After almost ten years under the radar, Dave Huismans, the brain behind A Made Up Sound, 2562 and Dogdaze returned with a new label and two new projects in 2025: to every fan’s delight ex_libris kicked off with a double release and an LP under the In Transit alias released only three months later on Fergus Jones’ FELT label. All three ended up in many charts and each one got repressed. Probably buoyed by this overwhelming response he announced this new, third ex_libris record just a week before release date and without any snippets. This plan paid off, the pre-order on bandcamp sold out in no time, more copies will hit stores soon.

Mari Maurice Rubio, based in Brooklyn, New York, returns to the American label Thrill Jockey with a new album, continuing her inquisitive musical journey through diverse soundscapes and moods. Always driven by mutual inspiration, she doesn’t embark on this journey alone. Following collaborations with Dntel, A.F. Jones & Steven Flato, and several albums with her close friend Claire Rousay, she has now teamed up with a select group of artists: Wendy Eisenberg on guitar, vocals, and piano; Alice Gerlach on cello; Henry Earnest on electric guitar; Jade Guterman on acoustic guitar; and Ryan Sawyer on drums. Together, they complement Rubio’s compositions on a remarkable piece of work that blurs the lines between Ambient, Folk, and Alternative Rock, exploring new paths across all these genres.

Ever imagined buying two copies of a record that includes Bass music, partly autotune infused Arabic vocals and trumpet? Why I did this with their first record and why I’m afraid I might end up doing it again with their recent LP.

This project brings together to masters of their craft, uniting for a signature sound which is difficult to compare. On first sight they might be a surprising, unexpected duo but actually they have a lot in common...

The  mythical community Breadminster seems to be a healthy environment for artists to grow and to drop releases quite regularly. The (apparently only) resident Elijah Minnelli is a good example.

Minnelli, after some contributions on Breadminster City Council (BCC) label (rumoured to be his very own) and Dub/step afficionado’s dearest ZamZam Sounds, has released two albums in a row: Perpetual Musket on UK institution Fat Cat and Clams As A Main Meal, again on BCC. Features of these two on outlets like The Guardian, The Wire or The Quietus underscored the waves they made.

First time a reissue is reviewed here, but frankly, we don’t have a choice.
Bim Sherman (born Jarrett Lloyd Tomlinson Vincent in Kingston, Jamaica) was a pivotal figure in Jamaican Reggae scene, and its subsequent UK era. Emerging in the early 1970s, he was at the forefront of the island’s musical innovation, experimenting with cutting-edge Dub production techniques. After several  
releases on his own, Jamaican imprints Scorpio and Red Sea between 1975 and 1978 he established more and more. So it happened only four years later that a producer and musician from the United Kingdom, certain guy called Adrian Sherwood (who’s worth a feature himself…), got more into Sherman’s music, and invited him to join Cry Tuff founder Prince Far I. Prince Hammer to tour alongside them and Sherwood’s friends, the UK Reggae group Creation Rebel.

With continuous technical progress, making music is not only accessible to a wider range of people, but the sound aesthetics also are influenced by this progress as well. Of course, you could imitate all kinds of hardware with plug-ins, sample packs and editing, but the temptation of clean sound design fetishism is strong with digital audio workstations, and many buzzworthy labels of the last years tend to go in this direction.
But there are some labels and producers, that keep their focus on working with a certain combination of hardware to create their signature sound based on them.

There are plenty of interesting, quaint biographies behind artists. Eden Ahbez’ life story is a truly unique one and his influence on the hippie movement as well as his role behind one of the biggest hits in American pop history of the 20th century have barely been too prominent.

supersoft at Salon des Amatuers

“Songs to Pull Down The Clouds”

To get a better understanding of Bruce’s new release, it’s worth taking a closer look at his previous discography.
Larry McCarthy’s alter ego Bruce entered the stage in 2014 with releases on two of Britain’s contemporary club music institutions: Livity Sound’s Dnuos Ytivil and Hessle Audio. Since then, he made a name for himself with his signature sound aesthetics between breakout point testing club bangers (I’m Alright Mate or What) and delicate, touching, electronic lullabies (Summers Gotta End Sometime or Before You Sleep), again on labels Livity Sound, Hessle Audio, but also on Hemlock, Idle Hands or his good friend Batu’s imprint Timedance.

Eddie Ness and Lars Krug (aka Liem) first appeared on Hamburg based House label LeHult, which they founded alongside three friends in 2014 and delivered some proper hits. Taking it from there, they teamed up end of 2017 released the first Space Drum Meditation 12” on the self-titled imprint in the following year. They have since released two albums and seven more singles. Given their House background, the new ground they have broken with this project is quiet surprisingly: SDM aims to connect the dots between organic instruments from the past and electronic hard- and software, made for various dance floors as well as inner journeys. Ancient tradition meets visionary future.

Three years after their very first release, Brussels based duo ugné&maria return with their first LP, out on Hands in the Dark.
In the meantime since their debut tape “HEALING”  on Futura Resistenza label, it seems they’ve found their signature sound even more. You can find commonalities between both releases in terms of slow tempo, a mix of multi-instrumental and electronic hardware, as well as strong  bass accents. Especially this aspect has increased and is now found on all tunes of ZOTASPHERE.

As a result of ongoing patriarchal societies and violence against women, some artists that have suffered from this system used and still use music as their medium, for a multitude of reasons. They call their music “survival anthems” (LINGUA IGNOTA), use them to break (pop-)music’s “purity” (Jenny Haval) or to perform as an object of projection for discomfort (Gazelle Twins). One thing most of these artists’ work has in common is the deception and/or subversion of the male gaze.

Three years after their very first release, Brussels based duo ugné&maria return with their first LP, out on Hands in the Dark.
In the meantime since their debut tape “HEALING”  on Futura Resistenza label, it seems they’ve found their signature sound even more. You can find commonalities between both releases in terms of slow tempo, a mix of multi-instrumental and electronic hardware, as well as strong  bass accents. Especially this aspect has increased and is now found on all tunes of ZOTASPHERE.

Dub Techno is so back!
Marked by Paul St. Hilaire’s new nine-tracker album, released on Kynant w/ The Producers at the end of September 2025. Few have shaped this sonic aesthetic like Tikiman, infusing mechanical yet atmospheric Dub Techno beats with unique, Reggae-rooted vocals. But the new dawn of this genre brings a bunch of new producers and vocalists. The production and live performance collaboration between Finnish producer Rasmus Hedlund and Dutch artist Samuel van Dijk (well known for his output as VC-118, Multicast Dynamics and others) is a good example.

Charts at the end of the year are a great invention, and everybody benefits from them…right? Music aficionados can explore tons of music which they might have overlooked throughout the year, artists and labels see their music back in focus weeks or months after the initial release, and platforms see a new opportunity for streams, buys and strengthening customers loyalty. But while these charts are really in focus, a lot of music that came out at the end of the year is pushed to the wayside.
So here are some releases that came out between early November and late December that did not have the chance to unleash their full force to end up in the charts (in order of release date):