First Floor #317 – Re-Evaluating Electronic Music's Future Fetish
An interview with ABADIR, plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh batch of recommended new releases.
Regular First Floor readers likely know that I don’t have a problem with challenging norms. In many ways, challenging norms is what we do around here. But challenging futurism? That’s something I’d honestly never really thought much about. As someone who’s now been involved with electronic music for more than 25 years (yikes!), I have to say that the genre’s future-facing orientation is one of things that attracted me to the music and the culture in the first place. I don’t think I’m alone in that, and throughout my career, my peers and I have consistently championed artists, labels, genres and scenes that (intentionally or not) seemed to push things forward.
Perhaps that’s why I was so intrigued to see ABADIR—a Berlin-based Egyptian artist who just released a great new EP called The Primitivist on Planet Mu—not just pushing back against futurism, but outright rejecting the idea of its inherent good. Some might see his stance as a mere act of contrarianism, but as he laid out in an interview that First Floor published earlier this week, his perspective is rooted in so much more than that. Cultural theory is part of it, but so is his experience as an Arab artist who lives and works in the West, and has witnessed first-hand the problematic way that the electronic music establishment engages with not only his native region, but the whole of the Global South.
It was a heady conversation, and one that I hope will prompt people—especially curators, programmers, label heads, journalists and others who make decisions that set the tone for both the industry and its attendant culture—to think a bit more deeply about the ideas that are often taken for granted in electronic music. Regardless of whether or not futurism is something that should be celebrated or tossed onto the scrap heap, it represents a set of concepts and values that ought to be interrogated on a regular basis.
You can find my interview with ABADIR below—and yes, the paywall on it is (temporarily) down—and if you keep on scrolling, you’ll also find the rest of today’s First Floor digest. Want to get caught up on what’s been happening in the ever-churning world of electronic music? I’ve compiled a whole bunch of news items, new release announcements and suggested reading links, along with a round-up of all of our latest recommended new releases.
There’s a lot to get through, 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 open to everyone, and it’s an interview with ABADIR, who strongly pushes back against electronic music’s obsession with the future and what’s to come, and explain why, as an Arab artist, he’s decided to opt for primitivism instead.
ABADIR Has Had Enough of Futurism
For decades now, futurism has been one of electronic music’s predominant concepts. Considering the degree to which the entire genre is rooted in the idea of leveraging technology to create sounds without “real” instruments, it’s always felt like something of a step into the unknown, and that notion has only intensified over the years. Detroit techno, which has repeatedly and explicitly engaged with science fiction while presenting detailed visions of what’s to come, might be the most obvious example, but futurism has also colored the whole of the UK hardcore continuum, shaping the narratives around jungle, drum & bass, dubstep and a litany of other bass-heavy sounds. (The fact that many of those genres blossomed alongside the work of futurist and accelerationist cultural theorists like Mark Fisher, Kodwo Eshun, Steve Goodman [a.k.a. Kode9] and eventual right-wing firebrand Nick Land can’t be overlooked.)
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.
When the uproar about private equity giant KKR and its live music subsidiary Superstruct was at its height last year (due to the former’s ties to Israel, weapons manufacturing, surveillance technology, resource extraction and a bunch of other nasty businesses), the resulting boycott movement focused on a number of different entities, though the discourse largely focused on just two: Boiler Room and Sónar. Yet well before either of those campaigns had gotten off the ground, a separate movement was already taking shape in Finland: Flow Strike, which had launched in 2024 and targeted Helsinki’s long-running Flow Festival, another Superstruct-owned property. The event’s 2026 edition is scheduled for August, and ahead of that, Flow Strike and Flow Festival have released a joint statement saying they’ve reached a mutual agreement to end the former’s campaign.
That agreement includes a pledge that Flow will “exclude from its program any performances funded or organized by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other state institutions,” and will also “not organize events in which Israeli and Palestinian art are presented side by side in a way that gives the false impression that the occupier and the occupied, the colonialist and those living under colonialism, are on equal footing.” The festival also agrees to take “into account the BDS movement’s list of entities subject to boycott and, based on that, [evaluate] its partnerships as much as possible.”Over the past year, investigative journalist Alex Reisner has written a series of articles about AI training data for The Atlantic, and the latest one focuses on music. More specifically, it highlights the existence of datasets being shared within the AI-development community that contain 12 million and 9 million songs, seemingly all of which were compiled without permission from the artists. It’s a sobering read, and The Atlantic has also set up a separate public search tool in which authors, musicians, screenwriters and actors can see if any of their works have been included in the training datasets that the publication has come across.
If this week’s First Floor interview with ABADIR has left you wanting to hear more about club sounds coming out of Egypt, DJ Mag has featured ZULI in the latest installment of its Recognise series. That series always includes an exclusive new DJ mix, but in this case, it also includes an article by regular First Floor contributor Henry Ivry, who talks to ZULI about his constantly evolving sound palette, his noisy new album (The Screaming Abdabs, which was also recommended here in the newsletter) and the challenges of navigating an industry and culture that has trouble getting past orientalist ideas of what Arab artists are “supposed” to sound like.
Mixmag has its own mix / interview series, The Mix, and the latest edition puts a spotlight on Jump Source. Though the Montreal duo of Patrick Holland and Priori were interviewed here in the newsletter last year, the subsequent arrival of their Fold LP has significantly upped their profile. Talking to Sophie McNulty, they discuss the album’s engagement with pop music, what it’s been like to take their live show on the road and why they enjoy collaborating so much—both with each other and with other artists. And yes, the piece is also accompanied by a DJ mix.
Matthew Collin’s Altered State: The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House is often cited as one of the essential books about the history of electronic music, and with the title having recently been reissued, the writer has been putting his wealth of knowledge to good use in the press. Talking to Apiento for Test Pressing, he reflected back on “the optimistic early days of UK house,” and put together a list of 12 tracks that were released before 1988, “when most people in Britain hadn’t heard of E yet and the acid house Summer of Love was a long way off.” Along similar lines, Collin also put together an edition of The Baker’s Dozen for The Quietus, selecting 13 ecstasy-related tracks that “testify to the remarkable influence that MDMA has had on our musical culture.”
Speaking of acclaimed music writers popping up in The Baker’s Dozen, The Quietus also recently prompted Simon Reynolds to dip into his memory banks. The resulting feature ties into his new book, Still In A Dream: Shoegaze, Slackers and the Reinvention of Rock, 1984-1994, and finds him selecting 13 albums that represent the “reinvention of the guitar.”
Following several years away from the spotlight, The Field unexpectedly re-emerged this year with a new record, Now You Exist—and yes, it made it into First Floor’s Recommended Releases. This week, Philip Sherburne published an interview with the Swedish artist, digging into the particulars of his music-making craft and also how he feels about the warm reception he (and his new record) have received after his extended hiatus.
As its title implies, Octo Octa’s recent Sigils for Survival album is rooted in a very specific concept. In a new interview with Robin Murray for Clash, the artist unpacks that concept, talking about how specific songs relate to her trans identity. Along the way, she also reflects on the autobiographical nature of her work, provides a few insights about her production process and casually shares the news that she and her partner Eris Drew have a joint LP on the way, which they’ll apparently be releasing via Interdimensional Transmissions under the moniker Alchemical Sisters.
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.
Rosa Pistola’s recent Incorregible album—which landed in First Floor’s Recommended Releases—was heavily rooted in tribal guarachero, and she’s now curated a compilation focused on the genre. Entitled Dioses Tribales, it’s meant to celebrate “the artists who helped shape one of the most distinctive languages in electronic music made in Mexico,” and includes cuts from foundational acts like DJ Mouse, DJ Tetris and Javier Estrada. A joint release between Sabotaje Media, Trucha Sound and La Chekera, it’s scheduled to drop on July 1, but the whole thing can already be heard here.
A longtime pillar of the Ghostly International roster, Lusine has unveiled a new full-length for the label, Melting Days, which is said to return to his “minimalist roots” and present “songs in conversation with loss and transition, defined by elemental layers and ascending loops that engulf his signature rhythms and beat patterns in pure radiance.” August 21 is the official release date, but one song from the record, “Pendulum,” has already been shared.
Following appearances on labels like Future Classic and Hyperdub, Nikki Nair has now teamed up with dh2 for his forthcoming EP, The Sick Dimension. Promising “drum-driven house music built squarely for the dancefloor,” along with a healthy dose of his own vocals, the record is due to arrive on August 7, though opening cut “Default Mode” is available now.
Continuing a run of singles that began with April’s “In the Mood for Love” and last month’s “Without Pause,” Midland has today returned to his own Graded imprint with another new track, “All Crews.” Described as a song for “watching the sunrise next to the speakers as the final notes ring out of the system,” it’s available now.
Experimental guitarist and composer Jules Reidy has completed a new LP. Billed as a departure from last year’s Ghost / Spirit album, the upcoming Clerestory includes a piece commissioned by celebrated string ensemble JACK Quartet, along with “Clerestory Windows,” an episodic composition which “offers up a distorted mirror image of the string quartet” piece. An excerpt of the LP has already been shared, and the full release will be available via Thrill Jockey on September 25.
A longtime Mood Hut affiliate, Hashman Deejay (a.k.a. Tanner Matt) has never been known to follow dance music convention, and he’s also never been shy about trying on new aliases for size. Last year’s well-received Selfless album was released under the name Musicentrydelete, and now the Vancouver mainstay has adopted a new moniker, NeWRoomfreaK, which he plans to debut with a self-titled EP that he’ll be releasing on July 13 via his newly minted So3ar imprint. Inverted Audio published more details about the record here, and have also posted some preview clips in their online store.
MA SHA 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 Ma Sha, an NYC-based artist who’s currently one of the city’s foremost proprietors of technicolor club music. Much of that effort is rooted in her running of the Kindergarten label, which has become a reliable home for inventive rhythms and high-energy bass permutations from hotly tipped producers like Ayesha, Sobolik, Despina, georg-i and Stolen Velour. Yet Ma Sha also makes killer music of her own, both solo and as one half of high-octane rave-punk duo Sha Ru… [READ MORE ABOUT MA SHA + CHECK OUT HER GUEST RECOMMENDATION]
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.
Slacker & georg-i – Brittle Forms (All Centre)
… Foregoing allegiances to particular tempos and more or less refusing to adhere to formulas of any kind, these shapeshifters are perhaps most easily recognizable via their unwavering commitment to kinetic energy, an element that the title track of Brittle Forms has in abundance. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]
dreamcastmoe & Sami – Sami.Moe 2.0 (New Day)
… Opening cut “Skip the Line” sits somewhere between electroclash and the synth-heavy, funk-infused house music that artists like Metro Area and M.A.N.D.Y. were turning out in the mid-2000s. Smooth-talking his way past the velvet rope and through the song’s crunchy melodies, dreamcastmoe adds some serious swagger to the proceedings, a trend that continues with the bravado he brings to the more insistently pumping “Fuck Your Rules.” [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]
Only Now – ETERNAL WRATH (Self-released)
… For several years now, the Berkeley-based producer has been offering up some of the most fearsome tunes in the game, vacillating between scorched-earth Indian rhythms and harrowing patches of industrial noise. ETERNAL WRATH contains some of both, and opens strong with “My War (Bodies of the Wicked Version),” a distortion-riddled smasher that pushes every level far into the red—and sounds all the better for it. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]
Glasgow Sound System – Spells (Craigie Knowes)
… The true identity of Glasgow Sound System is unknown, though the Craigie Knowes label says they’re both “a true master of sound design and rhythm” and “one of the world’s most technical producers.” Whoever they are, they sure as hell know how to open an EP, smartly kicking off Spells with the fantastic “Cocaine.” [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]
Bot1500 – The Black Sea (Short Span)
… Although nearly every song sits at 140 bpm, The Black Sea is not an exercise in bassweight and soundsystem dynamics. The music is delicate, and actually quite minimal, its abundance of white space encouraging listeners to meditate on even the smallest melodic ripple. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]
Mor Elian – Built in Waves (Fever AM)
… The record opens with its delightfully weird title track, a rollicking number powered by feverish percussion and zany synths that jiggle like rubber and somehow also sound like a cartoonish swarm of bees. In other words, there’s a lot going on, and observing it all unfold is akin to being caught up in an unruly Mardi Gras parade; it’s wild, but you’re almost surely going to have a good time. [LISTEN TO THE MUSIC + READ THE FULL WRITE-UP]
François X – Bound States (XX LAB)
… François X has since become a full-blown techno titan, and it’s easy to hear what makes his sound so appealing. “Bones & Harmony,” the lead track from his new Bound States EP, perfectly captures his careful blend, as it initially seems like a bare-bones DJ tool, but thanks to its slight sashay and gradually unfurling melodies, the tune calls back to the beating heart of Midwestern Soul. [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.