First Floor #237, Part 2 – Nothing But Tunes
First Floor #237, Part 2 – Nothing But Tunes
a.k.a. Track recommendations from the absolute deluge of new releases that dropped during the past two weeks.
Hello again. Sorry to clog up your inboxes with two separate mailouts today, but as I said in Part 1, fitting everything into a single newsletter would have been impossible.
This one is for all of the new music fiends out there.
Part of my weekly First Floor routine involves looking over a list of all the releases that have come out since the last edition of the newsletter. In fairness, it’s technically not all of the releases; it’s just the ones that I think might potentially be interesting, or are at least worth checking out. But even during a “slow” week, the list usually includes at least 50 or 60 releases, which is frankly an insane amount of music for any one person to try and process during a single week. And that’s during a slow week! Most of the time, the total number of new releases is closer to 100.
This time around, my list had something like 230 releases on it.
Granted, I had two full weeks of material to go through, but 230 releases is A LOT. I don’t think my First Floor pile has ever been that large, so rest assured that anything I’ve highlighted in today’s newsletter is something I think is very, very good.
My recommendations are below, but first, you’ll find this week’s guest recommendation, which comes from fast-rising Amsterdam talent Jasmín. She’s was smart enough to mention just one song—and it’s a good one—so make sure check that out, and then, once you’ve prepared yourself, you can dive in to all of my selections.
Let’s do this.
JASMÍN HAS BETTER TASTE THAN I DO
First Floor is effectively a one-person operation, but every edition of the Thursday digest cedes a small portion of the spotlight to an artist, writer or other figure from the music world, inviting them to recommend a piece of music. Today’s recommendation comes from Jasmín, a Dutch-Argentinian DJ (and occasional music journalist!) who’s become a key figure in the Amsterdam scene. An alumnus of much-missed venue De School, where she spent several years working behind the scenes, Jasmín is now routinely plying her DJ trade all around Europe and beyond, exploring the vast possibilities of the bass music spectrum while also bringing elements of house, techno, acid and rave into the mix. She’s a budding producer too, and has already released tracks on compilations from labels like 3024, Dekmantel, Woozy and Patterns of Perception. As you might expect, all of this activity keeps Jasmín rather busy, but she’s carved out a few moments here to share one of her recent favorites.
E-Saggila “N3n” (Northern Electronics)
This track by E-Saggila feels like a unique and refreshing take on dub techno, a genre I absolutely love. The glitchy and crisp drums create a beautiful contrast with the warm chords and emotive melody. The full album, Gamma Tag, has been my favourite release of 2024 (so far). It feels timeless yet innovative because of her brilliant sound design combined with recognisable elements taken from different types of dance music, including dub techno, gabber and dubstep.
NEW THIS WEEK
The following is a selection of my favorite tunes from releases that came out during the past two weeks or so. Click the track titles to hear each song individually, or you can also just head over to this convenient Buy Music Club list if you prefer to listen to them all in one place.
Merca Bae “Cruces (feat. WOST) (Jubilee Remix)” (Club Romantico)
JIALING & Farsight “WHISTLE TIP (FARSIGHT FLIP)” (Clasico)
These two tracks dropped on the same day, and they provide similar levels of joyously rambunctious, bass-fueled energy. “Cruces”—a collaboration with Bogotá-based Venezuelan WOST—appears on Merca Bae’s new Amuleto EP, and while the original track is a potent stormer with a little bit of a UK funky gallop, it’s ultimately outclassed by Jubilee’s hard-edged rework. The bubbly South Florida native rarely sounds this menacing, but in her hands, “Cruces” is transformed into a slice of industrial-grade electro, its drums slapping hard enough to knock a few fillings loose. Similarly tough is “WHISTLE TIP,” the title track of JIALING & Farsight’s boisterous new EP. In a nod to JIALING’s hometown, the song is heavily indebted to Baltimore club, but on this “FARSIGHT FLIP,” the San Francisco-based producer folds in influences from across the pond, fortifying its underlying bounce and shouty vocal clips with some heavy-duty bass tones that swoop through the air like an untethered wrecking ball.
Harmony “NY Soul” (Deep Jungle)
Radicall “Chosen” (Future Retro London)
Want to find some high-quality new jungle, but aren’t sure where to look? Try listening to Tim Reaper. The London-based DJ, producer and label head may be the toast of the town right now—his recent album with Kloke on Hyperdub certainly has something to do with that—but as he explained in a recent First Floor interview, he’s also spent at least half of his life actively obsessing over jungle of all shapes and sizes. That interview also included a major shout out to Harmony. A former Moving Shadow affiliate who got his start in the early ’90s, he’s returned to producing in recent years, and “NY Soul” is the melodic A-side of the latest 12” on his Deep Jungle label. Don’t let the word “melodic” fool you though; the tune does employ some dreamy chords, but its thrumming bassline and vibrant percussion will give any speaker stack a proper workout. Even more thumping is “Chosen,” a highlight of Polish junglist’s new FR047 EP. Freshly released on Tim Reaper’s Future Retro London imprint, the song’s sci-fi bent does recall the tech-step era, but Radicall wisely never slides into full-blown bombast, preferring instead to maintain a bit of organic elasticity in his vigorous drum attack.
Pearson Sound “Slingshot” (Hessle Audio)
Although Pearson Sound has been showered with all sorts of praise over the course of his career, few records from the Hessle Audio co-founder have ever been described as “fun.” That’s not a critique, but it does make his new Which Way Is Up EP sound particularly refreshing. Much of the attention to date has (not undeservedly) been focused on the buzzing breakbeats of lead track “Hornet,” but “Slingshot” is just as special, its wonky, not-quite-techno groove pulling heavily from the canon of early grime and dubstep. In that sense, this tune can probably be logged in the long lineage of FWD>> worship, but it’s not some rote nostalgia exercise. “Slingshot,” along with the rest of Which Way Is Up, sounds remarkably free, and coming from Pearson Sound, who’s long been more of a detailed-oriented technician than a free-flowing creative type, that’s something of surprise. (An undoubtedly pleasant one, but a surprise all the same.) Is this what happens once a producer gets their 10,000 hours in, or has Pearson Sound simply unlocked some sort of new artistic pathway for himself? Whatever is going on, let’s hope it continues.
Ila Brugal “Through the Glass” (3024)
In most cases, the idea of listening to tunes created in the context of an artist mentoring program wouldn’t be especially appealing. But 3024 boss Martyn isn’t the average mentor, and even after more than four years of running his mentorship program, he continues to attract wave after wave of impressive talent. Undercurrents Vol. 1 is the latest showcase of that talent—and yes, a second volume is due to arrive later this month—and “Through the Glass” is one of its standout tunes. Crafted by London-based Italian and Rinse FM regular Ila Brugal, it’s a bubbly bass cut with some shuffle in its step, but it also employs some hazy, almost kaleidoscopic melodies. Can a banger be dreamy? Brugal sure seems to think so.
COIDO “Sandero” (Twenty Twenty)
HEDO HYDR8 & Muskila “C Slug” (XXIII)
Speaking of bangers, both “Sandero” and “C Slug” reside on the rowdier end of the bass spectrum. The former, which leads off COIDO’s new Bad Snack EP, bears traces of dancehall and amapiano—there’s maybe a bit of Brazilian funk in there too—but its brash, bull-in-a-china-shop mentality also takes direct cues from the electro-tinged romps of the bloghouse era. Imagine Crookers making something for TraTraTrax—an unruly, horn- and laser-filled tune like “Sandero” just might be the end result. “C Slug,” on the other hand, takes a more seductive approach, with Copenhagen duo HEDO HYDR8 & Muskila scattering sultry vocal fragments atop the song’s muscular basslines and persistently pounding drum patterns. Taken from their new C EP, the track never gets fully unhinged—a remix of the track from Piezo, which is also included on the record, does comes close—but it doesn’t need to; “C Slug” is most effective when it’s sitting just below the boiling point.
Jeigo “Fig” (air miles)
During its five years of existence, well-curated UK outpost air miles has never been terribly prolific, but is has been rather quiet lately. Before the Fig EP dropped earlier this week, the label had gone more than two full years since its last release. (As it happens, that release was also from Jeigo, who’s now responsible for more than half of the air miles catalog. Clearly they like his work.) With its woodblock garage rhythm, the record’s title track owes a clear debt to Burial, but “Fig” isn’t geared toward late-night introspection. There might be a bit of big-room sad in its DNA, but Jeigo also adds a hearty portion of euphoria to the mix, riding his wubby bassline to the center of the dancefloor as the song’s dreamily pitch-shifted vocal doles out bliss to everyone in earshot.
SPD “Willman” (Sneaker Social Club)
UK funky has been on my mind in recent months, and in the midst of revisiting the genre’s glory days and tracking its latest permutations, the name SPD has popped up again and again. (The fact that he’s done multiple releases for Roska Kicks & Snares likely has something to do with that.) Yet the London-based producer is by no means a funky traditionalist; “Willman,” a highlight of his new Genbu EP, is a stripped-down tune that recalls the subtly sinister, drum-led minimalism of “Sicko Cell”-era Joy Orbison. Relying on little more than some percolating percussion and a wobbly bassline that never fully bares its teeth, the track still makes an impact, its relative restraint making the elements that are present sound all the more imposing.
LWS “Steady On” (can you feel the sun)
Taken from the new Palloon EP, “Steady On” is a deliciously slippery bit of off-kilter techno, and with its squealing synth bursts, it sometimes sounds like a descendent of Basement Jaxx’s iconic “Fly Life.” Don’t let the relative calm of its opening moments fool you; Edinburgh-based producer LWS has a mischievous streak, and over the course of six-plus minutes, he gradually ratchets up the chaos, repeatedly switching up the drums as the song’s assorted zooms, zaps and melodies grow more and more intense. What results is something of a juggling act, but what’s perhaps most impressive about “Steady On” is the way that LWS maintains its groove, even during the song’s most exuberant moments.
Dax J “Femme Fatale” (Monnom Black)
When I first saw that Dax J had titled his new album War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength, my first thought was, “Oh no, is this guy an anti-vaxxer or something?” (It says a lot about the current state of the world—and the state of political discourse in particular—that referencing George Orwell’s 1984, once thought to be one of the definitive anti-authoritarian texts, has bizarrely become one of the far right’s major calling cards.) As far as I can tell, the UK techno veteran hasn’t gone down that route, and the new LP doesn’t appear to be some sort of covert Q-Anon manifesto either, which is great, because its musical contents are quite stellar. Though Dax J is often at his best when he’s going full throttle—fans of barreling techno should definitely check tracks like “Royal Flush” and “Liberation Techniques”—album standout “Femme Fatale” takes a more nuanced approach, its cosmic ripples and rousing swells unexpectedly pulling the song towards prog territory. It’s an unexpected treat, and one that makes clear that Dax J has more than one trick up his sleeve.
JR2k “Ice FX” (Fixed Rhythms)
Continuing his run as one of North America’s most confoundingly slept-on producers, Jackson Ryland has dropped another collection of heaters, returning to his techno-oriented JR2k alias on The Hot Zone EP. (For what it’s worth, the Washington DC producer isn’t just flying the flag for himself; last week he officially launched Floorspeed, a new label he says is devoted to “funky techno & hardgroove from the best contemporary producers in North America,” with an excellent split EP from 1morning and 2Lanes.) Any one of the groove-driven tracks on The Hot Zone could capably liven up a dancefloor, but the swaying, almost ramshackle rhythm of “Ice FX”—a song that occasionally conjures visions of an overloaded washing machine—is especially charming. Did I mention the song is also bathed in a sparkly, almost psychedelic haze? Long story short, it’s real good, like almost everything else Ryland has done during the past few years. Spread the word.
Priori “Sub Lux (Sansibar Remix)” (Kalahari Oyster Cult)
When Priori released his This but More album earlier this year, he likely surprised some people by focusing so little of the LP on the needs of the dancefloor. Creatively, that wasn’t a bad decision—the record’s dubby expanses and genre-blurring compositions were first-rate—but anyone who was left scratching their head will be delighted by Lexica, a new EP on which the Montreal producer has rededicated himself to the club. The title track is an infectiously bouncy bit of prog, and bops its way into what sounds like some sort of celestial wormhole. But it’s Sansibar’s rework of “Sub Lux” that triggers memories of old Sasha records, marrying digital crunch and trippy bliss in a way that’s perfect for a night of dancing beneath the full moon and melting into your subconscious.
Liquid Liquid “Optimo - Instrumental Mix by Optimo (Espacio)” (DFA)
I’m not really a merch guy, or even a hat guy, but I have to admit that even I was tempted by the Liquid Liquid caps that DFA rolled out in conjunction with the new Bellhead / Optimo (Remix) 12”. In fairness, neither song on the record is technically new, but the remix of “Optimo,” which was done back in 2008 by Optimo (Espacio), has never before been released. (And yes, the Scottish duo who did the remix did name themselves after the original Liquid Liquid track, and while that makes explaining the particulars of this remix rather complicated, it also solidifies the reworked song as a proper full-circle moment.) As a general rule, Liquid Liquid is one of those groups that should never be remixed—the NYC avant-garde / funk / punk / post-everything outfit’s innovation and subsequent influence simply cannot be overstated, especially when it comes to all things DFA. But Optimo (Espacio) treat the source material with the reverence it requires, stretching “Optimo” into an intoxicating, and irrepressibly funky, melange of clanging percussion, chunky basslines and blaring horns. If you can’t get down to this, you might not be human.
OP-ART “11 Stars” (Cititrax)
The world is littered with synth-pop obsessives who (musically speaking) wish the ’80s never ended, and hopefully they’ll all hear about The Final Act, the debut album from Los Angeles duo OP-ART. Directly inspired by artists like John Foxx, Experimental Products and early Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, the LP—which was created using a litany of vintage gear—is more than just a retread, as it beautifully captures not just the era’s warmly synthetic sound palette, but also its arresting sense of camp and melodrama. On album highlight “11 Stars,” that effort gets an assist from legendary ’80s French outfit Martin Dupont, who notably enhance the song’s bouncy underbelly and theatrical flair with their own sense of spooky majesty.
Matt Karmil “SFP” (Studio Barnhus)
Another artist who deserves to be filed in the “Why isn’t this person more famous?” category, Matt Karmil spent much of the 2010s quietly releasing one brilliant record after another. His new album No Going Back, however, follows a period of extended quiet, during which the British producer devoted more time to his day job as a mixing and mastering engineer for some of electronic music’s most beloved talents. The hiatus doesn’t seem to have radically altered his sound, as the new LP, much like the bulk of his catalog, gracefully glides between genres. It’s a relaxed effort, albeit a confident one, and as Karmil moves through ambient, dub, house, techno, hip-hop and more, he does perhaps seem a bit lighter on his feet. That’s especially true on “SFP,” an elegant microhouse cut that feels like a nod to both the early days of Kompakt and the years that Karmil himself previously spent living in Cologne.
Klara Lewis “Thankful” (Editions Mego)
More than three years have passed since the unexpected death of Editions Mego founder Peter Rehberg (a.k.a. Pita), but the loss continues to weigh on the wider electronic and experimental music realm, particularly among those who were lucky enough to work with him. Swedish composer Klara Lewis is one such person, and she’s channeled her grief into Thankful, a record she describes as a “heartfelt tribute” to her friend and mentor. The LP’s sprawling title track gets even more specific, taking inspiration from the similarly expansive “Track 3” from Rehberg’s 1999 album Get Out. Clocking in at more than 20 minutes, Lewis’ piece is patient, to say the least, but the swaths of melancholy strings that populate its opening third are gradually subsumed by swelling waves of noise and distortion. What blossoms is a beautiful racket, and one that expresses a powerful sense of catharsis as it steers towards oblivion.
Jay Glass Dubs “Swint” (Sundial)
Jay Glass Dubs makes dub. It’s right in the name. Yet his records never feel like an attempt to recreate the magic of King Tubby, Lee Perry or any other Jamaican great. For him, their legacy is a starting point, and the Greek artist has now spent a full decade pulling, pushing and stretching dub into bold new forms. “Swint” is the epic closer of his new Resurgence LP, and it offers up a cinematic wall of sound, borrowing as heavily from the Creation Records catalog as it does from anything from the Caribbean. (It’s tempting to call it shoegaze, but considering how much that term has been abused as of late, I’m opting for other descriptors instead.) There’s an endlessness to “Swint,” but it’s somehow comforting; once Jay Glass Dubs’ fuzzy undulations begin to envelop you, the last thing you’ll be thinking about is how to escape.
doris dana “ennio’s sonata” (Somewhere Press)
Though she was born in Colombia and is now based in Miami, doris dana defies the musical norms of both locales, crafting a textured strain of nuanced ambient that evokes visions of haunted forests and windswept landscapes. Listening to her new reveries album, even the word ambient feels like something of a misnomer; dana’s music may often be quiet, but it rarely feels placid. Humble standout “ennio’s sonata” consists of field recordings, oozy drones, half-whispered vocal incantations and sparse, reverb-soaked guitar notes—and it’s stunning. (It’s unclear whether the “ennio” in the title is meant to be a reference Ennio Morricone, but the legendary Italian composer’s work rarely felt this intimate.) revieries is constantly crinkling and crackling, and as beautiful as it is, it’s also slightly unnerving, prompting thoughts of what unseen critters might be scuttling somewhere nearby. In that sense, it’s a lot like nature itself.
mu tate “some days felt like home” (Warm Winters Ltd.)
Another ambient-not-ambient gem, wanting less is the latest full-length from London-based Latvian mu tate, whose gaseous creations have previously appeared on labels like Experiences Ltd., Utter and 3XL. His new album is similarly vaporous, its dubby tones and jazzy ruminations all swimming—or, more accurately, floating—in a warm bath of static and reverb. “some days felt like home” is one of several highlights, and it opens with what sounds like the inviting crackle of a campfire. That’s the thing about wanting less; as alien as mu tate’s compositions can sometimes sound, the record never feels alienating, even as it retreats into smudgy abstraction and dimly lit nether regions. mu tate seems to thrive in these murky corners, and songs like “some days felt like home” make them feel downright alluring.
AshTreJinkins “TriedTo” (Self-released)
Jack-of-all-trades AshTreJinkins rarely goes too long without releasing new music, but the LA native appears to be in the midst of a particularly prolific period, having released both Project: Space Haunt Vol. 2 and Vapor Codes during the past two weeks. The latter, on which “TriedTo” can be found, is essentially a space-age beat tape, and it harkens back to Jinkins’ Low End Theory days, his IDM-infused rhythms indebted to Blade Runner and Los Angeles-era Flying Lotus alike. “TriedTo” is one of the more shimmering selections, but it also bears traces of SoCal rap swagger, its baritone “rhymes” (i.e. heavily processed vocal samples) standing tall amidst the song’s neon haze and sci-fi strut.
CS + Kreme “Dome Mosaic” (Trilogy Tapes)
How is it that after nearly a decade of releasing one critically adored record after another, CS + Kreme continue to be so confounding? It’s not that the Melbourne duo make difficult music, but the music they make is incredibly difficult to describe. Pop, jazz, ambient, psychedelia, electronica … all of these genre tags have been applied at one point or another, and they’re all appropriate, but without the help of some sort of intricate flow chart, attempting to spell out the exact CS + Kreme formula is essentially a fool’s errand. That, of course, doesn’t make their work any less compelling, and The Butterfly Drinks the Tears of the Tortoise—the pair’s third full-length—offers another mind-expanding trip down the rabbit hole. LP highlight “Dome Mosaic” at first seems like a pretty routine slice of rubbery Balearic pop, and then what sounds like—no joke—Gregorian monks enter the fray. Adding to the delightful weirdness of it all, the monks’ voices have been cut up and reversed, and in a way that somehow doesn’t spoil the track’s simple groove. I’m not sure what’s more impressive, the song itself or CS + Kreme’s capacity for breaking the brains of whoever chooses to put on one of their records.
That brings us to the end of today’s First Floor digest. Thank you so much for reading the newsletter, and, as always, I do hope that you enjoyed the tunes. (Don’t forget, you can find them all on this handy Buy Music Club list, and if you like them, please buy them.)
Until next time,
Shawn
Shawn Reynaldo is a freelance writer, editor, presenter and project manager. Find him on LinkedIn and Twitter, or you can just drop him an email to get in touch about projects, collaborations or potential work opportunities.