laaps-records.com Happy Thursday, friends. Last year, I managed to put together only a handful of mixes, and, as usual, I found myself wondering whether it was still worth the time and energy. That's a conversation we can finally have properly now, over on Headphone Community. But for all the self-questioning, some rituals are too important to abandon. Today marks the arrival of the 18th…
Label: InFiné Release: Evaporator Date: February 20th, 2026 Bandcamp This morning, I am listening to Nathan Fake's upcoming album, and I'm happy to share one of my favourite tracks with you. Nathan is an English electronic musician from Norfolk, widely recognised for his particular fusion of ambient, IDM, and techno. I will not slot his music into a specific genre, but if you're into the…
The following is an excerpt from an ongoing conversation with Richard Skelton, the current featured artist on Headphone Community. We have recently discussed his background and early formation, and now it's time to dive into his composition and sound craft. If you choose to join us, you will find some Bandcamp codes for many of Richard's albums [although it shouldn't be the main reason for signing…
Label: Apapachoa Records Release: Chambers Date: March 1st, 2026 Mastered By: Antonio Pulli at Saal 3 Artwork By: Dan Isaac Wallin aukaimusic.com | Bandcamp This morning, I'm delighted to share my time with the music of Markus Sieber, who has been enchanting my studio space with the sounds of his charango (and sometimes ronroco) as Aukai since the release of Branches of Sun in 2018.
It's been a while since I published my OUT TODAY column. In fact, I barely had the chance to dig through all the new music released in January, as I was busy publishing my Best of 2025 selections, rolling slowly through the month. January is still on the list. Plenty of unread emails in my Inbox (300+). Meanwhile, here is a list of releases from late last year that you will surely enjoy. By now…
laaps-records.com Good morning, and welcome to your Thursday. I may not have published many mixes this past year, but I can't let this one slip through the cracks. Tradition is a tradition. I've been hosting Mathias Van Eecloo's label showcase for almost half a decade, whereby he compiles two years of LAAPS and IIKKI releases into a single continuous mix. If you want to start at the beginning…
Label: n5MD Release: Falter Date: February 6th, 2026 Mastered By: 37n,122w Artwork By: Destiny Templeton-Wolfe Bandcamp Alright, folks. I just spent an entire month celebrating the Best of 2025 music with additional content (and Bandcamp codes for select albums) shared on Headphone Community. I must admit, I am extremely happy with how the platform is turning out, and yes…
Seven years ago, in 2019, I unveiled a new list, and I think we'll keep it going. It's fair to call this another tradition of sorts. If the title of this entry sounds familiar to you, that's not entirely by accident. As a long supporter of Brian Housman's words on music, I've been relying on Stationary Travels to pull me out of my vortex of sonic tunnel myopia and remind me of the sounds I've…
I've been writing about and talking with this British artist since his 2008 album, Marking Time, which was released on Preservation. Back then, I wasn't too much into interviews, and I tried to chat up my favourite artists with only a few lines, which I called "Two and a Half Questions". To me, Richard's music was always extremely poignant. At first, it didn't matter how and why it was made - what…
For the last eighteen years, this music haunted my breath, then cautiously moved through the ether and entered my bloodstream. This is the music of the ghosts lost in between the worlds. This is the music of the sacrificial rites where the dark is not exactly evil. This is the music of that silent gust on your neck following behind in your footsteps. It's comforting and warming when it's cold. It'…
For the last 18 years in a row (!!!) I managed to torture myself with great restraint in releasing these "Best of the Year" lists. This time, I spent an entire month with these selections, working with the featured artists and labels in generously sharing Bandcamp codes exclusively on Headphone Community [you can still join and grab them while they last!], thereby amplifying this celebration even…
Your mind is just a canvas; your life - projected film. Your skull is a museum of memories; your ego - a neurotic guard. Your consciousness is sleeping in this theatre, alone and undisturbed. Why not invite some music? There's plenty of empty space… Alongside this list, a small number of albums will also be shared within Headphone Community, where, thanks to all the artists' and labels'…
In the silent and sad mountains, music speaks without the lyrics. Words escape and rise in clouds, forming vapour, pain, and passion. Music, on the other hand, is harmless, floating low above the ground, spreading long and foggy fingers, through the grass and morning flowers. In this dark and lonely winter, snow begins to lightly tumble. There I sit without breathing, watching time pass in the…
Another sunset without you. How precious were those little moments… how futile are these tardy words. I didn't get a chance to tell you, although I sensed that you have known. I mourned your soul before departure, while you just smiled and spread the light. And so you're here, among, within me. This music makes us whole again. Alongside this list, a small number of albums will also be shared…
Have you ever walked in the autumn rain? Just like the sunshine warms the breezy beaches and the snow blankets the silent cemeteries, the rain drenches my clothes, and no, you can not tell that I'm crying. Covered from head to toe in the wetness and music, my feet plop through puddles as my mind flips through the memories. An image of a long-forgotten night, slightly opened windows…
Something warm, soft, and fuzzy is resonating on the inside of my ear canal. It travels through my cochlear labyrinth, where the sensory hair cells sway with the vibrations and generate electric signals, which in turn fire the synapse towards my primary auditory cortex. Somewhere within the Wernicke's area of my cerebral cortex, it all makes sense, and my hand moves, and my heart palpitates…
Abandoned places and desolate spaces, covered with rain, snow, and ash, wrapped in a blanket of white noise and pulsating bass, somewhat metallic, chilly, and wet. These are the images for these sounds for these places in my mind. Something is trembling with the beat of my heart. Tick-tock. Time rewinds to the mid-nineties, and I'm back in Berlin, and Moritz Von Oswald is cutting the wax on his…
Sit down. Stop thinking for a while. That thought? Let it go. Let it all go. Call it meditation, call it concentration, call it what you will, but let it go. That thought? Be above it and let it pass. Watch the thought pass through your mind. It passes as the air through your lungs passes. It passes as the blood through your heart passes. It goes as the river through the earth goes. It goes as the…
In the first instalment of Headphone Commute's Best of 2025, I gather my favourite selections of the year consisting of music that simply makes you feel. The albums in this list should just be classified as the soundtracks to your life. No other genre is required. I hope that you'll agree… Alongside this list, a small number of albums will also be shared within Headphone Community, where…