Every month, Unchained Radio pulls five tracks from the deeper end of the release schedule. These are not chart records. They are not the tracks that every DJ blog covered within twenty-four hours of release. They are records that caught our ears during long listening sessions, digging through Bandcamp pages, label back catalogs, and the occasional tip from a selector whose taste we trust.
The criteria are simple. The track has to work on a system but also hold up on headphones. It has to have something distinctive about it, a texture, a rhythm, a choice that sets it apart from the twenty other records released the same week in the same genre. And it has to reward repeated listening. A track that gives everything up on the first play is a good track. A track that reveals new details on the fifth or sixth play is the kind we are looking for.
This is a recurring format. Some months the picks lean heavily toward house. Other months they scatter across electro, ambient, broken beat, and whatever else surfaces. The only constant is that these are records we have actually been playing, not records we think we should include for coverage purposes.
1. Soulphiction - "When Radio Was Boss" (Philpot Records)
Michael Hartmann has been releasing records as Soulphiction (and under various other aliases including Jackmate and Mike S.) since the late 1990s, and his output remains one of the best-kept secrets in deep house. "When Radio Was Boss" is a track that does exactly what the title implies. It sounds like something you would catch on a pirate radio broadcast at 2 AM, slightly fuzzy, drenched in reverb, with a vocal sample that floats above a churning, mid-tempo groove. The drums have that characteristic Soulphiction swing, loose and human-feeling, never quantized to death. Philpot Records has been his home label for years, and the catalog is a goldmine for anyone who likes their house music dusty and warm. This track is seven minutes of proof that you do not need complexity to create depth.
2. Identified Patient - "Toxic Womb" (Pinkman)
Rotterdam's Pinkman label has been steadily building one of the best catalogs in contemporary electro and EBM-adjacent club music, and this Identified Patient track is a standout from their recent output. "Toxic Womb" is abrasive in the best way. It leads with a distorted acid line that sits just on the edge of uncomfortable, layered over a mechanical beat pattern that owes as much to DAF as it does to contemporary electro. Carin Verbruggen's work as Identified Patient consistently inhabits a space between industrial body music and raw electro that feels genuinely confrontational without tipping into noise for its own sake. The track works in a dark room at high volume, which is where it belongs. Pinkman's physical releases are worth tracking, as they tend to move quickly and the label's curatorial standards remain high.
3. Number One Cup - "Divided" (Eglo Records)
Eglo Records, run by Alexander Nut, has maintained a remarkably consistent identity across a catalog that spans jazz, broken beat, house, and boogie. "Divided" by Number One Cup is a broken beat record in the fullest sense. It draws a direct line from the early 2000s West London scene, from the Co-Op and Plastic People nights, but it does not sound like a historical recreation. The syncopation is dense and layered, with a bassline that pushes and pulls against the drum pattern in a way that forces your body to make a choice about where the downbeat actually falls. The production is clean but not sterile, and there is a warmth to the keys that suggests real instruments or at least very carefully programmed emulations. For anyone who has been tracking the broken beat revival that has been building quietly over the last few years, this is one of the tracks that justifies the attention.
4. OCB - "Night Shift" (Ilian Tape)
Ilian Tape, the Munich label run by the Zenker Brothers, has been expanding beyond its techno roots into more eclectic territory, and this OCB track is a perfect example of that evolution. "Night Shift" is not quite techno, not quite electro, not quite UK bass music, but it borrows from all three with a fluency that makes genre labels feel beside the point. The percussion is detailed and constantly shifting, built from layers of processed breaks and synthetic hits that create a rhythm you can dance to but also genuinely study. The low end is heavy but controlled, designed for a sound system that can handle subsonic frequencies without turning everything into mud. Ilian Tape consistently releases music that rewards close attention, and their vinyl pressings are excellent. This one has been in regular rotation during late-night listening sessions on the station.
5. Priori - "Patience" (Shall Not Fade)
Francis Latreille, recording as Priori, is a Montreal-based producer whose work sits at the intersection of deep house, ambient, and experimental electronics. "Patience" on Shall Not Fade is a track that lives up to its name. It opens with a simple pad and a muted kick drum pattern, and over the course of eight minutes, it gradually introduces elements: a filtered vocal chop, a shimmering hi-hat pattern, a sub-bass that arrives so slowly you do not notice it until it is holding up the entire track. This is house music as architecture, where every element is load-bearing and nothing is decorative. Priori's catalog across labels like NAFF and Mothland is consistently excellent, and his approach to arrangement is one of the most distinctive in contemporary deep house. The Shall Not Fade catalog continues to be one of the best places to find this kind of considered, patient dance music.
How We Pick These
There is no algorithm behind these selections. The tracks come from regular listening across Bandcamp new releases, label mailing lists, recommendations from DJs who contribute to our guest mix series, and the kind of aimless digging that the internet still rewards if you are willing to put in the time. We buy most of what we feature, either on vinyl or as digital purchases. If something shows up here, it is because someone on the Unchained Radio team has spent real time with it.
The monthly format is intentional. Weekly round-ups tend to blur together and create a sense of obligation for both the writer and the reader. Monthly gives each track space to breathe and gives us time to make sure these are records that hold up over weeks, not just the afternoon they arrived.
Previous editions live in the archive. If you are discovering this column for the first time, going back through older installments is a good way to find records you might have missed. The artist spotlights and scene notes complement these picks with longer-form context on the producers, labels, and communities behind the music.
Five tracks. No filler. See you next month.