Reef Younis

We’re at a point where it’d almost be disappointing if Jon Hopkins‘ latest work wasn’t built around a higher concept. Over the last twenty three years, his obsession with sound has been academic, technical, classical, exploratory and experimental. It’s taken him from all-consuming studio sessions to Ketamine trips in Amazonian caves to becoming an unassuming poster boy for a growing techno-chemical genre specifically designed to explore your mind in altered states.

Josiah Wise, aka Serpentwithfeet, is no stranger to making a statement. A torchbearer for showcasing and celebrating gay Black love, here he builds on the tender, loving representation of 2021’s Deacon adding in moments to inject a physicality alongside the romantic vulnerability.

I’m not sure if Chelsea Wolfe has ever been called the “Queen of Darkness” but after seven albums of doom-laden, dread-fuelled, gothic folk, she’d at least be in the conversation. That isn’t to say all of her work exclusively plays out in the abyss but it’s certainly a space Wolfe feels comfortable sinking into; and while She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out To She isn’t as metal-focused as predecessors Abyss or Hiss Spun, it’s still nightmarish in its heft and beauty.