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Mark Pritchard: The Four Worlds

‘The Four Worlds’ feels strange and contextless, a peculiar statement that may seem at first like it doesn’t know what it’s aiming for. Don’t be fooled though, as this bewildered unfamiliarity is an aim in itself. Pulled away from the record and taken as singular statements, any of these eight tracks might not make much sense, but together, they cohere into something weirdly beautiful.

DJ Boring & Stanley Schmidt: Stay Young

With the lo-fi scene being accused of aesthetic first in the past, there is absolutely no evidence of that here. There is levity without ever resorting to dropping in nostalgic references that forcefully wink at you, nudging with pointed elbows. If anything, this is serious. Seriously good.

Edward: Rumours EP

Rumours is a great collection of different sounds that demonstrates his mastery over compositional control and serves as a testament to his versatility where it matters most: on the dancefloor and on the decks.

Gigi Masin: KITE

KITE is simply an album that doesn’t need to do anything beyond exist in its own little vacuum; it isn’t a profound new age revelation, but it’s great because it doesn’t try to be.

Rezzett: Rezzett

After a string of well-received EPs on The Trilogy Tapes that’s seen them forge an eccentric signature sound halfway lo-fi analogue house and cask-aged breakbeat vintage, the pair was yet to hit the full-length format and to be honest, they managed to come up with an album both articulate and rejoicingly bleary.

Imre Kiss: Strangers

The Hungarian producer’s new offering on Lobster Theremin’s sister-label Mörk doesn’t depart from this lovingly crafted inclusive vision. There is something deeply kindly about Imre’s sound, something that transcends the mere moody nature of a track, emanating straight from deep down his soul and into his subtle electronics via some intangible process. A good man making good music.

Brett Naucke: The Mansion

In the four years since ‘Seeds’, his debut full length, Brett Naucke has produced a slew of cassette releases that have seen his music drift into a vivid, synthetic esotericism. Constantly in flux between ambient beauty and a cracked electronic reality, ‘The Mansion’ is new age music for the era of biometrics and online dating.

S.O.N.S: Shin-Okubo One Night Stand

Cinematic yet danceable, undecidedly appealed by Everestian heights all the while traveling the infra-world with eagle vision, this new outing further asserts S.O.N.S as a sure-handed producer with an unparalleled knack for crafting this subtle melange of micro-organic technoid scapes and extra wide-angle compositions.

2814: Pillar / New Sun

In ‘Pillar / New Sun’, 2814 have taken the essential parts of their sound and applied them to a new purpose, creating a spellbinding record out of it, that’s as contemplative as it is dynamic.

Will Long: Long Trax 2

‘Long Trax 2’ is a more-than-worthy sequel to the first volume and hopefully another instalment in a series that continues for a long time to come.

Jared Wilson: I Love Acid 017

Staying with the theme of fresh talent – in relative terms of acid house legacy – ‘I Love Acid 017’ sees Detroit producer Jared Wilson join the ranks. For the last ten years, he’s been cutting a path through some of the most boisterous labels on the scene, bouncing between his own 7777 imprint to the likes of Dixon Avenue Basement Jams, Dolly and Super Rhythm Trax.

Francis Harris: Minor Forms

Francis Harris returns to his imprint Scissor & Thread to present his first solo material in three years. His new EP, the eagerly awaited ‘Minor Forms’, features two original tracks from Harris’ own hand, complemented by two remixes from IDO co-founder Valentino Mora, who delivers his first reworks ever since shifting monikers.

Rafael Anton Irisarri: Sirimiri

Shrouded in melancholic vapours and forlorn harmonics, Irisarri’s new album for Umor Rex presents four majestic extended cuts as so many viewpoints on an untouched phantasmal valley. Drawing its name from the Basque word for ‘drizzle’ – which makes absolute sense given the fine-grained, caressingly fresh nature of its sound design, ‘Sirimiri’ offers sensations in their purest essence, primitively symbolic yet actively contemplative.

Sonniku: Diamond Dust

With ambient often falling into one of two camps – aural representations of Jupiter or the unsettling tones of a cheese grater orchestra – Sonniku has hit upon an inspired niche. If your childhood was spent contemplating hit points and there is a little circular indent on your thumbprint that has never faded away, there may just be something here for you.