Moonlit music, blending light and dark sounds and emotions.

Starting this mix with my latest emotional track Moonbeam (Numen Records), a ray of light from the moon. Deep euphoric soundscapes with ethereal vocals overlaying a powerful dark side. Joris Feiertag is a Dutch producer and live-act, who makes music that is a finely balanced combination of organic and synthesised elements, often using ingenious syncopated rhythms combined with instruments such as the harp and
kalimba. Later this year he will release Roots, his third album on Sonar Kollektiv. Having concentrated his attention on catchy hooks and a number of guest voices on his first, and deeper breakbeat workouts on his second, Joris felt it was time to deliver something that sat comfortably in a space somewhere between the two. This January saw the release of The Family We Find, Leaving Laurel’s first original track since their 2021 self-titled debut LP and the tragic loss of friend and band member Pierce Fulton. Now Leaving Laurel release Fireflies (for as far as we can see), a poignant collection of tracks characterised by warm piano and inviting textural percussion. Originating from old projects that Gordon and Pierce had recorded years ago, Fireflies (for as far as we can see) is a fitting reminder of the duo’s unmistakable coalescence: “As soon as I heard what it could become, it gave me that indescribable feeling of magic that came the first time we worked on music together. And that became ‘the family we find’. The title comes from a translation of a line from the movie ‘Tokyo Godfathers’. A movie about togetherness, following three homeless people that have found their own family together…. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of my connection to the rest of the Fulton family, since Pierce and I started Leaving Laurel. A tale of two old friends, Gordon & Pierce, Leaving Laurel connected the duo musically for the first time after being close friends for almost a decade. Released in September 2022, Neil MacLeod's We Have Known Lost Days, took listeners on a journey through the darker side of human experience, bringing together both soul and electronic genres; paired with a live visual EP, it relayed the raw power and virtuosity, that are the hallmarks of MacLeod’s live performances. Now Particle Recordings present the first track in a series of remixes of Neil MacLeod's We Have Known Lost Days EP. NZ and Australian-based brothers Liam and Ben Murray, 2XM have been creating their own unique blend of dance music since 2016. Exploring a wide range of sonic influences and interests in jazz, classical, hip-hop, electronic and garage music. Dot Major from London Grammar delves into a new world of glistening synths, crisp drum work and top-tier production with his solo project. Springing into the electronic dance music world, Dot Major manages to expertly carve his own instantly-recognisable, timeless sound. Featuring three gripping and diverse originals that entertain some of their finest iterations of melodic techno and vocal electronica to date, the Gravity EP marks another extraordinary showcase in cutting-edge electronic music from GHEIST (Embassy One). The epic six-minute title track Gravity sees GHEIST breathe a vivacious melodic energy into the instrumental opener, as they piece together a mesmerising concoction of analog instrumentation and forward-thinking production techniques to noteworthy effect. An expressive record, focussed around deep synth refrains and effervescent four-four beats, GHEIST’s unique sonic trademark is placed front and centre, as they pull out all the stops with another blockbuster hit. Teho & Gregory Terlikowki produced and composed called Backfirewall, which is a 3D narrative adventure set inside of a smartphone. The player embodies an update assistant whose job is to update the phone. Only problem is : the current OS, OS9, is not so happy about being deleted and replaced. After learning that the update will kill you too, you will have to team up with OS9 to try and reboot the system in order to avoid the update and survive. Offering up the more club-focused sounds from the release, Teho provides a complex and diverse selection of music. Ranging from slamming techno to intricate and nuanced breakbeat, Teho's production skills are placed at the forefront. Included another one from one of my favourite artists Lake Turner which is a superb collaboration with Gui Boratto on Sasha’s label Last Night On Earth, check out the Further Now EP. The drinks are flowing, camaraderie is high; the intoxicating rush of excitement and possibility stretches out endlessly before you. All serve as inspiration for the latest new music from house Artist, Producer and DJ Laurence Guy. On Your Side, a tenderly euphoric, entrancing slice of contemporary house, is the first drop from an exciting forthcoming project and sees Guy build on his trademark warm, mellow sound and blissed-out vibes. Part one of a trilogy of singles, On Your Side also forms part of a yet-to-be-announced project inspired by what Guy describes as the “push and pull between hedonism and the fog of the morning after, and the intensity with which you can feel both. Without the intense pleasure of the party, I wouldn’t feel the comedown in the aftermath; in turn, I would have no need to make a lot of the music I make.” Reigniting the flame, Stil vor Talent sub-division Light My Fire rises from the dead with Celestial Bodies, a limpid, floor-busting of a two-tracker coming courtesy of label boss Oliver Koletzki and core element Niko Schwind. As per usual with these two, one can rely on their unmatched ability at crafting electro-techno gems bound to have booties shaking and hearts melting in unison. Neptun fires off wave after wave of raw, syncopated drum swagger with an Italo spin, coating it with a thick glaze of luminous keys evocative of barren extra-terrestrial moonscapes and other uncharted territories beyond our vision and knowledge. Coming out Koletzki and Schwind's spaceship radio, a human voice clad in a vocodized envelope calls from light years apart, a peaceful cry out the great void's unfathomable heart. The next chapter in Light My Fire's rebirth is a promise and a confirmation at once. Celebrated Copenhagen-based trio WhoMadeWho apply their production expertise to Ry X & Olafur-Arnalds Colorblind. By stripping the original track to it’s core, WhoMadeWho have created an atmospheric, swelling club track perfectly engineered with suspense and restraint. On his debut album Feelin, Ivory (Innervisions) marries hi-tech sound design with the emotional pull of house for 10 tracks shaped by a multitude of club music and R&B. Album opener Voices infuses noirish melodrama with playful, pitch-shifted vocals that instantly lighten the mood. Next up, “Blank” draws from a similar blueprint, bolstered by low end pressure and ruptured rhythms. Dillon's fourth LP, 6abotage, captures today's zeitgeist like few others. A work of sore desperation but also reassuring devotion. Her fourth, and perhaps boldest, album project, 6abotage, marks Dillon's first full-length since 2017's Kind. Described by Dillon herself as "a love letter, a cry for help and a consequence, all in one." The opening theme from Secret of Elements score for the Arte documentary Rebuilding Notre-Dame, lays out in a few short minutes both the central thesis of the documentary as well as its score. Lost Piece creates a sonic cathedral in which a traditional instrument like a wooden piano slowly fuses itself with the composer's contemporary electronic production. Ayaavaaki & Purl collaborate on Ancient Skies: Like any true journey, it starts with getting lost. Lost beyond the hope of ever being found. Drifting through space, alone. One's form begins to disintegrate, the contours of identity fading. The distress call long since silenced, no longer any ideas left of who could respond. An infinite surprise; a sunrise. In the midst of a dark void, a swirl of light. With echoes of a song sung before life became life. Memories from a world existing long before the world now known, still lived now through the vortex of time. And the song we sang before the first dawn is heard again by the ones who journey on forever. The pastoral, floating track Lyla first appeared on Samantha Whates and Ida Wenøe’s Turn EP. Here the acapella is made into a fully formed ambient piece by Chris Coco. On this release you can also hear the instrumental version. This is one of ten tracks on a forthcoming compilation - The Chill Out Tent Ambient Vol 1. Samantha Whates is a Scottish singer-songwriter and Rough Trade Records recording artist, a hugely respected figure on the London folk & roots scene. Her beautifully crafted, poetic songs retain a strong affinity with her Scottish roots, cultivating a sound that is thoroughly contemporary, rooted in tradition, yet uniquely her own.

Tracklist:

Moonbeam - Tim Angrave

Re:solution - Feiertag

The Family We Find - Leaving Laurel

Once In Love (2XM Remix) - Neil MacLeod

Navi (Original Mix) - Dot Major

Gravity (Original Mix - GHEIST

Backfirewall (Original Mix) - Teho

Repeater - Lake Turner, Gui Boratto

On Your Side (Radio Edit) - Laurence Guy

Neptun - Koletzki & Schwind

Colorblind (WhoMadeWho Dub Remix) - Ry X & Olafur Arnalds

Voices (Album Version) - Ivory

Nuts Bits (Original Mix) - Teho

Soften The Blow - Dillon

Lost Piece - Secret Of Elements

Gateway Realm (Spiral I) - Ayaavaaki & Purl

Lyla (Chris Coco Instrumental) - Samantha Whates & Ida Wenøe