Galaxians - Feel In Motion (2026)

Galaxians return with their first new album in six years, ‘Feel In Motion’. Expanding their live disco remit to incorporate fresh shades of street soul, funk and boogie, the Leeds trio’s third LP delivers on the sensory promise of its title, introducing new vocalist Beccy Young, as well as their most ambitious songwriting and instrumentation to date. A celebration of euphoric choruses, irresistible basslines and even giddier breakdowns, ‘Feel in Motion’ is enriching dance music blessed with a deeply human touch.

Initially emerging in 2012 under the guidance of founding members Jed Skinner and Matt Woodward, Galaxians have since shared the stage with like-minded icons of funk including ESG, D­âm Funk and Tom Tom Club, their contribution to this continuum always emerging from their residence in Leeds. Here in West Yorkshire, their studio practice pays earnest tribute to the soulful “pre-digital” philosophy of Arthur Russell, Leroy Burgess or Gwen Guthrie, exploding into life throughout their cultishly beloved live shows and festival performances.

Whereas previous LPs ‘Let The Rhythm In’ (2017) and ‘Chemical Reaction’ (2020) took transatlantic cues from house and disco’s pioneers, ‘Feel In Motion’ endeavours to find its rhythm both further afield and yet, closer to home. From the excitable opening squelch of lead single ‘Worlds Apart’, Galaxians lean into the distinctive aesthetic of UK street soul. Melding RnB with the nascent machine technology driving the acid house scene in the late eighties and nineties, the sound emerged from Black music scenes in South London, soon finding further appreciation in the more adventurous corners of the Northern Soul movement, then reverberating across the pennines to Leeds’ historical dub and reggae soundsystems.

“As a band, what we love about street soul is the sense of naivety, between pop and dance music”, explains founding member Matt Woodward. “For this album, we wanted to move into a more bombastic, swingy, bassline-driven style for the songs, while paying tribute to the spirit of the drum machine rhythms on classics like ‘Make a Move’, by Purely Fizzycal. It’s our love letter from Leeds to an influential London sound.”

While ‘Movin’ On’’ makes space for deeper proclivities, Galaxians maintain constant energy in both tempo and sonic imagination. Early doors, ‘Never Say, Never Will’ teases in a grin-inducingly jazzy chord sequence, while the mood easily turns from understated suave to giddy declarations of passion on the ‘Lose My Head’, led by sublime piano and with additional vocal power from Sinead Campbell. ‘Movin’ On’ meanwhile underscores the fresh power of Young’s vocals, a never-look-back affirmation that moves the dancefloor with forward motion.

“I joined Galaxians during a transitional period in my life and the lyrics throughout ‘Feel In Motion’ echo my experiences at the time the album was being made”, explains Beccy Young. “I've always loved the juxtaposition of upbeat music you can dance to with introspective lyrics about the trials and tribulations of being a human with feelings.”

The album reaches its most overtly club-oriented moment with ‘Fantasy’, which sees Young’s organic vocals duelling with her vocoded self across a deeply satisfying house number that fulfills a certain cybertronic promise, offering a nocturnal, seductive call to “call me baby, fulfill my fantasy.” In contrast, ‘Higher’ strips back the band’s instrumentation to its raw essentials, as jazzy keys, percussion and pops of electro-funk illustrate a defiant invite to “watch me moving on, now I see the truth”, as voiced by Sinead Campbell. It’s a promise quickly actualised with the invigorating ‘Make Time’, a hymn to self-care amid the endless hustle, depicting the perils of freelance in the language of freestyle.

Galaxians ultimately sink into the more romantic reaches of their sound with the wide-eyed optimism of ‘Holdin’ Out (For Love)’, the band’s now familiar groove suddenly adorned with twinkling keys and sugar-sweet sensibilities, straight from the heart, before closing the spacious and triumphant final number ‘From Red to Blue’ provides one last chance to dance. Building to a euphoric crescendo of keys, waterfalling drums and Young’s timeless vocal, it’s a sublime distillation of Galaxians’ enduring appeal, and a joyous conclusion to their most sophisticated record yet.