First Floor #249 – Looking for Bright Spots
The first-ever interview with Voice Actor, plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh batch of new track recommendations.
2025 hasn’t exactly gotten off to a great start, has it? David Lynch died, LA is still on fire, Elon Musk is doing Nazi salutes and every dispatch from the Trump administration feels like something straight out of WrestleMania, only the cruelty is both intentional and very real.
But at least Americans still have TikTok, right?
Following this stuff is enough to sap anyone’s spirit, and with the electronic music sphere still mired in its usual post-holiday slumber, that realm isn’t currently providing a whole lot to get excited about either—unless you’re a big fan of summer festivals unveiling the lineups, that is.
One bright spot, however, has been Lust (1), the new album from Voice Actor and Squu that unexpectedly appeared last week. I already sung the LP’s praises here in the newsletter, but my enthusiasm for the record also led me to seek out an interview with Voice Actor, despite the fact that she’d never actually done one before. It was a longshot—and my initial inquiry was in fact greeted with a polite “no”—but after a little pushing on my part, she kindly agreed to have a chat with me.
Sometimes, all you have to do is ask.
Our wide-ranging conversation was published here in the newsletter earlier this week, and the paywall is now temporarily down for anyone who’d like to give it a read. You’ll find a link to the interview below, and if you read on, you’ll also find the rest of this week’s First Floor digest. I know I said that electronic music is currently in something of a sleepy period, but there’s still more than enough going on to fill up today’s newsletter, which includes a full slate of news items, new release announcements and suggested reading links. There are a bunch of track recommendations too, all of them from releases that dropped during the last week, and to top things off, I’ve enlisted Thailand-based selector Sunju Hargun to deliver a special guest recommendation.
Let’s get into it.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Every Tuesday, First Floor publishes a long-form piece that’s initially made available to paid subscribers only. But if you’re not part of the paid tier, now’s your chance to see what you missed! The latest piece is now (temporarily) open to everyone, and it’s the first-ever interview with Voice Actor, a UK-based ambient / experimental artist whose dreamlike songcraft has earned all sorts of accolades during the past few years. (Her unorthodox approach, which included a 110-track, four-hour-long debut album, also fueled some of the fervor.) Here she speaks about the origins of Voice Actor and traces the project’s evolution, clearing up some—but not all—of the mystery that’s surrounded the music.
REAL QUICK
A round-up of the most interesting electronic music news from the past week, plus links to interviews, articles and other things I think are worth sharing.
Just hours after I sent out last week’s First Floor digest, the family of David Lynch announced that the famed director, musician and artist had passed away. Although further details were not shared, Lynch last year revealed that he had been diagnosed with emphysema, and later spoke about the breathing difficulties he was experiencing as a result. The news of his death was greeted with a massive outpouring of grief from seemingly all corners of creative culture, along with widespread reverence for his work and unique artistic vision.
In a new Black Sky Thinking essay for The Quietus, journalist Eamonn Forde dives into the topic of payola, specifically highlighting an troubling new variant in which some social media influencers—who are already routinely being paid to feature certain pieces of music in their content—are now looking to start collecting master points (i.e. a permanent percentage of royalties) on the music they’re promoting.
Although Félicia Atkinson’s 2024 album Space As an Instrument was politely greeted with numerous positive reviews, it feels like the record flew somewhat under the radar, which is why I was happy to see a career-spanning profile of the French ambient / experimental artist appear on Bandcamp Daily this week. Written by Michal Wieczorek, the piece traces the evolution of Atkinson’s career and places a spotlight on six key releases from her catalog.
In the latest edition of the RA Pro newsletter, Nyshka Chandran takes a closer look at the 2024 European Festival Report. Put together by IQ Magazine and a European festival association called YOUROPE, it surveys the current financial realities of the European festival market, highlighting both concerning trends (e.g. shifting audience preferences, the rising cost of marketing / promotion) and potential reasons for optimism.
OBLIGATORY BOOK MENTION
My first book is out now. It’s called First Floor Vol. 1: Reflections on Electronic Music Culture, and you can order it from my publisher Velocity Press. However, if you’re outside of the UK, I recommend that you either inquire at your favorite local bookshop or try one of the online sales links that have been compiled here.
JUST ANNOUNCED
A round-up of noteworthy new and upcoming releases announced during the past week.
It’s hard to believe that the wildfires that ravaged large swaths of Los Angeles have yet to be fully contained, but even as the flames are still burning, several benefit compilations have surfaced to help fire victims. Two of those compilations directly relate to the music and artists covered here in First Floor, the first being Staying: Leaving Records Aid to Artists Impacted by the Los Angeles Wildfires, a 98-track release that includes contributions from Andre 3000, KMRU, Sam Wilkes, Julia Holter, Laraaji, Nite Jewel, marine eyes, Total Blue, Arushi Jain, label founder Matthewdavid and so many others, including several musicians who actually lost their homes. Half of the proceeds will be donated directly to artists affected by the fires, while the other half will go to displaced Black families and community members.
Also noteworthy is For LA Vol. 1, a release assembled by Hollie Kenniff and Keith Kenniff (a.k.a. Goldmund). Featuring songs from The Album Leaf, Patricia Wolf, Baths, Benoit Pioulard, more eaze and many others, the 34-track collection is available now on Bandcamp, though it will be soon expanded to a three-volume release through the Nettwerk. Proceeds from the compilation are going toward We Are Moving the Needle and Give Directly, two “frontline organizations dedicated to relief and recovery for affected families.”Tim Hecker has a new release on the way. Entitled Shards, it consists of material that the Canadian producer originally composed for various film and television scoring projects during the past half decade. (To be clear, none of the music was previously released in physical or streaming formats.) kranky will be issuing the record on February 21, but two tracks have already been made available here.
Tempa. is one of UK bass music’s most storied labels, but prior to last week, it hadn’t dropped a new release since 2016. The London outpost elected to kick off a new chapter of its history with Data, an EP from prolific Kenyan producer Slikback. Billed as a “left-leaning odyssey through angular bass and electronic / experimental sonics,” the record is available now.
Less than six months removed from last year’s Brödföda LP, Swedish artist Civilistjävel! has completed another album of “melancholic murk” for Fergus Jones’ FELT label. Följd is due to arrive on February 14, but the song “XIX”—a collaboration with Thomas Bush—has already been shared.
UK duo and Faux Poly label founders Kassian have been First Floor favorites for several years now, and they’ll soon be releasing their debut album, Channels. Described as an effort that “momentarily steps away from some of their more club-focused excursions,” the LP apparently focuses on “sample-based and house-inspired sonics” while also incorporating field recordings and live instrumentation. One track, “Metro,” is available now, and the !K7 label will be issuing the complete album on March 21.
Los Angeles mainstay Bianca Oblivion has put the finishing touches on her latest EP. It’s called NET WORK, and features collaborations with the likes of Machinedrum, Lunice & Lamsi, Sam Binga and King Doudou. LuckyMe will be releasing the record on February 21, but two songs have already been shared here.
Building on the momentum of last year’s acclaimed Meaning’s Edge EP, Djrum has released a new single, “A Tune for Us,” which features cellist Zosia Jagodzinska. It’s out now via Houndstooth.
Launched in 2023, quiet details quickly became one of the busiest labels in ambient music, and its track record looks even more impressive now that label founder Alex Gold (a.k.a. fields we found) has revealed that he was diagnosed with lymphoma last year. After undergoing “an intensive course of chemo and immunotherapy,” he’s thankfully now in remission, and the UK artist has kicked off 2025 by supplementing quiet details’ offerings with a new monthly series of fields we found releases. Devoted to “long-form pieces for close listening,” the series debuted this week with resolve / relate 01, which is available now.
SUNJU HARGUN 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 Sunju Hargun, a Thailand-based DJ and producer who’s become one of Asia’s most trusted dance music exports. A regular behind the decks across the Asian continent, Hargun—who will soon be unveiling the details of a new solo album—has increasingly brought those skills to some of Europe’s most vaunted clubs and festivals in recent years. (He and I actually first crossed paths on a panel at Dekmantel last year.) Yet even as his own reputation has grown, Hargun has always made a point to spotlight other Asian talents, most directly as the co-founder of the Siamese Twins label, but also by simply shouting out some of his favorite artists. That’s what he does here, highlighting one of the key figures of the Hong Kong scene.
Mr Ho “Emo Springs (Sunsiaré Reshape)” (JIN)
This record on Taipei-based label Jin has been out for a while, but I’ve chosen it because it somehow got lost under the radar during the pandemic years. Sunsiaré, a digger and music lover who’s also a co-founder of 宀 club in Hong Kong, has been a strong contributor to promoting and showcasing underground culture in the city for quite a few years now. Every blue moon, he gets his hands dirty with production, and this jungle and bass reinterpretation for Mr. Ho feels both rowdy and nostalgic, with sounds and emotions that span from the past to the present day. It has a dystopian feel that can brain-lock and turn someone upside down in the late hours of the night.
NEW THIS WEEK
The following is a selection of my favorite tunes from releases that came out during the past week 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.
Barker “Stjerenenatt” (Smalltown Supersound)
Actress “Solstråler” (Smalltown Supersound)
A collaboration between the Smalltown Supersound label and Oslo’s Munch Museum, the new Jordsvingninger compilation contains 18 tracks, all of them inspired by the “atmospheric landscapes, organic processes and cosmic visions” of famed Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. (For anyone who’s not up on their art history, Munch was the guy who made The Scream, which is arguably one of the most iconic paintings of all time.) Yet regardless of how one feels about expressionism, Jordsvingninger features a veritable Murderers’ Row of electronic music talent, with contributions from Lindstrøm, Bendik Giske, rRoxymore, perila, Carmen Villain, Kara-Lis Coverdale, Kelly Lee Owens and a slew of other top-shelf artists.
Standing out in that kind of crowd isn’t easy, but Barker’s introspective “Stjerenenatt” is positively sublime, its wafting textures elegantly drifting across a spacious—and borderline orchestral—expanse. Actress’ “Solstråler” might be even better, extending the UK artist’s recent hot streak with its mournful piano loops and percolating techno beat. Reminiscent of his Splazsh and R.I.P, this track alone makes Jordsvingninger worth the price of admission, but it’s ultimately just one gem on a release that’s full of them.
U.e. “Drawing of Me” (28912)
Building on the candlelit vibes and jazz-inflected avant-pop that populated last year’s collaborative Jazz Plates album with perila, Hometown Girl is the latest solo full-length from Ulla. Operating under a new name and kicking off a new label, the Berlin-based artist has delivered a rather subdued affair, though the weight of her wandering woodwinds and plunked piano notes has been significantly bolstered by a heavy dose of room noise. At times it sounds as though Ulla set a handheld tape recorder on the other side of her bedroom, clicked record and then proceeded to play. That may offend certain fidelity obsessives, but the lo-fi aesthetic only enhances the sense of melancholy and vulnerability that permeates Hometown Girl, particularly on the songs where her voice features prominently. “Drawing of Me” is one such number, and aside from being the closest thing to a traditional pop song on the album, it’s a slow-burning, heartstring-tugging lament that somehow recalls both the emo requiems of Bright Eyes and the bare-bones solo work of HTRK’s Jonnine Standish.
Multicast Dynamics “Moon Rises” (A Walking Contradiction)
Samuel van Dijk is probably best known for the precision-crafted electro he makes under the name VC-118A, but the Dutch producer’s Multicast Dynamics alias has long been a reliable outlet for immersive soundscapes and vivid sound design. The title of the project’s latest album, Soundtrack for Something That Does Not Exist, is somewhat self-explanatory, and van Dijk’s cinema-ready skills are especially sharp on “Moon Rises,” where his pastel textures and free-floating static gradually swell and intensify, forming a kind of churning maelstrom. Considering that outer space is both tremendously dangerous and arrestingly beautiful, this track pretty much nails the spirit of the place.
Zane Trow “Arcade” (Room40)
Though it was first released in 2004, Zane Trow’s For Those Who Hear Actual Voices LP hasn’t aged a day, which is perhaps why the Room40 label recently dropped a special 20th-anniversary edition of the record. A gorgeous collection of shimmering drones and weightless textures, the album smoothly drifts and undulates, its relatively spartan compositions filled out by Trow’s penchant for luxuriously long reverb tails. This is music to get lost in, and “Arcade”—the second track on the LP—sets an almost devotional tone, its impossibly plush melodies radiating with a light that can credibly be described as celestial.
Lorenzo Dada & Leo Benassi “Dream On” (mulemusiq)
Italian producer Lorenzo Dada has been active for more than a decade, but on the new Island EP, he teams up with his “lil’ brother” Leo Benassi to make something that the latter describes as “completely off the dancefloor radar.” Those words aren’t exactly accurate, as the record is very much in the realm of house music, but it does take a measured approach to the genre, gravitating towards low-key grooves and the same sort of gleaming melodies that powered Italian dream house during the early 1990s. Those in search of bangers should likely head elsewhere, but Island does have a subtly jaunty character, most notably on the cheerily whistling EP closer “Dream On.” Part Larry Heard and part Palmbomen II, it’s somewhere between a Christmas song and an otherworldly sci-fi theme, and impressively makes that combination feel downright cozy.
Buckley “Bass, Mids, Tops” (SPE:C)
A profound love of bassweight and low-end dynamics is at the core of the SPE:C label’s curatorial approach, and while that holds true on Buckley’s new Bass, Mids, Tops EP, the record might also be the most gregarious thing the Berlin-based imprint has ever released. The nods to dubstep are expected—and the record’s lively title track has more than enough wobble to rattle a bassbin or two—but the UK producer also pulls liberally from garage and grime, serving up swinging rhythms, smacking drums and a bevy of bleeps and bloops that could have been lifted from a 1980s arcade game. There’s nothing wrong with making tunes for the heads-down crew, but Buckley’s work here is a welcome reminder that it would do that crowd some good to crack a smile every now and again.
Al Wootton “Facing the Horses Tail” (TRULE)
Shackleton is still alive and well—and making plenty of wonderfully weird music—but if ever decides to hang it up, Al Wootton is already poised to follow in his footsteps. Of course, the two already collaborated on last year’s Holy Tongue Meets Shackleton album, but Wootton’s solo endeavors have been steadily pushing into bass music’s outer orbit for years now. Surveying the catalog of his TRULE label, there have been numerous excursions into dub, and while bassweight and soundsystem pressure still play a major role on his new Calvinist Hospitality EP, the record’s defining characteristic is its percussion, which on the standout “Facing the Horses Tail” unfurls in a kind of psychedelic chug. Deliciously freaky, the track revels in its thuds and clangs, whipping up a woozy atmosphere that’s sure to lure in weirdos and bass fiends alike.
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 Instagram—and make sure to follow First Floor on Instagram as well—or you can just drop Shawn an email to get in touch about projects, collaborations or potential work opportunities.