the cover shoot, the full cast adorned in an array of fine mid-‘70s tank tops.

Album highlights include the heavy funk instrumental jam ‘Brain Damage,’ a dynamic, keyboard-driven showcase of Auger’s virtuosity alongside the burning latin jazz workout ‘Something Out of Nothing’ and soaring closer ‘Future Pilot’ taking us from our present day troubles to “thread the skies to a new location.”
‘Big Yin’ is a heartfelt tribute to former drummer Robbie McIntosh following his untimely death. As with all Auger albums, the energy is nothing but positive and soulful – his back cover quote states “May the love you bring to this world be reflected upon you.”
This new Strut reissue of Reinforcements is curated by Greg Boraman of Impressive Collective in collaboration with Brian and Karma Auger. Fully remastered from the original tapes by United Archiving’s Bill Smith, it is presented as a high-quality single LP replica edition.

Strut presents the second studio album from Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express and a firm favourite with Auger aficionados, the “little known masterpiece” A Better Land from 1971. Marking a clear evolution from their more jazz-rock leaning debut, the band shifts into a mellower direction on these tracks, echoing the feel of Befour released in the Trinity's later years. A Better Land embraces warmer, more melodic and understated compositions, primarily written by guitarist Jim Mullen. With its languid and spacious approach, the album brings an grounded message to make the most of the simple pleasures in life with a hopeful, but wary, eye to the future. Musically, Auger brings acoustic guitars, country rock melodies and three-part vocal harmonies into his musical palette. Key tracks include the groove-driven title track ‘A Better Land’, the sparse ‘Dawn of Another Day,’ (sampled by Air and Black Milk among others) while ‘Fill Your Head With Laughter’ returns to Auger's trademark driving Hammond-led sound, akin to early Traffic.

The record features the Brian Auger’s unique sound on organ and electric piano, joined by Jim Mullen on guitar, Barry Dean on bass and Robbie McIntosh on drums and percussion, with Auger, Mullen and Dean all contributing vocals. Mullen co-wrote seven of the album’s nine tracks, with additional contributions from Alan Gorrie (later of Average White Band). These songwriters should take immense pride in their work as Auger’s favourite singer of all time, Sarah Vaughan, recognised the quality of these compositions by covering three of them; ‘Trouble’, ‘On “Thinking It Over’, and ‘Tomorrow City’ for her 1972 album A Time in My Life. This new official Strut reissue is curated by Greg Boraman of Impressive Collective in collaboration with Brian and Karma Auger. Fully remastered by Cosmic Audio, it is presented as a high-quality single LP replica edition.

Mr Bongo presents a reissue of one of the rarest releases on the illustrious and now ultra-rare tax scam label TSG Records. A label with a checkered past, operated by Lloyd Price and with alleged ties to boxing promoter Don King. The album in question, Disco Party by Reality, is a stunning journey through ‘70s dancefloor-focussed funk into early proto-disco grooves. Back in mid-‘70s Manhattan, Dr. Otto Gomez and a group of fellow New York musicians including Tony Dixon, Norman Drayton, Tony Dupree, Al Jones and Fred Nanton were brought in for a recording session by songwriter and producer, Billy Nichols. Laying down one of Nichols' songs and a selection of the group's own, they were paid as session musicians and thought little of it. The tapes came to the attention of Lloyd Price who struck a deal with Nichols unbeknownst to Gomez and the rest of the band. Price then pressed the album and put it out in 1976 on a newly formed subsidiary label, TSG Records, that would later be documented as one of the US tax scam labels of the ‘70s. Such labels were created to exploit a loophole in the US tax system, running up inflated production costs / losses that investors or the parent label could write off against their tax bills. Releases on these labels were never intended to have commercial success. They would usually be produced in incredibly limited pressing numbers and have little to no promotion or distribution. As such many of these records instantly fell into obscurity, becoming mythical amongst DJs and record collectors. Sadly, this meant that artists like Dr. Otto Gomez and friends never had the chance for their record and their talents to shine at the time. In fact, it was only when Jazzman reached out for their 2022 reissue that Dr. Otto Gomez became aware that the album had ever been released and heard the story behind it. Disco Party is a time capsule where ‘70s instrumental funk edges and intertwines into an early disco sound. The sessions are for the dancefloor, minimalist and groove-based. The bass and drums are at the forefront, providing the pulse of the album. Driving funky guitar licks, and a brilliant horn section weave their way in and out of the productions. Highlights include the uplifting feel-good ‘Let's Party People’, the early disco swagger of ‘Reality’, and ‘Disco Party (Let's Have A)’ with its wah-wah groove and percussion break, which could easily have found its home on a Blaxploitation film soundtrack of the period. It’s not just rarity that makes this record so sought after, but rather the fact that it is a superb example of dancefloor-focussed mid ‘70s funk and disco.

Vaalbara EP - Franco Rossi Sine Space 7 - Release date: 19 June 2026 - Vinyl

Franco Rossi makes his Sine Space 7 debut with Vaalbara, a five-track vinyl EP (including one vinyl-exclusive cut) that lands the Argentine producer firmly in the label's hypnotic and driving orbit. Following recent releases on Soma Records, MindTrip, and Secession, Rossi arrives with a record that feels both unmistakably his and right at home in the Sine Space 7 catalogue. His productions have already found support from the likes of DVS1, Richie Hawtin, and Setaoc Mass.

Opener Rodinia sets out raw and patient, with two rising builds carried by strange synthetic patterns over a darkening drone. Title track Vaalbara drifts on a modulating high synth line, locked into a hypnotic lower-frequency pattern that pulls the two registers into quiet synergy. Paramo keeps the floating quality but leans darker, with raw drums anchored by finely distorted rides and a backbone of dense texture. A Quemarropa pushes further into ear-candy territory. Distorted rides again, punctuated by one strange, track-cracking sound that refuses to let the listener settle.

The vinyl-exclusive closer Mar Adentro is the weight-bearer, a rolling low-end drive punctuated by a sub-heavy synthetic hit you feel in the chest.

Mastered by Robin Van Genechten at Wanton Mastering. Artwork by Norwegian macro photographer Petter Lilleengen.

Since the early 2010s, photographer and producer Izaak Schlossman has been surreptitiously using the Topdown Dialectic moniker to frame his most enigmatic and most psychedelic productions: faceless pure sound experiments that ogled dub and techno archetypes from somewhere far beyond the veil. This generous 2LP collection surveys over a decade of persistent activity, pulling together recently unearthed gear written between 2013 and 2016 (the same time period as the iconic Peak Oil trilogy) and muddling it with more contemporary material. It's a rare chance to fully comprehend the slow, measured evolution of the project: its genesis as a method to fractalize various bass music frequencies with suggestion rather than over-compression, and its ongoing advancement through sensitively finessed ASMR ambiance towards spangled neo-psychedelia.

So it's no surprise that the lengthy suite of five-minute snapshots was initially devised while Schlossman was preparing for his first ever Topdown Dialectic live appearance in 2025. A hazed early morning, open air performance that's still lodged in the memory banks of anyone who witnessed it, the set provided the narrative anchor for the album, blurring the past and present and reaching tentatively into the future - ideal material for audiences whose brains are fully plasticized. The tracks, while divided, sound as if they're breathing over and into one another; beats and phrases materialize and dissolve just for moments, leaving the mind to fill in the gaps with any available sonic material. What might reflect the bright neon light of acid house at first soon embodies the flicker of a candle over a desk of drum machines in a Midwestern basement, or the first blush of sunlight over a tiny campground as subwoofers creak in the distance.

It's music that asks the listener to be involved in the creation itself, projecting their own shapes on the negative space, their discreet fantasies on haunted stretches of near silence. Schlossman's identity was never the point, Topdown Dialectic was always a scrying stone intended to divine far more personal revelations.

Critical Thot ist das kraftvolle neue Kollaborationsalbum der in der Bay Area ansässigen Rapperin und Produzentin Sha Ray sowie der Produzentin und Elektronikmusikerin DJ Haram - zwei kompromisslose Künstlerinnen, die Rap und experimentellen Sound neu definieren. Es ist eine spannende Kombination: Haram ist die eine Hälfte des Duos 700 Bliss zusammen mit der Rapperin und Poetin Moor Mother und hat zudem mehrere Soloalben veröffentlicht - darunter Beside Myself (Hyperdub, 2025), das von der Kritik gefeiert wurde - sowie hochkarätige Kollaborationen mit BbyMutha, Fever Ray, Ghais Guevara und Armand Hammer.Währenddessen handelt es sich bei Critical Thot zwar um Sha Rays offizielles Debütalbum, doch ihr Ruf als aufstrebendes Talent der nächsten Generation eilte ihr bereits voraus. DJ Haram wurde 2022 auf sie aufmerksam, als sie Sha Ray bei einem Auftritt in Brooklyn sah: ,Wir haben uns vor Ort unterhalten, und danach habe ich ihr auf Social Media gefolgt. Sie hat eine unglaubliche Performance abgeliefert, also war ich sofort dabei, als sie mir später eine Nachricht geschrieben und nach Beats gefragt hat", erklärt Haram.Ein Armand Hammer/DJ Haram-Konzert in Los Angeles wurde schließlich zum entscheidenden Moment, an dem sich diese Verbindungen konkretisierten. Sha Ray reiste aus der Bay Area an, um sich mit Haram zu treffen. Auch wenn an diesem Tag noch keine Aufnahmen entstanden, bildete er den Ausgangspunkt für die spätere Zusammenarbeit über große Distanz hinweg, die in Critical Thot mündete. Das gesamte Album entstand remote: Haram produzierte Beats in Brooklyn und schickte sie an Sha Ray, die ihrerseits Demos und Anmerkungen zurücksandte. Während der Arbeit an diesem Projekt lernten sie sich sowohl künstlerisch als auch persönlich besser kennen.,Haram und ich haben viele ähnliche Erfahrungen als Frauen in der Musikindustrie gemacht, was unsere Verbindung enorm gestärkt hat. Außerdem hat mich ihr markanter Produktionsstil stark beim Schreiben dieses Albums inspiriert", sagt Sha Ray.Diese Texte sind messerscharf und erfrischend direkt. Sha Ray beweist schnell, dass sie in ihrer eigenen Liga spielt und selbst die komplexesten Produktionen von DJ Haram mühelos meistert, ohne an Energie zu verlieren. Haram schöpft aus dem Vollen und bewegt sich mit ihren Beats zwischen experimentell-abrasiven Sounds, geschmeidiger Leichtigkeit und dunkel bedrohlicher Atmosphäre. Perkussive Einschläge und Schüsse werden mit feinen Details und weichen Klangflächen kombiniert. Ein traplastiger Banger löst sich plötzlich in einem Strom aus Streichern auf, während eine minimale industrielle Klanglandschaft sich langsam zu einer wuchtigen, kakophonischen Rap-Attacke steigert. Sha Ray navigiert sich souverän und trotzig durch jede Drumstruktur und jeden Synthesizer.,Als Rapperin interessiere ich mich fast ausschließlich dafür, Misogynie und Sexualität in meiner Arbeit zu hinterfragen. Critical Thot ist eine Auseinandersetzung mit unapologetischer weiblicher Autorität und gleichzeitig eine ehrliche Reflexion darüber, wie komplex es ist, an Selbstobjektifizierung teilzuhaben und Sexualität als soziale Währung zu begreifen", erläutert Sha Ray. ,Auf diesem Album geht es stark darum, Macht in weiblicher Sexualität als etwas Relationales und ständig Wandelndes zu definieren - und damit als grundsätzlich unvollkommen. Aber es ist eine Macht, die ich habe, und ich werde sie nutzen."Critical Thot enthält Beiträge von Nappy Nina, JWords und Archangel.