RA Exchange podcast

Live from Rewire Festival, Planet Mu affiliate Jana Rush and sound researcher Caroline Claus discuss gender politics, audio equipment and urban landscapes.

At this year's instalment of Rewire Festival, which took place in The Hague from April 8th to 10th, artists were paired with sociologists and anthropologists for a series of stimulating conversations. One discussion between Chicago producer Jana Rush and Caroline Claus, a Brussels-based sound researcher, stood out for its interconnections between dance music and urban environments as well as gender and technology so for this week's Exchange, we're presenting their chat.

Rush, known for her experimental forays into footwork and juke, incorporates a range of textures in her albums. From industrial to funky, her tracks frequently enter the realm of sound art but no matter how avant-garde she gets, her city remains a constant source of inspiration. Whether evoking the groove of house vocalists or the Windy City's politically-charged jazz movement, she's been a pillar of Chicago's club community for years. Claus, meanwhile, focuses on a topic known as "sonic urbanism," or how noise and vibrations impact city spaces such as railways and parks. Whether using field recordings for urban planning or engaging with the concept of sonic warfare, her studies explore interactions between individuals and spaces through sound. It can be said that both Rush and Claus are rooted in a sense of place—albeit in different ways. Rush, for instance, explained how she draws inspiration from music played in passing cars.

The two also tackle the role of gender on their respective equipment. Claus mentions how her identity shapes the intentions of her recordings while Rush describes how she felt compelled to master technical equipment because "if you don't know what you don't know, people are gonna capitalise off that and they're not gonna let it go because you're a female." During their 25-minute long talk, Rush also explains how she uses binary code and how people often perceive her as aggressive. Listen on for the full details.

Tracklist:
Jana Rush - Clown [Planet Mu]

EX.609 Jana Rush & Caroline Claus

https://www.nts.live/shows/the-new-funk-breakfast-show/episodes/the-new-funk-breakfast-show-18th-june-2022

James Massiah - 180622

https://www.nts.live/shows/zane/episodes/zane-29th-june-2022

Idle Hands w/ Zane Landreth 290622

https://www.nts.live/shows/the-breakfast-show-zakia/episodes/the-breakfast-show-zakia-12th-august-2022

The NTS Breakfast Show w/ Zakia & Shivum Sharma (LIVE) 120822

https://www.nts.live/shows/the-breakfast-show-flo/episodes/the-breakfast-show-flo-3rd-october-2022

The NTS Breakfast Show w/ Flo 031022

jkarri invited nwakke and Kamil Ademola to join him in the studio, running a selection of recent finds and favourites.

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jkarri w/ nwakke & Kamil Ademola - November 2022

Rinse FM Podcasts

Freshta - 24 November 2022

Faced with shrinking margins and higher rents, event organisers are finding new ways to keep the party going.

As the cost of living crisis continues to eat into club land, promoters around the world are increasingly being forced to adapt to shrinking margins. This new episode of Source Material, our documentary-style podcast series, shines a spotlight on Glasgow, Taipei and Chicago, where local organisers are testing out unconventional forms of inclusive promotion in response to widespread economic uncertainty. 

In Glasgow, Han Read runs a monthly night called Events Research Programme that operates off a Patreon subscription model. Bonjour, meanwhile, is a queer venue in the Scottish city that runs as a co-op, sharing a minimum 50 percent of its profits among staff in an effort to acquire more financial freedom. In Taipei, venue 23 Music Room is using its non-traditional business model to bolster the next generation of promoters while RA contributor Steve Noah describes the state of DIY parties in Chicago.

Listen to the full conversation for details on each of these scenes.

Producer: Rose Manson
Executive Producer: Martha Pazienti Caidan

EX.637 Source Material: Sustainable Promotion

integration sounds from the source; an invitation into the shadow.

https://www.nts.live/shows/molinaro/episodes/molinaro-1st-december-2022

An1ma 011222

Byrell The Great is a name synonymous with New York's ballroom scene. The Harlem native is known for his story-telling prowess and cheeky edits that span hip-hop, pop and meme culture, all of which are on full display in his seamless production, spirited DJ style and his high-energy mix series, Vogue Workouts. Live from Resident Advisor's 21st birthday celebration at Nowadays, the ballroom don discusses his involvement in the Kiki scene and the genre's growing popularity in mainstream culture.

Speaking to staff writer Kiana Mickles, Byrell describes how he attended his first ball thanks to Teyana Taylor. He then goes to elaborate on the nuances of ballroom music, what sets New York's Kiki landscape apart from the wider scene and DJ etiquette during a ball before venturing into his production techniques. Finally, Mickles and Byrell flesh out what it means for the culture when artists such as Beyoncé and Madonna incorporate ballroom references.

For more details on each of these topics, listen to the conversation in full.

EX.638 Byrell The Great

Dance music deepened its presence in pop culture this year, expanding into TikTok's nichest corners as well as Billboard Hot 100 charts. For the December edition of the Critics' Roundtable, staffers Chloë Cochran, Whitney Ajayi, Martha Pazienti Caidan and contributor Vanessa Maria reflect on the major milestones of 2022.

Electronic music was part of global conversations on gender disparity and sexual violence, the group noted. Women's safety in clubs was a particularly concerning issue this year, they continued, highlighting incidents of needle spiking at clubs. On a more positive note, they applauded Butterz cofounder Elijah, RA's guest editor from earlier this year, whose efforts to educate on issues in the music industry led to a staff position at SOAS University of London.

To hear more about these topics, as well as the popularity of higher BPMs and definitive tunes like "B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)," listen to the chat in full.

EX.639 Critics' Roundtable [December 2022]

Since at least the 1970s, artists have composed music for plants. From Mort Garson’s Plantasia to dublab's Plant Music compilation, albums recorded with nature in mind often intend to stimulate growth or simply entertain leafy creatures. This episode of Source Material, a documentary-style series, explores the symbiotic links between electronic music and house plants.

Diving into the world of frequencies and root systems, @martharadio speaks to various experts to learn how nature responds to ambient tunes and synthesisers. Among them are biotherapeutic musician Imka, Joe Patitucci of PlantWave, an app that translates plants' biorhythms into music, sound artist Karine Bonneval and composer Erland Cooper.

To discover how bass frequencies mimic bees and why festivals are adopting sonic soil pollution, listen to the episode.

EX.641 Source Material: Plants and Electronic Music

Slimzee is a legend in every sense of the word. He launched Rinse FM alongside Geeneus and Uncle Dugs in 1994, running the station for three years out of his bedroom. His shows, focused on garage and grime, paved the way for the genres' current architects. As a member of Pay As U Go Cartel alongside Wiley and Flowdan, he also helped lay the foundations for early grime.

Speaking to @martharadio, the East London veteran discusses the specifics of the Rinse FM compressor, explaining how he learnt to fine-tune frequency levels through trial and error. Back then, it was normal to focus on a specific sound in mixes and DJ sets but now, genres are more fluid, he noted, describing how he currently plays hybrids of dubstep and grime. The duo then go onto discuss the dos and don'ts of DJing with an MC, Slimzee's favourite festivals as well as his mental health journey.

Listen to the conversation in full for more details.

EX.640 Slimzee

https://www.nts.live/shows/yesterdays-news/episodes/yesterday-s-news-22nd-december-2022

Yesterday's News: Terry Hall Special 221222

Trips through the breakbeat portal with Tim Reaper, one of modern jungle's most vital talents.

https://www.nts.live/shows/tim-reaper/episodes/tim-reaper-15th-february-2023

Tim Reaper 150223

From dub and dancehall to acid house and grime, London DJ, producer, and poet James Massiah showcases his references and creative influences

https://www.nts.live/shows/the-new-funk-breakfast-show/episodes/the-new-funk-breakfast-show-soup-to-nuts-w-james-massiah-28th-march-2023

Soup to Nuts w/ James Massiah - 28th March 2023

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

EX.609 Jana Rush & Caroline Claus

RA Exchange

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