Long time pal and driving force behind Invisible City it's Gary Abugan (@invisible-city) from Canada serving up the 29th mix in the series. Interview (excerpt) down below.

www.musicfrommemory.com

MFM: Hey Gary. How's life in Toronto today? Did you manage to do some more gardening? :)

IC: We have a really nice garden in front of the shop and also at home in my backyard, both get some nice sun and shade and are where I spend all my time. So yes, gardening everyday ;)

MFM: (Before the pandemic hit) You've seen quite a few bits of the world by now while touring. How would you describe Toronto as a city if you had to promote it to the readers who haven't been there yet? 

IC: It’s summer here now in Toronto and we’re in the middle of a heatwave. We’re lucky to have an island with nice beaches as a nearby getaway via ferry. Toronto is a very large sprawling city compared to most European cities. Our multiculturalism definitely sets us apart. We have heaps of reggae and island music here along with lots of record shops, and the variety of food here can’t really be beat. I miss giving guided Invisible City tours of the city to any traveling DJs passing through.

MFM: Would you say it's a good place for an artist to be, whether being a young upcoming talent or professional and all in between?  

IC: Sure you can make it here if you’re skilled/talented and not overbearing, the problem is that there isn’t that many music venues to play. Between the crazy expensive visa you need to play the USA and the costs of flights to Europe, we are kind of isolated musically. Rent is crazy expensive here and most artists have another job, but I’m not sure if Toronto makes it specifically harder or easier compared to other cities. 

MFM: People may know you as the driving force behind Invisible City, the record store and label. How much time do you spend with the one compared to the other? 

IC: I would say pre-Covid more focus was on the shop and getting that to a sustainable level and stocking the store. We didn’t even have a sign for years until recently. During Covid, when the shop was closed for about a year and a half, a lot of focus was on development and signing artists paying advances and getting back into production. I learned alot about Music Publishing too… Laura helps me a lot with organizing everything, label and shop, I would be lost without her.

MFM: Looking back on running a record store and label for over 10 years now, what would you say are some key changes that took place over time?

Back then there were not that many reissue labels and it wasn’t as competitive or extensive, now everyone has a reissue label. I only wanted to put out records that I was strongly connected to or somehow found on a whim. If someone showed me a record, I would ask them if they were planning on reissuing it, now people just go ahead. It’s crazy how many reissues there are so it’s challenging now as a label to dig even deeper. The record shop also was really niche and specialized in the past and now there’s just more in each genre. It’s still pretty curated, but I am finding that I didn’t know a lot of good common records, so we like having “high end cheapos”. I like that most people can just come off the street and buy records now, although we still have some niche stuff too. It feels overall more balanced and varied and for the people.

MFM: The label seems to run at a nice and slow pace. Is it on purpose to not have a heavy and steady output? 

IC: I like to only do a couple records a year, it’s only me and Laura who do it all and it takes me ages to figure out artwork, I’m very picky. The shop, DJing, and occasionally throwing parties also takes up a lot of our time. We always have a lot on the go. I also like to focus on one or two artists at a time, but also it costs a lot of money to make a record! Now things are totally slowed down and our plant says I can’t get pressings out till next March!

MFM Mix 029: Invisible City

https://soundcloud.com/twitch
https://soundcloud.com/optimo-music
Artwork: https://soundcloud.com/greta-motif
🔊 https://youtu.be/POMQe3EZzwQ

JD Twitch began his journey into music and djing in 1987, just in time for the arrival of Acid House and Rave. He started two legendary Scottish clubs - Pure and Optimo, the latter a duo with Jonnie Wilkes which recently celebrated 25 years of global touring, outrageous parties, and communitarian activism. He produces, remixes, promotes, presents radio shows, music supervises for films and runs the hard to pigeonhole Optimo Music label.

Play on YouTube

LAYER #335 | JD Twitch (Optimo Music)

@milloskaiser provides us with a very special Smoke mix consisting of Brazilian reggae, focused on very rare 80's and 90's  gems.

Millos’ dedication to unearthing and celebrating the incredibly rich and diverse music of his native Brazil is at the heart of everything he does and this mix is a perfect example <3

Millos Kaiser - Smoke #14

✨ vinyl only mix✨  

For edition 69 of our guest mix series, we welcome once again London-based record collector Ilan (Night City Life). A true Italo enthusiast, Ilan curated Night City Life (@spacetalkmusic), one of our favourite compilations of 2019. Night City Life II will be dropping this summer (and we can’t wait 🎷)

As a DJ his selections are always rich with nostalgia and emotion, taking us on a journey through time and sound. Here is a recording of his vinyl-only set from Flow Festival last year; an Italo-tinged expedition in the Helsinki sunshine.

H.A.N.D. MIX 069 - Ilan (Night City Life)

Filled in for Victor on Bears in Space Radio and decided to do the show live at Dublab Radio in Los Angeles! Chris Bowen and I had a blast that Friday night in Studio A! Hope you enjoy the jams!

Bears in Space Radio with Stacy Christine @ Dublab 04-18-2025

Interview: http://blog.landr.com/8-mile-bay-two-friends-bringing-back-art-cassette-mixing/

Side A
1. theo parrish - levels - sound signature
2. amp fiddler - superficial (j.a.n. mix) - genuine 
3. patrice scott - cosmic rituals - still music
4. generation next - lamborghini dreams - 7 days ent
5. four tet - angel echoes - domino
6. segv - hypersurface - sly fox
7. 3 chairs - demigods - three chairs
8. sade - motor city soul remixes - white
9. oasis #5 - fxhe
10. livin in soul - another love song - retroactive
11. kem - without you - kdj private collection

Side B
1. rick wade - angry pimp - harmony park
2. theo parrish - dan ryan - sound signature
3. malik pittman - a walk thru osaka - still music
4. pagan future - good king's crusade - wt records
5. pacific horizons - a prayer for santa ana - pacific wizard foundation
6. generation next - windsor nights - 7 days ent.
7. jus ed - teckno minimal - underground quality
8. keita sano - drummer trix - mister saturday night
9. juan atkins - never tempt me - tresor
10. mike huckaby - baseline 89 - synth
11. walt j - magic love - fit
12. agents of woe - get illiterate - blank artists



LANDR Exclusive Mix - Cosmic Crates

For the penultimate RA.1000, we take it back to the source with unreleased tapes from the private collection of Frankie Knuckles, the Godfather of House.

This is Pt.II, from 1996. The mix is provided courtesy of the Frankie Knuckles Foundation.

For RA.1000 Frankie Knuckles in full and all information on this unearthed audio, head to https://ra.co/podcast/1018 or 1000.ra.co

RA.1000 Frankie Knuckles Pt.II (1996)

Recording of Gilles Peterson's last 3-hour closing set at RDC Stage on Friday night.

RDC 094 - Gilles Peterson at Rainbow Disco Club 2025

https://www.instagram.com/justinstrauss1
https://www.instagram.com/kalexis____

Justin Strauss with Kalexis @ The Lot Radio 10-23-2025

https://soundcloud.com/enterthelloyd
https://www.instagram.com/enterthelloyd

DREAM ON with Lloyd  @ The Lot Radio 10-24-2025

One of house music's true originals, Maurice Fulton, graces the RA Podcast with a mix that connects the dots between soul and experimental electronics.