Since emerging in 2016, Overmono have honed a hooky strain of UK garage. Tom and Ed Russell quickly attracted respect from tastemakers: The 2021 single, “So U Kno,” was crowned Resident Advisor’s track of the year. Their 2023 full-length debut, Good Lies, elevated the stakes. From appearances at Glastonbury’s West Holts stage and O2 Brixton Academy in London to songs with Fred again.. and Lil Yachty, Overmono are blasting towards the stratosphere.
Pure Devotion — Overmono’s sophomore LP for XL Recordings — borrows its name from an event series the brothers curated. “The methods we were going to, to get results, were becoming more extreme and ridiculous. It felt like it made sense the record should be called Pure Devotion. This was after a couple days of setting up crazy tape loops we would maybe use 10 seconds of. It was naturally fitting, after going insane writing a record,” Ed tells me. We are gathered at a subterranean control room in Manhattan, peppered with coveted gear and sooty ashtrays.
Audaciousness shaped Pure Devotion. Overmono established a frame, which was intended to be bent. They retreated to Iceland and northwest Spain, forgoing sleep and routine in isolation. Sylvia Massy’s book, Recording Unhinged: Creative And Unconventional Music Recording Techniques, was an inspiration. Vintage synthesizers — such as Roland’s SH-2 and Jupiter — were crucial. Magnets erased analog information; an antique train station announcement speaker became a filter; amplifier stacks were mic’d in craggy chambers; a cymbal was coated in coffee, vinegar, and chips, then thrown in an oven.
The baking exemplifies Pure Devotion as an altered state. “We have thousands of samples on the computer that we could have gone through,” Ed says. “It’s not like it’s the best sounding crash you’ve ever heard and it’s not the worst. It’s not even the most unique. But it’s the only place where that sound exists. That’s increasingly rare. The whole approach went on that: What are the spaces we have around us? What are the things we can use in our environment that can only come from this place?”
Collaborators dot Pure Devotion, challenging Overmono’s insularity. The brothers typically foster relationships with slow spontaneity; they discovered Tennessee R&B artist Kindora through Bandcamp tags. They connected via Instagram DM, mangling her lyrics on “Gunk,” “Cold Blooded,” and “Bone Mics.” She graces “Even Angels Ghost,” heartbroken words soaring above squishy notes. John Joseph Holt muses about familial loss below laser-y timbres on “Knight In Shining Prada.” These hardware jams brim with scuffed emotion.
Individually, Tom and Ed were weekend warrior DJs in the 2010s. As Truss, the former made brooding industrial. The latter’s Tessela is an underrated touchstone of modern hardcore, with “Hackney Parrot” seeing renewed attention. Bouncing between countries alone in the wee hours took a toll. They appreciate the comfier schedule Overmono allows. “When we first started writing music, we had no preconception of what we wanted to do, other than write together and see what would come out,” Tom says. “Everything happened along the way really naturally. There was never some sort of grand master plan.” In spite of the unexpected glamor, the siblings turned best friends still swear by their craft.
PEAK TIME
Maask - “Playback Ghost Singer”
Sjoerd Oberman’s Nous’Klaer Audio is a vital destination for inventive tools. Its annual celebration in the Netherlands was interrupted this June, but the imprint pushes forward. Maask’s Lyonesse finds the South London newcomer delivering electro-acoustic mutations. “Playback Ghost Singer” unfurls with a rubbery lead, then morphs into sludge. It feels futuristic, but is constructed from soily sources.
Lovegod - “Rendevous (Original Mix)”
With Kynant Records, Berlin’s Richard Akingbehin surfaces relics that are tailored to the moment; look no further than a 2024 reissue of Paul St. Hilaire and René Lowe’s “Faith.” Lovegod’s Rendezvous caters to a summer when Jamaican processing is in vogue. Osaka’s Naoyuki Yamakawa (aka DJ Compufunk) unveiled the one-off moniker at United Underground 鶴の間 (Tsurunoma). Breathy chords are propelled by crisp hi-hats — candy in fog, primed for reimaginings from Priori and Janaret.
Galcher Lustwerk - “Vestibiule (Ricardo Villalobos Remix Volpat Cut 2)”
New York City staple Galcher Lustwerk is known for slick hip house. On a collection of remixes from his Vestibule EP, Skee Mask and Saorise heighten the atmosphere. The standout is from German-Chilean legend Ricardo Villalobos, who spins the title track into choppy hypnosis. Lustwerk’s swaggering bars are rendered a warbled texture.
Facta - “T66”
Wisdom Teeth joint manager Oscar Henson has dabbled with everything from ECM jazz to elated house. The Londoner’s witness compiles three outtakes from recent live shows, employing a similar palette to the zippy GULP. “T66” centers on a half-time groove and Latin-inflected vocal snippets that disintegrate into robotic grit. This is Henson’s most commanding cut to date.
Gloorp - “Gloorp Life”
Garrett Burke drummed for of Montreal, Mothers, and Florry, before launching the tactile alias Gloorp in 2023. The Philadelphia oddball triggers squelchy noises on a discontinued MIDI pad, warped by Ableton and Eurorack. “Ice Bath” is jittery and arachnidian. It features Chemical member Chasia Doko and is on Brooklyn DIY label Jolt Music. Gloorp Life is more aligned with the Mid-Atlantic’s burgeoning club circuit than its storied punk scene.
foodman - “Hard Reclining”
Takahide Higuchi (aka Foodman) makes footwork glisten. The Nagoya producer is an impish fixture in the orbit of Orange Milk and Hyperdub. HIKARIGASASHIKOMU is a term of optimism in Japanese, and the album is as scatterbrained as it is wondrous. “Hard Reclining” is driven by Higuchi’s singing, sunny strums, and a disembodied beat — a melting popsicle for headphones.
Debit - “Pero like”
As Debit, Delia Beatriz probes the queasy limits of Latin tradition. She is synonymous with complex theses, aided by her role as a New York University adjunct professor. Out on Mexico City’s N.A.F.F.I., Potpourri lets whispers from Detroit and Birmingham impact guaracha. “Pero like” bears fangs, syncopated Roland TB-303 dominating brittle percussion. It is coarse and immediate.
DJ Plead - “Ride TV”
Jarred Beeler (aka DJ Plead) pays pummelling homage to Levantine heritage. On efforts for AD 93 and Livity Sound, he has incorporated rattles, jingles, and Arabic melodies into steamy bangers. Please is on Norway’s Smalltown Supersound, including introverted compositions from 2023 to 2025. It is earthy, melding dabke and downtempo. On “Ride TV,” metallic rhythms and trebly swirls crest atop woody bass — excelling due to the lilting gait.
Batu & Donato Dozzy - “Flicker”
Though they are masters of the deepest frequencies, Omar McCutcheon (aka Batu) and Donato Scaramuzzi (aka Donato Dozzy) are surprising partners. As the boss of Timedance, Bristol’s McCutcheon is a key figure in leftfield dubstep. Scaramuzzi is a seminal force in techno, behind Spazio Disponibile and Voices From The Lake. The multi-generational pair bonded through a string of shelved performances on shared bills. They finally went back to back at the Draaimolen Festival, and later converged at Scaramuzzi’s studio in Rome. It yielded the woozy Exhale. “Flicker” is lopsided, cybernetic bleeps flowering from a steely foundation — psychedelia caked in grit.
⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ - ☼⃝☼⃝◉ ҉⃝O☼⃝⊖☼⃝☼⃝❁ ҉⃝☼⃝☼⃝ ⃝͢ ̢⃝͜ ☼⃝☼⃝:̴͓̞̑̌̂̆̊͋̀:̸͎̟̯̂̓̌:̶̢͙͙͕̠̩͆(̷̮͍͚̫͚͂̍)̵̳̗̊( ̟̞̝̜̙̘̗̖҉̵̴̨̧̢̡̼̻̺̹̳̲̱̰̯̮̭̬̫̪̩̦̥̤̣̠҈͈͇͉͍͎͓͔͕͖͙͚͜͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢ͅ l̡̡̡ ̡͌ Ɵʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡(̸̢̛̼̞̭͋ͅ)̸͚̰͛̔̾̀̿͒͂v̴̢͚͚͎ȯ̶̞̮͖̑̈́)̸̳̥̰̜̥̺̐ͅ
I have always been partial to Kieran Hebden’s Wingdings persona. As Four Tet remains focused on the big tent, his difficult to Google material emphasizes nuance. A June release from ⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ was initially confined to vinyl, arriving as a digital upload this month. If your streaming service can support the glitchy characters, it strikes a stellar balance of dreaminess and propulsion. On this track, celestial bells cascade into a reverberant shuffle — euphoric hijinks.
THE AFTERS
spent $6 on the new bandcamp release from four tet's wingdings alias and the file names are so insane it completely crashed my music app. quit and retried four times, can't get a single one to play. well done... pic.twitter.com/ZQ9altPlqO
— Clarke (@pleasuresystems) July 2, 2026
