Palms Trax Went Quiet for Five Years. He Broke the Silence on fabric.

Why has Palms Trax gone quiet for five years?

Jay Donaldson, the British-born, Berlin-based producer known as Palms Trax, hadn't put out a solo record since 2021. He didn't vanish from the scene in that stretch, though. He kept his long-running NTS show, Cooking with Palms Trax, on air, and in 2021 he turned that radio residency into his own label, CWPT, using it to platform other producers rather than push out his own tracks. Five years on, he's finally back with solo material of his own, and he picked one of London's most storied rooms to do it: fabric.

What does "Soft Trance, Hard Gossip" actually sound like?

The track runs on a driving bassline, bursts of acid, and synth lines that tip toward euphoria without losing the club-ready structure that made his early Lobster Theremin and Dekmantel records stick. It plays like a statement single, not an EP afterthought, built as much for peak time as for headphones.

It's one half of a double A-side. The second track, the title cut "Keys to a Printed Garden," pulls the other way: warmer deep house grooves, nu-groove textures, jazz-inflected lines and quiet IDM touches. Put the two side by side and you get a producer stretching in both directions at once, harder and softer, rather than settling into one lane after half a decade off.

Why fabric, of all labels?

"I always loved the fabric mix series coming of age and admire any institution that survives a monster stint in clubland so it felt like a natural home."

That's Palms Trax's own reasoning for landing on fabric Originals, the club's in-house imprint, rather than the labels that built his catalogue the first time round. The full EP, "Keys To A Printed Garden," lands August 21, 2026.

Why it matters

A five-year gap between solo releases is a long time by any streaming-era clock, and Palms Trax spent it building CWPT rather than chasing single drops. Landing his comeback on fabric Originals, rather than Lobster Theremin or Dekmantel, tells you where the club is placing its bets: proven, road-tested names over rotating resident talent for its own catalogue.

What we think

Five years is a real wait, but this doesn't read like an artist who lost the thread. "Soft Trance, Hard Gossip" sounds like someone who kept his ear in via the radio show and the label and used the time off records to figure out exactly what he wanted to say next. One track in, that's a good sign for the EP.