Favorite Releases from January 2023
Look at winter with winter eyes
As smoke curls from rooftops to clear cobalt skies
Breathe in winter past winter nose:
The sweet scent of black birch where velvet moss grows.
Walk through winter with winter feet
On crackling ice or sloshy wet sleet.
Look at winter with winter eyes:
The rustling of oak leaves
As spring slowly nears.
- Douglas Florian
The start of a new year brings with it so many fresh albums, exciting releases and impressive remixes that cover a wide range of underground house, techno, and everything in between. We've hand-picked the ten favorite tracks of January featuring Special Guest DJ and Pontiac Streator as crimeboys, Facta, Halos, Philipp Priebe, The Soulscraper, Bonn, Jo Johnson, Alex Dolby, Tsepo, and Gal Tsadok-Hai .
crimeboys
trippin’
3XL
Special Guest DJ and Pontiac Streator join forces as crimeboys for an enigmatic album “Very Dark Past” released through 3XL. Having previously collaborated with the likes of Huerco S., Perila, Exael, and Ulla, the American artists’ debut album is a gentle weave of abstract, often halftime, dynamics interwoven with trip-hop dub and foggy jungle rhythms cloaked in a gauzy sonic debris. Drenched in a thick haze of layered flux of fluid textures and amorphous sonic fog, "trippin’" elevates a calming euphoria permeating through muted metallic bleeps and spaced-out rhythms hovering the listener in a nocturnal dream state.
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Soundcloud Pontiac Streator
Soundcloud Special Guest DJ
Halos
The Hyplusionist
Annulled Music
The latest installment on the Spanish imprint Annulled Music comes from Seville-based artist Avaro Peinado, better known as Halos. Following last year’s impressive release on Cellar Door records, he now steps up to Annulled Music with the five-track deep and atmospheric record including remixes from How To Levitate, Simone Bauer, Doctrina Natura, and Qeel. Embracing a mysterious atmosphere, the title track, “The Hyplusionist,” floats seamlessly between deep timbres, subtle layers of delicate melody, and melting sparks of nature-inspired ambient techno tranquility.
Facta
Mirage
Incienso
London-based producer, DJ, and Wisdom Teeth record label co-founder Facta enter 2023 with “Emeline” EP via Incienso. Absorbing a wide range of moods and rhythms, this four-track record showcases a distinct tangent within Facta’s signature sound. Paring an undulating synth sequence with subaquatic tones, the third track ‘mirage’ flows through an elegant ornate of driving breakbeats and futuristicelectro-funk.
The Soulscraper
Mention On The Hill
Cirrus
Animalia's exploration of the lesser-known artists of Melbourne continues with the launch of new sublabel, Cirrus, focusing on non-club, downtempo, ambient and otherworldly sounds from local Australian artists. The first release comprises of dreamy, non-linear modular improvised soundscapes from Melbourne/Naarm local The Soulscaper, a sideproject of Eugene Pascal, member of Animalia's electronic trio Menage. The Inside Voices LP offers a sentimental, familiar musical journey, evocative of the distinctive charms of life in Australia's south-eastern hub. All produced in the northern suburbs of Melbourne/ Naarm, the tracks provide an open window into the studios of the city's deeper side. The LP is a poignant follow on from the musical outputs of Animalia, staying true to the label's deep, cinematic and melodic style.
Philipp Priebe
Singende Fluesse
Stólar
Philipp Priebe returns to his Stólar imprint this January with the ‘Entferntere Räume’ EP, the latest material to surface following his acclaimed ‘Apparent Calm Palms’ album on Feuilleton at the end of 2022. Over the past few years Philipp Priebe’s material and Stólar imprint has moved from strength to strength, gathering a steady following from many leading figures in the world of raw, emotional deep house and techno. The past few years have seen Philipp unveil a series of EP’s on Stólar plus more for grad_u’s dub techno focused Greyscale imprint and most recently a long player for Tim Eder & Fossar’s Hamburg-based Feuilleton, home to material from the likes of Wareika’s Jakob Seidensticker, Brothers Vibe and more. Here we see Priebe continue this exact theme with two fresh original compositions, the first of which ‘Schimmer’ sees the German artist fuse an amalgamation of cinematic textures, ethereal drones, dubbed out chords and enchanting voices alongside organic percussion and saturated drums. ‘Singende Fluesse’ follows next and takes a deeper path via billowing, heavily reverberated pads, wandering bass melodies, twinkling bell chimes and a swinging, low-slung drum groove throughout.
Jo Johnson
Orbit
Mysteries Of The Deep
The next chapter in Mysteries Of The Deep’s impressive catalog is delivered with the finesse and flair sound design of a member of British riot girl heroes Huggy Bear, Jo Johnson. Working from a sonic palette that includes electronic drones, mysterious synth sequences, and evocative stylistic moods, Jo Johnson embraces an immersive new age realm composed with grace and improvisational nature. Combining smooth new age aesthetic with a sense of cinematic charm, the second track, ’Or it, beautifully flows through a delicate ornate of nostalgic harmonies and evocative atmospheres.
Alex Dolby
Function Five
Sequenzial Shift
After a successful story with Affekt Recordings, which has lasted for ten years, the label founder Alex Dolby dives deeper into experimental cuts in his new endeavor with the Sequenzial Shift record label. The third release sees the founder delivering a wonderful dub ambient eight-track album called Functional Elements. The album steps into leftfield territory with raw ideas and esoteric, analog creations with modular vibes and dystopian, ambient dubs. Function Five is a fine-spun textured journey with melancholic pads that add so much emotion to a bouncing kick drum creating the feeling of warmth and belonging. It's the ultimate closing track of the marathon techno set.
Bonn
Never Ever
Polycarp Records
Hamburg-based duo Simon Ferdinand and Basch bring their Bonn moniker to live again with the new “Never Ever” EP released through their home base Polycarp Records. The record comes with two original tracks, 'Never Ever' and 'Phero', as well as two remixes from the German producer Johannes Albert and Parisian Vincent Desmont aka The Cruiser. The title track ‘Never Ever” elevates the sheer raw energy of 303's, combined with overall twisted, funky elements of soft-edged drums, mystical atmospherics and breakbeat-driven rhythms.
Tsepo
Must Finish
Intercept
Intercept welcomes Tsepoback to the label after 2020's debut EP 'Twee' with a club-focused effort. 'Must Finish / Perc Track' is the result of a creative search where funand playfulness have been the main thread throughout the process of Jan's work.Being the closer of this period, the tracks are no-nonsense and technical, whilstremaining light hearted enough for easy listening. It's a difficult balance to strike, butTsepo does it with charm. We're happy to have him back on the label with this impressive two-tracker. The opening track “Must Finish” lures the listener in with atmospheric instrumentals utilizing 909’s cow bells and airy synth bubbles to forge a driving breakbeat rhythm.
Gal Tsadok-Hai
sv_gravity 0
Something Happening Somewhere
The mastermind behind Moon Mood Records, Gal Tsadok-Hai, joins forces with one of our favorite Dutch record labels, Something Happening Somewhere, and delivers a powerful four-tracker named 'Footsteps' EP. In 'Footsteps' EP, the Amsterdam-based producer returns to his first love - computer composing, which results in adventurous explorations of rhythm and melody. We had the pleasure of premiering the closing track “sv_gravity 0.” Read a full article by Gilles Wasserman here.