System 7

Another Barker masterclass.

Sam Barker asks more from techno. The artist known simply as Barker is one of electronic music's most consistently conscientious and curious producers, challenging listeners to question the norms we accept about our shared culture—whether it's the music that fills the room, the process behind it, or the purpose of the space itself.

British-born yet based in Berlin since 2007, Barker forged a connection to many of the city's leading institutions, including Ostgut Ton, and over the course of a long and fruitful relationship, he carved out one of the more singular paths on the club and label's roster.

Not one for orthodoxy, Barker challenged four-to-the-floor techno framework in favor of melodic experimentation. By decentering or completely stripping away the typical trappings of kick drums and claps, his productions are both light and immersive, buoyant in low-end presence and shimmering in weightless space.

Six years after Utility, his sophomore album Stochastic Drift arrives this month. Shaped by pandemic-driven reinvention, it burrows deeper into harmonic twists and freeform drift. "At some point I became conscious of the process," he wrote of his latest album. "The only thing you can do is embrace the uncertainty and see every change as a potential positive.”

Consider his RA Podcast another sequel. Like his much-beloved 2019 mix for FACT, it's a collage of live recordings and a fitting expression of the artist's own internal spring. RA.982 radiates wide-eyed optimism: percussion cloaked in foggy, swirling pads and trance-like chords, neatly synched in synthetic glimmers. 

All in all, it's an hour of music crafted for contemplation, collective euphoria, or heads-down epiphany—or for that matter, any moment, really, its emotive depth seemingly endless.

@voltek

Find the tracklist and Q&A at ra.co/podcast/982

RA.982 Barker

Ahead of the work we are doing with Detroit veteran Craig Gonzalez this year, here is a mix he’s done exploring new rhythms and soundscapes. We thought it would be prudent to share a mix of one of his many fresh perspectives, where he explores something we at IT find very compelling — new juxtapositions of polyrhythms and drum and bass within a deeply hypnotic techno context. 

"I’ve really been enjoying exploring the sonic space between techno and drum and bass. What excites me about this fusion is how it challenges both myself and fans of these genres, as it often defies the expectations of each. The introduction of polyrhythms takes it even further, pushing the boundaries and making the music feel truly genre-agnostic. In this space, the emphasis shifts away from traditional structures, focusing more on rhythm and context than on genre conventions.

This mix is a studio recording rather than a live set from an IT event because I feel that this style of music requires a more intentional approach to the context of an event. It hasn’t quite aligned with the atmosphere of my time slots—at least, not for now." — Craig Gonzalez @craig-gonzalez

Sam KDC - The Messenger
Minù Jr - TSS
Ying Yang Audio - The Mystics
Verdae | Estrato Aurora - Khori
Aerae - Exsilio
AH&N - Aporia
Archypness - Stong - Pa
Sciama - Emergent Forms
ʀaäʀ  - K Simplex
Sciama - Unreleased
Tampo - Enki
Forest on Stasys - Alternated Mindset
Konsudd - Heilen
Lemna - Hide and Seek
Konduku - Karınca
Human Space Machine - Nagra
Sindh - Massane
Reeko - Urmah 3


IT Podcast

IT.podcast.s14e02: Craig Gonzalez

Welcome to the Injection Box 

This new mix series gives members of our extended Omnidisc family the platform to explore the intersections of club functionality and raw emotion.

Our first installment comes from @pilo_zkulptor, a Los Angeles-based producer and DJ known for his gritty, high-voltage sound that fuses electro, techno, and industrial influences. 

Last month, Pilo celebrated his debut release on Omnidisc via Flamingo Park in "Breathe Easy" with @dannydaze. 

With releases on Boysnoize Records, Motor Reflex, and Turbo, Pilo's music is as cerebral as it is physical — a product of years spent pushing dancefloor dynamics into new territory.

In this debut mix, he weaves through strains of body shaking electro and head down techno, showcasing his vast range of influences and intuitive command of tension and release.

Injection Box 001 // Pilo

Kinetic club energy generated by one of the sharpest talents in drum & bass and beyond.

Much of the best electronic music rests along the axes of versatility and curiosity: being able to a pull a broad array of influences into your orbit and alchemise it into something distinctive and fresh. That's gyrofield to a tee.

Kiana Li began making waves in drum & bass as a teenager, years before setting foot in a club or experiencing the sound on a proper rig. That's a key factor which helps explain how the deeply-considered, Hong Kong-born producer arrived at a style that eludes easy description. Li, one of the foremost trans women working in drum & bass today, marshals complex rhythms like a sluice and has a knack for detailed bass programming that floods the stereo field without ever dominating it.

2024's spellbinding These Heavens was the apotheosis of an already quietly prolific catalogue; we named it the seventh best record of last year, but in truth, it could have actually nudged up a bit higher.

Li's RA Podcast is a blur of rapid motion, featuring stalwarts (Dillinja, Skee Mask, Calibre, upsammy, Marcus Intalex), contemporary limelights (Nestax, Ehua, Aquarian, Maude Vôs), 17 of their own productions and a grip of truly uncommon selections, like Burnt Friedman & João Pais Filipe's "18-140." It's an ambitious mix from one of the most exciting talents at the vanguard of outer-zonal club music right now.

@gyrofieldmusic

Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/987

RA.987 gyrofield

@djflp guest mix for ABSTRACT SCIENCE radio episode as1366 [aired 24 april 2025 on WLUW-Chicago 88.7FM]

track listing:
submerse - what you wanna do
bonebox x hesk - rock
addison groove - eh wut [dj flp edit]
stayhigh - work it
slick shoota - infinity tap
kush jones - oye!
drummy - smn dub
invt - bounce [ft. panda]
heavee - selfless state vip
gps tony - feels nice
eq why x dj roc - bounce to the left
dj static - on the flo
dj spinn - i really feel
dj orange julius - take off
dj manny - ahead of time
dj godfather - electro ghetto
dj earl - go crazy on dem workz
cakedog - slam dunkin
a.fruit - promises
dj manny x tcj - express lane
hesk x koreatown acid - you
dj paypal x heavee - so high
deft - perky
lux familiar x dubsknit - hi demand
julio bashmore - battle for middle you [dj rashad remix]
nick hook x dj paypal - wit it
itoa x a.fruit - slow teleport
swisha x acemo - bk tek track
kneco - slow downn
machinedrum - all i really want

DJ FLP - abstract science radio

@mirthra_audio [@satellite_era] guest mix for ABSTRACT SCIENCE radio episode as1374 [aired 19 june 2025 on WLUW-Chicago 88.7FM]

tracklist:
Animistic Beliefs - To Dream About Water [NAAFI]
Plebeian - Star Anise [Pseudonym Records]
Prettybwoy - Purify (SNKLS Remix) [POLAAR]
Juli - Run After Nothing [Egregore Collective]
Donato Dozzy & Sabla - Forma I [Gang of Ducks]
Quixosis - Burundanger 2 (Flore Remix) [TraTraTrax]
Ninja Exotic Machine - Apple Brucho [Early Reflex]
Laksa - Bodies [RE:LAX]
Gaze - Cuticle [Lovers Rock Recordings]
Maude Vôs - Faerie Ring [Woozy]
Struction - Sunray [Ilian Tape]
Forest Drive West - Nothing Else [Rupture]
SAN - Better [Rua Sound]
Seta Loto - Complete Walkthrough [Ghosttown]
Kop-Z - Revision [Second Born]
Ehua - Bricks [3024]
Pugilist & Tamen - Resu [Samurai Music]
Narvalos - Dakini [XCPT]
Forest Drive West - Möbius [Ilian Tape]
Vardae - Voices [Annulled Music]
Raär - Voodoo [Antiverse Records]
Klahrk - &3&4 [SFX]
Quartz - Russian Roulette [Rupture]
Soreab & KRSLD - Butoh [Baroque Sunburst & XCPT]
Skeptical & Loxy - Krakoa [Exit Records]
Flower Storm - World's Creator Is My Ally (Aceed Mix) [Self-Released]
Vardae - Voices Of Depossession [Samurai Music]
Raär - Minimal Interaction [a-biotic]
Djrum - Sycamore [Houndstooth]

MITHRA - abstract science radio

Little Things - Martyn
Tulpa - DESPINA
jRj - Piezo
212 - Dj ADHD	
Rand	 - Cleveland
Louder Than Normal	- DJ Graymo
100 Rupees - SUCHI
Bloodhound - DJ Polo
Lowcut Champagne - Teeth
Aquarius Riddim - Escaflowne
Get Me - Chloé Robinson/Dj ADHD
Let Down - Ismael

tingo tango

@mecanikotrax [@julioc0rd0va + @liquidcitymotors] guest mix for ABSTRACT SCIENCE radio episode as1378 [aired 17 July 2025 on WLUW-Chicago 88.7FM]

MECÁNIKO - abstract science radio

Beyond / Below 54 by @ghosttropics. Received July 2025.
Photo by Andrew Charles Edman

"Thank you so much to Lexciya for inviting and trusting me as someone who is neither a musician or DJ, but merely a giant music nerd, to put together my first ever mix for what is very likely my single favourite series! I feel incredibly honoured and humbled to be here, and to be honest can still hardly believe it!

"I’d never done anything like this before and it was a learning process to say the least, and while I know I’ve got a long way to go and a lot more to learn, I’m happy to say I’m quite pleased with what I was able to figure out as I went, and hope others will enjoy listening to this as much as I do. To be honest I never saw myself doing this, but now I feel like this has opened me up to a whole new world of creative expression that I haven’t tapped in to in many years, and I can’t wait to keep exploring this a bit more. Thanks again for the opportunity and to anyone that gives this a listen. "

track - artist:
dappled - goo
Afternoon Moon - Ruin Garden
Rock Collection - Hayden Moon
Blues for Uncle Gibb - Broken Social Scene
Reaching You - Theodore & Natalia
petals (with Emile Frankel) - J
Amelia - Burning Star Core
Untitled - Thela
Occ urs - Yosuke Tokunaga
Half Sleep - Erik M
Cain - Ike Zwanikken
The Rabbit Hole - Strategy
Foot of the Bed - Corey Gordon and Nathan Young
Year Ending - Movietone
Mexican Bells (for Jorge Reyes) - Suso Saiz
Airport City - Zaumne
Thresholds - Francis Harris
Nodding Wasp - TKB
Rainboots Dub - Poison Damage
fuckin milwaukee’s been hesher forever - the fun years
Balance (Trembling) - Windy & Carl

54. ghosttropics

Written & Produced by Miquette Giraudy and Steve Hillage
Remixed by Richie Hawtin

System 7: Alpha Wave (Plastikman Acid House Mix) (1995) BFLD25

i've been meaning to post this online for a while, but the 30th anniversary of metro/smartbar chicago got me in the mood. it's a live mix (or mashup as the kids say nowadays) of two very long songs that i discovered go together quite well: ORBITAL's "impact USA" + SYSTEM 7 "alphawave (plastikman rmx)". from the end of a long ABSTRACT SCIENCE djs set opening up for BOOKASHADE in 2009. honored that one my most inspired DJ moments happened at the METRO! happy birthday metro smartbar! congratulations from abstract science + thanks to JOE, CHRIS, JOE, LENNY, NATE, KYLE, JAMES, ORI, BRAD, MICAH, TODD, RODERICK, JENNY, STEVE, RYNE, ADAM, JOHN + all the great staff we've worked with over the years.

dj chris widman "orbital.v.system7" live @ metro chicago 2009

Following on from 2011’s joyful techno-orientated album UP, System 7 hit the spot with their new Passion EP – showing that in 2012 they remain on top of their game with their unique blend of trance and techno.

The title track is a powerful techno-trance stormer using all the elements of System 7’s unique sound – a powerful and infectious groove, spacey guitar and occasional psychedelic bubbly electronics - and with additional vocal interventions from Miquette Giraudy

http://www.facebook.com/system7page
http://www.a-wave.com/system7/


System 7 - Passion

System 7 - Space Bird - Liquid Soul Remix (edit)

System 7 - Planet 7 (edit)

This track uses some sounds first used on a track from the first System 7 album in 1991 in collaboration with Alex Paterson, who is credited here as a co-writer. Another exploration of the interesting territory between prog house and psy-trance, this track also has an openly old school bleepy rave feel to it that pays homage to the original acid-house explosion of the late 80s. "A revolution in attitude - a revolution in consciousness" - a concept that is ever more needed today in this time of senseless wars and global stupidity.

System 7 - Bassrock (edit)

Chris Widman is a Chicago DJ that defies easy classification. Host of the weekly radio program Abstract Science (since 1997 and a DJ since 1995), he is at the forefront of breaking new styles, crossing genres and re-introducing forgotten music. Whether DJing for the dancefloor or the armchair, Widman is known for his adventurous mixing of dubstep, techno and everything else, creating his own form of crowd-pleasing sonic warfare.

Abstract Science airs Thursdays 10pm-2am CT on WLUW-Chicago 88.7fm.

dj chris widman "orbital.v.system7" live @ metro chicago 2009

chriswidman

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