VC-118A  

Samuel van Dijk is fascinated by contrasts. He explores the tension that comes from carefully constructed atmospheres and rough riding rhythms, like gentle waves crashing up against angular rock faces or jagged drum patterns softened by blooming pads.

He’s just as focussed on musical dynamics; with expansive chords but intimate effects, and how sounds move about in the club as well as in your head. He makes soundscapes rather than tracks, where euphoric moods and thunderous basslines can coexist, and where minute little details capture your mind’s eye while punchy drum work makes an immediate physical impact. He explores the rough and the smooth, the loud and the quiet, the cerebral and the visceral in aquatic and naturalistic worlds where electro, techno, dub and ambient are blurred into one.  

This means that as both a producer and comprehensive live act, the Dutchman can take you from the furthest reaches of outer space to the depths of an oceanic abyss via crackling and frozen tundras. He does so under three aliases—VC-118A, Mohlao, Multicast Dynamics, but all are interconnected and related, with a modular approach to making and performing music meaning that a pumping breakbeat live-set can easily be transformed into an abstract sonic landscape by reducing and modifying elements, playing with textures and reworking structures. 

“I’m always searching for a duality, something that marries dance floor functionality with an end of the world melodrama that gets deep inside your head,” says the artist. “My process is intuitive and unplanned, so I can start with sound design and atmospherics first, or get lost in rhythms.”  This understanding of narrative, as well as groove, means that whatever alias he assumes, he can pump out a peak time festival set, twist you inside out with an intimate session in a cosy club or play an experimental soundscape set in more thought provoking settings with his own avant garde visuals. Dancers at cult places like Tresor, Denovali Festival and a Boiler Room showcase in Nijmegen have all experienced this in the recent past. 

Known by electronic music obsessives as one of electro’s shining lights, the last decade has seen van Dijk excel in both EP and LP format. His achingly beautiful melancholic moods and roomy, absorbing grooves are so fully realised that they work well beyond the club context and have come on top labels like Delsin, Frustrated Funk and Silent Season amongst others. They include highlights like the tension between raw machine sounds and ethereal pads that were explored on VC-118A’s underground classic Vaxna; Shift Register, which was made from largely one-take hardware jams with an instinctive and lo-fi finish, and the slow burning techno of Mohlao’s Landforms LP. Of course, his Multicast Dynamics album quadrilogy on Denovali also laid out immersive ambient worlds in truly escapist ways. 

  Expect an in-depth feature coming soon on Minimal Collective [ www.minimalcollective.digital ]

SoundCloud : https://soundcloud.com/mohlao

Tracklist
Fastgraph - Ten Eight Seven [Klakson]
Volruptus - Alien Transmissions [BBBBBB]
Aux 88 - Alias [Puzzlebox Records]
Sansibar - Satellites [FTP]
Mekas - Impersonal Steel [Chaosmos Records]
Paranoid London - Drum Machine (Album Edit) [Paranoid London]
Jeff Derringer - Radio Therapy (O/V/R Remix) [Soma]
EMS - Close Encounters [Satamile Records NYC]
Versalife - Monospaced [20:20 Vision]
The Mind Drum - Reality Check [Subvert Records]
Alex Jann - Blue Moon Rising [Censor]
/DL/MS/ - Invisible Bits [TRUST]
Unknown
Locked Club - Electro Raw [PRIVATE PERSON]
SSpesimen - Angels In My Room [Pomelo]
Unknown
Syberian - I Hear The Future [SYBERIAN]
Clatterbox - Genetic Code [Frustrated Funk]
Unknown
No Moon - Acid IX [Mechatronica]
DJ Stingray - Her [TRUST]

DUSK212 By VC-118A

https://www.nts.live/shows/silent-servant/episodes/silent-servant-24th-august-2022

Optimistic Decay w/ Silent Servant 230822

Recording of bRave: Maja Pa, Le Chocolat Noir & Ikonal's set at Dekmantel Selectors 2022.

Dekmantel Selectors 2022

bRave: Maja Pa, Le Chocolat Noir & Ikonal at Dekmantel Selectors 2022

RADIO RITUEL 54 - BLACKMOON77

J-Lost

The third artist of this month is a power woman coming from the heart of the Balkans — Sofia, Bulgaria. Growing up in a notoriously volatile and contradictory environment, she developed into a spirited entity with a desire to break the rules. This naturally translates into her approach to music, which aims not to comfort or please the listener but rather to confront and induce certain feelings deep within.

Having made her first serious steps behind the booth just 2Ys ago, she kept the fire burning during lockdown times with a residency at a now-defunct local radio. The monthly show embraced a storyteller’s approach and quickly taught her how to craft eclectic and introspective mixes that eventually paved the road to her own self-discovery.
In the years following after, J-Lost captivated the local scene with her genre-bending sets that switched moods, moved feet, and asked questions with equal power. Dramatic and unconventional, her selection is weaponry loaded with heavy bass lines, tribal rhythms, ancient atmospheres, harsh industrial noises, and wavy synths, fuelled by electro-body grooves and erotic vocals. This creates a sonic space where extreme contrasts and unexpected turns are very welcome, where sinister explosions are followed by gentle melancholy, and vice versa.

Earlier this year, J-Lost joined forces with a like-minded partner — Stefan Alexandrov. The pair gave birth to a new platform (starting as a club night and podcast series) that goes by the name "Escape Route." Their mission is to broaden the scope of the local scene, champion barely-known artists they both admire, and promote escapism from the ordinary.

Just before she heads to Drugstore, Beograd, to celebrate NYE with a b2b performance with Stefan, she drops episode 234:
“This mix is a personal journey that reflects on what 2022 has brought, carries the knowledge and influences collected along the way, and echoes the ongoing world crisis in an effort to amplify the voices of those who can't be heard. It’s a kaleidoscope of moods and represents everything I stand for: it’s spontaneous and bold, in your face, and full of surprises. I wanted to prove that one can play serious, meaningful music and still come up with a fast-paced, banging mix.”

Hear more from the girl with impeccable taste and a tendency to surprise the
listener — and sometimes even her own self:

SoundCloud : https://soundcloud.com/fuckyeah-its-julie

Tracklist
Kehlani - Intro
Evitceles - Comfort In Abyss
Gil.Barte - Qhapaq Hucha
Hiro Kone - Feed My Ancestors
Rhythmic Theory - Lucid State
Lagos - Crocuta
Chino – Hologram
Nam’s Chaos - Spiral Vision
3.14 - Metabolismus
Permanent Vacation - Modern Ruin
re:ni - Reverse Rave
Small Crab - Yerba Cereal (Talik Remix)
Mønic - Blood Hound
Kaiju feat Flowdan - Hunter
Tadi feat. DJKR - Seven Diamond Lines
Kryptic Minds - The Divide
Overland - Blink For Eternity
Stenny - Permission
Little Simz - might bang, might not
Mor Elian - Itch Twitch
Formally Unknown - The Glow
Burka Band - No Burka!
Sepehr - Lavashak Love
INIT - Gravity

DUSK234 By J-Lost

1. Chris & Cosey - Raining Tears Of Blood 
2. A Blaze Colour - An Addict Of Time
3. The Serfs - Baroque
4. La Punta Bianca - Diamante E Polvere
5. Pink Military - Did You See Her?
6. Mario Scheffer - Some Different Men
7. The Wake - Melancholy Man
8. Waking Dreams - Etched
9. Ennio Morricone - Fruscio de Foglie Verdi (Cantato)
10. New Order - Your Silent Face
11. The Passions - I’m in Love With a German Film Star
12. Riechmann - Wunderbar
13. Minny Pops - Body Language (Demo) 
14. Interstellar Funk & Loradeniz - Fly Me In
15. Schulverweis - Das Lowlife 
16. Internal/External - A Conviction Of Fantasy
17. Yukihiro Takahashi – Drip Dry Eyes 
18. Escape From New York - Fire In My Heart 
19. Christian Kroupa x LCN - A Constraint Attached
20. Moev - Wanting (remix)
21. Psychic TV - New Sexuality 
22. Daisy Daisy - Toothfairy
23. Talk Talk - My Foolish Friend
24. Moses - We Just 
25. Sun-La-Shan - Catch
26. Laura Krieg - Bureaupathologie
27. De Ambassade - Young Birds 
28. Depeche Mode - But Not Tonight
29. Standing Ovation - What Meaning
30. Moderne - Histoire Ordinaire
31. Aural Indifference - The Park
32. Schwefel - Metropolis

In Between Days - 03 w/ Ofra & Marsman

FEM = Future Electronic Music is a monthly radio show at Rotterdam’s Operator Radio, curated by Alexis Phase. DJs and producers from around the globe partake in a ritual of sonic exploration and emotional meditation. Sound skipping between genres, bending sound, curving reality, FEM pushes the boundaries and innovates electro-industrial dance music.

www.operator-radio.com

Future Electronic Music w/ Alessandro Adriani - 28th January 2023

Based in Milan, label @marguerite-records offers a variety of sounds and influences through its releases. Ambient, noise, experimental, but also italo-disco, new wave, new beat, post-punk, industrial, electro & techno - defining the sound of contemporary electronic music.

Tune in for Marguerite Records every 1st Friday of the month, from 00h to 02h [CET] on rinse.fr

Rinse France Podcast

Marguerite Records invites Galactic Funk with Bertram & JD J - 03 Mars 2023

First hour features a guest mix from  Amsterdam-based producer, DJ, and event organizer https://soundcloud.com/bertram-croes from the https://soundcloud.com/galactic-funk-amsterdam crew. Following his presentation is a live recording of vinyl selections from Kosmik b2b with https://soundcloud.com/rodney-kh at a recent event held 2.25.23 at Rubycon Records in LA.

BL Radio EP 103 -  BERTRAM [GALACTIC FUNK]

The recording of my Saturday night set in the main room at Intergalactic FM Fest

Bertram @ Intergalactic FM Festival May 2023

Our monthly label showcase, The Sound Of, puts the focus on the imprints we love; outlets that are championing new artists, dropping key releases and driving their respective scenes. This month, we speak to Ron Morelli about his prolific outlet, L.I.E.S. Records, and he offers up a challenging mix of rough-cut techno, twisted EBM and industrial constructs.

Interview & tracklist: https://dj-m.ag/2LiYojO

The Sound Of: L.I.E.S.

Living & Breathing Dance Music. Find us at http://www.djmag.com

The Sound Of: L.I.E.S.

djmag

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