Mega Ran has been killing it for a long time now, and he always keeps himself busy, whether it be playing shows, working on podcasts and other projects, and putting out music. So while he already released a compilation last December and a collaborative album in June, it should come as no surprise that he already has another project ready for you. This time it’s a mixtape, Beyond The Stars, based on the music of BTS.

Toronto producer Elaquent has been working at a steady pace for over a decade now, releasing project after project of unique instrumental music, for labels such as Fat Beats, Mello Music Group, and HW&W. His last album, Blessing in Disguise, came out just this last February on Mello Music Group. Now he comes back with a different vibe as he returns to Canadian label URBNET with After Midnight. After Midnight might give you a good idea as to the general vibe of the album from the title, but few artists would still keep their options as open as Elaquent after choosing this theme.

Dr. Dundiff is a producer from Louisville, Kentucky, best known for his collaborations with Otis Junior or Touch A.C., along with his work as a solo artist. Most recently, he gave us a solo/collaborative project called The Distance back in March of this year. Now he’s come back with a group project, SGJAZZ. SGJAZZ is a neo-soul/jazz ensemble that Dr. Dundiff has assembled, with Dundiff himself on drums, percussion, and Rhodes, alongside Idris Frederick on Rhodes, Patrick Denny on bass and grand piano, Anthony Keenan on guitar, Noah Reed on alto/tenor sax and flute, and Reid Gross on trombone.

Wordburglar is an emcee from Toronto that is one of the many, many members of the Backburner crew. He has been releasing music as a solo artist for over fifteen years now, with his most recent album, Rhyme Your Business, coming out just about one year ago. Now he comes back with a new hybrid release, SpaceVerse. SpaceVerse is an interesting release in that it is a mixture of an EP of some new nerdy tracks and a collection of remixes of older songs.

satchy is the performing name of one Satchel Brown, a 21-year-old guitar player/vocalist/songwriter from Pasadena. Despite his young age, he’s already been putting out music for a couple of years now, including an EP called The Muse which came out in July of last year. Now he’s back with a new album, Brown Lotus. If I were to try to classify the music of satchy, I’d go with garage/soul. The music is definitely coming from a retro-soul home base, but it’s being played and recorded with the looseness of a garage rock band.

Blossom is a producer from Poland who has been releasing music for about the last five years. His most recent effort came just this January, when he released an EP called Figures with a guitar player named Wookie. Now he’s back with a new solo effort, Terra Incognita. With only seven tracks to the project, there is a temptation to call this release an EP, but when those seven tracks come in around 32 minutes in length, we are getting closer to an LP.

Madison producer Chants has been quietly killing it all decade long, with some truly excellent and challenging releases such as I Feel Like I Feel It and We Are All Underwater, just to name a couple. For his last run of releases, he’s been working with Los Angeles label Astral Plane Recordings, including his most recent of a couple of EPs in 2017 and 2018. Now he comes back with his first full-length album since 2015, Seven Spheres.

Obuxum is a Somali-Canadian producer who calls Toronto home these days. Last year, she made a little bit of a splash when she debuted on URBNET with a short-but-exciting EP called H.E.R.. It was inventive and interesting, and it hinted at a lot more potential that Obuxum was just beginning to tap into. Well, the good news is that we didn’t have to wait too long, because now she’s back with a full-length album that is just bursting with ideas in Re-Birth.

The Portland label known as Fresh Selects has brought us a lot of great music over the last few years since their launch earlier this decade, with a good chunk of their roster coming from the West Coast and Pacific Northwest. However, they have ventured outside of this region into international territory before, such as when they released the excellent album, Cleo, by the Berlin-based artist Charlotte Dos Santos. This time, the label reached out to the UK to find an up-and-coming producer/vocalist/deejay by the name of Emmavie, who in the past has worked with artists such as IAMNOBODI and Jay Prince.

ELUCID is an artist that has kept himself busy over the years, whether it be as a solo artist or as part of groups like Armand Hammer, Cult Favorite, or Nostrum Grocers. One of the things that can get lost in the mix, since he’s such a presence on the mic, is that he’s also an accomplished producer. After a very busy 2018 which saw releases from his various groups, he now takes a moment to let his production shine as he releases a collection of musical sketches he made while on the road, Every Egg I Cracked Today Was Double Yolked.