Enjoy the Messy Mixes of 2025, once again telling stories through sound and music. This is an onging mixtape project - from music lovers for music lovers, curated by @burnout-sumner along with friends and admired artists. ♥

Meant as an alternative to the fast-paced, algorithm-driven age of playlists this is an in-depth journey into hand-picked music and sound-driven storytelling. ♫

2025 Messy Mixes

2025

"We wanted to create a sexy summer set. A soundtrack to go along with the dusky blue sky and later sunsets, whilst being tipsy on some Spritz with your friends. We serve cheeky Dubs, Scouse House and Speed Garage."

Emerging from Berlin, @surf-2-glory (duo Sanaz & Galleur) are fast becoming unequivocal as one of the most exciting artists’ in the city’s flourishing house movement. Sharing a magnetic synergy behind the booth and a highly contagious ‘lesbian Bert & Ernie vibe’, they never shy away from serving the crowd peaking, whimsical yet ethereal house and trance anthems that transport dancefloors into cosmic realms of pure ecstasy.

Read our full interview with them here (づ｡◕‿◕｡)づ
https://www.hueandsaturation.net/blog/surf2glory

Gaga 2 the Gugu

Hue & Saturation Mix #066: Surf 2 Glory

Happy new year everybody! I'm starting this new Messy Mix season with a musical journey provided by one of my favourite artists: Mr. Martin Kohlstedt. His set is such a fitting, meditative start for the beginning of the year that I just had to immediately share it with you, once you all recovered from your NYE party hangovers. 

This mix is fittingly titled “In The Beginning” and it perfectly suits the current mood and that special storytelling approach of Martin’s music I’ve always loved. I can’t put into words how honoured I am about him taking part in this project. But, obviously, he found the right words and here’s what he said about his selection:

“This music mix blends soundscapes, film scores, and ambient pieces, capturing the essence of a world beginning to form as the new year unfolds. It mostly features tracks I created, with a few guest contributions, and incorporates cinematic compositions that add a narrative depth. The mix spans an hour of deep, dark winter vibes, evoking the quiet intensity of early winter and the sense of a story unfolding. This passage of time feels almost suspended, as if everything has frozen in place, amplifying the stillness and quiet tension of the moment. Gradually, however, things begin to stir, and a slow but inevitable momentum starts to build, as the world begins to thaw and move once again.”

There’s nothing to add here, really. Thank you @martinkohlstedt for your work on this one, your music and also the important environmental work you do besides it. Martin is back on tour this spring and these shows are always amazing, unique experiences so make sure to get a ticket for them. He’s also very entertaining and such a sweet guy on and off stage. May this mix give you the needed energy to start 2025 in the best possible way.

Download

Messy Mix 21 | In The Beginning (by Martin Kohlstedt)

For those given into obsessive investigations into morally ambiguous territories within the realms of music, fashion, and fetish

Discoteca Metrosessuale

Enter the wormhole with one of the techno artists we're most excited about in 2025.

Born in Osaka and now based in Tokyo, DJ MARIA. joins a decorated lineage of Japan's psychedelic elite, cut from a similarly explorative cloth as Wata Igarashi, Haruka and esoteric icons ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U and DJ Nobu. This nerdy sanctum of deep techno is a notoriously hard world to break into: only the very best make the grade. DJ MARIA.'s head-spinning sets emphasise why she's already part of the club firmament at home, and is now in the midst of a global breakthrough.

Her trademark is tapestries of acid, trance and techno that strike a perfect balance between vibrancy, impact and restraint. She bit the bug through a teenage discovery of DVDs showing legendary psytrance raves like Solstice and Vision Quest, yet it wasn't until 2014 that she started DJing, balancing gigs with shifts at Tokyo's Face Records and, as of late, motherhood.

Today, as well as producing and touring venues such as FOLD and Bassiani, she helps run two boutique forest festivals—Moment and Transcendence—both of which play a big part in upholding Japan's storied techno tradition. DJ MARIA. has reached these heights principally because of her exceptional talent as a DJ, which is on full display on this week's RA Podcast.

The two-hour mix is pure manna for psychedelic techno heads, though we're confident the depth of feeling, subtle pacing and seamless stitching will lure in fans from across the electronic spectrum. RA.971 is a total treasure—the latest wow moment from an artist destined to have a career littered with them.

@djmaria-jp

Read more at ra.co/podcast/971

RA.971 DJ MARIA.

Creatures of the night - rejoice and join me for a Messy Mix that’s dedicated to all the mischiefs and lovers of the twilight. It’s my turn again for a set in this series and I decided to turn it into a celebration of the sublime groove gloomy music sometimes has. 

I’ve been attracted to the sombre sounds of dark wave, post-punk, and anything you could label “Goth” since my adolescence. And while I also love the colourful and life-affirming spirit of a good rave there’s something that always pulls me back to these more sinister sounds. 

This Messy Mix imagines a fun night out (except you don’t smile, obviously), featuring favourite artists from the past and present. It starts with Depeche Mode’s “Black Celebration” because that sets the mood perfectly. There’s a few obvious classics in there by Bauhaus, New Order, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Xmal Deutschland and inevitable The Cure but there’s also plenty of room for contemporary dark favourites like Curses, Trentemoller, The Fauns, GEWALT, Dina Summer, The KVB or Krakow Loves Adana. 
As the reality gets equally dark quite often these days a dance to these tunes can have a cathartic effect. It surely has for me and I hope you’ll have a bit fun with this one as well. 🖤 🖤 🖤

Messy Mix 23 | A Dark Goth Disco Date

Now, this new Messy Mix is truly special for me. Cat Byrne runs one of my favourite shows on beloved UK independent radio @balamii, called “Biorthythms”. The field recording heavy show comes quite close to my attempt with this project to tell stories through sounds. And luckily, the talented host followed that path on “Wild Urban Edgelands” which combines her own field recordings, spoken words and sounds that suit the atmosphere of the theme. Here’s how Cat describes the theme of her Messy Mix:

“This is a mix dedicated to places where nature and people meet. I spend a lot of time in urban edgelands, walking where nature seeps into and takes hold of urban areas. These areas exist in a unique space between the rural and the urban, where contrasting environments meet in surprising, often beautiful ways. For this mix, I’ve woven together my own field recordings with music that captures my experiences walking through these local edgelands in Clapton, East London. It explores the sonic quality of these transitional spaces, where wide and expansive urban sounds meet the delicate and intricate sounds that emerge from the non-human world.”

It’s a wonderful calming and meditative selection, made for lonesome winter walks at the edge of the city and I think it’s best enjoyed with your headphones on and no interference. I love how Cat’s sets always take me on a somewhat emotional journey and I think she really nailed it with this mix. I’m extremely happy to have her on board. If you haven’t done it yet, please check out all the previous “Biorhythms” shows Cat recorded for Balamii where each one tells a different unique journey.

Messy Mix 22 | Wild Urban Edgelands (by Cat Byrne)

Let's fly high straight to the stars with this selection of top notch italodisco, britfunk, synth stuff and dutch electrodisco by fellow Jay Starbororugh. 

https://soundcloud.com/starborough-1
Starborough has been involved in the Westcoast Sound of Holland scene around Cybernetic Broadcasting System and IntergalacticFM for almost 20 years, organising parties, hosting radioshows and running the now defunct Radio Galaxia channel for IntergalacticFM.

With his broad selection of classic house, electro and disco tracks he rocked dancefloors in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Dordrecht. Starborough’s carefully constructed deejay sets combine the swing of soul and funk with the mechanical push of house and electro, with some Italian melancholy thrown in for good measure.

"POLVERE DI STELLE" GUEST MIX by JAY STARBOROUGH

As the days are slowly getting warmer and longer, I am extremely excited to have one of my favourite figures of the German music scene on board to deliver the proper soundtrack for that sun-drenched vibe in the form of a brand new Messy Mix. Tom Hessler, better known as Der Assistent, released one of my favourite records of 2024 with the mesmerizing “Amnesie am Amazonas”. The whole album is a fascinating tropical, relaxing new age trip and I was obviously longing for the man to extend that vibe in the form of a mixtape. And of course, Mr. Hessler understood the assignment. 

Welcome to “The Blue Hour”. Originally Deer Assistent wanted to call the mix „Blue Hour on a River“ to cover up the fact that it is “just another Balearic-sundown-mix” as he says. But then it went through a little change as he explains: “Since I realized there are a few river-themed songs in this it made total sense. The idea wasn’t exactly Avantgarde but conceptually waterproof: To go down a figurative stream of water during the blue hour while listening to 60 minutes of music that had been chosen because they sounded „blue“ to me. However when I got asked for the accompanying photos and videos for social media, which are sadly and seemingly necessary today to promote music, I realized that I only had visual material that had the mediterranean as a backdrop. No rivers whatsoever. Just holiday photos and a sweet video of a chill cat watching the Cretan sunset.”

Maybe it is now just “The Blue Hour“ mix but that doesn’t make this laidback selection by Der Assistent less tempting. This soothing 60-minutes selection includes some rare tunes that his buddy DJ norm gave me when Tom visited him and his partner DJ Linda Vista to play Brussels a while ago. And whether you got a river close to you or now - you won’t regret listening to this wonderful selection. Thanks for assisting me with this one.

Messy Mix 24 | The Blue Hour (by Der Assistent)

French DJ and Producer Solarythm joins us for episode 464.

A prolific talent he has releases across a multitude of respected outlets including a most recent outing on The Gods Planet as well as playing at festivals and venues across Europe.

For Monument he has prepared an in depth 2 hour selection meticulously crafted for the listener.

Follow :

https://soundcloud.com/solarythm_deeptech_side

Monument x Carbon

Carbon is a new music platform designed by and for fans of electronic music. Carbon's goal is to provide a more convenient platform to discover new and relevant content while improving revenues artists and labels can earn from streaming. Visit: urlr.me/mNtbwu

MNMT 464 : Solarythm

Friends, we’re right in the middle of the sweet spot of seasons, between a cosy full blooming spring and the unbearable heat waves of the summer. That calls for quality time outside with your loved ones - and if you’re in need for a proper soundtrack here, don’t scroll any further because Berlin-based DJ @jini-piju got you covered in the form of the 25th edition of my MESSY MIX series.

In a lucky coincidence spring is also Jin’s favourite season so she was more or less destined to create this hour of delicate tunes to match with the current vibe. “I stumbled upon this track called „spring has sprung“ by SOYUZ (СОЮ3), Asha Puthli & Sven Wunder,” she explains the origins of the set. “I find it very beautiful so it was clear to me that it has to be the intro to this mixtape to set the right vibe reflecting how everything’s coming alive again.”

Jini defines the spring season as a punch of energy: “For me it’s all about cruising around with my bike, experiencing the city in a drift, feeling the wind on my skin & enjoying how the sun tickles out the first freckles on my nose. It’s the start of endless sessions in the park, cuddling on meadows, running through fields. I want you to listen to this with a breeze in your hair, with friends in nature or at the beach. I want you to feel the primavera drift & come with me on a messy, but funky ride starting with some slow RnB, picking up on some balearic tunes, introducing a finishing touch of banging disco & one of my favorite deep house tracks.”

Needless to say, I’m all in for riding along her Primavera Drift. This MESSY MIX is the sweetest kind of musical messiness and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do. Besides being a great house music DJ and a part of the @diskoflausch collective, Jini also runs a great weekly morning show on Cashmere Radio which goes by the name “Sunrise Serenade” and is also extremely recommendable listening material. Check it out and may you enjoy as many tender spring dates with your loved ones as possible.

Messy Mix 25 | Primavera Drift (by Jini Piju)

Telling stories through sound and music. This is an onging mixtape project - from music lovers for music lovers, curated by https://soundcloud.com/burnout-sumner along with friends and admired artists. ♥

Meant as an alternative to the fast-paced, algorithm-driven age of playlists this is an in-depth journey into hand-picked music and sound-driven storytelling. ♫

Messy Mix 24 | The Blue Hour (by Der Assistent)

The Messy Mix