Since breaking onto the scene in 2016, Overmono have distilled a catchy, hook-laden strain of UK garage. Tom and Ed Russell swiftly earned acclaim from tastemakers: their 2021 track, “So U Kno,” was named Resident Advisor’s track of the year. Their 2023 debut full-length, Good Lies, raised the stakes even higher. With appearances at Glastonbury’s West Holts stage and a sold-out show at London’s O2 Brixton Academy, plus collaborations with Fred again.. and Lil Yachty, Overmono are riding a meteoric ascent toward the higher echelons of the music world.
Pure Devotion — Overmono’s sophomore LP for XL Recordings takes its title from a club-night series the brothers curated. “The routes we were taking to achieve results grew more extreme and even ridiculous. It felt right for the record to be named Pure Devotion. This came after days spent rigging up wild tape loops we’d only use for ten seconds,” Ed explains. We gather in a subterranean control room in Manhattan, surrounded by coveted hardware and gray ashtrays.
Audacity is the through line of Pure Devotion. Overmono set up a framework with the intention of bending it. They retreated to Iceland and the northwest of Spain, forsaking sleep and routine in solitary exile. Sylvia Massy’s manual, Recording Unhinged: Creative And Unconventional Music Recording Techniques, provided inspiration. Classic synthesizers — including Roland’s SH-2 and Jupiter — were indispensable. Magnets wiped analog information; an antique train-station announcement speaker became a filter; amplifier stacks were mic’d in rough, jagged rooms; a cymbal was coated with coffee, vinegar, and chip fragments and then baked in an oven.
The baking exemplifies Pure Devotion as a transformed state. “We have thousands of samples on the computer we could sift through,” Ed notes. “It’s not about the loudest or the prime example of a crash you’ve heard; it’s not even about being the most unique. But it’s the only place where that particular sound exists. That scarcity becomes a feature. The whole method boiled down to: what spaces do we have nearby? which objects in our environment can only come from this place?”
Collaborators pepper Pure Devotion, challenging Overmono’s insularity. The brothers typically cultivate relationships with slow spontaneity; they found Tennessee R&B singer Kindora through Bandcamp tags. They connected via Instagram DM, mangling her lyrics on “Gunk,” “Cold Blooded,” and “Bone Mics.” She lends her voice to “Even Angels Ghost,” where sorrowful words rise above soft, pliant tones. John Joseph Holt contemplates family loss beneath laser-like timbres on “Knight In Shining Prada.” These hardware-driven jams pulse with weathered emotion.
Individually, Tom and Ed were weekend-warrior DJs in the 2010s. Under the moniker Truss, Tom produced brooding industrial tracks. Ed’s Tessela stands as an underrated touchstone of contemporary hardcore, with “Hackney Parrot” drawing renewed attention. Traveling between countries in the small hours took a toll. They value the more relaxed schedule that Overmono affords now. “When we first began composing, we had no preset plan beyond making music together and seeing what happened,” Tom reflects. “Everything that emerged did so in a natural way. There was never a grand master plan.” Despite the sudden glamour, the siblings-turned-best friends remain committed to their art.
PEAK TIME
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Maask – “Playback Ghost Singer”
Sjoerd Oberman’s Nous’Klaer Audio is a crucial hub for inventive tools. Its annual Netherlands celebration was disrupted this June, yet the imprint presses on. Maask’s Lyonesse finds the South London newcomer delivering electro-acoustic mutations. “Playback Ghost Singer” opens with a pliant, rubbery lead that then mutates into a sludge-like texture. It feels futuristic while built from earthy, earthen origins.
9
Lovegod – “Rendevous (Original Mix)”
With Kynant Records, Berlin-based Richard Akingbehin surfaces relics tailored to the moment; consider the 2024 reissue of Paul St. Hilaire and René Lowe’s “Faith.” Lovegod’s Rendezvous caters to a summer when Jamaican processing is enjoying renewed vogue. Osaka’s Naoyuki Yamakawa (aka DJ Compufunk) revealed the one-off moniker at United Underground 鶴の間 (Tsurunoma). Breath-rich chords ride on crisp hi-hats — like candy in fog, primed for reinterpretations from Priori and Janaret.
8
Galcher Lustwerk – “Vestibiule (Ricardo Villalobos Remix Volpat Cut 2)”
The New York mainstay Galcher Lustwerk is famed for smooth hip-house. On a set of remixes from his Vestibule EP, Skee Mask and Saorise intensify the atmosphere. The standout is the contribution from German-Chilean legend Ricardo Villalobos, who retools the title track into a jagged, hypnotic groove. Lustwerk’s swaggering lines become a warped, glitched texture.
7
Facta – “T66”
Oscar Henson, boss of Wisdom Teeth and a versatile hand in everything from ECM jazz to jubilant house, presents three extracts from recent live performances on the witness comp, adopting a palette akin to the sharp GULP. “T66” centers a half-time groove and Latin-flavored vocal fragments that dissolve into robotic grit. This stands as Henson’s most commanding cut yet.
6
Gloorp – “Gloorp Life”
Garrett Burke drummed for of Montreal, Mothers, and Florry before launching the idiosyncratic alias Gloorp in 2023. The Philadelphia-based oddball triggers squelchy noises on a defunct MIDI pad, warped by Ableton and Eurorack. “Ice Bath” is jittery and eight-legged in feel. Featuring Chemical member Chasia Doko and released on Brooklyn DIY label Jolt Music, Gloorp Life leans more toward the Mid-Atlantic club circuit than the region’s punk lineage.
5
foodman – “Hard Reclining”
Takahide Higuchi (Foodman) makes footwork shimmer with a playful edge. The Nagoya producer circulates within the circles of Orange Milk and Hyperdub. HIKARIGASASHIKOMU translates roughly as “a spark of hope” in Japanese, and the album is as scattered as it is wondrous. “Hard Reclining” drives forward on Higuchi’s vocal lines, sunlit guitar plucks, and a disembodied beat — a melting popsicle for headphones.
4
Debit – “Pero like”
As Debit, Delia Beatriz probes the queasy edges of Latin tradition. She is synonymous with complex theses, aided by her role as an adjunct professor at New York University. Released on Mexico City’s N.A.F.F.I., Potpourri lets whispers from Detroit and Birmingham shape guaracha. “Pero like” bears fangs, with a driving TB-303 slicing through brittle percussion. It’s raw and immediate.
3
DJ Plead – “Ride TV”
Jarred Beeler (DJ Plead) pays a forceful homage to Levantine heritage. On records for AD 93 and Livity Sound, he has folded rattles, bells, and Arabic melodies into steamy jams. Please appears on Norway’s Smalltown Supersound, compiling intimate tracks from 2023–2025. It’s earthy, blending dabke with downtempo. In “Ride TV,” metallic rhythms and sharp, high-pitched swirls ride atop woody bass — and the result is buoyant, propelled by a lilting gait.
2
Batu & Donato Dozzy – “Flicker”
Though they inhabit the deepest frequencies, Omar McCutcheon (Batu) and Donato Scaramuzzi (Donato Dozzy) prove to be an unlikely pairing. As Timedance’s head, McCutcheon has been a central figure in leftfield dubstep, while Scaramuzzi stands as a cornerstone of techno through Spazio Disponibile and Voices From The Lake. The two bonded over a series of shelved performances on shared bills, finally reconnecting at Scaramuzzi’s Rome studio and during a Draaimolen Festival set. The collaboration yielded the woozy Exhale. “Flicker” unfolds lopsided and cybernetic, with bleeps blooming from a stern foundation, a psychedelia laced with grit.
1
⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺಲ – ☼⃝☼⃝◉ ҉⃝O☼⃝⊖☼⃝☼⃝❁ ҉⃝☼⃝☼⃝ ⃝͢ ̢⃝͜ ☼⃝☼⃝:̴͓̞̑̌̂̆̊͋̀:̸͎̟̯̂̓̌:̶̢͙͙͕̠̩͆(̷̮͍͚̫͚͂̍)̵̳̗̊( ̟̞̝̜̙̘̗̖҉̵̴̨̧̢̡̼̻̺̹̳̲̱̰̯̮̭̬̫̪̩̦̥̤̣̠҈͈͇͉͍͎͓͔͕͖͙͚͜͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢ͅ l̡̡̡ ̡͌ Ɵʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡(̸̢̛̼̞̭͋ͅ)̸͚̰͛̔̾̀̿͒͂v̴̢͚͚͎ȯ̶̞̮͖̑̈́)̸̳̥̰̜̥̺̐ͅ
I’ve long had a soft spot for Kieran Hebden’s Wingdings alias. While Four Tet remains focused on the big tent, his material under this moniker stays deliberately elusive and nuanced. A June release from ⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ began as a vinyl-only drop and arrived digitally this month. If your streaming service handles the glitchy glyphs, it yields a remarkable blend of dreaminess and propulsion. On this track, celestial bells spill into a reverberant shuffle — euphoric mischief.
