First Floor #261 – Context Desperately Needed
Wrestling with the antiquated vocabulary of dance music, plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh batch of new track recommendations.
This is by no means an original observation, but music culture—and, honestly, culture in general—moves absurdly quickly these days. In an era of content overload, endless scrolling and microscopic attention spans, it often feels like entire cultural trends sprout up, mature and disappear in a blink of an eye. First Floor is in many ways an attempt to provide a port in that storm, contextualizing electronic music and its associated culture during a time when even the genre’s most enthusiastic fans have trouble keeping up with what’s going on.
Providing that context, however, is easier said than done, particularly when the vocabulary of electronic music is developing at a much slower speed than the music itself. At a festival last weekend, I found myself thinking that a DJ set sounded “tribal,” and then spent the next few days thinking about all of the profound biases and limitations cooked into that word. Even during a time when such terminology is routinely cited as problematic, it continues to pop up regularly, both in the discourse and especially in more casual conversations. That’s concerning enough, but what’s even more worrisome is the culture’s glaring lack of useful alternatives.
For a much deeper dive into that topic and the current state of “tribal,” check out the essay I published earlier this week. You’ll find that below—and yes, the paywall is currently down. Otherwise, today’s First Floor digest has a full slate of news items, new release announcements and suggested reading links. And for those craving a fresh injection of brand-new electronic music into their lives, I’ve also assembled a fresh crop of track recommendations, all of them pulled from releases that dropped during the past two weeks.
After taking last week off, there’s a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get started.
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 about dance music vocabulary, one that specifically considers the limitations of words like “tribal” during a time when non-Western sounds and rhythms are becoming more and more prevalent on the dancefloor.
REAL QUICK
A round-up of the most interesting electronic music news from the past two weeks, plus links to interviews, articles and other things I think are worth sharing.
The next time someone insists that dance music is an “underground” phenomenon, point them toward the latest IMS Business Report, which dropped yesterday. An annual report that coincides with the International Business Summit in Ibiza, it provides a financial overview of the industry, which apparently grew 6% in 2024 to a global valuation of $12.9 billion. Register here to receive a copy of the full report, which dives deep into consumer trends, social media, streaming and much, much more.
Liz Pelly—who was interviewed by First Floor earlier this year about her Spotify-focused book Mood Machine—has teamed up with musician / educator / cultural commentator Max Alper (a.k.a. La Meme Young a.k.a. Peretsky) to launch a new podcast. Critical Listening promises “sharp takes on music technology and culture industry hell,” and an introductory mini-episode has already been shared on both Patreon and Apple Podcasts.
Lucy Railton is one of electronic and experimental music’s most acclaimed cellists, but her recently released Blue Veil LP is her first solo cello album. She talked about that in a new interview with Stephan Kunze in his zensounds newsletter, and their conversation also touched upon her English upbringing, her relationship with the club and why she refuses to be confined to the world of classical music.
With Tectonic currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, Resident Advisor figured that the best way to recount the storied label’s history would be to ask founder Pinch to tap into his memory banks. The resulting feature, which was put together by Carlos Hawthorn, finds the Bristol bass music icon selecting 10 tracks from his imprint’s sizable catalog, and sharing his thoughts about what made each one an important milestone.
Dance music discourse is rife with complaints about wealthy individuals (or “rich kids,” to use the most common internet parlance) having an outsized influence in the culture, but it’s not often that a genuine effort is made to examine the scope and contours of the issue. A new article by Phin Jennings in The Guardian, however, attempts to do just that, talking to a variety of people—including artist I. JORDAN, former Radar Radio boss (and son of a billionaire) Ollie Ashley and MOT owner Jan Mohammed—about how wealthy actors are affecting the UK club circuit.
As annoying as the “But Kraftwerk…” reply guys have become, inevitably popping up anytime someone reasserts dance music’s roots in places like Chicago, Detroit and New York, there’s no question that the legendary German outfit has had a monumental influence on electronic music. Writer Bruce Tantum examines that influence in a new article for DJ Mag, focusing specifically on the group’s 1974 album Autobahn and talking to folks like Justin Strauss, Kevin Saunderson and Arthur Baker about how the record changed the world.
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 two weeks.
Skee Mask dropped a surprise new EP this morning. The latest installment of his long-running Skee Series on German label Ilian Tape, the four-track Stressmanagement is available in full now.
Experimental duo Matmos have a new album on the way called Metallic Life Review, and as the title implies, it consists entirely of sounds made by various metal objects. Slated for a June 20 release, the record will be issued by Thrill Jockey, but LP track “Changing States”—which features the pedal steel playing of the late Susan Alcorn—has already been shared.
Following up on last year’s brilliant You Never End album, Moin—who were interviewed by First Floor back in 2022—have readied a new EP for AD 93. Entitled Belly Up, the record includes guest appearances from Sophia Al-Maria and saxophonist Ben Vince, and though it won’t surface in full until May 9, two tracks have already been made available here.
Mexican drone artist and experimental composter Concepción Huerta—who last August contributed a guest recommendation to First Floor—has completed a new full-length. El Sol de los Muertos is billed as “a reflection on dispossession, resource extraction and colonization,” and it will be released by Umor Rex on May 16. Ahead of that, the song “Los Ecos de las Voces del Silencio” has been shared.
Canadian ambient specialist Khotin dropped a new EP this week. Aside from a message of “peace to all listeners,” Peace Portal arrives with little in the way of supplemental context, but its six tracks are all available now through the artist’s own Khotin Industries imprint.
Leon Vynehall announced that his next full-length, In Daytona Yellow, will be released via his own Studio Ooze label on September 19. The UK artist says that the LP puts his “own voice and lyricism front and centre,” and explores “the duality between self-loathing and self-love.” First single “Mirror’s Edge”—which features the vocals of POiSON ANNA—is available now, as is the song’s accompanying music video.
James Holden and Polish clarinet auteur Waclaw Zimpel make for something of an unlikely pair, but the duo have come together to make an album of improvisatory works. It’s called The Universe Will Take Care of You, and the Border Community label, which will be releasing the LP on June 13, describes it as “six transcendent odysseys of psychedelic electronic music and freeform musicianly virtuosity.” Opening track “You Are Gods” can be heard now.
Closing a chapter that began in 2023, Livity Sound founder Peverelist has unveiled the fifth and final installment of his much-lauded Pulse series. The forthcoming EP is called Pulse Decay, and before it drops on May 2, the Bristol veteran has made the song “Pulse XIX” available.
Less than a year removed from his collaborative In uno spazio immenso LP with Grand River, Italian artist Abul Mogard is poised to return with a new solo album, Quiet Pieces. Heavily rooted in sounds sourced from his late uncle’s collection of old 78s, the LP will be released on May 30 via Mogard’s own Soft Echoes imprint, but opening track “Following a dream” has already been shared.
Warm Winters Ltd. boss Adam Badí Donoval has put the finishing touches on a new album, a follow-up to 2022’s Sometimes Life Is Hard and So We Should Help Each Other. That release first came out via The Trilogy Tapes, but for the new LP, the Slovakia-based artist has linked up with the mappa label, which plans to bring a mirror where the image and the mirror wholly coincided into the world on May 13. The record features contributions from Nate Scheible and Adela Mede, and several tracks have already been made available here.
NOSEDRIP 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 Nosedrip, a Belgian selector who’s best known these days as the driving force behind the impeccably curated STROOM label. Home to acclaimed records from artists like Voice Actor, Milan W. and Florian T M Zeisig, not to mention a vast array of mouth-watering reissues, STROOM has little use for traditional genre boundaries, relying instead on Nosedrip’s golden ears and his seemingly unquenchable thirst for unearthing quality music of all shapes and sizes. (In fairness, he does seem to have a particular affinity for lo-fi melancholia and eccentric bits of ’80s synth-pop.) While much of his digging energy is ultimately funneled into the label, his DJ sets and his monthly NTS Radio show, Nosedrip’s willingness to share is virtually infinite, and here he spotlights something from a country whose musical contributions are often overlooked.
Yara Asmar “there is a science to days like these (but i am a slow learner)” (Hive Mind)
Ever since the label Unexplained Sounds Group released Anthology of Electroacoustic Lebanese Music in 2018, I've been trying to follow what is simmering in Lebanon, music wise. Aside from some great trap artists and that amazing “Margot Fonteyn Resting on the Eastern Patio in the Early Hours of the Morning” track by Charbel Haber (<3), the one album I keep going back to is Yara Asmar’s home recordings 2018 - 2021 / synth waltzes & accordion laments.
Out to Tom from All Night Flight for stocking some copies!
LISTEN UP
The following is a selection of my favorite tunes from releases that came out during the past two weeks. 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.
Tornado Wallace “Bitter Suite (Symphony)” (Test Pressing)
The original “Bitter Suite” is a Balearic epic, one that Tornado Wallace opens with nearly five minutes of Spanish guitar and psychedelic haze before unleashing a satisfyingly proggy chug. The whole thing is very Y2K, very Global Underground, but on the cleverly titled “Bitter Suite (Symphony)”—an alternate version which thankfully has nothing to do with The Verve—the Berlin-based Australian goes back even further in time, offering up a patient, synth-heavy excursion that’s gloriously reminiscent of Tangerine Dream’s 1983 soundtrack for Risky Business. Tom Cruise is nowhere in sight, but Wallace is brimming with confident cool here, allowing his plinky melodies and pensive, reverb-drenched textures to cinematically drift toward some unseen horizon.
Spool “Alright” (Somewhere Press)
Spool “Oneandhalf” (Somewhere Press)
During the past few years, has anyone put more patently beautiful music into the world than Florian T M Zeisig? The immensely talented German artist operates under a variety of aliases, both solo and collaborative (e.g. Angel R, NUG, OCA and Unt), and Spool is his latest endeavor. A joint venture with perfumer Angel Paradise, the album was crafted during a three-year period when they were both living in the Bavarian Alps, surrounded by the quiet grandeur of nature. That sensibility colors the LP, which eschews Zeisig’s usual penchant for astral journeys and dubby haze, and instead offers something that, despite being slathered in plenty of reverb, feels profoundly human. Perhaps that’s because he’s brought his own voice into the mix, most notably on LP highlights “Alright” and “Oneandhalf,” where his deliberate, melancholy-tinged talk-singing intermingles with softly struck piano and lilting waves of cashmere-soft drone. It’s gorgeous stuff, and the sort of music that’s perfect for ruminating on life’s biggest questions.
Ben Shirken “Residue w/ MIZU” (29 Speedway)
As the head of 29 Speedway, Ben Shirken has played a key role in platforming a litany of ambient and experimental artists, both on record and via his curation of shows in New York and around the world. His own music has sometimes been lost in the shuffle of all that activity—his excellent 2023 album for Incienso, Shards of Axel, which he put out under his Ex Wiish alias, was an underappreciated gem—but perhaps that will change with the release of his latest full-length, H.D. Reliquary. Though it’s emblazoned with his birth name, the LP is in fact a deeply collaborative effort, and features contributions from the likes of Pavel Milyakov, Dorothy Carlos, Kevin Eichenberger, Muein and MIZU. The latter actually lends her cello to three different tracks on the record, but “Residue” is the clear standout, her emotive string passages cutting a path through Shirken’s woozy (albeit intensely detailed) labyrinth of pooling liquids and sparking sound design.
Riccardo La Foresta “Prima (feat. Ale Hop)” (OOH-sounds)
Dissecting the new ZERO,999... album is no easy task, as experimental Italian composer Riccardo La Foresta says that many of its components are in fact “fragments of live performances and site-specific installations conducted over the last decade.” Add in the fact that the LP features guest appearances by Valerio Tricoli, Anthony Pateras, Aleksandra Słyż, Renato Grieco, Antonina Nowacka, Sara Persico, Stefano Pilia and Ale Hop, and things become even more complicated. Yet even during its most chaotic moments, the record presents a coherent vision, its brawny, jagged-edged synth blasts and thundering volleys of percussion sounding like something that would have been played in the royal court of an ancient despot. With its lurching, not-quite-hip-hop beat, “Prima” is especially strong, and Ale Hop bolsters its bravado with her searing waves of electric guitar squall.
KUNTARI “LAHAR II” (Artetetra / CLAM)
Originating in the Javanese language, a lahar is a geological term for a violent type of mudflow or debris flow that spews forth from a volcano. A potentially deadly phenomenon that’s capable of great destruction, its chaotic energy is at the heart of LAHAR, the fiercely percussive new work from Indonesian duo KUNTARI. Although all four of its pieces pack a serious wallop, “LAHAR II” is the most arresting of the bunch, and not just because of its ominous drones and relentless drum attack. The track actually has a subtle post-punk / no wave feel, with shuffling clinks and clangs that recall the post-disco rhythmic experimentation of groups like Liquid Liquid. Coincidence? Probably, but a little groove goes a long way, especially when a song otherwise sounds like it’s trying to bash in the skulls of everyone in earshot.
COIDO “Final Reason” (YUKU)
A serrated, bass-driven hybrid, “Final Reason” is the title track of COIDO’s latest EP, and it’s about as cuddly as a junkyard dog. The Berlin-based Italian describes it as “70% dnb and 30% techno,” but it ultimately sounds more like a roided-up slice of electro, occupying the same sort of dread-inducing, sci-fi-informed space as artists like Galaxian and DJ Stingray. Outfitted with neck-snapping rhythms and a wubby undercarriage, the song is primed to do some damage, or at least inspire a few doe-eyed ravers to set PLUR aside and embrace the darkness.
Carré “Body Shell” (Tempa)
I’m not sure what it says about the current state of dubstep when the genre’s most exciting young producer hails from Los Angeles, but watching Carré blossom during the past year or so has been a genuine treat. (In fairness to the UK, she did recently relocate to London.) Body Shell is the latest EP from the Fast at Work co-founder—and her debut on the newly reanimated Tempa imprint—and it’s a potent, full-bodied exploration of low-end dynamics. Stuffed with sauntering rhythms and cooly wobbling basslines, the record is an obvious hat tip to dubstep’s earliest days. All three of its tunes are fully capable of rattling a speaker stack, but “Body Shell” pairs its gut-rumbling vibrations with a subtle slither, keenly aware that filth alone won’t keep a dancefloor moving for long.
Gesture “Free Lunch” (YUKU)
Although bass music is technically one of the most crowded and sonically diverse genres in the electronic realm, it often feels like the same, relatively small circuit of artists gets boosted again and again, monopolizing line-ups and dropping records on one fashionable imprint after another. The YUKU label is determined to combat that trend, and while its wildly busy release schedule already goes a long way toward platforming up-and-coming talents, the Prague-based outpost last year decided to take things a step further, putting out a public call for submissions. After poring through what it describes as an “overwhelming” response, YUKU has now put together a two-part compilation called Fresh Faces.
Packed with club-ready heaters, Fresh Faces is the kind of release that will reward digital diggers, but those looking for a guaranteed smasher should head straight to Gesture’s “Free Lunch.” It’s a high-stepping wobbler that borrows liberally from the hardcore canon, but the London-based producer smartly avoids wading too far into the nostalgia pool, opting instead to smash up an old formula and refashion the pieces into a modern hybrid. Clocking in around 130 bpm, the track is actually a tad slow by today’s standards, but with its bashy drums, it’s more than capable of bringing the ruckus.
Hieroglyphic Being “The Map of Salt & Stars” (Smalltown Supersound)
Turnover is one of dance music’s defining features, but no matter how many trends come and go, or how many people filter in and out of the scene, Hieroglyphic Being (a.k.a Jamal Moss) remains a constant. A Chicago mainstay who was quite literally mentored by pioneering figures like Steve Poindexter and Adonis, he’s spent decades carving out his own unique corner of the house music ecosystem, pushing his productions into a borderless zone where freaky jack tracks and free jazz go hand in hand. The new Dance Music 4 Bad People album is the latest entry in his massive catalog—it’s also his first outing on Smalltown Supersound—and it’s a relatively focused effort, at least in the sense that even during the record’s most chaotic moments, Moss refuses to abandon the music’s underlying groove.
LP highlight “The Map of Salt & Stars” takes obvious cues from classic Mr. Fingers tunes, but its rubbery rhythm sounds like it’s been xeroxed 100 times, crumpled into a ball and then run through a few dozen wash cycles. Waterlogged and encrusted with gunk, the track should theoretically grind to a halt, but Hieroglyphic Being not only keeps it chugging, but adds an unexpected air of fantasy to the unpolished proceedings by bringing in a series of sparkly synth tones. It’s an audacious move, and one that’s hard to imagine other artists even attempting to make, but it works, and that’s really all that matters. Moss’ fearlessness might be his biggest asset.
Matias Aguayo “El Internet” (Rekids)
The details of Matias Aguayo’s forthcoming album for Rekids have yet to be revealed, but first single “El Internet” is a sultry, synthy romp. Built atop a swinging, cumbia-meets-house beat, the enticingly raw track is primarily a vehicle for the Chilean artist’s hypnotic, borderline stream-of-conscious wordplay. Though his Spanish-language lyrics touch on a myriad of topics—for those curious, Aguayo just yesterday posted a full English translation online—the syllables flow out of his mouth like molasses, their seductive allure bringing to mind the proverbial snake from the Garden of Eden. Regardless of whether or not his intentions are indeed sinister, Aguayo is clearly keen to lure folks onto the dancefloor and beyond, encouraging them to explore the far-flung corners of the globe and the thrilling possibilities that emerge once the sun goes down.
Sleep D “Mountain Ash” (Butter Sessions)
Melbourne duo Sleep D already have more than a decade of finely tuned house and techno releases under their belt, but their new Big Sky, Liquid Sun EP—an effort they say is inspired by a “deepened connection to the natural world”—feels like a love letter to the Australian bush doof. (For those unacquainted with Aussie slang, a bush doof is essentially an outdoor nature rave.) The standout “Mountain Ash” is dripping with swirly psychedelia, its proggy churn and bubbly bits of acid providing a sturdy foundation for the same sort of fluffy, chime-like tones and weightless vocal fragments that The Orb once made their calling card.
Mattheis “Waiting for the Silhouette” (Nous’klaer)
Too delicate for the club and too percussive to be considered truly ambient, Mattheis’ new Waiting for the Silhouette full-length is anything but functional, but that doesn’t make its contents any less compelling. Both playful and palpably alive, the LP conjures visions of flower-filled hillsides and gardens in bloom, the music’s inherent verve radiating through its scratchy textures and Super 8 color palette. The album’s title track closes things out on a particularly high note, its buzzing modular loops and kosmische hum prompting questions like, “What would it sound like if the Silver Apples had made a techno record?” If this song is any indication, pretty damn good.
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.