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Sal Dulu – Alien Boy 96

Alien Boy 96 is the first single to be released from Irish producer Sal Dulu’s forthcoming LP, which will be landing early next year. If you want a pretty lazy comparison, it’s a little reminiscent of The Avalanches, both in its cut-and-paste approach to the production and in the yearning, melancholic atmosphere conjured by the tapestry of samples and beats. In the press release for the single, Dulu says it’s “probably not the most representative in terms of what the album is about”, which from where I’m sitting would be a bit of a shame, as it’s really, really good.

https://soundcloud.com/user-727004974

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Kelly Moran – Helix III

Kelly Moran and Prurient recently announced a split LP Chain Reaction At Dusk, with Helix III one of three tracks than Moran has contributed to the project. As with a lot of her previous work it sits somewhere between traditional classical composition and electronic experimentation, with whirling polyrhythms and glassy chimes creating a gently disorienting atmosphere. Be sure to check out the full release when it lands on Prurient’s Hospital Productions 04 December.

https://kellymoran.bandcamp.com

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Oneohtrix Point Never – No Nightmares

Considering the kind of completely unclassifiable music Oneohtrix Point Never usually crafts, a schmaltzy, vocoder-infused ballad – with The Weeknd no less – isn’t necessarily something you’d expect to find on his latest album. But then hasn’t this just been a year of the unexpected? No Nightmares is warm and wonderfully reassuring, and crackles with just enough weirdness to ensure you don’t think you’ve stumbled into the final moments of 80s school disco. And if you’re really not into it, you only need take a step in either direction on the album to be confused and slightly unsettled again.

https://www.pointnever.com/

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Ela Minus – dominique

There’s a lot to enjoy on Ela Minus’s debut album acts of rebellion, which moves from the expansive experimental electronica of its opener through moody synth-pop and glassy ambient, all within its first few tracks. And then you get to dominique, which is a towering presence at around the album’s midpoint; one of those ‘woah’ moments that makes you double check what you’re listening to, knowing before it’s even finished that’s it’s going to be on hard repeat for quite some time to come.

https://elaminus.com

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Music

Call Super – Pleasure For Pleasure

This is taken from Call Super’s excellent new album Every Mouth Teeth Missing. I’ve always found Call Super’s music vaguely intimidating, for reasons I’m not entirely clear about, but whatever the reasons might be this is the first album I’ve got properly stuck into and I’m very glad I did. Pleasure For Pleasure is like two different tracks hammered together: the glitchy, video game-evoking bounce of the main rhythm section and the glassy pads that are occasionally permitted to break through more and more frequently until it all gels together into a satisfying mess of phased drums and white noise.

https://callsuper.bandcamp.com

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Faten Kanaan – The Archer

This is taken from the new two-track EP from Brooklyn composer and producer Faten Kanaan, and follows the release of the equally brilliant The North Wind last month. Fatan has previously said that much of her work is inspired by cinematic forms, whether that’s sweeping vistas or intimate character studies; both of which are apparent in The Archer, with its dramatic swathes of synths conjuring both ragged forests and Blade Runner-esque cityscapes while simultaneously evoking a deep personal narrative.

https://fatenkanaan.com

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Music

Flaurese – Sake Of Lust

I heard this on the radio earlier today as the sun was just breaking through the morning haze and it made me feel incredibly calm and happy. It’s from London producer Flaurese’s debut EP which is out now on Circa ’99, and it’s a real delight: warm chords and winding melodies with an almost 8-bit bassline that chugs on throughout before entering throwback rave territory for the final third. Quite the debut.

https://www.instagram.com/flaurese_

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Overmono – Everything U Need

The Tweet that brought the new Overmono single to my attention came from grime producer Mr.Mitch and simply said “Think I would cry if I heard this in a club”. This, in a nutshell, is what every single person currently bereft at the lack of nightlife options in the UK is feeling. The specific tracks will differ from person to person, but everyone has at least one tune that if they heard loud, surrounded by other people, would reduce them to tears. It’s something that headphones and watching screens can’t even begin to replicate, and I only hope there are enough producers still making absolute bangers like this left when we’re allowed to party once again.

https://overmono.bandcamp.com

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Music

Paul White – All Eyes Open (Mixtape)

Previously best known for his production work for Danny Brown, as well as collaborations with Jamie Woon and Charlie XCX in addition to production duties for a vast number of other MCs and singers, Paul White has stepped more fully out of the shadows in the last few years. Following a string of album releases over the last decade, 2018’s Rejuvenate felt like a statement of intent, and clocked up plenty of very positive reviews. His new mixtape All Eyes Open sees his step back from the mic for the most part, instead delivering a kaleidoscopic range of beats, synths and samples from multiple genres, all undershot with a yearning nostalgia that holds everything together.

https://paulwhite.bandcamp.com

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Khotin – WEM Lagoon Jump

Over the last decade or so, Canadian producer Khotin – or Dylan Khotin-Foote to his friends – seems to have been slowly deconstructing his own sound, moving from admittedly slightly off-kilter but still structurally recognisable house music, to increasingly stripped-down ambient and psychedelia. His new album Finds You Well is his calmest to date: at time playful, at other solemn, but rarely rising above a gentle murmur. WEM Lagoon Jump tips its cap quite considerably to the influence of Boards Of Canada with its stumbling drums and hazy, wandering, nostalgic synth lines, but nevertheless stands out as a highlight in a beautifully introspective release.

https://heart.bandcamp.com