As 2023 approaches, we are asking artists to reflect on the year just gone through a series of 30-minute mixes built from new music they’ve discovered or enjoyed in 2022.
Don’t let the alias fool you: the music made by DJ and producer Strict Face is the total anthesis of his stern-sounding moniker. The Adelaide-based artist is an expert crafter of fun and frenzied club bangers, which he’s dropped on labels such as Gobstopper and NLV Records. It’s via the latter that he released his latest EP, Focus, Explode, just a couple of weeks ago – making it a very late addition to the club projects of the year ranks, and a perfect accompaniment to an Australian summer.
“These tracks – and many others that didn’t make the cut when I whipped up this mix – either share parallels with what I set out to achieve when I was working on Focus, Explode, or happened to be from artists whose work didn’t leave my crates or playlists throughout the year,” he tells us.
“It encapsulates what excited me the most about dance music in 2022: a refined ability to connect the dots, pay respect to the heritage (whilst ripping up the rulebook even further) and make room for the dancers without missing a beat. Not surprisingly, a good majority of the tracks happen to be rhythmic and percussive as all hell, so it’ll probably suit a nice bike ride or a speedy run quite well.”
2022 Mix: Strict Face
2022 Mix: Strict Face
As 2023 approaches, we are asking artists to reflect on the year just gone through a series of 30-minute mixes built from new music they’ve discovered or enjoyed in 2022.
Don’t let the alias fool you: the music made by DJ and producer Strict Face is the total anthesis of his stern-sounding moniker. The Adelaide-based artist is an expert crafter of fun and frenzied club bangers, which he’s dropped on labels such as Gobstopper and NLV Records. It’s via the latter that he released his latest EP, Focus, Explode, just a couple of weeks ago – making it a very late addition to the club projects of the year ranks, and a perfect accompaniment to an Australian summer.
“These tracks – and many others that didn’t make the cut when I whipped up this mix – either share parallels with what I set out to achieve when I was working on Focus, Explode, or happened to be from artists whose work didn’t leave my crates or playlists throughout the year,” he tells us.
“It encapsulates what excited me the most about dance music in 2022: a refined ability to connect the dots, pay respect to the heritage (whilst ripping up the rulebook even further) and make room for the dancers without missing a beat. Not surprisingly, a good majority of the tracks happen to be rhythmic and percussive as all hell, so it’ll probably suit a nice bike ride or a speedy run quite well.”
See Tracklist
