MUSIC

intermountain - “intermountain 01”

Picture - Eeeeeeee

RIYL: “Enforcement” by Cyrus, staring at the sun, dirty tape heads 

Dub techno is in an exciting place in 2026, with several outposts returning to the sonic-boundary-pushing that, IMO, should be synonymous with the genre. One of the leading labels is Short Span, run by Matthew Kent (formerly of BUTW). 

The track “intermountain 01,” by an unknown producer of the same name, is the 15-minute closing track on the label’s recent mammoth Short Tracks compilation. Not every track is gold, but it features some of my favorite names in the biz (Trailcam, Miles from DDS, Yugen Disciple). This one stopped me in my tracks: a monster, beatless, arpeggiated, delayed synth line that just keeps going.

That was my original impetus for this post. But on Monday, they dropped a new album from Picture, with a great title and great cover art, that really needs to be heard to be believed. Monolithic, singular slabs of midwestern and dub techno, demolishing the line between dance floor and headphones. It all reminds me a bit of one of my favorite records of the decade so far.

DJ Gonz - “Who Do You Ride For?”

RIYL: Escape from New York, Sandwell District, night driving

Another label at least loosely connected to dub techno is SELN Recordings, run by Conrad Pack and DJ Gonz—one I’ve stanned since its inception. Gonz’s contributions have been mesmerizing, but this track comes from his forthcoming solo debut for the label, Magical Negro Overdrive. 

Instead of the 140 BPM stepper mode common to many SELN releases, this is a steely, mid-tempo, melancholic techno track with a satisfying 4/4 thump, mournful strings, and foreboding main synth. Reminds me of John Carpenter or SIlent Servant, and makes me excited to hear what the rest of the release holds.

T.NO - Selections playlist

RIYL: Nick León, drums, UKF, the Verraco “bwwwwaaaahhhhrrrr” synth sound

I first heard Amsterdam producer T.NO through his blistering Yards EP for re:ni and Laksa’s re:lax label. I’ve since learned how insanely prolific he is, releasing a slew of rapid-fire latin-, techno-, grime-, gqom-inflected beats. 

This Spotify playlist he’s compiled is a treasure trove of new club music in the same vein—great for crate digging (or getting chores done).

LINKS

You probably heard about Moltbook, the Reddit-style “social network for bots” that generated some spicy headlines this week. A reminder that these agents haven’t formed consciousness; the viral posts are likely directed by humans, possibly faked, and potentially a security nightmare.

An interview with Yamako Iona about her delightful paintings of devious little dogs.

People do not like Darren Aronofsky’s new AI-produced Revolutionary War series.

How do we reckon with AI music?

We are living in the era of desocialized media (via Pat & Syd).

Time to learn the word polycrisis.

I fell down an Inland Empire rabbit hole thanks to this Reddit thread about AI upscaling in the Criterion release. That led to an in-depth comparison of all the released versions—and to David Lynch’s own thoughts on the matter, which suggest his POV may differ from what Natasha Lyonne implied. Or, if that’s all too much, just watch it on shrooms.

ICE OUT OF MN

Five-year-old Liam Ramos and his dad are back in Minneapolis after being detained by ICE and taken to Texas. He is only one of several students from Columbia Heights who have been abducted by ICE. In fact, ICE is moving MN children to Texas faster than courts can respond.

Eight more attorneys have left the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office, bringing the total to 14 this year. The DOJ is scrambling to bring in attorneys from other states.

A public health crisis is unfolding as more Minnesotans stay home, avoiding both ICE and healthcare.

Commentator Scott Galloway has spearheaded a month long tech and AI boycott called Resist and Unsubscribe, aimed at the Tr*mp administration. While looking into this, I realized that Anthropic has a $200M deal with the DoD—and that the two are currently clashing over whether AI should assist weapons targeting.

Learn how mainstream media narratives latch onto pro-policing angles that exaggerate threats from marginalized groups while downplaying systemic harm by powerful actors, via Alec Karakatsanis.

MORE


For folks in the Twin Cities: my friends Amy and Ben host Joe Delon at Jumpsuit this Saturday at the Black Hart of St. Paul. Good party, good people, should be fun. Bonus: Joe and DFA message board legend Teamy broke down the best DFA remixes in a World Cup-style bracket for Joe’s newsletter. (I find the results acceptable!)

Thanks to all for reading, and shout out to my new subscribers from Instagram. If you enjoy, please don’t hesitate to share with your friends.