stereo_mike

A charming oddity of sound art consisting almost entirely of the “ums” and “ahs” from interviews with cultural figureheads such as Slavoj Žižek, Lady Gaga and Joseph Beuys. It’s quite a grim experience, the lip smacks and sharp intakes of breath too... See full review

Detached, clinical, moody – I could be describing myself here, but this was actually my gut reaction to Objekt’s follow-up to Flatland. Repeated listens have led me to notice speckles of humanity in all the morass of electronic goodness, but it’s most... See full review

It’s hard to fault Dev Hynes, the man has been putting out solid tunes for quite some time now. But on this record, there’s an extra layer of refinement in the way he approaches the difficult subject of depression, being less concerned with production... See full review

Post-punk experimentalists Ana da Silva and Phew join forces for this delicately charged ambient record. Swamped in phased synths, the pair of vocalists make only the occasional utterance in each other’s native language (Portuguese and Japanese... See full review

Some allege that Georgia Anne Muldrow is the originator of the phrase “stay woke”, and from the sounds of her blistering 17th album it’s easy to see why. The prolific R&B pioneer shows no sign of slowing down here, bringing a range of inventive sounds... See full review

Any artist with the bravery to call out an oppressive government could be said to have big balls, and in the case of Moscow duo Ic3peak, who speak out in support of the queer community in Russia, they have absolute cannonballs. On Сказка, they speak... See full review

Ross From Friends’ debut Family Portrait feels very much like a record for music nerds, still tethered to the lo-fi YouTube house aesthetic he emerged from but much more fleshed out and nuanced. When I learned the album was inspired by a raving tour... See full review

One of the less discussed deaths in 2017 was that of indigenous Australian musician Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, whose emphatic voice brought international attention to the Yolngu cultures of Northern Territory. The music here is very much led by... See full review

Doubling down on their krautrock stylings, Beak> couch their doom-laden songs in fuzz and fug to the point that not much is clearly audible except for the synth arpeggios, which build a paranoid sense of suspense. The vocals are particularly... See full review

Vessel’s previous work has often worked within a literary framework, but his latest venture, which sees him pay tribute to female cultural icons like Hannah Arendt and Remedios Varo, steps things up a gear or two. It’s a frenetic mix of chamber music... See full review

What would it sound like it a city played itself at night? Maybe something like Chevel’s Always Yours, where microbeats skitter like clouds of dirt in the wake of a passing train, and every melodic phrase sounds like it could be some sort of alarm.

Having initially emerged as Lee Bannon, a master beatmaker for the likes of Souls of Mischief and the Pro Era collective, Fred Warmsley is now better known as Dedekind Cut, an ambient project completely unconcerned with percussion but still operating... See full review

Ostinato Records have been responsible for curating some exceptional compilations of African and Middle Eastern music, shedding light on localised scenes the rest of the world undoubtedly missed out on the first time around. 2018 saw them take a... See full review

This is undoubtedly Jóhannsson at his peak, a soundtrack for a film that rests heavily on his input (seriously, I don’t think there was a minute of Mandy that didn’t have background music). Collaborating with Sunn O)))’s Stephen O’Malley, you get the... See full review

Taking a set of ’80s and ’90s R&B hits, most of them originally by male vocalists, Meshell Ndegeocello turns down the bombast and gives them new life as breathy, acoustic easy listening pieces. It’s hard not to hear a deliberate queerness in her... See full review

Natalie Prass’ knack for writing ridiculously catchy pop choruses is in full flex on her second record, augmented by the slick soul backing of the Spacebomb house band. What keeps this otherwise doggedly retro affair anchored to the present (and... See full review

Nebraska-based cassette label Tymbal Tapes has been a joyful recent discovery, not least because of this wonky no-wave delight. Like Aaron Dilloway’s The Gag File from 2017, it has the vibe of a rough ‘n’ ready horror soundtrack waiting to be filmed,... See full review

A disciple of Malian kora legend Ali Farka Touré, Samba Touré has been recording solo for the last decade, and while this record might not contain any surprises, it is a great showcase of his appeal. Calming down a little from his last album... See full review

When she was more coy and ambiguous about her sexuality, Janelle Monáe was already producing some of the most exciting pop music, so I couldn’t really keep myself from building anticipation for this as her “coming out” album. The real revelation here... See full review

Based in Amsterdam, the members of this band bonded over their mutual love of Turkish psychedelia and do a bloody good job paying tribute to it on their super funky full-length debut. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that they do a mean take on Erkin... See full review

Playing off of vocal samples from Alan Lomax’s ethnomusicological library, Israeli guitarist Yonatan Gat develops a spinning world of ambiguous cultural origins, no doubt a reflection of his non-stop touring lifestyle. The sonic range on the album is... See full review

There are echoes of the original Fourth World mentality here, particularly in some of the rhythm choices, but this feels like the start of a new manifesto, articulating to the latest generation of electro-nerds where our curiosities should take us next.

Eight – count ’em, eight – hours of glitchy material fill this 4-disc album by Autechre, and it may be the best thing they’ve ever done. Recorded during their residency at NTS radio in April 2018, this collection is a great opportunity to hear the... See full review

Although responsible for many terrific original tracks herself (Batonga and Agolo spring to mind), Beninese vocal phenom Angélique Kidjo has a considerable talent for interpreting other people’s songs in her style, and in 2018 she upped the ante by... See full review