Back catalogue: Balearic/Downtempo

Review: The third volume of the Incense Music compilation series, Incense Music For Dining Room, curated by Toru Hashimoto (Suburbia), comes new iterated on a split 7". Carrying over its themes of fragrance and music, 'Flamenco Sketches', named and remixed after Miles Davis' classic jazz bit, brings an exquisite reed diffusion of live-feel beats and scooped-out bliss-sound. With cover art by Jiro Fujita (FJD) and mastering by Calm, a key figure in the Japanese jazz, chill-out, and Balearic scenes, the record promises serenity: DJ Mitsu the Beats ensures a quietly contented DJ's touch. Side B offers another lo-fi cover of 'Flamenco Sketches' by Nobuyuki Nakajima, lowering the pace to an unassuming, dozy, guitar-blessed tread.

Review: For sensitivity and naturalism in experimental music, Gosha Martynov & Natasha Sinyakova seize the crown with their new album Imena Rek. On their first foray into the physical, the duo expand the spectral ambience and medicated breaks of their earlier work with lithe touches of organic jazz and Cafe Del Mar cool, creating a complex assemblage of dreamy downbeat and emotive electronica that's entirely easy on the ears. The record is an ever-evolving, life-giving slough; we wade through many restorative swamps, each bearing its own sonic, ecosystemic character. The fen's mouth stretches open wide on 'Pozhaluysta', tempting the listener with an open-skied siren song set to skittish drum pats, while things grow hazier from 'Osvobodi Menia' and thereafter; the trip-hop influence is almost entirely naturalised, shedding the genre's usual rough-edged clicks and pops for a preferential sawn-off, willowy sound, that retains its smoothness even in moments of irresolution and tension, as on 'Rany'. And the slow mangrove whirl 'Iskra' really flaunts the pair's talents, with beautifully played pan flutes, and resonant silicate rustles, convoking a new hallowed ground; we wind up mentally clutching at damp mosses, imagining ourselves laid arrest in a sodden but warm bayou, as we're serenaded by two Armenian-American master musicians.

Review: This collaboration between multi-instrumentalist Valentina Magaletti and Afro-Portuguese beat-maker Nidia follows artists like Moritz von Oswald and Laurel Halo on the label. The album bridges cultures and environments from Sicilian heat to English rain through infectious rhythms and intricate melodies. Meaning "roads" in Portuguese, Estradas reflects the duo's dynamic exchange while adapting their sound to the urgency and spirit of diverse spaces. Produced by Tom Halstead, it masterfully weaves syncopated drums, marimba and melodic interludes into an electrifying release that celebrates rhythm's universal power.

Review: Japanese jazzist Kenichiro Nishihara drew much acclaim for his second LP Humming Jazz in 2008, which came a full five years after his debut in 2003, and heralded a stabler career thereafter. With its harmonious, benignant piano melodies and oblique drum palette - which hears the artist secure both live bossa nova performances and original hip house beats - Nishihara knew the inherent entertainment value in tender modal jazz, and sought to enmesh sophistication with pop breeziness. 'Rain Falls' is an especially round-bodied track, with glycemic vocal flavours from Kissey Asplund and richly EQ-ed drums, setting a soulful precedent for two key hip-hop gems to come: 'From Time To Time' and 'Consider My Love', featuring rappers Gregg Green and Pismo. 'Step Out' signals the record's close with bopping triplet gaiety.

Review: Japanese digital dub legend Takafumi Noda and Dutch synth wizard Danny Wolfers (best known as Legowelt) reunite for a great second album under the Noda & Wolfers project on Nightwind Records. This album blends digital dub, raw lo-fi electro and acid influences into a captivating, deviant sound that is rich in wild, untamed synths which collide with rough rhythm boxes as seductive spring reverbs dissolve into space echoes. Intense bass crumbles over decaying fuzzy tapes and Noda's haunting melodica melodies elevate the album to new, mesmerising heights. A fascinating fusion of creative worlds.

Review: Noreen is a cult name for those who know - a producer who had his own unique take on minimal and dropped some real low-key classics. Nearly two decades after its initial release, his album Our Memories of Winter now gets reissued so you can relive its blend f early 2000s electronica with Norken's unique mix of minimal techno, house and British IDM. Featuring all 12 original tracks, plus the inclusion of 'Df23' and 'Flirt', this is the first complete vinyl version of the album. Lee Norris's sound evokes nostalgia and warmth with atmospheric emotional techno. Influenced by luminaries like John Beltran and Autechre, this one remains a real gem.