Welcome back to our monthly mix roundup.

You may have noticed we took some time off in March in the run-up to our milestone Crack Mix 400 celebrations – which you should definitely check out once you’ve finished perusing this list, if you haven’t already. However we’re back, refreshed and ready to guide you through some of our favourite mixes from April.

Dive in below. 

 

01

LCY

fabric Presents: London Unlocked

LCY‘s the kind of DJ you plan your whole night around seeing. You know the kind that we mean, one of those DJs you ensure to catch from the very first hint of an opening track; revelling in their selections right the way through to the end. Here, the SZNS7N boss heads to London’s Tower Bridge as part of fabric’s London Unlocked live stream series. It’s LCY, so thunderous bass and doom-laden atmospherics are the name of the game here, with the London-based artist seemingly attempting to test the structural limitations of the landmark itself over the course of their set. Watch all the way through and you’ll catch LCY vibing to Shygirl (the only appropriate reaction, really).

 

02

Mez

Truancy Volume 277

We’ve come to expect great things from Truants and its Truancy Volume series. So, we’re thrilled to say that this contribution from Mez – the LA-based “part-time raver, full-time DJ” and founder of the blossoming No Signal platform – definitely hits the mark. Mez is clearly devoted to house music in all of its shapes and forms, something he allows to truly shine here as he weaves through deep, moody and nostalgic house, with a particular focus on both 80s, 90s releases and Chicago and Detroit influences. He describes the entry as a “serious labour of love”, which is something that can be felt across the ecstatic offering. One to add to your regular mix rotation.

03

Total Freedom

Mugler Spring Summer Term 2021

You know that saying, the one about waiting ages for a bus and then two come along at once? Well, swap out the word ‘bus’ and replace it with something like ‘Total Freedom DJ mix’ and you’ll be on your way to surmising the last few weeks. At the beginning of the month, TF treated us to this archive mix recorded at Cakeshop Seoul as part of our Crack Mix 400 festivities. He later shared this runway soundtrack created for Mugler’s Spring/Summer 2021 fashion film. While it’s not his first foray into runway soundtracking, his offering for the prestigious French fashion house’s show paired tracks from Shygirl, Mugler muse Eartheater, Sully, Sami Baha and Jasmine Infiniti with killer walks from the likes of Irina Shayk, Alex Wek and Euphoria‘s Hunter Schafer. Not forgetting a somersaulting Bella Hadid, of course.

04

Eris Drew

Daisychain 170

When two Chicago greats collide. In this 4/20 entry for the community-inspired Daisychain series, former Crack Magazine cover star Eris Drew conjures up all of the “smokey and chaotic but also hopeful” vibrations as she cruises through hip-hop beats, swampy rhythms, 90s cuts and, erm, bong rip FX? With an average speed of roughly 114 BPM, it’s the slowest mix she’s ever recorded and feels all the more entrancing for it. For the tracklist, she opts for tunes from the likes of K-Lone, Hugo Massien, Jordan Fields, KLF, New Order and more, with plenty of tempo adjustments and nifty detours through faster selections as well. If you’re into the mix, Drew asks that you check out the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and consider donating.

05

KUČKA

Bleep Mix 176

KUČKA is an LA-based, Aussie-raised artist who’s rather adept at melding together styles like pop, R&B and whimsical electronica into something enchanting and hopeful. Take her recent debut album Wrestling, for example, which was released in April by LuckyMe. In this mix for Bleep, KUČKA draws from the same kaleidoscopic palette as her releases – think intimate soundscapes, glitchy textures and introspective themes – but reinterprets it through a delicate ambient lens. It’s a shift that feels fitting – necessary, even – given the times. Her mix is dreamy as can be, which is also a given, considering it’s bookended by a Green-House tune and a moving Malibu offering. Elsewhere, expect tunes from Zsela, Actress, Space Afrika and KMRU.

06

Facta

Lapsus Radio 308

Speaking of Bleep, London-based producer and Wisdom Teeth co-founder Facta also offered up this easy, breezy, Sunday listening-fit mix for the record store’s series this month. Prior to that, though, he jumped aboard Lapsus Radio (the weekly radio show from Albert Salinas, aka Wooky, and music journalist Philip Sherburne) for an hour-long foray into left-field club sounds tinged in his trusty low-key and heads-down stylings. The mix kicks off with a track from his debut album Blush (a must-listen, if you’ve yet to check it out) before moving through an assortment of Wisdom Teeth cuts, amapiano selections and heaters from artists such as 96 Back and Lorenzo BITW.

07

Tilly

Liminal Routes

Liminal Routes is an interesting new mixtape project that launched in Bristol at the start of April. The project basically involves a selection of local DJs, all of whom were asked to head out to different locations across the city before returning home to create mixtapes inspired by the routes they’d taken and the landscapes they’d taken in. Here, Noods Radio resident Tilly guides us through a tranquil stroll around south Bristol.This is a walk designed to be taken an hour before dusk with a warm drink packed in a flask and a wooly jumper so you can rest at various viewpoints and take in the surrounding scenery and the skyline,” she says. Padded out with ambling bass, 80s synth pop, soft rock and other main-character-in-a-John-Hughes-film-evoking selections, this is one to tune into while out, about and gently readjusting to outside life.

08

Tarzsa

Ransom Note

Manchester-based DJ Tarzsa is someone we’ve found ourselves turning to regularly during lockdown. Be it via her NTS Radio appearances or simply mixes like this, her choice concoctions of soul, jazz, funk and R&B – with a sprinkling of peak-time dancefloor energy sprinkled in for good measure – have ushered in all of the feel-good emotions and brought a renewed sense of hope and warmth into our speakers. In this Shine a Light On mix, Tarzsa’s in her element as she races through “lots of electronic soul and soulful house layered with jazz grooves”. A vibrant and uplifting mix, making it an excellent soundtrack for the sunny days – fingers crossed – ahead.

09

SHE Spells Doom

Origins Tape 016

There’s something compelling – and impressive – about the way that some artists can pull together references and influences from a myriad of sources and still make whatever it is they’re crafting sound totally them; always keeping things true to their own unique signature. Zambian artist Wamya Tembo, aka SHE Spells Doom, is one of those artists. It’s something that can be heard in everything from his music to his mixes, including this entry for Origins Sound. Across his hour-long mix, Tembo strikes a fine balance between dark and danceable. Think a Tangerine Dream tune here, a Bala Bala Boyz track there, plus a whole lot more.

10

Theo Parrish

NTS Radio (22/04/21)

NTS Radio turned 10 this month. To celebrate, the London station lined up a week of celebratory broadcasting programmed by special guest curators such as Arca, Amaarae, Mica Levi, photographer Liz Johnson Artur and The Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Detroit hero Theo Parrish also joined in on the fun, sharing this exclusive marathon mix with the station and its dedicated following. Entitled Eargoogles, it’s a six-hour-long outing that A, glides through an array of seriously good tunes and Shazamable selections, and B, allows you to have an entire day (well, kind of) soundtracked by Parrish himself. A win in itself, if we’re being honest. 

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