I know that music is a completely subjective experience. And so this title means something to me but may be ridiculously inaccurate to someone else. I am willing to bear that possibility. I care about you and appreciate your ongoing readership of this blog. And if some of your taste in music collides with my own, then even better. Here’s a selection of house music, dub techno, post-punk, jazz, ambient, avante garde experimental electronic music released over the past week and found via TIDAL.
Jim Coles’s fifth instalment of his best-selling ‘Acid Dub Studies’ series arrives in the form of the third set of original works exploring the infectious sound of the 303 bass-line in a dubwise setting. The album takes in traditional dub mixing approaches in a digital and roots/digi-dub style whilst also making space for more electronic and ambient processes to close the project.
‘Acid Dub Studies III’ arrives after 2 years of touring the material in a live setting at festivals and clubs including CTM at Berghain, Les Nuits Sonores, and Andrew Weatherall’s Convenanza festival and is the culmination of some 5 years of experimenting with a style that has been met with critical acclaim, reaching far and wide into many a DJ’s box having been noted by some as a truly ground-breaking approach to working with the 303. Via Bandcamp
German-born Dj and producer, Sascha Funke likes to play unreleased sounds in DJ sets, which lately go beyond the average definition of techno and house and also present disco, wave, electro, cosmic, Krautrock and early electronic dance music.
Sascha Funke is creating a long overdue monument to an almost forgotten cultural artefact of the GDR: the ‘Germina Speeder’ was the only skateboard made in East Germany before reunification and was launched in 1986. It was produced by VEB Schokoladen-Verarbeitungsmaschinen (a state-owned chocolate processing machine factory) in Wernigerode and was therefore affectionately known as the ‘chocolate board’. However, it was hardly suitable for actual skateboarding due to technical inadequacies. It is not known whether Sascha himself owned such a board, but the tracks on the ‘Germina Speeder’ EP definitely roll better than the original. The opener ‘Blaupunkt’ breathes the euphoric spirit of the legendary Berlin club ‘E-Werk’, while the title track would have been more at home at the ‘Dubmission’ parties in the Turbine. Sascha leaves the 90s behind with radiant positivism; ‘Bo Knows’ sounds more like a 2000s open air at Café Schönbrunn. The EP closes with ‘Mastermind’, a high-octane psy-proghouse banger that, like all four tracks, quotes the past but still has both feet on today’s dance floors. Or rather, is dancing. 4:1 for love!
Tel Aviv’s most jaw-dropping drummer can dive into funk, prog-jazz, psych-folk, alt-soul or rock ‘n’ roll, but one thing is always clear: this man plays drums like you’ve never heard before. He’s toured with some of the region’s premier jazz musicians, including iconic bassist Avishai Cohen. Today, Amir’s the most in-demand drummer in the Middle East—no one makes your body move quite like him. less
‘Tide and Time,’ Amir Bresler’s new album, was created spontaneously. Together with Nitai Hershkovits and Rejoicer, they carved the compositions to produce a unique album. ‘I felt like making something special in a classic trio format,’ Amir says. ‘Then Nitai brought textures and colors that he likes.’ The album pays tribute to the minimalism of Ahmad Jamal and Galt MacDermot’s instrumentals. Via Bandcamp
Marie Davidson has always gone against the grain. The French-Canadian producer’s first four albums established her as a transgressive force in dance music with a series of prolific albums featuring diverse sounds from Detroit techno to Italo disco.
Four years and a pandemic later, Davidson’s sixth studio album, City of Clowns, marks a return to the club – but not as you know it. The techno thump and scathing spoken-word delivery of Working Class Woman resurface at points, but the pop structures and melodic sensibilities of Renegade Breakdown also remain. It’s a “strange” sonic blend even by Davidson’s own standards. “It’s definitely linking back to what I was doing pre-pandemic, but with a bit of an evolution,” she says. “I didn’t want to just repeat myself.” The sound and the spirit of the album are shaped, too, by the fact that Davidson has a new antagonist. This time it’s not club culture that’s coming for her sense of self, it’s Big Tech. Via Resident Advisor.
Glimmering and shimmering like a forest in dappled sunlight – an album of pure beauty and happiness. If I had a permanent place I would get this on vinyl.
From his bandcamp:
“Ultimately Entrance Music serves as an invitation to early hours, where songs linger in the doorway, announcing their presence before returning to the air, in a meticulous drift into the next.
“From the rippling notes of the pastoral opener, “October,” Entrance Music is lush with anticipation, both band and listener feeling the tension in the tranquility — where the interplay of jazz improvisation and boom bap beats never shortchanges the musicianship but the talent is ever in service of the song.
“While the band does not play together as often as they would like, not much time is needed for the three to lock in. Montgomery’s bass opening to “Passing Through” bends and moves with a singular meditative grace before piano and percussion joins the daylight filling a room with breath and light. If Magnolia resonated with last calls and late nights, Entrance Music counters with early mornings and first cups of coffee.
“Whereas much of the debut resonates with his time in New York, Entrance Music “feels a little less ‘on the streets at 2 A.M.’ and a little more nature-based…a little more ethereal,” says Okonski. “It’s definitely age, environment, and family — all of that does come through in the music.” Via Bandcamp
“Regional tiddlywinks champion, stationary cupboard loiterer and all-round beige sky thinker, Clive from Accounts likes two things; pens and music. But mainly pens.
“Using springs, tape and old synths with fonts he admires, Clive creates the musical equivalent of warm photocopies. If it’s going to be that kind of party, Clive’s putting his Filofax in the mashed potato.
“Fresh off a trip to the watercooler, London’s Clive From Accounts is circling back with his most expansive offering to date, the full length LP “The Very Best Of Clive From Accounts.” Action items include lead-off single “Save Me” with its driving organ stabs, soulful vocals, exuberant steel pans and just a touch of acid, as well as second single “Heavier” which lives up to its name as a dark and weighty club number that boasts some heavy toasting from Riko Dann. But you’ll also want to go ahead and put a pin in “Konsumu Suru” for a more melancholic tone with Japanese vocals by Maya Kuroki & violin by Jessica Roch, the mideastern tinged “It Began,” and classic drum & bass vibes of “Spectrum” amongst others!
“We’ve run the numbers and offered this record in an expanded 10 track digital version and 7 track vinyl 12” sampler, that includes a special intra-office easter egg! A true win-win, this varied EP really fleshes out the depth and breadth of Clive’s wheelhouse, and is a deep dive into modern UK club sounds.” Via Bandcamp
Editor comment: Love the Sports Direct mug on the desk here, I used to have one of these on my desk at work when in the UK. For some reason everyone has them in the UK and has them at work, I guess because they are big and accomodate a lot of coffee. I’m not sure why I even had it…I think it was in the sharehouse I was living in at the time as a “chattel” and I just took it to work. I’ve never purchased from Sports Direct, it disappeared one day I guess someone else took it, I mourned it like a close friend. The work-themed house and UK garage music on this album really hit the spot for me.
This EP of UK garage bangers reminds me of a dizzyingly amazing time I had as a teen in the early 00’s in clubs. For some reason that really hectic garage sound has come back and I am loving it so much! Via Bandcamp
The Chills are an epic post-punk band from late 70’s Dunedin in Aotearoa New Zealand led by the late and legendary Martin Phillips with a loyal and passionate following of largely musicians from all over the world. They are one of the greats of New Zealand music and delivered a huge body of work. This is a really amazing album and a lasting tribute to Martin Phillips who sadly died last year. The Chills have a way of sounding just as fresh and relevant now as they ever were and their music has a sonic timelessness and richness that I hope you enjoy. Via Bandcamp
A clarion call for troubled times signaled by its title, Buyer Beware finds Brooklyn post-punk band The Men tackling questions both personal and political, imploring themselves and listeners to take a long hard look in the mirror and at their surroundings. “The world’s on fire, what did you expect?” asks “Tombstone,” before fatalistically announcing in the chorus, “I don’t care / Don’t care for time / Time’s as far / As a man can draw a line.” And the titular “Buyer Beware” is an autobiographical song describing the devil’s bargain of the artist’s journey, the urge to create and the never-ending chase of inspiration. “The muse got a lot to say / I like it that way / And if we should ever meet / My life would be complete / It’s her I serve / As I hang on my last nerve / You got to roll / You got to writhe / To miss the swing / Of the scythe” via Bandcamp
“Australian Producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Santpoort is a master of lush textures, field recordings, and found sounds. For his newest EP, dinosaur valley, the Sydney-based creative has gathered an entire universe. A world-building project both archaic and dystopian. Equipped with a pouch of snacks, a cassette player, and some good headphones, santpoort embarks on a timeless journey full of rainforests and densely packed earthscapes. If his last album (2024’s maybe not tomorrow) was surrounded by an overgrowth of vines wrapping around desolate lands, then dinosaur valley brings the return of extinct beasts, roaming peacefully in their new claimed terrain.
“In his own words, this EP is full of “fantastical worlds where humans coexist with dinosaurs.” Via Bandcamp.
“Since her debut in 2010, Japanese multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ichiko Aoba has released seven studio albums, including the widely acclaimed Windswept Adan (2020). That same year, she founded the independent label hermine. In 2023 she received the prestigious ANCHOR Award at the Reeperbahn Festival. Her eighth album, Luminescent Creatures was released on February 28th, 2025. I had never heard of Ichiko Aoba before hearing this and I am now fully infatuated with her style of experimental ambient jazz.” Via Bandcamp.
“Old Joy stands as a cohesive whole here, blooming and rewarding repeat listens. Destined to become a classic. Sliding reverbed guitars, muted piano and percussion, the hum of an old amp – the blurry memory of an afternoon in the studio, or a short-lived road trip through the backwoods of Oregon.” Via Bandcamp
“This album reflects Dale’s unmistakable style—rich in melodic and emotional narrative—while showcasing his sophisticated compositional approach. The trio creates dynamic landscapes, shifting seamlessly between delicate, impressionistic textures and moments of energetic intensity. As always, Dale’s music draws from his deep connection to the Nordic tradition, while exploring new and evocative sonic territories. His ability to craft music that feels both ethereal and grounded ensures that When the Shadows Dance resonates with listeners, inviting them into a contemplative, poetic space.” via Eyolf Dale’s website.
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