First Floor #227 – Nothing Stays the Same Forever
a.k.a. The changing nature of music journalism, plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh bundle of new track recommendations.
When people ask what I do for a living, and I tell them I’m a music journalist, I’m often greeted with looks of concern. Their responses are still polite of course, and they’ll say anodyne things like, “Oh, that must be fun,” but their eyes and sunken expressions communicate something much closer to worry. And when I mention that most of my writing these days is not for traditional publications, but for my own newsletter, the sense of unease becomes even more intense.
It’s no secret that music journalism is in a pretty precarious spot these days, and while the good thing about (mostly) working for myself is that I don’t have to panic every time a fresh wave of layoffs runs through the industry, I still worry about the future feasibility of music journalism as a career. Who wouldn’t? In the meantime though, I also find myself thinking about the changing nature of the job itself, and how it’s being reshaped by not just large-scale technological and economic forces, but also shifting consumer attitudes. What modern music fans want doesn’t necessarily line up with music journalism as it was first conceived several decades ago, and in a content marketplace that’s become hopelessly crowded, it’s not surprising that many journalists—and the publications they work for—are actively updating their playbook, adopting influencer-like tactics in an effort to bust through the confines of the algorithm and potentially find an audience.
That evolution is at the heart of an article I published earlier this week, and you can find it below, along with the rest of today’s First Floor digest. Looking for new music? I’ve put together a hearty batch of track recommendations, all of them from releases that dropped during the last week. There’s also a special guest recommendation, courtesy of Kieran Press-Reynolds, one of music and culture journalism’s most promising young voices. Besides that, there are news items, new release announcements, links to interesting articles and more.
As always, the First Floor digest is chock-full of electronic music information, so let’s go ahead and 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 article examining the ways in which music journalists are increasingly taking cues from influencer culture, both in terms of the content they create and the ways they choose to format and present it to the world.
ANOTHER THING I DID
To mark the halfway point of 2024, Ghostly International founder Sam Valenti IV sent a bunch of his favorite “artists, writers and enthusiasts” a simple prompt: “What song hit you hard in 2024 (new or old)?” I was one of the 77 people who responded, and Valenti put all of the selections he received into the latest edition of his always enjoyable Herb Sundays newsletter. For those curious, I wrote (again) about newly launched Canadian shoegaze / grunge outfit Night Cycle, and inside are other picks from Nick León, more eaze, Matthew Dear, A-Trak, Jubilee, khotin, claire rousay and lots of other folks who are way cooler than I am.
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.
As frustrating as it is that the music industry only appears capable of collectively fawning over one experimental artist from Latin America at a time, it’s hard to take issue with all the attention that’s been given to cellist Mabe Fratti this year. The Mexico City-based Guatemalan artist recently released her Sentir Que No Sabes album, which prompted The Quietus to enlist her for a new installment of the site’s ongoing Baker’s Dozen series. Speaking to writer Laura Snapes, Fratti highlights 13 of her favorite records of all time, including selections from Cocteau Twins, Scott Walker, Oneohtrix Point Never, Laurie Anderson and Talk Talk.
DJ Mag’s Selections series also asks artists to recommend some of their favorite music, and the latest edition features Om Unit and James Bangura, who recently teamed up on the killer Rushing 1621 EP for Local Action. Both producers elected to focus on music from their current hometowns, with Bangura putting a spotlight on Washington DC while Om Unit shouted out some Bristol talents.
Investment capital has been steadily marching into the live music industry for many years, and in a new edition of Bloomberg’s Screentime newsletter, writer Lucas Shaw takes stock of the current situation. Along the way, he mentions that DICE—the London-based ticketing company that acquired Boiler Room back in 2021—may itself be getting acquired soon. Few specifics are mentioned, but the company was reportedly “approached in recent months by a prospective buyer,” and at least one of its existing investors, Softbank, is already “keen to sell its stake.” And who is interested in buying? According to Shaw, “at least three of the interested parties are private equity firms.”
In a new article for Bandcamp Daily, journalist Louis Pattison shines a light on “The Untold History of UK Post Rock,” talking to Four Tet about his days in the band Fridge and tracing the history of the genre before recommending key albums from the likes of Seefeel, Hood, Aereogramme and several others.
Earlier this year, Resident Advisor teamed up with NYC club BASEMENT and the Wire festival on a series of features highlighting issues around the (often difficult) process of obtaining a long-term artist visa for the US. To follow up on that effort, the three organizations have now launched a free online handbook called the Artist Visa Guide, which is “designed to simplify the submission process for DJs and producers who may have been previously deterred from applying.”
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.
Two of Miami’s leading lights, Danny Daze and Jonny from Space, have joined forces on a new EP. Entitled Tumbadora, the four-track effort also includes a remix from fellow South Florida standout Nick León, and it will be released on August 5 via Craigie Knowes. Ahead of that, preview clips have been shared here, and the record’s opening song, “Sweet Spot Radio,” has already been shared.
Kelly Lee Owens’ last album, LP8, was a rather somber affair, but the Welsh artist says that her next full-length, Dreamstate, was “born out of the curiosity of discovering [her] own inner euphoria.” The new record, which features contributions from Bicep and Tom Rowlands of the Chemical Brothers, will be issued by the dh2 imprint on October 18, but first single “Love You Got” is available now, as is its accompanying video.
Detroit electro hero DJ Stingray 313—who currently resides in Berlin—will soon be returning to the Tresor label with a new EP, INDUSTRY 4.0. Billed as a “sonic exploration into modern manufacturing concepts and [their] impact on humanity,” the full record will surface on September 20, but opening cut “LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL” is out now.
I have to credit Philip Sherburne for tipping me to this in the latest edition of his Futurism Restated newsletter, but Emeralds member Mark McGuire quietly self-released a new solo composition last week. It’s called “Soaring,” and it’s available now.
Inspired by Teknolust, which Ciel and CCL describe as a “a cult cyberpunk feminist film featuring Tilda Swinton,” the two artists have teamed up on a new collaborative EP called Tilda’s Goat Stare. The record also contains remixes from Priori and Yushh, and before it’s released by Canadian label naff on July 26, its title track has already been shared.
Dekmantel Ten will get underway later this month—full disclosure: First Floor curated and will be hosting the first two days of the festival’s conference this year—but after the festivities come to a close, the Dutch outpost will be releasing a massive new compilation to commemorate the occasion. Dekmantel Ten: A Decade of Dekmantel Festival is being issued on September 13 as a seven-vinyl boxset, with each record representing a different stage from the festival. A digital version will also be available, and the compilation’s 44 tracks include contributions from Jeff Mills, Kode9, Palms Trax, Call Super, DVS1, Verraco, Karenn, Aurora Halal, Steffi and many, many others. Several selections have already been made available here.
Hotly tipped Mexican artist Regal86 rarely goes long between releases, but his latest offering, Sensations, is something a little special, as he specifically released earlier this week in celebration of his 31st birthday.
Eris Drew has completed a new single called “I Can Move Move,” and on July 19 (i.e. tomorrow), the Slump label will be releasing it as part of an EP that also includes remixes from Gallegos and Baby Rollén. More information can be found here, and DJ Mag premiered a stream of the original track on SoundCloud.
Curated by James Ginzburg (a.k.a. one half of Emptyset), the Subtext imprint will soon be celebrating its 20th anniversary with Cybernetics, or Ghosts?, an anthology of “15 short stories written in response to Italo Calvino’s seminal 1967 essay, ‘Cybernetic and Ghosts.’” That will be accompanied by a 15-track compilation containing songs from KMRU & Aho Ssan, Roly Porter, Ziúr, ZULI and other artists affiliated with the label. The whole thing is scheduled to drop on October 6, but in the meantime, Rắn Cạp Đuôi’s opening track, “There, Above Heaven,” has been made available.
A new Overmono single surfaced yesterday. A collaboration with London singer-songwriter Ruthven, it’s called “Gem Lingo (ovr now)” and it’s available through XL Recordings.
Palms Trax has been running CWPT since 2021, but he’s only appeared on the label’s inaugural release—until now, that is. Earlier today, the Berlin-based Brit returned to the imprint with a new single called “One Thousand Waves,” which is a collaboration with Parisian artist Myd.
KIERAN PRESS-REYNOLDS 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 Kieran Press-Reynolds, an NYC-based writer whose tireless dedication to exploring and documenting the weirdest and most fried corners of online culture is unparalleled. First Floor readers may remember his feature on contemporary jumpstyle that was published here in the newsletter a few months back, and today’s he’s returned to share knowledge of something else that he’s come across during his excavations of the web—a strain of Brazilian funk that most people outside of the South American country have probably never heard.
rensgo “MEGA ERUDITA” (Self-released)
This is the latest gem by rensgo, a producer from Brasilia who specializes in a twinkly strain of baile funk that sounds like you’re being serenaded by a field full of ocarina-toting elves. While some Brazilian funk uses abrasive electricity to shock you into feverish head bopping, “MEGA ERUDITA” is all tickly plucks and synth flutters; even the hectic chants of another MC are laced with so much reverb that he’s softened into a warm, phantasmal wind. File next to DJ LUKINHAS’ percussive mutation of Thom Yorke’s “Dawn Chorus” under “bliss-funk.”
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.
HOOVER1 “What You Want” (Hoover)
Shed will forever be René Pawlowitz’s most celebrated moniker, and while that may lead some to believe that the German techno veteran is solely obsessed with moody textures and stark atmospheres, he’s always had a goofy streak, and is often at his best when he lets his hair down and has some fun. During the past five years, his HOOVER1 alias has provided Pawlowitz with an outlet for jungle (and jungle-adjacent) experiments, and the bubbly “What You Want”—the title track of his latest release—is part Bristol and part Destiny’s Child, its relatively bares-bones breakbeat providing a sturdy foundation for the song’s jaunty string stabs and soulful, multi-part vocal refrain.
JIALING “FREAKY HORNS” (Clasico)
In the hierarchy of East Coast club music, the Jersey variant has snatched up most of the attention in recent years, but with “FREAKY HORNS,” JIALING makes clear that Baltimore is not to be underestimated. The Charm City native isn’t necessarily a purist—her new EP also dabbles in tweaky acid and old-school rave mayhem—but triumphant horns have long been a staple of Baltimore club, and “FREAKY HORNS” feels like a spiritual (albeit notably souped-up) successor to riotous classics like “Samir’s Theme” and “Tear Da Club Up.” Also in the mix are bits that sound like the Incredible Bongo Band and Daft Punk, not to mention a shouty vocal snippet from a beloved ‘90s rap anthem, but JIALING’s exact recipe is ultimately secondary, because this rowdy tune is a capital-B banger. Dropping this one at the right time will be like pouring gasoline onto an open flame.
Christoph de Babalon “Atomic Birds” (DIRGEFUNK)
Taken from Irreversible Corruption, a new split release with Replicant Impulse, “Atomic Birds” is quite literally a bit of rave revivalism, as it, along with the rest of Christoph de Babalon’s contributions to the record, were apparently arranged in 2024 using material that the German artist first recorded in 1998. At a base level, it’s a hardcore tune, though it’s no smiley-faced romp. Dark, menacing and swaddled in serrated drone (or is that meant to be a bassline?), “Atomic Birds” sounds like it was dragged through the mud and tossed in a blender before de Babalon pieced the song back together and unleashed its fury onto the world.
E-Unity “In Peace out There” (TEMƎT)
Is this a pop song? If not, it’s pretty damn close, and it’s delightful. A hazy gem that closes out E-Unity’s new E-Ternity EP, “In Peace out There” is a relatively straightforward tune, relying on little more then a peppy drum pattern and some bloopy synths to establish its jaunty groove. The emotive weight, however, is delivered via the song’s dreamily vocodered (and only semi-intelligible) lyrics, which sound like the work of a remarkably wistful cyborg. The whole thing is dripping with “sad teenager” energy, but rather than getting mopey, the track’s unnamed protagonist takes their feelings zipping down the highway, cruising toward the sunset and singing along with the radio as their melancholy slowly evaporates.
Carré “Fawn” (SPE:C)
Low and slow is the name of the game on Carré’s new Air Sign EP. Old-school dubstep has long been a frequent reference point within the LA-based artist’s work, but on this latest effort, she settles into a deliciously sludgy zone, with the blazed standout “Fawn” practically luxuriating in its soupy reverb and gloppy bass tones. Though the vibe isn’t exactly relaxed—the song’s corpulent low-end is far too heavy for that—Carré most definitely isn’t in a hurry, as she’s confident enough to stroll across the dancefloor and let the party reorient itself to her dubby groove and deliberate pace.
Soul Twin “WE’RE GOING TO THE PARTY TONIGHT” (VELA)
When Soul Twin released their III album back in 2022, I wrote that the Catalan duo evoked “the sparsely populated sound of classic kranky” and described how their “softly strummed, reverb-soaked guitars creakily [echoed] across an abandoned landscape.” Those characteristics have carried over to the group’s latest full-length, DELTA B, but the new record also builds upon their slowcore / post-rock template, folding in elements of IDM, spacious ambient and experimental electronics. Though the music doesn’t quite make it into the club, LP closer “WE’RE GOING TO THE PARTY TONIGHT” is the song that comes closest to the dancefloor, combining its blurry, vaporous melodies with a jittery percussive onslaught and a smattering of crunchy digitalia that could be mistaken for sampled fragments of a ’90s-era dial-up connection.
Skyminds “Wasser” (Inner Islands)
Succinctly describing Skyminds’ music has never been easy, as the duo’s improvisation-heavy approach to songwriting has borrowed from post-rock, new age, kosmische, ambient and a myriad of other genres. Their new Echoes on the Shore album, however, feels like a more sonically focused effort, or at least a more pensive one, Perhaps that’s a result of the two members working at a distance—although both previously lived in the Bay Area, they’re now split between Berkeley and Seattle—or maybe it’s just a function of getting older, but the LP’s tranquil confines are cozy and welcoming. Opening cut “Wasser” is particularly good, its chilled psychedelia sitting somewhere between Tortoise and Cluster.
Rosso Polare “testamento fermo” (Students of Decay)
I know that saying “you have to see them live” often comes across like some sort of backhanded compliment, but in the case of Rosso Polare—an Italian duo whose experimental sound collages involve modified instruments, field recordings, synth sounds, an assortment of flutes, processed vocals and a seemingly infinite array of pedals—there’s something truly magical about seeing the group’s musical alchemy up close. That’s not a knock on their records; new album Campo Amaro, which takes inspiration from both the beauty and the pollution that characterizes many rural Italian waterways, offers up a hypnotic sort of controlled chaos, evoking Delia Derbyshire, Black Dice and Italian folk traditions. The latter looms especially large on LP closer “testamento fermo,” on which the pair reference the protest songs of the Modina, who were female agricultural workers employed in Italy’s rice fields during the late 19th and early 20th. century. The closest thing to a pop song that Rosso Polare have ever recorded—don’t worry, it’s still quite weird—it finds them briefly (and stirringly) singing in unison before delving back into their crackling stew of drones, woodwinds and wordless vocalizations.
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.