These are mixes made by the current members of Research & Development, Makeen and JS Alvarez

Mixes by R&D members

Distant Signals Mix Series

Shanti's Mixes

Dance All Day
Mix Series
031 (Shanti)
2024
@shanti-ism

"Shanti is a Chicago-based DJ who curates eerie, otherworldly, and longing sounds. While she is a philosopher and writer, Shanti has felt limited by words and has recognized the transcendent ability of music to express concepts, states of consciousness, and conflicting emotions. Philosophical themes of existential angst and ambiguity are explored in her sets through ethereal, foreboding techno, angsty EBM/Darkwave, and squishy acid soundscapes. Music has always been a way for her to cope with the darker realities of existence. Shanti’s sets weave a story of the simultaneous despair and yearning that are intertwined with the human condition and illustrate an intentional trajectory."

Here for the 31st in the series, Shanti delivers nearly 2 hours of driving and hypnotic techno rollers.

SUPPORT THE ARTIST:
IG
https://www.instagram.com/shantiism/

DJ Collective "Evanti"
https://soundcloud.com/evanti-music

RA
https://ra.co/dj/shanti

TRACKLIST:
Marco Shuttle - Buona Visione 
Marco Effect - Time Manipulation 
Distant Echoes - Tuttaltro Club (Original Mix)
Hoedus - Mantra
Other Form - Mirror Oath (Quelza Remix) 
Troy - Twilight
Josh Tong x Char - Karma (Techno)
Andrew Barren - Misery Breaks 
Rrose x Polygonia - Diastole
Rødhåd, UFO95 - Lavande 01
FLAWS - Nocturnal 
Lonefront - Symmetry Response
Chainletter - Pickups
Modes - M51 
Rrose-  The Illuminating Glass 
Wata Igarashi - Arachnoid (Original Mix)
GiGi FM - Gabriella 
Vorp - Up the Wazoo
Univac - Soyuz
Black Light Smoke - Deface 
Otodojo - The Soaked One
Stephanie Sykes - Sakura 
Oscar Mulero - Transparent Ray 
Lori - Coil
Erik Jabari - Screamore
DVS1 - Confused
440PPM - Sintered Bauxite 
Nubbles - Reflect 4

031 / Shanti

Shanti is a Chicago-based artist who explores dark, sinister, and atmospheric soundscapes. Her mix is guided by the sense of existential despair surrounding the future of humanity and the earth. The first part of her mix captures the intense dread for the future, the second part is attempting to cope with it and immerse oneself in the distractions of the world, and the third part returns to confronting and accepting humanity's forlorn reality.

Roberto Musci - Tower of Silence
Richard Holhburn - Obliteration of Difference 
Chloe Lula – Timeshift 
Ancient Methods - Zealots 
Pause - Desolation 
Sorcery - Synovial Membrane 
Pakard. - Primer Contacto (Original Mix)
Grey People - Simulation 1
Allana Letm - Carcosa
Marcel Dettman - Rush (Deep Release Remix)
PTTRNRCRRNT- Boundary 2
Adriana Lopez - Saija (Original Mix)
Ital x Aurora Halal - Basement Dweller 2k17
Intergalactic Gary & Pasiphae - Indistinct Chatter
CT Kidobó - El Ángel Exterminador (Gin Sling Remix) 
Phase Fatale - Grain (Silent Servant Remix)
Identified Patient & Sophie du Palais - Crush On You 
Black Light Smoke - CRIMES 1
Dreams - Slug Street Disco 
Blawan - Lox 
440PPM - Cladogenesis
Peter Van Hoesen - Time to Regress 
Abdulla Rashim & Axel Hallqvist - Mark (Claudio PRC Remix) 
Dycide - Erasure
British Murder Boys - It’s What You Hide 
Boston 168 - Black Hole 
Rrose - Arc Unknown 
Kobe Dupree - Close Encounters with No Self 
Years of Denial - Metal Wave

DDM068 Shanti

We are so lucky to release this mix for our 37th entry, recorded live at SmartBar (Chicago) by our friend and excellent DJ Shanti!

From the artist:
I am so grateful to be able to share this mix with you all through PPRZ! This is a mix that was recorded at Smartbar in Chicago when I opened for Lady Starlight as part of Justin Aulis Long's series, Flowers of Romance. It was a 3-hour long set from 10pm-1am on a Pioneer V10 Mixer with 3-4 CDJ 3000s. 

What I love about opening sets is having the ability to set the tone for the night as people are arriving and making the transition from wherever they came from to the communal embodiment of dancing. The other fascinating element about an opening set is the dramatic contrast between the beginning and end as one first experiences an empty dance floor and sees the gradual process of it growing with energy and feeling even though I can really only see beautiful silhouettes moving in the darkness. I take an opening set to be about the gradual cultivation of energy but also an opportunity for creative tension and exercising restraint for the headliner and rest of the night.

Bio:
Shanti is a Chicago-based DJ who explores philosophical themes of existential angst and ambiguity through surreal, foreboding, and atmospheric soundscapes. Her sets weave a story of the simultaneous despair and yearning that are intertwined with the human condition. 

While she is thoughtful about curating multifaceted energy and emotion within her sets, she also co-curates events such as Otherworldly Ambiguity as Evanti, a conceptual experience centered around the phenomenon of hybridity, occupying the spaces in between and outside of pre-existing concepts and rigid categories. She is also a part of Chicago-based DJ collective and label, Research & Development which is a mix series and curator of multifaceted music-centered experiences. 

Mix mastered by: Umair Chachar

Tracklist:
Part 1:
Lemna - Memories
Lemna - Hallucination 
Voices from the Lake - Mika 
Donato Dozzy - Aquatica
SHXCXCHCXSH - A Sunny Day in Ostrogothia 
Dan B. Hood - Ode to Drome
BMG & Derek Plaslaiko - Ghost Ship 
Rrose - Signs 
Alexskyspirit - The Travelers (Polygonia remix)
Etapp Kyle - Source 
Mike Parker - Heat Inducer 
Love Letters - Morse (BMG mix) 
Club Drippy - Crashed
Ryogo Yamamori- Zw
Marcel Dettman - Rush (Deep Release mix)
Pause - Crater  
SHXCXCHCXSH  - HHHHHHHGGKS 
Part 2:
Rrose - Solaris 
Lonefront - Stera
Modes - M52 
NØRBAK - Luyr 
Allana Letm - Tempos Multiplos (Centrific Remix)
Nubbles - Reflect 2 
Maedon-X - Caged Animal 
Perc - Milk Snatchers Return
Ritaffein - Laiva
Regis - Body Unknown 
Jamaica Suk - Tes Levrés
British Murder Boys - We Will Show You 
Uun - Junkspace 
Kanding Ray - Dark Barker 
Peter Van Hoesen - Vola Flash 
Surgeon - The Golden Sea 
Alexskyspirit- SNCTR2 
Decoder - Falling Flat 
Part 3:
Quelza - Plastic Waves 
Neel - A Thought without Time 
Oscar Mulero - Tormenta 
Regis - The Theme from Street Walker
DASH3D - Neuropulmonar
CRØG - Fire 
Oblivion & Uranya - Bassa Marea 
Sorcery - Dark Scan
GiGi FM - Amadamushies
Neel- Riflesso 
Quelza - We’ll Never Be Friends Again 
J. Blofeld - Uranus 
Cej- Itchy 
Char - Free 
Psyk & Orbe - Tunnel Diode
Surgeon - Convenience Trap Pt.2

Donations if you enjoyed this mix from Shanti's recommended organization: https://www.newrootsinstitute.org/ - creating a just and sustainable food system for all through education.

PPRZ Podcast 37 - Shanti live at SmartBar Chicago

ZONA CINCO - MICTLAN - VOL 4

We are thrilled to present this mix by Chicago based JS Alvarez for our 39th entry in the series. Both Adam and I admire what Jeremy contributes to the music scene with their podcast and event series Research & Development.

JS Alvarez is a shape shifting lizard that has learned human behavior from living in cities such as Chicago and Miami. He succumbs to no one genre and can be found exploring the depths of mutant techno and unruly bass music alike.

He is the founding member of Research & Development which ignited in the iconic Chicago mainstay of Smartbar. The event series has moved on to host community focused events centered on a wide variety of often cutting edge electronic sounds at venues like Podlasie Club, The Whistler and various DIY spaces. R&D also hosts a biweekly podcast 100+ episodes deep ranging from rising talents, hometown heroes and well established DJs and producers from North America and around the world.

He's shared the booth with artists such as DVS1, Veronika Vasicka, D.Dan, Hodge and others. His mixes have been featured on NTS Radio, Mutant Radio and SutroFM among others. Catch him at The Great Beyond this July! 

I was trying to find a very textured sound within the first quarter of the mix. My attempt at some sort of atmospheric sci-fi horror score followed by something a bit more hypnotic. By the end of the mix I wanted those vibes to explode into something highly rhythmic. Something to shatter what came before and get the sweat dripping off the walls. 

If you enjoyed this mix, please consider donating to JS Alvarez' organization of choice:
https://www.organizedcommunities.org/ 
https://www.organizedcommunities.org/donate

PPRZ Podcast 39 - JS Alvarez

Special guest mix from Chicago based dj SHANTI  - cohost of Otherworldly Ambiguity with Scum.ee, member of techno collective Research & Development, and host of “Liminal Radio” on WIIT 88.9 FM. Shanti kindly shared a 3 hour opening set she did for Aurora Halal in Chicago on May 9th 2025 at Smoke & Mirrors - toon in! 🚀🚀🚀
https://soundcloud.com/shantievanti
https://soundcloud.com/researchndevelopment

See video of Shanti’s set at https://youtu.be/QqfMYAyS8bM?si=FPZJDhNdZqlf63YS

BL Radio EP 130: SHANTI [Research & Development]

"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

Received transmissions from the outer reaches of an exquisite corpse universe

Distant Signals 084: Shanti

DISTANT SIGNALS