Mater Suspiria Vision - La Rose du Diable feat. Violette de Lestrange // video

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Visualizer promoting the upcoming album "∞ [Infinity]" from Mater Suspiria Vision. Featuring Violette de Lestrange on vocals. The album will be out on February 3rd via Phantasma Disques. Pre-order here.

Inersha - Missing Person(s) ft. Outcast

Gravedigger rap from Inersha and Outcast. Dope evil shit. Stream here.

Monomorte - Blue Dreamers

"Blue Dreamers" is one of Monomorte's recent singles that I missed back in November. Wavey slow burner for sleepless nights. Very moody, love it. Buy it here.

Montoya † - Sober (Prod. Left) // video

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Montoya has just released this new video single on his YT channel, rapping over an ethereal ambient meets trap instrumental from Left, that feels like a post-Lil Peep cloud rap track. Really digging this.

Aranoë - Aranoë

Aranoë is a new dungeon metal project from the mind of JC Lobo aka Ritualz. The self-titled EP consists of five tracks that blend black metal rawness with dungeon synth sensibilities. Dust off your dracula capes, this one's for the dark fantasy fans. The EP was released by Maligna, and marks the reboot of the label.

Get a limited edition CD here, and stream the whole thing down below.

Nathan Micay - Industry Season 2 OST

While Nathan's soundtrack to the second season of HBO's Industry (one of the best series in recent years btw) came out in 2022, Luckyme decided to put it out on vinyl just last year. I somehow missed that announcement, so it was a huge surprise to see it out in the world today. It's an incredible album on its own terms, and I cannot recommend enough to check out all three volumes.

Get your copy here, and stream it all below.

Montoya & Pale Palace - The Mirror

After July's "Face First", and September's "Ever Since", Montoya and Pale Palace released today the next volume in their collaborative triptych, entitled "The Mirror". Produced by both of them (using almost unrecognisable sample from Kye Kye's Reach") and with vocals by Montoya, the single will 100% appeal to the fans of their previous works. Solid as always, and free download too! Get it here.

Stay Healthy - Hold My Dress Down

Gutter pop and witch house icons Stay Healthy are back with a new, incredible single "Hold My Dress Down". Ella and Tommy are on vocals, delivering perfect union between singing and rap, while the beat heralds the end of times. Melting. Stream here, you can cop it on iTunes.

Modernist - Alpine Holiday Camp

Multilayered ambient soundcapes from Modernist landed on Language Instinct a few days ago. The opening track on his new release "Alpine Holiday Camp" feels like communicating with aliens through glitchy and fragmented radio signals. Constantly morphing, as if emitted from a cosmic kaleidoscope, "Theres Always Room At The Top" sets the tone for the rest of the project, with tracks oscillating between organic and textural ambience, nature-inspired field recordings, droning tones, and desolate synths. Enigmatic and intricate music.

Get "Alpine Holiday Camp" here, and stream it in full down below.

Gan!Gan!Gao! - Wrecked Mixtape // video

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Gan!Gan!Gao! is the new alias of Fooly Cooly aka For Lunar Dust. "Wrecked" is his latest mix full of dragged joints that will take you back to 2010/2011 era of internet (been there). Recommended stuff. Download the mixtape here.c

Arkia - Bloom (Air Sculptures Vol.1)

Arkia Jahani returns to his first-name project, and starts 2025 with "Bloom (Air Sculptures Vol.1)", a 30-minute sound sculpture that effortlessly flows between the airy ambient, lo-fi synth and cinematic drone crates. Smooth tones from the outerworld. Support and buy here.

Mutant Zones // best of 2024

Being late with this list seems like a yearly tradition now, but here we go, a list of my favourite releases from 2024. I've posted about and reviewed all of these albums and EPs on this blog, so if you want to read more thoughts about any of them, please use the search bar (if you're on mobile switch to web view). Oh, and also there's no order to this list.

Coffin Division - Ad Infernum

London-based label Whipped Bound Records has released Coffin Division's latest track "Ad Infernum". Coffin Division, also known as O.O.O. and The Haunters, is the a label-head of Aetheric-Records, and has been creating sinister sounds reminiscent of Implicit Order and The (O)thers for many years. This new single is an almost six-minute journey into the world of moody dark ambient abruptly eroded by waves of noise. Hard. Buy here.

Gift Exchange - Gift Exchange

Sydney alt-goths Gift Exchange dropped a new, self-titled EP a couple of days, that further delves into their guitar-heavy, ethereal rock. This project is definitely closer to 4AD catalogue rather than Disaro, also brings to mind Sleep Over and Zola Jesus.

Get the EP here, stream it all down below.

How To Dress Well - I Am Toward You

"I Am Toward You" is How To Dress Well's sixth album, announced way back in March 2024. The promo singles, "New Confusion" and "No Light", hinted at a record that’s still daring but less experimental compared to 2018's "The Anteroom", and that prediction turned out to be spot on. Tom shines on instrumentals that sit in the hazy territory between pop and avant-garde, perhaps best exemplified by my favourite track "Crypt Sustain". The guitar crescendo at the end hits all the right spots and acts as the perfect lead-in to the lo-fi chillwave banger "No Light" that follows. The album has grown on me exponentially since I first streamed it - though I'll admit I wasn’t really a fan at first. With each listen, I keep discovering new details that lure me in and excite me even more. "The Only True Joy on Earth" practically transports me back to the blogspot era. Great album that's well worth your time.

You can order the digital version on Bandcamp here, where you'll also find links to buy vinyl, depending on your region. Stream the LP below.

Montoya † - Scattered

New Montoya drops, have to blog it, one of the most consistent artists out there right now. You can watch video for "IDK" here. Download the mini-EP here.

Elipropperr, Boysinblush - All I Wanna Do

Trashrave hip-hop from producers Elipropperr and Boysinblush (of Suzy Sheer fame), remixing Kodak Black's "Senseless". On the same tip that Beauty's Gucci Mane edits. Stream here.

Väsnet - En Dag I Taget

Väsnet is Swedish rapper also known as Zouls, known from Pale Palace's mixtapes and collaborations. While his Zouls alias is used for dropping bars in English, Väsnet focuses exclusively on Swedish lyrics - always with Pale Palace on the beats, as always. "En Dag I Taget" is his debut release that collects four tracks, some of which premiered on this blog. The EP delivers a mix of club vs car friendly tunes, contrasting PP's ethereal hardstyle beats with Zouls' super melodic flow and vocal tone. I have no idea what the rap is about, but the way he eats the productions makes that irrelevant. Pale Palace is on top of his game, with his epic Enya remix finally finding a home. You and stream and download all the tracks here.

STRFLL - Was It All Worth It Pt. VI

Volume six of STRFLL's witchy sludge series "Was It All Worth It" came out towards the end of December, but only today I had a proper chance to delve into it. Ace as always, filled with a ton of unreleased stuff and previews for the upcoming album. Dope. Support here.

Chaos Doll - Veins

Chaos Doll is a musician/vocalist/performance artist and an enigma based in Washington, D.C., and this is her second longplay, following "Sexpot Robot" from 2021. While the first LP was set more firmly in the minimal synth/electro territory, "Veins" on the other hand delivers an eclectic, genre-fusing epic. It's anchored at the industrial coast but doesn’t shy away from embracing cold EBM beats, gothic darkwave, dark ambient tones, and cinematic droning synths. Chaos Doll's lyrics are deeply rooted in bleak, often misanthropic lore, serving as a series of warnings and accusations against self-centred humanity in the post-internet era. The songwriting and execution of these lyrics are incredible - from softly whispered almost-rap, to punk-flavoured raspy shouts, to electronically processed melodic singing. Honestly, this is easily one of my favourite albums of 2024, and it makes me wish I'd discovered it earlier! Don't sleep on this one!

Buy this album here, and stream in full down below.

Dött Ljus - F​ö​rr

Dött Ljus is the result of a collaboration between two Stockholm-based producers and musicians, Johan Kisro and Petter Lindhagen. The former should be well known to Mutant Zones readers, as he is one half of Old Amica, while Petter records under the solo guise of Tired Tape Machine. "Förr" is their debut single, introducing the project's dancefloor-ready minimal tech-ambient sound and pairing it with an equally captivating remix from Anders Enge. Both tracks herald the arrival of the duo's first album entitled "Bottna" that will be released via Slowcraft Records on tape and digital formats on 5th February. Can't wait!

Get the single here, stream both tracks below.

Bow Church - Logical

Bow Church announced his new album, that will see the light of day at some point in the first half of 2025, while premiering this one-off cover of Supertramp's "The Logical Song", turning the pop rock classic into a witchy synth-pop single. Stream his version here.

Ourobonic Plague - Slop

Ourobonic Plague wrapped up 2024 with a full-length album for Vertigo Cult titled "Slop". Built on "sonic crumbs, sketches, loops, beats and field recordings", the record sounds like the bastard child of mutated alien-IDM, raw industrial-drone experiments and stripped to the bone beatmaking - all wrapped in a witch-house'y shroud of obscurity. The whole thing does feel like a soundtrack to a horror video game, stuff that CRAVE was doing on his "Save Room" LP, but OP twists his soundscapes more towards industrial, cold electronic territory.

As always, grab the album on Vertigo Cult bandcamp for free. Stream the album down below.

Patina Lush - Upon The Tender Blade

Patina Lush is an ambient-noise composer, producer and sound designer from Austin, Texas, with several releases to his name thanks to the Nouvelle Gaze, Somatic, and Amulet of Tears labels. "Upon The Tender Blade" marks his Language Instinct debut, and it has mesmerized me since I discovered it last month. Four compositions signal the emergence of a new world, shaped by the mutated roots of a post-dystopian reality jutting from the silent soil to the sound of ambient soundscapes, meticulously manipulated to evoke feelings of anxiety and anticipation. At least, that's the imagery that plays in my mind when I listen to it. Beautifully somber post-ambient record.

You can purchase the album here, and stream it in full below.

https://languageinstinct.bandcamp.com/album/upon-the-tender-blade-2

Darkside - S.N.C. // video

Darkside trio (including new member Tlacael Esparza) are back with a new single and album pre-order. "S.N.C." reminds me a lot of A.A.L. (Against All Logic) project, which is one of my favourite things Nicolas has created, so I'm hyped for the new LP a lot! "Nothing" will come out on February 28th on Matador Records.

New Mexican Stargazers - Patient Floral Arrangement

New album from Carter's New Mexican Stargazers project is out now via Philadelphia tape label Sweet Chunk. "Patient Floral Arrangement" hits the sweet spot between new age ambient and full-on tribal 4th world zen music. Bliss.

Get your tapes here, and stream half of the album below.

The Sick Man Of Europe - Consumption // video

"Consumption" is the first recorded single from the London-based post-punk project The Sick Man of Europe. The accompanying video perfectly complements the song's minimal, coldwave-leaning vibe. I'm not the biggest fan of the vocals - I find them a bit off-beat and think they could be sung better at times. The instrumental, on the other hand, is excellent, getting my head bobbing right from the start. One to watch! Grab the single here.

Demonic Downshift - 134

Slow burning analog techno is the phrase used to describe this two-track single by London-based producer George Malamidis - and it's pretty much spot on. Based on his past catalogue, his work has mostly been associated with spaced-out downtempo and psybient, however "134" expands the project's horizons by delving into the world of minimal techno genre. Refined to perfection, both tracks sound menacing and almost industrial, conveying a dark, gritty, cinematic mood that makes me feel as though I’m in an underground bunker nightclub, completely lost to the world. Rad.

Grab both tracks here. You can stream them down below.

STRFLL - Live @ Hinger​ä​nnak (02​.​11​.​24)

STRFLL's first live album delivers, and more! Recorded on November 2nd, 2024 at Konservatoorium in Viljandi, Estonia, these ten tracks of well-thought-out performance provide an up-to-date glimpse into their excellent body of work. I am beyond stoked to hear the new album!

Download/buy the album here, and stream it below.

Mong Tong, Gong Gong Gong 工工工 - L​ó​nghǔ B​ě​ij​ì​ng 龍​虎​巡​迴​•​北​京

Last year Taiwanese psych-rockers Mong Tong joined forced with Hong Kong duo Gong Gong Gong 工工工 and recorded album entitled "Mongkok Duel 旺角龍虎鬥". Above is the teaser of this collaboration, recorded live during their performance in Bejing. Absolute vibes. Download here or here.

Suburban Musïk - Domination En

Japanese crew Suburban Musïk returns with "Domination En", a lo-tempo, industrialized club track that lurks in the darkness. Free download here.

Vidchajj - I Cast My Body In The Deeps

We're kicking 2025 off with the most chill phonk-ish instrumental from the one and only Vidchajj. Press play and enjoy, the second half is just sublime, with its wall of crushing lo-fi bass. Ace through and through. Stream here.