The xx bassist and frontman Oliver Sim has shared his monumental debut solo record, Hideous Bastards, today, a release three years in the making. “I’ve made an album about self-loathing in a bid to love myself”, the velvet-voiced Sim said on Instagram of the LP which features the star’s remarkable candour at processing his HIV diagnosis at age 17. Final single “Run The Credits” pays homage to some of Sim’s favourite film figures like Patrick Bateman and Buffalo Bill. “I very much see this album as a queer horror film,” Sim explains, and I wrote ‘Run the Credits’ as the closing scenes of the film.” What a finish and with a debut like this, we’re already counting down the days until album number two.

A meeting of the minds of two European talents at the vanguards of their respective genres, blissful Danish singer-songwriter Erika de Casier and Guernsey-born production maestro Mura Masa have shared “e-motions”. It’s the latest offering ahead of Mura Masa’s upcoming third studio album Demon Time, due September 16th, and wow, if this isn’t the UK Garage snack of our dreams, then we don’t know what is. Lush harps, sugary hooks, and irresistible vocal chops – don’t mind us as we depart into Friday night with this delight in tow.

If there was anything we’ve not been short of in recent years, it’s dance-pop anthems from both Ella Henderson and M-22, and with “Heartstrings”, the duo and Henderson are hitting our pre-drinks playlists once again. The German-British, M-22 and “21 Reasons” hitmaker, Henderson are just in time for Ibiza’s closing parties with this grand club smash in the making. Henderson’s trademark belt is out to play in full force once again, as she makes another stride in becoming one of the most decorated dance-chart vocalists of our time.

Nigerian afropiano pioneer, Zinoleesky named his latest single after a video game with one hell of a legacy behind it. However, thankfully the star on the rise’s sun-kissed, kinetic jam, which melds afrobeats, amapiano and electronic dance music, has the equivalent allure of the gaming institution. And it’s of course, yet another signal of the genre pioneer’s own odyssey to legendary status in his own right.

The Brighton-hailing producer and London-based rapper-producer finally share their long-awaited debut collaborative album White Girl Wasted. With features from the likes of the late MF DOOM, Jay Electronica, Malib, DJ Premier, Milkaveli & Lee Scott, the pair’s hedonistic debut, featuring an opening track titled “Paris Hilton”, reportedly began life after a heavy weekend at Outlook Festival in Croatia in 2018. After recruiting Doom and Jay Electronica for a whimsical track made in the hangover of their adventures, the idea of working on a full-length album seemed too good to miss. We maybe need to make our hangover days a bit more productive than pizza and Netflix, although if Sonnyjim & The Purist have got the creative genius bit covered so well, maybe we’ll just leave them to it?