First Floor #274 – The Shine Is Off
New dance music doesn't seem to be making much of an impression, plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh slate of new track recommendations.
The music industry’s supposed summer slowdown is a myth. My Instagram feed might be full of people jetting off to foreign lands and frolicking on sun-soaked beaches, but my inbox is as full as ever—and not just with the “out of office” auto-replies that inevitably seem to pop up whenever you email anyone in Europe during July and August.
For what it’s worth, I’m not complaining about this, most likely because I don’t have any summer holidays planned this year. But given the sheer volume of electronic music being released right now, that’s probably a good thing. This week’s newsletter is absolutely bursting with track recommendations—all of them plucked from the hundreds of releases that dropped during the past week—and given that tomorrow is Bandcamp Friday, there’s another avalanche of new music lurking right around the corner.
But even if new music isn’t your bag, there’s plenty of other good stuff in today’s First Floor digest. News items, new release announcements, suggested reading links … if you do happen to be on vacation right now (and can’t seem to tear yourself away from your screens), all of those things can help you to fill the downtime. There’s also a special guest recommendation from NYC selector Hank Jackson, whose selection genuinely surprised me—in a good way, of course.
What else? Oh yeah, after looking at the recent crop of “Best of 2025 So Far” lists that have flooded the internet during the past month or so, I took a closer look at critics’ selections and quickly realized that they included very little dance music. It’s strange—economically speaking, the genre is booming right now, but if these lists are any indication, the music’s cultural stock appears to be dropping fast, even among people whose primary focus is covering this stuff. Why? I wrote an essay sharing my thoughts on the matter, and you’ll find a link to that below—and yes, the paywall is temporarily down.
That’s about it, 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 examining dance music’s current place in the culture. Based on their “Best of 2025 So Far” selections, journalists appear to be rather nonplussed with the genre at the moment, and it’s hard not to wonder how much that has to do with the blatantly commercial turn dance music has taken in recent years.
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.
Admittedly, the level of Liz Pelly worship here at First Floor is already exceedingly high, but for those who still have an appetite for her Spotify critiques, the NYC-based writer and researcher has teamed up with More Perfect Union to create a new video feature. The title, “Why Spotify’s CEO Is Worth Billions While Musicians Make Pennies,” is pretty self-explanatory, but the piece provides a 360-degree view of the streaming landscape while shining a particularly bright light on the exploitative nature of its underlying business practices.
There’s no shortage of reasons to be frustrated with the current state of DJ culture, but a new article in The New York Times highlights how a growing number of reality TV stars have begun to take up DJing as a money-making side hustle. Written by Jessica Roy, the story verges on being a hate read, but it nonetheless provides yet another example of just how far DJing and dance music have drifted from their roots.
Speaking of dance music gone awry, an illuminating new Ransom Note feature by Amber Rawlings goes inside abyssal Re:Core, a recent party by London collective Genesys that literally included MMA fights as part of the night’s line-up. Providing a window into a new strain of nightlife populated by hyper-online young people whose creative impulses have been “filtered through brand partnerships and Instagram strategies,” the article views those in attendance with both skepticism and empathy. More broadly though, it takes stock of what happens when “the predominant currency of UK nightlife is experience” and “the potential for viral moments trumps just about everything else.”
Marke Bieschke continues to be one of dance music’s handful of must-read journalists, and that goes double whenever he writes about his hometown of Detroit. In a new feature for DJ Mag, he explores the queer roots of Motor City techno, shining a light on oft-overlooked figures like Ken Collier, Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale and John “Jammin” Collins while recounting a history that goes well beyond the thoroughly documented exploits of the Belleville Three.
DJ Python has granted plenty of interviews over the years, but his latest conversation with writer Michael McKinney for Passion of the Weiss goes unexpectedly deep. Although there’s plenty of talk about his music and his recent i was put on this earth EP for XL, what’s more interesting is when he talks about his aversion to both revivalism and futurism, the difference between depth and intensity, how he’s been affected by his transient lifestyle and his apparent love of motorcycle stunt riding.
With AI rapidly gaining momentum and being foisted upon seemingly everyone and everything, it’s already generated a whole lot of apprehension and consternation in music circles. But in an intriguing new feature for Mixmag, writer Anna Says pushes back against that sentiment, exploring the possibility that the technology could ultimately be a good thing. Along the way, she talks to Benn Jordan, Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, Imogen Heap, Robert Owens and others, and while there’s widespread acknowledgement that the AI industry is already severely lacking when it comes to issues of permission and compensation, many of those interviewed also feel that the key to improving the situation lies in thinking of AI as a tool, not a threat, and shaping its emerging ecosystem to better protect artists and their interests.
Made in France is a new six-part documentary about DJ Mehdi, and with the series officially dropping this week, The Guardian commissioned Ben Cardew to look back at the life and legacy of the late French-Tunisian artist. His article touches upon Mehdi’s hip-hop beginnings, his occasionally audacious exploits with the Ed Banger crew and his untimely death at the age of 34.
Rewind continues to be one of Resident Advisor’s most rewarding content series, and in the latest installment, writer Sophie McNulty revisits Sabresonic, the landmark 1993 album from The Sabres of Paradise. As expected, Andrew Weatherall looms large in the story, but the piece lays out the genesis of both the group and the LP, and highlights how the record’s freewheeling, genre-agnostic approach still resonates more than three decades later.
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.
Few dance music voices are more iconic than that of Paul St. Hilaire, and the dub techno legend has a new album on the way, one that pairs him with a new generation of production talent. Entitled w/ The Producers, the LP features a different producer on each track, with a roster of contributors that includes Auroral Halal & DJ G, Cousin, Priori, Shinichi Atobe, Batu, Azu Tiwaline, Gavsborg and Russell E.L. Butler. It’s slated for a September 26 on the Kynant label—and marks the Berlin-based imprint’s 10th anniversary—but the opening song, “Like It’s Always Been,” a collaboration with Mala, is available now.
HANK JACKSON 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 Hank Jackson, an NYC-based artist whose decidedly low profile obscures the high regard in which he’s held among his peers. First emerging during the early 2010s, he dropped releases on labels like Mister Saturday Night and Anthony Naples’ (now defunct) Proibito, but his wide-ranging musical vision is perhaps best encapsulated by his own anno imprint, which launched in 2017 and released the debut record from Huerco S. side project Loidis the following year. Inspired by the dancefloor but never beholden to it, anno defies easy categorization, but having issued music from acts like Funky Doodle (a one-off collaboration between James K, Draveng and DJ Richard), J. Albert, Significant Other and K Wata, the label’s catalog speaks for itself. Jackson, however, perhaps speaks even louder in the DJ booth, where his borderless approach and love of murky textures has solidified his status as one of your favorite DJs’ favorite DJs. Looking at his selection below, it’s not hard to understand why, as he’s unearthed something rather unexpected.
Atari Teenage Riot “Sex (Original Full Length Version)” (Digital Hardcore)
This one’s a bit of an unexpectedly deep acid-y house track from the seminal German punk / “digital hardcore” group Atari Teenage Riot. The tune itself is a super extended version of something originally released on their 1997 album Delete Yourself! It’s got this really sexy sort of tripped-out vibe, with perfectly soft (maybe even sultry?) spoken-word vocals over some beautiful, subdued pads and a very large bassline. It does feature a relatively straightforward 303 line, which is something I’ve admittedly become mildly allergic to, but I think it works super nicely here, especially after the first vocal passage when they play with some swirly delay on it. The band is known for a much more aggressive and noisy hardcore / breakbeat sound, which makes this track sort of an interesting standout in their catalog.
I also need to extend a special shout out to my friend Donna on this one, who introduced me to the album version of “Sex” during a beautiful sunset drive a couple years back. The moment was sublime and stuck with me very much, so I think my love for the tune is influenced by some special personal nostalgia (as many good songs are!). That said, I would still definitely recommend checking out that version, as the more distilled take has something equally special to offer.
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.
Ploy “Flirt” (Faith Beat)
Ploy “Woman (Thank You)” (Faith Beat)
Having already followed up the techy weirdness of last year’s They Don’t Love It Like We Do with the big-room bongos of It’s Later Than You Think, Ploy has now continued his house music journey with The Flirt, a brilliant new EP for Ryan Elliott’s Faith Beat imprint. The UK producer provided some details of that journey in a First Floor interview earlier this year, but what he didn’t mention was that his next record would find him in full-blown loverman mode. Both soulful and sexy, the EP bares few traces of the hardcore continuum—save for the slightly wobbly bassline on opening cut “Flirt”—but the music on offer feels confident and carefree. On “Flirt,” that manifests in the form of jazzy keys, a sashaying strut and a whole lot of diva snippets, while the more upfront “Woman (Thank You)” takes a more direct approach, sweet talking every lady in earshot as Ploy’s string stabs and high-stepping drums usher everyone onto the dancefloor. Impeccably made and unabashedly fun, both tunes are easily among the best things he’s ever done.
Pacific Coliseum “Dreaming in Paradise” (Rhythm Section International)
In recent years, Jamison Isaak has steered his long-running Teen Daze project squarely into the realm of mellow electronic pop, but in 2025, he’s breathed new life into Pacific Coliseum, his Balearic-tinged, house-oriented alias that’s been cooly cruising along for the better part of a decade. Having already released the Voice Wave full-length back in March, the Vancouver artist is now kicking off Rhythm Section’s new digital EP series with a lively, four-track effort called Dreaming in Paradise. With its pastel sound palette and breezy funk grooves, the record fits comfortably into the laid-back (albeit highly danceable) house lineage of the the Canadian Riviera, and Isaak finds a real sweet spot on the EP’s title track, outfitting the familiar sound of a Korg M1 organ riff with a steady beat and some dreamy melodic accoutrements.
Hodge “Let You Know” (Local Action)
L-Vis 1990 “Junglism” (Club Djembe)
UK funky has been creeping back into the dance music discourse for a while now, and while it has yet to experience a full-blown revival—in fairness, the days of acts like Crazy Cousinz landing on the UK pop charts are unlikely to return—the genre’s syncopated rhythms and bubbly energy remain remarkably potent. (Part of that continued potency also stems from the fact that funky torchbearers during the last decade-plus have infused the music with elements of gqom, amapiano and other distinctly African sounds.) Although Hodge and L-Vis 1990 are now regarded as bass music veterans, there’s little question that both artists were profoundly shaped by the funky explosion of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Since then, their stylistic trajectories have gone in a myriad of different directions, but on their latest releases—Tom's Tweaks / Let You Know and Summer Heat, respectively—they tap back into the genre, indulging in a kind of musical homecoming.
Hodge’s “Let You Know” honestly sounds like a long-lost UK funky classic, its slinky shuffle taking cues from Altered Natives and Scratcha DVA alike. Armed with big sirens, bigger drums and a bulbous bassline, it practically struts across the dancefloor, the song’s whispered vocal refrain adding a touch of seductive allure. In contrast, L-Vis 1990—the Night Slugs co-founder who was last year interviewed by First Floor—takes a more hybrid approach on “Junglism.” Employing an unorthodox drum pattern and leaning heavier into African rhythms, the song accentuates its crooked gallop with tough piano stabs, and in what seems like a nod to his 2013 banger “Ballad 4D,” it even finds a way to subtly slip in a few submarine sound effects.
Hieroglyphic Being “IN THE PURSUIT OF MADNESS” (Mathematics)
Part of the fun—and the frustration—of following Hieroglyphic Being is that it’s impossible to know what the Chicago veteran will do next. Having spent years flooding the zone with releases, even dedicated fans struggle to keep up, and when they do press play on something, they’re as likely to hear Afrofuturist free jazz freakouts as they are gritty jackin’ house grooves. (More often than not, both will make an appearance, sometimes within the span of a single song.) On his latest full-length, however, Hieroglyphic Being has reined it in a bit—at least by his own boundary-busting standards. Whether that was intentional or not is anyone’s guess, but THE SOUND OF SOMETHING ENDING (STEREO VERSION) is a swaggering, dancefloor-focused effort, one that revels in the same sort of sleazy, gloriously unpolished rhythms that were coming out of the Windy City in the late ’80s and early ’90s. The highlights are numerous, but opening cut “IN THE PURSUIT OF MADNESS” busts out of the gate with confidence, its funk-infused synths practically snarling as the track’s overdriven drum-machine beats crackle with distortion. Lo-fi and high impact, it’s an example of Hieroglyphic Being operating at the height of his powers.
Pteron “Brace and Bit” (Texture)
Repurposing wobble for the power of good, Pteron proves himself to be a master of bassweight on the new Dragonfly EP. Whether he’s serving up brooding dubstep (“Clubtail”), putting a hazy spin on industrial-strength trip-hop (“Sporaform”) or pairing growling basslines with the soothing sounds of the forest (“Dragonfly”), the San Francisco-based producer moves nimbly up and down the hardcore continuum, reveling in the possibilities of high-definition sound design and low-end exploration. On the standout “Brace and Bit,” however, he finds a new gear, crafting a serrated hybrid that sounds like Lechgua Zafiro making a footwork tune for Skull Disco.
Plant43 “Anthropomorphic Algorithms” (Plant43)
Although he’s explored a variety of genres during the two decades he’s been releasing music, Plant43 is first and foremost an electro guy, and his skills shine especially bright on “Anthropomorphic Algorithms.” A highlight of Feeding the Machines—the London-based producer’s newly released 10th full-length—the song sits somewhere between Kraftwerk and Drexciya, its angular rhythms and wiggly synths evoking visions of a breakdance battle in the cosmos. Even better, it’s also got a sentimental streak, casting a soft neon glow that’s perfect for moodily pondering life’s big questions—preferably while piloting some sort of spacecraft.
747 “Lost Lagoon” (Aquaregia)
What would it sound like if Tin Man made a jungle record? 747’s new Pacific Spirit album provides a pretty solid—and highly enjoyable—answer, even though the Toronto producer most likely had other things in mind when he started working on the record. With its billowing textures and dreamlike atmosphere, LP standout “Lost Lagoon” might actually qualify as liquid drum & bass, and while its tweaky wiggles will surely excite the acid crowd, the song also nods toward the majestic end of the trance spectrum, populating its closing minutes with a volley of elegantly fluttering melodies.
Sleep D “Reward Chemicals” (Kalahari Oyster Cult)
Speaking of trance, Sleep D have warmly embraced the T-word on “Reward Chemicals,” the proggy title track of their latest EP. Although the eminently reliable Melbourne duo already have more than a decade of releases under their belt—including Big Sky, Liquid Sun, which came out only a few months ago via their own Butter Sessions imprint—Reward Chemicals is their debut on Kalahari Oyster Cult, and it’s a decidedly functional effort. Not functional as in boring, but functional in the sense that it deals in gradual builds, steady rhythms and easy grooves. Nuance is Sleep D’s secret weapon, and even as they crib a few notes from the trance playbook, the vibe remains relatively relaxed. It’s a smart move, as “Reward Chemicals” is fully capable of lifting spirits without resorting to “hands in the air” theatrics.
yingtuitive “braided cords (Tristan Arp Remix)” (Third Place)
Letters To Self 寫情書, the debut album from yingtuitive, is a beautiful record. Wonderfully unhurried and delicately assembled, the LP shares a certain similarity with vintage Japanese ambient / environmental music, but is perhaps more accurately described as a weightless strain of gamelan-inflected new age. Further enhanced by the addition of serene field recordings—which the artist captured herself in both the UK and her native Singapore—the album is often enchanting, most notably on dreamily twinkling cuts like “blue” and “moonstorm.” And while it’s no wonder that the tracklist includes a remix from Salamanda—the South Korean duo and yingtuitive unquestionably share a certain musical worldview—it’s a rework from Tristan Arp that ultimately steals the show, transforming the softly stuttering “braided cords” into a bucolic slice of jungle that’s simultaneously both deeply meditative and fully capable of (politely) mashing up the dance.
Sebastiano Carghini “every beginning” (topo2)
When the topo2 label quietly dropped Sebastiano Carghini’s Rumble album last week, it offered no real backstory or underlying narrative, but the few descriptive phrases it did publish—“ambient-no-ambient journey,” “fractured memory loop,” “liminal, ever-shifting landscape”—pretty much nailed the record’s warbling, half-delirious aesthetic. Occupying a hazy space between dubby ambient and blippy IDM, the LP finds solace in its loopy meditations, at times echoing some of Actress’ more taciturn moments away from the dancefloor. On the standout “every beginning,” the song’s smudgy plinks and plonks seem to carry the weight of the world, yet they remain resiliently airborne, peacefully floating toward some unseen oblivion.
Almost an Island “Perfume Gloves” (Past Inside the Present)
It’s not often that an ambient project is labeled a supergroup, but considering the extensive individual resumes of Kenneth James Gibson, James Bernard and marine eyes, the trio’s new Almost an Island project should at the very least be recognized as an impressive assemblage of talent. The group’s self-titled debut is an exercise in widescreen Americana, with chunky guitar twangs taking flight amid plush soundscapes that stretch toward an endless horizon. Stars of the Lid feels like an obvious reference point—especially given Gibson’s previous collaborations with the late Brian McBride—but Almost an Island’s sound has a bit more cinematic grandeur, most notably on LP highlight “Perfume Gloves.” Evoking the chilly majesty of Sigur Rós, its combination of softly tinkling pianos, ethereal vocal textures and calmly soaring melodies exudes both tender intimacy and aural splendor.
John Also Bennett “A Handful of Olives” (Shelter Press)
Minimalism is often associated with sparse compositions and a cold attention to detail, but John Also Bennett’s new Στον Ελαιώνα / Ston Elaióna—an album consisting of little more than bass flute and a Yamaha DX7ii synth—radiates warmth. Patient and pensive, the record was primarily recorded during the early morning hours in Bennett’s adopted home of Athens, and its mellow explorations—accented by the occasional field recording and his own breath sounds—satisfyingly allude to a sense of rural tranquility. Ston Elaióna, not coincidentally, translates to “in the olive grove,” and the standout “A Handful of Olives” finds a kind of pastoral peace, its flute wanderings bolstered by elongated synth tones and the idyllic environs (both real and imagined) of Greece itself.
The Allegorist “Momentum” (Awaken Chronicles)
If Emptyset was hired to score a Michael Bay film, the end result might very well sound like From Birth Until Death, the latest full-length from Berlin-based artist The Allegorist. Infused with IMAX-ready crunch and the emotional drama of a big-budget period piece, the record deals almost exclusively in big swings—and to her credit, The Allegorist connects on most of them, even pulling off some moves that on paper might sound ridiculous. Take LP highlight “Momentum,” where she at one point begins manipulating the song’s high-impact distortion into what sounds like the wikka-wikka needle scratching of an old-school turntablist; it not only sounds good, but ups the tension of an already intense composition, and once she brings in some choir-like vocals that are part Enya and part ceremonial incantation, there’s little you can do but strap in and surrender to the sheer enormity of what’s unfolding.
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.