Nils Frahm
Nils Frahm is no stranger to minimalism, but on Old Friends New Friends, the Berlin-based pianist and composer homes in on every tiny detail. Over the course of the 80-minute solo piano record, he gives each note ample space to… Read More
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GAS
A sea of strings swims into view, and the crackle of vinyl reaches out of the mix like tendrils. The tone is tense, urgent, paranoid, and minor-key, interrupted by long exhalations on a major-key chord. There’s no beat, but anyone… Read More
Blawan
If a certain punk band hadn’t gotten there first, then Anarchy in the UK would have made an excellent alternative title for Woke Up Right Handed, the third EP this year—and the first for UK super-indie XL—from British post-dubstep survivor… Read More
Rx PapiGud
When baby-faced Swedish rappers like Yung Lean and Bladee first started racking up views in the United States, their viral success was owed as much to the beats as it was the bars. The cooing vocal samples, angelic synths, and… Read More
Flora Yin-Wong
Until now, Flora Yin-Wong’s work fed primarily on the metropolis. Her debut mixtape, City God, was a club take on urban Chinese folk religion. In 2020, Holy Palm careened between samples of Tokyo and Crete and Paris; its companion book,… Read More
Lotic
Sometimes, when a person first starts living in their true identity, a modest weight begins to lift off their shoulders. For a few years afterward, they might still experience an ineffable but persistent mental pressure. Over time, though, that burden… Read More
JJJJJerome Ellis
JJJJJerome Ellis says, “For me, the stutter is a wild animal, and it is my ongoing practice to follow it where it wants to go.” The multi-instrumentalist, writer, and composer frequently lists “stutterer” among his disciplines, referring to his glottal… Read More
MMM
For a quarter century, Berlin’s MMM have crafted rave anthems of unusually potent caliber. The duo of Errorsmith and Berghain resident Fiedel, MMM aren’t terribly prolific. Since their debut, in 1996, they’ve released just seven 12″s, all on their eponymous… Read More
Leif
There’s a distinctly pastoral tinge to Leif Knowles’ music: an air of dewy grass, verdant clearings, mist burning off of rolling hills. Though mostly created with synthesizers, Leif’s records are imbued with the sounds of rainfall, birdsong, and wind chimes.… Read More
Xeno & Oaklander
Xeno & Oaklander—the duo of Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride—came up through Pieter Schoolwerth’s Wierd Nights, an endearingly gloomy fixture of late ’00s New York. In the early days, the pair’s music was of a piece with the sounds popular… Read More