At Delayed, consistency and vision matter. That’s why we’re always happy to shine a light on those who keep pushing forward with purpose. Berlin-based label Art Bei Ton is marking its seventh anniversary with a standout compilation titled Faded Mystical Journey, a cohesive 8-track release that moves from shadowy, atmospheric depths into rich, hypnotic territory.

The compilation features contributions from longtime friends of our platform, familiar names, and some exciting discoveries. Today’s premiere comes from a friend of Delayed: the Japanese sound architect Makiko Iwaki, known to many as Menou when performing live, and Iwamaki behind the decks.

Here, she appears in her Menou guise with Singularity, the opening track on the release. It’s a meditative, slow-burning drone that sets the tone beautifully. Singularity is a slow exhale, a layered drone that feels still, but never static. It builds with grace, tension, and care. Menou creates a space that’s both calming and charged, a paradox that works effortlessly.

Faded Mystical Journey drops May 16 via Art Bei Ton’s Bandcamp. Happy seventh, Art Bei Ton, here’s to the next chapter.

https://soundcloud.com/makiko-iwaki

https://soundcloud.com/art-bei-ton

www.instagram.com/iwakimakiko/

https://www.instagram.com/art_bei_ton/

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There’s a space between life and death where memory, emotion, and rhythm blur into something unspoken, that’s where Vanta begins. “Between Life and Death”, his debut album on IO Records, draws from personal upheaval, pairing stark introspection with glimmers of defiance. The project navigates the tension between collapse and healing, with tracks like “Intrusive Thoughts” and “Void” oscillating between vulnerability and strength. It’s a record that doesn’t offer resolution, only presence, a sonic companion for those walking their own edge.

Opening with “Dissociative Drift”, Vanta wastes no time setting the emotional temperature. The track feels like falling into a dream you half-remember, bleepy percussion echoing like distant signals, submerged beneath fog-thick drones and viscous synth lines. It’s less a song than a state of mind, evoking the sensation of floating through murky water, unsure if you’re surfacing or sinking. A slow, syncopated pulse guides you, not forward, but inward.

“Between Life and Death” arrives on May 13 via IO Records. Pre-orders are live now on Bandcamp.

https://soundcloud.com/vanta_techno

https://soundcloud.com/iorecs

https://www.instagram.com/v_ant_a/

https://www.instagram.com/io.records/

Write up by @gilleswasserman

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Obscure shapes rise in the distance, a haze of smoke obscures all. Movements seem slow and time is but a figment of the imagination. The focus turns inward as a sense of calmness encompasses, letting the mind relax. Overhead the sky is black, but filled with stars, with brief flashes of light as celestial bodies march across the heavenly vista.

This mental imagery springs to mind when listening through Pierre Nesi aka Owl’s forthcoming LP, titled, ‘Fragments of Darkness’ on the storied Korean imprint, Huinali Recordings. A wonderful pairing, and an instant listen whenever either name pops up. Fragments of Darkness will be Owl’s second release, following 2022’s ‘Forest Shadow’. Coincidentally not, another must listen if you’ve not heard already.

Lanterns Illuminate The Infinite Space comes as the final, 7th track to the musical odyssey that Owl has crafted. Beautiful, soft pads lead off and establish a warm atmospheric vibe. The light to the darker moments in the release, the counter that Pierre is so adept at crafting. Ebbing and flowing, the track expands and soon a prominent melody emerges, accented by flashes of synths that give structure and development.

Fragments of Darkness will be released on May 12th, off of Huinali Recordings, on all platforms.

@owlfromdeepspace

@huinalidub

www.instagram.com/pete_owl/

Write up by @huedj

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The internet gave us wild ways to connect, but it still can’t beat the real thing - meeting people in real life. A few months ago, we found ourselves in our beloved Barn deep in the Catskills, surrounded by trees, friends, and a four-day blur of heavy tunes and strange magic. That’s where we met Verena, aka Ena B. We connected through mutual friends and a shared pull toward deeper, dubbier, stranger sounds, and just like that, a new link was made.

Her “Delayed with…” mix is a slow-burner in the best way. It moves with intention, breaky, heady, and atmospheric, full of space and subtle pressure. There’s a patience to her selections, a confidence in the flow. Ena B may be new to the fold, but she speaks the language fluently. Expect more transmissions soon.

Tracklist:

Wata Igarashi – Searching (Original Mix)

Feral – Kykeon (Original Mix)

Donato Dozzy, Anna Caragnano – Fraledune (Original Mix)

Martin Schulte – Walk (Original Mix)

Steevio – Mŵg Drŵg

Luigi Tozzi, NTOGN – Wsjr (Orphx Mix)

RDS – Onvoorwaardelijk

Vril – Terraformink (Original Mix)

Buttechno – P-L (Original Mix)

J.S. Zeiter – Granular (Original Mix)

Hidolas, Quitula – Missing Element (Original Mix)

Artificial Drm – Anatolian (Original Mix)

Error Etica – Hologram Universe (Estrato Aurora Remix)

https://soundcloud.com/enabofficial

https://www.instagram.com/enabofficial//

Write up by @gilleswasserman

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Hailing from Sydney, Australia, artist Pannotia, under the Pure Space label, is releasing a five-track EP titled "Cell." This EP will be available on Bandcamp from 2nd May and immediately captivates with its own twang. This sound exists within a multitude of spaces, specifically in a realm called ‘Biozone’ in which this track is titled.

The music evokes a feeling of being recharged, discovering movements and forms that have always existed within but are now imbued with cosmic influence. Bionic and poetic, it offers an undeniably sexy slow groove that holds a special place on the dance floor, built upon bass-heavy foundations and a seductive, relaxed trance – a track capable of transporting us in any direction as it draws to a close.

@pannotia

@purespacefm

www.instagram.com/purespacefm/

Write up by @danpeplow

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Octo Åeterna is a producer and DJ deeply embedded in the darker edges of electronic music. With roots in South America's underground, he's spent years fine-tuning a sonic identity that draws on mathematical structures, probability, and organic chaos. His work, solo and through his Technologia Organica label, explores textured psychedelia, often grounded in nature's strange logic. Releases on Danza Nativa and his imprint showcase a careful but adventurous mind, balancing abstract sound design with dancefloor weight. Whether curating Noctambula nights or crafting vinyl releases, Octo's aesthetic is precise, immersive, and alive with intent.

His "Delayed with…" mix is a live recording from Berlin's legendary Tresor that happened in June 2023, and it plays like a transmission from a parallel biome. It begins in murky waters, ambient textures that ripple and curl like oil on a dark tide, then gradually locks into a loose-limbed, halftime pulse. Octo leans into polyrhythmic percussion and deep, sticky synths, shifting between grooves with surgical control. As the set evolves, four-to-the-floor rhythms rise like tectonic plates, grinding under a thick atmosphere. By the end, he cracks the structure open with broken beats and UK-leaning breaks, closing on a haunting and strangely euphoric note. It's a mix that mutates without losing shape, like watching an alien ecosystem reorganize in real time.

https://soundcloud.com/octoaeterna

https://www.instagram.com/octoaeterna

https://technologiaorganica.bandcamp.com

write up by @gilleswasserman

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Annuled Music is back with another gem, this time introducing Aawadh - a new alias from French producer and Cielo Records boss JC Laurent. Known for his deep, hypnotic take on techno, JC flips the script on Dyadica, an 8-track debut album that trades 4/4 for halftime pressure and lands somewhere in the 80/85 BPM zone. It’s packed with groove, weight, and that sweet spot between heady and physical. There’s room for ambient detours (Ignys), tribal techno nods (Nyteris), and and straight-up pressure with Oscillia, but the core vibe? Forward-thinking halftime drum & bass with real depth.

We’re premiering the second track from the album, Alkymis, which together with the opener Evolys kicks things off and sets the whole vibe. Eerie and energised, with a kind of ritualistic swing to it. The drums snap, the synths melt, and everything flows just right. There’s a UK breaks feel underneath, but it’s doing its own thing. Big system or headphones, club or commute, it hits. One of those tracks that makes the world move a little faster.

Dyadica drops May 2 via Annuled Music.

Write by @gilleswasserman

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/aawadh

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/annulled_music

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aawadh/

Bandcamp: https://annulledmusic.bandcamp.com

Long time friends Big City Bill and Neil E meet for a split EP of groovy driving house dubs on Naarm’s Spincycle Records. The BBV is laid out with kicking drums and lightly tapping percussions. A washed out pad drifts in and out sprinkling magic over listeners while an organ like bassline propels. It’s a slightly cheeky groove that makes you want to kick off your shoes and watch the sun go down with your friends. The programming is catchy and yet still kind of sneaks up, unfolding as the snappy hats and clap are revealed. Neil E’s contribution to Spincycle fits well next to their first release, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was also found in the record bags of discerning tech or progressive selectors.

On the flipside is Big City Bill’s, ‘Dry Rub’ a wiggly fun number that is bound to keep summer dancefloors bounding.

‘Fantastic Thoughts EP’ is out on April 28th. Pre-Order is Available Now.

@jackhnelson

@spincycle-recs

www.instagram.com/neil_e_/

www.instagram.com/spincycle___/

Write up by @iamdanimoto

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This mix has been brewing in my head for a while now.. An inkling of it first started to pop up back in October while we were at our biannual Delayed gathering in the mountains of upstate New York. I played a set with a dear friend on the Sunday morning there - cozy & hopeful music from various corners of our collections that don't get played very often but are set aside for special moments. My favorite kind of music.. It was one of the most memorable sets I've played & brought up a ton of emotions & memories from past experiences hearing some of those songs. Memories from my wedding, memories of my brother, memories from times living in Los Angeles when Sundays were all about lounging around all day in the sunshine after nights of dancing into the early hours of the morning. We laughed, cried, danced, ate lunch, all over the course of the morning into the early afternoon. It laid the foundation for how I wanted to approach this mix for Zach.

Sundays for me have always been a day of healing - mentally, physically, emotionally. It's a day to seek inner peace & a day to be reminded of everything you have to be grateful for in spite of anything else. I recorded this mix on a rainy Saturday earlier this month, channeling all of those memories & feelings, with my dog by my feet while my wife & daughter wandered about the house, making beaded bracelets & doing various arts & crafts.

From me to you, a warm hug & the promise of spring.

Words by @aspetuck

Track list:

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - The Milky Sea

Felbm - cycli infini (excerpt)

Neu! - ISI

Goesun - Peel Apart (What Was Once Sensible)

Paul Kalkbrenner - D-Zug

Dubtractor - M. U. R. M.

Static - Headphones (Starring Ronald Lippok)

Dubtractor - W30

Blue Lake - Oceans

Roedelius - Veilchenwurzeln

Dubtractor - I Don't Care

Frø - Beundrer Dig

Barefoot - Sleeper

Charles Webster - Put Your Hurt Aside

Horizon Fire - Piney Hills Blaze

Slow Mass - J.L. (Southfacing Remix)

Tensen Park - Water - Not A Sound

Andy Cato - Whose Groove

Repulsive Force - CSF Dub 6 Skit

System & Nils Frahm - Plus

Will Samson - Still Trains

People Press Play - These Days

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https://www.delayed.nyc/delayed-blog/label-spotlight-gifkikker

For the first of a new series highlighting record labels around the world, we bring you GIFKIKKER - a Brussels-based collective of friends birthed just after the pandemic. Their sound, imagery & adherence to a high level of quality piqued my interest right away when I stumbled upon their soundcloud a couple of months ago. There’s something very fresh about GIFKIKKER - their sound blurs the lines between high octane, driving techno & the more psychedelic, introspective & hypnotic side of things. And that logo.. it’s so compelling & describes their sound & ethos so well. They’ve made a big effort to foster an open-minded experimentalism while still holding onto a consistent mood & tone throughout their releases & their focus on lesser-known talent made them stand out to me right away, akin to a tide pool full of exciting new discoveries. In addition to being a label, they put on events in Belgium & also have a regular mix series ‘Dissection’ which features 20+ mind-bending sets from members of the collective & friends from the Brussels scene & beyond.

Today we’re premiering a track off of their next release from Berlin-based Ryft who has had a couple of GIFKIKKER appearances over the years. Enjoy ‘Resonator Rythms’ below as well as our interview with the GIFKIKKER collective about how it all came together, their take on the scene in Belgium at the moment & their friendship with Ryft.

Writeup by @aspetuck

Soundcloud: @pro_ryft

Soundcloud: @gifkikker-bxl

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryft.music

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gifkikker_bxl/

Bandcamp: https://gifkikker.bandcamp.com/music