Mycelium is a fungus's vegetative component, consisting of white fungal threads that branch out within nature—an unseen cell network that lays the groundwork for mushrooms to sprout. It's an appropriately compelling choice of titles for UK DJ and singer-songwriter Aluna Francis, who's known for amplifying and creating spaces for voices rarely represented within the dance genre, both as a solo artist and in her work with AlunaGeorge. She built the ecosystem for her sophomore LP MYCELiUM, rooted in collaboration with like-minded artists such as TSHA, Route 94, Eden Prince, Jayda G, Preditah, MNEK and Chris Lake. “I think maybe growing up so alone, I'm so drawn to this collaboration,” she tells Apple Music's Zane Lowe. “I'm a one-on-one type of person, but there's also just this magic that you cannot predict or plan when you work with somebody else. I just find people so fascinating. And when you create that space in the middle of you two to let creativity appear, that kind of hands-off unpredictability, that's so exciting to me.” On her 2020 solo debut Renaissance, Aluna experimented with different sounds such as trap-R&B, dancehall and Afropop, but for MYCELiUM, she went back to her roots and created an album that sounds like the peak of a ’90s DJ dance set. Across the album's 14 tracks, Aluna and her collaborators keep the party going with high-energy production scattered throughout, as well as Aluna's silky vocals and lyricism. On the album opener, “Before the Bloom (Intro)”, she reinforces the essence of this project: “Deep underground, life begins/Interconnected, sharing secrets/Dividing power, a life force all around/Unseen,” she speaks in a honeyed voice. From top to bottom, the energy never wavers on MYCELiUM, whether it's celebrating life (“Oh the Glamour”, “Supernova”, “Future”) or dealing with the complexities of love and heartache (“The Way I'm Wired”, “Underwater”, “Killing Me”). Aluna continues to combine infectious melodies to create pop ecstasy that feels fresh within the dance music space. On “Running Blind”, Aluna taps French DJ/producer Tchami and singer-songwriter Kareen Lomax for a smooth, dance-driven ballad about feeling free. “This is an unusual track on the album because Tchami actually sent me this beat and I wrote to it remotely,” she says. “The irresistible sound just immediately made me think of the insatiable pull that freedom has on me. And then when I met Kareen Lomax, when we were celebrating the Grammys and Beyoncé, and we'd drive around town looking for parties, I was like, 'This person knows exactly what freedom is in a totally different way to me.'”