Didn't know Darwin, until she blew my mind at The Nest at this years Dekmantel. holy shit

@darwinspec please help, been looking for this madness for a year

some good ones

With a sound that is non-conformist and deeply rhythmic, re:ni presents this week's podcast, effortlessly gliding between UK techno, bass and beyond. Few DJ's consistently surprise us the way she does and we’re delighted to welcome her back for Dimensions 2021 and eagerly await her sonic splendours.

https://soundcloud.com/renildn

DIM243 - re:ni

Hodge mixes through the past, present and future of Livity Sound, the Bristol label that's been shaping forward thinking dance music for a decade.

Read RA's Label Of The Month feature: https://ra.co/features/3879

Label Of The Month Mix: Livity Sound mixed by Hodge

Darwin (@darwinspec) juggles many different roles in dance music as well as she juggles her records in the DJ booth. The Canadian-born, Berlin-based artist runs her own REEF parties at Berghain, and has nurtured a wealth of emerging talents on her SPE:C label. She is also the founder of Clean Scene, a climate action collective that wants to explore a more sustainable future for dance music. They recently authored a stark report about the industry's carbon footprint, which you can read through cleanscene.club/report.pdf. 

Darwin's sound is rooted in various UK styles, from bass to dubstep, garage to breakbeat. That is evident in the 100-minute mix she lays down for us this week. It opens with thoughts about environmentalism and some indigenous jungle recordings before grinding through chunky Afro drum patterns and supersized bass. The pressure builds throughout, the cavernous rhythms grow ever more muscular as the urge to snake your body becomes overwhelming. It's a perfectly balanced, well-controlled mix that showcases the irresistible power of heavyweight bass music.

Dekmantel Podcast 

Dekmantel Podcast 351 - Darwin

Forest Drive West and Localhost are refreshing your brain with two hours of ambient and techno sounds.

Follow them here:
@forest-drive-west
@localhostmusic
https://fb.com/ForestDriveWest
https://instagr.am/forestdrivewest

Forest Drive West B2B localhost | #59

Recorded live at Waterworks Festival 2021, Gunnersbury Park, London on 25 September 2021

Pressure stage

Live at Waterworks Festival 2021 - London

@alexanderberg at The Grove on Friday night.

Campout Mix Series: Dorisburg

"The forest is such a special place because it is simultaneously rowdy and psychedelic. The timing of my afternoon set, leading from day to night, meant I wanted to play a set that moved from deep and dreamy to joyful and riotous, the momentum and energy building and blooming like a flower. I think it very much turned out as I intended, and it was totally so so special to play as I did in front of this incredibly giving and open-minded audience. Thank you Draaimolen for the incredible opportunity." - Ciel

Ciel at Draaimolen Festival 2024

Another Barker masterclass.

Sam Barker asks more from techno. The artist known simply as Barker is one of electronic music's most consistently conscientious and curious producers, challenging listeners to question the norms we accept about our shared culture—whether it's the music that fills the room, the process behind it, or the purpose of the space itself.

British-born yet based in Berlin since 2007, Barker forged a connection to many of the city's leading institutions, including Ostgut Ton, and over the course of a long and fruitful relationship, he carved out one of the more singular paths on the club and label's roster.

Not one for orthodoxy, Barker challenged four-to-the-floor techno framework in favor of melodic experimentation. By decentering or completely stripping away the typical trappings of kick drums and claps, his productions are both light and immersive, buoyant in low-end presence and shimmering in weightless space.

Six years after Utility, his sophomore album Stochastic Drift arrives this month. Shaped by pandemic-driven reinvention, it burrows deeper into harmonic twists and freeform drift. "At some point I became conscious of the process," he wrote of his latest album. "The only thing you can do is embrace the uncertainty and see every change as a potential positive.”

Consider his RA Podcast another sequel. Like his much-beloved 2019 mix for FACT, it's a collage of live recordings and a fitting expression of the artist's own internal spring. RA.982 radiates wide-eyed optimism: percussion cloaked in foggy, swirling pads and trance-like chords, neatly synched in synthetic glimmers. 

All in all, it's an hour of music crafted for contemplation, collective euphoria, or heads-down epiphany—or for that matter, any moment, really, its emotive depth seemingly endless.

@voltek

Find the tracklist and Q&A at ra.co/podcast/982

RA.982 Barker

For this episode we welcome the extraordinary talents of Aaron J, Brooklyn's Sure Thing record label and podcast founder, known for hosting an immense list of explorative modern techno artists from around the globe. Altering our consciousness for the first time in 2023 with a particularly awe inspiring set at Sustain-Release, Aaron's deeply considered and intricate approach is something of sheer beauty, and coupled with masterful technical ability, his inspiring DJ sets allow for fully immersive dancefloor experiences. 

Here Aaron explores the softer edges of his expansive sound palette, meditative soundscapes and tranquil IDM converging in total harmony for what he describes as a 'recalibration of the senses'. 

@arn_j
@sure_thing

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

A. Of all the mixes I’ve put together over the years, this one definitely feels the most vulnerable. The months I spent thinking about and working on this mix accompanied an intensely busy time in my life, and the process helped me stay in touch with the simple joy of listening as a way of stepping back and letting things go. There is a direct connection here between the music within and the emotions that live inside me. At the same time, I’ve tried my best to mix this as transparently as possible, so that the act of DJing takes a back seat and allows the music to take center stage.

The inspiration behind the tracks I chose and the story of the mix is one of finding balance, so I hope listening to it feels like a casting off of the present day and a recalibration of the senses. I’d love for people to listen to the mix in a setting where they feel most protected from the changes and stressors of the outside world, whether that be sitting outside in nature or laying on a couch surrounded by the comforts of home.

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. There is a track in the mix by Autumn of Communion called “Goodbye PK” dedicated to the late Peter Kuhlmann, who many of your listeners will know as the legendary Pete Namlook of FAX +49-69/450464. It’s an immensely moving track that manages to convey both the tragedy of his loss and the depth of the beauty he left with the world, and I feel we’re so fortunate to have music and influences like this in our recent history. I included it early to set the tone of the rest of the mix, which is quite different than any I’ve done before, and to pay my respects to those who’ve inspired our scene from the very beginning.

Q. I was lucky enough to witness your set at Sustain-Release in 2023 and was in awe of your ability to practice restraint while steadily building up tension and energy in the set with such clinical and seamless execution. Is this part of the DJ craft something you spend a lot of time planning and refining?

A. That was such a life-changing moment for me, so I’m really glad you were there! You really nailed what I hoped to accomplish with that set, and I definitely spend a lot of time thinking about where my sets will begin, where I would like them to end up, and what sort of path I might take to get there. Understanding the minutiae of how a transition will affect someone’s state of mind and how to propel someone forward without jarring them back to reality is something I’m always working to improve on. That said, the upward trajectory is not always the most interesting one, and there are so many other ways of charting a course through a set that I hope to be able to explore. For the mix I’ve made for you, it’s not so much a set that builds energy as it is one that expands and contracts, hopefully in a gentle and purposeful way.

MDC.311 Aaron J

@ciel_dj's energetic 90-minute set for PUCKER UP!'s Standard Time debut (April 26, 2025) ~ featuring both vinyl & digital selections

Pucker Up! | Ciel @ Standard Time | 04.26.2025

{{7108}} @4rxh4ngelz.vengance - indigo king #FINALWARZ #InfernalBliss *alt version*

August Samples (prod. 1terr0r)

Back in 2016, Skee Mask and Zenker Brothers spontaneously attempted to play together at an afterparty in Prague, but after ten minutes the electricity failed. Two years later they finally had the opportunity to play a joint extended set for the first time - at Unsound Kraków 2018. The three DJs closed Saturday night in Hotel Forum with an expansive set building on adventurous forms of techno, jungle and broken beat, combining the collective interests of Ilian Tape. The set kicked off at 4am in the Ball Room.

Unsound Podcast 39: Skee Mask b2b Zenker Brothers

Recording of Batu's set at Dekmantel Selectors 2018.

Dekmantel Selectors 2018

Batu at Dekmantel Selectors 2018

Boiler Room at Dekmantel 2019 closes on a true master: Batu.

Batu | Boiler Room x Dekmantel Festival 2019

Interview: http://truantsblog.com/2020/truancy-volume-268-kia/

Access the download and tracklist on our Patreon: patreon.com/truants

Soundcloud: @kia-sydney

http://truantsblog.com

Truancy Volume 268: Kia

Amsterdam based DJs, events company and record label. - support@dekmantel.com for all your webshop and label enquiries.

Dekmantel Podcast 351 - Darwin

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