Are you looking for another full album of house and techno bangers? Well, DJ Zinc has you covered with Crackhouse Vol. 3.
The opening moments of “Conditioning” (with Chris Lorenzo) are designed to get you jumping. “That Sound” is a stand-out, building to a thumping floor-filler. “Close My Eyes” is classic house music, mixing fun beats with lovely vocals. “Amergency” dives back into straight-up jungle madness.
“Everywhere” blends the two into jungle-house with looped gospel-like vocals and popping boba bass to keep you caffeinated and on a sugar rush. Kamakaze joins Zinc for “What I’m On” – a head-swirling jungle track that makes the room feel like it’s spinning. “When I” brings us back to soulful house music. “Dollars” practically turns on the strobe lights for you with its bright synth riffs.
“Goldin” adds vocals from President T to the party, bringing in a rough edge to Zinc’s booming beats. Ever helps Zinc close out the mix with the sweaty breakbeat cut, “For My People” that leaves you out of breath by the end. It feels over too soon, as most good raves do.
mei ehara—the Tokyo-based artist, musician, writer, and designer— presents “Fuukeiga (Cut Out),” the second single from her new album, All About McGuffin, out September 12th on KAKUBARHYTHM. Following the “slinky and hypnotic” (Our Culture) lead single, “Kanashii Untenshu (Sad Driver),” today’s single “Fuukeiga (Cut Out)” is fuzzed out and spare, showcasing the raw and intentionally unembellished instrumentation found throughout the album.
ehara elaborates: “We are always seen through the eyes of others—defined, judged, expected, sometimes dismissed. That gaze can weigh heavily, making us falter, hesitate, and turn questions inward. Yet the influence of others is not only a burden. It can open paths we wouldn’t discover on our own, shaping the choices that carry us forward. Each step we take, in the rhythm of these connections, carries both unease and anticipation. The future stays opaque, but moving toward it brings its own kind of charge — a tension, an exhilaration, like placing a quiet bet on what comes next.
For ehara, the years since the release of her beloved 2020 album Ampersands have been anything but static as her music began to travel further than ever. A chance encounter led Faye Webster to discover ehara’s music. The two ended up collaborating on Webster’s song “Overslept” from I Know I’m Funny haha and ehara opening for Webster across the U.S. Performing around the country became both a test and a revelation for ehara, proof that her quietly powerful songs resonated far beyond Japan.
All About McGuffin is a testament to an artist learning to trust her own instincts, to create without fear, and to let the story find her. The album takes its title from the film term “McGuffin,” an object that seems essential to a story but ultimately proves secondary or unimportant. For her, the concept became a metaphor for letting go of preoccupations about success, expectations, and artistic perfection.
Musically, All About McGuffin is the most stripped-down and unguarded of her work so far. Longtime bandmates Masamichi Torii (guitar), Naruki Numazawa (keyboards & piano), Sota “Coff” Kimoto (bass), and Koki Hama (drums & percussion) remain at her side, yet the arrangements are more transparent than ever. ehara describes this as an act of trust and a deliberate departure from her own perfectionist instincts: “Even if I felt uneasy about whether it was enough, or whether people might say it wasn’t enough, I was aware that I didn’t have to add anything. It was like I was naked.”
All About McGuffin feels deeply rooted in the present moment, reflecting ehara’s newfound vulnerability. It is a luminous and quietly defiant collection of songs about the joy that comes from realizing you don’t have to meet anyone’s expectations but your own.
Next month, ehara will embark on her first US headline tour featuring dates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. Prior to her headline tour with a full band, she will support Se So Neon on a run of North American dates. Tickets are now available to purchase here.
mei ehara Tour Dates (New Dates in Bold) Sat. Sept. 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of Living Arts # Tue. Sept. 9 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel # Wed. Sept. 10 – Somerville, MA @ The Center for Arts at the Armory # Fri. Sept. 12 – Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Beanfield # Sat. Sept. 13 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre # Tue. Sept. 23 – San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall Thu. Sept. 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo Sun. Sept. 28 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge Tue. Sept. 30 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle Sun. Oct. 19 – Tokyo, JP @ WWWX [SOLD OUT]
Annie-Claude Deschênes presents the first in a series of remixes of “Main de Fer“, her latest single released in April. Produced by Shit Robot (DFA Records), it is available now on all platforms. The track is out now via Italians Do It Better (US) and Bonsound (ROW).
“I chose Shit Robot because his unique sound and creative vision felt like the perfect match to reimagine Main de Fer in a bold, new way”, explains Annie-Claude. The Irish producer and DJ, known for his affiliation with the DFA Records label, brings an analog touch to the track by using a variety of synthesizers and sequencers straight out of the 90s. “This was one of those great projects where you fire up the machines and everything falls into place really quickly. I was very excited to get started on this as the original vocals are great and the energy of the track is infectious”, adds Shit Robot, who also mixed the final result alongside LCD Soundsystem member and Grammy Award winner Korey Richey.
Annie-Claude Deschênes will perform at the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg on September 18th and at Rialto Hall at POP Montreal on September 25th before embarking on a European tour in October. This series of dates will take her to Brussels, Strasbourg, Lyon, Luxembourg, and Paris, among other cities, after which she will return to Canada for dates in Toronto and the province of Quebec. She will also be part of M for Montreal’s official selection in November. See the list below for all tour dates.
Multidisciplinarity is an integral part of the creative process of Annie-Claude Deschênes, who continues her perpetual personal quest of uniting music and performance art by bending the pre-established conventions of stage presence. A key figure on the Montreal independent music scene for almost twenty years, she made her mark as a singer, musician, songwriter, performer and visual artist with Duchess Says and PyPy, two bands that are renowned as much for their electrifying performances as for their artistic sensibility. Over the course of her career, she shared the stage with a number of internationally renowned bands, including The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, The Black Lips, The Hives, The Hot Snakes and Buzzcocks. Duchess Says and PyPy’s extensive touring has taken her all over North America and Europe, playing venues and festivals (Primavera Fest, Eurockéennes de Belfort, OSHEAGA, Sled Island, etc.) as well as unconventional locations such as golf courses, factories and churches. Her exploratory approach to staging and sound design takes a new direction with this solo project: the urgency that characterizes her work remains, but frustration and aggression give way to introspection and vulnerability. Annie-Claude Deschênes explores and reinvents herself under her own name, driven by a constant need to create outside of her comfort zone.
Inspired by minimal pop and the pioneers of electronic music, LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE, her first solo album released in spring of 2024, is as danceable and melodic as it is disquieting and dystopian, proposing to set the table differently by deconstructing the social codes of politeness imposed on us. LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE earned a spot on the Polaris Prize long list and garnered attention from international media outlets such as KEXP, BrooklynVegan, CLASH, The Guardian, Les Inrockuptibles and Radio Nova, as well as landing on several year-end lists.
Tour dates: 09/16/2025 – Berlin, DE – Berlin Experience (Reeperbahn Festival) 09/18/2025 – Hamburg, DE – UWE (Reeperbahn Festival) 09/19/2025 – Hamburg, DE – MOPO Stage (Reeperbahn Festival) 09/25/2025 – Montreal, QC – Rialto Hall (POP Montreal) * 10/03/2025 – Brussels, BE – Botanique (Festival FrancoFaune) 10/04/2025 – Mulhouse, BE – Motoco (Festival Microsiphon) 10/07/2025 – Reims, FR – La Cartonnerie 10/09/2025 – Longwy, FR – The Long Way 10/10/2025 – Strasbourg, FR – La Grenze *** 10/11/2025 – Lyon, FR – Le Sonic 10/14/2025 – Luxembourg, LU – Les Rotondes 10/16/2025 – Tours, FR – Le Super 9 10/17/2025 – Metz, FR – Les Trinitaires 10/18/2025 – Troyes, FR – Midi O Halles (Festival Off Off Off) 10/22/2025 – Dunkirk, FR – Le LAAC *** 10/23/2025 – Paris, FR – Le Hasard Ludique *** 10/31/2025 – Toronto, ON – Wavelength @ St. Anne’s 11/07/2025 – Alma, QC – Café du Clocher + 11/08/2025 – Jonquière, QC – Côté-Cour + 11/15/2025 – Rimouski, QC – Salle Desjardins-TELUS +
* Opening for Bolis Pupul *** Opening for Camilla Sparksss + Opening for Choses Sauvages
There was a moment during Nine Inch Nails‘ set when frontman / founder Trent Reznor said, “We were talking about a year ago about touring, and we thought, ‘Does anybody even still care?'”
Judging by the two sold-out shows at Chicago’s United Center and the enthusiastic response of the entire crowd to his question and whole show, the answer was a resounding “Yes.”
Opening the show was a full-hour set by Germany’s own Boys Noize – a DJ and producer in his own right, who played a small stage and blasted the arena with industrial riffs, techno blasts, and even a remix of NIN’s “Down in It.” Mr. Noize would later join NIN on a second stage (of three) for a powerful remix set of NIN classics.
Boys Noize on Stage C.
NIN immediately started (almost on perfect beat) as soon as Boys Noize’s set ended. The curtain went up on a larger middle stage set up with synths, keyboards, DAWs, and who know what else on platforms that could sink below the stage to give the audience behind it a better view of the third, main stage at the other end from the small stage at the back of the place.
NIN on Stage B.
The set started with a piano version of “Right Where It Belongs” with Reznor playing and singing solo as his pals slowly joined him for similar, low key versions of “Ruiner” and “The Fragile.” Reznor’s drummer, Josh Freese no less, then kicked in the heavy beats of “Eraser” and continued to do so all night, putting on a show behind the kit. The band ran to Stage A and then blasted out rippers like “March of the Pigs” and “Reptile” before settling down a little bit with “Copy of A” and “Gave Up.”
Josh Freese going nuts.Stage A!
After that, it was back to Stage B where Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Boys Noize flattened us with great “rave remixes” of “Closer,” “As Alive As You Need Me to Be,” and “Sin” — which was especially good, leaving my girlfriend’s daughter and I wide-eyed and agreeing NIN needs to release that remix now.
It was back to Stage A for the closing set, which included an ear-blasting version of “1,000,000,” “Every Day Is Exactly the Same,” “The Perfect Drug” (a nice surprise), and “Burn.” They closed, of course, with “Head Like a Hole” and “Hurt,” leaving all of us wanting more.
From what I’ve gathered, this is NIN’s first tour in almost twenty years. There’s no guarantee they’ll do another, as Reznor and Ross have (A) plenty of money and (B) plenty of movie scoring opportunities to keep them set for life. Don’t skip this tour if you can get there.
LA-based electronic duo LUCKYANDLOVE returns with their banging anti-tech angst anthem‘I Am Human’, delicately fused together with pulsating molten kicks, abrasive fuzz-laden analog synths and confident sensual vocals. Calling out to make our own choices and take back our lives, this song underlines the need to reconnect with being Human before its too late.
Evoking a brand new art school originality, LUCKYANDLOVE is the raw sonic experiment of Loren Luck and April Love, whose live analog synth beats, Moog instrumentation and beautiful, harmonic vocals trigger an immediate download of fuzzy sunset synthgaze, blue-black neon darkwave, and tigerprint electro punk.
‘I Am Human’ previews the duo’s third album ‘Humaura’(hu • mau • ra), which the duo define as the atmosphere that emanates from the feelings of the human spirit void of technological control. This album was recorded, mixed and mastered for digital release by Grammy award-winning engineer Be Hussey (Modern English, Swervedriver, The Church, Alcest, Twin Tribes, Boy Harsher, Luna, Kim Deal)at Balboa Studioand Catwaterfor the digital music, and mastered for vinyl and lathe cut by Grammy-nominated engineer Nicholas Townsend (Cheap Trick, Weezer, Garbage, Dr. Dre, 2Pac, Grimes, Iron Maiden) at Townsend Mastering.
“To me, ‘I Am Human’ is a sci-fi track. It’s call to arms for screen zombies to disconnect. I read Martin Heidegger’s ‘The Question Concerning Technology’ in grad school and I like when he says that we shall have questions concerning technology and, in so doing, we should like to prepare a free relationship with it,” says April.
Loren adds, “I think there are a lot of people that actually hate technology, but would never have the guts to say it. Personally with this song, we are breaking the chains, going back to a simpler time of human creativity and free thinking,”.
Transcending genres in a league of their own, LUCKYANDLOVE’s visceral, urgently-present dark electro-pop appeal continues to stretch through time and space. Their ‘Lucky + Love’and ‘Transitions’albums earned them a global fan following and led to US and UK tours, while their tracks ‘It’s a Mistake’, ‘Animal” and ‘Summertime Frolic’ featured in the indie hit‘Tiger Within’, featuring Ed Asner’s final film performance.
This salty-sweet duo blend raw analog synth sounds with driving punctuated percussion and punchy analog bass, complemented by enchanting lyrics that emit a range of emotions from melancholy and sorrowful glom to a state of blissful trance.
LUCKYANDLOVE’s influences absorb the resonant specters of last century’s darkwave gods —Siouxsie and The Banshees, Cocteau Twins, and Bauhaus, looming large from where industrial galaxies formed as the needle hit the vinyl groove urging all Doc Martens to march to basement dance floors.
As of August 5, ‘I Am Human’ is available from fine music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. The full ‘Humaura’ album, slated for release on October 3 via SRD – Southern Record Distributors, can be pre-ordered from either Bandcampor the LUCKYANDLOVE Store. On October 11, LUCKYANDLOVE will hold their record release party at The Slipper Clutch in Downtown Los Angeles via Deathrecordzz Presents with appearances by Warsaw Pact, Amore De Paris, No Exits, and a DJ set by Echolust.
Keep your mind open.
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Earlier this year, Colombian artist Ela Minus released her new album, DÍA, via Domino. The album has garnered widespread praise, landing on several mid-year best of lists, including Billboard, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, and SPaste, with the latter raving, “the state of electronica as we know it is fuller because Ela Minus is making music within it. DÍA is unforgettable.”
Today, she releases QQQQ (Remixes)and announces a fallNorth American Tour. Tickets go on sale this Friday and will be available here. The five track QQQQ (Remixes) EP reworks the “haunted techno stomper,” (PAPER) “QQQQ,” into “Apocalypto” and extended club mixes by South Florida electronic producer Nick León, who recently released his debut album, A Tropical Entropy, of which Ela featured on the lead single, “Ghost Orchid.” The EP also includes club and live edits by Ela alongside the song’s original mix. Of the EP, Ela says: “Nick’s remixes feel like a collaboration. It’s the first time I’ve had so much input on a remix of my music. We were sending versions back and forth. Two came out of the process: A straight-on extended club mix (which the original was always calling for) and then a beat-less version which we called ‘Apocalypto remix‘. I’ve also recorded a live version of the song. After playing it live, the shows ignited something new in it, or in me when I play it, so I recorded a new live version included in this EP.”
Beginning this week, Ela will play a run of UK/EU festival dates, with today’s newly announced tour kicking off in October and wrapping in Colombia in November. A full list of dates is below. As previously announced, Synth History is launching an ongoing and in depth docu-series on Ela’s story and music. Preview the first episode here, second here, and third episode here. A short film presented by Synth History will be released digitally this year.
Ela recently launched www.forthebirds.xyz, a platform where fans can write to Ela, and she writes back, covering personal and technical topics or whatever approach grabs her interest. Purchase/Stream DÍA
QQQQ (Remixes) Tracklist 1. QQQQ (Nick León Apocalypto Mix) 2. QQQQ (Nick León Extended Club Mix) 3. QQQQ – Club Edit 4. QQQQ – Live Edit 5. QQQQ
Ela Minus Tour Dates (New Dates in Bold) Wed. Aug. 6 – Buenos Aires, AR @ Deseo Club Sat. Aug. 9 – Barcelona, ES @ Brunch Electronik Festival Sun. Aug. 10 – Budapest, HU @ Sziget Festival Fri. Aug. 15 – Paredes de Coura, PT @ Paredes de Coura Festival Fri. Aug. 22 – Lincoln, UK @ Lost Village Fri. Aug. 29 – Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival Sat. Aug. 30 – Terni, IT @ Letz Festival Sat. Oct. 11 – Bologna, IT @ Robot Festival Sat. Oct. 18 – Miami, FL @ III Points Festival Thu. Oct. 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere (Hall) Fri. Oct. 24 – Chicago, IL @ Outset Tue. Oct. 28 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent Wed. Oct. 29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex Thu. Nov. 6 – Caracas, VE @ TBA Fri. Nov. 7 – Medellín, CO @ TBA Sat. Nov. 8 – Cali, CO @ TBA Sun. Nov. 9 – Bogotá, CO @ TBA
Coral Grief‘s debut album, Air Between Us, isn’t quite shoegaze, and it isn’t quite dream pop, but it’s somehow both at the same time…and it’s lovely.
Opening track “Starboard” is a rush of fuzzy guitars from Sam Fason and dreamy vocals from Lena Farr-Morrissey. “Rockhounds” is a much-needed song in this day and age, as it’s about finding beauty in the simplest things (like rocks along a beach). The title track floats around, over, and below you much like the cover image. “Latitude” has the band taking its time over the next four minutes to consider how we all need to change perspective now and then (“I go behind the door to change my mind.” – a quote from Fason’s grandmother).
“Avenue You” is a song about missing childhood places that no longer exist. Cam Hancock‘s drumming almost breaks into full-on rock mode at times on it, but he keeps it subtle as Fason’s guitar echoes around his bandmates. “The Landfall” is lovely and light. “Paint By Number” is led by Hancock’s snappy drums, with Fason’s jangly guitar having a fun time keeping up with him as Farr-Morrissey brings light to gray skies with her happy bass and optimistic vocals.
“Mutual Wish” reminds me of some of The Beths‘ dreamier cuts, and “Outback” almost has a goth tinge to it, but it never becomes maudlin. “Late Bloomer” is an acoustic track that would fit into a Twin Peaks episode, and the closer, “Almost Everyday” is an ode to Seattle’s Everyday Music record store, where Farr-Morrissey worked until it closed four years ago.
It, like much of the album, is a reflection on things that were and what they (and we) have become now. The reflection is often beautiful and shimmering, like light reflected on water. Those memories, those places and moments, are often just like the air between us…ephemeral yet present, dream-like yet solid…like this record.
In the Summer of 2021, Swordes made her debut playing at the many warehouse raves and parties of Brooklyn, New York’s underground scene. Fearless, pop leaning, and addicted to melody, her live set is hardware synths, drum machines, and an emotive, operatic vocal. There’s no computer in sight.
Swordes is a multimedia artist and producer beginning to forge a singular path through Brooklyn’s underground with brooding, poetic lyricism and hypnotic, hardware-driven electronic music. Hailing from Honolulu and now based in NYC, she emerged from Parsons’ fine art program only to reject academia and carve her own sonic language. Since her 2021, she has captivated crowds with visceral, computer-free live sets that embrace experimental electronic, alt-pop, glitchy club, hyperpop and forward-thinking femme energy.
Her new single “Boyfriend La La La” is a chaotic power play—equal parts baby talk, club weapon and surrealist performance art. Playing a character of a stereotypical manic pixie dream girl/crazy girlfriend, Swordes chants obsessive mantras over infectious basslines and cartoonish 808 beats with a chorus that feels like a cursed nursery rhyme. It’s part pop fantasy, part manic delusion—and totally addictive.
“I love being a crazy girlfriend. There’s nothing wrong with that,” she says in character. “Here’s a quote from my boyfriend: ‘I’m her muse. Who wouldn’t be crazy about me?’”
It’s the first taste of her upcoming debut album out later this year—an eclectic, cinematic body of work blending pop vocals with the club inspired sounds of late 90s dance music — written, produced, and mixed entirely by Swordes. Known for her raw, hardware synth live sets and bold visual world, she’s already caught the attention of Versace (SS25 runway sync), PAPER, and FLAUNT. Viral on TikTok (25k followers + 575k likes), with a growing cult fanbase, Swordes is building something that lives between fashion, noise, pop, and performance.
Apart from having a cool cover that looks like it could’ve been an Asia album, Karassimeon‘s AethernovaEP is loaded with hot beats, killer cyborg synths, and dance floor jams that combine his homeland’s French disco with Italo disco, synthwave, and a touch of industrial edge.
“Panique Synthétique” is a track you’ll want played whenever you walk into either a nightclub, a gym, or a haunted house…or a haunted gym below a nightclub. The horror movie scream and police siren samples, the spooky synths, and the classic rave sounds bring back a lot of memories for this original raver. It’s sibling track, “Analog Anxiety,” is, somehow, a bit creepier and the edge sharper…like a giallo film maniac lurking around the fringes of the dance floor with a straight razor in his or her black gloved hand.
The title track is a sizzling breakbeat cut that will have you stomping the pedal in your real car or the one you’re driving in the latest edition of Mario Cart. “Final Flash” closes the EP with bumping techno tailor-made to launch you out of your seat or off your spot on the wall and shove you onto the dance floor. This is a perfect track to get over that “Why am I doing this?” moment during a cardio workout.
Shrunken Elvis is a Nashville-based trio born from long European drives, cold winter jam sessions, and a mutual love of genre-defying sound exploration. The group unites three seasoned musicians—Spencer Cullum, Sean Thompson, and Rich Ruth—each bringing a distinct musical background to a shared creative space that prizes intuition over ambition.
Cullum, a pedal steel guitarist originally from East London, has recorded with artists like Angel Olsen, Lambchop, Miranda Lambert, and Billy Strings, while also releasing two solo LPs of folk-psych compositions on UK label Full Time Hobby. Thompson, a Nashville native, emerged from the city’s DIY scene playing in his first band Gnarwhal, and later helping to form other bands including Promised Land Sound. He’s toured and recorded with Margo Price, Skyway Man, Erin Rae, and others. Known for his immersive solo project Rich Ruth (Third Man Records), Michael Ruth blends spiritual jazz, ambient, and synth-infused post-rock into meditative and expansive compositions.
Now all based in Nashville, the trio thrives within the city’s supportive and exploratory music community. That environment has allowed them to forge a path that veers from Music City’s more traditional output, offering space to experiment and innovate freely. You can hear the fruits beared from this path on the upcoming self-titled album Shrunken Elvis, announced today for a September 5th release via Western Vinyl. Pre-order the albumhere.
The stunning first single “An Old Outlet”is a track that zeros in on the junction point between genres such as kosmische, jazz fusion, electronic, and ambient — collective loves of the three members. Check it out on YouTube.
Recording their debut album presented a unique challenge: to preserve the energy of their live three-piece dynamic without over-cluttering the arrangements. Their goal wasn’t to make an instrumental album that highlights individual prowess on pedal steel or guitar—but rather to construct a musical terrain where all elements coexist, each voice contributing to something entirely new. Embracing a philosophy of “no goals, just ideas,” the group let the music unfold naturally.
Mixed by Jake Davis (William Tyler) and featuring cover art by UK psych-folk artist Max Kinghorn-Mills (Hollow Hand), the debut Shrunken Elvis record is music made without expectation—but full of purpose. It’s the music they’ve always wanted to make: immersive, intuitive, and deeply alive.
Shrunken Elvis’s music exists in a naive, open-ended state—unconcerned with outcome but guided by deeply honed instincts. Having spent much of their careers as side musicians, this project represents a rare opportunity to create purely for the sake of collaboration and curiosity. Influences range from Alice Coltrane, Michael Rother, and Pat Metheny to KLF, Ashra, and Can—along with visual and cinematic touchstones like ECM album art, Kurosawa, and Bergman. Ideas often emerged in old English pubs on tour and were carried into the studio with quiet urgency.
The group’s origins trace back to a 2022 European tour behind Cullum’s solo record. Long drives crammed into a VW Passat—traversing Germany, Belgium, Denmark, the UK, and Ireland—fostered a kind of creative incubator. With no fixed plans or agenda, the trio began crafting compositions using their compact tour setup of two guitars, pedal steel, and synths.
Their shared listening experiences on those journeys helped shape a collective sonic language, one that transitioned seamlessly into winter recording sessions back in Nashville. Gathered around a small fire heater in a shed studio, they captured that same spirit of spontaneity and collaboration in sound.
