Review: London-based DJ and composer/producer Phil Mison revisits his Ambala project with a fresh collection of immersive, sun-drenched soundscapes, weaving together breezy rhythms and luminous synth work. A defining force in Balearic music, Mison has long explored the genre in various guises, including Reverso 68 and Cantoma, the latter earning a place in chillout's informal "most revered albums" section. On this second Ambala release, he refines his approach, balancing crisp electronic foundations with warmer organics. A cast of collaborators from the Music For Dreams label join, including guitarist Santino Surfers (Jonas Krag), whose fluid solos range from sultry noir to Mediterranean reverie, composer Troels Hammer, and ambient producer The Swan And The Lake. The result is a dreamlike blend of melody and plunge-texture, perfect for late night reflection or hazy afternoons by the sea.
Review: The Alone Together Remixes EP breathes new life into Viken Arman's acclaimed 2023 album and has standout reinterpretations from Acid Pauli, Session Victim and Mano Le Tough. Session Victim first infuse 'You With Me' with their signature soul and craft a rhythmic, percussive journey. Acid Pauli blends 'You With Me' and 'Lonely Raver' into a surreal, experimental trip of modular rhythms and dreamlike textures and deep house master Mano Le Tough offers a wonderful take on 'Vibrations'. It is a pulsing club workout designed for peak-time with plenty of lush synth textures. Importantly, each remix is sympathetic to Viken's original analogue warmth.
Maintaining My Peace (feat Novelist & Stephanie Cooke) (2:59)
Tears (feat Saucy Lady) (2:55)
Brain Gymnasium (3:28)
Wanna Tell Somebody (feat Josh Milan) (5:53)
Otaki (feat Finn Rees) (5:26)
Love Language (feat Nathan Haines) (4:35)
A Deeper Life (feat Isaac Aesili) (8:00)
More Time (feat Lee Pearson Jr Collective) (3:56)
Tongariro Crossing (feat Nathan Haines) (5:17)
Barefoot On The Tarmac (4:11)
Marlboro Sounds (6:03)
The Eternal Checkout (feat Cenk Esen) (5:36)
Review: Given that even their most dancefloor-focused tunes are remarkably deep, immersive and sonically detailed, you'd think that Chaos In The CBD's music would suit the album format - it's just that until now, they've not recorded a full-length. A Deeper Life, then, marks a big step forward in the Helliker-Hales brothers' career. Predictably, it's borderline brilliant. Made with the assistance of a cast of collaborators and guest performers (flautist Nathan Haines, boogie revivalist Saucy Lady and original NJ garage-house hero Josh Milan included), it sees the Kiwi duo sashay their way through enveloping, musically expansive cuts - many downtempo and home-listening focused - that variously mix and match elements of deep house, nu-jazz, dub, 80s soul, hip-hop, trip-hop, Latin soul and much more besides. A genuine triumph, even by their high standards.
Maintaining My Peace (feat Novelist & Stephanie Cooke) (2:59)
Tears (feat Saucy Lady) (2:59)
Brain Gymnasium (3:30)
Wanna Tell Somebody (feat Josh Milan) (5:52)
Otaki (feat Finn Rees) (5:26)
Love Language (feat Nathan Haines) (4:36)
A Deeper Life (feat Isaac Aesili) (7:59)
More Time (feat Lee Pearson Jr Collective) (3:56)
Tongariro Crossing (feat Nathan Haines) (5:17)
Barefoot On The Tarmac (4:12)
Marlboro Sounds (6:02)
The Eternal Checkout (feat Cenk Esen) (5:34)
Review: Fraternal duo Chaos In The CBD open the latest chapter on a roundly impressive musical career, calling on an ensemble cast of creative collaborators to contribute to their debut long-player, 'A Deeper Life'. Louis and Ben 'Beans' Helliker-Hales have been on a non-stop roll since they began releasing music under the Chaos In The CBD moniker just over a decade ago. Recently adding a Fabric Presents compilation to their hefty singles catalogue, the siblings step up with arguably their most outstanding work to date. The likes of Blaze's Josh Milan, saxophonist Nathan Haines, longtime collaborator Isaac Aesili, and UK grime MC Novelist are just some of those drafted to embellish productions that range from head-nodding Balearic to the duo's more familiar dusty house thrust. Vast in scope, the collection drifts through all manner of sounds and styles, held together by a coherent production aesthetic and a gorgeously limber live musicality on display throughout. Highlights include the street soul swagger of 'Tears' (featuring Beantown disco queen, Saucy Lady), the searing soul of 'Wanna Tell Somebody', and the bittersweet deep house magnetism of 'Otaki'. All told, this is nothing short of brilliant work, arguably representing a coming of age as Chaos In The CBD simultaneously pay homage to their eclectic roots and transcend the floor-focused nature of the bulk of their previous output. Highly recommended.
Review: Journeys through melodic electronica by blending new material with club-ready reworks like the Radio 2-supported (!!) 'Love Love Love - Here I Come.' True to Chicane's aesthetic, the album is rich in atmosphere, optimism and nostalgia and is great for both relaxation and dancefloor workouts. The 2025 vinyl release for Record Store Day marks the first time these mixes and extended versions have appeared in physical format. With a global tour, club shows, and a Royal Albert Hall orchestral concert on the horizon, Trampolines kicks off another great chapter for Chicane.
Review: Deep Dish is one of these acts that made a huge impact in their early years before members Sharam and Dubfire went their separate ways and had just as accomplished solo careers. Fans have long clamoured for them to get back together and though there have been the odd DJ set together, there hasn't been the new music many would love to hear. Instead, this 20th anniversary edition of their George Is On album makes its way to vinyl for the first time for Record Store Day. It includes smash global hits like 'Flashdance' and 'Dreams' as well as 'Say Hello'. It's a great blend of sleek electronica and proper songwriting from the AIranian-American artists.
Review: DJ Mitsu The Beats summons up a mellow, jazz-tinged spin on Norah Jones' early classic 'Sunrise', following a plucky piano-studio sesh shared with Takumi Kaneko of Cro-Magnon. After a cannonballing digital release, the "instrumental chill" track now takes shape as a 7" single, suturing Mitsu's laidback bop to Kaneko's smooth, sunspot piano lines. With cover photography by surf documentarian Atsushi Kumano, the single was in turn singled out for the surf music compilation Salt Meets Island Cafe: Sea of Love 2, curated by new lifestyle magazine Salt. Balancing beachside ease and unsurpassable musicianship, this track hankers at the title for next best surf-chill anthem.
Grey October Sound & Monbee - "Fly-Day China Tow" (2:27)
Grey October Sound & Achamico - "Plastic Love" (4:57)
Grey October Sound & Monbee - "Mayonaka No Door - Stay With Me" (3:17)
Grey October Sound & Judo125 - "Tokai" (2:54)
Grey October Sound & Esu - "Anohi Ni Kaeritai" (2:19)
Grey October Sound & Lo Film Creation - "Kanashimi-Ga-Tomaranai" (4:15)
Grey October Sound & Esu - "Kimi Wa 1000%" (4:56)
Grey October Sound & Judo125 - "Amaku Kiken Na Kaori" (3:05)
Grey October Sound & The Sidewinder - "Mr Summertime" (2:28)
Grey October Sound & Kimono Boyz - "Down Town" (4:05)
Grey October Sound & Judo125 - "Mayonaka No Door - Stay With Me" (version) (4:07)
Review: Following the success of Lo-Fi Ghibli in 2022, underground hip-hop head Grey October Sound is back with a new cover album that finds him reimagining iconic Japanese city-pop tracks through lo-fi hip-hop. It is another gem from P-VINE that features laid-back reinterpretations of classics such as Miki Matsubara's 'Mayonaka no Door,' Yasuha's 'Fly-Day Chinatown,' and Taeko Onuki's 'Tokai' alongside songs by Tatsuro Yamashita, Mariya Takeuchi and Yumi Arai. It's. Lush world of carefully hinted at nostalgic melodies with relaxed beats soothing mind, body and soul, all with a lo-fi and retro city-pop charm.
Grey October Sound, Transparent - "Track 5" (5:39)
Grey October Sound, Judo125 - "Track 6" (3:18)
Grey October Sound, Crystique - "Track 7" (5:23)
Grey October Sound, 57th - "Track 8" (2:52)
Grey October Sound, COCO - "Track 9" (2:24)
Grey October Sound, MONBEE - "Track 10" (3:31)
Review: Go-to lo-fi from Grey October Sound, P-Vine's resident hip-hop group and collective vibe queller. Having built a steady beatmaking operation initially from Studio Ghibli thematics and other anime associations, the group now continue to turn their hand to originals, furthering your capacity to wind down after many a long, protracted cramming sesh. Whether flashcards, cats on laps and hot steaming cocoa are or aren't your thing, that's OK, because we can bet the dragging rhythms of 'Tokai', the desultory pocket piano missive '1000%', and/or the closing crepuscule 'DOWN TOWN' will be.
Review: Let The Light will be KAMM's final album - and its most poignant - as it is a tribute to late member Alland Byallo, a beloved name in the underground who suddenly passed in 2023. Surviving members Marc Barrite aka Dave Aju, Kenneth Scott and Marc Smith dip into new sounds here, including jazz, psych funk, soul, golden-era hip-hop and textured electronics, and work them all into a heartfelt final statement that does a fine job of honouring Byallo's creative spirit with real emotional depth and warmth. From the serpentine tones of opener through the bossa-infused boom-bap of 'No Deal', the politically charged jazz burner 'Your Honour' and the sleek electro rhythms of 'How Long?', the album traverses plenty of ground. It also features Byallo's artwork and closes with a chorus of loved ones that makes it all the more poignant.
Review: Still riding high from the success of his superb re-make of Manuel Gottsching on Test Pressing ('A Reference to E2-E4'), Alex Kassian returns to Pinchy & Friends - who released his similarly popular 2021 EP 'Leave Your Life' - after a three-year break. Beginning with the lusciously languid, Balearic, effects-laden and sonically layered title track ('Body Singer', where Jonny Nash style guitars and tumbling sax motifs rise above a sparse drum machine beat and shoegaze-esque aural textures), the Berlin-based producer offers up a loved-up mix of weightless ambient bliss (Kinship), kosmiche soundscapes (the sun-flecked 'Skinship'), revivalist Krautrock (the Can-after-several-spliffs headiness of 'Trippy Gas') and immersive, cinematic excusions (the gorgeous 'Mirror of the Heart').
Review: Italian-born but longtime Brooklyn-based Madteo stands at the crossroads of gritty, industrial grooves and experimental sound exploration, continuously challenging the boundaries of electronic music with his genre-defying work. Known for his love of cheap vinyl and uniquely odd records, Madteo's production style mirrors this raw, unfiltered approach i like sketching sound on a dirty napkin. Just as he seeks out imperfect, worn-out records, his music embraces the rough edges and unpredictable textures, creating a sound that's as spontaneous and unrefined as a hurried, chaotic doodle.Tracks like 'Cans People' tap into an archaic rave energy, while 'To Know Those Who' delves deep into fragmented dub techno, its non-linear structure a testament to his ability to twist familiar forms into something completely new. As the album progresses, 'Nocturnal Palates' expands the filter house universe with deep, evolving textures, and 'Rave Nite Itz Alright' surprises with its subtle yet intense chaos. The closing tracks, including 'Luglio Ottantotto' and the 15-minute odyssey 'Emo G (Sticky Wicket)', showcase Madteo's knack for manipulating time, space, and sound, offering a disorienting yet mesmerising journey into the unknown. As an artist and conversationalist, Madteo's work remains bold, unpredictable, and captivating, further cementing his place as one of the most inventive voices in modern electronic music.
Review: London-based New Zealander Arjuna Oakes impresses hugely with this debut album, a contemporary soul and jazz fusion, global folk, electronica and post-rock motifs all woven in. Like any good LP, While I'm Distracted is a deeply personal journey exploring common themes of vulnerability, identity and hope in a world shaped by ever-more existential angst and social media stress. We're told that Arjuna approached this full-length album like a filmmaker crafting a feature and aiming to evoke emotion over concept. Performing vocals, piano, synths and arranging strings himself, he also leads a talented ensemble of collaborators who help him on this emotional odyssey.
Review: Thom Yorke and Mark Pritchard revive the collaboration first aired on the latter's 2016 album Unde The Sun, this time across a full album reportedly four years in the (top secret) making. It's a compelling synthesis of Yorke's atmospheric melancholy and Pritchard's textured production. It expores a range of moods, from the uneasy tension of 'A Fake In A Faker's World' to the hypnotic rhythms of 'Back In The Game', while the eerie, spectral qualities of 'This Conversation Is Missing Your Voice' reveal the pair's ability to intertwine experimental soundscapes with a visceral emotional pull. Standout moments include 'Gangsters,' where Pritchard's intricately layered beats mesh with Yorke's haunting vocal delivery, and 'Wandering Genie,' which closes the journey with a strange sense of release. The music takes unexpected turns, not just as a statement of collaboration, but as a reflection of two artists playing with the unknown, pulling their sonic worlds into unexplored spaces. Each track is a feather in the cap of their combined ingenuity, with Yorke's vocal vulnerability and Pritchard's production wizardry in full synergy.
Review: Begun in earnest during the COVID-19 pandemic, after the former had remixed the latter's new Radiohead material, Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke exchanged much of the for their new record Tall Tales remotely. Forerun by new single 'Back In The Game' then 'This Conversation Is Missing Your Voice', the album takes shape as a surreal mythopoesis, warping back in time to 2020's plague, where the former track's hyperreal music video (dir. by Jonathan Zawada) sees a rooftop figure defenestrating art itself amid grotesque figures bearing the worst of a mutant contortionist slice-of-life. Yorke has said that the album was crucial to him, describing the music-making process as "mental."
Review: Puma Blue, the project of South-London-born, Atlanta-based Jacob Allen, moves in a starkly different direction with this latest release. Stripping away the layered trip-hop, jazz, and electronica influences of previous works, he now focuses on a more direct and vulnerable form of songwriting. With just his guitar and voice, Allen crafts an album that feels intimate, raw, and deeply personal. Each track is a careful balance of simplicity and complexity. On 'Tapestry', the narrative unfolds like a dense, aching reflection, while 'Hotel Room' captures a moment of quiet melancholy with an almost confessional tone. In contrast, 'In the Absence of You' is stark in its honesty, delivering a minimalist sentiment that resonates with painful clarity. The absence of the full band setup places the weight of emotion solely on Allen's shoulders, allowing his vocal delivery and guitar work to shine. The result is a profoundly affecting listen, one that's less about expansive sound and more about the intimate space between notes, where every breath and pause feels significant. It's a deeply personal exploration of solitude and longing, executed with haunting simplicity.
Review: Royksopp revisit the club-driven heart of their sound with True Electric, a new 19-tracker of reimagined material, largely drawn from audio captured from the Norwegians' 2023 tour of the same name. Newly upscaled studio editions of past flashes of brilliance resound over fan favourites 'Do It Again' with Robyn and 'Running To The Sea' with Susanne Sundfor, alongside selections from the equally bewitching Profound Mysteries trilogy. If that weren't enough for you, we've also a formerly unreleased tune for true heads, 'The R'.
Review: Legendary British outfit Saint Etienne returned with their 12th studio album late last year, and now it lands on vinyl via Heavenly Recordings. A much-awaited follow-up to 2021's I've Been Trying To Tell You, this ambient collection offers a gentle, immersive experience designed to ease the noise of daily life. It was produced with Augustin Bousfield and blends songs, spoken word and rain-soaked textures into a seamless dreamscape, all recorded between Saltaire in the north and Hove down on the south coast. It captures the fragile space between waking and sleep with highlights like 'Half Light' and 'Preflyte'. As such, The Night is best experienced on headphones and is ideal for late hours, reflection and introspection.
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