Oceanic

The latest Crack Mix comes courtesy of Oceanic: a De School resident and regular artist with Nous’Klaer Audio.

Early recognition for the Rotterdam artist came from releases on vinyl-only imprints Rimini and Nous’Klaer – the latter of which is run by his brother and now distributes digitally. The records, particularly his only full EP, Blanco Bero, suggested he was befittingly named: all drifting groove and expansive melody to match such Balearic designs.

His aptronymic output as producer stands in contrast to the much wider net he tends to cast as a DJ however, as his recent guest slot alongside Ben UFO on Rinse FM should attest. Having taken an extended break from releasing tracks until more recently, years of near-constant DJing both at the foot and the head of bills has deservedly elevated his reputation behind the decks. And with a recent live release and a club-ready return to Nous’Klaer, it shouldn’t surprise you if he follows label mate and fellow De School resident upsammy into the wider club consciousness.

Oceanic’s Crack Mix is a snapshot of the spectrum he likes to deal with. It swings in wide berths between breezily melodic tracks and deeper, heads-down fare; its consistency instead coming via jittery drum patterns and the crash of breakbeats. Quoting Solange’s Can I Hold the Mic (which appears at the mix’s centrepoint) he tells us, “I can’t be a singular expression of myself.” Instead, he presents a truer sense of Oceanic the DJ through the chameleonic reaching he does in a gig setting. For all the meandering, it stays enthralling to the very end.

Oceanic’s latest EP, Yellow Cone, was released on Nous’Klaer on 5 April. He plays at DGTL Amsterdam on 20 April.