Some of the most insane music I’ve ever heard played consecutively ever

With purest delight, I'm so excited to welcome Pjenné of Passing Notes Radio & Companion (@companionmelb) for the latest episode in our series. Penny's curatorial expertise and long-standing dedication to the Naarm/Melbourne scene have established her as a pillar of the city's sonic landscape, and both her love of musical discovery and unmistakable influence are felt deeply from afar. 

Pjenné's mix is a enchanting trip through fields of wonder, equal parts honey and gossamer, moving and blissfully sublime. Tender hues paint the air while fervent warmth fills the aching heart. There are few selectors out there with a repertoire as consistently profound as Penny's, and yet one feels we've barely scratched the surface of what's to come. Thank you Penny!

@pjenne

Ikebana by Katherine Frazer
www.katherinefrazer.com

Sure Thing Mix 121: Pjenné

Recording of livwutang's set at Dekmantel Festival 2023.

Dekmantel Festival 2023

livwutang at Dekmantel Festival 2023

When we first heard @mattiaselmansouri we knew there was something special going on. On our sister-label Aniara Recordings we released his debut 𝙏𝙟𝙖 𝙃𝙚𝙟 𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙢, and last year we published his downright anthem 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚. Mattias is set for a busy, gig-filled summer and will also come to play our own Festival on June 28 in Rotterdam. Get to know Mattias better through the Q&A below, which we will be adding to every mix going forward.

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆?
I grew up in this tiny village called Skene, in the southwest of Sweden. I grew up in a very religious and sheltered community, but after finding love and a new purpose in life, I left my ”old life” and relocated to Stockholm around five years ago. I started collecting records quite early on in my teens, as well as making music, but it wasn’t until I relocated to Stockholm that I started playing out and releasing music.

Right now, besides trying to finish some tracks and escaping this creative rut I’m in, I’m currently enrolled in an internship at a small start-up in Stockholm, doing UX design, and I’m set to graduate this summer. I’m kinda super stressed about my future as a designer, given that all jobs out there are only looking for designers with a hundred years of experience, so if any hiring manager reads this: hire me!

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴/𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴?
I’ve been producing music for around eight years, and I have been DJ-ing for around six. I started collecting records when I was 16, and my first vinyl record was given to me by a dear friend of mine whom I sadly have lost contact with. It was Octahedron by The Mars Volta.

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸/𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆?
Sniff’n The Tears – Driver’s Seat
Love Spirals Downwards – Alicia
Martha Wash – Carry On (Tee’s Crazy Mix)

𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁-𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗯𝘀?
I would really love to visit Waking Life and Dekmantel/Dekmantel Selectors! They have always seemed like really nice festivals, with really well-thought-out programming and ambition. And of course, Nous’klaer Festival, which I’m beyond happy to be playing at this year! 💙

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼?
My boyfriend for being so supportive!
My friend Sergej, with whom I run the club Ritmo Liminal. I always have such a nice time B2B-ing with him, and I don’t think I would have developed so much as a DJ if it weren’t for all the hours we’ve spent in the booth together.
Johanna Schneider! Stockholm’s hardest-working woman in showbiz and a promoter of Under Bron/Trädgården, a.k.a. the best club in Stockholm. Johanna is a real cutie who has given me and Ritmo Liminalso many opportunities to do my/our thing there, which is something I don’t take for granted at all.

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲/𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼?
I was around 15 when an older friend of mine played Model 500’s "Neptune" on his surround system at home. I think that was the moment I got hooked on what I later realized was techno.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀?
I don’t know, really.

What gets me going on the dance floor has less to do with a specific sound or genre and more to do with what a DJ does with them. My favorite DJs are the ones who know how to traverse genres, tempos, and moods—or those who can truly squeeze everything out of the genre they specialize in.
I do, however, sometimes miss hearing really good ‘90s vocal house, proper deep tribal techno, and more "selector"-y things out.

More info

Nous'klaer Radio #38 - Mattias El Mansouri

@richard-akingbehin

Q&A ------> https://pipipi.life/mix/richardakingbehin/ <----------

Richard Akingbehin - 8˚C

The lovely @pascaleproject setting the perfect mood at the Grove stage, during last year's edition of Sustain Release. 9-11pm, 14th September 2024.

<3 <3  

ani/live Sixty Nine: Pascale Project @ Sustain Release Year 10

https://callshopradio.com/shows/objet-personnel

Objet Personnel w/ softburn (Klympt) 13.05.25

With the return of the lunar cycle, the Dream Software servers have been updated with the latest Virtual Utopia patch — now available on the etherweb. Edition 14, this time coded by London-based @ldazedj, consists of a 70-minute high-octane deployment of metallic trance and techno, with destination set for the outerverse. The travelling velocity will distort your reality, so the journey will be just as interesting as reaching the bounds of our known existence.

On the launch platform at the edge of Sector 9, the vessel stood ready — a gleaming silhouette of chrome and light beneath the arc of Earth. Designed in an era of peace and exploration, it embodied a retro-futurist ideal: sweeping fins, polished alloy, plasma coils humming with steady power.
Final inspection unfolded in perfect silence. Drones moved with clockwork precision. Sensors scanned every seam and circuit. Ion thrusters gleamed. Radiation shielding was pristine. Solar sails, folded and stowed, awaited the call of vacuum.

Inside, everything rested in perfect order. Gravity systems held steady. Nutrient modules were stocked and humming. Rest chambers floated in serene suspension. A neural archive shimmered quietly, filled with the memory of countless journeys. In the engine chamber, the core pulsed like a quiet star. One by one, green lights marked completion. No errors. No adjustments. Every system, aligned. 
Clearance was granted. The ship's coils began to glow — a slow, soft blue. Soon, it would slip into the void beyond here, bound for the unknown. For now, it stood still — flawless and luminous — a vessel of hope, built not just to travel, but to experience the future.

The mission has begun. Thankyou Ella for piloting this expedition for us <3

VIrtual Utopia 14: L Daze

A rare club mix from the ever-evolving artist, with 90 minutes of shadowy, atmospheric pressure.

Music's therapeutic value is often linked to relaxation—gongs, singing bowls and the like. Dense passages of foggy droning and eerie static aren't traditionally considered restorative, but Laurel Halo makes a pretty good case for it.

The Detroit-born, Los Angeles-based musician's abstract, often improvised productions are heavy on sound design and emotional climax. Driven by atmosphere rather than rhythm, they push listeners to grapple with their innermost insecurities, fears and dreams. "I'm lucky my music has helped people through crises," Halo once told Discwoman. It's easy to see why.

Since her 2010 debut King Felix, Halo has built a stunningly diverse catalogue of classically-informed records. A multi-instrumentalist—piano, violin, guitar, keys—her sharpest instrument is arrangement. Inspired by the surrealism of Italo Calvino and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, her releases, from Atlas to Behind The Green Door, unfold with slow-burning narrative and dense emotional weight. Her soundworlds are layered and labyrinthine—an architectonic space where self-reflection happens almost by force.

Even in the club, the sought-after composer excels in immersion. Her sets extend the expressionist palette of her records, trading traditional rhythm for tension, space and surprise. It’s no wonder she takes a genre-agnostic approach to the dance floor—her deep roots in freeform radio began at WCBN-FM in Michigan, followed by Berlin Community Radio, Rinse FM, and now a regular show on NTS.

RA.992 stitches foggy ambient loops, propulsive techno, mutant percussion and heady left turns with care. Tracks from DJ Rush, Octave One and Eddie Fowlkes nod to her Midwestern heritage, balanced out by deeper, psychedelic fare from the likes of Polygonia and Cousin. It's the mark of an artist revealing both deep curiosity and a precise hand as a selector. Rare, indeed.

@laurelhalo

Find the full interview at ra.co/podcast/992

RA.992 Laurel Halo

Digital Finesse is proud to present Alex Barbu's Adolescence EP, a five-track vinyl that gives voice to a shy, introspective mind shaped by uncertainty. Oscillating between electro and techno, this record captures the raw essence of youth—where emotions are both unfiltered and deeply complex.

In June 2024, when we first listened to Alex Barbu’s tracks, we were immediately struck by their precision and sincerity. A bold minimalism, straight to the point, yet infused with intricate sound design and immersive atmospheres inspired by mountains and Mediterranean ambiances. Adolescence EP encapsulates that fleeting moment between innocence and self-awareness, between the effortless and loud grace of youth and the quiet nostalgia in the coldness of adulthood. As simple as the strong emotions of adolescence. As intricate as the places they transport you to.

To the three original tracks by Alex Barbu, we added two remixes that open new emotional dimensions. First, a never-stop-evolving rework by the Monolith, who fully JimmyBattified "Living Without Ego." Then comes Blinkduus Dischetto, closing the record with his signature raw sensuality, a tactile and almost cinematic reinterpretation that lingers long after the needle lifts. Each track tells a story. Each sound is a memory. Unique, like every life experience.
This is the kind of emotion Digital Finesse strives to bring to life.

Alex Barbu
www.instagram.com/alexx_barbu/
on.soundcloud.com/km3EhVMyovNUwBsi7

Blinkduus Dischetto
www.instagram.com/lenylouislabbe
@blinkdisc
www.blinkdisc.bandcamp.com

Jimmy Batt
www.instagram.com/jimmy_batt/
www.jimmybatt.bandcamp.com

Digital Finesse
www.digitalfinesse.bandcamp.com
www.instagram.com/digital.finesse/
www.youtube.com/@digitalfinesse

Og_Nick_K
www.instagram.com/og_nick_k_design/

KMA60
www.kma60.com

Kuroneko Phonogram Manufacture
www.kuroneko-manufacture.com

Justin Drake
www.instagram.com/thebakehousestudiouk/

Available on Bandcamp 

My Eyes (Blinkduus Dischetto Overdub)

Text Me Back, groovy house track by NOAH WHO

Text Me Back

Evelynka  Jean Vayat - Your Rain Harabe

sounds from australia & beyond
record label/ mix series/ events by @kia-sydney

-- not currently accepting demos or mix submissions

* operating on the stolen land of the wurundjeri people. sovereignty was never ceded.

sublabel / @cirruslabel 

distributed by @clone-distribution

artists
@brickel
@dashiell
@pascalsone
@menagerecords
@okegmusic
@dollllly
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@billusmoon
@loiflan
@priori-ties
@secondcousins
@commandd
@zaraolsen
@gnatenko
@reptant_the_lizard
@al-den-te
@o-utlier

ani/live Sixty Nine: Pascale Project @ Sustain Release Year 10

Animalia

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