First Floor #315 – Should Escapism Be Cozy?

An examination of sleep concerts, plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh crop of recommended new releases.

Jun 11, 2026

Today’s newsletter is a long one. “But aren’t they all long?,” some of you are surely thinking. I suppose they are, but after I took last week off, there’s a sizable backlog of electronic music activity for us to catch up on. As such, I’m going to try to keep this little intro relatively brief.

However, I must first point a big flashing arrow at the article that First Floor published earlier this week, in which Berlin-based journalist Aida Baghernejad (making her long-form debut in the newsletter) paid a visit to The Infinite Now, a 30-hour ambient and experimental event that Atonal and Unsound staged in the German capital last month. Her article provides an immersive view of what went down, but it isn’t a straight-up review. It’s more of a reflection about what an event like this—and the “sleep concert” phenomenon more generally—says about the current state of nightlife and the culture at large. Who are these events for? And, more importantly, who is attending them? Those are just a few of the questions she asks in what’s ultimately an excellent and thought-provoking read.

You can 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 immensely packed digest. If you’re reading this, you probably know the drill by now: news items, new release announcements, suggested reading links… basically everything you need to get caught up on what’s been happening in electronic music during the past two weeks. And if new music is what you’re after, there’s of course a fresh batch of Recommended Releases, all of which are out now and available in full. There’s also a special guest recommendation, courtesy of Stockholm-based selector Mattias El Mansouri, so make sure to check that out.

I guess that intro wasn’t so short after all, but brevity has admittedly never been my strong suit. 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 open to everyone, and it’s a feature by Aida Baghernejad, who digs into the history of sleep concerts and ponders what they say about not only present-day nightlife, but where the culture may be headed in the years to come.

First Floor

Strangers in the Dark: The Rise of Sleep Concerts

Hi everyone. Shawn here, just to quickly mention that today’s article was penned by Aida Baghernejad, an award-winning music and culture journalist who’s based in Berlin. Working in both German and English, she casts a wide net, contributing to outlets like The Guardian, Der Freitag, Musikexpress, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and Die Zeit while effortlessly flowing between talk of pop stars, politics, food, film and much, much more. (And yes, she has her own newsletter…

3 days ago · 16 likes · Aida Baghernejad

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

A round-up of the most interesting electronic music news from the past week or two, plus links to interviews, articles and other things I think are worth sharing.

Nina Protocol is closing down. In an announcement made two weeks ago, the independent streaming platform and music sales marketplace—which focused heavily on emerging talent and left-of-center sounds—said that all operations would cease by July 15. The primary reason cited was an “inability to find a revenue strategy that would give Nina a path to sustainability at its current size.” (Full disclosure: Nina’s editorial arm initially included a monthly column, Second Floor, which I authored for a little more than a year.)
Speaking of platforms shutting down, online electronic music store Juno has shuttered its long-running digital shop, Juno Download. Few details were shared, though a brief statement was posted online, and COO Lucas Garcia later told Resident Advisor that “as streaming has become the dominant model of digital music consumption, artists and labels are now more connected than ever with their fans via social media and ‘direct to fan’ services like Bandcamp, so the role of the music webstore is becoming less significant.”
Sticking with the world of Resident Advisor, the site has been taking a rather hard look at the contemporary electronic music landscape during the past week. This process began with two separate essays penned by the site’s Editor Gabriel Szatan, who parked his usual optimism as he openly questioned whether the entire scene is hopelessly cooked and also considered what paths, if any, could potentially lead the culture out of its present stagnancy. (Considering how much RA has contributed to that stagnation—and, in many ways, benefitted from it—the publication is perhaps not the most credible outlet to take on this sort of narrative and analysis. That said, Szatan is a thoughtful, knowledgeable writer and his essays, which are detailed and thoroughly researched, offer some genuinely interesting ideas for readers to chew on.)

His first piece examines the intense fragmentation that now characterizes electronic music, looking at how it has stifled the potential for era-defining movements and has seriously affected not only the music being made (and played) these days, but the way people experience that music in the real world. The second article focuses more squarely on the idea of freeing the genre from the clutches of the “dead internet,” advocating for more archiving, less sentimentality and a more constructive relationship with AI technology. Given the length and breadth of those two pieces, RA probably could have left it at that, but this week the site has continued the conversation with a provocative (read: clickbaity) third feature, one in which a variety of staffers make suggestions—some of them sensible, some of them severely undercooked hot takes—about what needs to be changed in modern electronic music culture.
How did dubstep evolve from a niche scene into a legitimately global phenomenon? That question is at the core of the first book by music journalist Lauren Martin, whose Aftershock: The Seismic Impact of Dubstep will soon be released on Velocity Press. An oral history that begins in the late ’90s and runs through 2011, it pulls from conversations with Mala, Loefah, Coki, Kode9, Benny Ill, Hatcha, Youngsta, Skream, Rusko, Plastician, Joker, Appleblim, Shackleton, Pearson Sound, The Bug, Geeneus and many, many others, documenting the genre’s rise via seminal parties like FWD>> and DMZ and record labels like Skull Disco, Tectonic and Hyperdub. Earlier this week, The Guardian published an extract of Aftershock that focuses specifically on DMZ, but the full book is available for pre-sale now and will land in stores on August 3. (Full disclosure: Martin and I worked together at Red Bull Music Academy, and Velocity Press also published my book back in 2023.)
Carioca funk—which Brazilians often just call “funk” and people outside the country usually refer to as “baile funk”—is a genre that will forever be linked to Rio de Janeiro, even as its influence has steadily crept around the globe. That growth has been spurned on by many people, but one key figure who can’t be left out of the story is Daniel Haaksman, a German DJ, producer and digger who during the 2000s was one of the first people to seriously champion the genre outside of its home country. The knowledge he acquired has undoubtedly helped to shape his forthcoming book, It Began in Ipanema, which looks far beyond carioca funk and strives to tell the story of Rio de Janeiro in 50 songs. Published by Sorry Press, it includes a preface by Jamz Supernova and is scheduled to be released on June 26.
Gigi Masin just released a new album, Movement, and marked the occasion by chatting with Stephan Kunze for the latter’s zensounds newsletter. The resulting feature takes a wide-ranging look at the Italian ambient artist’s career, touching on not just his latest LP, but the many years he made music as a hobby (while working as a postal manager) and the way his life completely changed once the Music from Memory label began to reissue bits of his catalog during the 2010s.
Music for Tombak & Synth is the excellent new full-length from Cinna Peyghamy—and yes, it’s featured below in this week’s Recommended Releases—but those craving a closer look at the album (and the French-Iranian artist who made it) should most definitely check out this interview published by A Closer Listen. Speaking with Joseph Sannicandro, Peyghamy digs into his music-making process, talking specifically about the LP, but also his Iranian heritage, his relationship with the tombak and the role of improvisation in his work.
When Debit was interviewed by First Floor last year, the NYC-based Mexican artist spent much of the conversation talking about cumbia rebajada and her Desaceleradas album for Modern Love. She did, however, mention that a more club-oriented full-length was in the pipeline, and with Potpourri slated to drop via the N.A.A.F.I label this week, she’s now popped up in a new Bandcamp Daily feature. Written by Lewis Gordon, the piece briefly tours through her musical past, making stops at Señor Frog’s and the Providence noise scene, but it mostly focuses on Debit’s relationship with techno and Mexican guaracha, and how those influences both shape her new record.
Plenty of artists have gone through health scares, but what Ibrahim Alfa Jnr. experienced was truly harrowing. In a new Guardian article, he tells Alexis Petridis about a myriad of challenges he faced over the course of his life (e.g. family trauma, a stint in prison, poverty), including how he suffered through two pulmonary embolisms and two heart attacks. During the recovery period that followed, he was essentially forced to shut himself off from the world, and he coped with the isolation by making a batch of more than 500 new tracks. Those tracks are the basis of his excellent new Infinite Black LP—which landed in First Floor’s Recommended Releases a few weeks back.
When it comes to making big room-ready bangers, few artists have had a better hit rate during the past few years than LWS, whose tastemaker-approved productions have been issued via labels like TraTraTrax and can you feel the sun. That’s likely why Mixmag has tapped the Edinburgh-based artist for the latest edition of The Mix, the publication’s mix / interview series. In it, LWS talks to writer Christian Eede about finding electronic music as a teenager, his current music-making approach and why he actually prefers to make tunes that aren’t specifically geared toward the dancefloor. (And yes, he’s also put together an exclusive new DJ mix that accompanies the interview.)
Hyperlocal—a Milan-based online platform “dedicated to the exploration of neighborhoods, local communities and cultural scenes around the world”—is this weekend putting on an event focused on the “history of ambient music, from the sweat-soaked chillout rooms of early-1990s Brixton, London, to the algorithmic proliferation of the scene’s more contemporary experiments.” Ahead of that event, they’ve also curated a series of similarly themed essays and articles, including an illuminative piece by Hannah Pezzack that provides a brief history of drone music, touching on its medieval beginnings, the influence of Indian raga, the role of instruments like the bagpipes and the hurdy-gurdy and some of the genre’s more modern permutations.

OBLIGATORY BOOK MENTION

My first book is out now. It’s called First Floor Vol. 1: Reflections on Electronic Music Culture, and you can order it from my publisher Velocity Press. However, if you’re outside of the UK, I recommend that you either inquire at your favorite local bookshop or try one of the online sales links that have been compiled here.

JUST ANNOUNCED

A round-up of noteworthy new and upcoming releases announced during the past two weeks.

Space Afrika has a new album on the way. The long-awaited follow-up to 2021’s acclaimed Honest Labour is called Quiet Storm, and its contents are said to “allude to spirituality and the human condition, the tension between boldness and softness, ambition and the inner demons that persist.” Axelle Fanyo, Alto Aria, Klein, RXKNephew, Tony Njoku, Kiala Ogawa and Kelly Moran all make appearances on the LP, which is scheduled to land on September 25 via Dais, and in the meantime, the song “If This Is Hell,” which features Deuén, has been made available.
Having just added The Field to its roster, Studio Barnhus has continued its recruiting push, announcing that it will soon be issuing a new full-length from veteran UK producer Gold Panda. Entitled TON UP, it’s said to revolve around “the raw knock of old-school hip-hop instrumentals” that have been “pushed through pumping house-music machinery.” June 26 is the official release date, but LP cut “DING THE MOTOR” has already been shared.
When Relaxer was interviewed in First Floor last year, the Dripping co-founder and Black Eyes member spent a good chunk of time talking about Cry, his budding collaboration with fellow and NYC-based artist Kilbourne. The hard-charging duo, it seems, are now ready to self-release their debut EP, AD 140. Combining the “intensity of a hardcore group” with their “seasoned technical focus,” the record is due to surface on July 17, but opening cut “Like Fat Across Meat” is available now.
A bastion of quiet consistency, German techno veteran Efdemin will soon be following up last year’s excellent Poly album with a new EP. Mirror Phase is actually his debut for the Dekmantel label, which describes the record as “a sharp, incisive bundle of workouts that champion unfiltered techno of the highest calibre.” The title track has already been shared, and the rest of the EP will follow on July 17.
Keeping tabs on Mammo’s growing list of aliases is no easy task, although those looking for some pointers might want to begin with his First Floor interview from earlier this year. That conversation holds the key to understanding his latest moniker, 2601, which debuted at the end of last month with a new EP, Untitled. A two-track effort, it’s available now through the Dutch artist’s own Heaven Smile imprint.
Having already appeared on labels like Dekmantel, Nervous Horizon, Wisdom Teeth, Hundebiss and a litany of other outposts, Italian shapeshifter Piezo has now completed a new record for naff. Named after the ancient Tibetan funeral practice of disembodiment, it’s called Sky Burial, and promises to deliver “neo-prog alchemy,” “IDM-tinged electro” and “pensive bass pressure” when it drops on June 25. Ahead of that, the record’s title track has already been shared.
Mere Mortals is the name of Floating Points’ first full-length ballet score, and it first debuted in 2024 when the UK artist played synths alongside the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. A couple of years later, a recording of that score is now set to be released as a 14-track album on Deutsche Grammophon. It’s slated to surface in full on August 28, but one song, “Her Gift,” is available now.
After indulging some of his more rock-ish impulses on last year’s Tremor album, UK mainstay Daniel Avery has headed straight back to the dancefloor on Lemon / Satisfied, the inaugural 12-inch from the Delta Park label. It’s said to be “aimed squarely at the late-night hours,” and though the record won’t be out until July 6, the track “Lemon” has already been shared.
Ambient composer and drone manipulator Sarah Davachi has finished a new album, one which spans more than two hours across three slabs on vinyl. Containing “five new solo compositions for historical pipe organs (recorded across the USA, Canada and the Netherlands), a suite of three choral pieces, a collection of “interludes” for various microtonal ensembles (strings, brass, woodwinds) and a long-form chamber piece for string trio, organ, and tape,” it’s called The Will of Tongues, and though she’ll be issuing it through her own Late Music imprint on August 28, one piece from the record, “Songs of the Smile’s Fig: III. Follies,” is out now.
Wisdom Teeth co-founder Facta has been rather prolific during the past year or so, and he’ll soon be dropping a new dancefloor-focused EP, witness, which the UK artist says is a companion to 2025’s GULP album. One track on the record features vocals from MCs Warrior Queen and Killa P, and while the full release isn’t due to surface until June 26, opening song “T66” has already been made available.
London-based Canadian Eden Samara has become one of contemporary dance music’s favorite voices, and she recently put the finishing touches on a forthcoming new full-length. Much like its predecessor (2022’s Rough Night), Odyssey something of an all-star affair, with production contributions from Loraine James, Tim Reaper, TSVI, Ryan Pierre, Comfort Zone, Dan Only, Ryan Cover and Lighght, along with live harp from Marysia Osu and drums from Fyn Dobson. A joint release between Local Action and Lapsus, the LP will land on September 4, but the track “Punish Me” is out now.

MATTIAS EL MANSOURI HAS BETTER TASTE THAN I DO

First Floor is in many ways a one-person operation, but each week, the newsletter cedes the spotlight to an artist, writer or other figure from the music world, inviting them to recommend a piece of music.

The latest guest recommendation comes from Mattias El Mansouri, a Moroccan / Chilean artist who was born and raised in a quiet Swedish village, but now makes his home in Stockholm. In a time when dance music is increasingly dominated by larger-than-life personalities and online theatrics, El Mansouri is someone who steadfastly lets the music do the talking. Both behind the decks and in the studio, he effortlessly moves through various strains of house, techno, disco and more, all the while showcasing his ability to prioritize depth and functionality without ever venturing into self-indulgent or downright snoozy territory.

RECOMMENDED RELEASES

The following is a summary of First Floor’s favorite new releases that came out during the past week. Each one has been published with a brief excerpt of the accompanying write-up; to view the full text (and hear the actual music) for an individual release, click the “Listen to the Music + Read the Full Write-Up” link, or you can also just head over to this convenient Buy Music Club list if you prefer to listen to all of the selections in one place.

Tara Clerkin Trio – Somewhere Good (World of Echo)

… The group’s gift lies in making every strange production choice or leftfield texture simply another welcoming doorway into the songs themselves. Like all Tara Clerkin Trio records, Somewhere New thrives on a kind of “how are they pulling this off?” atmosphere that invites sinking into pleasantly unresolved contemplation. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]

Jake Muir – Pareidolia (enmossed)

… Anyone who has savoured the visceral experience of Sunn O))) live will relate to the vast sonic potential hidden in doom-laden, distortion-soaked guitar tones, but Muir strikes a more delicate note. Along with the expected, looming bass drones that ebb and flow through Pareidolia, there are plenty of higher-frequency shimmers and impulses with less obvious lineage. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]

Forest Drive West – Mantis 1920 (Delsin)

… His signature is treating empty space with as much care as he does synth programming, and on his new double pack for Delsin, Mantis 1920, he’s in a particularly dark mood. Though the record moves across his usual wide-ranging palette of techno, breakbeats and ambient atmospherics, the music itself is brooding and dense. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]

Spandrel – Healing Waters (Spandrel)

… As with all of the best long songs, “Healing Waters (Spandrelian Wave Dub Extended)” is built around a loop that feels like it could go on forever, the flickering warmth of the track’s dub chords, loose snares and warm sub bursts setting the stage for Laura Elle’s vocals. This groove sits at the heart of the song as Anand adds and subtracts little details, operating with the precision of a sommelier who’s working their way through a tasting menu pairing. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]

Beatrice M. – Sinking (Tectonic)

… Dubstep actually lends itself to introspective listening; the genre’s half-time pace allows plenty of space for downtempo beat constructions, and Masters relishes the opportunity to arc broad sweeps of mellow, blue-hued chords through their pristinely produced cityscapes. It’s modernist music, all tight, angular sequencing and polished glass textures. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]

Cinna Peyghamy – Music for Tombak & Synth (Other People)

… Despite the strong cultural coding of the tombak as a Persian instrument, the musical results of Peyghamy’s two-pronged approach arrive at a non-place similar to that occupied by the likes of João Pais Filipe and Mohammad Reza Mortazavi in their collaborations with Burnt Friedman. Rather than vehemently adhering to geographically rooted tradition, he steers the tombak toward new possibilities. Sensitivity is key, and Peyghamy succeeds by balancing his sounds with care and precision. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]

J and the woolen stars – Puff (28912 / se Dessaisir Publishing)

… The softly sweet pads and scratchy, squeaky textures that glide through the record recall a sense of pure childhood wonder—of blanket forts, the unconditional companionship of an imaginary friend and the way entire hours could slip by while daydreaming in your childhood bedroom. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]

ABADIR – The Primitivist (Planet Mu)

… Sonically speaking, it’s a bolt of lightning, one which puts a bassbin-rattling spin on rhythms and sounds he’s sourced from Iraq, Kuwait, Syria and Palestine, yet the record’s visceral pleasures are also rooted in a specific purpose: calling into question the culture’s unending fascination with futurism. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]

Vardae – The Energy of Presence (Samurai)

… A rhythmic talent who over the past few years has proven to be dexterous at a variety of different tempos, the French producer has a knack for what might be described as “bubbly psychedelia,” slotting his lively, multi-layered drum patterns into woozy atmospheres and tripped-out passages of drone. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]

That brings us to the end of today’s First Floor digest. Thank you so much for reading the newsletter, and remember, you can find all of this week’s recommended releases on this handy Buy Music Club list. (If you like them, please buy them.)

Until next time,

Shawn

First Floor is published and overseen by Shawn Reynaldo, 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 other potential opportunities.