Little bit of everything recorded live in the @refugeworldwide studio in Berlin on the 14/07/22. Was so nice to check out the space, thanks to Richard for having me & the @animalia-label crew!

Kia (Animalia) live on Refuge Worldwide 14/07/22

A special one for #114 from a dear friend and renowned but noble talent, Montreal based @priori-ties. Head of the ever-impressive NAFF output (@naffrecordings), world class DJ & chameleon producer, he is constantly working on something new and exciting.. never missing a beat. 

One would only have to indulge in Priori's impressive back catalogue to attest to his consistent quality but evolution of style and creative flow. Seeing Francis play multiple times on his recent tour to Australia really cemented all of this for me.- one of the best in the biz! 

Thanks so much for being part of the series Francis <3

Downloads enabled

Animix One Hundred & Fourteen: Priori

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

Dekmantel Podcast 457 - Richard Akingbehin

an excerpt from the middle of a four hour opening set. enjoy.

photo by willem mevis

Richard Akingbehin @ Draaimolen x Sustain Release, Tilburg - May '24

In late 2023 I was chatting with a musician friend about labels, and whether they're really all that necessary these days. As someone mainly focused on self-releasing my music through Bandcamp, I think for the most part the answer is no. One should focus on passionately creating things and being involved in their local music community. Over time, label or not, things will hopefully start to take care of themselves on their own. I did however mention that there was one label I thought was really cool, and would definitely be interested in working with: it was Nous'klaer Audio. Incredibly, the next day I received an email from Sjoerd Oberman, who runs Nous'klaer, inviting me to join for a release and performance at Draaimolen. Of course, I was delighted to be involved. This would be my first show in the EU. I spent about 3 months preparing a new set. Having grown rather bored of CDJs and DJ mixers, I opted to prepare a live set, in which I control 8 channels of audio tracks along with drum machines and FX. This setup gives me a lot of freedom to explore new arrangements of my catalog, and better command the dynamic energy on the dance floor, pushing and pulling things forwards to capture the mood of the crowd. To prepare for Draaimolen, I organized several shows across Japan (where I live), further refining the setup after each performance, and deciding what tracks would be the best fit for the 60 minute peak time set I was scheduled to perform. I was very nervous about how my set would be received, but it ended up working very well, and was the highlight of my year. From the very start, the positive reaction from the crowd put me at ease, and Draaimolen's focus on sound and stage design gave me peace of mind, knowing that every frequency was being perfectly reproduced on the floor. I'm so grateful for the opportunity Nous'klaer and Draaimolen provided me. Long live Nous'klaer and long live Draaimolen. Thank you Sjoerd and Milo and Kani and Hannah! 
- Erik Luebs

Erik Luebs live at Draaimolen Festival 2024

@alexanderberg at The Grove on Friday night.

Campout Mix Series: Dorisburg

Donato Dozzy has long been a revered figure in the global electronic music scene, known for his rare ability to craft hypnotic soundscapes that linger in the mind. Whether in contemporary clubs or classical settings, his sets consistently conjure deep moods and immersive atmospheres.

With this being his first mix release in over 5 years, we’re treated to an early insight into what he’ll bring to Continuum on February 1st. 

RA tickets: https://ra.co/events/2051095

051 - Donato Dozzy - fabric podcast

"It starts within yourself." The DJ, vocalist and producer talks about self-improvement, moving to rural Portugal and working alongside long-time partner Steffi.

There may be no voice as rich, vibrant or easily distinguishable in today's house and techno scene than that of Virginia. The Brazilian-German DJ, producer and singer has earned a name for herself as a hybrid house vocalist and a resident at Panorama Bar, where she plays sets featuring her own live vocals. Born in Munich to a family of musicians, she became enamoured with the soulful singing of artists like Sade, Whitney Houston and Tracy Chapman, who became her early guiding lights. It wasn't until her adolescence, when her sister took her to a nightclub, that it crossed her mind to begin blending these two musical worlds. By the mid-2010s, Virginia had relocated to Berlin to earnestly pursue a career in electronic music and create a new, house-focused musical vocabulary that's become completely her own. 

It was around this time that Virginia met her long-time partner, fellow DJ and producer Steffi. In this week's Exchange, she speaks with Chloe Lula about their personal and creative relationship, and their love of collaborating together in the studio and behind the decks. After more than two decades in Berlin, the couple relocated to rural Portugal in 2020, a move that's opened up a world of abundant rest and opportunity. They opened up a studio and residency called Candy Mountain (so called for its veritable candy shop of synthesizers and hardware), where they've found a new appreciation for taking things slow: going on walks in the countryside, engaging in botany and inviting friends and collaborators over to work on music. She reflects on what it means to step away from the demands of Berlin's bustling music industry and why her voice has remained such a powerful source of energy and inspiration over the course of her career, and her forthcoming album with Steffi on Dekmantel, Patterns of Vibration. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.754 Virginia

Boyanza are thrilled to present the latest musical offering from label head Rafatel, who returns to the fore with 6 pulsating tracks that embody his transcending, hypnotic and emotively intuitive take on dance music….

Rafatel has always been one for surfing the slipstreams that occupy the varying spaces between genres, be it through his DJ sets or via his productions. Effortlessly grazing in and around interconnected musical worlds, his approach has always been one of graceful exploration, with a keen eye for what leaning into the future may hold. A much-revered cornerstone of his hometown of Mexico City, Rafatel has nurtured his craft via curious ears and a deft hand in the studio, allowing his style and sound to multiply and evolve with each passing year. His DJing career provided the bedrock for his universe to be formulated, one where Disco, Acid, House, Balearic, and all and sundry persist as interlocking facets of a truly all-encompassing sound. His helming of the Boyanza imprint and pop-up rave alongside this, has turned many heads, with the label’s enthralling mixture of styles displaying a sense of purpose and passion with each new release and party.

In April 25’, Rafatel performed at the Cercle Odyssey, a unique touring immersive show that brings together art, performance, and music. ‘Cercle Odyssey: First Act’ is a recording of that performance, where he showed the world a collection of unreleased tracks that demonstrated his expressive and eclectic style. ‘A1’ sees in the show, where a slow-burning series of deep-set harmonics and skipping percussive elements set the scene, before evolving into the core progression of hypnotic melodies and bold, purposeful rhythms. ‘A2’ keeps the energies going right from the off, with the sounds of the morning chorus alongside the emerging basslines and rhythms helping to foster an involving narrative. The choral swells are set alongside chiming notes that help to create an emotive and joyful atmosphere, delving deep into the dancefloor to draw from its energy. ‘B1’ fills the room with its joyous, break-filled energy, where the poly-harmonics and emotional chord lines add a certain kind of flavour to proceedings - a rise up in the euphoria, where hands rise up into the air.

‘B2’ furthers the playful feels with an uplifting array of sounds and motifs, contained primarily within its intoxicating, multi-layered harmonies and arpeggios. Colourful, bountiful and ever so enlightening, this is a track to be played out amongst the clouds, within the deep blue sky. ‘C1’ shifts stylistically into a more swinging groove, where emphatic chord sequences and soul-satisfying vocal samples pivot around a mightily profound rhythm and bass section. ‘C2’ sees out the experience in some style, where the curated energies of the past half hour are bottled and released out via softly speaking and enveloping masses of sound, with glossy chords and breezy notes are laid out above a succinctly evolving percussive section - a sound to dream about on the walk home, and an experience that will linger long in the memory.

SUPPORT https://orcd.co/gqb8p7q


Web / Social Media Links:
https://www.instagram.com/rafa_tel/

PREMIERE: Rafatel - C2 [Boyanza Records]

BonneNUit_LalALA_AiN

Chatoyant

Queer music collective at Pittsburgh's @hot-mass, residents at @signal-nyc, annual festival in the Pennsylvania woods (Aug 14-17, 2025). Resident DJs >> @humanaut-aaron  @clarkdprice and @dadhemar

Campout Mix Series: Dorisburg

Honcho