Dazed: 10 great albums you may have missed in the last three months
Featuring Nadah El Shazly’s stargazed dream pop, Teether & Kuya Neil’s fusion of hip-hop with ‘ethnic suburban Australiana’, and French avant pop legends Stereolab
Selected Works is a weekly (usually) newsletter by the Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) based freelance music journalist, broadcaster, copywriter and sometimes DJ Martyn Pepperell, aka Yours Truly. Most weeks, Selected Works consists of a recap of what I’ve been doing lately and some of what I’ve been listening to and reading, paired with film photographs I’ve taken + some bonuses. All of that said, sometimes, it takes completely different forms.
As it tends to go every three months, the latest edition of my quarterly new music column is live on Dazed Digital now. I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for seven years now. Absolutely unreal, really. Anyway, here’s the preamble.
In recent months on Dazed, we’ve listened to Pa Salieu’s exclusive Glastonbury playlist, documented the Kneecap court demonstration, and let you know Sasha Keable’s time is now. We’ve also explored how Mon Rovia is reinventing Appalachian folk for a new generation, remembered when pop music couldn’t stop going na-na-na? and hosted a Dazed Mix from Surusinghe.
We’re halfway through 2025, and all bets are off. Despite the sometimes unspoken uncertainties that colour the day-to-day realities of many, music continues to offer the potential for shared communal spaces and serve as a source of collective solace. That said, the global music community still faces ongoing economic challenges around touring, releasing and promoting music. Tough conversations are happening, and even more will be had. Regardless of the difficulty setting, however, new and under-discussed talents from the worlds of underground music continue to use community and craft to find a way.
For the second edition of our quarterly roundup for 2025, we’re continuing to reflect and acknowledge musicians, artists, producers and DJs from across the globe, all with strong communities, real visions, and important statements to make. Here are ten essential Q2 releases, all available on Bandcamp. You can read the full column by clicking here.
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:
Carl Cox: unfinished business: Carl Cox is back in Ibiza this summer for his first residency in nine years, helming Sunday nights at the brand new club [UNVRS]. Ahead of what’s sure to be an incredible run, DJ Mag tracks him down in Melbourne to talk about his storied history with The White Isle, and what fans can expect from his [UNVRS] tenure this season.
On ‘Vanity’, Isabella Lovestory confronts the twisted nature of beauty standards: Honduran experimental pop provocateur Isabella Lovestory is redefining reggaeton by fusing Latin trap with goth electronica and DIY punk urgency. She speaks to Tracy Kawalik about bringing a hyper feminine edge to her music, the dark side of beauty, and transforming vanity from a saboteur into a superpower.
¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U: Firestarter: Yousuke Yukimatsu is 2025's breakout star. But how is the fearless DJ and brain cancer survivor handling viral fame? For our latest cover, Gabriel Szatan shadowed him on tour, from Tokyo to Amsterdam, to find out.
Lido Pimienta's Sublime Caribbean Symphony: On her new album 'La Belleza,' the Colombian Canadian artist wrote music for a 66-person orchestra—upending European classical traditions in the process. Julianne Escobedo Shepherd for Hearing Things.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:
We may have an early contender for dance record of the year. If you know, you know.
Bizarre and beautiful. Coming out on vinyl via Be With as well.
Stumbled on this early 2000s NZ downbeat/IDM/Ambient/Dub Techno (lol) classic on Bandcamp this week. It’s been nice to listen to Ocean Unknown again. Big up Bluey.
Seminal 90s techno from Australia.
FIN.
Loving Nadah!