Mutant Zones // best albums of 2023

This took me way longer than expected by here's my list of my favourite albums from 2023.

Dave Harrington, Max Jaffe, Patrick Shiroishi - Dance Of The White Shadow And Golden Kite

AKP Recordings returns with what may be one of their strongest offerings ever, a mesmerising free jazz collaboration between Dave Harrington, Max Jaffe and Patrick Shiroishi, which radiates with magical chemistry from the very first notes of their debut single "Dance Of The White Shadow And Golden Kite". It heralds the upcoming album "Speak, Moment", an entirely improvised affair between three musicians that seem to be at the peak of their careers. If the rest of the album is as good as "Dance..." we may have a classic on our hands. The album is out on March 8th and can be pre-ordered here.

Holograph - Holograph

Holograph is a gothic post-punk band from Cape Town. They came to Dead Wax Records attention by posting singles on their Bandcamp page, which encouraged the label to collect them, add some exclusive remixes and press all on vinyl. The album is submerged in the aforementioned river of goth moods and post-punk guitar work, but the addition of tambourine and keys give it a pop-leaning appeal. I genuinely sounds like something dug up from the crates of the past.

But the vinyl here, and stream it in full below.

Dancing Plague - Fading Forms // video

First single from Dancing Plague new album "Elogium", which will come out on March 22 via Avant! Records. Solid EBM with a gothic tint.

STRFLL - Seance Mixtape

You know who it is. STRFLL delivered this rad mixtape for new netlabel Seance. Featuring some heavy and gritty unreleased tunes, underground favs (Salem and Elusin) as well as his latest D040 cover, the mix is hellride from start to finish, including the wacky schlager intro. Peep it here.

Montoya - Sting Of Regret

Fucking ace new single from Montoya, sampling Heavy Hearts' "A Pale Horse Burns", it's a claustrophobic, emotional tale backed with a sick beat that wraps the whole things into a catchy package. Support the man and buy it here.

TR​/​ST - TR​/​ST EP

The king is back, new EP from TR/ST is here. This is probably the most 80s pop-sounding release from Rober to date, still super melodic, but I'm sure some people may shake their heads. The opener "Robrash" and outro "Slug" are probably the most Trustee out them all, I guess it's an EP that needs some digesting. Give it a chance.

Grab it on Bandcamp here, stream after the jump.

Angel Rider - When Ur Gone (Remix)

Færies Records dropped a 4-track remix set of their first ever single by Angel Rider "When Ur Gone". DJ/Producer bdstf kicks of the maxi with a hyperpopized version of the original, giving it a 90s breakbeat twist. Desire on track two delivers a stunning tekno/trance crossover that begs to be heard on a max volume. Finally Estoc comes through with not one but two brilliant edits that clash the worlds of ambient and hardstyle. Heat!

Cop "When Ur Gone (Remix)" here, stream down below.

E_Death - If I Was An Angel

Cloud rap-type instrumental mixes with ethereal vocals from Nicole Dollanganger, all filtered through underground witch house vibe, E_Death's at it again. Stream here.

Gott & Curses - Together Alone

Incredibe mix, or actually two mixes b2b by Curses and duo GOTT, made for Rinse FM. The Curses part in particular hits all the right spots in my heart, recommended. Stream here.

Three Wishes - Wishful Thinking

Three Wishes kicks off 2024 with a five track EP "Wishful Thinking" that collects some of this loose tracks that's been sitting on his Soundcloud and made their way to All Blurred Out compilations. Perfect introductory pill to his work. Cop it on iTunes here.

March 29 update: the EP is now on Bandcamp! Get it here.

Sad Madona - L'hiver Dans Le Corps

New ghostly ballad from one of my favourites Sad Madona. Slow and beautiful. Stream here.
Update! It's now on Bandcamp.

The DSM IV - Killing Your Time // video

The DSM IV is a fairly new foursome from Liverpool (Guy McKnight on vox, Jade Ormesher on guitar, Patrick Cummins on console and Gabriel Nwosu-Hope on bass) who have been playing gigs around the UK for a couple of years now paying their dues. I managed to catch them at the Spike Hellis gig in London, and they made a huge impression with some serious stage presence and energy from the frontman Guy. The single above comes from their last year's debut LP "New Age Paranoia" that saw the light of the day thanks to Nine x Nine records. It's a hit, no way around it, super melodic and well played. Enjoy!

STRFLL - Upp I Det Blå (D040 Cover)

STRFLL decided to cover my fav D040 track and the result is brilliant, no surprise there. Download it here.

Dirtr4t - Don't Panic

Perfection. Gutter cover of Coldplay's single "Don't Panic". Stream here.

E_Death - Hypnocil

E_Death comes through once again with a new single, this time a slooo-mo synthwave joint that could easily score some kind of a Drive-esque flick. Stream here.

Vidchajj - No More Room In Hell ^^*+

With all the shit going on in his home country, Vidchajj still finds time and inspiration to make dope music. "No More Room In Hell" is his new single, love the keys on this one. Stream here.

Suffer Ring - Peasant // video

I've been waiting patiently for this single to drop for over a month now! New Suffer Ring with visuals from Salem Anhedonia (E_DEATH). Ace ace ace. Interesting, slower and more witchy turn for S/R, looking forward to the future.

Vascha - Magna Cvnta ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ Slow Trip

Vascha's "Magna Cvnta" EP came out end of December and sort of slipped through my cracks. His remixed, or more precisely dragged version of this project landed on Soundcloud a few days ago, and you can check it out above. Who doesn't like to drift through life at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute? Dope. Stream on SC here.

STRFLL - Was It All Worth It Pt II

After delivering a quite spontaneous, but incredibly solid demo tape "Was It All Worth It", STRFLL comes through for the new year with part two. It's darker, slower and more menacing. Solid dose of dungeon witch music. Free download too, but you can of course support the man here.

Pale Palace - Juugs On The Highway

Pale Palace's latest Soundcloud single "Juugs On The Highway" sounds like that scene from Terminator 2, where T-800 is slowly descending towards molten void. Sad and emotional. Download from SC here.

Montoya - Indica Feat. Outcast

Montoya's new shoegazing witchhouse joint sees him joining forces with Outcast, a fellow SC rapper. The resulting "Indica" is a slowcore rap track with alt-indie rock feel, a classic Montoya, love it.

Charlatan - I Love You So Much :)

New downergaze EP from Charlatan, four tracks of drag revival as he calls it. Dirty, slow and brooding witch-beatmaking. From start to finish, swaying between hopeful and depressive, think of a mix between HeveN and Wiicca. Stream all here, coming to Bandcamp soon - it's been added to Bandcamp now.

Grab it on here, stream below.

Ourobonic Plague - Hogwash

"Hogwash" is the second maxi-single promoting Ourobonic Plague's album "Activated Sludge". The titular track, lifted from the upcoming LP, is a droopy hip-hop beat that got lost on its way to witch-house convention. Sludge beatmaking that gives a nod to DJ Screw. "Boneits" is an exlusive bonus track, a bleep-bloopy field recording that feels like you landed at the rehearsal of a band, it has its unique charm, especially that it's followed by "HBI_SET_091223", which is a set from the Headless Blood Idol group show OP did in December 2023, consisting of four unreleased trax.

Grab it here, stream below.

E_Death - I Don't Wanna Just Be Fine

Absolutely perfect remix from E_DEATH, turning a catchy but quite average emotional pop ballad "Mother And Father" by Broods into an underground anthem. Stream here. Woooof.

Sins - Trance Of Sorrow

Aaron J. Cunningham's witch house project ϟ†Nϟ returns with two new tracks to Soundcloud: "Trance Of Sorrow", streamable above, and "Death And The Devil". SC notes say it's off a new album, but there's no more details as of now. Wait and see.

Tactical Hugg - Nothing For 2023 Ent. (Moparbluesdj Mix)

New mixtape for Harpemonia from Tactical Hugg, who previously did this sweet sigle for them. He goes all in, and I mean it literally, think of a genre, it's probably there in one way or another. 42 minutes of great music. Stream here.

Pale Palace - So Tired

Behold the pale horse, here's the latest single from Pale Palace. Merging the witch house and hip-hop world expertly, this slow, dirge-like track is, like its title, fed up with the world around. Thoed.

Mars Kumari - I Thought I Lost You

This one's a big one! Mars Kumari returns with a debut-proper "I Thought I Lost You". Proper 2000s underground vibes here. Featuring a plethora of eclectic MCs, who find themselves comfortably at home here, Kumari expertly blends hip-hop, jungle and dark ambient elements into a captivating sonic cocktail. The album is out now on Mars' own imprint Bruiser Brigade.

Order the CD here, and stream the whole LP below.

Seahawks - Infinite Echo Remixes

Seahawks' "Infinite Echo" LP got passed on to three Japanese producers (aus, Taro Nohara, Calm) who were given a task to remix tracks off the album. The result is a wholesome cosmic sphere that shines ambient, jazzy, new age and acid downtempo rays on the originals. Dreamy music for casual space tourists.

Buy the remixes here, stream the whole set below.

Clearing - Dog Days

Clearing is an ambient project of Joe Volmer (Party Trash, Police Academy 6, Explain Water To The Fish) that goes back all the way to the golden era of new age tape revival. His latest album "Dog Days" came out, sort of low-key, on the last day of December, and to make sure it won't go unnoticed, here it is. Mellow tones and lush soundscapes crafted by Clearing will transport you to another dimension, in my head it feels like a walk through a pine forest early in the morning.

Grab it here, and stream down below.

Hinvex - Grieving

Hinvex is an experimental electronic duo based in Eskilstuna/Gothenburg, Sweden, consisting of Majja Unkuri and Ines Åkerlund. Their new single "Grieving" comes in a shape of a quite ambiguous but emotion-packed witch house dirge, a song that can be interpreted in various ways in 2024, with all the horrible things happening across the globe. Musically, it's a gloomy slab of classic sounding witch house, bringing to mind works of Polish wunder-woman SKY and another Swedish drag duo D040. Buy it here.

Insersha - Hold It Down

Insersha is an alias of UK-based producer and rapper Aiden Clark. His latest single "Hold It Down" could easily be played b2b with any Montoya track to complete an undertaker soundsystem duo. I'm sometimes amazed about the resurgence of underground rap these day. Sick track, stream on SC here.

Montoya - Out Of Heaven (Feat @CVTVSTRXPHE)

Montoya returns in the new year with a horrorcore-flavoured single "Out Of Heaven". Supported on the mic by Cvtvstrxphe, the track is a one-way trip to the depths of hell. Buy here.

Zouls - Who We Are

Isolation Cult enters 2024 with a new single from Zouls, produced by Pale Palace. Melodic rap is matched with a beat that channels mid-2000s indie energy. Don't know how to explain it better, it's dope. Stream on SC here.

Dust Hood - Brow Driller

Drone beats and trapped-ambient from Syracuse, NY's Dust Hood. His "Brow Driller" album is a dark, brooding slab of downer music, listening to which feels like gradually sinking in a pool of tar. It's not full doom and gloom thanks to the drums that add an ounce of life to the atmospheres. Heavy album for bleak days, good stuff.

Download the album for free here, and stream it after the jump.

Gift Exchange - Before The Dust Settles

Sydney's witchhousers Gift Exchange released their debut EP "Before The Dust Settles" in August, but for some reason I never blogged about it properly. Mea culpa. Comprised of vocalist Madison Scott, guitarist Jaime Krausmann and producer Eduardo Bianchino, the group belongs to the new wave of witch house artists that leave behind the cheap mainstream sound which dominated most of the last decade, and instead carve a niche of their own. In a nutshell, their style can be described as a crossover between White Ring and solo stuff by Alice Glass, with a huge dose of guitar riffs and reverb on top. It's a freaking solid record from start to finish, but it may take some time to fully appreciate it. Jaime's guitar work provides distinct atmosphere and unique vibe to the whole album, and contends for the spotlight with Madison's vocals. Ed's production style leans towards an ethereal mood, reminiscent of Elusin's compositions for example, occasionally sprinkled with deconstructed club, punk and drone elements. Australian WH scene is thriving right now.

Buy the album here, and stream in full below.

Moon 17 - Mirror Side

Kicking the new year off with the latest single from one of my fav new acts on the industrial EBM scene. Kansas City's own Moon 17 dropped this in October but it somehow slipped through my attention's cracks. Dope, aggressive track. Fans of Spike Hellis will love this. Download here.