Browsing Tag

Leftfield Electronica

ZKIN Expose the Sociopathic Script in ‘Breaking Me Down’ – A Synth-Pop Autopsy of Emotional Erosion

Posted on 2 April 2025

ZKIN’s latest single, Breaking Me Down, tears through the surface with haunting synth-pop stylings that shimmer with trip-hop unease and indietronica nuances. The Swedish duo, formed in Linköping by Jonas Gustafsson and Malin Jeraeus, have crafted their own genre by refusing to compromise their vision to fit a template. Their self-styled descriptors—Dessert Soul, Bristol Blues, Cinematic Industrial Synth Rock—speak to their obsession with pushing past the expected.

The production operates like strobe lighting through fog—illuminating the disorientation of psychological warfare in toxic dynamics. The synth arrangements soundtrack a spiral, while the lyrical plot is paced like a psychological thriller. Jeraeus delivers each line with measured cadence, capturing the ache of recognition and the slow-burn clarity that comes from realising you’ve been pulled into someone else’s constructed reality. Her voice, shaped by years of singing through soul, funk, blues and rock, holds nothing back in its precision.

Thematically, Breaking Me Down resonates as a cautionary tale written for anyone who’s felt reality rewritten by someone more concerned with control than connection. Gustafsson’s lifelong grounding in jazz, blues, and punk bleeds into the track’s rhythmic structure—firm, unrelenting, and laced with menace. Together, they reconstruct the power balance that emotional manipulation seeks to dismantle.

ZKIN’s strength lies in their refusal to simplify or soften. Every element of Breaking Me Down is sharpened to expose what it means to reclaim your voice after it’s been strategically unravelled.

Breaking Me Down is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Timothy and the Apocalypse Bottles Utopia in Nothing Sweeter Than

Posted on 1 March 2025

Timothy and the Apocalypse poured the nectar of utopia into Nothing Sweeter Than, his latest indietronic evolution that visualises the bliss of irreplicable connection. A collaboration with Netherlands producer Erik Buschmann, the track forces reflection on the beauty of finding solace in another soul—finding fulfilment in a world intent on leaving you empty.

Known for cinematic electronica and hypnotic downtempo beats, the Australian producer fused his signature sound into something even more immersive. Indie-esque basslines pulse against frenetic breakbeats, while angular shoegaze guitars pirouette around seraphic vocal lines that reprise the title like a hypnotic mantra, resulting in an atmosphere thick with transcendence, striking the balance between ambient trip-hop’s dreamy introspection and indie electronica’s euphoria.

A striking visual identity runs through the release, not just in the official artwork—designed in response to a passionate fan’s vision—but in the way Nothing Sweeter Than captures the feeling of interpersonal nirvana. Whether soundtracking late-night solitude or peak festival moments, the track pushes boundaries while staying true to the expansive emotional charge Timothy and the Apocalypse has mastered.

Nothing Sweeter Than officially dropped on Valentine’s Day and is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Intoku’s ‘the end beginning’ augments trip-hop to the epitome of intensity

Posted on 23 February 2025

Intoku wields intensity like a weapon in their latest single, ‘the end beginning’. The Bristol-based trio, known for their fusion of raw, emotive vocals, hybrid drumming, and synth-heavy atmospherics, channels leftfield intensity that transcends everything you’ve heard before.

Inspired by the weight of trip-hop’s pioneers but refusing to be bound by their blueprint, Intoku sculpts their own brand of unsettling visceralism—one that crashes into the senses with bone-rattling basslines and a rhythmic pulse that feels more like possession than percussion.

Sophie Griffin’s vocals drift through the shadows of the mix, their fragility balanced against production that builds with an almost cinematic volatility. An eerie pulse of reverb sets the stage before light fractures through the murk, and from there, every shift in momentum feels like a calculated shockwave. The progressive structure refuses to settle, keeping every new motif hypnotic enough to trap you in its current.

When the track reaches its peak, the intensity is relentless. Vulnerability is laced into every synth swell and drum strike, making it impossible to separate the human from the machine.

On record, Intoku leave a mark. Live, they’re the kind of act that would sear themselves into memory, dragging you under with them and leaving echoes of their sound reverberating for days.

‘the end beginning’ is out now on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rumination refracts through the emotive visceralism of Ricky’s alt-electro release, Dreaming

Posted on 18 December 2024

In his latest release, Dreaming, the artist and producer Ricky reached far beyond the reverberations of the moody electronic trend, entrenching his release in piercingly plaintive soul. As one of the most melancholic leftfield electronica tracks to permeate the airwaves in recent years, Dreaming transcends self-indulgence to deliver a raw visceral experience.

As the frenetically syncopated backbeat sonically visualises the tumult of the external world, the dual vocals from Ricky and an arcane-timbered female guest vocalist reflect rumination in the cultivated track, which reaches the epitome of affecting, Every note in Dreaming is a tender extension of vulnerability which entrances you into the emotion as light radiates from the progressions, refracting a sense of salvation that the lyrics yearn for.

Ricky’s roots trace back to Nottingham, where he cut his teeth with the electro-punk indie rave duo Battlecat! between 2007 and 2010, touring extensively and sharing stages with the likes of Hadouken!, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Two Door Cinema Club, Future Islands, and many more. He hit prestigious stages before pausing his output due to family commitments.

Eventually returning to music, he released ‘Pushing Buttons’ in 2021, drawing inspiration from Burial, Bicep, Boards of Canada, and The xx. Early singles caught the attention of BBC Introducing’s Dean Jackson, earning airplay and solid feedback. After grappling with depression and a ten-month hiatus, Ricky has re-emerged with a new EP in the works and plans to bring his live sound to the UK and Europe in early 2025. I know I will be the first in line for a ticket for the live rendition of Dreaming.

Dreaming was officially released on December 1st; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Marlon Bianco went left of leftfield in his experimental electronic trip, Mad Man

Posted on 1 November 2024

Marlon Bianco’s latest single, ‘Mad Man,’ plays like an auditory hallucination; like peering through a drunken kaleidoscope, sounds and colours blend into a vivid sonic trip. Beginning with scratchy, trip-hop-adjacent beats, the track seamlessly evolves as Bianco’s dreamy, nostalgically textured vocals marry with the underlying rhythms.

It’s a sonic sculpture that etches itself into the mind, pulling you into the affirmation that insanity is infectious as elements of funk and jazz are weaved into a sublime lo-fi collage of sound.

Hazy summer nights may be behind us, but this psyched-to-the-nth-degree synth-driven odyssey from the Brighton-based aural polymath is here to stay. There’s no escaping the dreamy Avant Garde clutches of this release which forces you to live within its layers.

Mad Man will hit the airwaves on November 1st; stream the single on Spotify and follow Marlon Bianco on Instagram and Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Step into the ethereal with Slender Dan’s leftfield trip-hop release, Field of Reeds

Posted on 16 August 2024

In their latest single, ‘Field of Reeds,’ the breakthrough duo, Slender Dan, affectingly intertwined ethereal strands of pop with the gritty undercurrents of leftfield electronica and the rhythmic complexity of trip-hop.

From the outset, this melodiously rendered explosion of style and beguile sinks its teeth into your senses, weaving shadowy notes with luminous beats to create a soundscape that spans the full emotional spectrum. The deep and resonant hooks pull listeners into a weightless, transcendent production, showcasing Slender Dan’s potential to hold dominion over the alt-electronica scene.

You couldn’t listen to the arcane yet soulful production half-heartedly if you tried. The glassy celestial vocals demand undivided attention as they drift through the soundscape which oscillates between chilling and warming the soul by echoing the intricate balance of light and dark.

Behind Slender Dan are Heather Dickson and Patrick Ahern, a duo whose previous collaborations have seen them grace stages and studios from Los Angeles to Nashville, alongside notable names like Portugal. The Man and David Z. The band first caught the public’s attention with a debut on KEXP in early 2021 and has since expanded their discography with the full-length album ‘GESTALT’, along with several impactful EPs.

The official music video for Field of Reeds premiered on August 9th; stream the video on YouTube or check out the track on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

R34L dawned a fresh era of alt-electronica with ‘NEW WAYS’

Posted on 18 May 2024

Trippy, transcendent, and rhythmically compulsive, the latest artfully orchestrated installation of alt-electronica, NEW WAYS, from the producer duo, R34L, comprising Sarah Hartman and Cason Trager is a cultivated vessel to spiritual ascension, wrapped in the aura of Lynchian reverie.

Hartman’s vocal lines harmonise with the divine high above the leftfield mix of electronica that will heighten any Portishead and Caroline Polachek-orientated playlists. The sense of soul that Hartman brings to the release in synergy with the lighter textures of the luxe track allows tides of catharsis to wash over you as the strong glitchy backbeat juxtaposes the lush layers with a sense of gravity that you’ll want to anchor yourself to time after time.

Whether you find your body beat to it or use it to slip into a sense of serenity by following the dreamlike progressions as they exit material reality, NEW WAYS defies ambivalence with its potent alchemy, which is likely to be extended through R34L’s upcoming 13-track LP, Falling in Place, which promises to place the listener in the unchartered middle-ground of indie-pop & club music.

NEW WAYS was officially released on May 10th; stream the single on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Let go of the tangible and embrace the ethereal with Ltronnika’s latest release, Drifting Away

Posted on 7 February 2024

As an ambient electronica producer, Ltronnika stands as a figure shrouded in mystery, yet their enigmatic presence has done little to dim the allure for their legions of fans. With their latest release, ‘Drifting Away’, Ltronnika sculpted an auditory experience that transcends the mundane and washes away every echo of anxiety.

The instrumental release is a paradox of simplicity and complexity. It’s as if Ltronnika has distilled the essence of a dream and set it to music. The track begins with a subtle, almost understated elegance, but as it progresses it reveals layers of sound that are both intricate and immersive. The use of piano keys is an infallible artistic statement; each note, a brushstroke, adding depth and emotion to this sonic canvas.

Drifting Away is a journey, but not one with a clear destination. Instead, it invites listeners to lose themselves in the experience, to let go of the tangible and embrace the ethereal. The ambient leftfield house elements serve as a guide, leading you through an otherworldly landscape. Do yourself a favour, and dive in.

Drifting Away was officially released on January 30th; check out the single on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Skimo followed the muse of dystopia into their most scintillating release to date, Let It Fly, ft Ash

Posted on 11 January 2024

Skimo’s seminal single, Let It Fly, featuring the hauntingly introspective vocals of Ash, is a mesmerising journey into the depths of EBM. Taken from the LP, Connected Memory, the single begins with a cascade of shimmering reverb, wrapping around the striking non-lexical vocals of Ash. This introduction draws listeners into a world where darkness and mechanical synthetics mercilessly construct a platform around the raw vulnerability within Ash’s vocals.

The electronic beats, meticulously crafted, ensure a deep immersion into Skimo’s artistic vision allowing Let It Fly to unravel as a narrative painted in sound; a vignette which portrays the relentlessness of our evolving for the worse climate. The track resonates with a sense of harbingering urgency, which filters from the progressions into a trepidation shared with the listener. The result is a piece that not only captivates but also invites them to delve deeper into the themes Skimo explores. For any electronica fans who want their eyes wide open to the world, to lock horns with the chaos, the Connected Memory LP is as essential as they come.

Stream the Connected Memory LP in full on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Freyja Elsy embodied the sentiment that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned in her single, Over It

Posted on 23 November 2023

Freyja Elsy’s latest single, Over It, from her upcoming EP, Modern Artifice, is a mesmerising blend of trip-hop, dark pop, and innovative electronica that resonates with the chillingly arcane Southern Gothic air of Chelsea Wolfe.

The single, which premiered on BBC Radio Wales on Adam Walton’s Introducing show, has been aptly compared to the likes of Massive Attack and Portishead, with a nod to the acid house genre in its production. The multi-layered auditory journey reflects the despondency of being cast into the harsh realities of adulthood and forced to contend with the seemingly arbitrary monotony which stretches for decades before those coming of age. Elsy’s voice, both haunting and commanding, unravels this narrative against a backdrop of spiky dream pop and leftfield electronica, creating a sound that is as visionary as it is haunting as it oozes the divinity of female power.

Elsy, who has had a remarkable year, opening for acts like Death & Vanilla and Welsh artists Eädyth, Ani Glass, and Small Miracles, never fails to showcase her ability to create a cohesive and clear vision in her music. Her previous singles, Lungs, Requiem, and Golden Hour, have already garnered international attention and BBC recognition, setting a high bar for her upcoming EP.

Over It hit the airwaves on November 17; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast