Donato Dozzy & Batu - Exhale (2026)

Arguably the most central and galvanising figure in Bristol's endlessly fertile dance music scene, Batu (a.k.a. Omar McCutcheon) teams up with the legendary Italian producer Donato Dozzy to deliver a joint album of deliciously dubby, atmospheric techno. It's a combination where the latter's wealth of old guard knowledge and the former's finely-tuned contemporary capacities elevates each other.

A trip to Dozzy's Rome studio in 2025 saw the conception of most of the Exhale's principal ideas. The nature of the collaboration, without due context, might look like a cliché student-master dynamic—the wise old hand passing on the baton to an established talent of the next generation. But according to "the Professor" (a long-term nickname which signals Dozzy's dual identity as a musician and an academic) there was an inherent generosity in their creative process, akin to the "back-to-back spirit" which had defined their previous DJ performances together: "I was in control of my machines … but I wanted to generate something that would light the imagination of Omar."

The music is equal parts heady and ambient, exploring a range of ideas at the fringes of dub and techno, but ultimately encompassing a broad palette of electronic traditions. Each of the cuts oozes style in their own way: "Drift" achieves a euphoric, almost metaphysical quality through phosphorescent arpeggios which morph and float above the rhythm textures; U.K. funky-adjacent percussion and 303 lines coalesce on "Off Axis," bristling with groove and momentum in equal measure; "Spiral" is a chuggy gem—acid house with a late 2020s U.K. techno twist. Festival appearances from the two over the summer period will see this music flourish in its intended setting—an essential listening experience for seasoned fans. © Finn Kverndal/Qobuz