BLISS INC. — Monday EP

Bliss Inc. — Monday EP is a four-track 12-inch vinyl release on Running Hot Recordings, catalogue RHR05, bringing together “Night Away”, “Cloud 9”, “Monday” and “Kinetic”. Scheduled for release in October 2026, the record follows a particularly active period for Bliss Inc., whose recent output has moved confidently through progressive house, tech house, minimal and leftfield club territory. For Running Hot, however, the focus is more intimate: four warm, groove-led productions designed around subtle rhythmic movement, detailed percussion and hypnotic repetition rather than obvious peak-time gestures. The Monday EP arrives at an interesting point in Bliss Inc.’s development. The artist, Alexander Starodubov, has recently appeared across a number of specialist electronic labels, including Punctuality, where his 2026 Echo-chambered 12-inch was framed around rolling basslines, understated grooves, organic percussion, vocal fragments and spacious sound design. Punctuality’s own release information identifies Starodubov as the writer and producer behind the Bliss Inc. project, while his current catalogue demonstrates a consistent interest in music that can sit between minimal, progressive and contemporary tech house without being restricted to one of those categories. Running Hot Recordings presents RHR05 as four cuts of warm, groove-led house music intended for intimate spaces and long nights. That context is important because Monday EP is less concerned with making a large-scale statement than with creating a sustained rhythmic environment. The record leaves room for subtle shifts and detailed percussion, allowing the tracks to unfold gradually rather than relying on dramatic breakdowns or oversized drops. The label specifically connects this approach with Bliss Inc.’s recent residency activity at Tokonoma in Frankfurt, where the smaller Holo and Sakuru rooms have provided a setting for this kind of close, groove-focused club music. “Night Away” opens the A-side and immediately establishes the EP’s warm, late-night character. The track is built around the kind of restrained house groove that benefits from extended mixing: the rhythm provides continuity while the surrounding details gradually reveal themselves. Rather than using the opening track to deliver an obvious peak, Bliss Inc. keeps the emphasis on movement and atmosphere. It is a natural fit for the beginning or middle of a deeper house sequence, particularly when a DJ wants to increase rhythmic presence without dramatically increasing intensity. The strength of “Night Away” lies in its economy. Bliss Inc.’s recent productions have been described through rolling low end, understated grooves and organic percussion, and those characteristics provide a useful context for understanding the approach on Monday EP. The music does not need constant changes to remain engaging. Instead, small rhythmic and textural shifts become the mechanism through which the arrangement develops. That makes the track particularly suitable for longer blends, where a DJ can allow the groove to remain in the mix while introducing the next record gradually. “Cloud 9” continues the A-side with another variation on the same house vocabulary. Where “Night Away” establishes the EP’s initial mood, “Cloud 9” reinforces its sense of warmth and suspension. The title fits the record’s overall atmosphere without requiring an overly literal interpretation: this is house music designed to feel fluid and unforced, with the groove doing most of the structural work. The track’s role within the sequence is therefore complementary rather than dramatically contrasting, giving the A-side a coherent flow that can be treated almost as a continuous DJ passage. The B-side begins with “Monday”, the title track and arguably the most important piece for understanding the record as a complete statement. Naming the EP after the track gives it a central position within the release, but Bliss Inc. does not turn it into a conventional anthem. Instead, “Monday” continues the record’s preference for subtle progression, detailed rhythm and controlled atmosphere. The track can work particularly well in the part of a set where the DJ is maintaining momentum while moving between deeper house records rather than attempting to produce a sudden change in energy. This understated approach is consistent with Starodubov’s wider production identity. His recent Punctuality release was praised for mature, floor-focused arrangements that balance organic percussion and undulating low frequencies with spacious electronic textures. Those characteristics point towards a producer interested in how a track behaves over time, not simply how it sounds during an isolated first impression. Monday EP applies the same principle to a more intimate house setting, with each track leaving sufficient room for mixing and gradual development. “Kinetic” closes the record and provides the final variation on the EP’s central rhythmic idea. The title suggests movement, and that is ultimately what connects all four tracks: the music is designed around continuous groove rather than dramatic structural events. As the final B-side track, “Kinetic” gives the DJ another functional option while preserving the warm, understated character established from the opening side. The sequence of Night Away, Cloud 9, Monday and Kinetic is particularly effective because none of the tracks needs to dominate the others. They operate as variations within a coherent musical space, making the record useful as a four-track DJ tool rather than a release built around a single obvious standout. The combination of house rhythm, subtle percussion and gradual development allows the tracks to be mixed individually or used together as part of a longer, deeper section of a set. For DJs, Monday EP is therefore best suited to intimate rooms, warm-up periods, late-night house sessions and longer blends where groove and atmosphere matter more than immediate impact. Its appeal is closely related to the qualities that have appeared elsewhere in Bliss Inc.’s recent work: rolling rhythmic foundations, restrained arrangements and enough sonic detail to reward repeated listening. The music can function inside progressive and tech house programming without becoming tied exclusively to either style. For collectors, RHR05 documents another stage in the rapidly expanding Bliss Inc. catalogue while adding a more specifically house-oriented chapter to the artist’s 2026 output. Running Hot Recordings gives the EP a dedicated four-track 12-inch format, preserving the distinction between the two A-side cuts and two B-side productions rather than treating the material as a digital-only sequence. Specialist retailers list the physical edition as a 12-inch vinyl release, with the expected release date in early October 2026. Monday EP ultimately works through restraint. Bliss Inc. does not overload the four tracks with unnecessary ideas; instead, Night Away, Cloud 9, Monday and Kinetic build their identity through groove, percussion, warmth and gradual movement. For Running Hot Recordings, RHR05 is a focused house release that reflects the increasingly refined character of Alexander Starodubov’s Bliss Inc. project — music designed for close rooms, long blends and DJs who understand that a subtle groove can carry a dancefloor just as effectively as a dramatic peak.