Kyoto-born, Berlin-based DJ, producer and artist, Alex Kassian has become a firm favourite of ours over here at Phonica over the past couple of years. His sophisticated, lush and organic sounding productions have been picked up by labels such as Paramida’s Love On The Rocks and Alex Bradley’s Utopia Records in recent years. His most recent release, Leave Your Life, was released in 2021 via Pinchy & Friends, and we can safely say it was one of our most-played, and bestselling, records of the year.

Together with Hiroaki OBA, Alex is also one-half of Opal Sunn, who have been operating their own imprint Planet Sundae since 2017, through which they self-released a number of EPs, catching the attention of and support from dance music luminaries such as Andrew Weatherall and DJ Sprinkles.

Check out the full feature & interview over at offtherecord.net

Full Feature

Phonica Mix Series 93: Alex Kassian

HÖR - Love On The Rocks - Paramida B2B Alex Kassian - August 24 2023

Recording of Shanti Celeste's set at Dekmantel Festival 2023.

Dekmantel Festival 2023

Shanti Celeste at Dekmantel Festival 2023

Two hours recorded from one of my favourite club booths, La Cabane in Brussels, in December 2023. Buckle up for the ride 🎢

Moxie - Live at La Cabane

Recording of Shanti Celeste's set at Rainbow Disco Club 2024.

RDC 077 - Shanti Celeste at Rainbow Disco Club 2024

Recording of Suze Ijó's set at Dekmantel Ten

Pre-register for Dekmantel Festival 2025 here: bit.ly/4fyWKXc

Suze Ijó at Dekmantel Ten

Dutch producer Stiffm steps up for his debut on Dobar House Gruv with a three-track EP that captures the essence of the Dutch underground. Continuous Motion EP delivers a sleek blend of modern minimal house grooves infused with the spirit of ’90s house melodies. Known for weaving classic influences into contemporary frameworks, Stiffm brings his signature fusion of melodies, grooves, and timeless house aesthetics — a refined invitation straight to the dancefloor.

Stiffm - Threshold

House music for people who walked into Zara “just for a minute” and left two hours later.
Minimal groove, clean low-end, fitting room energy.
Try before you dance.

Fitting Room

► Biggest crowd-pleaser of our Dekmantel weekend? From The Streets to 2AM/FM to Ready for the World to Double 99, Shanti Celeste delivered a pearler of a party set for us.
► Follow us on SoundCloud: http://blrrm.tv/subscribe-sc

Shanti Celeste Boiler Room x Dekmantel Festival DJ Set

Couldn't have asked for a better time slot , crowd , setting... and hitting it a bit harder on the Italo ...
10/3/18 recording 8-10pm 
PITCH MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL- AUSTRALIA 
To everyone that was there, that was truly another life defining moment for me esp swaying and watching you all smile during that Gary Low number  , thank you being there and your forever positive vibes . xoxo

CC:DISCO! PITCH MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL 2018

1. Levon Vincent - Back To The Grind [Novel Sound]
2. DJ Jes - Fight The Feeling [Immigrant]
3. Callisto - Can't Wait [Guidance]
4. Drivetrain - Get Up [Soiree Records]
5. Omar - Benefit (Kai Alce Instrumental / Elliott Edit) [People Of Earth]
6. The Dance Federation - New Generation (Mikey James Mix) [Obsessive House]
7. Arkajo - Tape 17 [Arkajo]
8. Bruce Ivery - Lulu [Grimy Trax]
9. Biemsix - Chemistry (Ryan Elliott Remix) [Symbolism]
10. Unknown Artist - Ma Wonder [VWV]
11. Schatrax - Dancin' [Schatrax]
12. G.O.D. - Shake It Up (Evan Baggs Edit) [Nice ’N’ Ripe]
13. DJ Rush - Freaks On Hubbard [Pro-Jex]
14. Ultra Nate - Found A Cure (Mood II Rascal Search Dub / Elliott Edit) [Strictly Rhythm]
15. Fix - You’re Mine [Clubstitute]
16. Oni Ayhun - OAR004-A (Elliott Edit) [Oni Ayhun] 
17. Marcel Dettmann - Del2 [Unreleased]
18. Abuser - Abuser 02-B1 [Abuser]
19. John Tejada - Antithesis (Steve Rachmad Remix) [Sino]
20. Slagmann - Phase 9 [Talismann]
21. Smokey Bubblin B - Be Real [Four40]
22. Manix - Pull Up Tune (Elliott Edit) [Reinforced]
23. Mr. G - Bands Tight [RSD]
24. Wishdokta - Bannana Sausage (Joy Orbison Edit) [Kickin]
25. Lovelace, Kemi & Amox - Copencabana [MIS]
26. Seb Vontobel - Strong [Explicit]
27. The Dance Federation - I Believe (Mikey James Raw Mix) [Obsessive House]
28. Sultans Of Sound - Perish [Absolut]
29. The Specialist - Diffusion [Makin' Madd]
30. Falcon Black Ops - Nine [Unknown To The Unknown]
31. Fjaak - Breath [Fjaak]
32. Inverted Reality - This Is Real, Understand [Unreleased]
33. Gary Martin - Berlisque (Ryan Elliott Remix) [Teknotika]
34. Terry Francis & Ricardo Afonso - Rhythm Spirit [Hallucination Ltd]
35. Laid - Punch Up (Wozsonik Vokz Remix) [Syam]
36. Ryan Elliott - Get To You [Faith Beat]
37. LB Dub Corp - We Are Going Home [Mote Evolver]
38. Schatrax - Coral [Schatrax]
39. Ebende - Bang! [Aniara]
---
When I first started DJ-ing I was influenced most by the music of my hometown. But second to that, I was obsessed with UK dance music and club culture. I bought every DJ magazine. I listened to every Essential Mix. So when I found out I was going to do the mix, I wanted to put a special focus at certain points on UK dance music - because after all this is for Radio 1.

It was important to me to create a peak time club set because that is what I’m missing most right now.  I wanted to give a snapshot of what you would hear if you heard me in a club today - all the different styles of dance music mixed together.

I only call out 4 “Elliott Edits” in the tracklist because those are the ones I changed the most and have played many times in clubs.  But actually every track on this mix is edited.  Like putting together a puzzle except you can change the shape of the pieces slightly to tell a smoother, more concise, story.

In the “Mix CD” days, DJ’s approached a mix with the same amount of time and effort as an album.  When I do a mix like this (or my Panorama Mix, or my Fabric CD) I hold myself to those same standards, and I hope you can hear that within.

Thank you for listening,
Ryan.

Essential Mix / BBC Radio1 (May 16, 2020)

Ryan Elliott Essential Mix BBC Radio 1 (May 16, 2020)

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