Distant Signals Mix Series

2-part b2b set from our midweek series at @nowadaysnyc 4.17.2025

@como-se-dj
@aele___

como se DJ b2b aka-Sol  live from Dripping @ Nowadays

Interview: https://truantsblog.com/2025/truancy-volume-351-box5ive

Soundcloud: @box_5ive

Access the download and full tracklist (TBC) on our Patreon (patreon.com/truants). However if you need anything leave us a nice comment here with @box_5ive tagged and either of us will get back to you with an ID! Your support helps cover all our costs allows Truants to continue running as a non-profit and ad-free platform.



Box5ive

Truancy Volume 351: Box5ive

The third episode in our new series (and our 40th podcast!) comes from Lyon based Comic Sans Records label-head and lyl radio resident, sleek fata. 

@sleek-fata

We've been a fan of sleek fata for a while now, often tuning into his exquisitely put together "Cremation of Care" shows - which explore a wide spectrum of experimental music focused on tracks with an high sound design profile going from psychedelic electronics to jazz with a touch of punk and trip hop between.

This mix beautifully showcases the variety of his tastes and skills of mixing it all together, from dub to dubstep, techno to half time & masterfully jumping tempo’s - sleek fata’s got it covered.

𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 / 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘀 / 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲?
Sleek fata / he him / Lyon

𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝘅
I wanted to build a thematic journey that could bring together different types of music and tempos, while still feeling coherent as a whole. I found a strong inspiration in the icy textures of dub techno, it sparked the whole idea. So this is essentially a cold journey through the dub techno continuum (dub techno in the broad sense): half-time, dubstep, dub techno, footwork, downtempo… each track shares a similar colour palette, sonically speaking. Think light blue, white, and grey tones. I imagined a dancer trapped in a cold room with a perfect sound system, moving and reacting to these glacial sounds. But "glacial" doesn’t mean emotionless—on the contrary. Despite the chill, there's a lot of soul embedded in each track.

𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰?
I grew up listening to rap while living in the suburbs of Lyon as a kid. Later, when I moved into the city centre for university, I discovered electronic music. So yes, my environment has always shaped my musical taste—just like it does for everyone, I believe. Our preferences are influenced by sociological data: age, ethnicity, the country we grow up in, our parents' professions, and so on.

But beyond that, my uncle, who I lived with when I was younger, had a big impact. During the peak of the Emule era, he downloaded every US rap album he could find and burned them onto blank CDs. When I came home from school, I would pick one at random and discover a new album every day. That routine really shaped my digging habit. These days, the Bandcamp community is a big influence for me.

𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 / 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗮𝗻𝘀? 𝗔𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗴𝗶𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽?
I’m working on Vision Pro Dubs, a various artists project that started as a special episode of my Cremation of Care radio show. It brings together contemporary and cutting-edge smooth dub sounds. Besides that, Malesa is working on their second album, and we’re putting together a remix EP of Seta Loto’s last release. I’m also collaborating with Cortex of Light on something exciting!

𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝘅 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀
Hypothermic sound system

full interview here:

kinetic mix 040: sleek fata "the cold room dancer and other frozen tales"

An exploration of microscopic textures across the dub continuum.

https://www.instagram.com/__k_wata
https://soundcloud.com/kwatakwata



Micro Dubs with K Wata @ The Lot Radio 06-26-2025

Founded by Le Motel, Maloca is a worldwide community and electronic music record label based in Brussels, Belgium.

Maloca Records w/ Le Motel @ Kiosk Radio 02.07.2025

"this transmission is a calibration device

i found it in the springtime under a shower of pink blossoms
my spirit, an ooze seeping out onto the floor
in this state of sub-being, words passed through untethered—
unintelligible, and touch was void

the device sent rippling waves through the air,
arranging it into mutating forms
they traveled inward and rebounded, inverting inside and out
wisps of feeling newly embodied pushed boldly from every pore

i watched as the shapes of people grew unimaginably
the glimmering swells were interspersed with pearls
which gradually came loose and fell
unlocked, my innermost madness unfurled into a spiraled conch

as the day darkened, the sounds became grim and hoarse
emotions scraped against each other with serrated edges
disintegrating madness into a fine lunar silt
voices came flooding, and in unison whispered: trust"

@enereph
IG: @_enereph
https://gravitypleasure.bandcamp.com/album/water-bodies
https://soundsofnaga.bandcamp.com/album/immortal-mirth

enereph fell through at least three dream worlds looking for sounds to send their nervous mind spinning.

Tracklist:
Mown - An Endless Sweet Sweet Storm
A Strange Wedding - Wormhole Breaker
Simone Bauer - Ego Hacker
Ettore Rigadello - Ooteca
Biocym - Vanishing Point
Souzo - A175 Levit8
Beatrice M. - Crossing the Rubicon
Circular Square - L - 80BN (Soa420 Remix)
Ettore Rigadello - Keratin
Smogo - Submit To The Forest
Khey Mysterio - Basalte feat. Under/Standing
AJO - Kawanone (La Serpiente Remix)
RM Estali - Pitfalls
Prieste5s - Golden Hour
SNKLS - Stir
Sytrjv - Vexomorphis
Nathan Ho - Immodality
Herbalistek - Sentium
Otik - Lightyear Dub
dBridge - Filtered Scenes
Laraaji - Universe
perila - Fallin Into Space
Aisha Vaughan - Campfires
Comechelet & ϙue - Forbidden Love

Distant Signals 080: enereph

"A utopian,
bright striver, turns their dial,
hears woven, strange sounds.

In resonance they
vibrate to the transmission
and recognize that

every return
implies the journey before:
past adreads present.

Time glimmers ahead,
but also trails their escape,
reaches, pulls backward.

A stubborn relic,
internalized deserving,
haunts like history.

Our listener leaves
their old self behind, shedding,
cutting time's chords;

broken rope rings out:
no person earns punishment
nor deserves reward.

Throw stones at the walls,
striking old sequestration ––
do you hear great music?

Build bridges, not walls,
crossing inherited rifts ––
do you feel deep love?

Thanks for pulling me into the Distant Signals universe :) recorded
with a Xone + DD500. Vocals by @user-76549051
reading Ursula le Guin's The Dispossessed."

@ok-carty
IG: @ok_carty

Distant Signals 083: OK Carty

“You head down from the installation into the glacier, breath fogging the air. You hear echoes of splintering icicles reverb back to you from under a frozen lake. Deep unseen movements in the dark vibrate the walls as you go deeper into the ice. Underneath the loudspeakers of the installation above, you hear whispers and distant murmurs below.

You follow the whispers, turn to page 56.
You go back to the installation, turn to page 89.”

@s_h_o_p_p_i_n_g
IG: @sandelephants

Tracklist:
1. Burner - BunZer0
2. Soundcheck - Ekcent
3. Cracked Plates - Korzi
4. Kalo - Mulholland
5. Tension - Saule
6. Look After The Dead - Mosca
7. Adelia - Honeydrip
8. Filtered Contact - Slow83
9. Archos Gmini - Danny Goliger
10. Humo - Andrae Durden
11. Movements - Mia Koden
12. TAB3 - Průvan
13. Second Room - R4NS0M
14. Agora - Hiroma Keo
15. Layer 03 - No Sir
16. Grill Party - SPLT
17. Crunch - K-Lone
18. Melting Ladies - Roza Terenzi & D. Diffany
19. Should Be Looking - Arina Krondeva
20. Melt! (Coby Sey Rework) - Kelly Lee Owens

Distant Signals 081: shopping

“Recently, I’ve been really inspired by bass music in the 80-85 (or 160-70) BPM range that shifts between slow and fast registers, opening up space for a deep interior journey and for a driving, percussive dancefloor experience alike. Much music in this space that I’m drawn to has a visceral, haptic, and earthy quality -- body music for mental landscapes. 

The mix is conceived as a journey into a densely foliated forest of ever-shifting dimensions, drawing you deeper and deeper into its cavernous shadows and spectral pockets of light. Dewdrops shiver on pillowy moss ,flanked by the hungry mouths of carnivorous plants; burly vines dangle low and heavy under velvet leaves. Mysterious and heretofore unknown flora abound, beguiling you with their sensuous textures, suffusing the humid air with smells both luxuriant and noxious. Finally you emerge into a softly-hued meadow, your journey into the darkness having brought you closer to a sense of calm.”

@papayaofficial
IG: @papaya.official

DJ Papaya's approach to mixing draws upon downtempo, ambient, leftfield electronics, and bass music to craft surreal and emotionally complex narratives, rich in texture and rooted in the sensibilities of dub. They are a co-founder of the ambient/experimental series Spindrift, with Pontiac Streator and Opheliaxz, as well as the bass music party Chrysalis, with Amylia.

Tracklist:
Carrier - Slow Punctures
Blue - Slow Wave
Officium - Heartlapse ft Yolek
Gi & Trois Quarts Taxi System - Swarm
Chewlie x Fiesta Soundsystem - Savory
Proc Fiskal - A Fragrance
Anta Doma - Temples
Ancestral Voices - Mist of Avalon
Furtive - I Always Try to be This Gentle
Commix - Japanese Electronics (Instra:Mental Moog Remix)
Es.Tereo - Ancestral Path
K Wata - In A Mug on a Rug (Ronan’s Ecophilia Mix)
Trois Quarts Taxi System - Clef
Itoa - Diceman
Mike Parker - Spaceship Galliot
georg-i - Nightlife under the Arclight
Kobayashi Maru - Aesthetics of a Wormhole
traverse - Turpitude
Forest on Stasys - Sideral
Khey Mysterio & Stacktrace - Low Heat
felt. - Life Formed
Jonnnah - U Made Me
Ghjuliu - Sheila

Distant Signals 082: DJ Papaya

"The context:
I am alone. I am found. I died alone. I never thought I’d be found. I am overwhelmed by memories of a dystopian existence on a collapsing planet where evil took over and subsumed good. All of the kindness evaporated and was swallowed by greed. Memories of my past life occlude my consciousness causing confusion between modes of time like a mirage. Is it the past, present, or future? I can no longer tell.

A journey through being:
Confronted by the pain of knowing but trying to exist and embrace being in the world. Did I give up too quickly? Did I fail to change reality? What did I sacrifice in order to function and live a worldly existence like everyone around me? Blinded by hedonism, the collapsing of the mind and soul into the throws of desire left me empty. I gave up. I lost myself. I returned to the comfort of despair. It’s throbbing. To live without hope is to live in despair. Was there a reprieve from it all? Distractions, pleasure, and attachments turned into a vicious cycle of yearning and loss. Accepting impermanence with a half-open heart. It never got better. It just got worse. Functioning with an ever-growing sense of doom. And now I’m here. Alone. All I have are my memories. But existing in confusion from when these memories took place. Introspection with escapism outside of time. The vicious interplay between existence and non-existence. I am left with nothing."

Opening for Rrose at Smartbar, Chicago in June utilizing 4 CDJs and a V10 mixer.

@shantievanti
IG: @shantiism
https://ra.co/dj/shanti
https://youtu.be/QqfMYAyS8bM?si=iwapv-7i2LFIPNlG

Shanti has made textured waves in Chicago’s techno scene with her curation of dark, sinister, and ethereal soundscapes. Music has always been a means of coping with the otherness and hybridity Shanti experienced throughout her life. She has been deeply moved by the transcendent ability of music to express concepts, states of consciousness, and conflicting emotions. Shanti’s sets weave a story of the simultaneous despair and yearning that are intertwined with the human condition and illustrate an intentional trajectory through combining and cultivating surreal, atmospheric, and haunting sounds.

Enamored by the liminal dynamics of sound, she cohosts Otherworldly Ambiguity with Scum.ee –an experience that is centered around the phenomenon of existing in between and outside of pre-existing concepts and rigid categories. She is also a member of techno collective Research & Development and hosts a monthly radio show, “Liminal Radio” on WIIT 88.9 FM featuring thoughtful artists at the core of Chicago’s underground music scene. Shanti has had the privilege of warming up and closing out dancefloors for incredibly inspirational artists such as Rrose, DJ Nobu, Ø [Phase], Aurora Halal, Mozhgan, Lady Starlight, Black Light Smoke, Esther Dune, Zenker Brothers, Noncompliant, Xtin, and more. She has had the immense pleasure of conjuring spirits at Chicago’s most beloved clubs such as Smartbar, Smoke & Mirrors, Podlasie Club, and several underground gatherings.

Experiencing music outside of the confines of a club or the underground is extremely important to Shanti as she had initially discovered her favorite artists through online podcasts and radio. The universalizability of podcasts and radio enable music to be experienced by more humans situated in different contexts. This is why she has contributed to many notable online mix series and radio channels. Her mixes have been featured on The Black Lodge Radio, SutroFM, Mutant Radio, PPRZ, Death Decay & Magic, Braid Records, Low Visibility, Dance All Day, and m50’s etc radio among other podcasts and shows. This past year, Shanti has expanded her surreal storytelling beyond Chicago by playing in Amsterdam, LA, Detroit and notable Midwest festivals such as Minnesota’s The Great Beyond and Madison’s Musique Électronique. This Halloween, she will be playing at Chicago’s notoriously dark music festival, Sanctum.

Distant Signals 084: Shanti

pi/live: Mike Midnight @ Ballet in NYC 05-18-2025

free dl

the spot. (free download)

JUDDER announces the release of a new EP “Commute” by Bristol-based producer @tacktile

With this release, Tacktile masterfully blends elements of grime, dub, and bass techno with atonal textures and sharp metallic rhythms. The EP also features a standout collaboration with Temi Automatic, where the two artists explore their shared fascination with dark sonic aesthetics. All of this reflects Tacktile’s signature approach, rooted in raw, uncompromising sound.

Distant Signals 081: shopping

DISTANT SIGNALS

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