Whether you’re prepping for the weekend ahead or still recovering from the last, we select the mixes you need in your life right now.
Once again, we’ve traversed the internet’s vast wastes to find some of the finest mixes among the digital detritus (and, let’s face it – a lot of other stellar mixes). Entries this month are heavily indebted to the city of Detroit and come from European festivals, sweaty US dancefloors and some of the most consistently brilliant mix series in the cloud. We hope you’re feeling adventurous.
Slikback
Unsound PodcastThe first set released from this year’s Unsound Festival is from Kampala-based producer and DJ Slikback. It is propulsive and relentless, and might be the most exciting blend of one producer’s tunes since Galcher Lustwerk’s 100% Galcher mix for BUTW. An affiliate of the Nyege Nyege label and festival which is doing so much to telegraph the East African scene that’s popping right now, Slikback has apparently crafted over 400 tracks. Expect to hear a lot more of his name in the coming months.
Mike Servito
IT Podcast from No Way Back 2018If there is a finer end-of-the-night DJ in the game than Mike Servito then would someone please point us in their direction? Anyone who’s ever watched Servito close out a party will vividly remember the sense of glowing awe that comes right after, and this recording of his closing set at this year’s No Way Back is a perfect record of the indescribable energy he brings to his sets. Deep house hovers around this set, its smoothness noticeable in each blend and insatiable bassline – and yet it slaps with that undeniable roughness of the best US sounds.
Ariel Zetina
Swetboxx Mix for Red Bull MusicA short and sweet set of angular club trax by Chicago resident and Discwoman DJ Ariel Zetina. Over a mere 30 minutes she bludgeons the listener with a relentless energy but there’s a sweetness, too. Closing out with the sounds of After Midnight Dies from the Michael John LaChiusa musical Wild Party seems to encapsulate this best. Gorgeously unsettling.
Telfort
Zeezout Podcast 085Edinburgh selector Telfort churns out a muscular but deep selection of house drawing heavily from the classic Chicago tradition. It’s a fairly quintessential mix from a DJ making a name for himself but he threads new and unreleased cuts with a sure hand and a warm sense of groove. Straight up good-time house music for the heads.
Peach
Discwoman 55Canadian in London Peach’s reputation has rightly skyrocketed this year. Silky was the standout track from the first record on Midland’s Intergraded label in February, showing off her impressive talent for production, but mixes like this on the Discwoman mix series and her set for Boiler Room mix demonstrate how natural a party-mover she is. This mix goes harder than the BR one, with dreamy twangs and broken crunches instilling a sense of wiggy left-field energy. One of the best young DJs on the circuit right now doing her thing.
Karen Gwyer
Live at Dekmantel’s UFO II StageThe UFO II stage was a new edition to this year’s Dekmantel Festival. It’s MO was to champion sounds from the outer reaches to complement the straight-up club programming of the UFO stage. We’re the exclusive hosts of a series of recordings from the stage, but the standout – from this column’s point of view at least – comes in the form of the spontaneous whims of Karen Gwyer. Gwyer’s analogue excursions on record and live channel the more cosmic elements of techno’s hallowed history, and here she proves why she is one of the most revered face-melters in the game.
SPFDJ
Red Light Radio / ADEWeapons grade techno, industrial and electro from Berlin-based selector and labelhead SPFDJ. If her moniker brings to mind a pasty-white hue, here is a mix of pure, beautiful darkness. This set does something that this column wishes more DJs did on the radio, namely slam out gear techno unhindered by time or convention. For all its functionality, it’s propelled by a ferocious, menacing energy. And who doesn’t enjoy listening to sinister BDSM mantras like those on Frank Kvitta’s remix of Lick the Sweat at 6pm on a Wednesday?
Yuki Ame
Mixtape for KaltblutAnother succinct mix of experimental sounds, this time from sonic explorer Yuki Ame. Bookended by folk songs, these tracks flip in intensity and mood in a way that’s almost completely absent from more club-orientated mixes. The use of space is refreshing – at times sparse and weightless, others overwhelming in its claustrophobia. The transition from the hive-like swarm of Metrist’s Caacel the Horze into Sim Hutchin’s Ibiza on Tramadol gem Let’s Commodify Our Love is a particular highlight.
Ash Lauryn
Truancy Vol.226As ever, this Truancy Volume contains a hard-headed statement of intent and an insightful look into the thoughts and motivations of its subject. Given that Ash Lauryn is also the writer of the amazing Underground & Black blog, the interview is particularly interesting accompaniment. In it, the Detroit (by way of Atlanta) artist delves into the scenes that shaped her and the balancing act of sharing experiences and holding on to some mystery. The mix pays service to the warm and soulful hallmarks of the city of her upbringing and to take it in as a whole is to be nourished by its light.
Matias Aguayo
BIS Radio Show #959Cómeme honcho Matias Aguayo drops by the Beats in Space show laden with an armful of his own label’s output, all of which feel fittingly extra-terrestrial. Opener I Didn’t Want it That Way sets the tone, sounding like Tom Waits if he’d been left to indulge his strain of idiosyncracy on a deserted island for 20 years, while the Cómeme tracks carry the sleazy vibe we’ve come to expect. Tracks like DJ Nervoso’s Ah Ah and Mark Hawkins’ Spooky Truth keep the weirdo-levels to a maximum for some top shelf late night listening.
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