"We were doing parties in Staten Island that were completely packed; Manhattan didn't want anything to do with us." Three New York visionaries discuss the city's '90s heyday.

'90s nightlife in New York conjures images of Party Monster, jacking disco house and a rotating cast of mega clubs that saw thousands of revellers pass through their doors each weekend. From Limelight and Sound Factory to Palladium and countless others, clubbing was hitting its stride in New York, while producers like Joey Beltram, Frankie Bones and Damon Wild were producing game-changing 12-inches. But it was also the beginning of a decline, catalysed by the rollout of Mayor Rudy Giuliani's discriminatory policies that slowly gutted the club scene and the communities that called it home. 

To honour Resident Advisor's partnership with Wire Festival in Brooklyn this weekend, we're revisiting a panel recorded at our 24/7 party at Nowadays in 2018. We tasked the beloved Brooklyn fanzine Love Injection with presenting discussions covering five decades of dance music history. In this panel, Strictly Rhythm cofounder Gladys Pizarro, DJ and producer Lenny Dee and drag superstar and vogue performer Kevin Aviance spoke with journalist (and former RA staffer) Max Pearl about the rise and fall of the city's club scene during its golden decade. They also discussed how the city was sequestered, forcing many artists at the vanguard of '90s-era techno to make music and throw their own parties as the scene grew and shifted beneath the weight of city-wide reforms.

"We were doing parties in Staten Island that were completely packed; Manhattan didn't want anything to do with us," said Lenny D. "So when we were doing it, we were making parties out in Brooklyn. A lot of music at that time was made here in Brooklyn—Joey Beltram, Frankie Bones, Tommy Musto, Damon Wild. So we had this scene where we're making great music, but no one's letting us play, so we're just going to do it ourselves." 

Listen to the episode in full.

EX.661 New York Nightlife In The '90s

"Devotion is the main aim—to try to encourage commitment in people." The fabric resident and Houghton festival founder discusses his love of the crowd, DJing and more.

Craig Richards, arguably one of UK dance music's most respected DJs, is normally averse to the spotlight. But the multi-hyphenate artist and fabric resident has played the London institution every Saturday for nearly two decades, DJing alongside fellow household names like Ricardo Villalobos and Nicolas Lutz. Over the years, Richards has profoundly shaped the canon that's defined the space and its programming week in and week out.

He’s keenly attuned to other DJs and the flow of a night, and he's not indebted to one particular style or genre. In a Resident Advisor feature from 2019, Ray Philp described his sound as "intergalactic space metal" that goes far beyond techno, house or electro, instead interplaying classics with deep, headsy tunes that he tirelessly seeks out every week.

In this interview with RA's European deputy editor Carlos Hawthorn, Richards talks about what makes a good record, and the DJ's role as a bridge between the past and present. He also discusses his endeavours beyond the booth—most notably the idyllic festival he started in 2017, Houghton, which is set in the English countryside—and his passion for painting and cross-disciplinary creativity. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.671 Craig Richards

"All I want to do is express what I love." The beloved Berghain resident talks about learning from failure, putting in the time and how good sound systems have changed his life.

Born and bred in Minneapolis, Zak Khutoretsky, AKA DVS1, has been throwing and playing raves for decades. Now 47, he's at the top of his game. As one of Berghain's most popular residents and a producer known for his deep and versatile sound, he's amassed thousands of followers around the world, releasing on Klockworks, Transmat and Ostgut Ton, in addition to his own label, HUSH.

Not just an artist, Khutoretsky has garnered a reputation for speaking critically about the challenges facing the electronic music community, notably through his essay about the battle between art and entertainment, and more recently through the inauguration of his revenue sharing platform ASlice. The organisation was designed in 2020 as an antidote to the pay disparity between DJ earnings and producer earnings, and its basic conceit is that DJs submit playlists of their tracks and share small percentages of their gig fees to be redistributed among the artists whose tracks they've played.

In this RA Exchange live from ADE, Khutoretsky talks with journalist Christine Kakaire about the platform and the impetus behind it, as well as his underlying tendency to be a "fixer,"  from the problems in his house to the issues he sees plaguing his community. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.689 DVS1

"My place of rebirth was New York." The DJ and producer discusses Brooklyn's queer ballroom scene and advocating for Munich's queer community at BLITZ Club.

BASHKKA is a name you might recognise from festival lineups. In fact, it seems to be everywhere these days. The Munich-based artist has seemingly blown up in the past 24 months, but her ascent is well-deserved. The Munich-based DJ has been a resident at BLITZ Club for two years since returning from a decade-long stint in New York, where she quickly found family with Brooklyn's trans community. While she's now living back in Germany, the experience ignited a lifelong commitment to her advocacy for the cultural, political and de-colonial advancement of electronic music. She is an activist for Southwest Asian and North African artists across the scene, especially those from queer femme backgrounds or who have been otherwise marginalised from the mainstream dance music narrative. 

In this interview with the Exchange's senior producer Chloe Lula, BASHKKA talks about her roots and how the dichotomy of growing up to a Turkish family in Bavaria—and then living within the trans community in New York—has shaped her creativity and her outlook on family and life. She also talks about her debut EP, Maktub, on Nene H's label Umay, where she explores a mixture of ballroom, ghetto tech, house and the legacy of her years in New York. According to the artist, it's a "hot stew of seduction"—and it's only a prelude of what's to come. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.718 BASHKKA

"I started in the clubs, and that's where my heart is." The British singer-songwriter and RA's newest cover star talks about her new album, BRAT, live from AVA London.

This week's Exchange is with Resident Advisor's latest cover star: Charli xcx. The British singer-songwriter has garnered a reputation as one of the most unpredictable and boundary-pushing pop artists of her generation, collaborating with contemporaries like A. G. Cook, Yaeji and the late SOPHIE. And she's now on the heels of her most recent album, BRAT, which came out in June and has already been lauded as one of the best albums of the year.

In this conversation recorded live at AVA London with journalist Chal Ravens, Charli xcx dives into the making of the album. She calls it a club record—that, she says, is "where her heart is." After posting songs on MySpace around 2008, she was asked to DJ at warehouse parties when she was still in her teens. She felt alive in that space, she remembers, doing crazy, embarrassing things.

Now in a different chapter of her life and career, she contemplates her desire to make challenging music that still appeals to a broad audience. It's a pendulum that swings radically in both ways, and she finds herself reinventing herself within the pop space and navigating that tension again and again. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.721 Charli XCX

"We used to roll up socks in our shoes to give us an extra inch." The childhood friends talk about coming of age in Belfast and their label and event series, CHROMA.

Bicep—the Irish duo Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar—have been winning over the hearts of fans with trance-inflected, melancholic dance music since 2009. In this interview with RA editor Gabriel Szatan, the childhood friends talk about how they got where they are, unpacking their creative process and the abiding musical influence of their hometown, Belfast, a city where emotional trance reigned supreme. 

They also discuss their ongoing multidisciplinary project, CHROMA—a record label, event series and evolving live audiovisual show. Ferguson and McBriar say that the idea for CHROMA came from a sense that their DJ sets were becoming too "sugary," so they buckled down with a renewed focus on creating dynamic new productions made specifically for the dance floor and their sets. The result is a string of hard-hitting EPs which you can find online now. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.722 Bicep

"They were wild and crazy years." The Spanish techno icon discusses his early years in Madrid, running record labels and staying true to his sound for more than 30 years.

Spanish DJ and producer Oscar Mulero is a legend of underground techno. Since starting to play parties and make music more than 30 years ago, he's earned a reputation as an anti-conformist tastemaker who's adamantly stuck to his guns. While his trajectory began with Madrid's goth and punk clubs in the '90s, he eventually found techno in the early '00s and started two labels, PoleGroup and Warm Up, as homes for the hypnotic, spaced-out sound that's become his signature. 

In this RA Exchange, Mulero reflects on the early days of the Spanish techno scene and how it's evolved, as well as his own roots and influences. Today, the artist is as active as he's ever been, he discusses how he's maintained longevity as an artist in the face of changing trend, as well as his best practices for making music at home and on the road. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.730 Oscar Mulero

"I was surrounded by all walks of life." Live from Dekmantel, the New York native talks about how the Bronx shaped her taste in music, her long-time love of radio and blowing up on the international DJ circuit.

Gabrielle Kwarteng is a product of her diverse musical environment. The Berlin-based New Yorker has a unique sound that's dynamic and house-heavy, incorporating elements of acid, techno and everything in between. In this interview recorded live at Dekmantel, she discussed her upbringing in a Ghanaian household in the Bronx, and how that environment (and the neighborhood itself) moulded her taste in music. The community she grew up in was culturally rich, filled with the sounds of reggaeton, bachata, merengue and freestyle from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and beyond. As both of her parents moved from West Africa, she was introduced to a diet of highlife music and jazz from a young age.

Kwarteng's taste began to expand when she began exploring New York's record stores. Fast forward to university, and the aspiring DJ became deeply involved in her school radio station, which she describes as a turning point and a revelation. She speaks movingly about the abiding power that radio has had in her life—she continues to be involved with stations like Refuge Worldwide and The Lot, and soon NTS Radio, where she'll hold a residency beginning in 2025. She also talks about what it's like to be a female minority in the music industry, the experience of having her career take off at such rapid speed upon relocating to Europe and the importance of summoning optimism no matter the circumstances. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.740 Gabrielle Kwarteng

The beloved DJ unpacks his most influential records in our flagship live series, Playing Favourites, recorded at Dekmantel in August.

Palms Trax, the beloved British DJ and producer considered a "veteran" of the scene at only 33 years old, hit it big with a career breakout back in 2015. Since then, he's become known for his long-running radio show and record label, Cooking With Palms Trax, where he releases new music, reissues and more. His style is soulful, gravitating towards low-BPM house, disco, zouk and everything in between.

Recorded at Dekmantel in August, this RA Exchange is the latest edition of our flagship live series, Playing Favourites, where we invite artists to curate and dissect some of the records that shaped their approach to music. Palms Trax speaks to RA editor Gabriel Szatan about the song that acted as a gateway to his musical education; the track that turned him onto the idea of making music; and the band that he considers to be the "coolest of all time," as well as forthcoming music on his own label.

What unites these releases, Palms Trax says, is a powerful, ageless and immediately accessible sensibility. They aren't about technical mastery but about feeling. As music-making has become easier with the advent of perfectly engineered online samples, there's more and more appeal in music with humanity and character. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.743 Palms Trax

"You go through this feeling to then be in freedom." The notorious photographer and bouncer talks about the ethos behind selecting the world's hardest door, early life in East Berlin and Berghain's 20th anniversary.

Today's Exchange guest is Berghain's infamous figurehead and doorman Sven Marquardt, who was born and raised in German Democratic Republic (GDR)-era East Berlin. He lived a rebellious life as a queer punk in Prenzlauer Berg, which banned him from entering Berlin's central districts because of how he looked. It was during these years that he congregated with fellow East Berlin new wave kids and began documenting their relationships and his own life through photography. When the wall fell, electronic music and the exciting scene that arose in the DDR's vacuum became Marquardt's focus. He started partying at gay fetish parties and bouncing doors at new clubs alongside his brother. 

In this interview, he talks to RA Exchange producer Chloe Lula about how Berlin has evolved from his adolescence in the post-war years and his thoughts on the changes erasing institutions in the city's clubbing landscape today. He also reflects on the contemporary nightlife industry and how Berghain's policies have shifted with the times, initially catering to an almost exclusively gay male crowd but now welcoming a demographic more representative of the diversity of people who make up club culture. While German politics and the rise of the right wing have deeply affected him, he says, he recognizes the opportunities it enables for his community to use art and culture as a reactionary, countercultural force. Listen to the episode in full.

Photo by Torsten Ingvaldsen.
Audio overdubs by Marios Gavrilis.

EX.744 Sven Marquardt

"I'm like a collector—everything I come across makes it into my music." The dance music don talks about the music that shaped him and his recent L.B. Dub Corp album on Dekmantel.

Luke Slater, the British DJ, producer and occasional drummer, has been making music under a slew of monikers since the '80s: Planetary Assault Systems, L.B. Dub Corp, LSD, The 7th Plain, Clementine—the list goes on. While he's put out an excellent range of dynamic analogue music that runs the gamut of house, acid, breakbeat, electro and even spoken word, he's probably best known for his productions and live shows that focus on sleek and solid techno, as showcased on Ostgut Ton and his own imprint, Mote-Evolver.

In the latest instalment of our flagship live series Playing Favourites, Slater unpacks the tracks that, for him, best illustrate the history of techno at large, as well as the records that define his creative process and career trajectory. He speaks with Chloe Lula live from Polifonic festival about his love of Detroit and Underground Resistance, as well as the abiding influence of hip-hop on his early work and his love of intentionally integrating mistakes in his music. He also reflects on how he became the first non-German artist to release on Berghain's esteemed record label, as well as discussing his most recent release, Saturn to Home, for Dekmantel. The double LP saw him return to his drumming practice and introduce surprising and powerful collaborations from electronic music contemporaries and vocalists like Kittin and the poet Benjamin Zephaniah. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.749 Luke Slater

"If a record is falling apart at the seams, I'll probably like it." Recorded live at Houghton 2024, our latest Playing Favourites episode sees the London artist discussing the beautiful leftfield music that's soundtracked his life.

British DJ and producer Call Super brings some colour to the depths of winter with this week's RA Exchange. The multifaceted artist has released music on Houndstooth, Hessle Audio, fabric, Dekmantel and the label he co-runs with Parris, can you feel the sun, becoming known for a deep yet always party-ready sound that combines house, UK funky, tech house and plenty more besides.

In this interview, recorded at last year's Houghton Festival, he talks to RA's managing editor, Carlos Hawthorn,  as part of our flagship live series, Playing Favourites. Among his choices are the music he listened to as a child; the record that inspired his passion for DJing; an artist who changed his perspective on music at large; and more practical songs he deploys in sets to refresh a crowd. The territory he covers is huge, from tech house and acid house to contemporary classical, experimental leftfield, abstract percussion and choral music. There are some tracks, he claims, that only work in certain contexts, but if played at the right time, "they send people." Listen to the episode in full. – Chloe Lula

EX.750 Call Super

Anyone with a passing interest in footwork and juke will know of Traxman. Corky Strong has a long history in the world of Chicago dance music, first releasing on the legendary Dance Mania label—which is now celebrating 40 years—in the mid-'90s. He's since split his productions between ghetto house, juke and footwork, releasing alongside titans of Black American music like the late DJ Deeon and DJ Rashad. Strong went on to become a member of DJ Rashad's renowned Teklife crew, and he was one of the creators of the legendary mixtapes on coloured cassettes that became a prototype for juke and footwork's evolution. 

In this Exchange, Strong speaks with RA's Kiana Mickles in New York about how he first became introduced to this world through his cousins, with whom he'd listen to funk and slow jams, Parliament Funkadelic, Farley Jackmaster Funk, James Brown and a variety of hip-hop throughout the '80s. The pieces eventually fell into place, he recounts, when he met the "mysterious kid" DJ Rashad in 1997. Together, they helped shape the music scene in Chicago, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Over the last few years, Strong has been celebrating footwork's past by putting out a series of albums called Da Mind of Traxman on Planet Mu. He's just released his third volume, and his first since 2014, which was crafted with the help of fellow Planet Mu artist Sinjin Hawke. Strong took on A&R duties to collate the best from hundreds of tracks dating back to 2005. The series is notable in part because it's a catalogue of footwork and its Chicago lineage—juke and house—as well as these genres' soul, funk and rock roots.  

Strong talks to Mickles about what Chicago's music scene was like in the '80s and '90s, why footwork was so rooted in dancing and where the genre is heading in the future. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.753 Traxman

"I wanted to be at the forefront of the beat that would storm the world." The renowned musician talks about how reggae became the sound of resistance in the UK.

How did reggae become the sound of resistance in the UK? In this RA Exchange, the influential Barbados-born guitarist, bass player and record producer Dennis Bovell talks about moving to South London aged 12 and navigating its tense racial and musical landscape. Through the music he wrote and produced, he responded directly to racist rhetoric and colonialist attitudes rocking the UK. After the arrival of the Empire Windrush ship in June 1948—which brought a generation of Caribbean people over to rebuild post-war Britain—the UK experienced new social pressures as the diaspora assimilated to their new lives. But London also became a melting pot of creative and cultural diversity. Reggae became resistance music, and artists like Bovell became bandleaders. 

Bovell speaks with writer and musician Tony Nwachukwu about music as social commentary, especially in his reggae band Matumbi, which was intentionally provocative, aiming to challenge the status quo and give voice to the Black British experience through its lyrics, themes and messaging. Matumbi was critical in developing the British reggae sound, and Bovell went on to record other musical projects that were key in shaping the early days of reggae, dub and lover's rock. 

He also reflects on his time engineering for artists in different scenes, like the German electronic duo Saâda Bonaire, the Japanese band Yellow Magic Orchestra and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Bovell's unique ability to bring together different musical styles at the peripheries of dub made him a highly sought-after collaborator with a knack for navigating delicate dynamics in the industry, especially for Black artists. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.755 Dennis Bovell

The doyenne of minimal reflects on Perlon, forgotten classics and the tracks that never leave her record bag in this live edition of Playing Favourites at Dimensions Festival.

Following the minimal boom of the '00s and early '10s, the sound has in more recent years flourished quietly in the smaller corners of certain scenes. It certainly, as some people like to claim, never died. In fact, if you were to discuss this with Sonja Moonear, the Swiss DJ would argue that the genre is as popular as ever.

Much like the other artists in the upper echelons of the scene—Zip, Raresh, Nicolas Lutz—Moonear made a name for herself by DJing rather than making music. She cut her teeth in Geneva as a resident at its key club at the time, Weetamix. Perlon label head Zip was a regular guest and, as Moonear recounts, he invited her to play in Berlin after she warmed up for him a few times. Moonear is now an in-demand DJ in her own right, with a style that takes in a broad cross-section of house, techno and minimal.

Recorded at last summer's Dimensions Festival, this edition of Playing Favourites sees Moonear select some of her favourite '90s and early '00s minimal classics and the records that never leave her record bag. She's truly obsessed with music and finding rare grooves, and her enthusiasm shines through. In between playing tracks, she talks about the squat scene in Geneva and how she spends hours preparing her bag every week. She reminisces about the first time she put her hand on a turntable; her transition away from the piano as an adolescent; and her primary goal in her career, which is "purely to enjoy herself."

@moonear
ra.co/exchange/794

EX.756 Sonja Moonear

"We wanted to let go of everything we know." The Berghain residents talk about underground values, leaving behind expectations and their collaborative album, LAYER ONE.

Berghain residents and now frequent collaborators Ben Klock and Fadi Mohem have become synonymous with the classic, no frills aesthetic that's come to define the Berlin institution's sound, with one exception: their newest LP, LAYER ONE. The album sees them step away from techno in a listening experience that explores IDM, ambient and experimental electronic music with guest vocal appearances by UK artists Cobey Sey and Flowdan.

In this Exchange, they talk to Chloe Lula about this departure from their typical style, which imagines a post-human world where AI reigns supreme. They also reflect on building generational bridges in the music industry; how their respective ideas of success have changed; underground values and sensibilities; and why the ethos of an earlier era continues to inform their work. 

Klock also revisits the decade that's elapsed since his last RA interview, including why he's chosen to return to the studio after years on the road, his unexpected career as a DJ and the key to long-lasting relevance in a scene that doesn't slow down. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.757 Ben Klock and Fadi Mohem

The beloved German producer talks about finding inner peace, overstimulation and his new album on Pampa Records.

Mental health is a topic that comes up frequently in the music industry, but it's still not discussed enough among electronic music's top performers. In this RA Exchange, Stefan Kozalla—better known as DJ Koze—opens up about his battle with anxiety, self-doubt and rising expectations that come with being a long-standing, high-profile name. He talks about overstimulation, music as rest and the compromises artists need to make to have relevance and staying power.

Kozalla, a beloved and eccentric German artist who has developed a cult following over the course of his career, has productions on esteemed labels like XL, Kompakt, Cocoon, Warp, Ninja Tune and BPitch, which garner praise as soon as they're released. "Every time DJ Koze comes out of the woodwork to drop a 12-inch—or even just a remix—we usually end up hearing it everywhere for months on end," wrote former RA editor Andrew Ryce.

Kozalla talks to RA contributor (and former editor) Matt Unicomb about his production process and early influences—an uncanny combination of Basic Channel and Public Enemy—as well as his forthcoming album, Music Can Hear Us, coming out on Pampa Records on April 4th. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.758 DJ Koze

"Sound systems are really what move me." The up-and-coming techno artist talks about the physicality of sound and how psychedelics inform his work in the studio.

What makes a good artist? In this RA Exchange, British DJ and producer Andrew Shobeiri, AKA Rene Wise, reflects on being a relatively new name in the scene and considers the success that ultimately comes with time and experience. "There's never a point where you're done," he says. 

While Shobeiri is only a few years into his career, the up-and-comer already knows how to draw a crowd. He has finely tuned a highly kinetic and hypnotic techno sound that's brought him legions of fans and bookings on the world's top club and festival lineups. He divulges the ingredients that go into a Rene Wise set, including sound sources from genres beyond the club, like salsa, Iranian radif and the strange orchestration of Steve Reich. He also talks about his experience with psychedelics—which helped lay the groundwork for some of his most formative musical experiences—as well as how sound systems have changed the way he perceives and composes tracks for the dance floor. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.759 Rene Wise

"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

The vaunted techno producer discusses the connections between visual art and music, balancing a full-time career as a fine artist and how he creates his signature sound.

There's a connection between visual art and dance music that's seldom explored on our channels. Mike Parker is well known in the underground techno scene for minimal, hypnotic and beautifully executed sound design that sits somewhere at the edges of club music. But he also received his master's degree in fine art and teaches drawing and painting at Daemon University in Buffalo, New York. Fans of Parker will recognise his visual trademark: monochromatic prints that adorn the covers of the records he puts out on his label, Geophone.

In this Exchange, Parker sits down with Chloe Lula to talk about how he balances his art- and music-making practices and how they inform each other. He also opens up about the long process of sticking to his sound and finding an audience rather than catering to the demands and suggestions of labels and distributors. His 2001 breakout album, Dispatches—which he reissued last year—is a meditation on the act of living far away from any listeners or immediate influences, and he discusses the ongoing drawbacks and rewards of balancing the Eurocentric pursuit of DJing with day-to-day work that's so geographically removed. He also opens up about his longtime collaboration with Donato Dozzy, his love of mid-20th-century sci-fi movies and how free-form radio shaped his approach to music and art. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.761 Mike Parker

"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

"It was so difficult to become someone." The house hero talks about Chicago's competitive scene, developing a sound and letting go of his ego. 

Theo Parrish is one of dance music's most influential DJs and producers. Raised in Chicago, he's become synonymous with slow-burning, immersive grooves and sets that mix classics with obscurities. He began DJing in 1986 aged 13, eventually earning a degree in sculpture and moving to Detroit, where he hit his stride as an artist and became a member of the collective Three Chairs alongside Moodymann, Rick Wilhite and Marcellus Pittman. He also started the label Sound Signature, which uses the language of soul, jazz, disco, Chicago house and Detroit techno.

A few months ago, Resident Advisor teamed up with London institution fabric to host Parrish for an eight-hour set—his first time playing the club. While he was in town, he also spoke with CDR's Tony Nwachukwu. In the Exchange, Parrish talks about the intensely competitive scene he grew up in. He DJ'd for 13 years before he was ever paid or had his name billed on a lineup. It took years of passion and hard work to break out of his local scene and build the career he's become known for. 

"At five years, you're dealing with the technical part [of DJing], at ten it's finding your sound and at 15 it's dealing with the ego of it all," he says. "It's not until much later that you actually start to play for and with people."

Parrish also reflects on the ongoing dearth of diversity in the dance music industry and posits whether some of the most popular music in the US—such as trap—reinforces counterproductive racial stereotypes. He asks: did house music ultimately survive because it left where it originally came from? Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.763 Theo Parrish

"Everyone tells me I'm terrifying." The powerhouse agent talks about being a woman in a male-dominated world and growing the careers of artists like David Guetta, Marlon Hoffstadt and more.

What does it take to become a powerhouse agent in the male-dominated electronic music industry? No one can answer this question better than Maria May, a name that might be familiar to anyone who's had a brush with big-ticket dance music over the past 30 years. 

May is a longtime agent at CAA, or Creative Artists Agency, one of the largest booking agencies in the world. She was first hired a little over a decade ago to expand its representation of electronic music, back when the company saw that DJs were primed to become the new rockstars. She now looks after major acts like David Guetta, Paul Kalkbrenner, Marlon Hoffstadt and Sara Landry. 

But she isn't just a fierce businesswoman. She's also a tireless advocate for equity and inclusion in club culture. In this conversation recorded live at the International Music Summit in Ibiza, she talks about the obstacles she's faced over the course of her career as she's actively rebuilt the rooms in which major decisions are made. She was first inspired by her involvement in Britain's illegal rave scene, she recalls, which turned her onto the power of activism and showed her how on-the-ground organising can lead to real-life policy change. She also addresses the negative narrative taking hold of the music industry and the opportunities at hand to make positive, collective change. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.764 Maria May (CAA)

"Music kept me sane." The hard techno breakout opens up about how life's greatest challenges have made her headstrong.

To honour Mental Health Awareness week, the RA Exchange sits down with hard techno DJ Lee Ann Roberts, who opens up about her tough childhood in Durban, South Africa, and how music saved her life. 

While to some it may appear that Roberts broke through only a few years ago, she's been hard at work for much longer, starting out in South Africa's fashion scene before moving to Los Angeles and finally committing herself to pursuing a career as a DJ and producer. She speaks candidly about her abusive household and the limited opportunities for self-expression and creativity she had as a child. As a result, she's become headstrong; nothing has stopped Roberts from being herself and chasing her dreams, and she talks about how self-care, self-compassion, authenticity and a sense of humour have gotten her through some of the darkest periods of her life.

As a member of the contemporary hard techno scene, Roberts also shares her reaction to the recent Resident Advisor feature on the movement and the underpinnings of a trend that has polarised the underground. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.765 Lee Ann Roberts

“My mission is to explore the boundaries of psychedelic music.” The revered artist talks about expanding consciousness, breaking boundaries and his new album on Tresor. 

There has always been a strain of dance music that has leant psychedelic, from the left field psychoacoustics of pioneers like La Monte Young to the proggy techno taking over today's dance floors. One artist who embodies the spirit of psychedelia is Anthony Child—AKA Surgeon—a revered DJ and producer who has historically been placed in the world of industrial techno, but whose output over the years has consistently flirted with altered states of consciousness and a strong opposition to the mainstream.

 Child is originally from Birmingham, where he and Karl O'Connor, AKA Regis, helped birth a style of powerful, loop-driven techno. Together they've put out music as British Murder Boys and released music on O'Connor's label Downwards Records. But they've had equally successful solo careers, with Child putting out several releases on Tresor and performing live improvised electronics as Surgeon and as part of ambient listening duo The Transcendence Orchestra.

In this interview, Child talks about his most recent release on Tresor, the album Shell~Wave, and its innovative use of techniques associated with Jamaican dub. He also discusses the throughline of psychedelia in his work and what it means to surrender oneself to sometimes uncomfortable processes—both creatively and in life—and come out the other side. There are strong links to spirituality and Buddhism in Child's work, many of which are designed to prompt listeners to question and reconsider the boundaries they've set around the reality they live in. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.766 Surgeon

"I'm an individualist." The Throbbing Gristle co-founder  on extreme experimentation, difficult women and her new album, 2t2.

As long as underground culture has existed, there have been pockets of resistance—people at the fringes who challenge societal expectations and create work that pushes against societal norms. Cosey Fanni Tutti is one of them. She's a founding member of the defunct British band Throbbing Gristle, a visual artist, pornographic model, solo musician and writer. 

Tutti, now 73, grew up in the English city of Hull, where she met like-minded performer Genesis P-Orridge. Together, they formed Throbbing Gristle and the collective COUM. Their activations and installations were, unequivocally, shocking. In one show, Tutti urinated on the audience as she swung naked across the stage. In another, the band performed alongside framed displays of her used menstrual pads. 

Throbbing Gristle's extreme experimentations flirted with the erotic and the grotesque, pushing the limits of sound and frequency. Their outsider approach to making music—and their erasure of the boundary that separates life and art—went on to influence a generation of creatives across genres, especially in early techno. 

After Throbbing Gristle disbanded, Tutti performed as synth pop duo Chris & Cosey with her husband and ex-band member, Chris Carter. Her work as a solo artist has blossomed in recent years. She published her memoir, Art Sex Music, in 2017. After turning 66, she also wrote two full-length albums and wrote another book, Re:Sisters, which explores the life and legacy of the late composer Delia Derbyshire who faced adversity as a woman in a male-dominated world, like Tutti herself.

In this Exchange with with Chloe Lula, Tutti discusses her dedication to living alternatively, expressing herself by any means possible and her forthcoming album, 2t2, composed during a time of extreme difficulty in her personal life. The underground icon also talks about mastering Mongolian throat singing and her upcoming solo art exhibition in New York, which will display the pornographic photos she took as a model in her 20s. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.767 Cosey Fanny Tutti

"Is the infrastructure working?" The Canadian DJ and producer talks playing Coachella 2025 and the music industry's unequal power dynamics.

Is the electronic music industry pay-to-play? This week's RA Exchange with Jamaican-Canadian DJ and producer BAMBII tackles this question, exploring whether innate talent is really enough to become an artist, or if success favours those with privileged socioeconomic backgrounds.

BAMBII, a queer club innovator whose exhilarating, rave-ready records exist at the crossroads of jungle, dancehall, drum & bass and UK garage, lives in Toronto. She made waves earlier this year when she posted a viral Instagram story about her set at US festival Coachella, where she said she was forced to play with malfunctioning sound and DJ equipment. As she explains to today's host, British journalist Tara Joshi, the debacle spoke to a broader issue about an economy built on exploitation. BAMBII played the festival for free, paying her way to the gig in exchange for exposure. 

The music industry, she argues, thrives on unequal power dynamics: her experience was one of countless examples of how many artists are taught to be grateful for anything, and to be silent if they feel otherwise. "The music industry shows us how the world operates when there are no rules," she claims. "There is an assault on ethics and care in this industry. People love to recreate capitalism in the highest form."

In the interview, BAMBII also speaks about her forthcoming album—Infiniti Club II, out June 20th—as well as the North American club scene and the local grassroots collectives that she believes are keeping underground nightlife alive. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.768 BAMBII

"I'm ready to bring back gatekeeping." The New Yorker staff writer discusses how to protect the underground, experimenting with drugs and her new book, Health and Safety.

Can drugs help us find meaning in music and nightlife? This is a question that today's Exchange guest, New Yorker staff writer Emily Witt, asks in earnest in her new book Health and Safety: A Breakdown. Just released in hardcover in the UK and Europe, the memoir traces Witt's life in her early-to-mid 30s. A journalist living and working in Brooklyn, she began experimenting with psychedelics and club drugs after years of living what she describes as a conservative, straight-and-narrow, middle-class life. She became enamoured with the borough's underground raves, frequenting events like the festival Sustain-Release, the party Unter and sets at Bushwick haunt Bossa Nova Civic Club, all while falling in love with an aspiring DJ and producer she calls Andrew.

As the book progresses, Witt documents the growing MAGA movement in America, gun rights rallies and mass shootings. As the country falls apart, she watches her romantic relationship fall apart, too. Drugs and Brooklyn nightlife, she writes, became both an escape and a way to rearrange a world that she starts to feel no longer makes sense. 

Witt shares critical opinions about the underground scene's capacity to be a utopia and place of belonging in an increasingly hostile world, arguing that there should be more gatekeeping in place to protect a scene that's threatened by capitalism and the mainstream. She also interrogates what she calls "woke identity politics" in Brooklyn, the lack of change that came from the Black Lives Matter movement, empty calls for political protest that dominated the early days of the pandemic and why, despite everything, she's chosen to stay in Brooklyn for good. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.769 Emily Witt

Right here, right now. 

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=349

@fatboyslim

RA Exchange

EX.349 Fatboy Slim

The electronic-pop auteur speaks her mind.

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=510

@actuallygrimes

EX.510 Grimes

The weekly RA Exchange is a series of conversations with artists, labels and promoters shaping the electronic music landscape.

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