From Bradford, UK
Recommended if you like Adrian Sherwood, Kris Baha, Guerilla Welfare
Up next New EP Don’t Forget the Ritual released on 28 February
Miles J Paralysis maintains a low profile, with just a handful of releases available on Bandcamp and a sparse, faceless Instagram presence. The enigma suits the music he has been making and sharing under the alias since early last year: dark, dubby and complete with obscure vocal samples and titles such as Always Liked Scarecrows and Cursed Moor.
Before he adopted the Paralysis name in 2025, the Bradford-based producer released music under Miles Henry for several years but that functional, techy production style has since taken a left turn. His new sound is swampy and gothic, and said to be inspired by northern folklore and mysticism – themes evoked in his chugging rhythms and cosmic flourishes. Recent tracks such as Eavesdropper, from his Folktronic EP and Snicket Rhythm, from Turf Step (both released via his own imprint Crying Outcast), sound as fit for a seance as they do a dancefloor. The deep low end lurks menacingly, as physical as it is audible.
This month, Paralysis will release his new EP Don’t Forget the Ritual on the DIY label Emotional Especial. As the title suggests, the record is suitably eerie and hypnotic, with industrial clangs and whispers perforating the whirring synths and skittish percussion. Despite the concept, there’s plenty of variation here as big-room house music and shuffling big beat coalesce with post-punk, dub and new wave – an expansive approach that echoes the musicians who influence him, from Andrew Weatherall to African Head Charge. It’s a brilliant, assured record from a producer who is hitting his stride. Safi Bugel
This week’s best new tracks
Lana Del Rey – White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter
Lana makes the spooky intimacy of Disney’s early scores even more unsettling as she sings about how her embrace of domesticity may seem strange after years of “some trouble”. Her best since A&W. LS
Foo Fighters – Your Favorite Toy
Dave Grohl has a touch of Trent Reznor on the title track of the forthcoming Foos album, yowling about transgression through a thick smear of vocal distortion, as the band do hammering glam-hardcore. BBT
Ana Roxanne – Keepsake
You may have heard Roxanne’s voice swathed in dream-pop, or topping beats as part of her Natural Wonder Beauty Concept duo with DJ Python, but here, it is devastatingly stark over a piano ballad suffused in grief. BBT
Abdullah Miniawy and Simo Cell – Pixelated
The Egyptian poet’s vocal cries are stretched out on the French producer’s juddering percussive rack, fragmenting before dissipating into a cavern of smoke, motorcycle revs and destabilising bass. LS
Marisa Anderson – Taqsim for Guitar
The endlessly versatile US fingerpicker – and former William Tyler collaborator – explores the private record collection of folklorist Harry Smith for her new album: this elegant, microtonal piece draws from a 1955 Syrian violin recording. LS
Nicole Blakk – Money (On My Mind)
“Unique: can’t compare me like meerkat!” As she slides between rapping and singing, in English and French lyrics, the UK MC (and recent Dave collaborator) ends up very much in her own lane. BBT
Alan Sparhawk – JCMF
An obliterating highlight from the former Low frontman’s live shows, Jesus Christ Motherfucker now gets its recorded debut: doomy and wrathful, with excellent, Jim White-worthy drum rolls from Eric Pollard. LS
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