First Floor #224 – Are You New Here?
a.k.a. Thoughts on the recent influx of "just DJs," plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh crop of new track recommendations.
Earlier this week, a friend texted me, “You’re having a big day!”
Granted, the word “big,” in the context of a newsletter about electronic music, is still basically microscopic in the grand scheme of things, but First Floor did get a couple of big boosts (and a lot of new sign-ups) during the past few days, which I’m very grateful for.
First of all, the Dekmantel festival shared the news that First Floor had been invited to host the first two days of its annual conference. If you didn’t see that, all the details are below, and I have to admit—I’m excited! Although I’ve taken part in all sorts of conferences, festivals and panels over the years, this is the first time that First Floor has specifically been invited to curate and host multiple days of programming.
Secondly, on Tuesday, artist Lyra Pramuk put up an Instagram post in which she specifically referenced this week’s First Floor essay about “just DJs,” and very kindly shouted out the newsletter. That post wound up sparking quite a bit of discussion, and if you’re someone who followed her advice and tried to check out the essay, only to find that it was behind a paywall, I have good news: That paywall has (temporarily) been removed. More details on that are also below, but move fast if you’d like to read the full piece.
So yeah, it’s been a busy week here at First Floor HQ.
If this is the first time you’ve received the newsletter, welcome. (Also, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription—that’s how you can access the complete First Floor archive, and it’s also how I keep the lights on around here.) And whether or not you’re a newbie, make sure to keep reading, because today’s First Floor digest—for the uninitiated, it goes out every Thursday—includes all sorts of electronic music news, new release announcements and links to articles worth reading. I’ve also put together a fresh bundle of track recommendations, all of them from releases that dropped during the past week. And if you still want more, I’ve recruited NYC artist Sepehr to pop in with a guest recommendation of his own.
Alright, that’s enough chit-chat. Let’s get started.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Every Tuesday, First Floor publishes a long-form piece that’s exclusively made available to paid newsletter subscribers only. The latest one, which is now (temporarily) open to everyone, is an essay about the recent uptick in “just DJs” (i.e. DJs that don’t produce). The piece looks at why the phenomenon is happening now, and also points out how current complaints about these non-producing selectors often go explicitly against what many artists have been advocating for during the past decade-plus.
FIRST FLOOR x DEKMANTEL
Earlier this week, the details of the conference at this year’s Dekmantel festival were revealed, including the fact that First Floor would be hosting its first two days (July 27 and 28) at Het HEM in Amsterdam. The Dekmantel team and I have spent months putting together a slate of talks, panels and workshops covering a variety of different topics, and while the full schedule / timetable is here, some highlights include:
A panel discussion with Verraco and Sunju Hargun about the challenges that artists from outside of Europe and North America face when trying to navigate the electronic music industry.
A multi-generational panel discussion with Luke Slater, Aurora Halal and Amoral examining how techno has evolved during the past four decades, and where it stands now in the TikTok era.
A conversation with stylist, writer and cultural commentator Ashiyat Akanabi, who will share her thoughts about how to effectively foster dialogue around difficult issues, and do so in a way that moves beyond the echo chambers and surface-level platitudes of social media.
A talk / Q &A from Elijah, expanding on his (at times controversial) assertion that “If you love music, you should learn how to DJ.”
A panel discussion with Young Marco, JASSS and Toma Kami about the entrance of pop and other supposedly “tacky” sounds into the electronic music “underground,” and whether the genre takes itself too seriously.
A conversation with Eris Drew and Octo Octa about their efforts to build community and transmit knowledge from one generation of ravers to the next, and the challenges of doing those things in a culture that increasingly exists online.
The entire Dekmantel conference is free to attend, although RSVP is required. If you’ll be in Amsterdam that weekend and would like to come through, you can reserve your spot here.
(Full disclosure: In exchange for my curatorial input and the moderating I will be doing at the Dekmantel conference, I am being paid a fee.)
REAL QUICK
A round-up of the last week’s most interesting electronic music news, plus links to interviews, articles and other things I think are worth sharing.
Back in March, I wrote a piece that mentioned Suno, an AI-powered platform that’s been designed to let pretty much anyone generate music by inputting some simple text prompts. This week, Suno and another AI firm called Udio were sued by the RIAA, which represents the American recording industry, including the “Big Three” major labels. Although there are two separate lawsuits, they both essentially claim that the AI firms trained their technology using unlicensed copyrighted material, and ask for damages of up to $150,000 per infringing song. Suno has responded defiantly, accusing the major labels of “reverting to their old lawyer-led playbook,” while Udio posted a statement touting the “groundbreaking” nature of AI technology. Neither firm, however, has revealed its training data or specifically denied using copyrighted material to build its product.
The latest episode of the always entertaining / informative No Tags podcast tackles the topic of payola in the dance music industry, explaining some of the ways that money does—and does not—influence what gets covered by the press. They also gave a small shoutout to First Floor, as this is a topic I’ve written about multiple times.
Given that Resident Advisor is one of the few electronic music publications that seems to have an actual budget for editorial, it’s encouraging to see the site’s resources more frequently being devoted to actual investigation and reporting. The latest example is this story by Michael Lawson, which looks at the rash of festival cancellations in the UK (and beyond) that have occurred in 2024, taking stock of everything from the saturation of the market and shifting consumer demand to a relative lack of available credit.
As I’ve said many times, Ben Cardew’s historical pieces for DJ Mag always make for an engaging read, and his latest offering puts a spotlight on The Chemical Brothers’ 1999 LP Surrender, soliciting insights from Tom Rowlands about what fueled the “biggest, brightest album” the iconic duo ever released.
Elijah—who was interviewed by First Floor back in 2021, when his Yellow Squares project was just getting underway—has been talking quite a bit about Black British representation on UK radio in recent weeks, and someone at the Guardian must have taken notice, as he was asked to put his thoughts into a proper article that went live yesterday. His premise is simple: Why does UK radio, including publicly funded stations like BBC Radio 1Xtra (which literally uses “Amplifying Black music and culture” as its tagline), continue to devote so much airtime to American hip-hop and R&B?
Kevin Richard Martin (a.k.a. The Bug) and KMRU last week released an excellent collaborative album called Disconnect, which prompted Nina to commission an interview with the two artists. Conducted by writer Thea Ballard, the conversation touches upon their working relationship, the prominent use of KMRU’s voice on the record and how they’ve each been shaped by live performance.
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.
A posthumous SOPHIE album is on the way. When the groundbreaking UK producer unexpectedly passed away in 2021, she was already at work on a new full-length, and in the years since then, her brother and studio manager, Benny Long, has worked with “those who hold her closest” to finish the record. On September 27, the self-titled LP will see the light of day via the Future Classic and Transgressive labels, but in the meantime, a first single has been shared. Entitled “Reason Why,” it features Kim Petras and BC Kingdom, and it’s available now.
Huerco S.—who was interviewed by First Floor back in 2022—will soon be releasing a new album from his Loidis alias. One Day will be his first full-length under the more house-leaning moniker, and it’s due to arrive on August 2 via the Incienso imprint. Ahead of that, LP track “Wait & See” has been made available.
Following up on last year’s pop-oriented Avalon Emerson & the Charm LP, Avalon Emerson this week shared Four Charm Remixes, an EP on which material from the album has been reworked for the dancefloor by Young Marco, Minor Science, Ineffekt and Lew E (a.k.a. Tornado Wallace). It’s out now via the Another Dove label. (Full disclosure: Emerson and I are friends, we work together on the Buy Music Club platform, and I was hired to help compose some of the promo materials for Avalon Emerson & the Charm.)
Martyn Bootyspoon has been exceedingly busy on the release front. Just a few days after dropping the Bingo! EP on Fool’s Gold—which I recommended in last week’s newsletter—he appeared on “Doubletap,” a collaborative single with fellow Montrealer Jordan Gardner that surfaced via the OUTLIER imprint. That’s out now, but he’s also unveiled plans for another collaborative release, an EP called Thicc! that he made with UK artist 96 Back. The Aus label will be releasing that on July 12, but its title track has already been shared.
Speaking of Aus, on June 28 (i.e. tomorrow) the UK outpost will be releasing the second half of Catching Wild, a two-part EP series from K-LONE, the playfully inventive talent who’s also the co-founder of the Wisdom Teeth label. Opening cut “Yeah Yeah Yeah” is already available.
Throwing Snow has been hinting at a new full-length for several months, and now he’s finally made all of the details public. Isthmus will be released through Houndstooth, and while not much has been provided in terms of supporting narrative / context, the label does say it will be a “return to the eclecticism of 2014’s Mosaic.” We’ll see how that comparison holds up when the LP arrives on July 26, but several tracks from the record have already been shared here.
SEPEHR 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 Sepehr, a DJ and producer who I first came across when we were both living in the San Francisco Bay Area during the early 2010s. Since then, he’s relocated to New York, where he continues making music—both solo and as one half of Flower Storm alongside UK artist Kasra V—and also heads up the Shaytoon label, which began as an outpost for boundary-pushing music from Iran and its diaspora, and has gradually widened its scope during the past few years. Sepehr’s most recent release, the Genesis Domain EP, came out last month on Dekmantel, and here he shares something that’s been lighting up his DJ sets as of late.
Conrad Pack “New World” (SELN)
When I was at Sónar this year, I did an interview with Beatport, and they asked me if there were any new artists in the dance realm that I thought people should check out. I genuinely took so long to answer—because I couldn’t think of anything—that I eventually gave up. I hate to be that person and continue the doom-and-gloom, “there’s no good new music” narrative, but it’s been so hard for me to find new stuff that I genuinely love. So when I do hear newer artists making stuff that feels fresh, it does a lot for me.
I’ve been really digging what the SELN label has been doing. It reminds me of the sort of lawless feeling of the 2010-2014 scene in the Bay Area, when L.I.E.S. outsider stuff was first getting popular and I would meet so many random people making music at what was then San Francisco’s experimental hub, RS94109. The mix of psychedelic with a tinge of hardcore techno, plus weird, digital-rack-sounding synths and a complete disregard for genre norms makes it an exciting label. This Conrad Pack track in particular embodies that vibe for me, and I’ve been loving playing it out.
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.
Modern Sisters “Golden Rain” (Wilson)
“Golden Rain” sounds like something you’d hear in the opening credits of a 1989 beach film. The title track of Fabio Monesi’s first full EP from his Modern Sisters alias, it’s part Moroder and part Bananarama, a bouncy hi-NRG cut that revels in its own glamour, its gleaming synths and rubbery rhythms all but impossible to resist.
PRZ “Miss you” (Cultivated Electronics)
Possibly the most subdued tune on PRZ’s new Lost Art LP, “Miss you” is a pensive slice of electro. While there’s still a bit of bump in its breakbeats, the overall vibe is more Depeche Mode than DJ Stingray. The introduction of some wiggly, Tin Man-esque acid lines does prevent things from sliding fully into the mope zone, but whatever has PRZ feeling a bit wistful—the song’s title seems like a pretty obvious clue—has been channeled into what’s ultimately a rather compelling track.
Stimulator Jones “Valley Winds” (Craigie Knowes)
Jungle has never been the Craigie Knowes label’s forte, but Stimulator Jones’ new Valley Center album is a winner, particularly for aficionados of LTJ Bukem, Photek, Calibre and the ’90s-era atmospheric drum & bass canon. Jazzy and relatively laid-back, the rhythmic backbone of LP standout “Valley Winds” evokes thoughts of a smoky dive bar at 3 a.m., but the song itself doesn’t remain earthbound for long. Employing soft chords and even softer pads, the track is inviting and lush, its chiming melodies lending the proceedings a transportive, almost new agey feel.
ASC “Shadowplay” (Spatial)
Speaking of atmospheric drum & bass, it’s the primary focus of ASC’s Spatial imprint, and during the past two years, the UK-born, Southern California-based producer has released a slew of quality records. The latest is his new Shifting Realities EP, and it opens with the captivating “Shadowplay.” For an “atmospheric” tune, the drums are actually quite sturdy, but the song retains a tranquil core, its rollicking Amen breaks surrounded by hazy textures, Avatar-esque nature sounds and a (tastefully) trancey melodic riff that could have been lifted from an old Paul van Dyk record.
Nkisi “The Altar” (cortizona)
If forced to assign “The Altar” a genre, I suppose I would choose techno, but the title track of Nkisi’s latest EP doesn’t really sound like an average night at Berghain, or really an average night at any dance club. With its gloomy atmosphere and fervent, industrial-tinged beats, the song feels like something Suicide might have cooked up back in the day, yet its sullen, drone-like melodies have an almost devotional quality, as though the London-based artist coaxed them out of a busted cathedral organ. It’s unpolished, yes, but honestly it sounds better that way, as there’s something intoxicatingly visceral about this sort of machine music.
Hevlaran “We Didn’t” (Fever AM)
After soft launching his new Hevlaran alias with a couple of EPs, German producer Tim Keiling—who began releasing music as Erdbeerschnitzel in the late 2000s—has now delivered a delightfully bustling record to Fever AM. Model to Excite is stuffed with brawny beats and playfully swung rhythms, and though its contents are far from orderly, there’s something infectious about the music’s “bull in a china shop” spirit. There are multiple highlights, but “We Didn’t” is the most immediately memorable, its crunchy gallop and hooky vocal sample channeling the spirit of artists like Modeselektor and Blawan at their most rambunctious.
NIGELTHREETIMES “WCIPTV” (Magic City)
Having previously dropped multiple albums that largely consisted of booming jungle, NIGELTHREETIMES has changed things up on his latest record, populating THE KISSENA BROADCAST with two tracks of breakdance-ready electro. Inspired by the public-access television broadcasts he would come across while growing up in Queens, the record echoes the funkified sounds of electro greats like Arthur Baker and Cybotron, but it goes beyond mere replication, fortifying the robot-voiced, retro-futuristic groove of EP standout “WCIPTV” with more than enough bass to rock modern dancefloors.
Deejay Veiga “Sem Nome” (Príncipe)
Príncipe releases are always interesting, but the new Tudo é no Guetto EP is one of the most immediately fun records the Lisbon label has offered up in quite some time. Perhaps that’s because Deejay Veiga has carved out a unique space between kuduro and house music, infusing his shimmying drum patterns with an almost carefree—and undeniably danceable—sense of groove. Joy is the predominant emotion here, and while the EP has multiple high points to choose from, “Sem Nome” is particularly good, its bouncy synth riff pairing beautifully with the song’s percolating, Afro-flavored percussion.
Drum & Lace “Plus (feat. Patrick Shiroishi)” (Fabrique)
ONDA isn’t really a dancefloor record, but it’s almost certainly the most propulsive entry in the Drum & Lace catalog. Having devoted much of her previous output to ambient soundscapes, delicate field recordings and precision sound design, the London-based Italian has prioritized rhythm this time around, nudging her drums higher in the mix while simultaneously warming up her sound palette. That’s enough to get toes tapping and hips swaying, especially on tracks like “Solstice,” “Nymph” and “Conchiglie,” but she’s at her most effective on “Plus,” a more tempered cut on which Patrick Shiroishi’s saxophone wanderings gracefully intermingle with her own siren-like vocalizations. And with its smattering of birdsong and what sounds like recordings of the beach, it’s a perfect tune for an afternoon of staring at the sea and pondering what comes next.
Grand River and Abul Mogard “Archi” (light-years)
On last year’s All Above album, Grand River adopted a noticeably bigger sound, swapping out some of the intimacy of her earliest releases for a grander, more cinematic aesthetic. As it turns out, that was just a warm-up, because In uno spazio immenso, her new collaborative full-length with fellow Italian Abul Mogard, sounds not just big, but gargantuan. LP highlight “Archi” is a slow burner, but once its towering, symphonic drones are fully unleashed, the listening experience is akin to being hit by a freight train. Remember the marauding heavy metal truck in Mad Max: Fury Road? Imagine that, but instead of a weird zombie guitarist, the music is being played by Mogwai or Sunn O))). It’s potent, it’s immersive and the sheer force of it is maybe even a little scary, but it’s also quite beautiful. Pulverization rarely sounds this lovely.
Solpara “Measures” (Other People)
One of the best things about post-punk is how flexible it is. Think about it—when someone says “post-punk,” what comes to mind? Gang of Four maybe? Downtown NYC during a particular time period? Those references can be helpful, but they ultimately only scratch the surface of the genre. Post-punk can be angry, moody, loud, quiet, hi-fi, lo-fi… or it can be none of those things. There are no real post-punk “rules,” and that relatively blank canvas helps to explain how Melancholy Sabotage, a fairly electronic record that Brooklyn-based Lebanese-American artist Solpara made by himself during the Covid lockdown (in between his online Arabic lessons and outdoor skate sessions), can still qualify as part of the canon. Other styles (e.g. trip-hop, ambient) factor into the album’s unique recipe, but “Measures,” with its rudimentary drum-machine beat, smudged guitars and half-groaned, half-sung vocals, best captures the LP’s aesthetic—and its emotional core, which Solpara says is rooted in the idea of transcending sadness.
Night Cycle “Dead End of August” (Eternity Acres)
With a lineup featuring Canadian producers Cooper Saver and Pop District, most would probably expect the new Night Cycle project to be devoted to the dancefloor. As it turns out though, the songs they’re making sound a lot more like Chapterhouse than Chicago house. That’s because Night Cycle is a proper band, one whose fuzzy guitars and dreamily detached vocals (courtesy of singer Liv Perry) borrow heavily from shoegaze and the sort of fuzzy alt-rock that was seemingly everywhere in the aftermath of Nirvana and the grunge explosion. “Dead End of August” leads off the group’s promising debut EP, Demo '24, and its distorted (albeit remarkably catchy) sprawl quickly recalls bands like Lush, Veruca Salt, The Breeders and all the other acts that aspiring indie types would stay up late to catch on MTV’s 120 Minutes during the early-to-mid ’90s.
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.)
Have a great week,
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.