Right then. Before we get into the music, we need to take a moment, because something rather special happened this week.

We threw down the gauntlet last issue (250 subscribers by Sunday). Honestly? Between you and I, we weren't entirely sure we'd pull it off. But here we are, staring down an extra hundred new subscribers in the space of seven days. That is absolutely mental, and every single one of you deserves a round of applause.

To everyone who shared the newsletter, told a friend, or just quietly hit the subscribe button: you are the reason this thing keeps growing. Genuinely. Thank you.

Right, enough of the soppy stuff. This week's transmission is an eclectic one. We're heading into exclusive territory with a world premiere from the KRZM Records camp in First Contact, before Peak Oscillations takes you through a techno and house portal (single and EP) before landing somewhere altogether more leftfield for the album of the week.

Buckle up. It's a good one.

This week's First Contact exclusive world premiere arrives via KRZM Records artist John Sense, who steps forward with the title track from his forthcoming Schlag Mich EP.

Across four tracks, John Sense carves out a distinctly acid-shaped corner of the European techno underground. However, it is the title track that leads the charge, and it is an absolute statement of intent.

Schlag Mich operates like a pressure valve. Punchy German vocal chops are slapped across a raw, driving rhythmic chassis as the track steadily winds the tension tighter through its first half.

Then, just as the heat builds to the mid-point, the track exhales; a breathy, weightless break surfaces, draped in lush string pads and further fragmented vocal cuts, offering a brief moment of suspension before a bristling acid line swaggers into frame and shunts the whole thing to an exhilarating conclusion. Schlag Mich is the kind of track that makes a room tilt on its axis.

The Schlag Mich EP drops soon on KRZM Records. Pre-order it on Beatport now, and listen to our exclusive premiere below.

This week's Peak Oscillations takes in a bit of everything; Detroit-flavoured house and techno, a London-brewed techno EP, and something altogether more leftfield for the album slot.

Ears at the ready.

Motech Records founder DJ 3000 returns to his own imprint with So Sheik, a release that plants one foot firmly in Detroit and the other somewhere altogether more sun-baked and exotic.

The original mix arrives with a housier disposition than you might anticipate from the Motor City veteran. A bounding, elastic bassline sets the foundation, while bead shakers and Arabic-inflected string plucks weave around it like threads through a loom.

The energy sharpens considerably as trumpet stabs punctuate the mix, sending the track skyward like a flare before a mid-point drop introduces the "So Sheik" vocal motif. Definitely a track loaded with the proverbial eastern promise.

Gerald Mitchell (operating as Los Hermanos) steps up first for remix duties, bringing an extraordinary depth of soul to the source material. He retains key elements from the original but subjects them to a warm makeover, draping the whole thing in lush keys and a deeply soulful flex.

Alexis Tyrel then strips the track back to its percussive skeleton, constructing a loose, pendulous rework where every chopped element feels like it's got a natural bounce built into it.

Finally, Detroit mainstay Salar Ansari closes the package with a driving, hypnotic rework that leans furthest into traditional techno architecture. Pummelling kicks and a growling synth bass anchor proceedings, while the "So Sheik" vocal motif is deployed with brilliant precision in the build before everything crashes back in with full-blooded, dancefloor-levelling force.

Across four versions, So Sheik covers an extraordinary amount of ground. Essential.

So Sheik is out now on Motech Records. Grab it on vinyl or digital from Bandcamp.

Radio Slave's Rekids offshoot RSPX makes an excellent addition to its roster with the debut EP from London-based producer ICYKOF. Drawing on a rich palette of influences (think M-Plant, Planet E, and Mahogani Music) and folding them through his own distinctly London lens, Space Talk is a confident, club-focused statement across three tracks.

Get Outta My Head opens proceedings with a tough-edged house groove built around muscular kicks, ICYKOF's own vocal refrain cutting through with an almost grime-like verve. Ravey synth stabs jab around the choppy vocal, giving the whole thing a raw, kinetic edge.

I Remember then notches the tempo upward into techier territory. Echoing bursts of bulbous synths barrel along the rolling percussion toward a mid-point drop that is certified to send the dancefloor into a state of beautiful chaos.

Glitter Trap closes the package by descending into altogether more cavernous terrain. A Mariana-deep bass throbs away in the lower depths while percussion skitters around the upper register, and escape-siren synths steadily amplify the unease until the whole thing feels like the walls are closing in.

A thoroughly impressive debut on the imprint. Space Talk is out now on RSPX. Get it on Bandcamp.

One of the great joys of underground electronic music is the sheer volume of it; the sprawling, ungovernable mass of sound that ensures genuine surprises are never far away if you know where to look.

It was during one such trawl (a typically drizzly UK evening, sofa firmly occupied, Instagram algorithm dialled in to almost exclusively music) that we stumbled upon the enigmatic Cognition Machine; a creative cooperative of mysterious producers orbiting around (we assume) classically trained musician Lars Koller.

Further investigation led us to Monday Museum II, a label compilation featuring the full Cognition Machine roster alongside a handful of carefully chosen guests. And, quite frankly, we are enormously glad it crossed our feed.

Fans of the more cerebral corners of the electronic spectrum (think Skam, Schematic, Raster-Noton, and Ghostly International) should find themselves on immediately familiar terrain here. Monday Museum II casts a wide net across the electronic music universe; from drone-laden rhythmical doomtronica through to playful, mercurial IDM, the full gamut is accounted for and then some.

Lars Koller shoulders the heaviest load on the compilation, appearing across four productions, and it is immediately clear why he sits at the heart of the collective.

Opener Carbon Reef (feat. Siphon Diver) sets the tone for the entire record; a lilting synth bell chimes amidst softly crackling static and swells of distortion, while a minimal, low-slung drum pattern sits atop a bass so deep it feels like something emanating from Jupiter's core. Boards of Canada comparisons feel entirely warranted (and rather topical this week).

Clay In Pain is arguably the most arresting of his contributions; an almost beatless piece save for sparse, random clicking that surfaces in its second half. The track doesn't so much enter your consciousness as seep into it, cell by cell, slow and viscous as a symbiote finding its host.

In collaboration with Creature, Cave of Cuts shifts into more rhythmically grounded territory, coupling a steady, lo-fi dancehall beat with beautifully ethereal synth waves and liquified plucks.

His final solo contribution, Missing 4 is a brief ambient interlude built around a soft guitar arpeggio played over lush pads, functions as a gentle palate cleanser at the album's midpoint; deceptively simple, deeply effective.

jamkiol provides some of the compilation's most energetically unpredictable moments. Warm Titanium opens with a throbbing, viscous low end that sets up a brooding downtempo framework, before a brilliantly unexpected live drum segment arrives to jettison the whole thing skyward.

West Edge// is a masterclass in rhythmic misdirection; a staunch 4/4 beat lulls you into a false sense of security before dissolving into an ambient wash, at which point a choppy, euphoric breakbeat balters onto the soundstage and shakes you firmly by the lapels.

Its immediate successor // DISPLAY SHELL then completely removes the lapels, the coat, and most of the furniture. A breakcore explosion that will have fans of Venetian Snares and Kid606 grinning from ear to ear, it is quite possibly our favourite moment on the entire record; a joyous reminder of exactly why we fell for this corner of electronic music in the first place.

Hybridize closes the album with a ten-minute epic that could not feel more earned. A slowly oscillating bass, minimal insistent hi-hat percs, and a repeating string pluck arpeggio combine to carry the record out on an emotional crest; the sense of forward motion and rebirth it generates is palpable.

Creature Seven's OZONED opens with a digital drip that ushers in some genuinely doomy synth work, the track mutating slowly through swathes of distortion atop a bass swell that feels like it is forever forging ahead into the unknown.

In collaboration with oonoow, the duo return for penultimate track DEMON BLUR; a brooding production where a deep bassline undulates beneath ebbing and flowing string pads, before a breakbeat seizes control of the second half with considerable force.

Sleeper Forum contributes Trench Transfer, which nudges the pace fractionally upward while keeping the mood resolutely dark. It occupies a space somewhere between aquatic techno and deep ocean pressure; murky, disorienting, and quietly thrilling.

oonoow is perhaps the most shape-shifting presence on the record. Coral Skull opens with synthetic gurgles and belches occupying a rhythm alongside a tip-toeing top end that dances playfully across the surface of the other elements, before dissolving into a Twin Peaks-esque reverie of reversed samples and hauntingly beautiful piano.

Driftwood Lullaby occupies a similarly dreamlike space, though of a considerably more febrile variety; incessant, probing synths poke and prod throughout, never quite permitting rest, generating instead a creeping sense of impending peril.

Sprinting Ink offers the record's most unambiguously hallucinatory experience; a full-blooded ambient piece that at its most immersive feels not unlike finding yourself unexpectedly deep in a psilocybin-related escapade.

Scorched Heart then gently shakes you back out of the reverie, its Aphex-adjacent charm carrying a strange, hauntological familiarity. Distorted percussion opens with a chaotic energy before a depth-charge sub slams into your sternum with considerable conviction.

Finally, 412's Hoboken carries a distinctly Japanese sensibility; minimal drums underpin a slow, measured rhythm while a synth traces a near-Zen melodic path. The track's folk-inflected intensity builds toward a closing segment where the pace lifts and the synthetic glass bell takes on an almost ceremonial quality.

Monday Museum II is, without doubt, a joy to absorb. We highly recommend checking out Cognition Machine’s wider discography. A very exciting project. Grab the album on Bandcamp, pronto.

You don't have to read everything — just the right thing. 1440's daily newsletter distills the day's biggest stories from 100+ sources into one quick, 5-minute read. It's the fastest way to stay sharp, sound informed, and actually understand what's happening in the world. Join 4.5 million readers who start their day the smart way.

Join for free today!

That wraps things up for transmission #7. A huge thank you to every single one of you who helped us smash through that 250 subscriber milestone this week; the speed at which this community is growing continues to blow us away, and we are genuinely grateful for every share, every recommendation, and every new pair of ears tuning in.

We will be back in your inbox next Sunday with another packed edition. Gliesse steps up to the controls for the next instalment of Waveform Sessions, delivering what we fully expect to be a sublime hour of listening from one of the most exciting producers we have come across in recent memory. If you caught his CEERS premiere back in issue #5, you already know what he is capable of.

Until then, take care of each other on the dancefloor, and we will see you on the flip.

Want to let us know what you think? If you liked this issue, please leave us some feedback (and also send us a reply and let us know if there’s anything you particularly liked or hated!)

Check out these other awesome communities and get involved in their conversations…

Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Waveform get’s a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you. We will only ever partner with reputable brands, and will only ever serve partnership content that has value to our faithful readers. This just helps keep the lights on, the tea brewing, and the newsletter FREE for you to enjoy.