Your FutureSounds staff writers are back with their latest picks and ‘on-repeats’ plus this month we also welcome a new contributor to the team: Mr Groove Remote!
Enzo’s Pick:
Mitch Murder x Pizza Hotline – ‘Anti Gravity Tournament’ [WRWTFWW]
Having lived through the early days of Jungle and Drum & Bass – not old enough to attend raves, but old enough to spend most of my pocket money on tape packs – there will always be a special place in my heart for LTJ Bukem and that ‘intelligent’ style that came out in 1994.
‘Anti Gravity Tournament’ takes me back to that era, reminding me of a Dance Paradise tape I still own from early 1995…
The EP is a split cooked up by Mitch Murder and Pizza Hotline and it’s hard to pick a favourite between the two tracks that are currently available to stream. Something about ‘The Racers We Lost’ really grabs me in the feels, though.
Pizza Hotline, who is clearly far too young to have experienced the scene first hand, has an impressive knack of nailing the energy; layered breaks and ethereal pads, just enough ‘amen’ to create a rolling sense of energy and momentum that never strays into the frenetic.
Of all of the influences to have emerged in the Vaporwave vernacular in recent years, jungle is the most meaningful to me. Vaporwave is about nostalgia and this music is MY nostalgia.
‘Anti Gravity Tournament’ by Mitch Murder and Pizza Hotline is available to pre-order on vinyl from WRWTFWW
Key Track: ‘The Racers We Lost’
Groove Remote’s Pick:
Pearl & The Oysters – ‘Planet Pearl’ [Self-Released]
As I write this, I’m hit with major FOMO knowing Pearl & The Oysters are performing Planet Pearl just 90 miles away in Austin, TX. I only discovered them last summer through the podcast ‘Primer’, which explored city pop albums. Hearing them shamelessly ooze over ‘Pacific’ and inspiration from Haruomi Hosono, I dove into their previous album, Coast 2 Coast. It was a smooth listen with plenty of nods to AOR, city pop, and R&B—so when I saw they were releasing ‘Planet Pearl’ just a few months later, I was excited. It felt like skipping the line for the party.
‘Planet Pearl’ still holds onto Pearl & The Oysters’ signature mix of playful synths and melodic charm, but it feels like a departure from Coast to Coast. While the previous album effectively leaned into R&B and city pop nostalgia, this one feels more experimental, with offbeat lyrical themes and a quest for touches from other genres.
With ‘Side Quest’ as the opener, Pearl & The Oysters set the tone for the quirky, freewheeling spirit of the album. The synths swirl, guitars shimmer, and the bass sounds like it’s having a field day at a park—perfectly capturing the playful dissociation hinted at in the lyrics. From there, ‘Planet Pearl’ bounces between genres effortlessly, with each track painting a different place in time and space.
While many tracks, like ‘Side Quest,’ explore somber or dissociative themes, the duo’s knack for bright, sweet melodies gives the album an ironic charm. It’s a bit like having a deep conversation at a fun party—everything sparkles on the surface, even if there’s something heavier underneath.
Overall, ‘Planet Pearl’ feels like a perfect extension of Pearl & The Oysters’ playful discography. It’s an album that extends the opportunity for you to both dance and reflect—whether you’re at the show or, like me, just spinning the record at home, wishing you were there. Here’s to hoping they fly back from ‘Planet Pearl’ soon to give us Earlthing’s another visit.
Key Track: ‘Side Quest’
Fakeman’s Pick:
Jingoro – ‘Times We Had’ [Self-Released]
As 2024 starts giving off those autumnal hints that it’s coming to a close, we need more than ever some hot and fresh future funk straight out the kitchen. This time around that spicy injection comes courtesy of Jingoro, with the appropriately named EP: ‘Times We Had’.
This pure and unbridled future funk party is chock-a-block with tastefully chosen samples that take us through the high energy ‘Agent Girl’ and ‘Heartbreak City’ through to the Vapor-esque dreamy retrospective that is the titular ‘Times We Had’. Manchester’s Jingoro is ensuring we make the most of the fading daylight.
It’s a far too short and sweet, yet it’s pure escapism for the future funk connoisseur… Those final days of summer where you take the yacht out just one last time; that final beer on the deck.
Key Track: ‘Times We Had’
Rob’s Pick:
Dan Mason – ‘Dream’ [Self-Released]
In this beautiful new track, Dan Mason’s deep-in-the-mix vocals are enveloped by circling, hypnotic ambience – as delicate synth notes punctuate the track, melodically. The beat keeps our head forever nodding.
Maybe Dan was trying to calm the impending storm, as he resides in Florida (we hope you’re safe, Dan!). Either way, this is a lovely slice of ambient chillpop from a master of the vaporwave genre.
‘Dream’ comes not long after another single from the summer, ‘Holy’ – a fat shoegaze type affair with sang/shouted vocals borrowed from Tears For Fears, and equally worthy of repeated plays.
Dan recently told the ‘Hot Takes’ podcast (being somewhat deliberately provocative) that “vaporwave is dying, and has been in decline for a long time.”
He reflected that it needs a “big push to get people excited again“, and that he’s been feeling this way for a couple of years, and sees the genre’s peak as having happened in 2019. You get a feel that Dan is pushing against the long tail of “classic” vaporwave in these recent couple of releases.
Whatever Dan does next, and what form that takes, we’re here for it – and always consider him a unique and progressive producer in this now (in our opinion) very broad church of vaporwave.
Key Track: ‘Dream’
Thom’s Pick:
Kuroi Ame x Eulalie – ‘Dreaming Machines’ [Pure Life]
My pick is the titular track from Kuroi Ame and Eulalie’s collaborative album, recently released on Pure Life Records.
‘Dreaming Machines’ is a gorgeous, melodic IDM track with whispered & autotuned vocals. There are clever touches, such as the acoustic ride loop that cycles between different cymbal articulations, but overall it is direct, poppy and euphoric. It’s a great vocal performance with crisp production, reminiscent of ambitious pop like Fever Ray. Over and done in less than 3 minutes, it is the climax of the album, setting up the credits-sequencey ‘Black Rain’.
This music was performed across Japan last month, and is due to be reprised in Todmorden at the end of October at the labour-of-love Pure Life x Iklectik festival.
Key Track: ‘Dreaming Machines’
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