“Welcome paradise, welcome to my prison,” announces Iceboy Violet in their debut mixtape, The Vanity Project. A resident MVP at Manchester’s White Hotel, and a member of the city’s Mutualism collective, the artist is at the forefront of Manchester’s avant garde, having made impressive guest appearances on aya’s im hole, Loraine James’ Reflection, and Blackhaine’s Armour. On The Vanity Project, Violet delivers deft lyricism against harsh, moody soundscapes across 20 minutes and seven tracks. It’s an emotional gut-punch, oscillating between the moody and introspective soundscapes of “Are U Connected” to the abrasive simplicity of “Vanity” and the relentless pace of “Antiskeptic”. What are you waiting for?

Elsewhere, Tohji delivers a dreamy EP, Pinkpantheress releases a remix edition of her 2021 mixtape, and VTSS takes us to the club on Projections.