Overlook – Lost Souls Club EP

This is unexpected. I haven’t heard of Overlook before and this music is so much up my alley that it’s like the literal avenue in my city center. Jazzy moods and urban sounds with drum & bass. It’s like DJ Krush but instead of triphop blues having some more tempo to breakbeat and onwards. This is so not 2022, but it’s so amazing.

Machinedrum – Psyconia

Broken beat, drum and bass, hiphop, IDM, the common denominator is smoothness and a light heart. Like if it’s drum and bass then it’s liquid, if it’s hiphop then it’s soulful. These 26 minutes contain a whole summer’s many flavors in six tracks. It’s not a consistent record at all, more like a promo sampler for a festival, but there’s fun in all those tracks.

Alex Banks – Beneath The Surface

Intimate electronic music (think Moderat) with down to mid tempo and glitchy broken beats. Not the kind of intimate that makes you turn inside and feel blue, but the one that gives a push and inspires.

Hugo Massien – Metamorphosis

Bass-heavy slow to mid tempo electronic music. Genrewise it’s a mishmash: the highest percentage is probably house, but it’s changing every other track to dubstep, breakbeat, house, IDM, ambient. Good backdrop for work.

FJAAK & Elli Acula – To The Peak (Steffi Mix)

This brings back amazing memories when my favorite breaks DJs played the kind of nu skool breaks that I loved so much. The Fjaak guys still haven’t missed a beat for me, and Steffi has been an evergreen favorite of mine who pushed this track just that one notch further.

Octo Octa – She’s Calling EP

Breaks and house, focus changing from track to track, or within a track itself. It’s like a little kaleidoscope. (While tagging this post I’m amazed I haven’t had any Octo Octa releases here so far. I’m listening to basically all new releases from her.)

Machinedrum – A View of U

I just finished the 2020 long player of Sub Focus and decided not to put it up here when this record followed and I thought, so this is the one that was meant to be. The same kind of accessible, easy to listen drum and bass electronic dance music but with just a little bit more sophistication and less sugarcoat. Although it’s still fluffy and light like a smokey Saturday afternoon. I feel so good that this is released by Ninja Tune: I could also say this is drum and bass through the Ninja’s lens, as in that being quality assurance.

Ten Walls – Lights For The Dreams

At the beginning it totally starts like some Brandt Brauer Frick record, having all those acoustic instruments, drums, guitars, strings, brass instruments, making all those little noises mixed up with the electronics. Then from the third track it goes fully electronic and creates this wonderful, cinematic journey with pulsing techno, ambient soundscapes, and broken beats. It all creates this great flow even though stylistically it’s not the most coherent album. I’m not afraid to say that it could well deserve a spot on my year-end toplist, even if it doesn’t make the Top 10 it could easily sit within the twenty.