Something tells me a lot of music creators have had nothing better to do lately than to hang out in their home studio and churn out some delicious jams. I’ve been thrilled with the quality of the music that has been coming out for the past couple months. House, hip hop, R&B… So far, some truly amazing songs were released this summer. Here’s a couple gems you may or may not have missed.

Shinichiro Yokota - Accelerators

Shinichiro Yokota is a house music pioneer, and he’s often referred to as an unsung hero of the genre. A single listen to his latest EP Detectors instantly reveals why that is. Simply flawless, the track would fit nicely at the top of any cool electronic music playlist, thanks to its delightful synth tones and its exquisite groove. You can’t see it, but I’m doing that thing where you put the tip of your index and your thumb to your lips in a manner that indicates : “This is excellent!”

Gafacci - Dance Plug

Afropop meets left-field UK bass in this expertly distilled beat. Nothing superfluous here, just the pure essence of dance music. This is one of those minimalist tracks that seem innocent enough, until you blast it through a giant sound system and it blows everyone away. I need to either stop dancing, or buy some curtains for my bedroom window. One or the other.

Phil Anker - Fire Flower

If you know anything about me, you know that I’m a sucker for anything that sounds like it was produced with an old consumer-grade sampler keyboard. And if you know a second thing about me, you probably know I’m a fan of Phil Anker and his ability to create crazy dance tracks that give me this uncontrollable urge to move my body, Kevin Bacon Footloose barn scene-style. The producer’s new EP, Peace Happiness and Love, doesn’t disappoint in that regard (or any other regard, for that matter.)

Sonn - These Days

Slowly but surely, Sonn is bridging the gap between lo-fi beats and bedroom pop. His new song, the very chill These Days, features slacker rock auteur T. Evann. Together, they craft a track that’s sweeter and more trance-inducing than a 20mg gummy. If you want to know a little more about Sonn’s creative process, check out our interview with him.

Dom Dolla & Sonny Fodera - Moving Blind

The Australian DJs Dom Dolla and Sonny Fodera go digging in the dark and dirty depths of tech house to bring us this groove-driven, finger-giving jam that will absolutely light up the floor, someday. The video features pictures of fans sticking their face in their scanner, which is certainly a similar approach to the one I took at my last office party, although my scanner art featured a very different part of my anatomy.

frumhere - ur like sanity

I keep getting lazier, but frumhere just stays as endlessly creative as ever. His new EP the last waltz is an exhilarating excursion in R&B territories. The L.A. producer blends his usual brand of lo-fi hip hop with some truly sweet and melodic vocal hooks. How long do we have to wait before he links up with someone like Dominic Fike and breaks through? Whenever that happens, we’ll be able to say we knew him way back when…

Jordan Dennis - The Link

You know, there are just days when everything seems to go wrong. The train isn’t running, the ATM is busted, the station is haunted by weird dancing zombies… Those are the kind of everyday snafus depicted in Jordan Dennis’ new video The Link. Produced by JUJO, this trap anthem is another great performance by the Australian rapper who some are calling a wonder boy, but I’m calling a wonder man.

Model Man - Why? (DJ Seinfeld Remix)

Since his last EP, DJ Seinfeld has kept busy with a handful of really interesting remixes. His latest opus is a revision of Model Man’s piano-happy single Why?. It expands on the Swedish artist’s larger-than-life universe where lo-fi textures meet sweeping emotional beats. In other words: It’s a slam-dunk.

COVER PHOTO : Shinichiro Yokota / Higher Frequency