Listen to a playlist of dreamy, dubby techno from Lychee

Welcome back to Selections, a series of artist-curated playlists from those in the know.

NYC based DJ Lychee taps into deep, hypnotic dancefloor hedonism with their sets. A resident of Distrikt1 at Bossa Nova Civic Club in Brooklyn, their selections journey from the atmospheric and ambient reaches of techno through to harder sounds with an overarching melodicism and dub-inflected vibrancy carried throughout.

Having initially cut their teeth as a radio DJ on Tufts’ college radio station WMFO, they started playing out in 2012 and have since become a well respected name in Brooklyn – and further afield – frequenting line-ups for deep techno events such as Merge, Locked Groove and Nowadays. In addition to their DJ sets, Lychee runs Spontaneous Affinity – a monthly mix and interview series, annual zine, record label and occasional event platform – and has also worked on organising skillshare events for DJs and producers as well as curating a speaker event focussed on inclusivity in music technology.

For their Selections playlist, Lychee curates a range of tracks that tap into the otherworldly yet dynamic energy of their own sets. “I always come back to dreamy, dubby techno,” Lychee told us over email, “techno that can feel soothing and propulsive at the same time; techno that builds layered, ethereal atmosphere while maintaining a chunky groove.”

The playlist is comprised of “20 dub techno (and dub-techno-adjacent) tracks from the 2020s”. Speaking on what draws them to this sound, Lychee said, “I think part of the appeal of this style is that it often feels timeless, and these tracks, to me, feel grounded in something classic and connected to techno’s Detroit roots. Say what you will about current techno trends – I think these tracks are just a small subset of music proving that a classic, groovy techno sensibility is also alive and well.”

Get locked into Lychee’s Selections below.