Mixmag Asia’s 2026 Essential Listening

Mixmag Asia has often been (and will always continue to be) a reliable source of must-know music from Asia and the diaspora. Be it euphoric club heaters, left-field resonances, ambient soundscapes, experimental cuts or more, we’ve made it our mission to spotlight the sounds that matter.

Until now, though, those discoveries have lived across standalone announcements, published here and there as they land. Great in the moment, but not always the easiest to keep track of.

So, we’re switching things up.

We present to you "Currents: Fresh Music Picks by Mixmag Asia". Instead of sending you digging through the site to piece together the latest releases, we’re bringing them into one evolving, easy-to-bookmark feature: a growing compilation of essential new music that deserves your attention.

Think of it as your go-to roundup for the year ahead; a living list that we’ll keep updating as more standout tracks, EPs and albums hit our inboxes.

Check back often, 'cause there’s a lot of good music on the way.

‘Chalybeate’ is a collaborative album by aus and The Humble Bee, built on calm, mineral-toned ambient textures shaped from field recordings of water, insects, and town air. Slow, restrained, and gently worn with tape hiss and humidity, it unfolds in a steady, immersive flow designed for unhurried listening.

Butter Sessions marks 15 years with ‘BSRXV: 15 Years of Butter Sessions’, a three-part 12” that feels like a lived-in snapshot of the label’s orbit. Disc One swings through dub-heavy techno, jack and Balearic-leaning cuts, Disc Two drifts across cosmic house, breaks and EBM-tinged prog, and Disc Three locks into psy-adjacent tools, dub techno and raw rave energy. A fluid, club-ready overview of the sounds that shaped the label.

Nadī doubles down on bass-heavy, emotionally charged club music with her latest release, building on momentum from sets at Glastonbury Festival and the Victoria and Albert Museum, plus chart success and support from BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music. On ‘You Were Mine’, weighty, wubby low-end underpins soft vocals and skittering percussion, channeling the pain of losing someone to the prison system while they’re still alive but out of reach.

Tobes is stepping out on his own this year, launching his imprint, Heartfelt Haze, to release music freely and on his own timeline after years of label delays. He’s kicking things off with four EPs from late-2024 live sessions, starting with ‘Sapphire’ in February—a mood-driven, emotionally rich release crafted for deep home listening and headphones.

OVERFALL have completed their second album, ‘Thailand’, forged from live beats, improvisation and dubwise sparks ignited while moving through Chiang Mai, Pai, Bangkok and Koh Larn in early 2025, recording daily on a stripped-back mobile setup. Built from hip hop-leaning samples, elastic rhythms and hands-on dub processing, the self-produced record captures the calm of their travels with every detail left to breathe.

DJazz kicks off 2026 with his sixth EP, ‘7AM In Bangkok’ on All That DJazz, a four-track, 23-minute trip through house, electro, acid and hazy electronica inspired by travels in Thailand and Vietnam. From flipping Angkanang Kunchai’s 1975 cut ‘Lsan Lam Plearn’ on the opener to 303-driven grooves, acid bass, 808 punch and a Vietnamese monochord flourish, it closes with a dancefloor-ready rework primed for late-night spins.

Dolorblind returns in March with his new EP titled 'No Signal', led by the shimmering single ‘NRG’ featuring Rounak Maiti. Built on bright, interlocking synth lines, chopped percussion, distorted textures and propulsive drums, the track balances punchy low-end drive with airy, layered vocals that glide through the haze, giving its electronic sheen both lift and emotional weight.

‘nagoyaka na kaze / 和やかな風 (Quiet Wind)’ spotlights Nagoya’s electronic underground in a new compilation co-curated by abentis for Wisdom Teeth, the label run by Facta and K-LONE. Born from a 2024 showcase at Club JB’s, it captures a tight-knit scene of the city, blending ambient movements, psychedelic minimal house, murky downtempo and bass-weighted steppers into richly textured, rhythm-driven hybrids.

Tokyo-based Hoshina Anniversary returns with ‘Rebirth Remixes’, a self-rebuilt overhaul of his 2025 album ‘Rebirth’, reshaping all seven tracks into DJ-ready cuts with labeled BPMs, cinematic twists, and a brand-new techno-leaning instrumental. Keeping his falsetto vocals, warm basslines, and detailed electronic touch intact, he shifts the focus toward groove and function; a perfect balance of driving club rhythms and expansive, ambient elements.

Born out of the 2025 Artist Retreat hosted by Mixmag Asia and EMC Australia, Jenli and Yasmina Sadiki’s collaboration ‘Purple Whispers’ arrives as a slow-burning ambient cut built on hushed textures, drifting harmonies, and softly layered atmospheres. Guided by spacious production and restraint, the track lets Sadiki’s airy and almost haunting vocals glide through a weightless soundscape that unfolds patiently, drawing electronic listeners into a suspended, intimate flow.

WILHELMINA’s latest EP ‘Book of Spells’ is on another level. It injects real mystique into club music, blending ancient energy with forward-thinking production and razor-sharp execution. His Filipino heritage meets East Coast drive in a way that feels urgent, authentic and fresh. He was chosen to grace our Artists Exciting Us feature in February for deeper context on him as a producer, and we really can’t get enough.

Written during a self-directed residency in Amami after researching Nüshu (the secret writing system created by women in rural China to share private thoughts under patriarchy) Suki Quasimodo’s track centres on the mantra-like line “you hold all the power”. It opens with near-whispered vocals before slipping into a sub-heavy 140 BPM drop. Built on tension and negative space, the low end moves in slow, shadowy waves while effects-drenched vocals hover just out of reach, giving the piece a haunted intimacy. Sitting between experimental electronics, ambient bass and emotionally-charged IDM, it finds its weight not in volume, but in restraint.

Stones Taro, long associated with the NC4K imprint, launches a new self-release series with ‘Foglore#1’, a four-tracker steeped in foggy pads, dubbed-out bass pressure and loose-limbed breaks that feel like they’ve drifted in from some half-mythical dancefloor. Blending dub depth, techno drive and deep house warmth, it’s a quietly trippy listen; introspective club music that sounds strangely ancient yet appropriate for headphones and floor sessions.

Alinep’s ‘Rolyo’ is a tight snapshot of the Manila-born, UK-based producer’s calling card: deep, rolling basslines, crisp glitch textures and smoky atmospheres threaded through sleek minimal techno, with the title track firing off punchy, slightly intergalactic synth stabs. ‘Gapang’ slips into a more fluid roll with playful synth flickers dancing around the low end, while ‘Arangkada’ seals the EP with a bass-driven, hypnotic crawl where sparse minimal notes lock the rhythm into that head-nodding zone we all know and love.

SAAND’s ‘Disco a Go Go’ on Dynamite Disco Club fuses shimmering Indian melodic phrasing with cheeky disco swagger, where bright, playful synth runs dance around crisp hand-percussion and a rubbery, funk-loaded bassline. The track leans into expressive scales and lively rhythmic patterns that nod to Indian musicality while keeping the groove slick and club-ready, landing somewhere between euphoric dancefloor release and the kind of groove-first energy DDC devotees expect.

Hong Kong heroes N.Y.P.D. 南洋派對 blends post-punk, psychedelia, Cantonese indie rock, and bits of Chinese folk, all with their sarcastic commentary about modern life in the city. It’s jagged, explosive, unapologetic, and often down right satirical. Takes on noises of leaking AC units, complaining about people constantly asking for a lighter and the beloved Donki stores all backdropped with gut-punching production is a match made in heaven.

LA based trio SY3 release first single ‘Tell Me’ from their upcoming debut album, and if this single is indicative of the rest of the record, we’re in for a treat. It sits somewhere between dream pop, downtempo house and trip hop, all living in that nostalgic aesthetic. Soft, subtle and effortlessly cool airy-ness throughout; eager to hear the entire release when it comes out.

Taipei meets Tokyo on WRACK and Sonia Calico’s latest double single. Sonia’s ‘Lotus Chasm’ is a hypnotic, almost tribal offering rooted in traditional sounds. WRACK shifts gears with ‘Tanaka’, leaning into Latin rhythms while still championing traditional instrumentation throughout.

Korea’s own sooyeon returns to Nehza Records with ‘i can see you on find my friends’, taken from the label’s ‘Transex’ compilation, which was released prior. Bass-heavy, attitude-laden and a proven dancefloor filler.

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