A promising track of EP2, plays around with a catchy and naive vocal phrase, insisting that ‘Sometimes It’s Hard’. The statement, sung by a soft but mechanical female voice, is underlined by a glitchy and relentless breakbeat layered with visceral subs. The track’s weltschmerz disposition is equally seductive and destructive, which makes ‘Sometimes It’s Hard’ an unusual tune that will satisfy both seasoned ravers and a wider festival crowd.

EP2’s mesmerising cover art, a piece created for affected called ‘Crinoid Scanner’, was made by local 3D artist Caroline Vang. The work is inspired by the alien yet familiar look of crinoid fossils. Finding her inspiration in the most alien and quirky parts of nature, Vang specializes in an experimental and surreal play of texture and shape, to challenge the line between fiction and hyper-reality.

Sometimes It's Hard is mastered by SUGAR aka. Nikolaj Jakobsen in Copenhagen.

Hedo Hydr8 - Sometimes Its Hard

A sweltering entity pierces the veil of our atmosphere, a shimmering light echoes a warning of its arrival.

Exploited Body returns to Changeless with their earth-shattering two track EP. 'Collapsar' is a high-octane, howling, extraterrestrial banger caving in on itself, with its relentless drums and harrowing screeches clawing their way into the physical realm. 'Syrtis' is a deceptive slow-burner that halfway through the track reassembles itself in double-time through hyperactive breaks and disjointed rhythms.

’Collapsar / Syrtis’ will be released 11th November via Changeless.

Written, produced, mixed & mastered by Nori Kin.
Artwork by Jesse Draxler, Nori Kin & Samuli Vienola.

@exploitedbody

Collapsar / Syrtis

Exploited Body - Syrtis

After a five-year hiatus, Isaka returns with ‘Elytra’, a work exploring the increasingly blurred lines between organic and artificial realities. In her self-defined 'hyperbass', 'Elytra' blends low-end grit with a melodic pop sheen, morphing erratic rhythms, intricate sound design and hyperpop vocals that balance formal sensibilities and visceral club energy. 
Isaka underwent the transformative experience of medical transition during her move to Berlin and this radical change emerges in the thematic exploration of Elytra. 
Isaka uses insect moulting as a metaphor for the cyclical, often traumatic process of metamorphosis and the EP’s exploration of adaptation and articulation where skin is not only a boundary of the self, but also the interface for our surroundings. 
Themes of evolving identity are woven not only into the music but also into the visual art, zine & custom website accompanying the release. A different character represents each of the tracks, brought to life through a deep iterative process involving collages, sketches, and an array of AI-assisted 3D imagery. Limited-edition electronic sculptures will also be produced for ‘Elytra’.

Tracks in focus

Bubbly textures and frenzied drum cuts move side-by-side with NPC inspired vocal chops in opening track Slang Overload. Made in collaboration with TRYCE over an intense three-day session in 2023, it’s a nod towards glitch-hop revival with elements of UK Bass, packed with meticulously sculpted and destroyed sounds.

In Circuit Shaker we enter metallic low-end stepper territory: celestial tripped-out highs and a driving low end. We are cohabiting with lesbian androids at a picnic. With its off-kilter grooves and tender strangeness, Circuit Shaker embodies the inherent weirdness of intimacy—the paradoxical freedom of losing yourself when the boundaries blur between who's wearing who. The track, which first began in 2018, is a footwork, house, and electro-inspired tune which transitions between two sections at 120 and 160 BPM through polyrhythmic syncopation.

Isaka and Enayet combine for the third track, NYC 2016, a wigged-out hard hitter where drums are the main character. NYC 2016 is the ultimate DJ tool—a sonic exoskeleton whose essence straddles alienation and empowerment. Forged through countless late-night sessions with Enayet between 2016 and 2017, this track embodies the raw energy of a city’s underground dance scene where jackhammer kicks and clattering snares assault the senses. 

7Qubit explores dehumanization through platform capitalism and is alive with bugs and the quirks of  the obsessive virtualisation of the self. Imagined through a 15/4 time signature grime beat and echoes of malfunctioning code, Isaka hints at our endangered humanity. Isaka’s vocals about missing her chatbot girlfriend are processed through AI models and auto-tune, blurring the line between the organic and the synthetic. 

The final track on ‘Elytra’ takes you to the edge where all the layers fall away and what remains is the raw and unadorned self. Glittering ethereal textures are underpinned by an engulfing bass section that reverberates against the edges of the song. With its poignant melodies and delicate yet impactful percussion, Precipice is a meditation on a moment of self-realization. The track builds towards an overwhelming wall of sound before dropping into a stark sample: “Being trans… is spiritual.” Featuring quotes from Hunter Schafer’s character Jules in Euphoria, processed through an AI model trained on Isaka’s voice, this track explores the complexities of identity and self-discovery.

NYC 2016

Taken from SBKT067: 96 Back - tender, exit
Release date: 27th November 2024
Limited vinyl + digital

---

For his sixth 96 Back LP, Evan Majumdar-Swift found himself writing “a long form eulogy” to his years living in Manchester while preparing for an imminent move to London. Initially intended as a series of technical exercises, which saw the artist radically stripping back his established production setup, over the last two years tender, exit gradually took on the form of an emotional landscape, mapped in transit between two cities. “The overarching concept of the record is cycles, recognising them, loving them, and tearing yourself away from them,” he says. Heard together, the project takes on the pace and cadence of a passionate conversation with a loved one.

Full press release - https://svbkvlt.bandcamp.com/album/tender-exit

tender, exit

96 Back -  DUI2

Following the launch of the Eyes series, Early Reflex welcomes back Ikävä Pii for “Eyes II”, the second entry in this exploratory two-tracker format. 

Possibly the darkest tracks Ikävä Pii has produced to date, ‘False Binaries Fight for Primacy’ and ‘Permaweird’ are two detailed and twisted club tunes, encapsulating the perennial state of frustrated urgency of our times. 
Uneasy feelings are conveyed in both tracks, and refracted through the artist’s signature playful approach.
False Binaries Fight for Primacy is driven by the eerie ambiguity of its major/minor harmony, and a relentless rhythmic section that nods to post-punk as much as the track’s distorted, shouty vocals. The unsettling main theme of Permaweird is hinged on an alteration of the Locrian mode (often deemed the “weirdest” mode), and its timbre, albeit recalling familiar patches from the Process Fatigue era, here paints a much darker picture. 
Topical and heartfelt, these tracks update Ikävä Pii’s sound with an uncanny mutation, material for a standout moment in a club set. Already secret weapons in Ikävä Pii’s live show for nearly a year, they’ve left heads spinning on dancefloors in UK, Europe and beyond, and now find their proper home on Early Reflex.

Ikävä Pii said:
“What’s the purpose of club music in a climate where alienation is the norm and outdated narratives are collapsing?
We live in the permaweird: reality gets increasingly absurd, and yet we adapt to it every day.
Nothing to fight for: digital vs physical, liberal left vs authoritarian right, old vs young - just false binaries. There must be another way. 
In the meantime, activate punk mode, shout in the mic, use stranger scales. 
The only real binary is rich vs non-rich (and that’s what clubs should be about).
Thanks Venkatesh Rao and David Rudnick for the inspiration.”

‘Eyes II’ is available on all platforms starting from Friday 2nd May 2025.

© & ℗ 2025 Early Reflex. All rights reserved.

All tracks produced and mixed by Ikävä Pii at Niche Studio, London § Mastering at CB5 Studios § Artwork by Alessandro Scanu.

Eyes II

Permaweird

OUT NOW

Ikävä Pii - Permaweird

setsy

This is what it sounds like if you drink space juice :) enjoy
"There was once a drink so powerful, that not even they could handle it...Space Juice"

DOWNLOAD: https://hypeddit.com/viceselex/spacejuice
INSTA: www.instagram.com/viceselex
TIKTOK: www.tiktok.com/@viceselex
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/@viceselex

Free Download

Vice Selex - Space Juice

POWER is the moment 
PARADOXXX steps out of the shadows and into your line of sight.
A clash of Bass, Chaos and control this track wrestles with old battles, flips doubt into dominance, 
and pulls your straight into his world. 
Every drop is a command.
Every layer is a confrontation
And when he says "feel it," he means it.

POWER

Slang

FULLSCREEN

Fullscreen

Buy // Stream

FAUSTO MERCIER - MIND BUSINESS (Ice_Eyes Remix)

Cassette/download:
https://petrola80.bandcamp.com/album/now-thats-what-i-call-yelzin
https://www.instagram.com/petrola_80/

@hjalte-lehmann-974813166
@petrola-80
@lyravalenza

Yelzin - Basic Instinct

beyond style. beyond space.

🆕💿 POL100 - Eyes V - out now
https://earlyreflex.bandcamp.com/album/eyes-v

contacts & licensing earlyreflexearly@gmail.com
(not accepting demos atm)

Ikävä Pii - Permaweird

early reflex