The Most Vital Tunes and News from the Worldwide Underground

Welcome to Notes from the Underground, THUMP's weekly premiere feature dedicated to shining a light on underground sonics from around the world. Every week, we'll start at the surface and dig deeper into the underground with each track and news story.

In this week's super-mega-bumper worldwide edition, we've got bassline champions AC Slater, Otik, and Majora amidst house legends DJ Dan and Mike Balance. The West Coast comes out strong with Fritz Carlton and Shines providing the come-up, and some top-notch acid vibes from the Omnidisc camp via Cliff Lothar. You can check them all out at this one-stop shop. Have a dig around:

The mysterious Karma Fields has been causing the beginnings of a stir after a stellar, heavy and conceptual album began floating around behind the scenes via a series of crypric videos. As of yet, nobody is sure of the artist's true identity. Well, it's safe to assume it's someone AC Slater knows, as he's dropped basher of a bassline remix of "Build the Cities" off of the record. Let us know if you have any ideas as to who it is and keep your ears peeled for originals from the epic.

AC Slater is on Facebook // SoundCloud
Karma Fields is on Facebook // SoundCloud

After a half decade of pushing boundaries in the space between noise, R&B, dance, and pop, Tri Angle Records hosted a rare showcase in Brooklyn last week, with everyone from Lotic to Forest Swords to Evian Christ given a chance to shine. Then Björk showed up and DJ'ed a set and everyone lost their shit.

Old school meets old school as dance legend DJ Dan teams with Mike Balance on this funky and energetic house tune that could whip a crowd into a frenzy in the right situation. The rollercoaster bassline is enough to twist your melon straight back to the 90s.

DJ Dan is on Facebook // SoundCloud
Mike Balance is on Facebook // SoundCloud

THUMP set the rules for Team Supreme's 129th cypher. Entrants had to sample Joey Beltram's 1991 early-techno classic "Energy Flash" while also using samples from a Punjabi stage comedy. The results were a smorgasbord of underground sounds. Check it out.

Some sterling acid vibes from Cliff Lothar, releasing on the ever-intrepid Omnidisc imprint. "Soul Plonk" builds with such effortless class and revels in analog tones––It shows you how much you can do with a little.

Cliff Lothar is on Facebook // SoundCloud

Movement festival kicks off in Detroit this weekend amidst a flurry of other notable festivals. THUMP will be on the ground as we host the Made in Detroit stage, and we've got all your Movement afterparty needs covered in this handy guide.

Brooklyn house duo Chordashian drop some crossover vibes with Beth Aggett's popped-out vocals pushing the UK house aesthetic. Gorgon City eat your heart out. The duo wrote this tune a year ago, but that hasn't stopped the ttack from immediately racking up hype machine numbers upon release. Consider this one a palate cleanser between all the headiness.

Chordashian is on Facebook // SoundCloud

We sent a camera crew along with Black Butter bassline duo My Nu Leng during a recent 4-date tour in India. In addition to traipsing around New Delhi's black market, the duo checked out the Royal Circus and the whole affair had a distinctly eerie feel to it. Check out what we mean.

Underground UK acts Otik and Majora collide on this release on Liar's Tessier-Ashpool. It's fittingly dark and functional broken beat club music with heavy bass and hard-hitting kicks. The original is a frantic post-jungle tune, but Majora slows it down a heck but keeps up the bassweight in all its newfound atmosphere. Pre-order the tune on Juno.

Majora is on Facebook // SoundCloud
Otik is on Facebook // SoundCloud

During a recent NYC gig, THUMP got amidst the crowd to check out a current fashion trend spearheaded by the dystopian goddess supreme herself. We're all about the aesthetic.

Bay Area badman Fritz Carlton comes outta nowhere with a 3-track EP of markedly West Coast weirdo house. Elsewhere on the EP is a collab with recent NFTU featuree Ghostea, but we've got the premiere of "The Heat" with Smalltalk, a six-minute, laid-back shuffler punctuated with glitchy wobbles and playful flourishes that flit above a simply, funky, and propulsive bassline.

Fritz Carlton is on Facebook // SoundCloud

The key players from the multi-faceted South African underground dance community are highlughted in The Future Sounds of Msanzi, a 4-part documentary series to be premiered on THUMP. Watch the trailer above.

Indie vibes on this one as Tei Shi's sweet vocals drop into a dense, atmospheric beat scene stomp that's all pretty and underwater. Fine work from the Color Station boss, who'll be debuting in Brooklyn at The Palisades on June 20. This one's a free download.

Shines is on Facebook // SoundCloud