FAST_CAST

@zvrra is an avant-garde artist by anyone's standards. Her background as a video game developer has a clear influence on the music she makes. That can be anything from industrial to techno, witch house to hip hop, but most often her sounds exist in the intricate spaces in between all that. Her perfectly entitled November album Bizarroland on Avian was a fine example of that, and one united by an eerie darkness that kept you looking over your shoulder.

But this week's mix is full steam ahead through a shadowy world of grit and grime. It's a one-hour techno excursion that explores myriad different rhythms from flat-footed to floating, broken to brutal. It is unrelenting from start to finish, building the tension through a mix of texture and tempo, pulling back then going again just when it matters. It speaks of DJ with a unique sense of control and mastery of darkness. 

To learn about what inspired the mix, how it was put together, the influence of video games on Zvrra's music and about her recent EP, head over to our website to read a quick interview with the artist herself: https://dekmantel.com/editorial/dekmantel-podcast-363-zvrra

Dekmantel Podcast

Short Q&A

Dekmantel Podcast 363 - Zvrra

@fastatwork is thrilled to welcome Miami-grown multidisciplinary duo @INVT305 to our FAST_CAST mix series. The duo specialize in electronic music and fashion design, and their sound represents a compelling fusion of jungle, techno, UKG, dubstep and various forms of Latin bass music, like Dembow, Cumbia, and Reggaeton. This mix has it all, and is an excerpt from INVT's debut LA performance - an exclusive DJ set at Fast At Work on October 1st, 2022.

FAST_CAST 005: INVT

"Genre: Not Applicable" says one of Bogatá-born DJ and producer @bitterbabe's online bios, and she's not wrong. She mixes up and blends global club styles from Colombian guaracha to Venezuelan raptor house with high energy and rich percussion on labels like TraTraTrax and is a member of the ECO and Latitudes collectives. She is focussed on amplifying electronic artists and labels across Latin America while herself being on a near-constant tour of Europe's finest clubs. After a long time entrenched deep in the Miami scene, she recently made the move to Berlin. 

On this week's mix, Bitter Babe takes you on a wild ride through her unique rhythmic world. Everything she plays is defined by big drums, but how they fall and where they take you is always a thrill. You'll recognise hints of jungle, there are nods to techno and flashes of rave intensity but mostly these are contorted in between sounds that captivate mind and body with equal intensity.

Dekmantel Podcast 430 - Bitter Babe

Ending 2023 with a very special mix from FAW resident, Carré (@carreo). This was recorded live last month in San Francisco for @clubmoniker at Underground SF.

A message from Carré:
"Someone at the party described my set as 'really high energy, intricate rhythms, & fun tangents' and I truly think that's the best way to sum it up. When listened to this recording I could hear just how locked in I was, and I'm so happy that was captured. Grateful to Club Moniker for bringing me to play SF for the first time, they're the best. P.S. there's a couple IDs from me in there :) "

FAST_CAST 014: Carré

Kicking off 2024 with a mix from Los Angeles based DJ / producer John Bryars (@johnbryars). John is recognized for his broad taste and eclectic style, known for pushing boundaries in the pursuit of euphoric, auditory bliss. 

A note from John:
"I'm excited to share this journey, which includes some unreleased tracks off a collaboration EP from myself and Sevyn, coming soon on AL GHARIB (@alllgharibbb). There's also a forthcoming Schacke (@schacke) remix of 'Devotion' by Pilo (@pilo_zkulptor) and myself, coming out on Boysnoize Records."

FAST_CAST 015: John Bryars

First mix of 2024 for the lovely angels of Mala Junta in NTS Radio

NTS Mix for Mala Junta

Next up we have a proper journey of a mix from NYC-based DJ Reid Golden. Inspired by sci-fi soundscapes and world-building, his DJ sets take you on an intentional ride. While he gravitates towards electro and other psychedelic sounds, he makes it known that all genres are fair game. Formerly of Denver's staple party crew Send/Receive, he now resides in New York City as a devoted patron of the metropolis' chugging club scene.

A quote from Reid about the mix:
"this mix is a pseudo slow burn – a BPM rotary of '90s hip hop, psy-tech, jungle, ambient and more"

FAST_CAST 016: Reid Golden

Introducing Dreamrdreamr to the FAST_CAST universe! With a variety of releases under her belt @dreamrdreamr productions showcase a fusion of early melodic rave and with her own personal nostalgic memories of sound. On the dancefloor, Dreamrdreamr will play with sound in a unique way to create mesmerising blends of genres from House, Breaks, Techno, and Jungle with undertones of dreamlike states and euphoria.

A note from Dreamrdreamr about this stellar mix:
"Keeping in mind the labels ethos of fast not hard I have chosen to move uptempo in the 140-160 range. I have tapped into some of my favourite tracks that I have been listening too recently plus some forthcoming and new selects. Starting on some fiery breaks and bass and transitioning through to some blissful and thought provoking jungle blends, the mix sits in the in-between space of emotions."

FAST_CAST 017: Dreamrdreamr

Next up on FAST_CAST we bring you NENE H (@nenetreat) – enjoy two hours of Nene H's incredible set at Fast At Work. This was recorded live on May 3 2024 at Venue MOT in London. 

Berlin-based Turkish-born DJ NENE H has become a powerhouse of Berlin's evolving underground identity–blazing a trail for SWANA, Muslim, queer, and female representation. Whether she's sprinkling trap into a peak-time techno set, or obliterating Berghain in her bridal gown–just when you think you've boxed Beste in, she throws you a curveball that hits you square in the face.

FAST_CAST 018: Nene H

Hessle Audio feat. Le Motel Recorded live at Horst, curated by Ben UFO - 03 March 2025

Relentless rhythms and Latin dance history, courtesy of the TraTraTrax innovator.

Percussion is, at the root, a conversation. It's about different instruments meeting each other, and interacting to form something bigger than the sum of its parts. 

Few engage in this dialogue as boldly as Pablo De Vargas, AKA Uruguayan experimentalist Lechuga Zafiro, who draws from tradition, to make sounds like candombe and clave feel, well, completely new.

De Vargas' music reaches outward, building bridges between Montevideo and Bogotá, Tijuana, Berlin and beyond. He's a key figure in the hybridisation of Latin American club music, with releases on labels like NAAFI and an album on TraTraTrax.

His RA Podcast plays like a manifesto in motion. RA.985 opens with a recording of Jorginho Gularte, a Uruguayan composer, playing a jazz rhythm, from there, it expands: cuban guaguancó, Venezuelan drums, batida, tribal, techno—it's all here, stitched together with precision and intention.

De Vargas is also, crucially, reckoning with these roots. His 2018 EP Testigo confronted the colonial violence embedded in the history of the Río de la Plata. His sets are similarly alive with memory—asking, without nostalgia: what does it mean to inherit rhythm? Who gets to carry it forward?

He's also just a killer DJ, one of those rare artists who uses CDJs like an instrument. His sets are full of hot cues, delay FX and left turns. It's technical, but never cold. It’s, in a word, funky.

@lechugazafiro
Find the interview and tracklist at ra.co/podcast/985

RA.985 Lechuga Zafiro

Tenderstem is a researcher and DJ-in-progress from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Strictly concerned with DJing as play and experimentation, they love melding hard percussion, nasty ghettotech/baile funk beats, and all things bass-y, with sounds of r’n’b, alt-pop, and nostalgic rhythms.  

TRICKNOLOGY! - Cassius Select
Levanta [Wile Out] - DRAZ
Lip Flip - Aya
Mutationist - Destrata
Light it Up - Caru
WALK - Miss Jay & Girl Tool
Plataforma - Canopi
Pimenta - Cash From Hash
Gradient Tool - Jason Code
Me & Megan are Cocky Asf - Yazzus 
Screwdriver (Pantile Bootleg) - Pantile 
Embraza - Ananda 
UH WHAT TOOL - DJ SMOKE
RUNDUN DUB - DJ co.kr & h4rdy
Residual Stress - Tzusing
Booboo (intoxxy club flip) - intoxxy


MINX013w//Tenderstem

Fever AM with Mor Elian & Rhyw - 24 May 2025

ladies booty bounce to this

ONYXONYXONYXONYXONYXONYX
-------------------------------------------------
Email: dwmusic2020@gmail.com
Instagram: kairosproducer
Twitter: @kairosproducerx
YouTube: Kairos

Onyx

Grainy Impulse

--> fast-not-hard

RESIDENTS: @CARREO // @DJ_SAMWISE // @MATTSEYER

FAST_CAST 005: INVT

FAST AT WORK

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