First Floor #272 – What Do the Kids Have to Say?
An interview with music and culture writer Kieran Press-Reynolds, plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh batch of new track recommendations.
It’s often said these days that the public has lost faith in journalism. That’s not necessarily journalists’ fault; overworked, under-resourced and generally regarded as disposable by their bosses, they’re fighting an uphill battle to tell stories that matter, and when one factors in all the ways that their work is routinely hamstrung by sponsorships, brand deals, corporate partnerships and other conflicts of interest that were likely negotiated by people well above their pay grade, it’s a small wonder that the press manages to publish any useful information whatsoever.
At the same time, it’s hard not to notice the increasingly cavernous gap between what gets published by the media, and what people are talking about in real life. Even in the relatively inconsequential realm of electronic music, I routinely find myself looking at the most prominent publications and wondering how these places—which actively market themselves as essential stewards of the culture—could be ignoring major topics of conversation that they surely know are being discussed elsewhere, not only on social media, but backstage, among friends and even between casual fans of the genre. (Sadly, the reason why often has to do with not wanting to call attention to one of those aforementioned conflicts of interest.)
Last month I wrote an essay about the need for more muckrakers in music journalism, but on a more basic level, the field needs truth tellers—people who are willing to look past the promo cycles and industry narratives and really dig into what’s happening in the culture, whether it’s behind the scenes or in some obscure corner of the internet. Kieran Press-Reynolds is one such figure, and aside from being one of the few Gen Z music and culture writers who’s been given a prominent platform by legacy media outlets, he’s also someone who’s far more interested in uncovering interesting stories—even unsettling ones about the intrusion of the far-right into online music culture—than he is in hyping the latest trend or scoring points with the culture’s self-appointed arbiters of cool.
Driven by my own enthusiasm for his work, not to mention my desire to talk to an actual zoomer about where they think the culture is headed, I invited Press-Reynolds to have an extended chat with me. That interview was published earlier this week, but you’ll also find a link to it below—and yes, the paywall is currently (albeit temporarily) down.
Beyond that, today’s edition of the First Floor digest once again aims to round up many of the latest happenings from the world of electronic music. Read on and you’ll find news items, new release announcements and suggested reading links, along with a fresh slate of new track recommendations, all of them highlighting tunes that dropped during the past week or so. And as an added bonus, there’s also a special guest recommendation from visual and sound artist Mika Oki that you won’t want to miss.
The electronic music newswire never seems to slow down, but for those of you who (wisely) aren’t glued to its every dispatch, First Floor is happy to at least try and point you toward the good stuff. Let’s get started.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Every week, 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 a conversation with music and culture journalist Kieran Press-Reynolds. One of the rare young voices in a struggling field that’s clogged with older writers and editors clinging on to their (rapidly disappearing) jobs, he’s carved out a unique—and very online—lane for himself. He discusses that here, and also shares his thoughts on the current state of the culture, along with his generation’s uneasy place in it.
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.
As encouraging as it’s been to see all of the anti-Spotify sentiment doing the rounds online during the past few weeks, what’s less encouraging is the way that calls to disengage with the company inevitably seem to be followed by questions like, “What other streaming platform should I use instead? The inconvenient truth is that none of the major streamers have completely clean hands, and while that might lead some consumers to resign themselves to what they see as the “necessary evil” of Spotify, there are a litany of alternatives out there, each one with its own pluses and minuses. Choosing between those alternatives, however, isn’t easy, which is what makes writer Frankie Pizá’s latest missive, “How 2 ‘Despotify Yourself,’” an invaluable read. Published via his FRANKA newsletter, it’s an extensive guide to the streaming universe, one that introduces the different players, highlights their various strengths and weaknesses and provides specific analysis for casual listeners and working artists alike. (One word of caution: the piece is written in Spanish, so English-only readers will need to use some sort of translation tool. Trust me, it’s worth the effort.)
It’s not often that an online radio station winds up on the cover of a magazine, but Radio alHara isn’t the average broadcasting operation. Launched during the pandemic and based in Bethlehem in the West Bank, the station has quickly become an important outlet for Palestinian culture and resistance. In a new feature for Crack, writer Adam Quarshie speaks with the station’s core members, detailing how Radio alHara got started and how it’s evolved during the past few years while also examining both the symbolic and practical value of radio as a medium.
As a music journalist, it often feels like every single kind of story has already been written a thousand times, and when it comes to lists, it’s even harder to break new ground. Yet Mixmag last week published a list that felt genuinely original: a round-up of 15 of the best untitled tracks of all time. Written by Finn Cliff Hodges, it includes tunes from Chez Damier, Skee Mask, Willow, Pearson Sound and others, and highlights the fact that when it comes to electronic music, names frequently don’t mean all that much.
With his long-awaited debut album, A Tropical Entropy, being greeted with rave reviews, Miami artist Nick León talked with writer Shaad D’Souza about the LP’s genesis—and the period of touring-induced burnout that preceded it—in a new Guardian profile. The wide-ranging piece also touches on his evolving relationship with the club, the comforts of studio life and the still-awkward fit between Latin rhythms and the Eurocentric world of dance music.
rRoxymore has always been a soft-spoken figure, but with the shapeshifting French artist’s ambient-leaning new Juggling Dualities album officially arriving today, she’s opened up about her past, present and future in a new conversation with Stephan Kunze that went live this morning via his zensounds newsletter.
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.
Following a series of collaborative singles, Jacques Greene and Nosaj Thing have decided to formalize their long-running partnership, and will soon be releasing the debut album from their newly christened Verses GT project. The self-titled LP, which the duo says is driven in part by a desire to “strip things back and cause a slow down in our everyday,” includes guest appearances by Kučka, TYSON and George Riley, and is slated to arrive on September 12 via LuckyMe. Ahead of that, two tracks from the record, including the previously released “Unknown” and new single “Your Light” (which features Riley), can already be heard here.
NYC party starter Jubilee dropped a surprise new EP yesterday. Entitled FreaQE, it’s available now though her own Magic City label, and features a rowdy drum & bass remix from NIGELTHREETIMES.
Having endured more than a year of desperate pleas for track IDs, the TraTraTrax label has combined two of its most requested tunes on a new split release. Out today, Split 3 includes a lively Pariah remix of Maoupa Mazzocchetti’s “Mantequilla”—which features vocals from Clara!—and a percussive chugger from Anthony Naples called “Perk.”
Speaking of Clara!, the Spanish vocalist popped up on Pangaea’s “Manía” single back in May, and last week the Hessle Audio co-founder announced that he’d put the song on a proper 12-inch. On the B-side is another new track, “Neuromance,” that is said to blend “the high-speed energy of happy hardcore with the synthetic melancholy of ’80s synth-pop.” Manía / Neuromance is available in full now.
One half of Nguzunguzu, Daniel Pineda (a.k.a. NA) has kept a relatively low profile during the past few years. (He did, however, share a few details about what he’s been up to when the influential duo was interviewed by First Floor back in 2022.) Yet he’s still making music, and on July 18 (i.e. tomorrow), he’ll be releasing a new EP under his birth name. Issued by the Einhundert label, it’s called Buburjas, and two tracks from the record have already been shared here.
Cellist and experimental composer Clarice Jensen has completed a new full-length. Where her last album, Esthesis, largely relegated the cello to the background, the forthcoming In holiday clothing out of the great darkness once again puts her chosen instrument center stage, prioritizing acoustic sounds while keeping effects to a minimum. Returning to the 130701 imprint, Jensen will be releasing the record on October 17, but LP cut “From A to B” is available now.
Jaymie Silk, the French producer and DJ who’s also been causing a stir in recent months with his norm-challenging Food for Thoughts posts on Instagram, has a new record on the way. The forthcoming More Love, Less War will be his second EP for the HE.SHE.THEY imprint, and while the full release won’t be available until July 31, the title track has already been shared.
Bristol bass mainstay Hodge and the Local Action label have apparently been working toward a release since 2021, and it’s finally going to see the light of day. Tom's Tweaks / Let You Know is billed as “a two-tracker of industrial-strength UK funky,” and though it’s due to surface in full on July 29, the song “Tom’s Tweaks” is available now.
Olof Dreijer is returning to Dekmantel with a new EP. Featuring remixes from Nídia and Verraco, it’s called Iris, and is inspired in part by the Swedish artist’s “high school b-boy phase.” October 17 is the official release date, but the record’s title track can be heard here.
For a while during the mid 2010s, a “weightless” style of bass music was all the rage, and the Different Circles label—headed up by Logos and Mumdance—was right in the thick of it. By the end of the decade, however, the imprint had gone dark, and up until this week, it had stayed quiet for the better part of six years. On August 27, that silence will officially come to an end with the release of a new compilation, Ping Volume One. What is ping? Described as “an approach to anchoring and propelling sound without relying on the steady pulse of a kick drum,” the term is said to have originated on Mumdance’s radio show, and it eventually motivated a series of producers to try their hand at the nascent sound. The upcoming compilation is the end result, and it includes contributions from the likes of Meta & Henry Greenleaf, Beton Brut, CORIN, Xen Chron and a slew of other artists. The tracklist also includes solo efforts from Mumdance and Logos themselves, and their tracks, “Ping Devil Meme” and “Red October,” have already been shared.
MIKA OKI 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 Mika Oki, a French-Japanese visual and sound artist based in Brussels. First Floor readers are most likely to recognize her name from her on-stage audiovisual collaborations with artists like Sky H1 and Sara Persico, but Oki’s extensive resume of sound and video installations—many of which also use light, smoke and other media—is perhaps even more impressive, as her work has been featured at festivals and art institutions across Europe and beyond. That said, her passion for music also runs deep, as do her crates, which is why she’s become a fixture behind the decks, both on the club circuit and in the radio realm. For a sampling of her varied selections—which, in fairness, are often colored by her love of UK bass music—Oki’s show on Kiosk Radio is a solid place to start, as is her SoundCloud page, which contains a multitude of DJ mixes. In the meantime though, she’s flexed her curatorial ear with her selection below, a song with a bassline that’s as potent as its political stance.
DJ Marcelle “Sorry, No Silence” (cortizona)
Another nice, messy track from the forever unruly DJ Marcelle. A figure of absolute freedom and raw instinct both behind the decks and in the studio, she continues to prove herself unafraid to stand where it matters. “Sorry, No Silence” is an industrial heater carrying the fierce spirit of Muslimgauze with words (“this is clearly ethnic cleansing”) taken from Nan Goldin’s speech at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin last year. This one tickles you sonically, politically and emotionally. Originally rejected by DJ Marcelle’s German label for its political message, the track luckily found its rightful home at the Belgian label cortizona. Every cent from the release—vinyl and digital—goes to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF). This is more than just a record. It’s a statement and a gesture of solidarity. Buy it, spin it, share it <3
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.
Orphx “Theikos” (KR3)
During a sizable chunk of the 2010s, the industrial variant of techno arguably dominated the genre—or at least the conversations about it. With Berghain at the peak of its power and seemingly every young upstart mining the Nitzer Ebb and Coil catalogs for inspiration, the sound of techno during those years was often one of mechanized dread and greyscale gloom. The pandemic did away with much of that, and as post-COVID dancefloors turned toward breakneck tempos and neon-streaked euphoria, EBM-flavored gloom was largely relegated to the sidelines. Orphx, however, has stayed the course, which makes sense; active since the early ’90s, the Canadian outfit’s devotion to darkness began long before the tastemaker crowd declared it fashionable, and as the group’s new Theikos EP demonstrates, their love of jagged textures and ominous atmospheres remains stubbornly intact. The record’s title track starts things off on a particularly potent note, swaddling its sinister stomp in serrated synths, reverb-addled vocal clips and howling layers of static.
Marc Faenger “Complex Measure” (Air Texture)
Frank Wiedemann & JakoJako “Acknowledgement” (Air Texture)
Sonically speaking, “Complex Measure” and “Acknowledgement” don’t have all that much in common, but they were both created using hardware, which is how they wound up on the new Hardwired compilation. Curated by JakoJako and featuring tunes from the likes of The Field, Rødhåd, Emily Jeanne, Sunroof and a slew of other artists, it’s a celebration of working outside the box, one that runs the gamut from celestial ambient excursions to sternum-rattling techno blasts. Marc Faenger’s “Complex Measure” falls into the latter category, its bruising churn bolstered by an ever-shifting array of sci-fi blips, bleeps and moans. “Acknowledgment,” on the other hand, heads down a more meditative path, as Jako Jako teams up with Âme’s Frank Weidemann to craft a pleasantly chilled cruiser. Foregoing kick drums entirely, they opt instead for soft pads, floaty melodies and a seemingly weightless assortment of chimes, landing in a zone that feels more like a narcotic strain of gamelan than a sweaty night at the club.
Portway “Altar” (Elicit)
Sitting somewhere between Mike Oldfield’s classic “Tubular Bells” and the more colorful strains of ’90s jungle, “Altar”—the opening number on Portway’s new Ghost in the Shell I release—is a spellbinding cut, one the Bristolian producer apparently made in bed after working a 12-hour shift at a restaurant. Though it was born out of a moment of exhaustion, the song itself is a luminous gem, one highlighted by its fluttering chimes and disembodied (albeit still soulful) diva snippets. Keeping tabs on all that sparkle is akin to watching a Las Vegas light show, but as compelling as those pyrotechnics can be, “Altar” also has enough low-end rumble to keep even the most demanding bass fiends happy.
Old Man Crane “Quork” (Bait)
With labels like SPE:C, Fast at Work and Bait currently firing on all cylinders, is it safe to say that dubstep is back? And not just any dubstep, but the heady, low-and-slow stuff that defined the genre’s first wave? Nostalgia for that era is certainly part of the appeal—especially for those of us old enough to remember the early 2000s—but at the same time, the new music on offer would never be mistaken for some sort of DMZ soundalike. Old Man Crane’s Hepp EP is the latest Bait release, and its most noticeable connection to the past is its profound sense of patience. The Leipzig producer is generally content to lie low in his grooves—even the ones that sound more like Afro-influenced hybrids than traditional dubstep—but on the standout “Quork,” he puts a little more swagger in his step, strutting across the dancefloor as the song’s unintelligible vocal fragments and buzzing, reverb-laden synths work their hypnotic magic.
Answer Code Request & Paul Claude “Refract” (Answer Code Request)
More than a decade into his career, Answer Code Request seems to have developed a taste for collaboration. After working with techno veteran Amotik on last year’s LED, the German artist has now engaged in an intergenerational team up, joining forces with newcomer Paul Claude on the Sequel EP. (Despite the title, it’s the duo’s first record together, and technically speaking, it’s also Claude’s debut release.) Much of the record deals in the broken techno that has long been Answer Code Request’s bread and butter, but on “Refract,” the music drifts straight into the cosmos, its juddering, stop-and-start rhythms gradually giving way to rousing melodic swells and the same sort of twinkling tones one might hear in a cinematic trance cut. Navigating something this grand often leads artists straight into the cheese factory, but these two manage to go big while keeping their dignity intact.
Aho Ssan & Resina “Egress V” (Subtext)
Born out of a long-brewing collaboration that actually kicked off with a remote, 12-person improvisation during the pandemic, Ego Death is an arresting new full-length from Polish cellist / composer Resina and Parisian noisenik / sound designer Aho Ssan. Given the latter’s extensive experience in the world of film, it’s no surprise that the LP is both openly emotive and sonically gargantuan, and the standout “Egress V”—which clocks in at more than nine minutes—is not only the record’s longest track, but its dramatic peak. Opening with what sounds like a simple, lilting organ melody and Resina’s wordless, softly cooed vocals, the song slowly blossoms into a towering beast. It remains quite beautiful, but at its most intense, the track also exudes a sense of barely contained chaos thanks to its swirling static and distorted waves of bass. In other words, “Egress V” is not a polite listen; it’s the sort of composition that swallows listeners, gnaws on their insides and then spits them back into the world, feeling oddly renewed by the experience.
Benoît Pioulard “Steeples Writhe (James Devane version)” (Disques d’Honoré)
Benoît Pioulard “Fog Dialect (MJ Guider version)” (Disques d’Honoré)
With dozens of releases that date back two decades, Benoît Pioulard is one of those artists whose catalog speaks for itself. Perhaps that’s why the Brooklyn-based artist is so comfortable sharing a bit of the spotlight on his latest outing, Stanza IV. While the main release (i.e. the vinyl version) focuses on his own long-form ambient soundscapes, an accompanying cassette includes some excellent reworks of that material by Markus Guentner, arovane, Clarice Jensen, Viul, James Devane and MJ Guider. It’s the latter two who shine brightest; Devane transforms the bucolic ambience of “Steeples Writhe” into a loopy, slightly glitchy number that recalls the dubbed-out eccentricity of Topdown Dialectic, while MJ Guider tamps down the orchestral wanderlust of “Fog Dialect,” crafting a smeared shoegaze dirge—one enhanced by her own evocative vocals—that sounds a bit like Sonic Youth during the band’s most pensive moments.
Patricia Wolf “Huginn and Muninn” (Balmat)
Given her well-documented love of the great outdoors—and birds in particular—Patricia Wolf was a perfect candidate to soundtrack Hrafnamynd, a film from Edward Pack Davee that’s both an autobiographical tale and a documentary study of Iceland’s ravens. (It also helped that the two had worked together before, as Davee had previously done a pair of music videos for the Portland-based ambient composer.) The Hrafnamynd soundtrack has now been released as an album, and though it contains the same sort of pastoral textures, dreamlike melodies and tranquil field recordings that made Wolf’s previous efforts—including 2022’s See-Through, also released on Balmat—such a delight, the new LP does feel noticeably subdued. Admittedly, that’s an odd thing to say about an ambient record, but Hrafnamynd doesn’t demand the spotlight; it deals primarily in serenity, and LP highlight “Huginn and Muninn” thrives in a supporting role, its warbling synths elegantly drifting toward some unseen—but surely magnificent—horizon.
Special Guest DJ “Dream” (3XL)
Plenty of scribes—myself included—have tried to describe the smudgy, reverb-soaked, post-everything sounds being championed by labels like West Mineral Ltd., Motion Ward, 3XL and all of their various offshoots, and while descriptors like “vapor dub” perhaps come close, the music has remained stubbornly difficult to pin down. (For what it’s worth, I’m quite partial to “lower-case ambient,” although that probably says more about how the work is presented than what it actually sounds like.) Our Fantasy Complex, the latest album from 3XL founder Special Guest DJ (a.k.a. Shy a.k.a. uon a.k.a. Caveman LSD), doesn’t make it any easier for genre-obsessed journalists, especially considering that its spaced-out closing track, “Dream,” sounds like a haunted missive from some long-forgotten royal court. Much of that sensibility comes down to the track’s delicately radiant piano refrain, although the song’s surrounding sea of subtle drones and gently undulating textures only enhances its allure.
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.