Documentaries

The 600th episode of the Exchange marks a pivot in Resident Advisor’s audio coverage. Source Material, one of our new series, moves towards in-depth, documentary-style reports on the electronic music community and beyond. For the inaugural edition of Source Material, we invite perspectives from Ukraine following the country’s invasion by Russia, which has sparked a humanitarian crisis with over 1.5 million displaced refugees.

Starting in 2014, Kyiv became a global dance music destination, due to its world-class venues and festivals, plus the government’s relatively hands-off approach towards enforcing social gathering regulations during Covid. Many flocked to its dance floors during a time when other countries operated under stringent lockdowns, and interest in the city only continued to grow. But the promise of Kyiv’s fertile club scene has been completely decimated by the war.

Those who made the community so vibrant are now faced with  the unimaginable decision to either flee or fight. The voices within this episode include Timur, known as the producer John Object, an affiliate of CXEMA, who is defending his country as part of the Territorial Defense Force, and Margareeta, RA’s City Manager for Kyiv, who discusses the emotional toll of fleeing from the war. Woven throughout are also interviews with anti-war protestors in the streets of Berlin and the volunteers helping refugees at the city’s main train stations.

Guests: John Object, Margarita Evi
Interviewer: Whitney Wei

Tracklist: 
John Object - Draft (2010)
John Object - Xanax & Silk (Live) (2016)
John Object - Kiss (2018)

EX.600 Source Material: Kyiv’s Club Community, Fractured By War

Collaboration is intrinsic to creative jobs. Whether you're a lone wolf or a team player, it's impossible to avoid partnerships and group coordination. But working with other people can get messy, especially when ego is involved. As part of Resident Advisor's ongoing collaboration with Black Minds Matter, this episode of the Exchange explores how alliances affect an artist's craft and wellbeing. In separate conversations with UK singer-songwriter Aluna and Hamburg-based DJ crew SLIC Unit, host Vanessa Maria asks them about the challenges of building collectively versus individually.

For SLIC Unit, being part of a network is all about mutual trust. Each person brings different talents to the table so it's important to reinforce each another while streamlining the decision-making process, founding members Nissa and SENU describe. "Being together or being in a collective always means more work," they say, referring to the need for clear communication, empathy and making time for everyone's projects. SLIC Unit practices what they call "radical solidarity," a support system that reduces chaos and stress while enabling them to have fun while working.

Aluna, on the other hand, has a solo career in addition to being one-half of the duo AlunaGeorge. For her, going solo meant confronting her relationship with fear. Being in a band provided her with a sense of safety but that ultimately became a warning bell, she explains. "I knew that I was using it as a safety net from a place of either displacement or fear," she continues, alluding to her issues with racism and sexism. At the end of the day, it's important for artists to establish stability and security within themselves before they can join a group, she notes.

For more insights on how creatives can preserve authenticity and self-worth in a team environment or on their own, listen to the hour-long podcast.

EX.612 Source Material: Collaboration & Mental Health

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

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

In honour of World Radio Day—which landed on February 13th—this week’s RA Exchange celebrates the power of radio in a documentary-style deep dive. UNESCO inaugurated World Radio Day in 2011 in order to commemorate its efficacy in reaching remote communities, connecting with people everywhere regardless of their education level, and providing a platform for positive and democratic discourse. It's also critical in spreading critical information during times of crisis or emergency. According to UNESCO, "increasing radio's journalistic standards and capacity should be considered as an investment in peace."

On a more modest level, podcasting and radio, especially in the world of underground music, can help forge in-person and virtual networks and celebrate and spread new and lesser-known music. During the pandemic, it also held together underground music scenes when people couldn't be together in the club, and sustained a kind of intimacy and connection by letting people share music over the airwaves and community platform chat rooms. 

In this episode, we hear from various radio producers around the world—including Jamz Supernova, Hana Walker Brown, Dublab Barcelona and Hong Kong Community Radio, among others—about why radio resonates so strongly with them. "Good radio is always an exercise in connection, especially host-led radio,” says Rory Bowens, NTS’s Head of Radio Production. “The fact that it's a live experience is really crucial. People can listen to something in real time with a huge audience of other listeners at the same time, and that intrinsically connects them to each other." Take a listen to the episode in full.

EX.648 Source Material: The Power of Radio in Times of Crisis

"I tried to keep things easy for the uneasy times we live in," David August says of today's Sunday Mix. "Many old and new songs that brought a sense of nostalgia, but they never found space in other recent mixes". Filled with dreamy ambient, woozy jazz and celestial melodicism, August's mix here evokes something akin to feeling the warmth of an early spring breeze on your skin, with all the gentle hope and lingering brightness that brings.

Check out the tracklist on crackaudio: https://crackm.ag/3wpJ4ff
If you’re a fan, become a Supporter: crackmagazine.net/subscription

Sunday Mix: David August

Outer Heaven Presents:
Planetary Radio Broadcast
@Bawrut
Recorded Live 2.22.24
www.outerheaven.nyc

[035] Bawrut [2.22.24]

Rinse FM Podcast

Kiara Scuro - 2 March 2024

Anything weird.

https://www.instagram.com/jennifercardini

JENNIFER CARDINI @ The Lot Radio 03-29-2024

Here’s the last >club focused< 12” that we’ll announce before summer: welcome back Robert Dietz! After last year's RIP To My Idea Of You, he’s back with a complete solo EP: 3 MIRRORS. Four high energy cuts rounded out by the aptly named Sudden Peace. And with flying colours. Highlight track Farbpaletten is as propulsive as it is large, a typical Dietz track that touches on trance, but not in the way you would expect. These are tracks to draw out to sun and fill up any floor. 3 Mirrors is Robert Dietz's most explosive outing yet.

A1| Three Mirrors
A2| Judas Goat
B1| Farbpaletten
B2| Fumblewinter
B3| Sudden Peace

Up for pre-order now. Farbpaletten and Sudden Peace are an instant download on our Bandcamp. The vinyl is out end of April. 

Buy/Stream

Robert Dietz - 3 Mirrors - Nous'klaer 039 (previews)

Accomplished as a certified Hit-Producer and DJ hailing from Berlin, Johannes Albert has left an indelible mark on the global dance music scene. For the past decade, he has steered the ship at the Frank Music label, solidifying his presence as a stalwart in Berlin's nightclubs and captivating audiences worldwide.

Johannes Albert's magnetic DJ reputation has catapulted him to stages from London to Tokyo, Augsburg to Cape Town. This is no surprise, given his impressive dual role as the head of his labels, Frank Music and Fine. His musical contributions extend beyond, gracing imprints like Live At Robert Johnson and Permanent Vacation. Known for eclectic mixes and a range of genre-spanning aliases, Johannes effortlessly infuses modern disco euphoria with a touch of acid, seamlessly blending classics and displaying an open mind towards genres, even embracing current rave revivals.

Hailing from the enchanting region of Franconia near Würzburg, Johannes's journey began with a fascination for the house and disco sounds of the time, evolving into a deep exploration of techno, acid, electro, italo, and beyond. Endowed with the essential DJ quality of amiability, propelling him from hometown clubs to a staple of the German scene.

Frank Music, initially a platform for Johannes Albert's productions, has birthed four solo albums, including the ambient masterpiece "Spessart." Tracks like "Endorphin Refill" and "Fountain Of Youth" have become anthems, with contributions from artists such as I:Cube, Lauer, Fred P, Ladymonixx, Boris Dlugosch, David Jackson & Gerd Janson. Meanwhile, Fine, managed alongside Tilman, is firmly rooted in House Music, where a simple sample and beat can set the dance floor ablaze.

In 2024, Frank Music releases "Moon IV," a collaborative album with Iron Curtis, showcasing their moody material. Johannes Albert, often associated with summery, uplifting mixes, surprises with his versatility, evident in remixes for Riva Starr & Mark Broom, Alan Dixon, andhim, Super Flu, Keinemusik & Catz ‘N Dogz.

Having found kindred spirits in the many hotspots of Berlin, Johannes is one of the very few DJs who can equally adjust to the many floors of the city, being a regular at Watergate, Tresor, Sisyphos, Else, about blank, Renate and the likes. Embracing an 'anything goes, super fun' approach, he considers Berlin the perfect home base to explore his myriad influences, ensuring a box of fully road-tested tricks for every club and festival adventure.

Follow and Support Johannes Albert!

https://www.instagram.com/johannes_albert_/
https://soundcloud.com/johannesalbert
https://www.facebook.com/JohannesAlbertFM

Follow #KOF here:

https://www.instagram.com/kofproject/
https://youtube.com/@kof.project
https://soundcloud.com/kof-in-utero

Johannes Albert | Live in Utero #157

Firmly rooting himself as one to watch over the past year, through his musically diverse productions and sets, Adam Pits treated us to a true voyage on his fabric debut with his all-night-long takeover.

Listen back as we look forward to having him back at fabric on Friday 12th April.

Tickets: https://ra.co/events/1845737

019 - Adam Pits - Recorded live from fabric

Presenting “Fear is Only Real in Dreams” - a new 120 minute mix of unreleased Daniel Avery material for Ford. Come get lost xx

Full video: https://youtu.be/LAdGPzoc75U?si=IYYVyBa-S4uNpJf5

Photo by Keffer

Full video

Fear is Only Real in Dreams - 120 minutes of unreleased material

Violence - Darkroom Dubs Sessions - Apr 24

Deep, classy house.

Tracklisting and download: https://bit.ly/XLR8Rpodcast_HugoLX

@hugo-lx

XLR8R Podcast

Tracklist & Download

XLR8R Podcast 849: Hugo LX

This month's show also features some horror stories about DJs losing their records.

For more, visit Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=395

@ableton

RA Exchange

EX.395 The Hour: Dance music trolls, Ableton Live 10

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

EX.395 The Hour: Dance music trolls, Ableton Live 10

RA Exchange

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