For decades, Shinichi Atobe was considered shadowy. Until last May, the 50-something Japanese artist had not been interviewed. He seldom performs, save for the occasional appearance at a space near his apartment in Saitama — such as WWW in Tokyo or the FFKT festival. “When I listen to great music, my own work can feel immature,” he tells me in an email, when questioned about his choice to stay private. “I still feel like I’m learning.” In spite of the humility and reclusiveness, Atobe’s discography is one of the most revered in deep house and techno.
Atobe emerged on Berlin’s Hard Wax in 2001, with the EP Ship-Scope. His road to Mark Ernestus’ institution was surprisingly quick. “Following high school, I wanted to be a rock guitarist. While struggling financially, I picked up second-hand CDs by Orbital and Hardfloor, which led me toward techno and electronic music,” he remembers. “Later, I discovered Maurizio’s M4, started producing, and sent a demo to Hard Wax. That was the beginning.”
His next transmission came over 10 years later, in 2014, when Demdike Stare’s DDS sought out the full-length Butterfly Effect. Atobe abandoned his day job shortly after and has not gone back. His output has been steadier, amassing a catalog of seven classics including Heat, Love Of Plastic, and Discipline. The sleeves typically feature photos of daily ephemera, and Atobe has shared exclusive images of his hometown with Stereogum.
Every Atobe piece is masterfully restrained. On standouts “Regret,” “Rain 3,” and “SA DUB 3,” it is difficult to identify more than three instruments in the arrangement. Pliable stabs wring atop four on the floor kicks — kissed by processing, but devoid of murk. His approach is as straightforward as it may seem, limited to Ableton Live and a MIDI controller on stage. “It feels like exploring chords and gradually clearing a fog,” Atobe muses, when asked what inspires him to create.
In 2025, Atobe unveiled the Plastic & Sounds label. “It simply felt like the right time,” he says of the decision. Its first complete installment, Silent Way, is named in reference to language teaching methodology and Miles Davis’ 1969 proto-ambient oddity, In A Silent Way — though Atobe asserts there is no firm meaning. The record injects Atobe’s polished drive with a lopsided quality. Danker registers come to the fore on “TRNS,” “Aquarius,” and “Defect.” Expansive single “Rain 1” offers a spiky, downtempo departure from the insistence. Where prior efforts rested in the winter sun, Silent Way is labyrinthine and mysterious.
PEAK TIME
djfix & Jek - "unknown species (Konduku Remix)"
New York City’s Earth Dog crew are an exciting addition to the local DIY landscape. On unknown species, founders Jack Anderson (Jek) and Ethan Donovan (djfix) tug at the seams of a proggy fingerprint. A remix of the titular cut from sophisticated producer Konduku is ruminative, but pounding. It peppers the glycerine streaked original with dew.
Terrain - "Scatter"
Beneath the alias Forest Drive West, Joe Baker disintegrates techno and jungle. For the EP Scatter, he returns to Peverelist’s Livity Sound along with London peer Voytek. The title track unfurls with loping hi-hats and offbeat thumps. It builds to a frenetic summit, yet the chaos is always contained.
Sentena - "Greenz"
Montréal’s Doo collective is an if-you-know-you-know gem, dedicated to hazy jams. In the spirit of affiliates Acting Press, Doo mainly communicates via graffiti’d websites and a newsletter. It chases Excalibur and DJ Spence’s barren Medium Rare 12-inch with EPs from Sentena and Cheeks. Sentena’s “Greenz” is a snaking tool. Microscopic chords blotch sub drones — hardware hypnosis.
Rikki G. Godd - "Casket Knock"
Colin Blanton’s Brin and casualshrine projects forged a path in the Los Angeles Fourth World circuit. Now operating from Chicago, he has rebranded as Rikki G. Godd. Twinkly pleasantries are swapped for blistering noise on the industrial LP Cost Of Living — issued by Blanton’s Spectral Disc. With “Casket Knock,” gnarled synthesizers chew on ragged crashes and thuds. Unflinching and distorted, it devours itself.
Millia - "Spinwheel Glide"
As one third of ascendant laptop trio Purelink, Akeem Asani is intrinsic with a wave of glistening dub. His Millia solo outlet is traditionally club focused. The EP Sprawll arrives via Washington, DC’s legendary Future Times, occupying a gentle end of the imprint’s fuzzy spectrum. “Spinwheel Glide” is carried by a nodding groove, squiggly low end, and chilly pads — catnip for the early hours.
Squarepusher - "K4 Fairlands"
As Squarepusher, Warp Records staple Tom Jenkinson has probed IDM since the '90s. His strange new album Kammerkonzert attempts to replicate the nuance of an orchestra with sample libraries and MIDI guitar. “K4 Fairlands” finds an uncanny string quartet wrestling jittery snare and cymbals. It is a zany interpolation of chamber composition.
Actress & Suzanne Ciani - "Barcelona B2"
With Concrète Waves, Darren J. Cunningham (AKA Actress) and Suzanne Ciani present the fruits of an unusual alliance. For Concrète Waves, the British sculpture of dreary atmospheres joins forces with the California Buchla innovator — drawn from sets at The Barbican in London and Spain’s Sónar. “Barcelona B2” frames wondrous modular doodles with whooshes and clunks. Cunningham coaxes glum modernism out of Ciani.
Ricardo Villalobos - "I have Forgotten (Earlier than Late Mix II)" (Feat. Tara Middleton)
Executing a dance homage to Sun Ra is daunting. The avant-jazz titan is entwined with atonal improvisation and politicized poetry — antithetical to gridlock. At the request of Omni Sound, Chile-born, Germany-based minimal guru Ricardo Villalobos has curated a tribute. He taps Underground Resistance, Calibre, A Guy Called Gerald, and others for bounding reimaginings, using material from Sun Ra Arkestra’s My Words Are Music. In his contribution, “I Have Forgotten,” Villalobos and vocalist Tara Miller go cavernous. Snarling bass and voice snippets steer cosmosis into a black hole.
upsammy & Valentina Magaletti - "Collide"
Thessa Torsing (AKA upsammy) and Valentina Magaletti make a gripping pair. Netherlands-based Torsing has honed a naturalistic spin on glitch across releases for Dekmantel, AD 93, and Nous’klaer Audio. Italy-born, London-based Magaletti is a virtuosic drummer, active in Holy Tongue and Moin. On their collaboration for PAN, Seismo, the duo smears whimsical burbles, disentangled rhythms, and crackly timbres — commissioned by Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam and captured at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum. On "Collide," a skittering break underlines springy sonic design. It is an urgent, unnerving summit.
PPP - "Plz"
K-Lone and Facta’s Wisdom Teeth has recently favored amorphous warmth. With summer on the horizon, it is dialing the energy back up. PPP’s Bborn Again is a euphoric partnership between nightlife fixtures DJ Python, DJ Plead, and Piezo, conceptualized slowly in Milan. Closer “Plz” is a midtempo roller. Melancholy bleeps stain crinkly percussion — a mellow conclusion to the climactic EP.
