These are mixes made by the current members of Research & Development, Makeen and JS Alvarez

Mixes by R&D members

For mix number 18 in the PPRZ Podcast series, we have a mix from Chicago's @makeensound

Chicago based producer and DJ Makeen is focused on groovy textural techno
with a dark edge. He co-organizes the party series Research & Development
with J.S. Alvarez and founded the parties Spent and Near Dark.

His electronic music obsession began when he started performing live sets
on tables full of gear. With an interest in sound design and synthesis, Makeen
spent the early part of his artistic life composing and performing
experimental music more focused on acoustic instruments. The latest leg of
his journey has brought him back to electronic music with an elevated
passion for dance floor-focused beats.

Mix Description:
I decided to take a playful approach to this mix— playing some lighter and
groovier tracks with an emphasis on trippy sounds and atmospheres. This
mix was recorded with 3 x CDJs and an Allen & Heath Xone 92 mixer. The
focus was on long continuous blends, while shifting between new and
unexpected sonic worlds.

Tracklist:
Oktobr - Sleepdancer
Dj Hyperactive & Jason Patrick - Harrier Env (Original Mix)
BLANKA - Howl
Atonism - Back And Forth
Temudo - P is For Paula
Karo - Uväll
Vladw - Aou Mallku
Augusto Taito - High Trip
Ohm - ASKE
CRAVO - Innerversion
Tsibo - M25
Takt - Groove Chaser
Orbe - Post-Cycle
Toru Ikemoto, bw - Don’t Play 050r
Amotik - Saat
Zisko - State of Rhythm
Seigg - Secondary Options
Planetary Assault Systems - Raww
Speedy & Steve - Rotor
Temudo - Susto
Gaetano Parisio - Klytia

PPRZ Podcast 18 - Makeen

This mix is from a very special at night November 09 2024 at Smartbar with my dear friends Nikki Nair, Madeline and Pen Pals. I was tasked with closing out the evening and was an honor to do so. Thanks to everyone who came out and stayed till the lights came on.  Hope yall enjoy!

Live mix at Smartbar Nov 09 2024 - Dan B Hood

We are so lucky to release this mix for our 37th entry, recorded live at SmartBar (Chicago) by our friend and excellent DJ Shanti!

From the artist:
I am so grateful to be able to share this mix with you all through PPRZ! This is a mix that was recorded at Smartbar in Chicago when I opened for Lady Starlight as part of Justin Aulis Long's series, Flowers of Romance. It was a 3-hour long set from 10pm-1am on a Pioneer V10 Mixer with 3-4 CDJ 3000s. 

What I love about opening sets is having the ability to set the tone for the night as people are arriving and making the transition from wherever they came from to the communal embodiment of dancing. The other fascinating element about an opening set is the dramatic contrast between the beginning and end as one first experiences an empty dance floor and sees the gradual process of it growing with energy and feeling even though I can really only see beautiful silhouettes moving in the darkness. I take an opening set to be about the gradual cultivation of energy but also an opportunity for creative tension and exercising restraint for the headliner and rest of the night.

Bio:
Shanti is a Chicago-based DJ who explores philosophical themes of existential angst and ambiguity through surreal, foreboding, and atmospheric soundscapes. Her sets weave a story of the simultaneous despair and yearning that are intertwined with the human condition. 

While she is thoughtful about curating multifaceted energy and emotion within her sets, she also co-curates events such as Otherworldly Ambiguity as Evanti, a conceptual experience centered around the phenomenon of hybridity, occupying the spaces in between and outside of pre-existing concepts and rigid categories. She is also a part of Chicago-based DJ collective and label, Research & Development which is a mix series and curator of multifaceted music-centered experiences. 

Mix mastered by: Umair Chachar

Tracklist:
Part 1:
Lemna - Memories
Lemna - Hallucination 
Voices from the Lake - Mika 
Donato Dozzy - Aquatica
SHXCXCHCXSH - A Sunny Day in Ostrogothia 
Dan B. Hood - Ode to Drome
BMG & Derek Plaslaiko - Ghost Ship 
Rrose - Signs 
Alexskyspirit - The Travelers (Polygonia remix)
Etapp Kyle - Source 
Mike Parker - Heat Inducer 
Love Letters - Morse (BMG mix) 
Club Drippy - Crashed
Ryogo Yamamori- Zw
Marcel Dettman - Rush (Deep Release mix)
Pause - Crater  
SHXCXCHCXSH  - HHHHHHHGGKS 
Part 2:
Rrose - Solaris 
Lonefront - Stera
Modes - M52 
NØRBAK - Luyr 
Allana Letm - Tempos Multiplos (Centrific Remix)
Nubbles - Reflect 2 
Maedon-X - Caged Animal 
Perc - Milk Snatchers Return
Ritaffein - Laiva
Regis - Body Unknown 
Jamaica Suk - Tes Levrés
British Murder Boys - We Will Show You 
Uun - Junkspace 
Kanding Ray - Dark Barker 
Peter Van Hoesen - Vola Flash 
Surgeon - The Golden Sea 
Alexskyspirit- SNCTR2 
Decoder - Falling Flat 
Part 3:
Quelza - Plastic Waves 
Neel - A Thought without Time 
Oscar Mulero - Tormenta 
Regis - The Theme from Street Walker
DASH3D - Neuropulmonar
CRØG - Fire 
Oblivion & Uranya - Bassa Marea 
Sorcery - Dark Scan
GiGi FM - Amadamushies
Neel- Riflesso 
Quelza - We’ll Never Be Friends Again 
J. Blofeld - Uranus 
Cej- Itchy 
Char - Free 
Psyk & Orbe - Tunnel Diode
Surgeon - Convenience Trap Pt.2

Donations if you enjoyed this mix from Shanti's recommended organization: https://www.newrootsinstitute.org/ - creating a just and sustainable food system for all through education.

PPRZ Podcast 37 - Shanti live at SmartBar Chicago

ZONA CINCO - MICTLAN - VOL 4

We are thrilled to present this mix by Chicago based JS Alvarez for our 39th entry in the series. Both Adam and I admire what Jeremy contributes to the music scene with their podcast and event series Research & Development.

JS Alvarez is a shape shifting lizard that has learned human behavior from living in cities such as Chicago and Miami. He succumbs to no one genre and can be found exploring the depths of mutant techno and unruly bass music alike.

He is the founding member of Research & Development which ignited in the iconic Chicago mainstay of Smartbar. The event series has moved on to host community focused events centered on a wide variety of often cutting edge electronic sounds at venues like Podlasie Club, The Whistler and various DIY spaces. R&D also hosts a biweekly podcast 100+ episodes deep ranging from rising talents, hometown heroes and well established DJs and producers from North America and around the world.

He's shared the booth with artists such as DVS1, Veronika Vasicka, D.Dan, Hodge and others. His mixes have been featured on NTS Radio, Mutant Radio and SutroFM among others. Catch him at The Great Beyond this July! 

I was trying to find a very textured sound within the first quarter of the mix. My attempt at some sort of atmospheric sci-fi horror score followed by something a bit more hypnotic. By the end of the mix I wanted those vibes to explode into something highly rhythmic. Something to shatter what came before and get the sweat dripping off the walls. 

If you enjoyed this mix, please consider donating to JS Alvarez' organization of choice:
https://www.organizedcommunities.org/ 
https://www.organizedcommunities.org/donate

PPRZ Podcast 39 - JS Alvarez

Ina Kacz @ The Lot Radio 06-13-2025

Recorded live at Ratherlost Easter 2025, Lofi Amsterdam, 6-9PM.

Thank you to the @ratherlost team for the trust, to the producers within for their incredible music, to all who shared that moment which will surely endure in my mind.

Artwork by Dypere (dypere.cc).

Aaron J at Ratherlost Easter 2025

In a world hooked on instant likes and endless scrolls, where festival lineups are often built for clicks more than for ears, there’s still a place that pushes all that noise into the background. It sits somewhere off the grid, far from signal bars and push notifications, a pocket of the world where music still feels sacred.

You drive for hours into the Spanish mainland, trading highways for dusty roads and the smell of pine. And then you arrive at this gathering that’s not quite a festival. “Celebration” fits better. A celebration of music, connection, good energy and the rare joy of forgetting who’s “headlining” and just letting the sound carry you wherever it wants.

It’s friends, and friends of friends. People whose names you might see on record sleeves or festival flyers, but here they’re just part of the crowd. No green rooms, no special wristbands. No one’s counting bar sales or stressing over ticket numbers. It’s purely about the music, the real reason most of us fell in love with this scene in the first place.

From Friday afternoon to a very late Sunday, the music rolls non-stop. Daytime means dancing upright under blue skies. By night, things stretch into horizontal territory in a magical cabaña, where ambient and experimental sets ripple through the dark. Every DJ seems to arrive knowing precisely what belongs in their timeslot, crafting an arc so seamless you start questioning whether sleep is even worth it. Monday comes for you looking like your parachute didn’t open, but the grin on your face says otherwise. And the moment you leave, you’re already asking yourself how you’re supposed to wait a whole year to do it again.

This hidden corner of paradise is called Perpendicular Festival, or Perpen, for short, a brainchild of the crew behind Espacio Perpendicular in Madrid. 

This year was Delayed’s first time joining the adventure, and we came back determined to share pieces of what made it unforgettable. Over the next months, we’ll be rolling out sets that capture different moods and times of the weekend, hoping to transmit even a fraction of the magic in those woods.

We’re starting with a burst of energy: Madrid’s best-kept secret, Rachael, who took over on Sunday night. By then, the dancefloor was running on adrenaline alone, and as darkness settled in, she shifted things into high gear. After Sciama’s mind-bending trip, Rachael stepped up and commanded the space, unleashing a set where syncopated beats, UK breaks, and halftime, all collided in perfect chaos. The pine trees caught every echo. The crowd surged with new life. It was one of those sets that reminds you why underground music scenes will always survive and why you stay awake just a few hours longer even when your legs are begging for mercy.

We’re proud to open this year's Delayed x Perpendicular series with her set. Tune in, and get a taste of why it instantly felt like home.

https://soundcloud.com/rachael_um
https://www.instagram.com/rachael_um_/

https://soundcloud.com/espacio-perpendicular
https://www.instagram.com/espacio.perpendicular

Write up by: @gilleswasserman

Follow us on social media:

https://soundcloud.com/itsdelayed
https://linktr.ee/delayed
https://www.delayed.nyc
https://www.instagram.com/_____delayed
https://www.facebook.com/itsdelayed
https://www.youtube.com/@_____delayed

Contact us: 
info@delayed.nyc

Delayed x Perpendicular: Rachael

Recorded live from our FOLD takeover with Transmissions, this one comes courtesy of softi who opened Room 2 with a two hour set we simply couldn’t keep to ourselves. Weaving through glitchy, swamp-soaked textures and deep, hypnotic rhythms, she laid down a trippy journey that set the perfect tone for the night ahead. Dial in and drift!

@jazz_brown

Harmony Rec. podcast | softi

For the first time collaborating on a mix, Camu and Joan Gila crafted this set for Temple 08 "world of echo", a series of deep listening events curated by Josephine and Camu himself at Espacio Perpendicular. 

The mix drifts through a landscape of minimalism, ambient waves, shamanic echoes, and deep, textural drones - an immersive journey through layers of sound.

@javier-camunas
@joan-gila
@espacio-perpendicular
@hoc-radio

Joan Gila & Camu | #86

Extremly sweet memory of my set at Unfold at Fold, London on 22.06.25 in the Steam room. Thanks to all the dancers for this crazy energy, I had the best time & super happy to share this recording 𓆩♡𓆪

Ina Kacz at Unfold, London - 22.06.25

Pour fêter le 808 day 2025, on a fait remasteriser ce morceau d'acid techno composé avec Jetsky en 2012! La recette: une TR-808, trois TB-303,  des samples de ma cafetière et le cri du coucou joué avec brio par notre ami Maxence.

Mastering par Swander Beats

Moustache Gracios

Free download

Live hardware set performed on the Meta Ta Physika stage at The Great Beyond 2025

Artwork:
Designer: Stewart Armstrong
Instagram: @stewart_armstrong_

Gear used:
Digitakt 2 (2x)
Digitone 1
Analog Heat +fx
SSL SiX
Faderfox UC4 and PC4 controllers

Sounds:
Arp 2600
Oberheim Xpander
Oberheim SEMs
Human Comparator Syncussion
Roland Juno 2
Roland SH-101
Roland TR-909

Autokinetic - Live at The Great Beyond 2025

first release of my upcoming ep. listen on all streaming services and download on bandcamp for free. https://kulms.bandcamp.com/track/samarkand
artwork by jil kosmowski

free dl bandcamp

kulms - samarkand

Buy link: rewlabel.bandcamp.com/album/griding-ep
Artist: VA
Label: REW.
Catalog Number: R014
Release Date: 13/05/24
Format: Digital
Mastering: TMLSD
Artwork: Pedra
Label links: @rew_wav

Ben Claw - Undefined (Original Mix)

Vancouver BC record label & podcast series by @adamtwo and @djhockey

Based in Chicago, R&D is a music event/mix series focused on nurturing new sounds, experiences and atmospheres while exploring the music and culture it was born or mutated from. Techno, electro, EBM, bass, breaks, club and beyond.
Current personnel
Jeremy Alvarez - JS Alvarez
Eric Fernandez - Makeen
Shanti Chu - Shanti
Dan Hood - Dan B Hood
Kona Mazariegos - Zona Cinco

PPRZ Podcast 39 - JS Alvarez

PPRZ

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