A5 - MOUTHFEEL - 05

Loop instrumental of "Didn't Cha Know" by Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu - Didn't Cha Know [Instrumental]

Peven Everett - Heat Up (Awaaz Club Edit)

I Care

Ultimate Aaliyah

Man Undercover

On the show this time, it’s jazz, it's Afrobeat, it’s KOKOROKO! Their latest release is the EP “Get the Message” available on Brownswood Recordings.

Live on KEXP, Episode 471 - KOKOROKO

For RA.1000, we take it back to the source with two never-before-heard tapes from Frankie Knuckles's private collection

There is no house music without Frankie Knuckles, literally or figuratively. The queer icon's luxurious DJ sets at Chicago's Warehouse gave a rising movement its name. From there, countless offshoots splintered and travelled the globe. But what did the genesis and growth of the sound really feel like?

The Godfather of House left behind not only timeless records, but personalised cassettes with hand-drawn liner notes handed out to friends and family. Two of those, dated to 1989 and 1996, have been digitised especially for RA.1000. (Thank you to the Frankie Knuckles Foundation.)

To put that in context: the first tape predates not only many of today's active clubbers, but the entire existence of jungle, drum & bass, UK garage, French touch, Jersey club, Afrobeats, IDM, baile funk, hardcore, footwork, dubstep, dub techno, tech house, breaks, minimal, maximal, gqom, gabber, grime and hyperpop.

In short… that's a very, very long time ago. The world of dance music was much smaller. DJ culture was functionally unrecognisable from the one we see in 2025. 

And yet, to some degree, what you'll hear on RA.1000 hasn't changed at all. It's a capture of not only what made Frankie Knuckles one of the beloved pioneers of first-generation dance music, but what draws people to club culture in the first place.

The mood on these Frankie Knuckles sets outlasts even its creator: a spirit of optimism that floods the world's best dance floors and keeps dance music pulsing on into the future, nearly 40 years later, in spite of it all. We end our 1000th mix celebrations here because it all starts there.

Find the tracklist at ra.co/podcast/1018. Listen to all RA.1000 mixes, as well as the complete history of the RA Podcast, at https://1000.ra.co

RA.1000 Frankie Knuckles

Greatest Hits, Vol. 1

New Edition - Can You Stand the Rain

Aaliyah- At Your Best Gangstar Child Remix Slowed And Reverb

Sade - Like a Tattoo (Reelsoul Remix)

TRACKLIST:

AALIYAH - NEVER COMIN' BACK
DOM KENNEDY ft. RICK ROSS - GOLD ALPINAS
DESTINY'S CHILD ft. STATIC - SAY MY NAME (TIMBALAND REMIX)
JAGGED EDGE - READY & WILLING
SONDER - LOVELY (ALT. VERSION)
MICHAEL ANTHONY - BEING IN HER HOUSE TRAP....HELLA DUALITIES 
ICYTWAT - BEEP ME 911 (REMIX)
LEPHIL - HOES PRETTY
AALIYAH - LOOSE RAP
PARTYNEXTDOOR - THE SHY/NUH READY (OG VERSION)
DRAKE ft. JAMES FAUNTLEROY - ON MY WAY

HappyEndingRadio_EP. 3

rising star guiding light
i still love you, D.B.

HappyEndingRadio_EP. 3

LOUGOTTIBOY