#19 Feat. Staff Picks in Progressive House

Starting the new year with a bang, GMJ & Matter return to their renowned Meanwhile imprint with another sumptuous twin-track EP, courtesy of Cryo / Keepers. 2025 was yet another year to remember for GMJ & Matter. From gigs across their native Australian homeland, to Skyline Glasgow, Balance Croatia and Prague, to another sold out Meanwhile showcase in conjunction with Vapour Records at Club Akhnaton for ADE, the duos tour schedule has racked up the air miles and lit up clubs and festivals across the globe. In tandem, their production output has shone equally brightly with Telomeres on Meanwhile in March 2025, the Apex / Undergrowth EP on Kasey Taylors Vapour in May, Aprils stunning Voyage Austral with Pole Folder on All Day I Dream and the vibrant Red Sky on Balance Music in July. Remixes for Mango Alley, Songspire Records and Sirup Music have continued to provide an iridescent aura over the duos increasingly sought-after remix work. Opener, Cryo, bristles with bassline brio as a pulsating sub hits the listener square in the chest. A fizzing percussion adds urgency, and a thumping beat provides dancefloor energy. Evolving easily through its phases, a glorious analogue synth cuts across the mix like a hot knife through butter, coming to fore at the mid-point break. Hitting its straps in the second half, the combination of rhythm, bass and melody combine in a magical alchemy that transcends the Progressive House genre. Keepers continues the club-friendly vibe with a rolling percussive groove and sumptuously filtered pads. Using syncopated elements to devastating effect, a subtle motif adds vibrancy before a generous, free-flowing synth creates a mystical dynamism redolent in delays and reverb that percolate throughout the mix. Never dropping in pace, rising tension is created using snare rolls, before the energy is dissipated in a powerful drop that illustrates bassline bravado juxtaposed against melodic charm. Cryo / Keepers once again demonstrates GMJ & Matters unerring ability to create sparkling musical gems, frozen within a timeless rhythmic milieu. Directed by GMJ & Matter Mastered by Cid Inc. Design by Matter Text by James Warren

GMJ, Matter

#54 Feat. Staff Picks in Progressive House

Approaching the end of another successful year, Meanwhile welcomes Fran Garay to the label with the powerful Restored / Irresponsible / Ill Be Better EP. Immersed in the world of electronic music from an early age, Fran Garay journeyed along a pathway of Dubstep and EDM before reaching a destination where he discovered Progressive House aged 16, inspired by the sounds of Martín García. From this epiphany, the Argentine producer has quickly become a staple of the progressive fraternity with over a century of production credits dating back to a 2020 debut on 3rd Avenue. Since then, Balkan Connection, Paul Thomass UV Noir, Forty Cats PURRFECTION and Mangos Mango Alley have played host to the Fran Garay sound. Now the Villa Mercedes resident from San Luis province returns to Meanwhile after a debut on September 2024s Meanwhile Excursions, Vol. 4 compilation. Showcasing his distinctive and versatile sound, Restored is powered by traditional, club-friendly tropes. A dynamic rhythmic backdrop creates a high-energy vibe while a rolling bassline groove creates dancefloor character. A syncopated motif brings mid-range joy in effortlessly shifting repetitions, culminating in a white noise-fuelled breakdown before reaching its zenith in the second half. Here, the full cast of melodic and rhythmic actors join forces in a chorus of pitched synth phrases that rise, in siren-like intensity, before dropping back into the magnificent rhythm and bassline melange of earlier phases. Irresponsible boasts a huge thumping beat and rolling groove, while a subterranean bassline joins the throng, blending seamlessly alongside the rising melodic themes. Held together with an invisible sonic glue, a cascading and fractured analogue lead sequence glistens like shards of broken glass in the autumn sunlight. Subtly shifting patterns of light and dark rise and fall in intensity as the complex melodic patterns rotate around a central theme. The result is an innovative and unique track. Following the themes of its predecessor, Ill Be Better, continues the driving rhythmic framework with lighter shaker patterns adding delicate urgency. Once again, shifting motifs are in full evidence, this time punctuated by a flowing freeform pattern that gradually appears from the second movement. Evolving easily, the track erupts after the mid-point breakdown into a glorious collage of shifting sonic patterns that command listener attention, in turn creating an awe-inspiring listener experience. Full of intriguing sonic landscapes and a unique approach to his craft, Fran Garay has certainly risen to new heights with his Restored / Irresponsible / Ill Be Better EP. Directed by GMJ & Matter Mastered by Cid Inc. Design by Matter Text by James Warren

Fran Garay