We Do Recover, the new album from Powell and his first album proper on his own Diagonal Records, is a vitalising record of recovery and a statement of reassurance. The music is intensely emotional and lean, and forms a uniquely expressive story that opens up new ground in the artists’s bizarre continuum of synthesised sound — this time triggered by experiences of grief and addiction.   

The suicide of one of his life-long friends in 2024 was a life-changing loss which eternally altered Powell’s life, and consequently his music. A period of recovery followed, one accompanied by the assembling of this album from hours of music made between 2018 and 2025. “After my friend’s death I felt I went into a tailspin, but really, I was already in one,” he says. “I found myself unable to handle anything – my way of coping was always to run away and escape. I realised it was going to kill me, so I made some changes. It made me see the music I had been making through a different lens, one that mirrored my experience of recovery. It’s not linear, it’s often difficult, but there is beauty there if you look hard enough. I wanted it to be a message of hope, if only for myself.”  

Powell has existed of late in an intensive mode of creation that utilises stochastic processes (probabilistic events) and a particular sonic palette. But where previous releases – such as the many prongs of his a ƒolder project, or the hyper-synthetic Piano Music 1—7 on Editions Mego – interrogated and developed formal processes for synthesised sound, on We Do Recover the processes are subsumed as tools for expression. What unfolds is an extended suite of minimal music that articulates and traces an intensive period of upheaval, pain, and hope; tight envelopes of sonic architecture are led astray; energies explode beyond bounds previously set. We can feel the collapse of control, and an overflowing sense of something starting anew. It is, in turn, surprising, baffling and beautiful.

The story begins with the radiance and glittering synthetic tones of ‘All These Feelings’—like looking up into the vastness of the night sky. By track seven the wonder has become unsteady, with wayward keys, stochastic shapes, brittle fizz and hurried words emerging, unprompted, from the stillness. There is percussive brutalism in ‘Relapse’, and ’Afterlife’ brings weight and solemnity in its funereal refrain. Four-to-the-‘floor ‘Newborn’ turns the lights on as an equilibrium of sorts is sought and wrestled with, before ‘So Rivers Plunge’ sings like nobody’s listening — a MIDI orchestra warming up in the box while the laptop remains asleep. Closing track ‘The Bitter End’ is no ending at all, instead promising a future in shimmering torques, caught on the wind of hope. It returns to us, with renewed awe, the starlight we began with. 

WDR LIVE will premier as an expanded audio-visual show in London at the ICA in London on 4th October — a specially-curated evening of mutant electronic music featuring Florian Hecker and Marcin Pietruszewski, and as a rare live appearance of Concrete Fence (Regis x Russell Haswell). The show continues Powell’s ongoing collaboration with Swiss filmmaker Michael Amstad and Norwegian visual artist Marte Eknæs, who worked on the film/image component of a ƒolder. Amstad and Eknæs also took the photograph on the album cover, a technicolour image of a pregnant male seahorse, its swollen belly at once fragile and beautiful.

WDR is the first full-length solo album Powell has ever released on his own label Diagonal – all other releases have been EPs, 12”s, or collaborations — and so it represents a landmark in his catalogue in more ways than one. “I nearly added a question mark to the album title,” he says. “Recovery is a long process, and the album reflects that. There’s a lot of short termism in the world right now, but recovery, in whatever guise, is the opposite of that… It takes time.” 

We Do Recover

Buy 'We Do Recover'

Powell 'Life' from We Do Recover [DIAG070]

Taken from 'Yume', released November 05, 2025 on Ninja Tune: https://yukimi.lnk.to/yumeSo

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All Over Me

Buy/stream: https://kompakt.fm/releases/speicher_136

Michael Mayer became obsessed with Erik Luebs, an American producer based in Osaka, after stumbling upon his independently released music on Bandcamp. Luebs’ talent for creating high-energy, minimalist acid techno with impeccable, futuristic sound design swiftly earned him a regular place in Mayer’s sets. It was only a matter of time before Luebs made his debut on Kompakt’s Speicher series with this highly versatile EP. ‘Riding the Blade’ opens the four-track EP, showcasing Luebs’ signature punchy psychedelia. ‘Scarlet Viscera’ features a sleek, minimal groove that is reminiscent of the genre’s heyday in the 2000s. ‘Transform Into Glass’ emanates blissful Detroit vibes, and the EP closes with a real bang: ‘Sucked Through Tube’ creates a frenzy on the dance floor without the need for a single kick drum. If you like your techno sexy and forward-thinking, there’s no way around the man from Osaka. Play it loud!

Sucked Through Tube

Erik Luebs - Sucked Through Tube

Buy/stream: https://kompakt.fm/releases/the_floor_is_lava_remixe_12

Michael Mayer, aka Mr. Lava Lava asked a bunch of his absolute favourite artists to have a go at some of the tracks from his recent album 'The Floor Is Lava'. First up is Barcelona's brightest flame, RAXON, who is melting 'Brainwave 2.0' into a stompin fun-filled primetime banger. Longtime collaborator DAVE DK is a masterful producer and remixer that appears regularly on Pampa and Kompakt. His take on 'The Solution' feels like a road trip to paradise and back. Montreal's PRIORI is one of the hottest names in showbiz right now. His ability to bridge genres and create pristine sound designs is fully on display in his remix for 'The Solution'. Last but not least, the legend that is SEBASTIAN MULLAERT took a moment off from his revered Circle Of Live jams to transform the albums deepest cut 'Ardor' into an extraordinary musical journey. Oldschool Border Community vibes in the rebound!

Ardor (Sebastian Mullaert’s Wide Eye Disco Spell)	 

Michael Mayer - Ardor (Sebastian Mullaert’s Wide Eye Disco Spell)

Buy/stream: https://kompakt.fm/releases/let_me_go_extended_version

The steely, almost industrial sounding percussions in the intro to HARDT ANTOINE’s new single “Let Me Go” are truly amongst the most unusual and yet highly effective grooves we’ve heard this summer. With every added layer Antoine manages to stir up new emotions and intensifies the levels of deepness and soulfulness. “Let Me Go” ticks all the boxes to become one of the most recognizable and cherished tunes of the season and is already getting heavy support from all the usual suspects.

Let Me Go (Extended Version)

Hardt Antoine - Let Me Go (Extended Version)

Pre-order: https://kidqemist.bandcamp.com/album/mtxlt779-the-new-juke-tape

Memphis DJ and producer Qemist (@k-ds) returns to @moveltraxx with 'The New Juke Tape', a genre-blurring EP that channels the frenetic energy of Chicago footwork while grounding it in the grit, swing, and soul of Memphis music.

The result is a forward-thinking club record equally rooted in tradition and primed for underground dancefloors, featuring collaborations with DJ Manny and Marcella Simien. 

More exclusive music

Premiere: Qemist 'She Wanna Vibe'

Pre-order: https://kessleruk.bandcamp.com/album/tender-void

'Kohrt' is a small taste of what's to come from @kess1er's debut outing on Washington DC's @3024world, due to land next month in the shape of four new tracks. 

Premiere: Kessler 'Kohrt'

Pre-order: https://hodgebristol.bandcamp.com/album/hodge-marsh-lane-ep

@hodgebristol returns to his Two Moons label with a new four-track EP, 'Marsh Lane', written during the process of working on his first live set which debuted during Mutek Montreal this summer.

'Marsh Lane' channels dancefloor energy with a focus on world-building, tension, and the gritty roots of UK bass music.

Premiere: Hodge 'Pluck'

Original air date ~ 3rd December 2009

We talk to iconic Melbourne renegade Rowland S. Howard, who's playing the Homebake Festival this weekend in support of his first new studio album in a decade, the powerful "Pop Crimes".

2SER-FM's "Static" playlist for Thursday 3rd December was as follows ...
 
LATE OF THE PIER "Blueberry" (Zarcorp/Parlophone)
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE "What Would I Want? Sky" (Domino)
BEACH HOUSE "Norway" (Sub Pop/Mistletone)
ROWLAND S. HOWARD "The Golden Age Of Bloodshed" (Liberation)
HOT CHIP "One Life Stand" (EMI)
DANIEL JOHNSTON "I Had Lost My Mind" (Eternal Yip Eye Music/Hub)
BOY & BEAR "Mexican Mavis" (www.myspace.com/boyandbearmusic)
JONATHAN BOULET "Community Service Announcement" [THE ALBUM LEAF Remix] (Modular)
ELIZABETH FRASER "Moses" (Rough Trade)
GIRLS "Ghost Mouth" (Fantasy Trashcan/Pod)
SPOON "Written In Reverse" (Merge/Spunk!)
LINDSTRØM "Little Drummer Boy" (Smalltown Supersound)

"Static" can be heard on 2SER (107.3FM) on Thursdays between 8pm and 10pm ... or stream live online at www.2ser.com
Past episodes can be streamed on-demand at www.mixcloud.com/static2SER

Rowland S. Howard ~ Interviewed on 2SER's Static

Static is a weekly new music program on Sydney public radio station 2SER-FM, which debuted in 1992.
For over 30 years, hosts Berko and Mick have been at the forefront of championing new bands and music trends, with up-to-the-second fresh releases from around the world.
Each week's show blends everything from alternative pop to underground rock, eclectic electronica, post-everything and much more.
Every week Berko speaks in-depth to an artist on the show ... these are those interviews.
Stream full programs at www.2ser.com/static

Rowland S. Howard ~ Interviewed on 2SER's Static

static2SER

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