Recorded by @annazwerk & @jmanuel-werkmusic in anticipation of Krake Festival 2024. For track listing and interview, go to bit.ly/KrakenMix

Anna Z & J.Manuel: Krake Festival Mix 2024

bit.ly/KrakenMix

For our podcast episode 011, we’re excited to welcome Julia Maria.

Julia Maria (she/her) is a Rotterdam-based DJ known for her powerful blend of driving, compelling, and hard-hitting techno. She masterfully balances these soundscapes to create rhythmic yet powerful DJ sets from start to finish. We can't wait for you to experience the energy she brings to her music.

DISTURBIA/011 - Julia Maria

Artwork generated using the Alias by CrossLucid on Alias by Alien <3

seamless ~ episode °9

Rise Up

Here We Go Crazy

Surgeons Girl NYD 24/25 Swu/Rinse

The second installment in Darwin’s curated mixes for Rhythmic Culture comes from UK duo Dual Monitor. Their boundary-pushing productions have earned them the moniker “The UK Genre Alchemists” from Rinse FM. This open-format approach to music carries through to their vibrant, kaleidoscopic DJ sets—no two ever the same. The duo deftly weaves together twisted, low-slung UK bass, skittering IDM, dancefloor-shaking tech-bow, and zoned-out dub and jungle.

Darwin: "The story of Dual Monitor is actually a really cute one. Jake Hodge sent me a track they made "Step Pattern" because he was so blown away by the production and said "You need to sign this," and I did instantly not even listening to it a second time! Fliss and Zebb are hands down some of the most talented up-and-coming producers I’ve come across in a while. The speed at which they’re cranking out tunes and dubs, and the range in their sound, is unreal. On top of that, they’re two of the loveliest people to hang with. So happy to have them as part of the SPE:C family."

@dualmonitor

RC:150 Dual Monitor

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

Darwin operates in the realm of low-end frequencies, delivering a tripped-out, sub-rattling blend of styles firmly rooted in soundsystem culture.

Her sets move with swampy intensity and hypnotic flow, drawing dancers in while maintaining a quiet versatility. A seasoned crate digger across many genres, she’s as comfortable playing back-to-back with DJ Storm, Mala or Lena Willikens as she is closing out Bassiani or Berghain’s Klubnacht.

Born in Canada, Darwin found her way into dance music after moving to London—first working at fabric in the mid-2000s, then experiencing a bass eureka moment years later at a Swamp81 party. That defining night set the course for her next chapter in Berlin, where she founded her label SPE:C in 2015 to spotlight emerging global talents like Decka, Carré, Axle, Beatrice M., and Tano.
In 2016, she launched REEF at the now-defunct Griessmuehle, a club where she had started a monthly techno-focused DJ residency 2 years earlier that helped develop her signature stripped back, sci-fi-infused sound. The boundary-pushing party brought bass music’s alien energy into the heart of the techno capital, which now calls Berghain home. 

2024 marked a new chapter in Darwin’s evolution with the launch of ABYSS, a Sunday evening soundsystem series centered on the restorative power of low-end frequencies. Blending transcendental dance music with breathwork, meditation and healing practices, the event creates a space where sound connects body and mind. ABYSS has also teamed up with Wuppertal’s acclaimed Open Ground club for an extended weekend takeover, with plans to expand the concept to other cities in the future.

Hyperscale-Redux

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