The Best Electronic Music Of May 2023

• A Visiting Link – 0-9 [A Visiting Link]

“The Emergency Declaration has been issued, so… past iron up… between iron chan… it is commonly known as the limited express… the chill system (Red Belt) + (Blue Belt) formation crab-crab. Limited operation @ Sultan Al Sham, Magnetic Dress, and Dedicated Computer Realm.”

https://www.discogs.com/release/26821796-A-Visiting-Link-0-9

• VA – The Chants Of The Holy Oyster [Kalahari Oyster Cult]

Six years, fifty releases, countless artists and multiple subsidiaries; the Oyster Cult’s reach extends far beyond what sceptics once thought possible. It’s only fitting, then, that we gather some of our finest under the Kalahari banner in celebration.

The anniversary release is upon us. Six whole years since Jacy helped inaugurate the label with a spin on Midwestern house, OYSTER40 signals a landmark occasion. 18 tracks, quadruple vinyl action, and in true Oyster Cult tradition, it comes bearing pearls.

Dancefloor squarely in focus, the Cult assembles on a compilation spanning alumni and new inductees alike. It’s an assemblage of the fractal, explorative and ritual-ready; at once a focused distillation of the Kalahari sound and celebration of its many acolytes. Big on atmosphere, heavy on groove, we delve deeply into the musical DNA shared by all who grace the label.

Tough, direct cuts (Sansibar, Roza Terenzi, Big Zen, Maara & Priori) to the pristine and widescreen (S.O.N.S., Volodymyr Gnatenko, Adam Pits), this is all quintessentially Kalahari. Elsewhere though, the likes of D. Tiffany and SW. journey further into realms of abstraction: the former opting for hi-tech, dreamstate IDM, while the SUED co-founder dissolves a house template into dubby introspection.

Calling upon contemporary talents for the most part, there are also exceptions. Raymond Castoldi – the one-time house producer best known as Madison Square Garden’s music director – returns with an unreleased nugget from ’91, while an ‘Aliens’-sampling track from Detroit-indebted techno outfit Syzygy gets the reissue treatment.

• Grim Beazley – Big World [Constellation Tatsu]

From the chaos and calm of the Australian bush, Grim Beazley’s Big World combines sounds and stories with deep evolutionary narratives. Meditative dreamscapes create an emotional connection with an environmental theme exploring house, trance, and meditation.

• Bliss Inc. – Mind 2 Mind [Magicwire]

Second release from Bliss Inc. on the Magicwire label founded by the amazing DJ Gabriola & Lone.

• Perko – Prang / Sisu [Numbers]

This two-track release by Perko on Numbers is the Glasgow-born, Copenhagen-based artist’s first release for the label since 2020’s The City Rings.

Poking his head out of the foxhole of his solitary FELT imprint for a pair of productions featuring Huerco S. and Cucina Povera, “Prang” highlights Perko’s commitment to natural collaboration as a creative ideal.

• Hysterical Love Project – Lashes [Motion Ward]

All music written and produced by Ike Zwanikken and Brooklyn Mellar. Artwork by Sam Mullany, Mastered by Robert Thomas.

• Cousin – Roșie / On2 [Moonshoe]

Following up his recent record on NAFF, Cousin returns to the Moonshoe home front for his latest offering.

Introspective and unbound sounds etched into the latest mini disc – delicately staunch cuts that may both pluck at your heart strings and rattle your bones. Recommended connection to the call as it phones home.

• Function – Green EP [Infrastructure New York]

To relaunch his seminal imprint, Infrastructure New York, Function presents his new 12″, Green EP. Celebrating 27 years of Function releases this year and the label’s 25th anniversary, the label will serve as an outlet for his new material, reissues of out of print classics from Synewave, Sandwell District and Ostgut Ton (and of course, Infrastructure), as well as developing new artists and launching a long awaited Bandcamp page – exploring the annals of nearly 30 years of the Function sound. No doubt fans will be excited.

As a member of the Sandwell District collective, David Sumner aka Function, from 2007 onward was instrumental in cultivating and ushering in a new sound of dark, cerebral hypnotica – forcing the hand of change in global techno. 

Green EP serves as a testament to this, further exploring these depths. The EP pays homage to the day when David arrived in Berlin with his green suitcase where his record “Isolation” on Sandwell District was released, hitting the ground running and springboarding into an incredibly successful career, becoming a stalwart DJ/producer, after years as a struggling artist.

• C-thru – The Otherworld [Pacific Rhythm]

C-thru – The Otherworld is a collection of introspective cosmic-leaning dance music that gives a healthy nod to the golden era of trance, ambient, and down-tempo from Austin, Texas based producer Jesse Edwards. Inactive for several years, these 10 tracks mark a new chapter for Jesse Edwards. 

Previous works include his well received psychedelic project, Red Morning Chorus, that included Boards of Canada amongst its fans. Edwards began his musical journey in the late 90s playing shoegaze and experimental music with Jessica Bailiff (Kranky). The pair collaborated on several albums together including works with Flying Saucer Attack, His Name is Alive, & Odd Nosdam (Anticon).

• AAAA – Emo_Xtasy_Core

Ambient Electronic Emo Core for the Strugglers by AAAA, on of the founders of the parties EXT. in Mexico City !

Amazing Cover by Dylan Tushar.