May has landed - and with it the scent of another Ibizan summer, bursting with house, disco and techno. So close, you can almost taste it!
As such, we have selected a bundle of tracks we can see being huge over the course of opening party season. Dive in and enjoy. Season 2019 is primed and waiting.
Josh Newsham | Make You Feel Better | Reptile Dysfunction | 2 April
First-up with have a real summer heater from Doorly's Reptile Dysfunction. Eagle-eared listeners might recognise the track. It's being used for the current Ibiza Rocks' campaign and has also been picked up by JD Sports.
Stick this track on, close your eyes and you'll instantly be transported to poolside. Disclaimer: in mind only. It will surely be massive at Cuckoo Land. Make Josh Newsham one to watch.
Ben Pearce feat Tayla | Fireproof | Loaded Records/BMG | 26 April
Following the tragic passing of Keith Flint, the topic of mental health in our industry will again take centre stage at IMS. A panel of Klas Bergling (Avicii's father), Luciano, Professor Green and medical professionals will tackle the issue at the conference head-on.
Perhaps it's all the more pertinent that a survivor of depression has returned with this feel-good track. Uplifting from every angle. Featuring a catchy hook and heaps of crossover appeal, reality TV quick-sequence montage incoming.
ARTBAT feat WhoMadeWho | Closer | Watergate Records | 19 April
ARTBAT's colossal Atlas was one of Solomun's monster tracks in 2018. Similarly, we expect this to be huge at Pacha on Sundays across the opening dates of this year's residency. Here they hook-up with Danish experimental group WhoMadeWho, for an equally seismic outing on Watergate.
Maxinne feat Niki Darling | Something In Our Life | Toolroom Records | 12 April
May has only just arrived, but true to form Toolroom are already firing on all cylinders. Recent weeks have seen releases from Leftwing:Kody, Friend Within and this, courtesy of Maxinne. A real foreboding 3:00 am track in the Hot Since 82 mould. A malevolent piece of house music.
Catch her each and every week at Toolroom in Eden - a resident in the truest sense of the word. Go Maxinne!
Ramin Rezaie | Dinky | Solä | 26 April
Whilst we toyed with featuring Max Chapman's proggy ode to Eric Prydz, we instead opt for a different Solä track. Taken from Solardo's Miami V/A, here's proof that interesting tech house is still being made.
We fully anticipate Ramin popping up on the Solid Grooves roster, though no doubt the track itself will end up getting played all over the island. Those infectious steel drums will surely find favour with a certain Barbadian - in Mr. Cox.
Damian Lazarus & The Ancient Moons | All I Need To Get High (Ae:ther Dreamy Dub Remix) | Crosstown Rebels | 12 April
Swimming against a tsunami of evidence that suggests music's shelf-life is increasingly short, AINTGH finally arrives. Lazarus and his band were performing this track as far back as opening week last summer. Great to have an official release - and the accompanying trippy visuals.
Inclusion this month marks the second consecutive month we've featured music from Ae:ther. Evidence enough that the Roman producer is a talent on the ascent. On Ibiza, you can catch him joining Tale Of Us in the Theatre in week two at Afterlife.
Nakadia | Sixth Sense | Ballroom Records | 22 April
Next up is a Thai DJ/producer, with admirers in high places. Nakadia is already familiar to Sankeys and Benimussa Park, but this piece of dance floor weaponry seems custom made for Privilege's cavernous main room.
Rumblings indicate she's about to put out music on Carl Cox's Intec. But in the meantime, this is more than enough to whet our appetite. Is she back on the island this summer? We sure hope so.
UMEK | 19119 | 1605 | 19 April
Big Slovenian UMEK is back with more big room acid techno. The prolific 1605 boss is clearly in the midst of a rich stream of studio output. In addition to this latest EP, his recent forays on Filth On Acid should be filed under "Peak-time Bangers." The intensity builds until it lets rips with bared-tooth ferociousness.
Agoria feat Phoebe Killdear | Embrace | Virgin/Mercury | 26 April
Slowing things down, we have this beautiful track from Agoria. Okay, it's a bit of a cheat inclusion, since the official video for this has been out since around Christmas. However, the full album dropped this past Friday, so we sneakily circumvent the unwritten rules.
In its entirety, Drift covers a lot of ground between the worlds of pop and electronic music. There's definitely something for underground and easy listening fans alike. You can catch the Frenchman playing back-to-back with Sophie at IMS Grand Finale on 24 May.
Oliver Dollar | Space Is That Place | Classic Music Company | 19 April
After being in the wilderness too long, Oliver Dollar is back. He returns with an exemplary 14-track masterpiece on Classic Music Company this month. Remarkably, this is his debut offering in the LP format.
No prizes for guessing why this track, in particular, struck a chord with us. The name says it all - an ode to hazy afternoons on the Terraza from years-gone-by. Space may be no more, but the energy of house music lives on.
Two more notably electronic music artists also dropped albums this month. Reinier Zonneveld has delivered Church of Clubmusic to his own label. Meanwhile, Enzo Siragusa earmarks A Decade Of Rave. All three releases deserve your attention.
