the first weekly download, your alternative to algorithmic recommendation by yours truly euth. new to me music, stuff i've had on repeat, or stuff i just want to talk about. the format, timing, and everything else about this newsletter is likely to wiggle and shift as time goes on but thanks for reading. i'll respect your inbox <3
gupi - ever since (2026)
now this is what i'm talking about. gupi has long been one of the best musicians working, but their music has been (imo) pointedly inaccessible, with enough zoomercore hyperpop to scare away the chinstrokers and enough idm breakcoreism to dodge getting played at the furry rave. no longer. gupi here has put out a precision cut gem of turbopop perfection, scratching all the itches and layering in some meaning for good measure. a highlight is 'kiss me thru the phone' cover/remix '360 900', which has been on repeat for me. another is 'gaia', which finds spencer hawk interfacing with hippie adjacent spirituality in a way i find deeply moving, and broadly lacking from the contemporary music landscape in general and hyperpop adjacent material in particular. whole album is excellent, gupi finally figured it out. pushes boundaries of creative distortion, with plenty of production tricks packed into a shiny bouncy package. check out the other albums too. some of the best music of the last decade. 'i am hot as fuck there is no stopping me' is the energy we need. recommended for your happy hardcore sugar rush mindfuck needs.
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matthewdavid - rare music (2026)
wow. matthewdavid makes a triumphant return to mind bending beats here with this compilation of b sides, remixes, collabs, and unreleased material. he took the time to finesse the transitions, morphing a bundle of tracks into a cohesive reflection on the history of beat music in los angeles, particularly the music surrounding low end theory. we got a tease with 'uncleared', which skewed a bit more chill and lofi, but 'rare music' is is the genuine article. this is one of a very few albums that sound like low end theory felt (another being daedelus' 'labyrinths'). the beats breathe and bend, sometimes break, but always reform, undulating on the periphery. boundary pushing in a way i rarely hear. essential.
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hekt - forever (2026)
i've struggled to get into hekt before, but here the abrasive dance meister has channeled his impressive production abilities and mastery of grating sonics in service of trance pop pleasure in the LP format. where previously the queasy metallic timbres prevented me from accessing the music, here they lace the sugary trance pop with menace, providing a counterpoint often lacking in similar material. like the lingering burn of alcohol in a tiki drink, the pervasive wrongness is what makes the package work. the whole lp plays beautifully, but highlights include deviations from the formula 'beautiful', a fidget adjacent club track, and 'but i can't really show you', which explores the intersection of trance and dubstep. 'up in the air, so' may be the best representative of the gestalt of the album, where uncanny valley sonics offset the sugar rush of the material, calling attention to the excellent production and lending it extra depth. not an easy album to talk about. like cotton candy made of razor blades. highly recommended for dedicated listening, or a private dance session.
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bladee - sulfur surfer (2026)
i've always been amused by bladee, but in recent years i got more into the music. cold visions was really excellent, evocative and immersive, and that was what got me to finally buy into the broader draingang ecosystem. Sulfur Surfer is really good, if a bit underwhelming. it conjures a heady medieval mystical spiritual atmosphere off the top, and sustains it throughout. beats are a bit subdued, though excellent, and while the highs are not as high as on Cold Visions, the sustained vibe is better and i think i'll be turning to this one a lot in the coming months for car type purposes. also the fit bladee is wearing in the durin's bane video is insane. very exciting. recommended for your hanging out music needs.
full body 2 - infinity signature (2023) / 2020initialsequence2022 (2022)
i came across their first album on my server, which i had forgotten to listen to. i finally did, was blown away, and then downloaded infinity signature and listened to that. unreal stuff. what an act. shoegaze with breakcore influences gets you in the area, but doesn't convey how masterful these records are. heavy, evocative, moving, everything you want from music. infinity signature is particularly triumphant, pushing into a space i can only compare to 'fuck buttons', but a bit gentler and more listenable. one of very few acts in this space operating on the same level as 'draag'. going to be on repeat for a while.
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dreamtrak - dreamtrak (2020)
i threw this 2020 album on my server recently and gave it a fresh listen. really great stuff. vague pc music affiliate dreamtrak (simon whybray did the art, a g cook remixed one of his tracks in 2014), presents an LP of euphoric dance music with a barely legible wink. listening again, the 'wink' is harder to feel than ever. at the time of its release, the very act of seriously engaging with these sounds - trance, breaks, ukg, progressive house - was in itself a bit provocative, but now these sounds grace the biggest stages at just about every festival worldwide. if you indulge my projection a bit, there is still a barrier felt between this exploration of the material and the 'real stuff'. i.e. club singles put out by journeyman producers, and that barely perceptible gap excites me. it was always the appeal of pc music and their affiliates, and as the overton window on credible dance music expression widens it gets harder to find material that pokes at the barrier between the credible, the popular, and the avant garde. highlights include trance arp bonanza 'The Funnel' and glistening club track 'On Ice'. recommended for intentional listening.
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e-talking - new yesterday (2025)
digging on bc for an upcoming set i came across this label, e-talking's 'nummer music' which led me to his latest release on the label. i find myself looking for stuff at the intersection of progressive house, techno, club, and bass music and this release threads the needle expertly for my taste. imbued with the psychedelic undulations of prog, but a bit more credible, a bit less goofy, and without some of the pyrotechnics that can interfere with momentum on the dancefloor. alex kassian is doing something similar with his productions. bringing the heady psychedelia of the genre down to earth a bit, luring more dancers into its pulse. highly recommend.
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the rapture (2003/2011)
for some reason the rapture hit one of my feeds (i think they are playing gigs in nyc again? or djing?) and i went back and listened to 'in the grace of your love' which i checked out at the time of its release, and 'echoes' which i had totally missed. wow. what a band. 'echoes' sells a type of cool hipster nyc lifestyle that i imagine was key to that lifestyle coming into being. totally irresistible, powerful music.
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lilys - the 3 way (1999)
this hit my bsky feed for some reason, and as a lilys fan i wanted to check it out. what a record. totally different than the two releases i was familiar with 'eccsame the photon band' and 'in the presence of nothing', the 3 way connects elephant 6 acts 'of montreal' and 'the apples in stereo' to the shoegaze scene of the early 90s (guitarist kurt heasley notably appears on the apples 'fun trick noisemaker'). phenomenal songwriting with a psychedelic retro palette. recommended for car type listening, chores, psychedelic drugs, things of that nature (it was gangbusters for washing my car).
i could go on but i'll save some material for next week. thanks for being here. weather is insanely gorgeous in LA right now. big skies, cool breeze, sunshine. love you.