About TAFR
Future, perfect.
TAFR is our annual electro-industrial, futurepop and synthwave playlist. Targeting a specific cybernetic aesthetic of techno-optimism pioneered by Y2K era electro-industrial artists, but featuring modern synthwave and dark disco sounds as well.
Featured Releases
Liminal State
by Lavion on Ritmo Fatale
An incredible EP, dense and layered and electric. I’ve been making tremendous use of the other tracks on this EP like “Spiral” and “Scalar” while playing out, but from the moment I heard the vocals “Psychonauts” I knew I was going to sneak it into a futurepop mixtape.
This EP stacks stellar italo disco and synthwave on top of dark trance and EBM basslines to evoke a massive sound that’s both nostalgic and energized.
Featured tracks:
- Track 3, “Psychonauts” – The moment I heard this song, I knew I was going to sneak it into a futurepop mixtape. Dark synthwave, progressive trance beats, with darkwave vocals.
Dawn Mist
by Incendie on Soil Records
An absolutely massive release from Berlin-based Area Z manager Arthur Bdt. Heavy, relentless and hard-edged techno body music, heavily influenced by the sawtooth churning of aggrotech and old harsh electro and industrial. Brutal and beefed up dark beats.
Featured tracks:
- Track 4, “Stress” – Honestly this shit slaps. Dark, deep, hard electro bass groove, with heavy tech trance synth leads.
- Track 3, “Decaying Realities” – Heavy techno body music, aggrotech, and dark acid trance.
- Track 2, “Counterfactuals” – Dark electro EBM with horror movie synth.
Night Protocol EP
by Kay-Chi on Cold Transmission Music
Athens-based Kay-Chi delivers yet another absolutely electric EP full of night-time synthwave and dark disco, complete with a selection of guest vocal appearances.
Featured tracks:
- Track 2, “Darkest Night (feat. Rina Pavar)” – Heavy synthwave, with a tense electro-industrial vibe.
- Track 3, “Dis Equilibrium (feat. Kally Voo)” – Synthwave, dark disco, electro.
Love Cuts EP
by Years of Denial on VEYL
Toxic and erotic. A blend of dark electro industrial, italo disco, and coldwave; with sinister synth, and impeccable night time neon vibes.
Featured tracks:
- Track 4, “We Are the Party” – A dark disco anthem.
- Track 3, “Hide & Sick” – Dark disco, coldwave.
The Poisoned Chalice
by Adam Rå on X-IMG
Based in Poland, Adam Rå has had a consistent string of dark EBM releases since 2024 that are definitely worth your time and attention. This EP from March 2025 is dark, groovy, and features a sinister industrial atmosphere.
Featured tracks:
- Track 3, “The Poisoned Chalice” – A huge electro industrial club groove, with a haunted, dark electro vocal.
- Track 2, “Cold Steel” – Buzzing, aggro, electro industrial / techno body music.
- Track 1, “Scars” – Head bobbing dark electro & EBM. Spooky, groovy.
Four Dimensions
by Fermion on Re:Mission Entertainment
Cold and mechanical, complex cybernetic modulations, a theme for hard sci-fi. Brooklyn’s electro industrial duo Fermion dropped this EP in April 2026, and it is a transmission through time and space, capturing a classic theme with a contemporary cinematic sci-fi sound.
Featured tracks:
- Track 3, “Four Dimensions” – Slow, seething vocals about interdimensional traversal, with a cybernetic synthwave breakdown in the middle.
- Track 5, “Theme For Great Cities” – Great. A melodic and moody electro-industrial cover of the track by Simple Minds.
Tomorrow Place
by Seeming on Artoffact Records
A great two track single from New York based Seeming, which includes an Assemblage 23 remix of the title track. Thoughtfully produced futurepop, with powerful moods and sound. I liked the whole thing and recommend it.
Featured tracks:
- Track 3, “Tomorrow Place (Assemblage 23 Remix)” – Very futurepop.
- Track 2, “La Zona Fantasma” – Abolish ICE.
Electrocution Vol. 1
V/A on Electrosound
You might notice that there are a lot of Mexican and Spanish language synthpop & EBM tracks in this playlist, and that’s because it all fucking rips. “Al Final” is in constant rotation for me now, along with a couple other releases from the rest of this playlist.
This 2026 compilation from CDMX has tracks in different styles and I was able to find both a stripped down electro industrial torch song about the end, and a stompy aggrotech track about being a space marine.
Featured tracks:
- Track 5, “Trizte – Al Final (Exclusive Edit)” – Stripped down synthpop and industrial EBM, with a harsh electro vocal. The beat is good and the vocal is weird and I fuckin’ love it.
- Track 7, “Brigadier – Soldiers (Electrocution Mix)” – Fun little harsh electro industrial track about going to war in outer space.
Whispers of The Future Vol. 08
V/A on Sector Industrial
Whispers of The Future is a yearly V/A showcase compilation from Mexican label Sector Industrial, featuring a variety of dark, goth, and industrial music, including harsh electro, aggrotech, and Industrial EBM. Volumes 7 and 8 have both been great. It’s also Name Your Price, and you can’t beat that.
Featured tracks:
- Track 7, “DATA – Runaway (Remix)” – A clubbier electro industrial remix of DATA’s original track on Después De Todo.
- Track 5, “Future Desolator – Acorazado” – Industrial EBM.
Shortlisted
Mexican Body Music
V/A on Electrosound
I was absolutely delighted to find an EBM compilation called Mexican Body Music and it did not disappoint. It’s got some great tracks on it with lots of raw, old school energy, running the gamut from Industrial EBM, aggrotech, to harsh electro industrial. My one and only single complaint… is that the first track on this Mexican EBM compilation (which is a good track!) starts the comp off with German lyrics.
Featured tracks:
- Track 8, “Mortal Industria – Robotfobia” – Raw aggrotech, harsh electro.
- Track 4, “Fuerza Rebelde – Frente 242 (old version)” – Stripped down Industrial EBM.
Después De Todo
by DATA on Cautivos
A full length synthpop album about courage and loneliness from CDMX’s DATA.
Featured tracks:
- Track 10, “Señales (Club Mix)”
- Track 9, “Después de todo”
- Track 5, “Runaway”
Sounds From The Matrix 026
V/A on Alfa Matrix
A big label showcase of synthpop, industrial EBM, and harsh electro tracks form recent Alfa Matrix releases, with lots of decent stuff on here.
Featured tracks:
- Track 2, Aiboforcen – “Executions (Life Before Death)” – Synthpop
- Track 4, Cut.Rate.Box – “Isticism (Video Version)” – Synthpop & Electro Industrial.
Streaming Playlists
TAFR 2026 is available to stream on SoundCloud.
This mixtape was arranged in Ableton, and it’s my first time using the software for over a decade, so I hope it sounds ok. I definitely could not have figured out this play order and these transitions without doing a couple sessions in Serato first, but I really appreciated the chance to learn something new.
If nothing else, it gives me the opportunity to add way more movie samples to my EBM mixes than I usually do live.
Tracklist
- 00:00:19 – Kay-Chi – Darkest Night (feat. Rina Pavar)
- 00:04:19 – DATA – Runaway (Remix)
- 00:08:49 – Years of Denial – We Are the Party
- 00:13:39 – Lavion – Psychonauts
- 00:19:40 – Adam Rå – The Poisoned Chalice
- 00:24:39 – Incendie – Stress
- 00:29:48 – Mortal Industria – Robotfobia
- 00:33:33 – Fermion – Four Dimensions
- 00:39:36 – Brigadier – Soldiers (Electrocution Mix)
- 00:42:58 – Incendie – Decaying Realities
- 00:48:46 – Kay-Chi – Dis Equilibrium (feat. Kally Voo)
- 00:52:55 – Trizte – Al Final (Exclusive Edit)
- 00:56:54 – Seeming – Tomorrow Place (Assemblage 23 Remix)
Cover Story
The original cover photo was taken at the Brooklyn Heights promenade at sunset on March 9th, 2026. These colors are, if you can believe it, straight out of the camera.
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