Ten essential records to bring back to school.

AFX  Orphaned DeeJay Selek (2006-2008) Release: Out now I have no idea who or what Orphaned DeeJay Selek refers to, but the release by AFX a.k.a. Aphex Twin a.k.a Richard D. James is the first release from his AFX moniker since a 2005 split record with the classic British techno production entity, LFO. And, in fact—if you believe the parenthetical in the title of the album—the material was recorded and written immediately following that album, which if you follow Aphex Twin’s perverted chronology, makes it the third oldest set of material he’s put out in the last two years. It’s older than his latest Aphex Twin full length, Syro—which was presumably all new material— but not as old as the lost Caustic Window record he released in the summer of 2014 that seemingly spured him to release a spate of previously unreleased material, and older than as his Computer Controlled Electronic Instruments pt2 EP (there is no part one) released in January and meant to as a companion to his album, Drukqs, released 14 years earlier. Got that? Anyways, Orphaned DeeJay Selek is as good or better than any of his AFX releases. Give it a listen.

ABRA  Rose Release: Out now Atlanta’s Awful Records is most known for records by sleeze-rapper Father, but their latest release strays a bit from their usual depravity. Self proclaimed “duchess of darkwave” Abra released her debut record Rose earlier this summer, but it’s just starting to take off. The minimal hip hop productions act as a darker update to the post-disco group ESG and are interspersed with a few unexpected a capella tracks, creating a dynamic retro-druggy vibe.

BEACH HOUSE  Depression Cherry Release: August 28 Of all of the dream pop/indie rock bands that have hatched this decade, Beach House have managed to become one of the preeminent, despite their banal dream pop album titles like Devotion, Team Dream, and Bloom. Though I wouldn’t go as far as to call it innovative, their music is far from banal, and their latest album, Depression Cherry might even be the duo’s ultimate step toward their mastery of the genre.

THE WEEKND  Beauty Behind the Madness Release: August 28 Last week, while lounging outside, my father plugged in his ipod mini and dropped The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face” in between Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” and George Ezra’s “Budapest.” If “Can’t Feel My Face,” the first single from The Weeknd’s forthcoming LP, Beauty Behind the Maddess, has allowed the indie R&B act to penetrate that deeply, that quickly, then there is no telling how far into the mainstream the rest of the album, which features production by Kanye West and writing by Ed Sheeran, will take the arena-pop-star-to-be.

PRINCE  Hit & Run Release: September 7 Prince’s most recent album, 2014’s Art Official Age, was received fairly well—though it was no 1999 or Purple Rain. His next album, Hit and Run, may be another straight-up R&B album in the vein of Art Official Age, but what will make it unique is actually the format by which it will be released. The album will be the first album to be exclusively released by Tidal. Tidal is a “high fidelity music streaming service,” similar to Spotify, launched by Jay Z’s Project Panther imprint. This means that when Hit & Run is released on September 7 it will be one of the first albums ever to be released strictly as streaming audio.

CARTER TUTTI VOID  f (x) Release: September 11 The music of Carter Tutti Void is most definitely not for everyone. Whatever the exact opposite of pop music is, well that’s what this is, and it comes from Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti, two members of the notable experimental electronic noise band Throbbing Gristle, along with Factory Floor’s Nik Void. The band’s first record Transverse—which, for lack of a better description, sounds like Brian Eno having a night terror—was a new beginning for Carter and Tutti, who have been producing caustic pounding soundscapes since as early as the late-1970s. You’d hardly, then, suspect this trio of falling into a sophomore slump on their second album as a group, f (x), to be released by Industrial Records on September 11..

BOB MOSES  Days Gone By Release: September 18 The Vancouver by way of New York City duo known as Bob Moses, producers jimmy Vallance and Tom Howie spent last year and this summer impressing festival crowds with main stage performances. The thing is, they haven’t even released their debut record yet. It’s on the strength of a couple of EPs, their unreleased material, and their cathartic live show—which bridges the gap between pop and house that the band has landed spots on the main stage of popular festivals like Detroit’s Movement Festival. Their debut, Days Gone By drops on Domino Records on September 18.

BATTLES  La Di Da Di Release: September 18 When founding member Tyondai Braxton (son of renowned avant-garde composer Anthony Braxton) left Battles after the release of their stunning debut album Mirrors, the future looked unsure for the experimental math-rock band. They bounced back quickly with a nearly perfect record in 2011’s Gloss Drop, which in lieu of Braxton’s vocals employed vocalists Gary Numan and Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead. Four year’s later your guess is as good as mine as to what their upcoming album, La Di Da Di will sound like, but it’s more likely to push the envelope as far as complex song writing goes, rather than retreat in the direction of pop structures.

DISCLOSURE  Caracal Release: September 25 Electro-house duo Disclosure have a lot to live up to. Their debut album, 2013’s Settle, featuring then mostly unknown artists like Sam Smith and AlunaGeorge—was a runaway hit that not only made Disclosure a household name, but helped launch their friends’ careers too. It was such a hit—nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Album—from a group that was fairly unknown outside of the dance music world, that it may have even alienated some of the band’s diehard fans. In such a predicament, it’ll be interesting to see how the English brothers, Guy Lawrence and Howard Lawrence, try to avoid the sophomore slump on their upcoming full length, Caracal, which will feature everyone from Lorde to Miguel—coming September 25.

GRIMES  TBA Release: TBA After her third album, Visions, Canadian producer Claire Boucher a.k.a. Grimes caught on in a big way. Visions married weirdo-pop music with massive dub-inspired dark wave rhythms, a departure from the artist’s previous offerings which featured mostly lo-fi pop. Not one to do the same thing twice, it’s hard to say what Grimes will come up with next—we don’t even know the title of her imminent record yet, only that it will be released by 4AD and that could be substantial as far as run-time goes.

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