New releases last four weeks: Disco/Nu-Disco

Review: Antoni Maiovvi flaunts an aerated, sunspotty sound on 'Knights of New Haven', blending Ned West Coast influences and US machine music. 'Later Not Lately' pulses with light kicks and ruffling hi-hats, echoing Chicago house and flavoursome tech trance; Legowelt (Danny Wolfers) reimagines it with serrated snares and a gritty TB-303 bassline. 'Slack Blabbath' weaves staggered synths and sharp percussion, and closer 'The Madness In The Method' swirls static-laced drums around eerire bass, balancing Maiovvi's horror-disco roots with bold house rhythms. This EP is a dark, driving, and grand fusion of electronic styles, veering increasingly crushy and redux-happy. Legowelt's snare is especially oomphy, and the closer's synths especially brooding.

Review: Synthwave, or "outrun" as it is sometimes popularly known, is one of the defining micro-aesthetics of the 21st Century. Cornered then abrogated by filmmakers like Michael Mann and Nicolas Winding Refn, the style was expanded upon in the music imaginary sometime in the early 2010s (though seeds were sown much earlier). This Wagram compilation charts the earliest stirrings in the sound, from the circuit-breaking Moog experiments of Giorgio Moroder through to the nightridden vrooms of Kavinsky, and the fuzz-static analog snows set to sample-funked beats of VHS Dreams.