Unrelease 2

"Always notice whatever is happening in the background." The acclaimed producer and composer discusses the art of meaningful listening and his latest LP, Silencio.

Moritz von Oswald's legacy as one of the trailblazers of contemporary techno precedes him. The artist's initial claim to fame was his involvement in the duo Basic Channel with Mark Ernestus, a project that formed the dub techno canon in the '90s and is still a primary reference point for many, if not most, modern producers. He was also at the helm of the famous cutting and pressing plant Dubplates and Mastering in Berlin, which has become a home for countless artists over the years.

But on this occasion, Oswald sat down to discuss a more recent project: his LP Silencio on Tresor Records, which came out in November. He talked with RA's senior producer, Chloe Lula, about his lifelong love of  jazz, tapestry, French film, Southern Italian opera and music from Central Asia. He also reflects on his production process—an endless exploration of drama and dynamics. Oswald is fascinated with reducing sound to its most basic elements and broadening the capacity of what the ear can perceive. Most importantly, he's a critical listener, and in the final moments of the episode, he imparts wisdom on how he's learned to keep a conscious ear open to the world around him. Check out the episode in full.

EX.690 Moritz Von Oswald

Resort

7AM At The Rodeo

Kyborgi

Legowelt's guest DJ mix for The Ravers Hour as broadcasted 27 December 2024 on The Ravers Hour BBC6 :) Wooooooooooo!

Legowelt BBC6 The Ravers Hour DJ mix

Impérieux debuts on Hessle Audio with the Fena EP, an immersive collection of 4 tracks defined by his unpredictable and varied sonic palette. Drawing on a heritage that threads through Turkey, Greece and his home city of Kırcaali in Bulgaria, Alper Durmush channels a turbulent year in which six months of creative stillness ignited unexpectedly into an explosive burst of musical ideas.

"Fena is a word my Mum used to call me as a kid" recounts Durmush on the title track. "The name comes from Turkish, but with a Balkan twist, it means a mischievous rascal - wild, unpredictable, a bit too much at times". This restless energy is perfectly captured with jittering interferance and snarling sawtooth synths bursting through the mix, threatening to overwhelm the speakers and sending sound engineers running for cover. 'Sickomode' encapsulates the push-pull emotional sensibility of the EP, with confidence and meloncholy rotating, shifting, and giving way to each other.

'Saat' is an attempt to recreate a track based solely on a surreal description, relayed by a veteran of the rave scene in his home town - "This guy told me about a festival in the woods back in the early 2000s, where someone played a track with dogs barking in the break - the volume rising constantly." The initial dissonance of its detuned lead releases into a euphoric rush of melody, a combination which is becoming something of a producer trademark. The EP closes with the quiet, unwavering warmth of 'Cawuso', a nickname for a person that the artist met last year. "This very special person showered me with kindness and purity. It almost felt unreal, so I decided to dedicate this track to them." 

Fena EP

Buy on Bandcamp

Impérieux - Fena EP [Snippets]

A clinic in minimal from the elusive Acting Press boss. 

Why do certain sounds cultivate a cult following? Simply put, it's often because they resist easy consumption. PLO Man and his imprint Acting Press lean into this. 

Searching for the Berlin-based DJ and producer, you won’t find much online presence, interviews or conventional PR. What you will find, if you look hard enough, is a catalogue of records and mixes with a kind of tape hiss charm (a spiritual successor to Basic Channel and Chain Reaction, but scuzzier and lighter on its feet).

Founded in 2015, Acting Press once seemed to belong to the short-lived "outsider house" trend, but is now synonymous with a certain strain of modern minimal, one that is analogue, spacious and pointedly opaque. PLO Man's output is equally sparse by design: this week, he joins the RA Podcast with a characteristically elusive style, accompanying the near two-hour mix is a one-answer Q&A that gives almost nothing away.

Stripped-back, ever-so-slightly sleazy and coated in dust, PLO Man's RA Podcast continues that lineage in style. Opening with the featherlight microhouse of Margaret Dygas, RA.988 unfolds into a carefully curated spectrum of minimal, dub and deep techno. Among familiar names—look out for the blinding Rhythm & Sound and Moodymann blend—are deep cuts and left turns alongside the odd outlier, like lovers' rock pioneer Gregory Isaacs.

Like the best of his forebears, PLO Man wants RA.988 to take time for you to settle in. But once you do, you won’t want to leave. 

@p_el_oh

Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/988

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jonanderson