Who says ‘best of’ lists have to be restricted to the end of the year? Here are my favourite new album releases of the first quarter of 2023, for those who might be interested.

Kali Malone – Does Spring Hide Its Joy Three hours of amazing drone work from prolific organist Kali Malone, featuring Sunn O))) guitarist Stephen O’Malley and cellist Lucy Railton.

Tongue Depressor – Bones For Time Ambient drones that sound like the steady breathing of a sleeping giant.

Atom TM – Nacht Intense, moody, minimal techno. (Ideal as background music for writing tense scenes!)

Adela Mede – Szabadság Difficult-to-describe Slovakian almost-pop with beats and field recordings and disorientation.

Bianca Scout – The Heart of the Anchoress More off-kilter beats, and actual vocals, though they’re hazy enough to register only as whispers.

Cisser Mæhl – Innemuseum Listening to vocals while writing or reading works fine for me if I can’t understand the words, and these Danish lullabies put me in the zone immediately.

The Necks – Travel Head-bobbing groove repetition courtesy of Australian’s finest avant-garde jazz trio.

теплота – Skynned Totally nuts jazz-inflected techno that makes a neat partner to the Necks album.

Honour – HBK Vol 1 – Na God Is it an original album? A mixtape? I’ve no idea, but it’s barking mad, and the most fun I’ve had with a hip hop release for ages.

Tresa Leigh – I Remember Rerelease EP of 1970s lo-fi, heartrending songs by a Georgia teenager who, I presume, never quite made it, but should have.

Herman Dune – The Portable Herman Dune, Vol.2 Still my favourite indie band after all these years. These beautiful, stripped-down performances of past triumphs make me fall in love with them all over again. And there’s a third volume still to come!

Adrian Sherwood Presents: Dub No Frontiers An absolute relevation of a compilation: female reggae artists from around the world, singing in Hindi, Romani, Arabic and other languages.