It may sound dark, cold, gothic and rough around the edges compared to software-produced music, but these sounds have proved over the decades that they will set your synapses alight with delight.

A comforting throb fills the album, an electronic heartbeat that soundtracks the swirling, arpeggiated ambience of Hippies, or the trippy acid-techno of 'Stop' with its spitting hi-hats and skirls of cathedral organ.

The squelchy synths and intergalactic funk of the record's first half stand tall, but at 20 tracks long, it becomes a tad tiresome at the halfway mark.

Sure, it might be the same old names working within the confines of their signature sounds, but Total 15 presents Kompakt's current roster in vintage form.

This is a hot, sweaty but very beautiful dream of a record.

With only six new songs (and just seven tracks in total), it could have been a longer trip.

Comparisons to Moodymann, Dilla and Theo Parrish have been forthcoming, but Davis Jr's vista spreads wider.

A bloody good album, showcasing a decidedly more soulful side to his output than we might have seen before.

The operatic IDM of the previously released 'Mountain Divide' is hard not to view as the pick, but even so, Tundra still has all the sonic intensity of an R&S classic.

You get gold-plated productions that will stand the test of time.

It may not be as groundbreaking as Kölsch's debut album, but it still hits all the right notes. Fans will be chuffed to bits with this.

It's the instrumentals that impress the most.

More than a simple change in direction, this debut album feels like the culmination of pretty much everything he's done up to this point in his career.

Hairless Toys is outstanding, all elegant deep house offset by country-flecked soul and idiosyncratic downtempo.

With total belief in their worth, they re-introduce stylings seldom seen on contemporary dance albums, where mood and atmosphere too often trump melody and songcraft.

Sometimes it's slick, sometimes it's heartbreaking, but it definitely sounds like it'll suit a festival scenario with lasers on lock... and it's definitely the sound of an artist finding themselves.

There might be doses of dancefloor energy through the Balearic string twangs of 'All I Want' and the pulsating, springy pads of Insides, but it’s definitely the dreamy, mind-expanding cuts that take precedent.

As culturally diverse as it all is, it’s the tonal depth of the assembly that creates an engaging synergy.

Xen is decidedly playful, its alien sound palette used to conjure surreal songs that are melodramatic and nursery rhyme-like.

The less fluffy tunes are the best: ‘Elevate’ and ‘Go All Night’ both have old-skool house elements and a jacking groove that mean there’s more to this LP than a collection of festival sing-alongs.

Groundbreaking it may not be, but Huxley brings a touch more class than some of his contemporaries.

If you’re looking for a new album with real depth to play on repeat, with horns, pianos and cowbells to spare, this is it.

It’s another LP from the Londoner exploring sense, sexuality and seduction, picking up where her 2012 debut ‘Playin’ Me’ left off.

There are some excellent tracks here--‘Lights On’, ‘Two Weeks’, ‘Pendulum’--and her talent is obvious, but the men at the production desk could perhaps have been braver.

Danceable, intelligent and always emotionally charged--and Dan Snaith’s most profound and accomplished piece of work to date.

It has none of the deliberate pratfalls or raspberries he’s prone to. Rather, it’s entirely welcoming.

It’s the surge of creativity from the US that’s making for delicious new music indeed.

It’s an altogether different beast: a gigantic, wondrous thing to get lost in.