First Floor #254 – This Is Fine
The music industry is failing nearly everyone, plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh slate of new track recommendations.
First things first: If you’re in Barcelona, First Floor will be hosting a live event with Elijah (of Butterz / Yellow Squares fame) this Friday evening at Casa Montjuic. That’s tomorrow! More details and tickets are available here. Capacity is limited, so grabbing an advance ticket is highly recommended.
Secondly, if you’re new here, welcome. Based on the flurry of new subscription notices that have landed in my inbox during the past few days, it seems that this week’s First Floor essay—which explores the idea that the music business is profoundly broken—has struck something of a chord. Given the subject matter, that’s not exactly reassuring, but it is good to know that I’m not the only one finding the industry status quo to be maddening, ineffective and deeply unfair. Anyways, I’m guessing that many of you wanted to read the whole piece and previously ran into a paywall, so I’m happy to say that the essay—which I’ve linked to below—is now (temporarily) available to everyone.
The funny thing is, now matter how profoundly screwed up the music industry gets, the tide of music itself continues largely unabated. There’s thankfully no shortage of quality tunes coming down the pipe, and today’s First Floor digest highlights many of my favorites that came out during the past week. There’s also a rather robust round-up of news items, release announcements and suggested reading links, not to mention a special guest recommendation from Relaxer, an artist who personifies the idea of forging ahead and making / celebrating art, no matter how corroded the surrounding cultural landscape becomes.
First Floor tries to do the same thing, albeit with a bit more complaining. Okay, maybe with a lot more complaining. Let’s get into today’s digest.
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 an essay examining the sorry state of the modern music industry, which treats artists (and their work) as largely disposable while a small handful of (mostly corporate) actors ruthlessly extract wealth from the system.
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.
The contemporary music realm is full of conversations about AI, streaming and the growing impact of technology on the culture, but a new essay by Devon Hansen—a Montreal-based writer who also makes music under the name Persuasion—goes a level deeper, focusing on how the tech world’s “fixation on productivity and the frictionless experience” is reshaping the way music gets made. The piece, which kicks off Hansen’s new Paracosm newsletter, pushes back against the idea that time efficiency ought to be priority, at least when it comes to music creation, and Hansen then continued the discussion on the most recent episode of The Culture Journalist, a podcast hosted by Emilie Friedlander and Andrea Domanick.
Nearly five years have passed since Mixmag first launched its Blackout series, which specifically documents the contributions and experiences of Black artists in the world of electronic music. This week the site began publishing a new batch of Blackout articles that have been jointly guest edited by Kwame Safo (a.k.a. Funk Butcher, who’s been involved with the series since the beginning) and Detroit legend Kevin Saunderson. To mark the occasion, both Safo and Saunderson penned introductory editor’s letters, and yesterday a feature by Marcus Barnes chronicled the history and influence of Saunderson’s iconic Reese bassline.
Writer Kieran Press-Reynolds has a genuine passion for fried internet music—it’s a big part of what his weekly Rabbit Holed column for Pitchfork is all about. The latest installment, however, has a particularly bonkers focus: the soundtrack to the reality show Survivor. More specifically, he tracks down one of the series’ official composers, and also details a small cadre of producer-pirates who actively remake the show’s music—without permission, of course, and also without any of the pesky dialogue from the actual broadcasts.
Traxman could have spent the bulk of his recent Bandcamp Daily interview with Joe Muggs touting his new album on Planet Mu, Da Mind of Traxman Vol. 3, but he instead went deep into the history of Chicago dance music, much of which he witnessed first hand. It’s an illuminating conversation, touching upon Larry Heard, DJ Rashad, DJ Deeon, Dance Mania, house, juke, footwork and lots more. Yet the Windy City veteran’s appetite for storytelling didn’t end there, as he also talked to Resident Advisor’s Kiana Mickles for this week’s episode of the RA Exchange podcast.
Adam F’s “Circles” is one of the most celebrated drum & bass tunes of all time, and the UK producer’s 1997 debut album, Colours, is held in similarly high regard. Nearly three decades later, a new version of the LP, Colours Revisited, has been released, and in a new Beatportal interview, Adam F tells writer Cameron Holbrook about the two-year process of recreating the classic album, including how he pulled all of his vintage gear out of storage—some of it was literally covered in mold—and restored it to working order.
Speaking of drum & bass, few modern crews are more influential than RuptureLDN. Although the London-based party and label has actually been around for nearly two decades, it continues to be a major hub for innovation. In a new Bandcamp Daily feature, Oli Warwick details some of RuptureLDN’s history, talking to label bosses Mantra and Double O and highlighting key releases from the crew’s extended family.
Describing the work of Time Is Away is no easy task, but Michael McKinney does an admirable job of it in his latest piece for Passion of the Weiss, talking to the UK duo and NTS regulars about how they met, their love of ambient-not-ambient music and their thoughtful approach to curation.
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.
Djrum’s jaw-dropping skills behind the decks have ratcheted up his profile in recent months, but he’s also been quite busy on the production front. Following up on last year’s acclaimed Meaning’s Edge EP, the UK artist has now prepped a new full-length, Under Tangled Science, which the Houndstooth label will be releasing on April 25. In the meantime, a couple of tracks from the record have already been made available here, including LP cut “Three Foxes Chasing Each Other” and the previously shared single “A Tune for Us.”
Having previously operated under the Ex Wiish moniker, NYC artist and 29 Speedway founder Ben Shirken will be using his own name on his forthcoming album. Entitled H.D. Reliquary, it’s slated to arrive on April 11 and includes contributions from Pavel Milyakov, MIZU, Dorothy Carlos, Kevin Eichenberger and Muein. One track from the LP, “Image/Player,” has already been shared.
Demdike Stare have released a new collaborative album with musician and filmmaker Kristen Pilon. Out now via their own DDS imprint and available via Boomkat, it’s called To Cut and Shoot, and is said to find the UK duo “rudely fracturing” Pilon’s piano and operatic vocal recordings.
DJ Python has a new EP on the way. The XL label will be issuing i was put on this earth on March 28, and the five-track effort includes collaborations with Jawnino and Isabella Lovestory. The latter, “Besos Robados,” has already been shared.
A team-up between Rrose and the T4T LUV NRG imprint—which is headed up by Eris Drew and Octo Octa—was bound to happen eventually, and will soon be realized in the form of a new EP from the Berlin-based artist. 2 or 3 Drops of Height Have Nothing to Do with Savagery is scheduled to drop on March 28, and preview clips of its contents can be heard here.
Chicago house legend Ron Trent has completed a new LP. Entitled Lift Off, it’s meant to be something of a reintroduction, as Trent is making his return to global touring after having spent the past five years largely confined to the US. Rush Hour will be issuing the record on May 23, and clips of its 10 tracks have been made available here.
Having released several records connecting the dots between trip-hop and prog, Maara has now decided to launch her own label, Ancient Records, and will be inaugurating the imprint with a new EP, Big Whoops. It’s due to arrive on March 19, but the record’s hard-charging closer, “Scissor Me Timbers,” has already been shared.
Lucrecia Dalt’s cosa rara EP will be available in full tomorrow via RVNG Intl., but the Colombian artist teased listeners this week by unveiling another one of its songs—a cover of the title track by Guatemalan cellist Mabe Fratti.
kranky mainstay Loscil will soon be returning to the label with a new album, Lake Fire, on which the veteran producer took inspiration from the forest fires he witnessed on a trip to British Columbia. May 2 is the official release date, though two tracks from the LP can already be heard here.
After more than a decade of making music as Wilted Woman, the Berlin-based artist has decided to retire the name, and will be releasing her next album, There's Always a Strawberry Hut, as Elizabeth Davis. It’s scheduled for a March 28 release on the Superpang label, though two songs from the LP are already available here.
RELAXER 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 Relaxer (a.k.a. Daniel Martin-McCormick), a New York-based jack-of-all-DIY-trades who also fronts the recently united, Dischord-affiliated post-hardcore band Black Eyes, has previously made music as Ital and Sex Worker, heads up the Lovers Rock imprint and co-runs the adventurous Dripping festival, which will be celebrating its 2025 edition this June in Sparta, New Jersey. That’s just a partial list of his creative exploits, which also include occasionally writing for Pitchfork and other outlets. Here, he puts those particular skills to use, highlighting a tune that should appeal to electronic weirdos and emo enthusiasts alike.
Jadelain “Daphne Loves Derby” (Self-released)
What a gem. “Daphne Loves Derby” is the first track off Pumping of a Contrarian Heart, the self-released 2022 album by Jadelain that reimagines mathy instrumental emo as modern composition rendered for MIDI ensemble on the semi-archaic notational software Guitar Pro. Using only stock instrument sounds and no additional FX processing, Jadelain's melancholic tapestry hits you right in the heart with unflinching, soulful vulnerability. This is an unusual and idiosyncratic entry into the canon of uncanny machine music, on the one hand displaying a spiritual kinship with Oval, Laurie Anderson and Terry Riley, while on the other appealing directly to open-minded fans of Braid, Rainer Maria or, indeed the band for which this song is named (who, I must add, I am not a fan of). The first time I heard her music half a decade ago, I immediately told my friend, “Jade makes perfect music.” I still feel that way.
LISTEN UP
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.
norim “Sima” (ecco)
Aside from the periodic bout of Ruta del Bacalao nostalgia, the electronic music conversation rarely mentions the Spanish city of Valencia. The upstart ecco imprint has been working to change that during the past two years, and its latest outing is a two-track split from label founders Andrae Durden and norim. The latter’s “Sima” leads things off, and it’s a heady slice of dubstep, its glistening sonics and disembodied vocal providing a spaced-out counterbalance to the song’s bruising bassweight. If you wanted to make the case that Valencia has more to offer than Balearic chill and makina madness, putting on “Sima” would be a solid place to start.
Iro Aka “DA9C” (Hivern Discs)
Moving a few hundred kilometers up the Mediterranean coast, Iro Aka continues to quietly hold things down for Barcelona, stretching out across 11 tracks on their new pair of EPs, Aural and Aural II. “DA9C” is one of the latter record’s standouts, and it’s a sturdy exercise in proggy propulsion, its twirling crunch and bubbling breakbeats practically flying through the song’s cosmic atmosphere. If Paul van Dyk made a track for Kalahari Oyster Cult, it might sound something like this.
Aire “Version III” (Toothgrinder Press)
BSS “De Prins” (Self-released)
Burial is everywhere. That’s not actually true—the iconic London producer continues to maintain an enviably low profile—but his influence looms large over sizable swaths of the electronic music realm. The cavernous reverb and pitch-shifted loneliness of Aire’s “Version III”—a highlight of the Barcelona-based artist’s new Opening Scene album—recall both the emotional vulnerability and the slightly alien pitch of Burial cuts like “Hiders” and “Come Down to Us.” (In fairness to Aire, his LP does offer more than just Burial worship, employing cinematic strings throughout and an impressive display of trance-trap dramatics on the closing “Ending.”)
And for those craving even more Burial-isms, “De Prins” is a weepy garage meditation that cribs a few notes from the Untrue playbook. The final cut on BSS’ new Paradiso EP—a record inspired by the long-running Amsterdam venue of the same—it bathes the Dutch producer’s knocking rhythms and cooing diva clips in warm pads and a persistent crackle of static, reanimating a formula that can still stop listeners in their tracks, a full 20 years after it first appeared.
Solitary Dancer “Movement II” (Y-3000)
Solitary Dancer “Movement VI” (Y-3000)
Nearly a decade has passed since dance music tastemakers were besotted with Solitary Dancer’s early releases on labels like Graded and Dark Entries. In recent years, the Montreal duo has been relatively quiet—although one member, Adam Hodgins, has been reconnecting with his jungle roots via his solo work as Sabola—but now they’ve returned with Y-3001, a new EP that actually has little to do with the dancefloor. Its contents were originally commissioned by a fashion brand, Y-3, who enlisted Solitary Dancer to soundtrack their Spring/Summer 2025 runway presentation in Paris. As such, the record covers multiple sounds—and moods—in a relatively short time, but it does so beautifully. The slow-brewing “Movement II” blossoms into a slice of big-screen trip-hop—anyone who remembers Rob Dougan’s 1997 classic “Clubbed to Death” will likely be pleased—while EP closer “Movement VI” carves out a more colorful path, its pirouetting melodies and tasteful trance-isms sitting comfortably alongside the soundtrack work of Nathan Micay.
Baalti “Raja” (STEEL CITY DANCE DISCS)
Whatever Baalti did between their 2023 debut EP, Better Together, and its newly released follow-up, Mela, it’s working. The Indian-born duo did relocate from San Francisco to New York last year, but that move doesn’t really account for their shift from sun-soaked grooves to bassbin-rattling mayhem. Like its predecessor, the pair’s new record takes cues from South Asian music, but where Better Together leaned into classic Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi sounds, Mela is directly inspired by the massive speaker stacks and vibrant soundystem culture of West Bengal and Maharashtra. Connecting that culture to the lineage of UK bass and the broader hardcore continuum, Baalti are sounding sharper and moving faster than ever before. What results can be chaotic at times, but EP standout “Raja”—which features unintelligible, chipmunk-like vocal clips, hyperactive drums and a myriad of brawny bass outbursts—demonstrates the duo’s keen ability to channel that chaos into some incredibly potent bangers.
Bianca Oblivion “Hypnø (feat. Sam Binga)” (LuckyMe)
Bangers have long been something of a Bianca Oblivion specialty—songs like “Sinais” and “Selecta” still slap, and let’s just say that the LA-based artist doesn’t shy away from playing chest-rattling thumpers and singalong scorchers in her DJ sets. “Hypnø”—a highlight of her new NET WORK EP—is a grime-indebted collaboration with UK producer Sam Binga, and a wonderfully rowdy addition to her catalog. The track’s industrial-grade bass does much of the heavy lifting, but it’s the strings—which have been manipulated to sound almost like squealing sirens—that are sure to quicken the pulse of everyone in earshot.
Cousin “No King” (Moonshoe)
During much of the 2010s, Vancouver was dance music’s leading hotspot for dubby, chilled-out house grooves, but in this decade, the torch has arguably been passed to Australia, where a cohort of artists are bringing their own tripped-out approach to the dancefloor. Sydney-based Cousin, whose Homesoon EP was released via Vancouver outpost Mood Hut back in 2023, is one of several bridges between these two scenes, though his latest EP, Wake the Town, has surfaced via his own Moonshoe imprint. Bearing traces of house, dub, disco, new age, ambient and more, the record is more unified by vibe than a strict adherence to genre, even on the standout “No King,” which swaddles its semi-submerged pulse in softly ringing chimes and a healthy dose of reverb.
arc rae “Taiko” (Mystery Circles)
Born in France and based in Berlin, arc rae is an artist who revels in the minutiae. His third album, New Moon, sits somewhere between ambient and IDM, but what’s most enticing about the record is its abundance of details; nestled among the jazzy chords are a delicate array of clicks, clacks, scrapes, dings, pings, zips, zaps and more, all of which arc rae appears to have pieced together with the precision of a master watchmaker. That said, there’s nothing rigid or overly mechanical about the music on hand; LP highlight “Taiko” cruises along with an almost weightless ease, its twinkling melodies and crinkling static holding court as various plinks and plops blink in and out of existence.
bad lsd trips “aventura sonidera” (enmossed)
doris dana’s reveries LP was one of 2024’s underappreciated weirdo ambient gems, and now the Colombian artist has returned with the sophomore full-length from bad lsd trips, her collaborative project with Berlin-based Domingo Castillo Flores. Miami—where dana lives now, and where Castillo Flores used to reside—is what binds these two together, and dana has poetically described their new ultrafest album as an ode to the city’s “swamp-lunged, fevered nights—where the world tilts thin and dawn unspools in pastel haze.”
Sonically, that manifests as a sort of smudgy, psychedelic slurry, the duo’s warped textures and scurrying rhythms radiating subtropical heat and also sounding like the musical equivalent of a hall of mirrors. On album closer “aventura sonidera,” the song’s seasick piano flourishes and blurry voiceover conjure visions of a bleary-eyed trip to a high-end hotel bar—and the hallucinations one starts to see after being awake for 36 hours straight. Is it weird? Yes. A little unsettling? Absolutely. But when it comes to dark underbellies, few destinations are more ripe for exploration than Miami, and bad lsd trips aren’t afraid to dive right into the muck.
Tim Hecker “Joyride Alternate” (kranky)
Conversations about Tim Hecker often revolve around his process, or whatever concept is underpinning his latest work. That stuff can be genuinely fascinating, yet it’s important to remember that even when all of the supplemental context is stripped away, the guy still makes really beautiful and powerful music. That’s something Hollywood has figured out, as the Canadian artist has been tapped to score a number of films and television shows in recent years. (Just FYI: Hecker discussed that career turn, and a number of other issues, in an interview with writer Ted Davis that was published last week on Stereogum.) His latest album, Shards, pulls directly from that pool of scoring work, and though it doesn’t bother to lay out exactly which piece was originally commissioned for what, “Joyride Alternate” is most likely related to “Joy Ride,” which appeared on the soundtrack to 2023’s Infinity Pool. The Shards version, however, is longer, better and less of a symphonic dirge, opting instead to build its moody chords and soft static into a veritable wall of majestic strings and crackling distortion.
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.