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.

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