Groovy chuuvy

Acid Dub Versions III

Altitude (Daniel Avery Remix)

Mirrors

Haunted

Body Ache

April

April (Daniel Avery Remix)

One of the defining producers of the 21st century steps up for a rare, era-spanning mix.

We've been in a reflective mood lately: mulling emergent icons, modern classic and the cyclical nature of trends. All things bend around eventually, but if you lived through the mid-'00s the first time, it felt tricky to envision some specifics of those interim years making a second splash. More fool us. Amongst many other things, dubstep is well and truly back.

This resurged appetite for low-end has been a central storyline in 2025. Clear tells were there in the form of Introspekt's Moving The Center and Tracey's "Sex Life," two major highlights of the past 12 months. Alternately, cup your ear to the tremors rumbling across the world and you'd find Mala packing up crowds with gusto. Which makes closing out the year with a mix from the man himself serendipitous.

The South Norwood-born sub sensei has held an anchor role in the movement since its earliest days. A little like what Upsetter was to Black Ark, the principles Mala, Coki and Loefah's DMZ laid down have been expanded on by Deep Medi, a label that has cultivated a loyal fandom who watch over the catalogue like a hawk. (Six years of frothy debate and knowing in-jokes between MEDi 99 and MEDi 100 paints a picture of both steep expectations and an affinity for gently ribbing their leader.)

But Mala's banner 2025 hasn't relied on the heads alone. The adrenaline of his fissuring basslines and barrel-chested vocals have drawn people into his orbit, and there are rarer qualities at play, too—like pacifism, winked at by the demilitarized name and reinforced on their all-time greatest tune; or contemplation, inked on flyers beseeching the crowd to meditate on bass weight.

In that spirit arrives a mix we've asked after for years. Subtitled The Listening Session, it's rare on two counts. Despite his enduring popularity, Mala is a conspicuous absence on most DJ series. (It's not that he doesn't enjoy recording, just gets spooked by the reaction.)

A nearly-three hour studio set—spaciously paced and laced with a combination of 2025 highlights, freshly-cut dubplates and some of the biggest anthems in the genre's history—is unheard of. No tracklist for now, on Mala's request. Soon come.

RA.1016 is the kind of document that jogs the memory back to when dubstep was a discrete enterprise, something you could only fleetingly access by, say, dialling into Youngsta on Sub FM, ripping 320s of "Circling" off long-forgotten blogs or hugging the back wall of Mass. Which, in service of thinking the evolution of 21st century electronic music, is pretty perfect really.  – Gabriel Szatan

Find the interview at ra.co/podcast/1035

@maladmz
@deep-medi-musik

RA.1016 Mala

Yoyaku Instore Session with Hugo LX

The London-via-Bilbao DJ marks 15 years of Cartulis with two hours of punchy house, recorded live at FOLD.

When you think of London label and party Cartulis, dark, muscular electro and tough tech house spring to mind. But the name is more revealing than it first appears: in founder Unai Trotti's native Bilbao dialect, cartulis translates to "nerd." Like any labour of love, the project is driven by a deep, obsessive dedication, centred around sound, mood and community. 

Recorded at Cartulis' 15th anniversary party this autumn, RA.1017 captures why Trotti is such a compelling DJ. Playing only vinyl, he has a deft ability to balance functional club pressure with more leftfield selections, and as he outlines in his Q&A below, it comes from a belief in creative limitation, committing to a finite set of records and trusting instinct over abundance. 

Across the two hours, there are plenty of big, physical tracks built for the dance floor, but also some genuinely strange, confrontational stretches. Around the 15-minute mark, church bells ring out as a gothic female vocal looms overhead—David Lynch, if he needed an electro soundtrack. It's the kind of material you only hear at parties where dancers feel truly at ease, unafraid of the weird. That's Cartulis.

@unaitrotti
@cartulisday 
Read more at ra.co/podcast/1036

RA.1017 Unai Trotti

Sweden's Olof Dreijer is one of electronic music's most beloved outsiders. His work as half of The Knife alongside his sibling Karin is the stuff of experimental pop legend, while his solo output is just as wonderfully weird. He showed that again in September with Iris, his second EP on Dekmantel, which featured two originals that twist textured beats and smudged chords, intricate sound designs and hyper-real melodies.

Across his 75-minute mix for us this week, Dreijer works quickly through everything from carnival house to zippy club music, mutant bass and thumping techno. Plenty of his own music features, including his recent remix of Björk, Rosalia, plus cuts from DJ Hyperactive, Jeff Mills, DJ Rush and many more. It's a full throttle selection for the peak time.

Dekmantel Mix 501 - Olof Dreijer

New mix for the new year. Tunes from Astro, Yak, Danielle Ariella, Massimiliano Pagliara, Lenim, Rees, Tom Demac, Avalon Emerson, Endian, Cowboy Rhythmbox, Look Like, Paul Woolford, Falcon Black Ops & More.

Mezla's 2019 Mix

It's Like

Vol 2 Funk House

Techno Mix Amau b2b Baplln

seconds before

Rave 





contact+: findinglucasmusic@gmail.com

It's Like

Finding Lucas

Recent comments

Malo Pilliere

Related tracks