Enjoy a new episode in the Dekmantel Podcast Series every Monday!

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Dekmantel Podcast Series

@surusinghe is one of many exciting Naarm/Melbourne artists to have broken through in the last couple of years. She has been working behind the scenes in the industry for a decade but only started to release her own music in 2022. Now based in London where she has co-founded the Phenomena label, she has an international mix of influences that make her club-ready sounds utterly thrilling. They all draw on the fact that she is a clubber first and foremost, and one proud of her Sri Lankan heritage. 

She goes big over the course of an hour for us this week and threads together plenty of body-popping rhythms from dembow to techno to wobbly London dubstep. She drops in several of her own tunes, one of which is unreleased, as are two others from Doctor Jeep and Tom Kami. It's a fresh and futuristic workout of high-octane sound from an adventurous DJ who always brings the party in fresh new ways.

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Dekmantel Podcast 444 - Surusinghe

African Head Charge is a legendary psychedelic dub outfit who have recently returned to their home label On-U Sound with A Trip To Bolgatanga, their first new album in 12 years. As always it finds the peerless Adrian Sherwood at the controls and joins the dots between what the collective has done before and what they are doing now, all with a distinctly Ghanian twist. The signature drums and chants remain at the core of the album of course, as well as plenty of other thrilling new sonic concoctions on keys, guitar, percussion, strings, vocals, kologo and more. It's the latest chapter in a fascinating story that has already seen them release some 16 albums since its inception in 1981. 

This week's mix is a deep dive into the uniquely melon-twisting sounds of African Head Charge. Sherwood's mastery at the controls means sound is twisted and contorted, dubbed out and reverb-rich from start to finish. Traditional dub sounds melt away into ghoulish vocal passages, unhinged instrumentals come and go and the collective's signature sense of dark soul and mystic ritual holds the whole thing together in a spellbinding fashion.

Dekmantel Podcast 445 - Adrian Sherwood/African Head Charge

Benedikt Frey (@freybenedikt) has been on a journey of musical adventure and exploration over the last 15 years. He has made everything from deepest house to bottomless dub, UK jungle to irresistible edits of Notorious BIG. Those early forays came on labels like Nous'klaer Audio and Hivern Discs but in the years since the German has looked more to industrial and post-punk for inspiration. His Fastlane album on ESP Institute this summer blended those vibes with his own take on techno and resulted in his most accomplished and singular work yet. 

Now, the Lopasura label head steps up with an extra special two-hour mix that peers into the farthest corners of his sound. It is the sort of all-consuming trip that plays out like a mind movie as it works through serval different chapters - some heady and deep, some direct and unsettling, always with great control. Whether laying down electro, wave, techno or serious bass weight, Benedikt Frey is always taking you somewhere new.

Dekmantel Podcast 446 - Benedikt Frey

As the updated old saying might go, life is like a Lydo set - you never know what you're gunna get. This New York City-based interdisciplinary artist has plenty of tricks up their sleeve and a real love of mixing up genres in ways you wouldn't think possible. They have done so across Europe and North America and have a hardcore following at home where they run the legendary X-TRA.SERVICES. It makes regular seasonal appearances at BASEMENT, where LYDO (@lydole) is also a resident, and is a safe place to party for queer, trans, and non-binary people of colour.

LYDO's selections for us this week blow open the usual boundaries of techno. It's a mix of contrasts, where barrages of noise and malfunctioning machines are lit up by the most gorgeous melodies. Thumping and heavy rhythms are offset by wispy and light-emitting synth leads as energy levels are masterfully controlled. They build to moments of real intensity before being boiled down to pent-up promise and heads-down grooves. Somehow these sounds are both retro yet future, animalistic yet human, and they are proof that LYDO is a standout contemporary talent.

Dekmantel Podcast 447 - LYDO

@loekfrey is a name that now sits up there with some of the most exciting talents to have emerged from the Dutch scene in recent times. It's his unique blend of IDM, techno, breakbeat and drum & bass that has turned so many heads, not least with his Decipher album on home label Omen Wapta which was a widescreen soundscape of varying intensities and tempos. His ability to veer from the intricate and experimental to the hallucinatory and vibrant is second to none as he proves with his mix for us this week. 

It is a special one that is fully live and made up entirely of his own productions so makes for a perfect window into his world. Inside you will find 60 atmospheric minutes that soon immerse you in cinematic cosmic ambiance and hurried minimal rhythms embellished with ghoulish voices and dark undertones that unite both body and mind. It's a sleek and linear journey defined by the constant presence of a supple and pulsing bassline that transports you to distant future worlds in style.

Dekmantel Podcast 448 - Loek Frey

@le-motel is a film composer, graphic designer and producer who draws on his worldly travels to make richly immersive music. It comes detailed with field recordings from remote locations, visual cues from his design work and a mix of the organic and the synthetic and has mixed up everything from jazz to juke, techno to hip hop. As well as running Maloca Records he has picked up props from Gilles Peterson for an album for New Zealand’s Cosmic Composition, has collaborated with Fuzati on Ombrage Éditions went solo into a breaks, bass and grime fusion on YUKU in summer. 

Now the Kiosk Radio resident arrives in our podcast series with 60 minutes of earth-quaking global rhythms. The tempos are slow to start with but the impact is heavy from off. Lithe minimal drums fizz with dystopian energy and evolve from deep and dubby to broken and intense as Le Motel ramps up the pressure and keeps your body moving in ways only he can.

Tracklist

Dekmantel Podcast 449 - Le Motel

@poly-chain very much takes electronic much into the future. The Kyiv artist born Sasha Zakrevska uses IDM, electro, and techno as building blocks to construct her own eerie, intense, and atmospheric sound worlds that are as cinematic as they are physical. Her edgy melodies are inventive, and her machine rhythms are hugely distinctive. She has not only written solo albums but has composed for theatre and museums, collaborated with Nene H, and released charity albums for Ukraine as part of her ongoing musical resistance.  

For this week's podcast, Poly Chain has sent us the recording of the very special live show she played at Dekmantel Festival this summer. It is an absorbing hour of beatless sound that will move you as much as any drum track. There are storytelling chapters to the set that takes you from darkened underworlds to starry cosmic expanses as the moods go from reflective and calming to more intense and unsettling. It is very much the sound of tomorrow, today.

Dekmantel Podcast 450 - Poly Chain

Not only is @theokottis joining our podcast series this week, but early next month he will join the label family too. His new Lighthouse EP is a perfect encapsulation of the Scotsman's style - house, techno and electro fusions with a knowing nod to the 90s and plenty of both physical and emotional impact. It's his first work since a "self-imposed creative reset" and comes after previous outings on the likes of Permanent Vacation and DGTL that have established the Space Dust label and party founder as someone who is as effective as he is unpretentious whether making or playing records.

His mix for us is inspired by recent gigs and is made up of tracks that were particularly well-received by the crowds. It's two hours of slick selections cross the house, techno and electro spectrum so, says Theo, "there's something for everyone to dance their way into 2024." And he's not wrong: this is exactly the sort of impossibly groovy soundtrack you want to warm you up and get you going with just the right balance between head and heel.

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Dekmantel Podcast 451 - Theo Kottis

@sedefadasi's style is impossible to pin down. Embarking on her sonic journey, she fearlessly navigates her craft through a multifaceted universe of rhythms and genres, captivating dance floors with her everlasting groove and electrifying embrace. The best place to experience this rollercoaster is her own monthly HAMAM party at City club in Augsburg where she has invited plenty of international guests to join her. The Turkey-born, Germany-based artist is also a resident at Blitz Music Club and is set to join us at Dekmantel Selectors later in the summer, but first comes this week's podcast. 

It launches in seductive fashion with the moonlit deep house of Chicagoan Ben 'Cosmo' D then cruises through smooth but punchy grooves that stay low and bring hints of old-school cool in the basslines, stabs and drum breaks. Adasi's shift through the gears is almost imperceptible here as the pace quickens and the drums grow more physical. That is a testament to not only her smart selections but also to her ability to thread together these sounds quite so seamlessly.

Dekmantel Podcast 452 - Sedef Adasi

Vlada (@playvlada) has been playing all over the globe since just 18 years of age. Russia-born but Berlin-based for many years now, her sound is defined by a long, winding mixing style and is built on hypnotic basslines that slowly but surely zone you out. 

That very much comes out in this week's mix which initially locks you into a signature meditative pace but then builds with smart gear shifts and technical mixes. There are acid flashes to liven things up, bright synths spiraling around electrifying techno, broken beats to keep things moving then more stark industrial and metallic textures that place you at the heart of a strobe-lit and floor. It is another masterful mix full of must-find tunes from this ever more essential selector.

Dekmantel Podcast 453 - Vlada

@animisticbeliefs bring energy and innovation in equal measure whenever they serve up one of their electrifying sets or thrilling tunes. They are most at home when on stage cooking up captivating mixes of IDM, club music and drum & bass with smart infusions of influences from South East Asia and a sense of spiritualism that sees all things as equal. Their productions have come on labels like Cultivated Electronics and Pinkman and always push technical and emotional boundaries. 

The pair will be joining us at Dekmantel Festival 2024 in August and here offer up a teaser of what you might get: darkly involving moods, industrial textures and otherworldly timbres that are paired to a wide range of rhythms and tempos. There is a looseness to the set that keeps your body in constant motion while the details woven in between the beats keep your mind just as busy. From unusual instrumentation to foreign language vocals, this is an action-packed selection for peak-time dance floor fun.

Dekmantel Podcast 454 - Animistic Beliefs

Dutch-born but Brussels-based Zeta Lys aka Lucia (@zetalys) has a club-ready sound that draws on a world of broken rhythms and heavy percussion. Her influential radio show at The Word Radio finds her head into all new genre pockets around the globe and she has previously stood out at our Dekmantel Selectors festival. Lucia also composes for film and video and techniques from both disciplines inform and inspire her work with the result being music that is rich in dynamic narrative and ever-evolving mood. 

Her selection for us is prickly and fizzing with fresh rhythmic patterns. Static electricity, warped basslines and distorted synths bring great movement from the off as mutated and broken techno, dystopian jungle and deconstructed club rhythms all collide at great speed. It's an involving selection that combines many different worlds with great control, ramping up and then smoothing out the grooves at whim.

Dekmantel Podcast 455 - Zeta Lys

AGY3NA (@agy3na) draws on many different things when it comes to the music he plays and the messages he shares. There is an intersectionality to his identity as a gay black man growing up in Germany that informs everything he does from DJing to promoting parties. He has a background playing baritone and percussion, has a degree in psychology and a master's in cognitive science, and continues with academic research alongside his music pursuits which blend house, electro and Afrofuturism in all new ways. What underpins it all is his focus on feelings of freedom and playful rhythms from across many different genres and decades.  

All that bares out across this week's mix which unravels over the course of 90 subtly uplifting minutes. It's a peaceful selection to start with where gentle rhythms and organic pads awaken the soul before vibe-fuelled house ups the energy levels. AGY3NA unobtrusive, efficient mixing style then works through Afro-centric grooves, broken beats, and worldly percussion which all bring vigour and vitality and leave you feeling high on life.

Dekmantel Podcast 456 - AGY3NA

British-Nigerian-born, Berlin-based Richard Akingbehin (@richard-akingbehin) is behind many crucial projects in electronic music, and most of them revolve around his exploration of deep and dubby sounds. Not only is he a co-founder of the excellent Refuge Worldwide radio station, but he also runs the experimental label Kynant Record and has some key residencies when not headlining other cult clubs around the world. His label recently released the first new album from dub techno don Tikiman in almost 20 years and this summer the pair will be playing together again as part of a mini tour. 

Ahead of joining us at Dekmantel Selectors later this year, Richard recorded this week's mix for us in the Refuge Worldwide studio with the aim of showcasing what he is playing in the clubs at the moment. It takes in his signature blend of dub techno styles with music from the likes of Parallel 9, Tikiman, Dialog and Delano Smith. It's spacious and unhurried but slowly ramps up the pressure to get you on your toes and vibing to his ever-warm, supple and minimal rhythms.

Dekmantel Podcast 457 - Richard Akingbehin

Mia Koden (@miakoden) first emerged as half of Sicaria Sound but since breaking out alone has established her own musical identity. It draws on her South Sudanese heritage and music from across the African continent and beyond, not least her current surroundings in South London and the city's rich sound system culture. Often operating around the 140BPM mark, she dropped two head-turning tracks ‘Hot Take' and 'I Did’ early last year then debuted on Ilian Tape with a dark and irresistible EP that traverses multiple bass-heavy genres.

Mia does the same with her mix for us this week with, in her words, "bass, percussive, 2step, 140BPM, dubstep, dub, dub techno and breaks" all coming thick and fast at up to 150 beats per minute. It's a breathless 90-minute selection of global body music packed with lively percussion, big on low ends and not afraid to get rhythmically inventive while also dropping in the odd playful vocal from the worlds of grime and r&b. Both technically sound and tastefully assembled, it's a thrilling statement from the vital Koden.

Dekmantel Podcast 458 - Mia Koden

Priori (@priori-ties) has always explored a wide range of techno from dense and introspective to more joyous, often against the backdrop of technological possibilities. He hails from Canada and has been prolific since first emerging with two full-lengths to his name on his own NAFF label. They pair dubby undercurrents with crystalline melodies and contain the sort of unresolved tensions that keep you locked in for the ride. This weekend he plays Dekmantel Naarm 2024 but first has served up this new mi for us.

Priori says this is the first dance mix he's done in a long time, adding "It's an hour and a half of fresh rhythms and rave sounds that I recorded while on tour in Australia. It features a few tracks I have been playing a lot lately and some forthcoming bits by myself and some friends." In just over 90 minutes he works through a rollercoaster of deep techno rhythms that are firmly focused on the future and flow as fluidly as water.

Dekmantel Podcast 459 - Priori

In very loose terms, James K's (@jamesk_1 music operates at the fringes of the pop world. It is experimental and industrial, packed with hooks and riddled with dreamy textures that show off her mastery of synths. She has released it in album form with Dial and Incenso, dropped EPs on AD 93 and collaborated with the likes of Drew McDowall and Stefan Maie, and always manages to imbue her adventurous arrangements with real-world emotions and anxieties. This year she will join us at Dekmantel Festival but not before serving up this week's podcast.

It's the sort of rhythmically thrilling workout that has always stood James apart: jittery drum patterns and kinetic grooves that unfold at 100 miles an hour as a barrage of caustic motifs, hypnagogic melodies and hyper-real colours all bounce about the mix. There is an ever-present sense of tension in the way things are assembled - it's as if they might implode or explode at any minute, and it all sounds fantastically futuristic.

Dekmantel Podcast 460 - James K

Answer Code Request (@answercoderequest) has long since mastered the art of mixing up the physical the with cerebral. His broken, industrial-tinged techno drums are powerful enough to have made him a long-time Berghain resident, while his harmonic pads make a lasting impact on your mind. While releasing on the likes of Ostgut Ton, Dolly Deluxe and Monkeytown Records, he has also established his own ACR label and never fails to blur boundaries between sub-genres whenever he steps out with a new sound or set.

He pulls no punches on this week's mix which is a broad showcase of his ability to thread together many different strains of techno and beyond into a coherent whole. There's everything from transcendental and linear rollers to dubby bangers, twitchy rave anthems blissed out deep space minimalism via party starting piano house. It's fun and functional in equal measure and is the sound of a DJ very much in full flow.

Dekmantel Podcast 461 - Answer Code Request

JakoJako (@jakojako_live) always wanted to make music and her self-confessed hyperactivity ultimately led to her getting the most joy out of playing about with machines and patching up synths. These days the Berghain resident is a celebrated live act and DJ who draws on the considerable knowledge she picked up working at Berlin's legendary synth shop SchneidersLaden, but she has also worked on several high-profile motion sensor dance projects at places like The Royal Albert Hall. Her smart sound designs and unique rhythms have landed on Leisure System, Tresor and Figure and she has a new EP coming on Mute this June.

Her mix for us this week features a sneak preview of one of the tracks from that EP as well as mixing up music from Alaric, Siege, Altinbas and many more. It's full of high-speed sounds couched loosely in techno but with moods and textures borrowed from industrial, minimal and even trance as things reach an emotional peak late on. Though she broke through as a live act, this set shows JakoJako can now speak just as freely through the decks.

Dekmantel Podcast 462 - JakoJako

There is nothing ordinary about Sepehr (@sepehr-a): he hails from the Bay Area of San Fran, is based in New York City but has Iranian heritage and takes great pleasure in pulling apart everything you think you know about dance music. His maverick approach results in versatile and genre-defiant sounds that collide EBM, drum & bass, techno, electro, acid and plenty more on some of the finest labels out there. He runs his own Shaytoon Records which is focussed on the Middle Eastern underground, and in May lands on our own Dekmanel Records with Genesis Domain, a varied EP full of intriguing sounds.

The same could be said of his mix for us this week. It's a deep dive into his eclectic and eccentric musical mind that spans several sounds and scenes. Although united by body-moving rhythms, there is everything from club to techno to broken beat and plenty more besides. Each track is packed with detail and surrealist sounds that will keep your head as busy as your heels.

Dekmantel Podcast 463 - Sepehr

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