The best Electronic Music of Q2-2026

Featuring 32 EPs and albums from April to June

Hellooo! This is my second quarterly round-up for this year, featuring my 32 favorite electronic albums and EPs released between April and June of 2026, arranged in no particular order. While my Q1 round-up featured a lot of minimal and micro-house, this one’s pretty heavy on everything UK, especially tech house and garage. Funnily enough, neither of these were really active decisions on my part; just the natural ebb and flow of the records coming out I think, with certain scenes sometimes having particularly good quarters. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and might find something you like! — Vincent

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Paperclip Minimiser - Topology Transform [Blank Mind]

Around 2017/2018, there was a quiet, but significant shift in production styles in the less dance-y end of electronic music, when a younger generation of producers around Huerco S.’ West Mineral label started combining y2k clicks-n’-cuts style composition with the sonic richness and variety afforded by the modern DAW. The result was a new kind of ambient, richly layered with textures and rhythms, abusing things like Ableton’s warp engine all the way to their logical conclusion. While Topology Transform is obviously descended from that tradition in a lot of ways, it also subtly injects a more traditionally ‘dance’ approach to production, with focused hooks and engineering geared for density and impact; far away from any sort of floaty ‘ambient’, although you also can’t quite call this ‘IDM’ or even dub techno. Rather than belonging to any one genre in particular, these are tracks that above all exist within the digital and are about the digital, its tendencies and passions and artifacts and affordances. A record like one of those recent indie games where you explore an old 90s desktop OS and unwillingly stumble upon a whole new occult world hidden behind those unseeming folders and paperclips. Secrets, secrets.

Peach - Soak Vol. 1 [Mood Hut]

Curiously, this new Mood Hut from Peach aka Serena Pasion isn’t the first or even second bath-themed release on the label. Maybe it’s just a natural fit. Soak is a good one though, fluidly moving between emotive ambient and dreamy downtempo fare while keeping things both lush and percussively interesting. Take a seat (bath).

Deepmore - Check it Back [Miura Records]

I have to say, there seems to be some real good UKG out there right now. This one channels that early 4/4 garage sound around ‘95 or ‘96 — famously borne out of UK DJs playing New York garage records at +8 speed — before the genre became largely synonymous with 2step, lending these tracks an interesting, slightly transatlantic feel. Anyways, all three cuts here are proper party starters with big basslines, those seductive UKG sampler stabs, and that hard-to-pinpoint, but irresistible ‘idge skip. Will bring the bounce to any floor.¹

Holo - Astro [Last Year At Marienbad]

Both the producer (Holo) and the label (Last Year At Marienbad) here are new to me, but what a record this one is, all Svek’d up in the best way possible, the kind of stuff I imagine they played in saunas in Gothenburg in 2002², and at that point, we are already way too deep into ‘lounge’ territory to resist the sultry sax solo on the title track, or the FM organs and ROMpler pianos on “Spirits”, or the lush Rhodes swirling and whale-song vocal chops on “Sympatika” … it appears we have suffered from a terminal case of death-by-lounge, so we are now onto the afterlife with the ethereal closer “Cycles” and its appropriately reverb-drenched piano cheese … perhaps the corniest deep house record I’ve heard all year, but also the best deep house record I’ve heard all year.

Surface Access - Status Density [59 Bel Records]

Two oceanic dub techno drifters from the new-ish French project Surface Access here. Interestingly, the chords themselves are almost confined to the background, playing second to the circular networks of noise, feedback, and spring reverb; everything is happening in the sends, the perpetual push-pull across that thin line between homeostasis and catastrophic feedback, forever on the cusp of escape while never quite making it.

Deeper Connection - Early Haze ‘96 [Fokuz Recordings]

What do I even have to add here? The title reviews itself. “Early Haze ‘96” … yeah mate, innit?

Sofia Jernberg - Voice [Smalltown Supersound]

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of the human vocal tract as a kind of organic synthesis engine; the primordial synthesis engine that all others are descended from. What Sofia Jernberg manages to draw out her body here is both deeply intimate and also totally disturbing; at times alternately sounding like a seagull, a dying person, a wounded dragon, or a bubbling vintage Serge paperface system. Not a very pleasant listen, but also one of the most interesting sounding records I’ve come across in a while.

Philip George - Bad Thing [Reliance]

Ok I don’t know WHAT the actual fuck they’re feeding the TECH HOUSE this season but they need to STOP, it’s becoming TOO GOOD, tech house made after 2003 was NEVER SUPPOSED to be good, it was NEVER supposed to start incorporating all those UK garage and prog influences, now it’s gone too far, legitimately sounding HOTTER and FRESHER than virtually all of techno at the ‘mo, S-tier records dropping every other week, I remember when seeing “tech house” in the record description basically amounted to an auto-skip, crazy times.³

Skeptic - Pop No Style [ec2a]

This is the kind of London record so deep into its own mythology that it would make even the most hardened 313 fanatic blush. The difference between the two of course being the fact that the myth of Detroit will forever be a dilapidated Packard plant in 1988, while London is a bustling metropolis that’s invented more genres and styles than any other city; infinitely re-arranging and remixing itself as if it were a living organism. That’s why a track like “Bound 4” can endlessly stack garage clichés on top of garage clichés and somehow still sound like 2026 instead of 2002. It’s a London ‘ting.

Phil Berg - Iso [Sk_eleven]

Among the current crop of hyper-modern techno technicians, Phil Berg is one of the names that stands out with just that extra touch of refined technique and effortless funk. This is a man that understands how techno works; a fact that becomes apparent almost immediately on the opener “Iso” with its percussive pyrotechnics, effortless arrangements and timely pad drama. “Rinn” is a bit more reduced with subtle funk and a few bleeps, while “Abyss” rides a hypnotizing sea-sick lead over rolling drums, and “Chimera” infuses its lean techno mechanics with a subtle touch of emotion for the later hours. One for the strobe lights.

Fabian Feld - Pressure Lines [Bobby Donny]

“Drift Geometry” is the kind of track that’s all in the resolution to the call and response, that little lick that comes in every eight bars or so, the magnetic attractor that everything else revolves around. Take it away and everything falls apart, but as long as it’s there and you know it’s coming, the funk machine is working, all gears in place, going full steam ahead.

Linnéa Talp - Variations for Light Waves [Thanatosis Produktion]

This is the sort of drone record where the line between “snoozefest” and “captivating” is always going to amount to something quite intangible, those small differences in timbre and texture that are hard to put into focus, let alone words. That said, Linnéa Talp’s new LP definitely falls into the “captivating” end of things, perhaps because it’s not afraid to seek out richer and more chaotic timbres while also not forgetting that all important sense of subtlety and limerence. I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to bear another⁴ organ drone record for at least a couple of years, but this is good stuff; I guess there’s always another take.

Aquarium - Shoggoths [SHADOW SYSTEM]

As alluded to above, garage is having a bit of a moment right now. I didn’t even have this label on my radar, but pretty much everything on there is excellent, as is this four-tracker somewhere between atmospheric ‘future garage’ and more rudeboy-ish y2k fare. Nice pads, nice skips, nice wobbles; what more can you ask for?

Carmen Villain - Holding a Shape [Smalltown Supersound]

listen/buy at Boomkat

Dub-noise-abstractionist Carmen Villain is back with a little three-tracker of pitch-black studies in rhythm, noise and reduction. There’s not a ton to latch onto here, but this is the kind of record that’s all in the details, the textures and curvatures through which at first seemingly oblique arrangements slowly reveal themselves to in fact be carefully shaped labyrinths. One that will reward repeated listens.

Roseen - Zero Point Drift [Frameworks]

Berlin techno classicist Roseen is back with another 12” on his own Frameworks label that hones in on a dry, punchy 909 swing and icy, reduced low-octave stab motifs. The recipe really couldn’t be simpler, but tracks like this are deceptively hard to make; everything, down to the finest details, needs to be tuned to just the right amount of immanent tension, or the whole thing will fall apart. Luckily, Roseen knows his techniques, and the tracks here have been tuned just right, conjuring that unmistakable Hoodist drive and coolness with skill and style.

Lolina - Monopoly of Mistakes [Relaxin Records]

To be honest, I’ve never been much into the whole Hype Williams thing, but I quite dig this new solo LP from Lolina (aka Inga Copeland) I came across somewhat randomly on Boomkat. As the name suggests, this one’s all about the mistakes; basically it’s a record deliberately playing electronic music “wrongly”, but in a way that is quite subtle and a far cry away from your typical carnivalesque Zoomer meme tracks, taking itself seriously enough to where the sense of “wrongness” in a given track isn’t always immediately obvious, inviting you to reflect on what exactly it is that you are hearing as a ‘mistake’. As they say, the devil is in the details.

Eira Haul - Deep Rays [Limousine Dream]

More tech house killers on the ever-reliable Limousine Dream. “Gado2” comes in with a massive bassline and slinky resonant stabs, while “Resin” is a bit more percussive and mnml-esque. “Deep Field” does just what the title suggests, and closer “Holy Smoke” is a dusky dubby number for the later hours. Good stuff.

Yu Su - Foundry [Short Span]

Not one to rest on its laurels, Short Span is already back with more material, this time with an LP from Yu Su, who has delivered here a varied assemblage of understated and sketch-like tracks that don’t seem particularly concerned with fitting too neatly into any one genre; ranging from the deranged DMT acid house of “Foundry”, to the warm dubber “Cul De Sac”, to the gorgeous ambient interlude “Sunless”, and the reduced stepper “Wanli”. My favorite here is probably “Os Cionn” though, a lush study in chord fragments and filter envelopes that is both catchy and drifty in all the right ways.

Charles A.D. - Luminous [Avantroots]

Charles A.D. is a Japanese farmer that makes dub techno in his spare time. I’ve always had a soft spot for these sort of pure amateur tracks that are largely unconcerned with the wider world around them; a kind of bedroom auteur spirit that Charles also successfully channels here on his new LP for Spain’s Avantroots label, with a series of warm and dusky jams that remain totally within their own axis, perpetually circling around the flow of the delay and sweep of the phaser, always in search of the next chord, the next dub.

Linda Lo - Deep Time [Uriel]

This is the first vinyl release from California-based bass music producer Linda Lo, although apparently she’s been producing since the late 2000s. That production experience is definitely audible on tracks like “Mourning Xun” with its carefully controlled sub pressure and emotive Eastern-sounding motifs, although for me, the standout here is definitely “Time Capsules”, a killer ambient breakbeat number with a gorgeous reese bass, sublime pads and melancholic gliding keys.

Fireground - Core Waves [Ilian Tape]

Berlin-based Italian duo Fireground are back on Ilian Tape with another colorful early 00s inspired four tracker. “Drift” kicks things off with warm funk and a slinky filtered motif, while “Core Waves” positions bright stabs over a rolling bassline, and “Rising” goes all in on vintage Nintendo style fusion jazz. Great trax all around, my fav here is probably “Smashin’” though, a Parisian sample chunker that starts out all dry and rippin’ and then segues into some big pads and strings towards the end. While Fireground certainly aren’t reinventing the wheel here, there are not many people currently mining this more jazzy end of y2k techno, and in a techno landscape where dour and drone-y tracks are still⁵ the norm, hearing something this unapologetically melodic and ‘major key’ is a more than welcome respite.

Paradox - Drumline [Paradox Music]

Nice new roughside 2-tracker from breakbeat don Paradox here. “Drumline” on the A is classically methodical, with just the right mix between science and street, while “Trident” on the flip kicks off lush and airy before launching into a dryly swung funk n’ pads number.

Cirkle - Infinity Drift [Fuse Imprint]

Cirkle is one of those guys I had pegged as a B-tier producer — solid but not outstanding — for a while, but with this four tracker for Belgium’s Fuse club he’s delivered some truly excellent tracks. I’m especially fond of the two Neo-Rachmadian chord-memory floaters “Skyland” and “Infinity Drift” here; they’re basically just a riff and a 909, but I’ve tried my hand at this kind of thing and believe me, it’s not easy to pull off. Steracism has above all always been about having restraint and patience, biding your time and letting things play until the right opportunity for a small gesture like a filter cutoff tweak or reverb throw emerges. But then those small gestures are also all that’s needed for a big emotional impact rarely matched in techno; a dramatization of the small things.

Infant - Dustlick [Kino Disk]

If you’ve been reading these round-ups for any length of time, you’ll know that I’m always a sucker for these sort of late Chain Reaction dub floaters, and Kino Disk have been pretty much killing it in that space lately. This new one from the pseudonymous “Infant” is probably their best yet, all weightless and ethereal with its dusky pads, sizzled chords, sweeping noise figures, and the occasional vocal chop; all firing long swathes of feedback and delay into the liquid ether. Not quite as mystical and exalted sounding as some of its references⁶, but there is an interesting digital quality here that also makes things sound a bit more contemporary. Press play to drift.

Snad - Healing Waters [Spandrel]

I last wrote about Snad’s excellent EP for Smallville from earlier his year, and now he’s back with yet another great 12” packed with uber-lush extended house floaters. Smooth healing killers.

Various - Force 32 [Rupture LDN]

Mantra, Decibella and Tim Reaper team up on the new Rupture LDN release for a fun junglist four tracker. The first two tracks are lush daybreak floaters, while the latter two are a bit more rough and hone in on the breaks and bass, a nice mix of light and dark; just how we like it.

Fantastic Man - A Little Bit More [Axis Of People]

It seems like recently, sex has been making its way back into dance music in a big way, and what better example than the title track “A Little Bit More” on this new Fantastic Man; a real bonker of a track, suave and cool but also just downright sultry and sexy in a way that dance music hasn’t sounded like in a long while.⁷ Get your sexy on, as a wise man once said.

Beatrice M. - Sinking [Tectonic]

Rising dubstep producer Beatrice M. presents her first LP for the genre institution Tectonic. While there are no real surprises to be found here, the tracks do present a nice variety of bass music tones, and there’s a refreshing airy, almost poppy, quality to the whole thing that’s quite unlike the dungeon halfstep of days past. Another solid document in dubstep’s ongoing moment of rejuvenation.⁸

Fadi Mohem - Mohem 05 [MOHEM]

It takes quite a bit of confidence as a producer to put a side-long 12-minute techno track with basically no drums or percussion on your 12”, but that is just what Fadi Mohem has done on “Pseq” for catalogue number 05 of his own MOHEM label; all bass and chords, with those crispy upper harmonics delayed in rhythmic patterns playing the role that would be traditionally taken up by percussion. On the flip, “Calc” is not shy to reach for a few hats and claps, although the overall product is just as reduced, with the main story mostly being told through cascading lines of send and return in the back of the mix. Probably not for everyone, but if you’re fiending for that very specific kind of vintage Kreuzbergism, this is as close to the Paul-Lincke-Ufer⁹ as you’re going to get on a modern record.

Skeptic - Swing It [Reliance]

I usually try to stick to one release per artist here, but then I heard “Swing It” and had no choice: just listen to that breakdown around three minutes in. Massive, massive, massive. A real ‘choon, as they used to say.

Mike Parker - Echo Disintegrator [Samurai Music]

I’ve already written about Mike Parker’s previous breakbeat adventures for Samurai Music in prior round-ups, and now he’s jumping in all the way with an album’s worth of hybrid techno breakbeat funkers. To be honest, I don’t quite love every track on here, but the ones that land really do, like the notch filter stepper “Earth Energy Imbalance”, the Loefah-esque skanker “Radiative Force”, or the subzero dread-roller “Dragon Bravo.” My pick of the bunch is definitely “Positronic Tentacles” though, a rapidfire techno jump-up number as suave and effortlessly funky as it is relentless. Say whatever else you want to say about Parker and his very specific style of drones, but there is currently no one else out there making tracks like this, and that is a pretty impressive thing for an artist thirty years into his career.

Brunhild Ferrari - L’oreille Voleuse [Persistence of Sound]

New material from the grande dame of musique concrète on the excellent Persistence of Sound label here. Although the piece is quite classically ‘concrète’, it also sounds remarkably fresh, in a way that makes this 80-year old tradition sound surprisingly contemporary. For the second piece, Jim O’Rourke and Eiko Ishibashi interpret Ferrari’s original with a bit of extra chaos and energy, although I think I still prefer the original. Concrete fun.

1. I do not know what Mr. Jobs on the cover has to do with garage though. At least Jeff Epstein was an avowed vintage UGK fan.

2. Cf. Sunday Brunch, “No Resistance” (2002).

3. This blurb was originally posted on Substack notes.

4. I blame Kali Malone.

5. It’s been over fifteen years, people.

6. By which I mainly mean Multila era Vladislav Delay.

7. Obviously, I am not saying that there was no sex whatsoever in dance music over the last decade, but for a long while, things were often either really restrained or comically over the top, and I feel like we are just now reaching a point again where people are hitting that nice middle ground between grunge and sensuality.

8. For context, see this note from late last year.

9. The old address of the Hardwax record store and Basic Channel’s Dubplate & Mastering studio.