New Electronica Adds: Helena Hauff and King Midas Sound and Fennesz

Helena Hauff - Discreet Desires: My girl Helena with a new LP off Werkdiscs showcasing her brilliant energetic percussive synth and drum work encapsulated in a theme of mortality/sensuality, with hints of electro and industrial techno. The first half is banging and carnal, the second half is a bit more speculative, ebbing, and restrained. Watch out for "Sworn to Secrecy Part II," a spooky growing beast that gives away underneath a female whisper and "Dreams in Colour," a pretty but creepy ambient interlude. CARRIE

RIYL: Actress, Holly Herndon

Recommended tracks: "Spur", "Sworn to Secrecy part II", "Dreams in Colour"

King Midas Sound and Fennesz - Edition One: King Midas Sound, a project of producer Kevin Martin (aka The Bug aka my favorite musician of all time) and vocalists Roger Robinson and Kiki Hitomi, return with a new album after a 5 year wait- a collaboration with Austrian ambient guitarist Fennesz. Fennesz’s deep washes of guitar are left to hover in the air by themselves in some tracks and anchored by heavy dub basslines in others, while Robinson and Hitomi provide melancholy, surreal vocals, using imagery of water and flooding to represent lost love and loneliness. While their previous record was grounded firmly in London club culture, this one seems more adrift, further out, less tied to the urban experience and more a journey within the head. Tense, immersive, and beautiful, this is one for a deep headphone journey. An essential release and one of my favorite records of the year. CARRIE

RIYL: Massive Attack, shoegaze meets dub in an underwater city

Recommended tracks: 4. “Loving or Leaving”, 5. “Melt”, 8. “We Walk Together"