Friday Dance Music Guide: The Week’s Best New Tracks From LSDXOXO, Nelly Furtado & Dom Dolla, Mura Masa & More

This week in dance music: Gorillaz announced The Getaway tour with support from Kaytranada and more, Flume and Confidence Man scored nominations for Australia’s 2023 AIR Awards, the ladies of Icona Pop penned a letter to the LGBTQ community to mark the dawn of Pride month, David Guetta tied Calvin Harris for the most ever No. 1s on Billboard‘s Dance Mix Show/Airplay chart, friends and associates of late disco pioneer Sylvester shared their recollections of the legend and we ran down the top 65 LGBTQ anthems of all time.

More, you say? Indeed. Let’s get into it.

LSDXOXO, “Double Tap”

The Artist: The Philly-born, Berlin-based DJ/producer LSDXOXO

The Label: F.A.G. / Because Music

The Spiel: After official remixes for Lady Gaga, Pinkpantheress and Shygirl, along with a May residency at BBC Radio 1, LSDXOXO keeps swinging for the fences with the deeply euphemistic “Double Tap.” On it, he minces no words while demanding “think about my face when you touch it” over squelchy electro production and urgently hypnotic synths, which all builds to a state of frenzied seduction. The track is the lead single from LSDXOXO’s forthcoming Delusions Of Grandeur EP, coming September 22.

The Artist Says: “Delusions of Grandeur was created as a bridging of worlds for what people know my sound to be and what it will become over the span of my next few projects. Electroclash and ’90s vocal rave have always been some of my biggest musical inspirations, but I’ve allowed those influences to take a front seat in the crafting of this EP … The title of this project speaks to my personal tug of war with the concept of celebrity. I’m quite the introvert, and up to this point have used my artistic persona as a sort of costume or even armour in order to navigate the heightened visibility.”

The Vibe: Definitely not introverted.

Barry Can’t Swim, “Woman”

The Artist: Scottish upstart Barry Can’t Swim

The Label: Ninja Tune

The Spiel: The lead single form BCS’ forthcoming debut album, When Will We Land, “Woman” is a warm breeze of a house track built from insistent piano, shimmery flourishes, a bit of choral singing and anchoring vocals from English singer Låpsley.

The Artist Says: “I wanted it to have the energy of electronic music but also with a more organic live element,” Barry says of his forthcoming LP. “I feel like I’m more of a musician than anything else. I’m a producer but I like writing music on instruments.”

The Vibe: Simultaneous levity and depth.

Dom Dolla & Nelly Furtado, “Eat Your Man”

The Artists: Mighty Aussie house producer Dom Dolla, still riding high off his recent MK collab “Rhyme Dust,” and pop goddess Nelly Furtado.

The Label: Three Six Zero Recordings/Sony Music Entertainment

The Spiel: Furtado returns with her first new music in six (!) years, with — yes, ladies and gentlemen — a bonafide club heater. “Eat Your Man” finds Furtado lyrically referencing some of her greatest hits (“Maneater” “I’m Like a Bird”), in a rapidfire flow — “Fly like a bird, I’m taking it home… I’ll eat your man, devour him whole” — over Dolla’s darkly pulsing production, built primarily from a sort of snaky synth and bass far enough into the low end to make your speakers wobble slightly.

The Vibe: Like a bird on a peaktime dancefloor.

DJ Holographic, “Desire”

The Artist: DJ Holographic

The Label: Black Artist Database

The Spiel: We all know what desire feels like, but how does it sound? For Detroit native DJ Holographic, the sonic vibe is seven minutes of a pulsing beat paired with some sort of soft sighing and musings on the nature of romance and intimacy. The experimental (but still very listenable) track is out on Synergy Vol 1, a compilation from Black Artist Database that marks the launch of its new label of the same name and also features track by B.A.D. co-founder Niks, Lyric Hood and more.

The Vibe: Steamy.

Mura Masa, “Drugs”

The Artist: U.K. fav Mura Masa.

The Label: Pond Recordings

The Spiel: Here Peruvian singer Daniela Lalita declares “I don’t do drugs, but with you I do,” over Mura Masa’s breezy, sort of bouncy, indie-leaning production, which itself embodies the pleasure of sometimes breaking your own rules for the right person. The track follows Mura Masa’s April Coachella set and his production work on PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s global breakout hit “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2.”

The Vibe: Playful and indeed sort of stoney.

Purple Disco Machine, “Bad Company”

The Artists: German powerhouse Purple Disco Machine

The Label: Columbia

The Spiel: Blessedly hitting the same disco + ’80s synth sweet spot as much of his previous output, PDM maintains his streak as simply one of the most fun and unpretentious producers out there, with a track that cooks via loads of cowbell, bells, strings, one big serotonin release of a wind-up and a very camp choreographed dance video, shot on the Venice Beach boardwalk.

The Vibe: Not bad at all.

Holly, “Not In The Mood”

The Artist: Portuguese fav Holly

The Label: ilex Records

The Spiel: Holly has reliably been outputting smart, left of center bass music for years. But the vibe on his new EP, sadness, is also, as the title suggests, often softer and more somber, particularly via the pretty, quite melodic and previously released “Swear I Been Ready” and “Cuento de Vida.” Does the EP still slap though? Yeah it does, with the “Not In The Mood” embodying its titular brush-off sentiment with hectic beats and jittery synths that hit sharp and hard. On social media the producer noted that sadness is the first of “many” EPs he’s got coming in 2023. 

The Vibe: That sort of pissed at the world phase of sadness.