Sound Metaphors (@sound-metaphors) is Nemo Ripoll and Castro Moore, but it is also the name of their famously well-curated label and record shop in Berlin. As such the pair has been helping to define the sound of the underground on many different fronts - electric DJ sets, cult events and even through the custom-made sound systems built for customers worldwide. With a vast musical knowledge between them and a never-ending supply of their own unreleased edits and DJ tools, they are able to tell musical stories that draw from all across all genres and many different eras.

That plays out in the superb mix they have put together for us this week. It's a full-bodied selection that shows off their love of contrasting styles - loose, percussive house music brushes up with deep and dubby cuts, dark acid grooves sit next to '80s synth sounds before a disco finish goes from stomping to funky. The exuberance of it all is infectious and leaves you wanting more.

Dekmantel Podcast

Dekmantel Podcast 477 - Sound Metaphors DJs

"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

Was a pleasure to have Massi as a guest on my Dublab show this month; here is the full recording. Enjoy!

Dublab 02/05/25: Hearing Color w/ Massimiliano Pagliara

@yamour030

Yamour resident at our good friends of Blitz Club (we can’t wait until Cruise x IsBurning next week!) and one of the thriving forces behind Good2U Festival. Yamour played at our Yellow House marathon during ADE and now she’s back with an IsBurning mix. An neverending house groove for the mind & the body banging in subtleness! 

Trackhighlight Chez Damier & Makèz - „Do It“ (Adeen Records)
An uplifting deep house tune with organic percussions, a thick and bouncy bassline, buttery chords and a fun acid melody that comes in mid-track. I love the two funky disco breaks, definitely a highlight for me.
I bought this record in Japan, while I was on tour in Asia and it immediately became a staple in my record bag. 
The EP is a collaboration between Adeen and legendary Chicago label Balance. All four tracks are produced by Chez Damier and Makéz, plus a smoky remix by Mr G.

Thanks Yamour!<3 

Yamour...IsBurning #166

John Talabot @ MakingTime 2024

🔊 https://youtu.be/UrcY9I4dIyg

https://soundcloud.com/ffan: I recently played at Club Daphnia in Osaka this past April, and it was such a fun experience. I shared the night with many underground DJs from across Japan, and it was one of those rare moments where I could fully express my own style while playing abroad. This mix is a re-recording based on the tracks I played that night, a slightly more underground version that showcases my trippy, genre-blending sound.

https://soundcloud.com/nyapi_seoul
https://soundcloud.com/studionamsan
Artwork: https://soundcloud.com/oniss

ffan is a South Korean music savvy, intricate, eclectic, and frantic. A maverick in sliding progressions through genres,  building soundscapes that magnetize people in forward movement to the dancefloor. 

Immersing in ffan´s sound is like a deep dive in a dark tropical forest – wild and unexpected.

Eccentric but secure, ffan is a true sound perfectionist, with a confident voice that glistens in every project he puts his hands on,  bringing him buoyancy in acclaim from all corners. Founder of the club Nyapi Seoul and Studio Namsan, ffan´s influence in Seoul is immediate and clearly felt, it is the new school of acid.

Play on YouTube

LAYER #423 | ffan

A clinic in minimal from the elusive Acting Press boss. 

Why do certain sounds cultivate a cult following? Simply put, it's often because they resist easy consumption. PLO Man and his imprint Acting Press lean into this. 

Searching for the Berlin-based DJ and producer, you won’t find much online presence, interviews or conventional PR. What you will find, if you look hard enough, is a catalogue of records and mixes with a kind of tape hiss charm (a spiritual successor to Basic Channel and Chain Reaction, but scuzzier and lighter on its feet).

Founded in 2015, Acting Press once seemed to belong to the short-lived "outsider house" trend, but is now synonymous with a certain strain of modern minimal, one that is analogue, spacious and pointedly opaque. PLO Man's output is equally sparse by design: this week, he joins the RA Podcast with a characteristically elusive style, accompanying the near two-hour mix is a one-answer Q&A that gives almost nothing away.

Stripped-back, ever-so-slightly sleazy and coated in dust, PLO Man's RA Podcast continues that lineage in style. Opening with the featherlight microhouse of Margaret Dygas, RA.988 unfolds into a carefully curated spectrum of minimal, dub and deep techno. Among familiar names—look out for the blinding Rhythm & Sound and Moodymann blend—are deep cuts and left turns alongside the odd outlier, like lovers' rock pioneer Gregory Isaacs.

Like the best of his forebears, PLO Man wants RA.988 to take time for you to settle in. But once you do, you won’t want to leave. 

@p_el_oh

Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/988

RA.988 PLO Man

In an era of everything at once, Gabrielle Kwarteng is a DJ who weaves stories that often look to the past, while always focusing on possible futures. Dip in to hear a range of dance music from downtempo to deep house to techno rollers - and everything in between.  
Find the full tracklist and related episodes on NTS: https://www.nts.live/shows/gabrielle-kwarteng/episodes/gabrielle-kwarteng-16th-may-2025

Gabrielle Kwarteng 160525

https://www.nts.live/shows/bell-towers/episodes/bell-towers-13th-may-2025

DANCE MUSIC SHOW - 13/05/25

DON ,T  STOP    - SOW ME

Free download!

FUNK FACTORY (2023)

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