Favorite Releases from January 2026
January often brings a "New Year, new me" attitude, but here at Delayed, when it comes to music that we enjoyed in 2025, we prefer "more of the same, please." From lush ambient and introspective atmospheres to dancefloor-ready polyrhythms and driving techno, 2026 has started on a good note!
Marco Maldarella’s new album for Omen Wapta is unapologetically long, and importantly, earns that length. Built around single-synth recordings, the twenty tracks resist the temptation to stack ideas for effect. Instead, rhythmic mutations and polyrhythmic overlaps do the work. “Silent Logic" is an album that will stay on rotation for some time in our HQ. Yogg delivers a second release on his own imprint, Polarized Future, which he launched in 2024. The four-track EP is fueled by relentless halftime with a strong emphasis on bass weight and meditative, spacious minimalism. Re: Axis celebrates the second anniversary of his imprint - Aurora Mística, with a beautiful ten-track album "Self Portrait" showcasing different facets of his work - from lush ambient to hypnotic techno. ABSIS demonstrates, yet again, why he is considered one of the legends of the Spanish underground scene with a powerful four-track EP on 30D Records, further exploring the depths of fractured grooves and dark atmospheres. Still Inside on Lontano Series unfolds patiently across eleven tracks, mapping a narrow emotional bandwidth with remarkable control. The Japanese producer, Morimoto Naoki, uses minimal gestures, allowing small tonal shifts and spatial changes to accumulate meaning over time. Ruben Ganev’s latest installment in the Collector’s Series on mould audio arrives as a seven-track mini-LP and feels purpose-built for dark rooms and extended sets. The basslines growl, the structures stay lean, and the energy remains tightly contained. Manja Ristić’s Lisboa takes a different route entirely, grounding its ambient constructions in field recordings captured across the city's mesmerising streets. With Flowers of Evil II, Lina Filipovich continues to build a world that refuses easy classification. Fragmented techno structures sit alongside murky ambient passages and dub-leaning psychedelia, all stitched together by a consistent sense of atmosphere. Delsin continues to deliver high-quality output with no plans to slow down. In January, they brought us a debut solo EP from well-known Berlin-based producer Amotik, and his four-track "Raat" EP, laced with punchy techno grooves and soothing pads, forming a well-rounded package of dancefloor euphoria. And to round up in style, we have to reflect on a legendary release, "Layering Buddha" by Robert Henke, which received an excellent remaster, fantastic artwork, and a well-deserved repress on beloved Astral Industries for its 20th anniversary!
Marco Maldarella - Silent Logic
[Omen Wapta]
ABSIS - Eines EP
[30D Records]
Lina Filipovich - Flowers of Evil II
[Hundebiss]
Robert Henke - Layering Buddha
[Astral Industries]
Yogg - Don't You
[Polarized Future]
Amotik - Raat
[Delsin Records]
Manja Ristić - Lisboa
[self released]
Re:Axis - Self-Portrait
[Aurora Mística]
morimoto naoki - Still Inside
[Lontano Series]
Ruben Ganev - Collector's Series | 27
[mould audio]