"There's a long chain of people who benefit from artists making records." Nabil Ayers, the US president of Beggars Group, talks about independent artistry and how we fix a broken music economy.

The independent music economy is broken. But Nabil Ayers, US President of Beggars Group—the home of independent labels 4AD, Matador Records, Rough Trade Records, XL Recordings and Young—is here to fix it. 

In this Exchange, he speaks with RA senior editor Nyshka Chandran about the primary issues plaguing the industry. But he also expertly articulates his efforts to address these shortcomings through research and policy initiatives from the top down. How can artists get paid more money in a world where music is a common good? And what is the role of an independent label in 2025 and beyond? Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.760 The Economics of Independent Dance Music

Techno-punk energy from NYC born and bred, Paris based scene veteran LOUISAHHH.

https://www.instagram.com/LOUISAHHH
https://www.soundcloud.com/louisahhh



LOUISAHHH @ The Lot Radio 04-12-2025

A lively 1 hour-long radio show about language examined through music. Your guide to the latest and greatest tunes from around the globe. Osmanbas diving into the newest releases, breaking free from the confines of one sound with another episode of 'A Way With Music' 

A Way With Music w/ Osmanbas - 10th April 2025

Ikke Sant with SUCHI invites Mica - 19 April 2025

"I'm in a place of brutal honesty." The electronic pop auteur talks about her new album, the pressures of performing and falling in love with techno.

One of today's most exciting stars is Tahliah Debrett Barnett, better known as FKA twigs. Genre-wise, she's difficult to pin down; some critics call her music ethereal, alien R&B refracted through the lens of dance music. She's now touring her third album, Eusexua which she's described as "that surge of nothingness right before a surge of creativity, or the moment before an orgasm." It's a response to falling in love with techno a couple of years ago, and the songs all hover somewhere around the rave. 

In this RA Exchange recorded live at AVA London 2025, twigs talks to Nadine Noor, founder of queer arts platform PXSSY PALACE, about the process of putting the LP together, as well as the sometimes painful pressures involved in performing and adopting a public persona. Today, twigs says she's in a place of brutal honesty, and on the edge of 40, "hitting the perfect arc of behind hot and not an idiot anymore." She also discusses starting her dancing practice from an incredibly young age, taking her first steps on what she anticipates will be a long partnership with modular synthesis and the challenge of making original art in an era dominated by trends. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.762 FKA twigs

Full tracklist: https://bleep.com/bleep-mix-300-barker

Fresh from Stochastic Drift, Barker’s buzzing second album named Bleep Record of the Month alongside an exclusive 12”, Barker sends a mix that really digs deep into the unique sonic methodology he has constructed across his solo career width a suitable breadth for what is also a milestone in the series, Bleep Mix #300.

From Debiasing to Utility to Stochastic Drift, Barker has been reimagining club music without its definitive thump, instead driven by melody and tactile synthesis, and this selection of tracks expands Barker’s soundworld with a host of artists walking a similar path. “For this mix, I picked out some of my favourite uptempo ambient tracks, recorded at home with two decks and a mixer. It’s music I've used in a lot of different contexts, as a DJ and listener, and I hope you enjoy it.”

Though the occasional dancefloor thump makes itself known, such as on Adriana Lopez’ ‘What Lies Behind’, it’s mostly in quaking subs rather than actual four to the floor, providing some ground for this mix’s airy freeform variety to fly over. We have the wooden plunks and seaspray of Afefe Iku’s Kenyan island sound, the wonky gamelan of Tyler Friedman’s maze of bells and chimes, the dense atmosphere of shaker-produced rain and electrical chirps forged deep in the ruins of The Future Sound Of London.

The midsection of this mix contains some magic in particular: the maestro of drumless trance Lorenzo Senni creates motion from pure jagged synth energy on ‘The Power of Failing’, dissolving into the aether of an unreleased Barker track, which further discharges into the kaleidoscopic stutters of Caribou’s ‘Never Come Back’ with jubilant piano chords and vocal clips wrought into a glitchy, swirling maelstrom of Koreless' prickly warmth. Digital Justice’s ‘Theme From It’s All Gone Pearshaped’ follows, a timeless staple for anyone wishing to dabble in melodic motion and synthsmithery, or any DJ set seeking to add some lift without losing momentum, of which this mix is in no short supply.

Bleep Mix #300 - Barker

.Freq with Mike Servito @ The Lot Radio 05-06-2025

Madeline and Club Chow tore the floor with their club intensity.

007: Madeline b2b Club Chow | DJ Set @ KOR 05/10/25

Live Set in the Hippie Carnival, Arts Factory Garden Beer, Byron Bay.


Don Dinero Arts Factory Hippie Carnival

Empini is a single from the new album by Tupla Double 0.7, one of Pretoria’s leading Amapiano artists. The title Empini means “In the war” in Zulu. Written by Richesses, the track speaks to facing personal challenges and continuing the fight for future success. It’s coming from the future, and this is now out on PSSNGЯ !

Produced by Tupla Double 0.7, Richesses & Sbujr
Written & Vocals by Richesses
Mixed by Tupla Double 0.7
Mastered by PSSNGЯ
Artwork Simon Bernheim

[PSSNGR062]
℗ & © PSSNGЯ 2025

Empini

Journey to the edge of the Serengeti in Savannah Sundown, the second session by Ap0the0sis. This mix weaves together:

Region & Culture: East African Highlands and Serengeti-edge gatherings, where Rift Valley tribes meet taarab-inflected sunset rites

Vocal Palette: Rhythmic call-and-response chants blending Maasai ululations with taarab-style melismas; sparse vowel rotations (“Oo-ah… Ee-yah…”); whispered Swahili tokens like “Twende,” “Sauti,” and “Mbali”

Instruments & Textures: Ngoma drum ensembles, mbira (thumb piano) plucks, qanun and oud arpège motifs alongside warm electric-bass grooves, shimmering synth pads, and syncopated hi-hats and shakers

Field Ambience: Cattle-bell clusters, distant bird calls, and the evening wind rustling through tall grass

Mood: Golden-hour warmth gives way to dusk-dance momentum and communal ritual energy

Lose yourself in the fire-lit circle of sound and let the savannah’s spirit carry you through each rhythmic turn.

Kusini

Co-Owner/Head of Program Operator 🌐
DJ||Radiohost 🌐