First Floor #262 – What Happens When the Lights Go Out
An interview with Carrier, plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh slate of new track recommendations.
This past Monday, the power went out, not just here in Barcelona, but across the entire Iberian peninsula. I’m guessing you heard something about it, but it’s been interesting to see how such a massively disruptive event—one that left tens of millions of people without electricity and largely knocked out cell service as well—has been reported outside of Spain, barely registering in the international news cycle. (It certainly makes you wonder how people outside of Europe and North America must feel when their crises are greeted with a collective shrug from the West.)
As someone who went through it, the experience was thankfully more of an inconvenience than a tragedy; people on the whole were calm and orderly, and it was actually kind of refreshing to see people congregating in the streets and living a screen-free existence, albeit a temporary one. Granted, if the blackout had persisted much longer, it’s unlikely that things would have remained peaceful for long, as real-time information was extremely difficult to come by—my wife and I literally went out to buy a battery-powered radio—and anyone who didn’t have cash couldn’t buy anything, including food. We can be grateful that things never devolved into some sort of Lord of the Flies situation, but the experience did make clear just how dependent modern society has become on technology, and how weirdly helpless we become when the internet goes down. (And yes, it’s also very concerning that the government appears to have no concrete idea of what caused the outage in the first place.)
On a personal level, I basically couldn’t do any work that day, and while that wasn’t exactly a crisis, it did throw a wrench into the editing of my interview with Carrier, which I still managed to publish on Tuesday. For those unfamiliar with the name, Carrier is the latest endeavor from veteran producer Guy Brewer, who previously spent a decade collecting techno accolades for his work as Shifted. Funnily enough, Shifted itself was the byproduct of a similarly dramatic move away from his time in the drum & bass world, which begs the question of whether or not Brewer is simply the kind of guy who needs to flip over the table and start fresh every 10 years or so. He addressed that in our conversation, which you’ll find below, and the interview is also the first time that he’s spoken at length about the sonic and creative foundation of the Carrier project.
Elsewhere, today’s First Floor digest contains all sorts of happenings from the world of electronic music. Read on to find a full slate of news items, new release announcements and suggested reading links. You’ll also find details about the next edition of First Floor live—it’s a big one—and if you’re just here to stock up on new tunes, I’ve also got you covered; after combing through all of last week’s new releases, I’ve assembled a fresh batch of track recommendations. Need more? Okay then, I’ve also recruited Berlin-based selectors LNS and DJ Sotofett to pop in with a special guest recommendation.
As always, we’ve got 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 interview with Guy Brewer. For the first time, he explains why he left behind the techno scene, his acclaimed Shifted alias and his similarly acclaimed Avian label after more than a decade, and he also sheds some light on what’s driving his new Carrier project.
FIRST FLOOR LIVE
First Floor is coming to Primavera Sound. More specifically, First Floor is coming to Primavera Pro, the conference portion of the long-running Barcelona festival. On June 5, I’ll be engaging in a face-to-face conversation with writer Liz Pelly, who will be talking about her celebrated book, Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist, and how the exploitative and extractive practices of the streaming giant have reshaped the music ecosystem. (For those wanting a little preview, don’t forget that Pelly was interviewed right here in the newsletter back in January.)
This technically isn’t a First Floor event, but the always entertaining Pizá i Fontanals podcast has decided to venture out into the real world, and I’ve been invited to come along for the ride. Their first live event—which, it should be said, will be conducted in Spanish—will be happening on May 24 at 45|33 in Barcelona, and entry is absolutely free. Aside from me, guests for the evening include Claudia Kidai of the Salt Mortal festival, Arnau Sabaté from Barcelona venue La Paloma and Ombra festival’s Edu Partida.
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.
Back in 2023, First Floor broke the news that NTS Radio had sold a minority stake to Universal, and just yesterday, Darren Hemmings’ Network Notes newsletter reported that the two companies had deepened their financial entanglement. Although ownership percentages of NTS do not appear to have changed, the radio broadcaster has apparently either borrowed money or secured some sort of credit or investment from Universal, and has put up all of its property and IP as collateral. What does that mean? Perhaps nothing, but if something were to go awry and NTS were to default on whatever agreement has been made, the station could theoretically fall completely into the hands of the largest record label in the world. Not great!
Kieran Press-Reynolds’ Rabbit Holed for column on Pitchfork consistently reminds anyone over the age of 35 just how out of touch they are with the algorithm-fried behavior of “kids” on the internet. His latest missive, however, adds an additional layer of intrigue, documenting how far-right and white-nationalist content is steadily infiltrating the increasingly brainrot-filled online music landscape, a space he worryingly describes as an “open-source patchwork of puerility.”
In the wake of Liz Pelly’s Mood Machine book, a growing consensus has been forming around the idea that streaming is in many ways bad for artists and the broader music ecosystem, yet so far there’s been little agreement about how to effectively address that problem. A new Hearing Things feature by Andy Cush doesn’t necessarily provide definitive answers, but it does highlight an alternate path, talking to a variety of artists and labels who have purposely opted out of the major streaming platforms. The methods they’ve adopted may not lead to mainstream stardom or financial success, but as Cush says, they do “contribute to the rebuilding of an infrastructure that prioritizes independent music and sits meaningfully apart from the dominant culture.”
Although the specter of ’90s rave looms extremely large over the whole of contemporary dance music, knowledge of the actual tunes from that pivotal decade—particularly the ones that weren’t bona fide anthems—is often lacking. Enter writer Joe Muggs, who filtered some of his encyclopedic know-how into a new Bandcamp Daily article, rounding up 15 “deep cuts” from the ’90s that deserve to be heard by younger generations of ravers.
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.
False Aralia—an outlet devoted to dubby ambient weirdness and the “the studio practices of Izaak Schlossman”—made quite a splash with its first two releases last year, and this week the Los Angeles label unveiled plans for another pair of EPs. Credited to Externalism and Iri.gram, respectively, False 03 and False 04 are both slated to arrive on June 13, but two tracks from each release have already been made available on Bandcamp.
Rashad Becker has long been one of electronic and experimental music’s most acclaimed mastering engineers, but from time to time he also releases music of his own, most of which defies easy categorization. Last week, he released a new album, the incident, which he bills as “a sonic storyboard” and “a labyrinthine, narrative-driven pseudo musical.” It’s available now via his own clunk imprint.
In recent years, Only Now has cooked up a fierce musical brew, combining Indian rhythms, noise, industrial and the bass-heavy sonics of the hardcore continuum. His latest full-length, Timeslave III, is something the Bay Area artist describes as a collection of “molten drum exercises and dripping melancholic instrumentals,” and it’s due to surface on May 30 through his own label, Kush Arora Productions. Ahead of that, two tracks from the album have already been shared here.
Continuing her Perpetual Motion Machine series, Avalon Emerson yesterday dropped a new single, “On It Goes,” which is essentially a high-octane flip of Storm Queen’s “It Goes On.” The track is available now via Dead Oceans. (Full disclosure: Emerson and I work together on the Buy Music Club platform.)
Born out of a trip to the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio—a place that’s “home to a unique collection of rare vintage drum machines”—Rhythm Archives is the latest offering from UK producer Al Wootton. Scheduled for a May 30 release on his own TRULE imprint, the record is said to be “a minimal exploration of rhythm via industrial, dub, post-punk and proto-techno sonics,” and several tracks have already been made available here.
Although they’re now best known as two-thirds of the TraTraTrax braintrust, Verraco and DJ Lomalinda’s first label venture was Insurgentes. The Colombian outpost has been quiet during the past few years, but rather than allowing it to simply fade away, its founders have decided to bring the label to an end with one final release. The forthcoming Fiera is a new album from Seph, an Argentinian producer who’s previously appeared on the label, and before it surfaces on June 13, two songs from the LP have been shared here.
LNS AND DJ SOTOFETT HAVE 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 actually comes from two artists: LNS and DJ Sotofett, a Berlin-based pair with a shared penchant for soulful machine music of all shapes, sizes and tempos. Originally hailing from Canada and Norway, respectively, they’ve forged a formidable partnership in the German capital, dropping a string of records over the past decade on both Sotofett’s Wania imprint and the vaunted Tresor label. Their relationship with Tresor runs particularly deep, as they’re part of the legendary club’s stable of resident DJs, and have spent the past few years cultivating a sound specific to the venue’s Globus room. Those efforts have also extended into the studio, as they’ve completed an upcoming EP, Globus Trax, which is said to be a collection of “real TR-909 workouts, rude and driving basslines, live runs through the mixing desk and a Blake Baxter cover version with LNS on vocals.” The record is scheduled to drop next month, but in the meantime, LNS and DJ Sotofett have taken a few moments to share a tune that they both love.
Skatebård “Emotional Bits” (Sex Tags Mania)
LNS: Skatebård’s early-2000s electro productions are something I've been a fan of for a long time, and I got the Sex Tags Mania 12” with “Emotional Bits” on the B-side from DJ Sotofett around 2016. From the first time I dropped it in the club it was an absolute floor-killing bomb; this was around 10 years ago, and it’s now without any doubt the record I have played the most. “Emotional Bits” is consistently louder and more bombastic than almost every other record I play and I have learned to dial back the gain a fair bit because when it drops, it absolutely explodes a soundsystem (and the heads of everyone in the building).
DJ Sotofett: It's been really fun to find a track both of us are really into, and I’m always very happy when I hear LNS play this one. My brother and I got the track from Skatebård in 2005 and it’s been deeply loved since then, which is why this four-and-a-half minute track ended up on a full side 12” with 45RPM cut! The bombasticness of “Emotional Bits” exceeds most records I've ever been part of releasing, or any record in my collection for that sake. When we cut the record, I clearly remember cutting engineer Helmut Erler laughing and saying, “This will be the loudest record at Hard Wax for years to come.” The dark, futuristic synths and outer-galactic pads fill this live-mixed track to the brim with strong emotions from the very start. The drum work and cymbals are absolutely exceptional; they couldn’t be any tougher, and can handle any dancefloor fit for technoid music. But the most special thing with “Emotional Bits” is the fact that the track itself is as good as the best of the best from Detroit techno. It simply has that passion and musical energy, and there are only a handful of records from Europe that carry that quality from the past 30 to 40 years. This one provides teeth-clenching joy, every time!
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.
JakoJako “Kumquat” (Mute)
JakoJako “Dragon Bridge” (Mute)
It’s not uncommon for artists, especially those with ties to cultures and lands outside of Europe and North America, to experiment with non-Western scales. Yet while many of those experiments can wind up feeling like awkward intercultural mash-ups or overly rigid academic exercises, JakoJako found musically fertile ground by tapping into something more elemental, drawing from overheard conversations and what she describes as the “tonal intricacies of the Vietnamese language.” Crafted during a trip to Vietnam, Tết 41—the Berlin-based artist’s long-awaited debut album—is in some ways a document of her drive to reconnect with a side of her heritage that she’d never known all that closely; on a more fundamental level, however, it’s a beautiful and engaging piece of work, one that’s absolutely teeming with both life and light.
JakoJako’s well-documented modular synth skills have a lot to do with that, but on Tết 41, her music is newly weightless, often gliding through the air with what feels like a sense of childlike wonder. The bubbly exuberance of LP highlight “Kumquat” recalls some of Aphex Twin’s more serene moments, and though the album on the whole is essentially beatless, its assorted bleeps, bloops and chimes are closer in spirit to golden-era IDM (e.g. Plaid, B12, The Orb) than anything that might be dismissed as ambient wallpaper. “Dragon Bridge,” another standout, might even qualify as a strain of drumless techno, as its sparkling tones are propelled into the ether by an invisible, albeit unmissable, sense of steady momentum. Perhaps that’s perfect; although Tết 41, on an emotional level, is all about JakoJako looking back at her own past, the album is also a major creative leap forward, one that should solidify her place among some of electronic music’s most talented figures.
Robert Hood “Art Class” (M-Plant)
Dance music’s love for Robert Hood dates back decades, but during a good chunk of the 2010s, the genre’s tastemaker set was riding particularly hard for the Detroit icon, who suddenly found himself putting out records on Dekmantel and being invited to play at Berghain and other similarly influential nightspots. As trends have shifted in recent years, that tangible passion has subsided somewhat, and while Hood continues to be heralded for his historical place in the culture, neither the press nor dance music’s chattering class seem all that interested in his latest releases. That’s too bad, because the man is still capable of delivering a top-shelf slice of techno, and on the new Art Class / Art School EP, he specifically leans into the minimal (not mnml) aesthetic he pioneered during the early ’90s. The lithe and lean “Art Class” is accurately described by Hood as “just drums, basslines and funky grooves,” and despite its no-frills construction, the wiggy, not-quite-acid tune packs a serious wallop.
Jump Source “Get It Done (feat. Frankie Teardrop)” (Self-released)
Back in 2022, Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal’s “B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All)” took clubland—and the UK charts—by storm, as the song’s hooky talk-singing and ’90s-indebted pop-house groove proved all but irresistible. It’s unlikely that Jump Source’s “Get It Done”—a standout from the Montreal duo’s new JS06—will have the same sort of seismic impact, but it does have a similarly sticky, pop-adjacent quality. A lot of that is due to the presence of Frankie Teardrop, whose dreamily detached vocal presence pairs beautifully with the shimmering prog-house of producers Priori and Patrick Holland. “Get It Done” is a subdued tune, but after a listen or two, even the most stone-faced listeners will surely find themselves doing their best Frankie Teardrop impression and repeatedly purring the words, “New York to Milan, what the hell are you on?”
Steffi x Virginia “Stab Stealer” (Dekmantel)
Partners in life and occasionally in music, Steffi and Virginia are capable of making some real magic when they get into the studio together. Their song “Yours” was one of the 2010s’ defining house anthems, and new album Patterns of Vibration—the Portugal-based duo’s first for Dekmantel—is stuffed with similarly potent hooks, many of which place Virginia’s sleek and soulful pipes atop distinctly ’90s-flavored grooves. With its bouncy bassline and bright melodies, LP highlight “Stab Stealer” at times sounds like a long-lost Eurodance classic, its pop sensibility enhanced by Virginia’s front-and-center vocals—and, more importantly, her confidently soulful sass.
K-LONE “Give U Da” (Wisdom Teeth)
rRoxymore “Nightbite” (Wisdom Teeth)
abentis “Dimples” (Wisdom Teeth)
Is the minimal revival real? Or is it just something that music journalists and tastemakers like to talk about? I’m not really sure, and I literally wrote an entire column about the genre’s imminent return more than a year ago. Regardless, after weathering several years of high-octane, post-pandemic dancefloor mayhem, it’s hard to complain about the culture—or at least some of it—taking a turn back toward more subdued sounds, particularly when that turn is being guided by labels like Wisdom Teeth. The UK outpost has always had a talent for curation, and that continues on Pattern Gardening, a 22-track compilation of “minimal-, micro- and tech-house.” Given Wisdom Teeth’s well-documented love of color and vitality, those hoping for a litany of hypnotic, incrementally evolving Villalobos tributes might be disappointed, but with contributions from artists like Polygonia, Piezo, Duckett and Lurka, Pattern Gardening has plenty of delightful tunes to offer.
“Give U Da” comes from label co-founder K-LONE, and its silky smooth groove sounds as though it was specifically created to be played by the pool depicted in the compilation’s cover art. rRoxymore’s “Nightbite” has a tougher underbelly, but its stompy pulse ultimately takes a backseat to the song’s swirly sonics, which have the playful whimsy of bubbles being blown by a child on a sunny afternoon. More grounded is abentis’ “Dimples,” but the track’s plinky prance is dangerously charming all the same.
Baltra “Keep Coming Back” (96 and Forever)
With its pastel synths and gauzy melodies, Baltra’s upbeat new “Keep Coming Back” single definitely has a little bit of trance nostalgia in its DNA. But rather than going full Tiësto, the NYC-based producer brings in a swinging drum pattern and a flipped R&B vocal, ultimately delivering a pocket-sized house cut that might be better suited for the bedroom than a massive speaker stack. That’s not a bad thing! Intentionally or not, Baltra has baked a palpable sense of intimacy into “Keep Coming Back,” and the song’s wistful groove is the sort of thing that’s perfect for a solo dance party.
Coen “Ripper” (Maloca)
In more than five years of doing First Floor, I’m fairly certain that the term “thrash metal” has never before appeared in the newsletter, but the head-banging genre was apparently a key inspiration for Moshpit, the new album from mask-wearing producer Coen. Sonically, the record is light years away from the guitar-fueled fury of Slayer—a band the UK artist specifically cites as an influence—but LP standout “Ripper” is characterized by a similar sort of frenzy, its blaring, siren-like synths drilling into listeners’ heads as the song’s multilayered drum attack gleefully slaps around anyone who happens to be in earshot.
Ancestral Voices “Stanzas of the Graves” (Samurai)
What would it sound like if The Bug made a track for Hessle Audio? UK artist Ancestral Voices may have stumbled across a potential answer with “Stanzas of the Graves,” a highlight of his new Nemeton full-length. Roaring along at 170 bpm, this furiously thrumming jungle hybrid might as well come with a flashing sign that says “DANGER: DO NOT ENTER,” as its serrated drones and whirling percussion are fully capable of maiming wayward ravers. Feelings of doom and dread are abundant, but to Ancestral Voices’ credit, the song offers a kind of apocalyptic thrill, inviting those who might otherwise be cowed by fear to jump into the fray and revel in the darkness instead.
Maria Somerville “Projections” (4AD)
With dozens (hundreds?) of artists seemingly mining the 4AD catalog for inspiration during the past few years, there’s something comforting about the seminal UK label returning to its dream pop roots. And who better to lead that expedition than Ireland’s Maria Somerville, whose early-morning NTS show has been a soothingly smudgy touchstone for bleary-eyed listeners worn down by too many late nights and the unrelenting demands of late-stage capitalism. In fairness, Somerville’s own music swims in more personal waters, her tales of longing and heartache wrapped in fuzzy textures and blurry guitars. Her sophomore album, Luster, is one of those records that people will love as much for its contents as the fact that it also reminds them of legendary acts like Lush and Cocteau Twins, but listening to reverb-kissed LP highlight “Projections,” any concerns one might have about originality begin to melt away pretty quickly. In a time when the world feels particularly harsh, music like this offers at least a few moments of psychic relief. Who can argue with that?
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.