Having been in the making since 2016, Evian Christ’s highly-anticipated debut album may be a trip down memory lane for Trance Party regulars. Consisting of both new creations and a number of well-worn favourites from Evian Christ that are finally seeing release — the record is an exploration of the producer’s personal trance philosophy: pushing the genre beyond euphoria, and into a more unsettling, but intense feeling of the “sublime”. This can be felt in the keening compression of lead single ‘On Embers’, the scattered, stabbing breaks of ‘Xkrygrios’, and the cataclysmic drops of ‘Silence’ — though there is still plenty of room for that delectable tongue-in-cheek quality that sets Christ apart from his genre contemporaries: See the buoyant crescendo towards the tail end of ‘The Beach’, the raucous stabs and luscious vocals of ‘With Me’ ft. Merely, and the near-hyperpop quality of the Bladee featuring ‘Yxguden’. It’s been a long time coming, but thank (Evian) Christ it’s here!

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‘FEVER DREAM’ is a choppy, sexy affair. Having produced and released the record herself, this 10-tracker feels like the most in-depth insight into COUCOU CHLOE’s world to date. Brimming with delicious, frenetic percussion, bristling bass and the artist’s trademark smouldering contralto — ‘FEVER DREAM’ sees her dip her toes into elements of trap, pop and a treasure trove of clubland reference; with a varied line-up of features including Eartheater, NENE, Brodinski and more.

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Having steadily built up a reputation as London’s “DJs’ producer”, Kasra V’s inspired ability to combine old skool and new into an all-encompassing club sound has delighted his followers both on the dancefloor and off in recent years. Following the much-talked about ‘Hyperdelic’ earlier this year, ‘Flood The Club’ follows suit in combining buoyant new-age percussion with lightbulb-moment-inducing retro samples — but this time around throws in a hearty helping of playfulness. See the unruly sample of ‘Beggin’’ throughout ‘Big Time Business’ cut between spine-tingling electro and breaks, or the all-out ’80s nostalgia found in the cinematic cuts of ‘Protect The Flame’ ft. Sepehr set to a chorus of pounding kicks and rattling hats. This five-tracker will undoubtedly be living up to its title this winter.

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MJK and Skee Mask combine to devastating effect on their first collaborative record, the third release of Oblig’s new label Obligated Records. Serene pads are met with groovy drums laced with elements of dub techno, dubstep, grime and drill. Roll Deep veteran Riko Dan is added into the picture for ‘One By One’, where his vocals sit perfectly between MJK and Skee Mask’s lush backdrop. When the two producers linked up you could be forgiven for expecting a rambunctious, hard-hitting project given the former’s frantic three-deck style of mixing, however what ‘Patchworks vol. 1’ really is is a celebration of balance and poise.

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Jordan-based Hessle Audio and Nervous Horizon producer Toumba has released a collection of lost files, dubs and unreleased material in aid of the Palestinian struggle, with all proceeds going to Medical Aid for Palestine. The project starts in fast-paced fashion with ‘Cabaret’ and ‘Daboor’ both primed with peak-time dancefloor energy. ‘Duel’ and ‘Ra31’ slow things down, the former a marauding track with a powerful drill-inspired sub and the latter a rolling, syncopated number. Finally, his refixes of Palestinian producer Julmud and ‘00s icon Sean Kingston are unique takes on an underground record and mainstream hit. Simply put, these are good tunes for a good cause.

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Peverelist returns to Livity Sound with the second of his ‘Pulse’ series: ‘Pulse Modulation’, following on from the first instalment earlier this year. The EP is Pev at his best with machine-like percussion whirring amidst soft pads, razor-sharp leads and low-end pressure. ‘Pulse V’ kicks off the four-tracker in style, dominated by a noodling synth line. ‘Pulse VI’ has hints of UK garage with its repeating vocal sample, electronic instruments nonetheless bleeping away.

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Sofia Kourtesis’s music has a way of feeling like it’s seeping into your very being and uplifting your soul. Often the many layers in her textured tracks are delicate sounds, but built up together they carry a sense of might, that’s gentle but nonetheless stirring.

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Lee Gamble productions are often built from complex arrangements and fuelled by abstract thought processes. His music is always aurally intriguing but the explanations of the concepts can sometimes feel a bit inscrutable if you’re not prepared for PhD-level theoretical analysis. After the release of his latest album ‘Models’, Lee took to Twitter to open up about a personal story behind the album: “I started making Models around the time my Dad was dying,” he began, elaborating on how this bereavement and the period before impacted his emotions and writing process. It’s the most vulnerable and relatable we can recall him being, and that translates into ‘Models’, which is a beautiful, emotionally affecting record that’s defining features are mournful AI vocals and a sense of loss, sometimes melancholic but somehow absorbing, a preoccupation with something not there. There’s still broader themes and theories circulating in the music, but ‘Models’ feels like it sheds light on Lee, the person, as well as Lee, the thinker.

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‘cyber_crush’, the debut EP from Leeds-based electronic-rap-post-internet contortionist Oshi Moon, immediately has us hooked and alert for more — and we’re not alone in that, as recent nods from ZULI and airplay on Frank Ocean’s Homer Radio attest. It’s an intriguing sonic mash of contrasting influences which fit together well but in a way where those clashes are apparent, and the pleasure of listening is derived from how they twist around each other to form something unrecognisable.

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The hoops artists from outside the EU and US have to jump through when attempting to tour these regions are a convoluted, restrictive and dehumanising web of applications, poor service and interrogations. Nihiloxica, currently comprising three Bugandan members and two collaborators from the UK, are unfortunately all too familiar with this process, having had a UK tour cancelled last year due to visa issues. Those arising frustrations fuel the energy of their new album ‘Source of Denial’, which was released in the final days of September. “We wanted to create the sense of being in the endless, bureaucratic hell-hole of attempting to travel to a foreign country that deems itself superior to where you’re from” they say, with the recording powering through a fierce blend of heavy metal rage, breakneck experimental noise, and AI voices replicating obtuse, unhelpful immigration workers. Despite some other serious humanitarian shortcomings, Uganda accepts some of the highest numbers of refugees in the world. Meanwhile the UK is trying to send them away to Rwanda. That says it all,” they add. This album has us ready to fight Suella Braverman to get them into the UK. Imagine the carnage they’d cause at Download Festival (and their metallic logo would fit in great on the line-up poster).

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Sepehr has no interest in cookie cutter dance music that’s tailor-made to secure bookings at specific clubs and festivals — he’s actively railing against it. He wants music to explore the complexity of artist’s own selves and this strange, chaotic moment in time that we live in. ‘Pomegranate Skies’ is a calling card for that aim, exploring themes of identity and existential dread in an intoxicating blend of sounds.

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Using tools such as meditation and psychedelics, Pangaea has changed his outlook and learned to embrace fun. That shines through on his exhilarating new album ‘Chaning Channels’, which fires headfirst into deliriously danceable bangers across its seven-track run, including the undisputed Some Of The Summer ‘Installation’.

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Angel Hunt and Peter Rocket link up on their Angel Rocket project this month to deliver ‘2’, a four-track brain-melter brimming with club energy. Elements of UK techno and pop-tinged breaks collide on this EP, led with the deep, bassy opener of ‘Atrium Rush’, a surefire spectacle of sound design and eye-watering breakbeats.

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Fans have waited over a decade for a new record from CASISDEAD, so when he dropped a whopping 23-tracker this month, you can bet it was met with a lot of love. ‘Famous Last Words’ compiles 10 years worth of music, both new and old, including cult classics like ‘Pat Earrings’ and ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ as well as a myriad of brand new tunes in his signature low vocal and world-building lyricism. The record journeys through sci-fi soundscapes and 80s-inspired synthpop, with features from the likes of Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant and singer-songwriter Connie Constance.

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Although this one technically dropped some four years ago, Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist’s surprise 11-tracker ‘VOIR DIRE’ only recently rose to the surface after the pair decided to officially release it on streaming platforms in October. The record, which remained hidden in the depths of YouTube under a different name for years, was discovered by a fan-led scavenger hunt last month. ‘VOIR DIRE’ pairs expert production from The Alchemist with Earl Sweatshirt’s flawless flow, with features from Vince Staples and Mike.

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