Rob selects some of his favourite releases from the first month of the year (+ one sneaky one from last December), + a recent discovery from back in the day!

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Although I’m not sure you can really say it in February, this is a January picks article, so Happy New Year to anyone reading this.

It’s been a while since we’ve done any picks, and we haven’t really got an excuse other than the old ‘life got in the way’... However, this year we’re making a renewed effort to get monthly selections up on the site and on their way to your ears, alongside some other big plans coming soon (#bigthingscoming).

I was feeling a bit burnt out in December, and wasn’t really concentrating on music or digging regularly. January, therefore, has been an attempt to reinvigorate myself by diving back into things, discovering new music and keeping my mind open. Luckily for me, there’s been a bunch of great releases coming out in the first part of the year, with lots of people hitting the ground running from the outset.

From dub-laced downtempo to ambient-techno and everything in between, dive in with me for my favourites. I’ve also included an old album that I’ve recently discovered, something I want to do more of this year. As always, make sure to check these artists and support where you can!

Thanks for reading!

~Rob

Released three days into 2024, this collection of tracks from J. Albert feel personal, as if you’ve entered while the New York native was midway through a jam session. The rough-and-ready approach on show is mirrored by the track titles – onomatopoeic renderings of the sounds, as the EP’s name would suggest – but in no way does this hinder the emotions of the project.

From the distorted dub techno of the opener to more IDM-influenced cuts, everything is steeped in reverbed ambience, with skittish drums dancing around distant pads. This all combines into something which seems to sum up these January days; cold, yet hopeful at the same time.

A huge collection of ambient and adjacent sounds from Nacht Plank, made up of everything from super short sketches and loops to longer form, meditative pieces such as the standouts ‘Autumn Star’ and ‘Understanding Saint Catherine’. Equal parts haunting, off-kilter and serene, it encourages you to slow down and reflect, perfect for the start of the year.

Beautiful little track from friendofyours – a nostalgia-inducing piano line with added reverse effects, twinkling synth lines and a hint of a vocal sample. In this case, it’s all you need to put you in nicely relaxed, calm state.

Staying on a similar theme, here’s another densely populated collection of ambient from J. Cowit, recorded in the final month of last year. Fancy some deep, spacious pads, field recordings, drones and a wild flute track representing the trials of a lonely fish? Look no further than this excellent musing on an underwater theme.

This one’s a funny one, not in terms of music (which is seriously good), but in terms of the lore – or lack thereof – behind it. The NRG are a legendary band, prolific in the 90s and known the world over for their soaring, stadium-filling ambient explorations… except, they aren’t.

The tongue-in-cheek attitude of modern electronic music doesn’t get much of a runout in its less clubby corners, which is why the idea to come up with a KLF-style outfit that never existed, now being re-released by Muzan with a special ‘Live in Japan’ version of their most-treasured release, is genius.

It’s the perfect way to contextualise their distinctly nostalgic take on the sound, with the bright, bold, arpeggiated synth lines of their so-called ‘big room ambient’ harking back to the heyday of rave culture and the new and exciting output being dreamt up at the time. It’s worth it for the description alone – highly recommended.

Birdsnake, described as ‘Naarm-based groove merchants, (delivering) a free flowing sensory exploration of funk, dub, house and acid jazz’ on their Bandcamp page, have come out of the blue with a brilliant 7-track project.

‘Rogue Florida entity’ Tegu hit the ground running this year with 12 tracks of forest-dwelling sorcery for Not So Fun. Mostly recorded within a 24 hour period, it feels conceptually similar to the J. Albert release from above, allowing you to get lost in the natural rhythms and atmospheres of the producer, without too much polish or overthinking.

It’s a work that also reminds me of RAMZi’s brilliant ‘hyphea’ album, mostly through its distinct worldbuilding, glistening synths and use of texture and field recordings. So, if you’re a fan of this kind of reinvigorating and meditative music, deeply informed by nature, this one’s for you.

I’m cheating here, since Batu put this out in December, but for the reasons stated in the intro, I missed out on giving it a full listen on release. So, I’m including it in this month’s roundup, as it would be silly to not mention this impeccable 4-tracker from one of the best out there.

When launching A Long Strange Dream, Batu promised a "new no-fuss imprint for me to throw out music I'm making in a variety of styles." The first release hinted at this, with his usual UK techno mutations mingling amongst two ambient-focused cuts. With ‘half speed’, he’s allowed himself to explore that softer side in full, providing four magical deep dives into lush, dubbed out soundscapes.

The Timedance boss has always been good at building atmosphere and tension in his tracks, and here that skill is just as present. However, where much of his output has a cold, sharp edge to it, these tracks are warm and inviting, each element tinged with soft focus.

That’s not to say this is overtly ‘happy’ ambient music; for me, it encapsulates a sense of melancholic nostalgia too. It sounds like looking back on a happy memory, while simultaneously being sad that you can never relive it… and that depth of emotion makes it one of the best releases of last year for me.

The master is back, returning to his Spazio Disponibile imprint for the first time in five years, bringing 6 tracks of his trademark ambient-techno sound.

There’s not too much to say here. For fans of Dozzy, this is a shoo-in; transcendent arpeggios, mesmerising pads and distant, pulsing drums. The tracks subtly twist and turn, catching you off guard at points as you realise you’ve caught the beat in the wrong way, before the hypnotic rhythms lock you back in. It’s everything we’ve come to expect from the Italian when he’s in this zone, and that is not a bad thing.

This year, I’m keen to have a look back at projects from the past that I’ve missed out on. Whether a hidden gem or an essential listen that I should have caught already, it’s important to look back on where we’ve come from and to see how that’s informed what we listen to today.



This month, I’ve chosen ‘Liumin’ The Coldest Season’, can attest to this. It’s a genre that is quite cold in many ways, with its stripped-back, noisy loops and cacophonous bass.

However, this simplicity is what makes it great, especially when experienced on good speakers or headphones. Turning full attention to these low end elements makes it some of the most satisfying electronic music to experience, inviting you to get lost in beats that bob along amongst murky ambience.

I’ve had ‘Liumin’ on repeat this month, whether I’m walking around town, travelling by train or at home. It just seems to soundtrack this gloomy season perfectly, so I really encourage you to give it a go if you haven’t already.

A highlight for me is ‘BCN Dub’, a revolving 12 minute masterclass in the sound. The rhythm and bass pulsate across its runtime, with a crackling, glitched out trumpet sample from ‘Greetings’ by Yabba You & King Tubby. The way they’ve twisted that sample is just something else, and perfectly encapsulates what dub techno means for me.

~Rob