The SYSTEM mix series from Boiler Room delves deep into the diverse and innovative sounds of the global diaspora. From Dembow to Coupé-Décalé to Mahraganat, we’ll be connecting the dots between global subcultures and highlighting exceptional new talent from every corner of planet earth.

SYSTEM site: https://system.boilerroom.tv

SYSTEM | Mix Series

Available on Audio Cassette and digital download directly from the label’s Bandcamp: https://cclurl.bandcamp.com/album/a-night-in-the-skull-discotheque

Side A: Bass is Eternal
Side B: 2-step Mutual Dream

A Night in the Skull Discotheque by the beloved underground selector CCL is the latest offering in the T4T LUV NRG label’s highly limited DJ mix series of cassettes. This immersive journey through a wonderland of proto-dubstep sounds from the late 1970s through the year 2000 is a sonic sibling to CCL’s acclaimed 2018 mix Ode to Queer Steppas.

Inspired in part by Eris Drew’s use of “old records to create new styles out of fragments” on her Raving Disco Breaks Vol. 1 mixtape (T4T LUV NRG, 2019), CCL approached this recording with a parallel frame of mind. Created with 3 CDJs, one Turntable, and a Boss Digital Delay 200, the tracks included in the mix are deconstructed from their whole, and constituent parts are intertwined, sampled, and dubbed out while being further stretched beyond their physical limits. CCL mixed many tracks at the 'wrong speed', pitched beyond their original recognizable tone; others are recontextualized through imaginative layering.

With a solid nod to seminal mixtapes of the early 90s, CCL references the namesake for Side A, Bass Is Eternal, an unreleased 1992 mixtape by influential Bristolian producers Smith & Mighty, an important sonic fulcrum amongst the musical tributaries of the hardcore continuum that continues to reverberate to this day. CCL experienced the after-effects of this ‘proto’ sound genesis in 2008, while living in Bristol, by which point its emergent whispers had coalesced into what became known as dubstep. Tracing a rich history of reference through the samples, basslines, moods, and drum patterns emanating from Bass Is Eternal while looking for connections that predate it became a long-term fascination for CCL. The result is a DJ mix that connects the oft-forgotten dots between proto eras and modern developments in bass and dubstep.

For the resulting sonic ride on A Night in the Skull Discotheque, CCL leads us to a fantastical place of timeless surreality – a majestic haunted dancehall soundtracked by a giddy rush of steppers and dubbed-out delights. Subs rattle through syncopated percs, and moody synths glisten in macabre glory. Fantastical dancers wriggle in wispy eternity, liberated from their corporeal forms in all their greatest spiritual wonder. Both extravagant and dusky, A Night in the Skull Discotheque is a world of seductive in-betweens, a place caught between the moodiest depths and the highest exuberance – A love letter to one of the most impactful formative sounds of the last decades.


***************************************************************************************
A portion for the proceeds from this release will go to fundraiser "SUPPORT PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY IN EUROPE!". You can also directly donate via:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-palestinian-solidarity-in-europe
***************************************************************************************

Tape design: Nina Muro
Mastering: TJ Hertz
Additional tape mastering: Eris Drew
Photography: CCL 
Linear notes: Nevan Jio

A Night in the Skull Discotheque [T4T015]

CCL - A Night in the Skull Discotheque

This is a re-recording of my SR set. Unfortunately, the audio recording had stopped due to a power cut earlier in the evening.

Thanks for having me Sustain Release! I'll never forget this <3

DJ Plead - Sustain Release, Year 9

My set in full from New Year's Nonstop 2024. Image credit to Amar Patel. Mastering detail by @milesmercer.

Dedicated to the people of Palestine
& all Nowadays staff.

🇵🇸💙

Live @ Nowadays // New Year's Nonstop - Jan 1 2024

If Bitter Babe was a perfume, her scent would be animalic—heavy musk, bergamot, worn leather and burnt spices. The Bogotá-born, Miami-bred and now Berlin-based artist has a heady, ultra-rhythmic sound that feels made for sweltering summer nights and feral fantasies. Combining pan-Latin styles with hard drum and industrial touches, she's crafted a singular mood that defines her DJing and production: hazy, high-energy and sensual.

Bitter Babe's ascent on the international circuit has been tied to her role in Miami's electronic renaissance. Whether it's proto-reggaeton, dense ambient or guaracha, her sets and productions are characterised by evocative low-end, darting synths and distorted frequencies that exude drama. With releases on TraTraTrax, Air Texture and SVBKVLT, she's cemented her position as an experimentalist, leaving the door open for more deconstruction and abstraction.

As cofounder of multidisciplinary project LATITUDES, Bitter Babe seeks to unify Latin America's electronic music communities. Her mixes are a great source for discovering under-the-radar acts from Peru, Brazil and beyond, some of whom are featured on her RA podcast. Starting with subby downtempo before moving onto swampy baile funk, technoid mutations of dembow and cheeky UKG, it showcases her expertise for trippy yet deeply kinetic grooves. 

@bitterbabe

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/924

RA podcast

RA.924 Bitter Babe

Get the full tracklist: https://blrrm.tv/48thpr7

This weeks SYSTEM comes from Lot Radio resident Yumi, who’s deep at the heart of an exciting new wave of DJs emanating from New York.

SYSTEM Mix 104: Yumi

Joining us for Tapes #122 is Minor Science, the Berlin-based Brit who consistently cuts through the noise and has been making standout tracks for almost a decade.

As a DJ, Minor Science draws on years of experience to craft sets that are controlled in form and bold in content. Having performed at venues as diverse as Panorama Bar and the Bang Face Weekender, the average Minor Science set can do heads-down mindwarp, maximalist rave meltdown, or (often) both. 

Minor Science has presented his Absent Friends live show at events such as Intonal and Maerzmusik. Emotive and absorbing, these performances explore themes of psychedelia and togetherness via improvised performance and deft four-deck mixing.

Interview & Tracklist: https://www.originssound.com/os-tapes/minor-science-mix

Follow Minor Science —

instagram.com/minor.science
soundcloud.com/minor-science

Origins Tapes 122 - Minor Science

Recording of DJ Python's set at Dekmantel Selectors 2023.

TASCAM DR-40X

DJ Python at Dekmantel Selectors 2023

As founder of the GROOVY GROOVY party which started in a college basement in New Jersey, Akanbi has established his vision of a cozy, spiritual, intentional, friendship and love party as one of New York’s finest gatherings for all kinds of sexy electronic music. 
Tapping into spiritual frequencies, he brings a focused intention to the community that goes beyond the surface. Available on SoundCloud and Apple Podcasts. Enjoy!

ITPS103 AKANBI

Milan-based producer and DJ @piezopz has spent the past decade refining his meticulously mutated strain of club music, with releases appearing on lauded labels such as Wisdom Teeth and Nervous Horizon. 

Alongside a head-spinning Recognise mix, he tells Christian Eede about his early days in the Italian freetekno rave scene, formative years in Bristol, and the global sound palette of his Ansia label’s latest compilation.

Interview & tracklist: https://djmag.com/features/recognise-piezo-interview

Recognise: Piezo

Get the full tracklist: https://blrrm.tv/3wLAhVc

As one France’s most innovative and exciting rap producers, Meel B has racked up a list of white-hot tracks for the likes of La Fève, Maureen and Khali. For this weeks SYSTEM mix, she showcases those productions alongside a string of influences that range from heavy rap bangers to abstract left field electronics.

SYSTEM Mix 105: Meel B

Tracklist and interview: https://bit.ly/themix004tsvi

Italian innovator @tsvisions fires through a mix of propulsive club sounds, including unreleased @nervoushorizon material.

"With this mix I wanted to showcase the music I've been making over the past months, forthcoming material from Nervous Horizon, as well as tunes from some of my favourite producers. It’s a snapshot of where my sound is at the moment. I'm quite happy with how this mix has turned out, it used to be quite rare for me to play my own music in mixes, but lately I’ve been really enjoying it!"
____

The Mix is our new online mix and interview series, dedicated to the spectrum of electronic music from around the globe, exploring sounds and stories from the early days of rave to the future.

Mixmag has a long history of publishing mixes, from our legendary cover CDs accompanying the print magazine to our worldwide video streams in The Lab. Last year we celebrated 40 years in the game and The Mix now arrives as a fresh outlet to document DJs and the musical movements they represent, showcasing their sound alongside an in-depth interview. The design pays homage to a previous Mixmag logo from the ealy ’90s, nodding to our heritage while using the square and rectangular building blocks to construct an aesthetic that works cohesively with contemporary design elements and digital motion systems.

We’ll still be bringing you the Cover Mix, The Lab and occasional sets in other formats, with The Mix is taking the place of our In Session and Impact features, intending to bring an updated look and vision to our flagship weekly DJ profile and sequencing them into one place, without separation. We hope you enjoy.

The Mix 004: TSVI

Get the full tracklist: https://blrrm.tv/3VqrAK8

SYSTEM whips over to the northern Spanish city of Oviedo to connect with Orion Gassi - the producer behind many a ’secret weapon’ for your favourite DJs. 

This mix showcases his trademark style: hard-edged boogie, synth-driven house and electro, with a distinctly Iberian touch. Tap in and find out why him and his Ritmo Astral label is some of the most exciting stuff happening in Spain right now.

SYSTEM Mix 106: Orion Agassi

Follow SYSTEM to Dakar, Senegal, where the singular experimental artist @ibaaku has weaved and incredible web of a mix that channels ancestral energy and cutting edge punk electronics into a heady and unique mix.

SYSTEM Mix 107: Ibaaku

SYSTEM links with Baltimore-based selector @hollowpointsradio, AKA DJ Luh, for an hour of uncompromising regional Hip Hop from the darkest dingiest corners of the American scene.

SYSTEM Mix 108: DJ Luh

Simon Aussel is known for a particularly wild DJing style and leftfield bassy bangers, and it's his curious and playful approach to clubland that's won him loyal fans over the years. Whether photographing drink tokens from gigs or creating an 8-bit version of his debut album on a Game Boy cartridge, he seems to approach every endeavour with childlike joy and wonder—rare qualities in an industry that can leave so many jaded.

The Nantes-born, Paris-based artist's love of club culture, digging and world-building has set him on a blazing path in club music. He's released an exceptionally wide range of music, including a Memphis rap tape for Trilogy Tapes, dubstep-trap-jazz hybrids with Egyptian singer Abdullah Miniawy and deadly hard drum for Livity Sound. His mixes, meanwhile, are fast becoming DJ lore thanks to his knack for connecting seemingly opposed genres like new wave and fast techno. Look no further than his now-infamous Dekmantel Selectors set from 2021 or a marathon back-to-back with Skee Mask in 2022. 

As the French DJ gets more comfortable with story-telling, he's getting more personal and focusing on deeper, slower sounds. That's evident on this RA Podcast—six months in the works—which incorporates woozy downtempo, weighty dub and bleepy beats. Of course, in the chaotic middle section there's plenty of huge basslines, plus old-school electro, acidic techno and even a bouncy edit of the Montell Jordan classic "This Is How We Do It." Showcasing his quirks, influences and growth, this is Simo Cell in prime time.

@simocell

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/934

RA.934 Simo Cell

Connecting club culture to the wider world, on screen and irl through parties, film and video.

SYSTEM Mix 104: Yumi

Boiler Room

Recent comments

MER C Y .

Acopie

sub figura

georg-i

Related tracks