2026 began with a couple of golden releases that have influenced our featured content this month. The selection of 35 tracks includes, as usual, a "best of" compilation featuring the finest tunes we've encountered in January, concluding the playlist with elements that shape our musical preferences.

At its core, Simple Love EP balances intimacy and groove. The title cut drifts through smoky, jazz-touched broken beat, while other moments explore dustier bruk rhythms and soulful house tones that nod to New Jersey and London.

A record that doesn't demand your attention so much as it earns it, settling into the room like a comfortable evening breeze.

True to the alias, very little is revealed beyond the music itself. Jazz, funk, dub, fusion and library moods all drift through the EP, filtered through an obvious love for Chicago and Detroit foundations.

45 tracks shot in the air by the end of December, deepening our appreciation for what came out during this month.

Individuación EP reflects both creative freedom and a clear sense of identity — stripped-back club tools with personality, designed to travel easily from headphones to late-night floors.

Summer Cuts feels like a short, sunlit window into a scene that values movement, collaboration, and groove above all else.

It’s about mood, detail, and the kind of atmosphere that lingers long after the needle lifts.

Jazzbois’ warm, fluid musicianship drifts effortlessly through Gnork’s house-rooted, groove-forward sensibility, creating a sound that’s both loose and locked in.

Whether you're chasing something deeper or just looking for gritty, soulful cuts, Nicewon VA hits the spot with undeniable precision.

Whether you lean deep into the Rhodes hum or the dusty drum-machine shuffle, the EP is kind of a homecoming: for Eglo Records, the man behind it, and maybe for a groove-hungry listener ready for something honest and soulful.

On A Light From The Basement, that balance becomes a subtle, immersive journey: dub-tinged atmospheres, ambient textures and broken-beat motion swirl together, creating a space where introspection meets rhythm.

Cinematic elegance of layers of saxophone, double bass, Rhodes and ambient textures - a sound deeply rooted in jazz but freely dancing into house and broken beat territory.

45 tracks for the soul. November went by supersonic in the waves of the usual eclectic features we made over this month

Every so often a record lands that feels like a car rolling out onto a midnight street — wheels whirling, chrome gleaming, bass thumping.

Deep diving into the crate-digger's paradise of 70s and 80s Bollywood Disco, filtered through the pair's signature production style that has long defined the Energy Exchange imprint’s reputation for fusing broken beat, future soul, and jazz-rave aesthetics.

This split release, which features two contributions from Higuchi alongside Ringer's own tracks, stems from a meditation on progress and purpose. Deep house finesse.

In Analog Stories Vol. 5, Abacus’s stripped-back power really shines — a quietly bold statement, perfect for late-night sets or introspective moments.

Deeply rooted in UK sound system culture but always pushing forward, blending soulful textures, lush harmonies, and kinetic broken rhythms.

Workerz' Club Niellucciu is a sonic tribute to the rich traditions of Corsica, wrapped in the rhythm of modern beats crafted by a variety of producers.

On Attention Shift he steps back from the everyday flow, inviting the listener into a space where music becomes focal again — re-aligning attention not just to the beat, but to the feeling behind it.

Brazilian maestro Zopelar returns with a stunning new four-track EP, Just Like Heaven, a release that effortlessly blends depth, rhythm, and soul.

Born in Istanbul and refined in Berlin, Mâi brings a global pulse to his work, layering echoes of oldschool Disco, Funk, Early House, Jazz and Fusion into something fresh and danceable.

The album’s 8-track double LP format comfortably allows him to stretch wide: house grooves, bruk rhythms and even techno touches all wear his signature soulful brush.

If you’ve been scanning the fringes of the internet for fresh sonic perspectives, then the Australian underground scene, portraited by La Sape Records’ compilation Downundaground II is worth a deep dive.

From the opening bars of the title cut, you sense the warm sincerity: brass flickers, vocal phrases hover, and a polyrhythmic grid pulses with life.

Werkha’s work, which has consistently impressed with its fusion of analogue jazz-funk and UK electronica, is on full display here, delivering a blend of jazzy, broken-beat electronics and rich, warm aesthetics.

Everything about this one feels confident — but in a subtle, understated way. A moment of quiet command. Class.

Following APRON JAPAN VOL. 1 (2023), London’s own Apron Records is back with another essential compilation, APRON EAST VOL. 2. The result feels like a late‑night transmission from some future‑funk orbit.