Dr Banana is a name that commands a lot of respect in certain corners of the dance music world. The man has his Ph.D in record digging—not literally, mind you, but play along—and key to his success is the sense of fun, joy and ecstasy he brings to his DJing. UK garage historian? Sure. Blinding DJ? Definitely. He likes to play records you've never heard before, records that not only make you dance but might remind you of some of your favourite, formative records of yore.

The UK artist started out with a fashion line and some records and ended up an influential label boss, collector and DJ. He made his name with skippy, retro UK garage—sometimes from new producers and sometimes unearthed from the archives—and nicely coincided with the genre's explosion in popularity. Since then, he's highlighted everything from old-school German garage to new-school producers like K-LONE. His DJ sets have only become more adventurous and, crucially, even more bumping. Jungle, R&B, tech house, you name it. His RA Podcast zeroes in on a vintage-sounding, rollicking kind of house music, full of seismic disco basslines and quirky vocal samples. It's as celebratory as it is mysterious.

Once, Dr Banana was a not so well-kept secret for the heads—the kids in Berlin and London who were starting to realize the similarities between UK garage, minimal and tech house. Now, he's for everyone, and starting to earn the wider recognition he deserves.

@dr-banana

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/916

RA podcast

RA.916 Dr Banana

All Night Long in London (DJ Mix) Dec 2023

Closing set in the warehouse on Thursday night. 
Huge thanks to Aurora and all the festival staff. It meant the world to me!

Ben UFO - Sustain Release '23

Dave's 42nd Birthday Open Decks Chaos

Dairy Free b2b @djdirectdeposit birthday special recorded at Club Letter Box November 2024. 

Enjoy!!!

 Reuploaded because someone deleted the original mix.

Dairy Free b2b DJ DIRECT DEPO$IT Birthday Special 2024

ZDBT b2b dj_2button opening the portal at Pangea for Weirdos Inc. Records setting the tone for an incredible night with Elena Colombi.
The rest of the night unraveled in red lit shadows dissolving into fevered memory for those who were there.

dj_2button b2b ZDBT @ Pangea - Weirdos inc. Records

Thrilled to be welcoming NAP aka Daniel Rincón to series, the CDMX based DJ and producer with a unique gift for capturing the wonky, hedonistic feels of the after-hours in his signature extended mix styles. Packed with sleazy twists and turns, there's never a dull moment with NAP at the wheel! Electro-fied highway rollers masterfully sliced and diced for that maximum long haul recharge! @napmusick

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

A. I wanted to make a driving mix that featured a lot of vocals but in mutated and affected ways. Either as a centerpiece of the tune or via chops and sampling, the vocals carry a lot of the tension and thread of the mix which I wanted to balance across a mix of sleazy and dubby sounds. Perfect for a night drive or an afters with some bffs.

Q. Are there any songs in the mix that you were especially excited to share, and what is it about these tracks that resonate with you so much?

A. Blacklight Sleaze (Dyed Soundorom Remix) by Peace Division’. I put it earlier in the mix as it's a bit of a fire starter in getting the mix boiling. This track is also an example of the use of the human voice in a classic but psychedelic/ experimental approach; many voices swirling around atop a sexy driving groove. 

Loose Control by Dino Lenny. Been playing this one a lot and I’d like to make mention to it because it hits a lot of the things that I like when playing a peacetime burner; driving arpeggiated Italo style baselines without being too garish, some dramatic silence drops that make you think the track stopped and then the use of the human voice as a melodic element displaced from language. 

Heart Misses - Heart Misses. This one is definitely in the pocket of  sassy/ minimal sleaze tune which encompasses the vibe of many of the other tracks in the mix as per the concept I had. Perhaps this one is also an evolution of my digging from having been really into electroclash growing up and playing a lot of that stuff across my DJ experience. This hits the reference points of that sound I grew up up with but perhaps actualized? More reduced, minimal but still sexy, driving, irreverent and trippy. 

Q. Tell us about the projects you’ve been most immersed in since moving to Mexico City, I know there’s a few!

A. Oh man, lots of collabs since I've been here! All a by product of new friendships and amazing connections I’ve made while being here. Stuff is still percolating and getting finished but Im very excited to put out new collab projects with Primordial Oh, Reedbriefcase and Tristan Arp; whenever the time is right. On the other hand I’ve also put the finishing touches on a collab project with my friend Pablo Arangoiz who I started jams with when he visited Mexico 4 years ago. Since then we’ve been working on a thesis on a specific type of experimental cumbia forward pieces which we’ve spent a lot of time and care on. 

As far as ACA, Phran and I have a lot of things on the pipeline which will hopefully get some releases this year. It's tough to get a lot of the projects we want to do out when we live in different places but we’re damn excited about all of them and aligning on getting a digi release out from Venezuelan Miniteca legend ‘El Mago. We also got some homie comps cooking up and some sassy merch coming up.

On the Ambien Baby tip, Soph and I have been jamming a lot every time we have the chance to but again, not living in the same place makes it a bit hard to wrap stuff up. Still the past year has yielded a lot of sick fire starter jams that hopefully we can zinch up before the end of the year. We also have a collaborative sound piece we made with our friend Florence Scott-Anderton some years ago for a show she had at the ICA some years ago. This one is a very dear collab for all 3 of us and I hope we can get it out before the end of year as well. Lots of stuff coming up and cooking up!

MDC.312 NAP

A curated collection of exclusive, unreleased sounds produced by D. Tiff, featuring numerous collaborative tracks.




∞ tales from the plush grotto™ 4

Contact Magique 2025 music festival on a horse farm. don't mind me just horsin' around. don't mind me i'm just an aspiring horse. neigh.

FRANKIE TEARDROP | NSR 19

DF Cuke (notsillyradio)

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