New releases last two weeks: Uplifting Trance

Review: Italian producer J.P Energy resurfaces with a reissue of two rare late-90s works-deep, percussive hybrids from a fertile moment in underground Italian club culture. Originally released in 1997, 'Prima Dell'Alba' and 'Forbidden Planet' blur the lines between early trance and stripped-back techno, brimming with cinematic tension and pulsing groove. 'Prima Dell'Alba' is the more mysterious of the pair: tribal rhythms, eerie pads and a gradual rise in intensity evoke a kind of sunrise ritual for the dancefloor. The original mix of 'Forbidden Planet' delivers a leaner, more mechanical energy-icy and forceful but with a meditative undertow. A 2025 revisited mix by J.P Energy himself kicks things off on the A-side, reimagining the track with updated production and added spatial depth, without losing the spirit of the original. As part of the Sound Migration series, this reissue pays tribute to a singular voice in Italian electronic music-subtle, rhythmic, and visionary.

Review: In the early 90s, Danny Griffiths, Darius Keeler and Jiten Acharya formed Shikasta before dropping just one release on the now-defunct Swarm Music label. REZ34thirtyfour digs deep into that rare gem and gives it a fresh Rezpektiva polish. The EP features four tracks in all, three of which are from the original record plus a previously unreleased version recovered from DAT tapes. It's a thoughtful, atmospheric journey crafted for the dreamers and the deep thinkers who crave textured, immersive soundscapes. Trance is back and bigger than ever, but you can rarely beat OG get like this.

Review: Electric Ballroom proudly introduces Tommahawk, a rising force from Germany's next generation of peak-progressive house producers. 'Unfolding' lends a heart-in-mouth pre-drop choir motif to an antecedent stab centrepiece, whose vestiges linger long after the refrain tapers off. Label head Thomas Schumacher remixes the track in airier and floatier tones, meanwhile, creating an abiding minimal progressive ballast to contrast the A-side's intense eschatology.