News – Page 24 – 7th Level Music

Kinlaw releases newest single, “SPIT,” from upcoming album due March 21, 2025.

Last month, Kinlaw announced her new album gut ccheck, which will be released on 3/21 on Bayonet Records, and shared its first single “HARD CUT” along with its accompanying video. The album is the follow up to her 2021 debut The Tipping Scale, which earned comparisons to Jenny Hval, FKA twigs, and Cate le Bon from Pitchfork, and was described by Interview as “a pop-meets-electronica reflection on the beauty of the ordinary.”

Her new album,gut ccheck, is a sharp and thrilling alloy of pop, electronica, trap, and industrial music that creates a new horizon for art pop that she built from motion, to breath, to sound, to song. Today, she is sharing the album’s second single, a track called “SPIT,” which arrives with a video created with Caroline Polachek, Eartheater, and 070 Shake collaborator 91Rules.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “SPIT”

Kinlaw has been living and working in New York City for over ten years, popping up as a member of several notable musical projects, but music is far from her only artistic outlet. Concurrently with the growth of her profile as a musician, she has earned significant acclaim as a choreographer and performer, earning commissions for her movement work from institutions like the MoMa Ps1, Pioneer Works, and the New Museum, and working on performance pieces scored by SOPHIE, Caroline Polachek and Dev Hynes among others.

For Kinlaw, movement or gesture is often a way into the writing process for an album. Kinlaw spent two years as a resident at Bell Labs, working in its famous anechoic chamber. It is one of the quietest places on the planet. “I wanted to know what role the brain and the body played in how we hear, and I wanted to concentrate more on silence than how to fill it,” she says. There’s not a better place to do that than in a room that is so silent your brain and body freaks out. People have been known to have panic attacks and even aural hallucinations as a response to the room. This research pushed Kinlaw to obliterate any divide between anatomy and the process of writing and perceiving sound. A performer by nature, this quickly turned into a deep dive on how to use choreography as a way to write.

“Almost every time I dealt with anger around language and writing, my fix was to move,” she explains. Kinlaw writes in a non traditional way because it is intuitive to her. “I don’t trust traditional ways of working,” she says, “I hold on fiercely to what feels good to me, what makes me feel awake.”

From this, gut ccheck becomes an album that has its genesis in perspective, in interrogating what a moment or a feeling or an opinion can become. Using this process, Kinlaw worked with producer/collaborator Carlos Hernandez (Ava Luna, Carlos Truly) to build the sonic landscape of the album.

“‘SPIT’ is one of the songs where the influence of my choreography is most palpable, it’s breathy and yearning at 110%.

Kinlaw says of the track: “As someone who came into music making as a vocalist first, I have the impulse to always hold everything in my voice. It was just how I started to make music. For so long, I felt this responsibility to give all information by ways my voice would move, soar, or show intensity. And there’s something so rewarding for me at this stage, in practicing restraint. But with this song, it’s also a different approach. It’s about letting this feedback be the front-runner. It’s chaotic. It’s shrill, it’s uncontrollable.”

“Spit starts off with guitar feedback. Controlled feedback is a theme in this one. Feedback can’t be controlled. Those two words don’t make a hell of a lot of sense next to each other, but it’s captured chaos that builds the foundation of this track.”

She adds of the video: “You should have seen this motion control camera! Part of this process was working alongside parameters of the equipment, so I wouldn’t get smashed in the face by the lens. It really heightened the stakes during each take. I wanted the shots to feel fierce and free, but needed to stay extremely specially aware while this camera soared all around my face and body. Wild experience.”

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test plan pretty much go nuts on their new single – “My Teeth.”

Photo Credit: Max Mason and Melody Wayfare

A cornerstone of their live shows, and charged with test plan’s distinctive blend of hypnotic guitars, growling bass and delirious vocals – landing, according the band’s own mantra “somewhere between dancing and moshing” – “My Teeth” puts us in the shoes of a religious figure losing their grip, their sanity and their teeth.

Written and recorded in their North London rehearsal space with the help of producer Darren Jones (Fat Dog, Gorillaz), the new single is released in anticipation of a debut trip to the states for New York’s New Colossus Festival, as well as a tour of Europe in May. Staying true to their independent spirit and DIY ethos, the track comes with a chaotic music video, directed, as ever by drummer / vocalist Max Mason.

Centered around the track’s classically nightmarish central image, on the video the band say: “Inspired by the late great David Lynch, Gasper Noe, and Michel Gondry, the video offers a surrealist collage of religious imagery and dream logic. It’s also the most ambitious and complex video we’ve created so far, chronicling a tooth having a very bad day. Close friends, including members of For Breakfast, DAAY, Burden Limbs, and Black Bordello, helped design and craft the costume, filmed, set designed, acted and appeared as extras. It was exciting to have so many people come together and pour their energy into the shoot.”

Their first release of the year comes following a breakthrough 2024 which earned them a landmark support slot for cult-legends A Place To Bury Strangers, debut trips to EU for Paris’ Supersonic Block Party and Rotterdam’s Left Of The Dial (the latter inviting them back for their NYE celebrations), as well as the fulsome backing of Anthony Fantano (The Needle Drop), who placed spring single “Walking In A Vacuum” in his top 50 tracks of 2024. This bolsters previous support from key UK tastemakers So Young, John Kennedy (Radio X) and Still Listening Magazine.

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set dressing release atmospheric, mysterious single – “class valedictorian.”

Today, Fire Talk Records debuts set dressing, a new side project from Mandy, Indiana, “one of the decade’s best new bands” (Bandcamp). set dressing expands upon Mandy, Indiana’s “transfixing blend of violence and transcendence” (Pitchfork), translating the “visceral and strange” (The Quietus) industrial palette for one of swathing instrumentals.

set dressing is not credited to any individuals and is represented only by an avatar. The debut single “class valedictorian” sets a deeply atmospheric introduction and soundtracks a venture into the dark unknown. Written, recorded and produced by set dressing, the instrumental “class valedictorian” is haunted by droning synths that instantly transport listeners somewhere uncanny and preternatural. It’s an extension of the distinct world building displayed across i’ve seen a way — Mandy, Indiana’s acclaimed debut, named one of 2023’s best albums by The New York Times, Pitchfork, Guardian, Loud & Quiet, Crack, DIY, UPROXX, Line of Best Fit and more — and marks the beginning of an unsettling journey.

Listen to set dressing’s “class valedictorian”

set dressing will make their live debut in Manchester on April 12th at 𝐏𝟑 𝑨𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑬𝒗𝒆 {formerly 𝑶! 𝑷𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅} (Basement), followed by a performance at Sounds From the Other City Festival in Salford on May 4th. Be on the lookout for more from set dressing this year via Fire Talk.

set dressing Tour Dates
Sat. April 12 – Manchester, UK @ 𝐏𝟑 𝑨𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑬𝒗𝒆 {formerly 𝑶! 𝑷𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅} (Basement)
Sun. May 4 – Salford, UK @ Sounds From the Other City Festival

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[Thanks to Jon-Carlo at Firetalk Records.]

Claude9 releases “Clouds So Low” ahead of new album due March 28, 2025.

Austin-based electronic-synthpop artist Claude9 presents ‘Clouds So Low’, the soulful first single from his forthcoming ‘Chords of Love’ album, slated for release on March 28 via indie imprint New Human Music. This chill feel-good offering tastefully blends Enoesque ambient music and downtempo trip-hop.

Encapsulating the dreamy, rhythmic energy that defines much of the album, ‘Clouds So Low’ serves as a perfect introduction to this relaxing 9-track sonic journey. Claude9 also offers a newly-recorded mini-live set a sneak-peak of ‘Chords of Love’.

“‘Clouds So Low’ is a funky, breakbeat-driven downtempo track that was inspired by the surreal low-hanging clouds I encountered during a drive to the studio for the song’s first session. Combining vocoder effects with soulful live vocals and melodic lines from my electric melodica, the track offers a playful and atmospheric vibe. With its lighthearted energy, it evokes a sense of wonder, reminiscent of The Orb’s iconic ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’,” says Claude9.

“This was the first track I began for this album, originally envisioned as a collaborative project with my friend Alec Ash. However, shortly after the first session, COVID hit, and the album evolved into a solo endeavor. The inspiration for this track came from my deep love of downtempo trip-hop acts like Massive Attack and The Orb.”

Claude9 has been involved in the Austin music scene for several decades, both as a live performer and recording artist. As a keyboard player and singer, he has worked with Reggae acts Pressure, the Killer Bees, and Raggamassive, cutting his teeth to become a sought-after keyboard player. From there, he joined forces with hiphop-funk act Afrofreque, Supercreeps and Hail Marley.

Emerging in the late 90s as one of Austin’s first electronic producers, Claude9 was involved in several well-received House music collaborations in the early 2000s. His background as a live musician brought authenticity to the dub and funk elements in his electronic compositions and, more recently, to his collaboration with Noëlle Hampton (the Belle Sounds) and Ken Christensen (East Coast Boogiemen) in synth pop band XANIMAL.

“The lyrics for ‘Clouds So Low’ were sparked by a vivid moment on my drive to Lockhart, TX, for that initial session. The clouds that day hung incredibly low in the sky, and as I crossed a high overpass, it felt as though they were close enough to touch. I found myself imagining stepping out of the car and walking on them—a whimsical thought that became the core idea for the song,” says Claude9.

“I already had the breakbeats I wanted to use, and once I arrived at the studio, the rest of the track came together surprisingly quickly. It turned out almost exactly as I had envisioned, which is a rare occurrence for any artist. The track brings together many of my favorite elements: crisp breakbeats, lush pads, a heavy bass synth, melodica melodies, and a blend of vocoder and “real” vocals.”

As a producer at Claude9 Studios, Claude continues to produce and record internationally recognized music in the House and Downtempo genres, while still pushing limits and being an influential member of the ever changing Austin music community.

‘Clouds So Low’ is out everywhere digitally, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. Now available for pre-order, the ‘Chords of Love’ album will be released – on vinyl and digitally – on March 28.

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[Thanks to Shauna at Shamless Promotion PR.]

mclusky release their first new music in two decades.

mclusky, masters of razor-sharp wit, jagged riffs and unrelenting energy, return with their first new album in 20 years: the world is still here and so are we (may 9, ipecac recordings).

Today, mclusky previews the 13-song album with a two-song digital single: “way of the exploding dickhead” and “unpopular parts of a pig.” a cheeky video for “way of the exploding dickhead” (https://mclusky.lnk.to/exploding) directed by remy lamont, was released simultaneously. with a blistering mix of tightly wound aggression and wry humor, mclusky’s edge is as sharp as ever.

Andrew Falkous: “With a title modeled on/ripped off a formative video game (the way of the exploding fist on the zx spectrum), and lyrics inspired by the huge excitement caused by the surge pricing on tickets to see a band play well in the distance, ‘way of the exploding dickhead’ is a modern parable, without the parable bit.”

It’s important to state that the world is still here and so are we is the fourth mclusky album (no qualification being needed). they had an asterisk next to the name for a bit – out of respect for past band members and the precious memorial glue of teenage musical crushes – but fuck that, in for a penny, in for a pound. lyrically it touches on subjects as rich and as varied as work-it-out-yourself and impenetrable-inside-joke-for-the-band, but one thing is clear, all of the songs have different words. all hilarious joking aside, the best songs are about things without being precisely about them. mclusky endorse this sentiment. they positively insist on it.

Album pre-orders are available now (https://mclusky.lnk.to/world) with the world is still here and so are we available on multiple limited-edition vinyl variants (marble vinyl and 180 gram black vinyl), an indie store exclusive clear vinyl, as well as a standard blue vinyl. The release is also available on CD and digital formats.

mclusky tour dates:

May 8 – Wrexham, UK The Rockin’ Chair

May 18 – Brussels, Belgium Les Nuits Botaniques (w/ The Jesus Lizard)

May 23 – Manchester, UK Gorilla

May 24 – Leeds, UK Brudenell

May 29 – London, UK Electric Ballroom

May 31 – Bristol, UL SWX

Tickets for all shows are on-sale now with links available via ipecac.com/tours.

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[Thanks to Monica at Speakeasy PR.]

Broncho release first new music in six years.

Oklahoma-based band Broncho announce Natural Pleasure, their first new album in six years, out April 25th, and present two singles, “Funny” and “Imagination.” Broncho – Ryan Lindsey (vocals, guitar), Ben King (guitar), Penny Pitchlynn (bass), and Nathan Price (drums) – has always been synonymous with reinvention, and Natural Pleasuremarks their boldest transformation yet. This long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s Bad Behavior dives headfirst into lush atmospheres without abandoning the raw, gritty energy that made them a household name in indie rock. This is an album meant to be savored with headphones—a long-playing experience with rich textures and hypnotic soundscapes.

Since their breakout hit, “Class Historian,” in 2014, Broncho has been at the forefront of indie innovation, finding fans in legends like Josh Homme, Jack White, and Hayley Williams. Their music—equal parts gritty rock and dreamy psychedelia—has been featured in TV shows like Girls and Reservation Dogs, further cementing their status as cultural touchstones.

Natural Pleasure was recorded primarily at Blackwatch Studios in Norman, Oklahoma, with Chad Copelin, and completed at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas. Tulsa remains their spiritual home, a city whose musical lineage—from Leon Russell and JJ Cale to The Flaming Lips—infuses every note they play. The album balances spontaneity with careful craftsmanship. Lindsey’s unmistakable vocal delivery is a phenomenon in its own right. His lyrics are often enigmatic, delivered in a way that feels like an instrument of pure emotion rather than straightforward storytelling. At first listen, it may be impossible to catch a single word, yet the emotional intensity he summons is undeniable. It’s a rare and uncanny ability—one that connects listeners to the music on a visceral level before the lyrics fully reveal themselves.

From the opening tracks “Imagination” and “Funny,” Natural Pleasure sets the stage for a sonic journey defined by playfulness and introspection. “Imagination” envelops listeners with layered production and Lindsey’s understated yet captivating vocals, pulling them into a divine haze of possibility. The track “was written in the early hours of a pandemic morning in my garage. I imagine the whole neighborhood might have heard me writing that one,” says Lindsey. “Funny” follows with its offbeat charm and infectious groove, encapsulating the duality of self-reflection and levity that defines the album. In Lindsey’s words, “although none of our songs are written about any one subject, funny is loosely based on my ability to steal my girlfriends jokes.”

Watch Broncho’s Video for “Funny” & Listen to “Imagination”

Listening to Natural Pleasure is a sensory journey—a plunge into a dimension where reality blurs into something more fluid and profound. With this record, Broncho reaffirms their status as indie rock stalwarts, delivering a masterpiece that’s alive, unpredictable, and deeply human.

Pre-order Natural Pleasure

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Cloakroom tell “The Story of the Egg” with their newest single.

L-R Bobby Markos (Bass), Doyle Martin (Lyrics, Guitar), Tim Remis (Drums)
Photo By Vin Romero

Cloakroom’s new single, “The Story of the Egg”, is concise and boundless all at once. Sonically a duality, Cloakroom’s influence of punchy and downpicked punk of the late 70s / early 80s is matched with lush and amorphous compositions. The single is about “the new found anxiety and stress from the alertness that comes with finally feeling the otherwise positive effects of a full night’s rest,” drummer Tim Remis explains. “There was a phenomenon of feeling anxious after working with a sleep doctor, realizing I spent most of my adult life without getting rest, had dulled my human sensations. Upon getting some deep sleep and rest, my new, heightened senses were overwhelming and I was left with a different feeling of anxiety.”

Watch / Share “The Story of the Egg”

The Indiana three return next month with their next studio album, Last Leg of the Human Table – the follow up to 2022’s post-apocalyptic space western Dissolution Wave, and label debut for Closed Casket Activities. Each song showcases Cloakroom’s genre-bending capabilities and seemingly vast array of influences; whether it be the sampling of the post-disco Detroit group Was (Not Was) or the lifted NASA recording of the humming of Saturn’s rings. Recorded in December of 2023 at Electrical Audio in Chicago and Rec Room Recording in Des Plaines, Illinois, engineer Zac Montez (Whirr, Turnover) aided in smoothing out the rough and turning up the quiet.

For Cloakroom the world of modernity is in polycrisis and America has lost its soul. Narrative fetishism is all too usual of a literary mechanism for Cloakroom. If you listen closely you can hear the concern; not just for the teetering social structure but for what it means to be human and the high cost of the human experience.

Pop, shoegaze, doom, post-punk, folk only scratch the surface on Cloakroom’s shortest yet most essential release to date. Its title Last Leg of the Human Table may sound sardonic in its nature, but this group has always found some wonder in the scurrying chaos of modern life. In 37 minutes, the album imbues a sense of responsibility to the listener as if one leg were to falter, the whole table will fall.

Last Leg of the Human Table sees its release February 28 via Closed Casket, pre-order / pre-save it here.

Cloakroom have announced a headlining North American tour which kicks off in the Midwest next month. The run hits both coasts and includes dates with support from Null and performances at Slide Away 2025 in Los Angeles and New York City. See below for a full list of dates. For tickets and updates, follow Cloakroom on Instagram here.

Cloakroom Live Dates:

Mar 21: Paw Paw, MI – Lucky Wolf
Mar 22: Detroit, MI – Edgemen
Mar 23: Toronto, ON – Monarch
Mar 24: Montreal, QC – Bar le Ritz PDB
Mar 25: Kingston, NY – Tubby’s
Mar 26: Boston, MA – Deep Cuts
Mar 28: Philadelphia, PA – Ukie Club
Mar 29: Washington, DC – DC9
Mar 30: Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
Apr 01: Asheville, NC – Eulogy
Apr 02: Atlanta, GA – The Earl
Apr 03: Pensacola, FL – The Handlebar
Apr 05: Birmingham, AL – Saturn #
Apr 06: Knoxville, TN – Pilot Light #
Apr 08: Louisville, KY – Nachbar #
Apr 09: Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups #
Apr 11: Milwaukee, WI – Cactus Club #
Apr 12: Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle # (Album Release Show – Tickets)
Apr 25: Brooklyn, NY – Slide Away 2025 at Market Hotel (Opening Show)
May 25: Los Angeles, CA – Slide Away 2025 at The Echoplex (Closing Show)

# w/ Null

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[Thanks to Bailey at Another Side!]

Valerie June brings us “Joy, Joy!” with her new single.

GRAMMY-nominated singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Valerie June announces her new album, Owls, Omens, and Oracles, out April 11th via Concord Records, and releases its lead single “Joy, Joy!” alongside an accompanying video. Rooted in the belief that what we focus on is what we manifest, June dreams a songpath forward with Owls, Omens, and Oracles that leaves no one behind. Halfway through a decade of immense and rapid global change, June asserts a multidimensional Blackness steeped in laughter, truth, magic, delight, and interdependence. This album is a radical statement to break skepticism, surveillance, and doom scrolling – let yourself celebrate your aliveness. Connect, weep, change, open.

June has been softening and clarifying her sound since the 2013 release of Pushin’ Against A Stone, through The Order of Time, The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers, and Under Cover. “A willed and unblinking optimism courses through Valerie June’s songs” (New York Times); this newest work shows her own spiritual growth and the opening of ancestral channels into both her dynamic and distinct voice and her tender lyrics. June is not alone in crafting this sacred field for the contemplation of love and being human. Produced by M. Ward (Mavis Staples, She & Him) and engineered by Pierre de Reeder (Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis), Owls, Omens, and Oracles also features a cast of contributors, including The Blind Boys of Alabama and Norah Jones.

An instant foot-stompin’ hip-shaker, lead single “Joy, Joy!” opens the album with an undeniable exuberance. June, playing acoustic guitar, sings: “And when you feel you’re not enough / Has this old been hard and rough / A golden seed beneath dark soil / To seek the sun is often rough” while backed by Kaveh Rastegar on bass (John Legend, Beck), Steven Hodges on drums (Tom Waits, David Lynch), and keys and horn arrangements by Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band). In line with praise by the New Yorker, “[June’s] every quiver bespeaks emotional honesty.”

Reflecting on “Joy, Joy!,” June says: “Everyone has felt moments of darkness, depression, anxiety, stress, ailments, or pain. Some say it takes mud to have a lotus flower. This song reflects on the hard times we might face: to fail, to fall, to lose, to be held down, to be silenced, to be shut out yet still hold onto a purely innocent and childlike joy. I come from a heritage of ancestors who lived this truth by inventing blues music. Generations after they’ve gone, the inner joy they instilled in us radiates and lifts cultures throughout the world. From the world to home, what would a city council focused on inspiring inner joy for all of a town’s citizens look like? As the times are changing across the planet, what would it look like to collectively activate our superpowers of joy?”

Watch the Video for “Joy, Joy!”

Listen to “Joy, Joy!”

Owls, Omens, and Oracles is expansive, growing from June’s psychedelic folk, indie rock, Appalachian, bluegrass, country soul, orchestral pop, and blues root system into an intergalactic web of wisdom. Every single note she sings is dusted with her “unorthodox, howling tin-pan of a voice” (ELLE), “like raw silk–intimate, elegant and strong” (Garden & Gun). The visceral twists and fierce raw emotion of her voice threads textures and tones through the needle of a multi-genre American quilt. Gracefulness and gentleness harmonize with edginess and precarity, evoking a tenderness within even the hardest heart as June holds the complexity of “My life is a country song,” and “I am multidimensional, beyond category.”

June recently announced the Owls, Omens, and Oracles Tour, which kicks off the week after the album release and runs through late June. All shows are full band; a full list of dates can be found below, and tickets can be purchased here.

Portions of the above text are pulled from an Owls, Omens, and Oracles bio by adrienne maree brown.

Pre-order Owls, Omens, and Oracles

Valerie June Owls, Omens, and Oracles Tour Dates
Thu, Mar. 27 – Gettysburg, PA @ Majestic Theater
Tue. Apr. 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
Wed. Apr. 16 – Alexandria, VA @ The Birchmere Music Hall
Thu. Apr. 17 – Richmond, VA @ The National
Fri. Apr. 18 – Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head Onstage
Sat. Apr. 19 – Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head Onstage
Tue. May 6 – New York, NY @ Town Hall
Wed. May 7 – Norwalk, CT @ District Music Hall
Thu. May 8 – Brownfield, ME @ The Stone Mountain Arts Center
Fri. May 9 – Albany, NY @ Swyer Theatre @ The Egg
Sat. May 10 – Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
Sun. May 11 – Boston, MA @ City Winery
Tue. May 27 – Ferndale, MI @ The Magic Bag
Wed. May 28 – Chicago, IL @ Park West
Thu. May 29 – Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium
Fri. May 30 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
Sat. May 31 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre
Sun. June 1 – Iowa City, IA @ The Englert Theatre
Tue. June 3 – Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi Annex
Wed. June 4 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
Fri. June 13 – San Diego, CA @ Music Box
Sat. June 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
Sun. June 15 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Lobero Theatre
Tue. June 17 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre
Wed. June 18 – San Francisco, CA @ Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
Fri. June 20 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
Sun. June 22 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox

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[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Barker releases first single, “Reframing,” from his new album out April 04, 2025.

Berlin-based producer and DJ Barker (aka Sam Barker) announces Stochastic Drift, his new album out April 4th via Smalltown Supersound, and presents its lead single, “Reframing.” Following 2023’s Unfixed EP and his first full-length release since his 2019 debut album Utility, Stochastic Drift builds on Barker’s singular process to capture life’s chaos and reflect on just how much has changed. If his previous records showcased the artist “using ambient materials to remake techno” (Pitchfork), Stochastic Drift pushes Barker’s approach even further into harmonic chaos and dreamy freeform float.

Utility, the fullest expression of the beatless techno experimentation Barker excavated on his cult classic Debiasing EP, arrived to critical fanfare from The Quietus, DJ Mag, Resident Advisor, and Mixmag (who named it their Album Of The Year). The years since the release of Utility have been marked by intense unpredictability: Barker’s own shifting attitudes towards production, moments of professional transition and, not least, a global pandemic, necessitated somewhat of a reinvention.

Stochastic Drift sees Barker creating tracks with a fresh deftness and appreciation for the unexpected. “I’d been working with an approach that was quite deliberate and goal-oriented before, but I realised this wasn’t so helpful in the context of uncertainty. Being suddenly unemployed and stuck at home for an indefinite amount of time, with one disruption after another, it was like the target kept moving and I didn’t know what to aim at,” Barker reflects. “I noticed this unpredictability starting to creep into what I was making, and tracks were ending up a long way from the intentions they started with. So the challenge for this record was to try to embrace that process, to let go of expectations.” The serotonin-spiking lead single “Reframing,” titled after psychological technique for reinterpreting a situation in a positive way, unfolds like a brittle reimagining of Sasha’s eternal prog trance standard “Xpander” until it begins to drift through uncharted territory.

Listen to Barker’s “Reframing”

Throughout Stochastic Drift, Barker dives deeper into the world of mechanical instrumentation. Barker explains: “My interest in mechanical instruments is not to replace a human performer, but to explore the tool in a different way, maybe dehumanize it a little bit and look for the potential outside of what humans have already perfected.” Addressing anxiety about the influence of automation in music making head on, Barker emphasizes that, regardless of the technology implemented and how this might enable the artist, machines of all sorts, be they robots, synths or instruments, are simply tools. It’s the creative act that remains resolutely human.

“I wanted to explore the link between my internal and external realities, between the chaos of the time and how that was manifesting in my music and ideas,” Barker says of Stochastic Drift. “It’s a transition between lots of shifting realities, describing a process in a window of time that was full of change.” As though finding comfort in unpredictability, the artist pieces together a new sound and in so doing finds a salve for uncertainty.

Pre-order Stochastic Drift

Barker Tour Dates
Sat. Mar. 15 – Dublin, IE @ The Complex (Live)
Sun. Mar. 23 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain Panorama Bar (DJ)
Sat. Apr. 5 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso (Live)
Sun Apr. 13 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain Panorama Bar (Live)
Fri. May 2 – Basel, CH @ Sudhaus Basel (Live)
Thu. June 5 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound (Live)
Sun. June 29 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain Panorama Bar (DJ)
Sat. July 19 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain Panorama Bar (DJ)
Sun. Sep. 7 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain Panorama Bar (DJ)
Sat. Nov. 1 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain Panorama Bar (DJ)

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[Thanks to Ahmad at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Anika returns with “Hearsay” off her upcoming new album due April 04, 2025.

“Hearsay” video still (directed by Laura Martinova)

Anika — the British-born, Berlin-based musician Annika Henderson — announces her new album, Abyss, out April 4th on Sacred Bones, and shares its lead single / video, “Hearsay.” Abyss was born out of the frustration, anger, and confusion Henderson feels from existing in our contemporary world. Notably heavier than 2021’s Change, the 10-track album is raw, urgent, and fueled by strong emotions. Pulsing with a heavy guitar and rhythm section, Abyss takes Anika on a new sonic journey.

“There’s so much going on in the world, and you have to sit there and watch it through a screen

that you’ve allowed into your home, like a vampire who had been preying at your door, then immediately digest it, have an opinion, and publicly comment on it,” Anika says. “The state of the world just feels like an abyss right now.” With this new album, she wants to create a place where people can feel safe to be themselves, and to unite in their diversity. “Abyss is like a call to action,” she says. “To come and figure it out together.”

The thrashing, driving, lead single and album opener, “Hearsay,” hones in on the extreme divisions between the left and right in contemporary society. Anika sings: “And yesterday’s papers they line my bird cage. / And you’re telling me tales to get your own way. / And you’re making up stories to push your narrative./ And you’re making up tales to be provocative.” In Anika’s words, “This song is about media moguls – about the power of the media, whether social, tv or beyond – we are as much under its spell as we ever were and some nasties are exploiting it for their own gains. Parasites feeding off the blood of the public — PJ Harvey inspired for sure.”

Laura Martinova who directed the accompanying video says it’s “inspired by vampire aesthetics and seeks to connect with the grungy essence of Abyss. We aimed to create a dark yet dynamic and surprising video. My collaboration with contemporary dancers and the use of raw camera movement transcends this imagery, while Zeynep Schilling’s creative direction elevates the video to another level—somewhere between evil and heaven. We worked with stylist Danny Muster and emerging designers to craft a timeless aesthetic.”

Watch the video for “Hearsay”

Abyss was recorded live to tape at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin (where the likes of Depeche Mode and David Bowie also recorded) in just a few days. Recording live and with minimal overdubs was an important decision, Anika stresses, in order to capture the raw immediacy of the album. As before, she wrote the songs herself before fleshing them out with Martin Thulin (Exploded View), and then assembled a live band to join the pair in the studio – comprising of Andrea Belfi on drums, Tomas Nochteff on bass (Mueran Humanos) and Lawrence Goodwin (The Pleasure Majenta) on guitar, with studio engineering done by Nanni Johansson and Frida Claeson Johansson. “I always work with people I respect and admire,” Anika says. “It’s very genuine in that way.”

Anika consciously sought to make an album that was inherently physical— one that would take the listener out of their head and back into their body. The physicality of Abyss is emphasized by the androgynous bodies on the album’s cover, that are from a drawing by a teenage friend of Anika’s. This feels especially poignant, as teenage angst also plays a part in the album. “These days it feels like you have to have very catered opinions – like language has gone out the window,” Anika says. “It makes you feel very much like a restricted child again.” With Abyss, Anika was determined to break free from holding back genuine emotions – even if they might seem uncomfortable or too much: “It’s like I’m doing all the things that I never allowed myself to do,” she says. Anika hopes this pure emotion will position the listener to fully immerse themselves in the album. “There needs to be room for people to put themselves in this album, and put their own narratives on it,” she says. “This is a space for you.”

Pre-order Abyss

Anika Tour Dates:
Sun. Apr. 20 – Berlin, DE @ Volksbühne
Thu. Apr. 24 – Cologne, DE @ C/O Pop
Fri. Apr. 25 – Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix
Sun. Apr. 27 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
Mon. Apr. 28 – London, UK @ Omeara
Tue. Apr. 29 – Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew
Wed. Apr. 30 – Manchester, UK @ YES (Pink Room)
Thu. May 1 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Fri. May 2 – Belfast, UK @ Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival
Sat. May 3 – Dublin, IE @ Whelans
Mon. May 5 – Brighton, UK @ DUST
Tue. May 6 – Paris, FR @ Gonzai Night @ Petit Bain
Wed. May 7 – Strasbourg, FR @ La Grenze
Thu. May 8 – Düdingen, CH @ Bad Bonn
Fri. May 9 – Zürich, CH @ Bogen F
Sat. May 10 – Frankfurt, DE @ Mousonturm

Keep your mind open.

[I’ve heard you’re going to subscribe.]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]