Essential Listening: The best new music releases in June/May 2024

New music from May 2024 has been amazing. Check out the best releases in indie, house, DnB, techno, hip-hop, and more, here.

Skiddle Staff

Date published: 3rd Jun 2024

New music in May 2024 has been incredible. We saw the releases of some brilliant albums from Vince Staples, Knocked Loose, Billie Eilish, Beth Gibbons, DIIV, Rapsody, and of course the diss tracks from Kendrick and Drake.

But back to what’s new!

Coming through with the very last tracks of the month, we've got new tunes from The Streets, PAWSA, Sara Landry and Alt8, CHUNG, Low Steppa and Jewel Kid, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Loyle Carner, King Hannah, CLIPZ and Specialist Moss, Adam Beyer, DJ Fresh, Jamie Jones, mynameisntjmack and Blu, Skepsis, Honeyglaze, and more.

Have a listen to the best new music of May 2024, buy tickets to see our featured artists live, and follow the playlists below.

Essential Listening: House and Techno

Big Busta - Low Steppa, Jewel Kid

One of the biggest names in house is back with a new track! Low Steppa has linked up with Maltese artist Jewel Kid for ‘Big Busta’, a track that many house heads will probably have on repeat for the next few days at least.

Full of cocky attitude, the track hooks you with its humour, catchy hook, and simple but irresistible bass. Giving plenty of energy from the get-go, this track will definitely make dance floors light up when it kicks off.

Get tickets to see Low Steppa live here:

Babylon Presents: Low Steppa (Defected) | Saturday 22nd - Sunday 23rd June 2024 | TIBU Marbella in Puerto Banus

Buy tickets:

Crooked House In The Park Festival (Low Steppa, Claptone, and more) | Sunday 25th August 2024 | Beacon Park in Lichfield

Buy tickets:

Essential Listening: Indie and Alternative

Don't Make Me A Stranger - Swim Deep

Taken from their album There's A Big Star Outside, which is due to be released in June, Swim Deep are back with a mournful acoustic guitar-driven track.

A tribute to those impacted by dementia, ‘Don’t Make Me A Stranger’ freely waltzes with a twinkly lead guitar on top.

About the track, the band said, “[Dementia is] a gut-wrenching illness that feels so brutally unfair, with the only silver lining being that music seems to be the last thing to leave your memory. It helps me to write about it and talk to others that have lost people to it too.”

Get tickets to see Swim Deep live here:

Swim Deep + Prima Queen | Wednesday 5th June 2024 | Hare And Hounds Kings Heath in Birmingham

Buy tickets:

Swim Deep Album Launch + Signing | Saturday 8th June 2024 | The Jacaranda Club in Liverpool

Buy tickets:

Essential Listening: Drum & Bass and Jungle

Kenny - Skepsis remix

Greater London DJ and producer Skepsis has dropped a remix of Slay and Sigma’s ‘Kenny’, and it’s a heavy one.

Replacing the relatively chill bass line for a dirty, monstrous one, Skepsis has made the track his own in a way that’ll have ravers throwing their gun fingers about in the air and screaming at the drop.

Adding more build-ups to the track, we’ve now got one for a proper rave and the original for the chilled moments. We love a belting remix and this is definitely one of them, with Skep clearly putting his imprint on it and shifting its sound seamlessly.

Get tickets to see Skepsis live here:

WAH IBIZA week 4 (Skepsis, Hybrid Minds, and more) | Monday 8th July 2024 | Eden Ibiza in Sant Antoni

Buy tickets:

DnB Allstars Festival ( Skepsis, Friction, Bou, and more) | Sunday 15th September 2024 | Gunnersbury Park in London

Buy tickets:

Essential Listening: Hip-Hop and Jazz

Drug Tzar - Big Hit, Hit-Boy, The Alchemist

Back with another teaser from their forthcoming collaborative album Black & Whites, The Alc, Hit-Boy, and Big Hit have given us another eerie banger. Hit-Boy and The Alchemist share production duties while Big Hit handles the mic.

This one kicks off with a snippet of a Ronald Reagan speech about how drugs are “menacing [the USA’s] society before Big Hit comes in with his chorus, “I’m not a rap star, I’m a drug tzar”

Dark and unsettling, this one’s borderline horror in its instrumental. That vibe that has us looking over our shoulders is part of what makes this one so addictive.

Get tickets to see The Alchemist live here:

Jazz Cafe Festival (The Alchemist, Earl Sweatshirt, and more) | Sunday 15th September 2024 | Burgess Park in London

Buy tickets:

Follow our Essential Listening playlists featured above to discover the best new tracks released each week, as curated by the Skiddle team.

Check out our What's On Guide to discover more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.