I don’t think of myself as an AI doomer, and I generally try to avoid talking about Trump here in the newsletter, but it’s hard to not feel discouraged by statements like this one:
“You can’t be expected to have a successful AI program when every single article, book, or anything else that you’ve read or studied, you’re supposed to pay for … We appreciate that, but just can't do it—because it’s not doable.”
Trump said this yesterday as part of a speech announcing his administration’s “AI Action Plan,” and if you’re an artist, musician, writer or creator of any kind, the underlying message is that in the view of the most powerful government in the world, your individual intellectual property rights are secondary to the business objectives of multibillion-dollar tech companies.
I suppose that’s not really surprising, especially not during a week when 404 Media published a report that “Spotify is publishing new, AI-generated songs on the official pages of artists who died years ago without the permission of their estates or record labels.” (Seriously, can this company get any worse?) Still, it’s galling to hear an American president, even a clearly moronic one, come right out and argue that AI firms—who, to be clear, didn’t ask for permission to use people’s work in the first place—couldn’t possibly be troubled with the expense or hassle of honoring existing copyright law. Though the fight over this issue is far from over—numerous AI-related lawsuits are working their way through the courts, and few governments have settled on a concrete regulation scheme—it does appear that the “move fast and break things” crowd is currently well positioned to get their way once again.
That “again” might be the most frustrating part of this whole scenario, particularly within creative communities, which have been completely upended by the tech sector during the past few decades. Artists have become deeply dependent on tech platforms to share, distribute and promote their work, and what’s worse, many of them have altered their creative output and communication methods as a result, hoping to better align with the norms and incentives of these systems that have been foisted upon them. While it’s true culture has always responded to technological advances this way, the modern music landscape has become so subservient to online metrics and the idea of maximizing engagement that the actual music being created these days often feels not just secondary, but borderline inconsequential.
Earlier this week, I published an essay examining how these developments are affecting compilations, which appear to be rapidly ballooning in size. What’s driving artists, labels and collectives to assemble these enormous tracklists? I wish I could say it all comes down to the sheer abundance of incredible music being made, but as the article lays out, there’s likely much more to it than that.
You’ll find a link to that piece below—and yes, the paywall is temporarily down—and if you keep on scrolling, you’ll find the rest of today’s digest. Even with half of Europe on summer vacation, the electronic music realm continues to bubble with activity, and if you don’t have the patience to keep tabs on every single development, First Floor is here to point you toward the good stuff. Read on for an assortment of news items, new release announcements and suggested reading links, and if new tunes are what you’re after, I’ve also assembled a fresh batch of track recommendations, all of them plucked from albums and EPs that dropped during the past week. And if that’s not quite enough, Austin-based house producer Fennec also drops by with a special guest recommendation as well.
As always, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover, so 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 an essay questioning why compilations are not just multiplying in number, but also seem to be sporting increasingly large tracklists. The potential causes are numerous, but in a music ecosystem where streaming and social media now have an outsized influence, it’s safe to say that some of what’s happening stems from artists and labels attempting to reckon with a system that’s been rigged against them.
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.
Pushing back against coordinated efforts to punish musicians who publicly speak out against Israel’s ongoing military assault against Gaza, Massive Attack, Brian Eno, Kneecap and Fontaines DC last week announced the formation of a new artist alliance. The announcement came via Instagram, and while the alliance doesn’t yet appear to have a name or website, the post lays out numerous demands and also provides a contact email, promising assistance to artists—“particularly those at earlier stages of their careers or in other positions of professional vulnerability”—who’ve been “threatened into silence or career cancellation.”
Kevin Martin (a.k.a. The Bug) has never been shy about sharing his thoughts, opinions and perspectives, but he goes particularly deep in a new Passion of the Weiss interview by writer Son Raw. Their conversation touches on a variety of topics, but primarily focuses on the wide range of artists and sounds (e.g. dubstep, dancehall, free jazz, hip-hop, grime, noise) that have shaped Martin’s own work over the years.
Want to know more about Baltimore club? Music journalist Al Shipley has written a new book on the genre, documenting a hugely influential scene whose history remains largely under the radar. Entitled Tough Breaks: The Story of Baltimore Club Music, it’s said to draw from “18 years’ worth of interviews with dozens of DJs, producers, vocalists, party hosts, promoters and the founders of the clubs, labels and record stores that shaped the genre.” Repeater Books will be publishing Tough Breaks on August 19, but a lengthy excerpt has already been shared via Stereogum.
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.
After years of primarily releasing albums via his own Phantasy Sound imprint, Daniel Avery has signed on with the Domino label for his next LP. Entitled Tremor and billed as a collection of “euphoric shoegaze, submerged techno, ambient soundscape and industrial bliss,” the record features a lengthy cast of guest contributors, including Alison Mosshart (of The Kills), yeule, Walter Schreifels (of Quicksand and Rival Schools), bdrmm, Julie Dawson (of NewDad), Ellie, yuné pinku, Art School Girlfriend and—speaking of shoegaze—Ride co-founder Andy Bell. The latter features on the record’s lead single, “Rapture in Blue,” alongside vocalist Cecile Believe. That song is out now, as is its accompanying video, and the full album is scheduled to land on October 31.
Continuing her Perpetual Emotion Machine series of dancefloor-focused releases, Avalon Emerson this week dropped two new singles via the Dead Oceans label. “Sort of Like a Dream” is a collaboration with Anunaku—the two previously worked together on an EP as A+A a few years back—while “You’re My World” finds her teaming up with Montreal producer Priori. Both songs are available now, both individually and as part of a newly compiled Perpetual Emotion Machine EP that collects all five tracks from the series. (Full disclosure: Emerson and I work together on the Buy Music Club platform.)
Matt Karmil’s No Going Back album was one of 2024’s overlooked gems, and the UK artist is now poised to return with a new EP for Aus called WNE. Described as something that marries “tight grooves with dreamy and escapist melodies,” the record will be released on August 8, but opening number “Havin’ It” has already been shared.
Although he will likely always be primarily known for his contributions to beloved post-rock outfit The Sea and Cake, Sam Prekop has built up quite the solo catalog over the years, and will soon be releasing a new full-length. Slated to arrive on September 26 via Thrill Jockey, Open Close once again finds him exploring the realm of modular synthesis, and partially consists of music that he composed for a series of live shows with Laraaji. Ahead of the official release date, LP cut “Light Shadow” has already been made available.
When First Floor interviewed cellist and composer Oliver Coates last September, he referred to singer / songwriter Joanne Robertson as his “best friend” and mentioned that they’d been making music together. Less than a year later, several of their collaborations are now part of Robertson’s forthcoming album Blurrr, which was apparently created “in between painting sessions and also whilst raising a child.” Before the full LP is released on September 19 via AD 93, the song “Gown”—one of three tracks that feature Coates—has been shared.
Powell has a new LP on the way. Entitled We Do Recover, it was actually put together in the aftermath of a close friend’s suicide, an event that sent the UK artist into what he describes as a “tailspin,” but also made him “see the music [he] had been making through a different lens, one that mirrored [his] experience of recovery.” The record is the first proper full-length that Powell will be releasing through his own Diagonal label, and while it’s due to surface in full on October 3, two songs from the album are already available here.
FENNEC 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 Fennec, an Austin-based, Indiana-raised house producer whose talent for dusty and playful grooves is exceeded only by his penchant for flipping odd vintage samples, not to mention his ability to make even the most bizarre ones sound soulful, not kitschy. Having initially built a cult following via a series of self-released albums and EPs—for those curious where to start with his catalog, 2020’s free us of this feeling still sounds fantastic—he recently leveled up his profile, joining forces with fun-loving Swedish label Studio Barnhus for his latest EP, Momentary Pleasure. As Fennec explains below, his passion for Scandinavian dance music goes way back, and the song he’s selected is not just a good tune, but something that helped to set him on the dancefloor-friendly path he’s walking now.
Bjørn Torske “Møljekalas” (Paper)
My love for Studio Barnhus expanded over time into an interest in the music of the greater Nordic region. This led me to a 2016 documentary about the origins of Norwegian electronic dance music called Northern Disco Lights. When I saw the documentary, I felt a bit of kinship with the artists featured (like Bjørn Torske, Prins Thomas and Lindstrøm), being that we all grew up in mostly isolated places (well, as similar as Indiana and the Arctic Circle can be). But even though we didn’t have ready access to really cool clubs, we were still trying to dream up and make whatever we imagined the music in those places would sound like. The whole soundtrack is excellent, but this track (which Google translates to “Moth Party”) sticks out as a great example that’ll help you decide if you want to dig deeper into this dusty-yet-futuristic disco sound. Discovering these artists also helped me to contextualize my own sound, both in terms of “Oh, this is where what I do fits into a greater fabric” and simply not feeling so alone. And fun, did I mention the music is fun too?
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.
Crystalline Reality “Beach Balls” (DANCEMPORIUM)
Back in 2023, Glenn Astro released Nothing Is Real, a “compilation” that in fact consisted entirely of music he himself had written, albeit under a variety of different aliases. One of those aliases was Crystalline Reality, and while the project’s two contributions to Nothing Is Real offered up a kind of big-room breakbeat, the sound palette has now shifted toward what DANCEMPORIUM—an offshoot of the Tartelet label—describes as “hypnotic trance melodies” and “sensuous deep house basslines.” Full of color and confidently cool, the record is fun without being silly, and also manages to feel upbeat without cluttering up the composition or ratcheting up the tempo. The standout “Beach Balls” might actually have the most strident drums on the whole EP, yet the song itself is a chilled cruiser, one whose “beachside terrace at sunset” vibe is bolstered by the addition of some distinctly Mediterranean guitar licks in the track’s latter half.
fields we found “rhythm structure 2.2” (Self-released)
As the head of the quiet details label, Alex Gold is primarily known for his contributions to the world of ambient and experimental sounds, but his own music as fields we found is unbound by genre orthodoxy. Earlier this year, the UK producer launched rhythm structures, a quarterly series of EPs inspired by some of his formative dancefloor experiences. Like its predecessor, the newly released rhythm structures 02 was performed live and recorded to tape, and while that does lend the record a certain looseness, it’s nonetheless a meditative listen. With its cloudy textures and looming cloud of soft static, EP highlight “rhythm structure 2.2” might even be described as dub techno, but Gold never goes fully subterranean, keeping his drums—relaxed as they are—relatively clean as they shimmy into the wee hours of the morning.
Caldera “Spiral Path of Joy (Skii Mix)” (DANS)
A love letter to Caldera’s former home and studio space, the Last Transmissions From Jevvers EP is largely populated with tripped-out techno hybrids, their easygoing rhythms echoing what the German-born, UK-based producer describes as the “tranquil grove” that surrounded his previous HQ. Some of that tranquility also carries over to the standout “Spiral Path of Joy (Skii Mix),” as the song’s gurgling synths and softly crackling sound design allude to the understated majesty of the great outdoors. Yet it’s also the one track on the EP where Caldera notably picks up the pace, settling into a vibrant, free-flowing zone that sits somewhere between Aleksi Perälä, the more melodic end of the Livity Sound catalog and the autonomic drum & bass that dBridge was making during the late 2000s.
Yushh “Ghost of What” (Tectonic)
Shed “Scapes” (Tectonic)
However one feels about the recent spate of supersized compilations, it’s hard to imagine anyone complaining about Tectonic Sound, or any of the 24 songs on its tracklist. Commissioned as part of the Bristol bass outpost’s ongoing 20th-anniversary celebrations, the record does feature plenty of familiar names—including Peverelist, Coki, Appleblim, 2562 and Om Unit, to name just a few—but it shouldn’t be mistaken for some sort of nostalgic victory lap. For all the accolades that have been thrown his way over the years, label founder Pinch has always kept his gaze fixed on the future, which is likely why he’s filled the compilation with nothing but previously unreleased material, including contributions from next-gen artists like Flora Yin Wong, SICARIA and Beatrice M.
Exploring the extremely fertile ground between techno and the hardcore continuum, Tectonic Sound offers up a compelling variety of chuggers, thumpers, bangers and off-kilter exercises in beat science. The highlights are numerous, but Yushh’s “Ghost of What” merits special mention for its sheer unclassifiability. A shuffling stepper buoyed by weightless vocal fragments and stuttering synths that sound like repurposed tones from an old telephone, the song revels in wonky introspection, growing ever more pensive as its crooked drum patterns are gradually subsumed by some subtly cinematic chords. A bit more conventional, but no less potent, is Shed’s “Scapes,” on which the German veteran indulges in a dubby strain of atmospheric drum & bass, defying gravity as he swaddles the track’s aquatic rumble in some exquisitely plush pads.
Slikback “Trars” (Planet Mu)
As crowded as the world of bass music has become, there’s nobody else out there like Slikback. Born in Kenya and based in Poland, he’s both wildly talented and dizzyingly versatile, effortlessly connecting the dots between techno, trap, noise, dubstep, gqom, gabber and more, sometimes within the span of a single tune. Historically, he’s also been something of a lone operator; aside from a few scattered appearances on labels like Hakuna Kulala, PAN and the newly revived Tempa, his catalog consists of dozens of brain-bending, self-released EPs, most of which he’s made available as “name your price” downloads on Bandcamp.
His new Attrition album, however, is a more considered effort. Created during a period of extended downtime when visa issues prevented him from traveling, the LP—his first for Planet Mu—has a clear arc, growing more unhinged and intense with each passing track. Precision-crafted and designed to harness the power of sonic overload, it’s stuffed with rapid-fire drum attacks and growling bursts of distortion, a formula that’s particularly effective on the standout “Trars.” Combining scorched-earth aesthetics with a relentless sense of mechanized doom, it wouldn’t be out of place in a sci-fi apocalypse flick—one in which the human race most definitely doesn’t survive.
styn “Lekkerbek Live” (Club Romantico)
Taken from the new Hazes EP, “Lekkerbek Live” has some big 2009 energy, tapping into the delightful weirdness that characterized the early days of UK funky and post-dubstep. Part of what made that era so incredible was artists’ willingness to throw out the dance music rulebook and mash together seemingly different genres, and styn appears to be guided by a similar impulse. Opening track “Bala Drumz,” for instance, is a high-stepping hybrid that sounds like a marching band drumline taking a trip to Trinidad and Tobago for Carnival. “Lekkerbek Live,” on the other hand, charts an even more unorthodox path, combining its syncopated percussion with woozy synth lines and wobbly bass blasts, making a compelling case that when it comes to dance music, straight lines are severely overrated.
rRoxymore “Moodified” (!K7)
Created while rRoxymore was still processing a period of personal upheaval, the French artist’s new Juggling Dualities album mostly steps away from the dancefloor, gliding into a space that she’s half-jokingly described as “ambient not ambient.” It’s tough to talk about music being “healing” without veering into cliché—especially when said music sits anywhere near the new age genre, as Juggling Dualities most definitely does—but following convention has never been rRoxymore’s thing, and her latest full-length is far too slippery and restless to be lumped in with the usual yoga studio fodder. On “Moodified,” she even brings a low-key, not-quite-house beat into the mix, along with a bit of IDM-ish skronk and a chunky walking bassline that could have been plucked from an old Roni Size / Reprazent record. What results might occupy a space that’s a bit more cozy and comfortable than much of rRoxymore’s past output, but there’s no question that she followed her own unique roadmap to get there.
primeiro “Movement No. 1 (Clavícula)” (Sonôsfera / Danzee / IN:EX)
It’s not often that a “horse-related accident” impacts the music-making process, but in the case of ambient practitioner and loop maestro primeiro, it proved to be a major life event. And given that the titles of the first three songs on his new Music for Horses I & II contain the names of specific bones—perhaps that were broken?—it’s tempting to assume that the experience was a rather harrowing one. Whatever happened, it was dramatic enough that the Argentinian artist was inspired to retool the four tracks he previously released as Music for Horses back in 2023. Newly slowed down and bolstered with just a touch a bubbly drum machine beats, they still radiate a sense of no-frills elegance, but things get even more interesting on the post-accident Music for Horses II, which makes up the first half of the new record. Yes, it’s a little confusing to keep track of what songs were made when, but there’s no spoiling the gently twirling simplicity of “Movement No. 1 (Clavícula),” a soft-focus gem that’s something like the musical equivalent of looking through a vintage kaleidoscope.
mu tate, NEXCYIA & Exzald S “Termag” (Good Morning Tapes)
mu tate, NEXCYIA & Exzald S “Leux Moel” (Good Morning Tapes)
Named for a small town in Southern France where mu tate, NEXCYIA and Exzald S all participated in the same residency, Labège is a wonderfully woozy collaborative record. Ambient but never sedate, it brings to mind the simmering bliss and lush textures of someone like Malibu, but its compositions are perhaps a bit more irreverent. Opening cut “Termag,” for instance, enhances its hypnotic brew with the twinkling tones of what sounds like a glockenspiel, along with a procession of pitch-shifted (albeit undeniably soulful) vocal clips that gradually ascend toward a register that only dogs can hear. As silly as that may seem, the song itself feels more like a hazy digital lullaby, and the same could be said for the piano-flecked, reverb-kissed “Leux Noel.” Tinged with both subtle field recordings and a lingering sense of melancholy, the track exudes a sense of quiet grandeur, its warbling melodies and stately string flourishes conjuring images of verdant botanical gardens and waves crashing against the shore.
Feronia Wennborg & Lucy Duncombe “Dwell” (Warm Winters Ltd.)
Diving straight into the uncanny valley, Feronia Wennborg and Lucy Duncombe merrily blur the line between the physical and the virtual on their new Joy, Oh I Missed You full-length. Mimicking the chaos of our increasingly online existence, much of the record consists of jittery patches of digital sheen, but it’s the duo’s work with vocals that most directly stretches the limits of reality, combining voices both human and unhuman into a kind of otherworldly choir. On the stellar LP closer “Dwell,” that choir finds common ground between Enya and Oneohtrix Point Never, its pitchy, stuttering chirps intermingling with more traditional—and borderline regal—vocal harmonies. What results is both cathedral-ready and arrestingly beautiful, and seems to map out a new variant of devotional music in which worship is primarily focused on harnessing the mind-bending possibilities of technology.
Brad Rose “Particular Phantoms” (quiet details)
An ode to paths not taken, Brad Rose’s A Life We Once Lived charts a course through gauzy sentimentality, ruminating on what might have been. Yet it’s not a maudlin record; the Tulsa-based ambient / experimental veteran—who also heads up the online platform Foxy Digitalis—finds warmth and comfort in alternate realities, his free-floating, reverb-glazed compositions offering a bird’s-eye view as he drifts through a series of dimensions that only exist in the outer recesses of his own imagination. On the standout “Particular Phantoms,” that journey takes a ghostly turn; with its warbling textures, shimmering chimes and softly crackling static, the song hints at all sorts of half-forgotten specters, but rather than wallowing in darkness, Rose broadcasts a sense of calm, finding serenity as he moves among the ethereal apparitions he’s conjured.
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.