Australian Kia very quickly rose up through the grimy after-hours rave scene of Melbourne to make her mark on the international stage. Now Berlin-based, her unique grasp of rhythm is rooted in a love of bass, IDM and deeper techno though she is adept at exploring a wide range of moods within those worlds. She has done so at places like ADE and our own festival and extends her good taste to the curation of her Animalia imprint and its ambient sub-label Cirrus as well as her own original tracks on Nous'klaer Audio.

In this week's mix, Kia showcases a colourful and kaleidoscopic take on techno which she says was awakened by an early trip to Japan's famously head Labyrinth festival. It's a hi-fidelity feast of supple rhythms, icy synths and deep space ambiance that unfolds in late-night fashion. The melodies are as delicate as silk, the drums rubbery yet punchy. It's high-paced future music that manages to be as delicate and beautiful as it is dynamic.

Dekmantel Podcast 440 - Kia

Recording of PLO Man's set at Dekmantel Festival 2023.

Dekmantel Festival 2023

PLO Man at Dekmantel Festival 2023

pi/live: Aurora Halal b2b deep creep @ Mansions 02-16-2024

New York hailing underground staple, Mutual Dreaming label head and founder of Sustain-Release Aurora Halal, takes to the tools on the latest Crack Mix with a warm, groove-laden 55 minutes

If you’re a fan, become a Supporter: https://crackm.ag/subscriptions

Crack Mix 581: Aurora Halal

At peak time during Summer in the City, Ciel & Priori snapped the mainstage in half with an energetic open-air masterclass. Now we get to enjoy that moment again!

Ciel b2b Priori - BFC Summer in the City 2024 @ Der Hintergarten

@priori-ties mix begins and ends with a gentle embrace, prowling seductively with dub-driven grooves before retreating into the ether like dusk yielding to dawn. Consistently in motion, but never in haste. Don’t miss the lion’s roar. 

The jewelry released with this mix is inspired by Priori’s fascination with labyrinths. Priori feels like mazes and labyrinths were omnipresent in youth literature and movies but hey rarely encounter them in culture these days.

Explore more on www.forge.fm 🔥

Priori

Regis and Function's first mix in over 10 years is a unique paean to Silent Servant, heavy on unreleased material.

When it came time for RA to compile our Albums of the 2010s, one record with a tauntingly limited availability of 500 copies was never in doubt: Sandwell District's era-defining 'Feed-Forward'. Encompassing Karl O'Connor (Regis), Peter Sutton (Female), David Sumner (Function) and Juan Mendez (Silent Servant), Sandwell District had the underground in a vice grip for over a decade.

The collective imploded in 2013, with Sumner and O'Connor's relationship appearing beyond repair. And yet, an unlikely second phase is here, featuring imminent comeback LP 'End Beginnings' and their return to the RA Podcast after 16 years. In 2023, the trio of Function, Regis and Silent Servant had been performing and laying down new material before the latter's shock death last January. It's in the shadow of loss that this unique mix was forged.

Founded in 2002 as a spiritual sister to seminal Downwards, Sandwell truly began to hit its straps in the late '00s, as shadow-stalking cuts sliced through clubland orthodoxy like a switchblade. In parallel, the label's artwork—a noir recombination of Burroughs cut-ups, DIY zines and arthouse amour that Silent Servant made his own—helped fortify a movement which placed an aesthetic premium on grit, grain and sadism.

By the early 2010s, this fixation on the dark arts had utterly permeated the mood inside techno's masonic temples. Labels like Blackest Ever Black, Stroboscopic Artefacts, Avian and Modern Love were in their pomp, razorwire legends like Severed Heads and Chris & Cosey benefited from second winds, and it was briefly a jailable offence to not have a press photo in black and white. 'Feed-Forward' was the exceptional coronating statement.

RA.978 features a stack of unheard recordings from each of the trio, as well as close allies Stefanie Parnow and Tropic of Cancer, while also gathering many of Silent Servant's all-time favourite songs, including Psychic TV, Grace Jones and Galaxie 500. It's a strikingly vulnerable listen, one without many parallels on the Podcast. We're glad to run it. – Gabriel Szatan

Read more and find the tracklist here: ra.co/podcast/978
Read our new feature with Sandwell District here: https://ra.co/features/4426

RA.978 Sandwell District

Welcoming the lovely Refuge Worldwide co-founder and dub-master @richard-akingbehin to the Animix series this week, with a beautiful journey of minimal house infused with his signature dub styles.

Clear in his DJ'ing, but also his work with @refugeworldwide, and his immaculately curated label, @kynant-records, Richard is an all-round classy selector, and a champion of community. Through his various outputs, his deep & considered knowledge and taste shines. 

Richard always impresses me with the diversity of moods he presents via his DJ'ing, hybrid collaborations with legend Tikiman, b2bs with other legends like livwutang, and his label - a diversity that's always strung together with his incredibly distinctive psychedelic, soothing dub formula. 

Thanks for the mix Richard <3

Downloads enabled

Animix One Hundred & Seventy Three: Richard Akingbehin

NIKS (@niksbad) is as dedicated as anyone to furthering dance music culture. Hailing from south-east London via Bath, NIKS has long proven her curatorial skills with radio shows on BBC Radio 1, Rinse, and NTS. Her idiosyncratic blends of ‘90s groovy, rhythmic sounds and forward-thinking, underground-leaning soundscapes have brought her to some of the world’s most revered clubs. After contributing music to various compilations, last year she explored bass-heavy sounds with her first solo EP on Or:la’s Céad label. Beyond her work as a musician, NIKS also co-founded the Black Artist Database, a crowd-sourced list of Black-owned labels, artists, and producers designed to amplify and uplift talent.

Ahead of her debut at the Dekmantel Festival this year, NIKS serves up a 90-minute window into her current musical world, including her own forthcoming productions in a deep, dub-infused journey into hypnotic techno and house rhythms that intertwine to create a warm, supple soundscape. Its seamless flow takes in sounds from the past, present, and future, and they all encourage you to move and meditate in equal measure."

Dekmantel Mix 490 - NIKS

Denmark based artist Ageis debuts on Renesanz with a remarkable release. His 'Exoplanet' EP features 4 energetic techno tracks.

Buy it at: www.beatport.com/release/exoplanet-ep/5317153

Follow Renesanz on Facebook: www.facebook.com/renesanz.records

Ageis - Startribe (Original Mix)

Olli & Paul Mix25

mix series and label by @deep_creep

Q&A's on ----> pipipi.life <------

label ~ https://pi-pi-pi.bandcamp.com

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