A recent unplanned show in Bejing was a rare chance for me to share what I call my 'love songs' - beautiful, emotive records, most of which have been with me for a long time. I've only DJ'd this way a few times, and this is the first time I've got the recording. While many of the tracks have beats, I tried playing them in an ambient way, gentle and simple. Music from: Function, NWAQ, Larry Heard, Plastikman, old Kompakt and Dial-related, a few recent selections + more. Thanks to Lyu Zhiqiang (@mohemann) for making it happen. I sincerely appreciate the people who follow and listen to my sets, I am happy to share this with you.

Love songs in Beijing

aleksi perälä live at cochilo

foto: camille_blake

Aleksi Perälä live at Cochilo - Waking Life '24

An episode that feels well overdue yet thoroughly worth the wait! A titan of the Naarm underground music scene, Pjenné has been a kindred spirit and longtime pal since the early days of MDC, and it's no surprise that her contribution is packed full of gloriously deep and immersive feels, bassy and driving in parts and light as a feather in others, speaking to a palette that has been meticulously explored and continues to evolve along with her incredible weekly radio show on PBS, Passing Notes. 

@pjenne

Q. What sounds of feelings did you draw upon when gathering inspiration for this mix, and what listening environments could you imagine it being best enjoyed in?

A. For this mix, I wanted to channel the energy and sounds that I associate with Melbourne Deepcast rather than drawing on the darker side of my sound palette that has been at the fore of my radio and club sets of late. MDC means so many things to me, but there’s definitely an energetic, grooviness that comes to mind and this is what inspired the mix. Although the mix does showcase parts of me (heavily atmospheric, emotive and a few downtempo tracks for good measure), I’d say this is more of a mix for you. :) I imagine this mix being listened to outside, on a sunny day, but when you might also need a little extra pep in your step. 

Q. Are there any songs in the mix that are especially close to your heart, and what is it about these tracks that resonate with you so much?

A. The first that came to mind is a track by Sean Cusick and Medway (Jesse Skeens) - It is an incredibly beautiful and emotive breakbeat track from 2002 on Saw recordings, there’s just something about how the vocals and the pads wash over you - although its upbeat there's also a sombreness to it and I just think its the whole package. 

Towards the end of the mix there’s also a very very classic ambient trance number, Lazer Worshippers by Damon Wild & Tim Taylor from 1993 - Not the most deeply dug track but it's a classic for a reason.

Q. You have been lovingly broadcasting your weekly radio show Passing Notes on PBS for six years running, which is a serious achievement! Tell us what you did for your sixth anniversary on International Women's Day, and what keeps you inspired to broadcast the show week in week out?

A. It’s been a wild ride that’s for sure! I really appreciate that International Women’s Day marks each yearly anniversary of Passing Notes - it reminds me to stop and reflect on each year as an achievement that I would probably otherwise forget in the chaos of life. This year I enlisted the help of Syrian DJ and Harmony Rec affiliate Zeynep, who provided an excellent, playful and sassy celebratory guest mix. 

As for my inspiration to keep going, I’d say that I draw from the collective power of electronic artists locally as well as internationally. There’s just so much good music to share, and Passing Notes enables me to provide a crucial connection between ‘underground’ electronic music and the wider music community. I'm also inspired by live radio as a format - it provides a sanctuary for me from the highly curated nature of music today and allows me to be more playful in the way that I explore different sounds. To me it is a place free of judgement.

MDC.308 Pjenné

Australian producer Cousin warms up for his performance at Horst Festival's Moon Ra stage.

Cousin @ Kiosk Radio 29.04.2025

A clinic in minimal from the elusive Acting Press boss. 

Why do certain sounds cultivate a cult following? Simply put, it's often because they resist easy consumption. PLO Man and his imprint Acting Press lean into this. 

Searching for the Berlin-based DJ and producer, you won’t find much online presence, interviews or conventional PR. What you will find, if you look hard enough, is a catalogue of records and mixes with a kind of tape hiss charm (a spiritual successor to Basic Channel and Chain Reaction, but scuzzier and lighter on its feet).

Founded in 2015, Acting Press once seemed to belong to the short-lived "outsider house" trend, but is now synonymous with a certain strain of modern minimal, one that is analogue, spacious and pointedly opaque. PLO Man's output is equally sparse by design: this week, he joins the RA Podcast with a characteristically elusive style, accompanying the near two-hour mix is a one-answer Q&A that gives almost nothing away.

Stripped-back, ever-so-slightly sleazy and coated in dust, PLO Man's RA Podcast continues that lineage in style. Opening with the featherlight microhouse of Margaret Dygas, RA.988 unfolds into a carefully curated spectrum of minimal, dub and deep techno. Among familiar names—look out for the blinding Rhythm & Sound and Moodymann blend—are deep cuts and left turns alongside the odd outlier, like lovers' rock pioneer Gregory Isaacs.

Like the best of his forebears, PLO Man wants RA.988 to take time for you to settle in. But once you do, you won’t want to leave. 

@p_el_oh

Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/988

RA.988 PLO Man

Extracted from the archives, we have Lena's Bank Holiday set from last August for you. 
It was sadly Lena's only set at The Gun, but it was a wild night, sweaty and heaving in the extreme & certainly one of favourites. The crowd had been dancing from about 7pm (Casper Clark and I's warm up is also available here) so when Lena got on for the remaining 4.5 hours, the room went nuts. Its a brilliantly varied and balanced set that encapsulates so much of what we loved at The Gun, banging enough for a room full of seething heads. dancing into the early hours and considered and classy do that it suits playback at any time of the day.
The recorder died just before the end of the set, so it appears those very last tracks were just for us there on that night, the rest is ready now. (Thanks for this Lena x)


Lena Willikens Live at The Gun August Bank Holiday Sunday '24

Four hours and 20 minutes recorded at Es Claustre, Maó, Menorca (May 30, 2025). Pulled out a lot of all-time faves. A tiny bit chagrined at putting so many "big" tracks into one set, but hey. Sometimes you just wanna hear what you wanna hear.

Philip Sherburne Presents Claustrephilia #1

Nocturnal acid lines and swirling, soft rotations meld mental spaces with melodic threads. Downtempo energies and soulful traces of ’90s R&B entwine with lava-lamp psychedelia and interstellar journeys. Smoky, visionary passages and unexpected intervals of ‘80s pop pay homage to the lost art of crate-digging and compilation craftsmanship.

The unmistakable Ivkovic signature emerges: slow-motion BPMs, drum-heavy basslines, and tastefully warped distortion — all blending into a masterclass in futuristic acid.

Experimental club culture shuffles through ISAbella’s grooves, echoing her role as a trailblazer of Barcelona’s queer nightlife and co-founder of the MARICAS collective.

Words by Laura Caprino

Myles Mac - liquid lifeforms

c-