These are mixes made by the current members of Research & Development, Makeen, Shanti, Zona Cinco, Dan B Hood 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

First Braidio of the year and couldn't be more thrilled to invite Chicago DJ/Producer and Otherworldly Ambiguity cofounder Shanti. Masterfully crafting an hour of eerie, atmospheric techno with an abstract edge that mirrors raw, unfiltered emotions that accompany the human condition.


@shanti-ism @evanti-music

Braid Recordings // 033 - Shanti

Jana has 'shape shifting lizard' JS Alvarez on the show to select some mutant techno and unruly bass music. 
https://www.nts.live/shows/jana-rush/episodes/jana-rush-24th-february-2024

Jana Rush w/ JS Alvarez 240224

Music has always been a means of coping with the otherness and hybridity Shanti experienced throughout her life. While she is a philosopher and writer, Shanti has felt limited by words and has recognized the transcendent ability of music to express abstract concepts, states of consciousness, and conflicting emotions. She explores philosophical themes of existential despair and ambiguity through eerie, atmospheric and bass-heavy techno, angsty industrial/dark wave, squishy acid, and longing lofi-ambient soundscapes. Her sets weave a story of the simultaneous despair and yearning that are intertwined with the human condition while building a necessary tension leading to a cathartic release of emotions. 

Shanti has a monthly show, "Liminal" on Beloved Radio (starting in April). She also plays in the DJ duo, Evanti with Plumb.ee and hosts Otherworldly Ambiguity, an experience centered around the phenomenon of occupying the spaces in between and outside of pre-existing concepts and rigid categories.

Links:
https://soundcloud.com/evanti-music
https://soundcloud.com/shanti-ism
https://ra.co/dj/shanti/biography
https://www.instagram.com/shantiism/
https://www.mixcloud.com/shantiism/

S183 012 - SHANTI

@jsalvarez
@researchndevelopment
Interview: https://www.ayli-sf.com/2024/05/16/ayli-ground-level-019-js-alvarez/

Track-listing: 

Michal Wolski - Qi
Architectural - Rare Ceremony Tapes
Space Drum Meditation - Oviraptor (Marco Shuttle Remix) 
Felix K - Fundamentals (Onar Anxiety Remix)
Uun - Blood Money Redux
Wata Igarashi - Gravity 
DJ Hockey - Whirlpool 
Jeremy Caufield - Station A
Aliasing - Bline
DJ Nobu - pressure point 
Ezy - Too Deep
Marçal- Bionic Jungle 
Gag Reflex - Tomb 
Ungar - Aggressive 
PS11 - Chiron 
Decoder - Visionary
Legless Lizard - Something Better 
Are:gone - Organic Taste 
Aadja - post natal drip

AYLI Ground Level 018: JS Alvarez

Shanti is a Chicago-based DJ and philosopher who curates Otherworldly Ambiguity, an experience that explores the phenomenon of existing in between and outside of pre-existing concepts and rigid categories. She also hosts a monthly show, "Liminal Shanti" on Beloved Radio. 

Guided by the concept of low visibility, Shanti’s mix is a journey into the hidden depths of the human condition through conceptual and cathartic sounds.

Tracklist:
Wandering Mountain – Erika
Freedom and Desire – Toki Fuko
Moonlight – Wata Igarashi
Deep Quarantine – Neel
Snake Eyes – Polygonia
Wastelands – Luigi Tozzi
Karakoram Highway – Kobe Dupree
Manufacture (Original mix) – Adam Pecho
Rrrrgrrgrrr – SHXCXCHCXSH
Saphrone – Torvvo
Mississippi Mud Hound (Original Mix) – Dj Hyperactive and Jason Patrick
Scotoma – A001
Hauntology – Two-sided Agency
Insomnia’s Lover (Unreleased) – Lokua
Return (Original Mix) – Edit Select
Dissolve – Rrose
Luv – Rambadu
Dark City – CT Kidobó
Trauma – Persona non Grata
Drained – Shifted
Modern Cathedrals Part 3 – Altstadt Echo
A Rabbit with a Marbled Black and White Coat - Lemna

Low Visibility – sessions – S01 E05 Shanti

Neptunian Influence, Sixty-Seven | Featuring @jsalvarez

JS Alvarez is a shape shifting lizard that 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. ﻿What started as a monthly event series at Smartbar took on a new path with a biweekly mix series focused on nurturing new sounds, experiences and atmospheres while exploring the music and culture it was born or mutated from. Find him at Podlasie Club or sweaty basements and warehouses in Chicago and beyond.

SUPPORT: @researchndevelopment

| Tracklist | 
Phoenicia - Diagnosa
Forest Drive West - Time
214 - Body Control
Annika Wolfe - The Art of Abduction Dark
Atrice - Multiplex
Del Hale, R. Mohr - Gambit
Keith & Kevin - No Hot Water at St Regis
Future DZ - Sawed Off
Gesloten Cirkel - Everything For The Dev
Only Now, Flore - Cut & Run (Only Now Version)
Pedrolino - I Don’t Believe You (Filmmaker remix)
Marcela Dias Sindaco - Rio Ofegante
Privacy - Sword, NYC
KEEFE - Bad Boi
Identified Patient - Digital Drain
Deandrah - Red Grey
MANASyt - No 13th Floor
Data Assault - Pesadelo Absoluto
Rescript - Regurge
Shcuro - Unbearable Heaviness
Cressida - Al Gore Riddim
Machino - Pusher
Jensen Interceptor - The Fountainebleau
Raavel - Insect Repellent
Nite Fleit & False Persona - Parallax
Cyan 85 - 4 ma C-Borgs
TANS - The Priest’s Morsel (DJ Nephil RMX)
Vorp - I Plead the Filth

Meet you in the Great Dark Spot

NI67 | JS Alvarez

Dan B Hood (He/They/She) is a Chicago based Artist, DJ, and smartbar’s Lighting Designer. Inspired by construction sites, bathhouses and ‘acid heads’, Dan navigates raw textures and atmospheres to create momentary sensory escapes. They have released mixes on Mutant Radio, Bleak Narrative, and previously hosted a show on My House, Your House. As a new resident of Research & Development they are eager to continue community building by making spaces for dancers and artists to experiment and expand our growing network of like-minded folks across the planet.

RND 117 - Dan B Hood

https://soundcloud.com/zona_cinco
Pronouns: she/her
Zona Cinco got her start at Rice University's radio station KTRU which always pushed their DJ's and audience out of their comfort zone. Avoiding repeats was not just encouraged but at times enforced which pushed their DJs to venture out into the other thousands of cd's and records in the studio. This single-handedly changed her life's trajectory and to this day influences her approach to DJing. She started playing house parties and then went on to play proper venues, festivals and even a Boiler Room set. When she visited Chicago in 2016 for the first time and attended Smartbar, her trajectory took yet another change. She knew she had to move to Chicago did so in 2018. 

Since then she's played many of Chicago's favored venues including the now defunct Danny's, Exit, Berlin and others still going strong like Thalia Hall, Podlasie, and Smartbar including a special supporting role opening for the late, legendary Silent Servant. She's DJed and thrown many DIY parties, and recently has become a resident of both Mictlan and Research and Development. 
"I love this city and I feel blessed to feel that love in return."

RND 121 - Zona Cinco

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

Special guest mix from Chicago based dj SHANTI  - cohost of Otherworldly Ambiguity with Scum.ee, member of techno collective Research & Development, and host of “Liminal Radio” on WIIT 88.9 FM. Shanti kindly shared a 3 hour opening set she did for Aurora Halal in Chicago on May 9th 2025 at Smoke & Mirrors - toon in! 🚀🚀🚀
https://soundcloud.com/shantievanti
https://soundcloud.com/researchndevelopment

See video of Shanti’s set at https://youtu.be/QqfMYAyS8bM?si=FPZJDhNdZqlf63YS

BL Radio EP 130: SHANTI [Research & Development]

"The context:
I am alone. I am found. I died alone. I never thought I’d be found. I am overwhelmed by memories of a dystopian existence on a collapsing planet where evil took over and subsumed good. All of the kindness evaporated and was swallowed by greed. Memories of my past life occlude my consciousness causing confusion between modes of time like a mirage. Is it the past, present, or future? I can no longer tell.

A journey through being:
Confronted by the pain of knowing but trying to exist and embrace being in the world. Did I give up too quickly? Did I fail to change reality? What did I sacrifice in order to function and live a worldly existence like everyone around me? Blinded by hedonism, the collapsing of the mind and soul into the throws of desire left me empty. I gave up. I lost myself. I returned to the comfort of despair. It’s throbbing. To live without hope is to live in despair. Was there a reprieve from it all? Distractions, pleasure, and attachments turned into a vicious cycle of yearning and loss. Accepting impermanence with a half-open heart. It never got better. It just got worse. Functioning with an ever-growing sense of doom. And now I’m here. Alone. All I have are my memories. But existing in confusion from when these memories took place. Introspection with escapism outside of time. The vicious interplay between existence and non-existence. I am left with nothing."

Opening for Rrose at Smartbar, Chicago in June utilizing 4 CDJs and a V10 mixer.

@shantievanti
IG: @shantiism
https://ra.co/dj/shanti
https://youtu.be/QqfMYAyS8bM?si=iwapv-7i2LFIPNlG

Shanti has made textured waves in Chicago’s techno scene with her curation of dark, sinister, and ethereal soundscapes. Music has always been a means of coping with the otherness and hybridity Shanti experienced throughout her life. She has been deeply moved by the transcendent ability of music to express concepts, states of consciousness, and conflicting emotions. Shanti’s sets weave a story of the simultaneous despair and yearning that are intertwined with the human condition and illustrate an intentional trajectory through combining and cultivating surreal, atmospheric, and haunting sounds.

Enamored by the liminal dynamics of sound, she cohosts Otherworldly Ambiguity with Scum.ee –an experience that is centered around the phenomenon of existing in between and outside of pre-existing concepts and rigid categories. She is also a member of techno collective Research & Development and hosts a monthly radio show, “Liminal Radio” on WIIT 88.9 FM featuring thoughtful artists at the core of Chicago’s underground music scene. Shanti has had the privilege of warming up and closing out dancefloors for incredibly inspirational artists such as Rrose, DJ Nobu, Ø [Phase], Aurora Halal, Mozhgan, Lady Starlight, Black Light Smoke, Esther Dune, Zenker Brothers, Noncompliant, Xtin, and more. She has had the immense pleasure of conjuring spirits at Chicago’s most beloved clubs such as Smartbar, Smoke & Mirrors, Podlasie Club, and several underground gatherings.

Experiencing music outside of the confines of a club or the underground is extremely important to Shanti as she had initially discovered her favorite artists through online podcasts and radio. The universalizability of podcasts and radio enable music to be experienced by more humans situated in different contexts. This is why she has contributed to many notable online mix series and radio channels. Her mixes have been featured on The Black Lodge Radio, SutroFM, Mutant Radio, PPRZ, Death Decay & Magic, Braid Records, Low Visibility, Dance All Day, and m50’s etc radio among other podcasts and shows. This past year, Shanti has expanded her surreal storytelling beyond Chicago by playing in Amsterdam, LA, Detroit and notable Midwest festivals such as Minnesota’s The Great Beyond and Madison’s Musique Électronique. This Halloween, she will be playing at Chicago’s notoriously dark music festival, Sanctum.

Distant Signals 084: Shanti

Dirty Epic welcomes aboard @shantievanti for the 127th installment of Amplify Series.

Shanti has made textured waves in Chicago’s techno scene with her curation of dark, sinister, and ethereal soundscapes. Music has always been a means of coping with the otherness and hybridity Shanti experienced throughout her life. She has been deeply moved by the transcendent ability of music to express concepts, states of consciousness, and conflicting emotions. Shanti’s sets weave a story of the simultaneous despair and yearning that are intertwined with the human condition and illustrate an intentional trajectory through combining and cultivating surreal, atmospheric, and haunting sounds.
 
Enamored by the liminal dynamics of sound, she cohosts Otherworldly Ambiguity with Scum.ee –an experience that is centered around the phenomenon of existing in between and outside of pre-existing concepts and rigid categories. She is also a member of techno collective Research & Development and hosts a monthly radio show, “Liminal Radio” on WIIT 88.9 FM featuring thoughtful artists at the core of Chicago’s underground music scene.
 
Experiencing music outside of the confines of a club or the underground is extremely important to Shanti as she had initially discovered her favorite artists through online podcasts and radio. The universalizability of podcasts and radio enable music to be experienced by more humans situated in different contexts. This is why she has contributed to many notable online mix series and radio channels. Her mixes have been featured on The Black Lodge Radio, SutroFM, Mutant Radio, PPRZ, Distant Signals, Death Decay & Magic, Braid Records, Low Visibility, Dance All Day, and m50’s etc radio among other podcasts and shows.

"For this closing set, I wanted to cultivate an atmosphere of releasing the turbulent emotions we have been experiencing in Chicago as a community. I anticipated the desire for this release but experiencing it in the subterranean context of Smartbar - in the darkness - in real time- felt so powerful and transcendent. This experience was not merely an escape, but a channeling of the heaviness within us - how do the mind and body cope and grasp what is happening? I was fueled by the defiantly heavy energy from the dancers and it was such a testament to the healing power of music during these dark times."

LINKS:

SHANTI:
Soundcloud: @shantievanti
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shantiism/
RA: https://ra.co/dj/shanti

DIRTY EPIC:
Website: www.dirty-epic.com
Merch: shopby6am.com/collections/dirty-epic-collection
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DirtyepicLA
Twitter: twitter.com/dirtyepicla
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dirtyepicla/

Amplify Series 127 - Shanti (live Smartbar, Chicago 10/25)

🌐 Refuge Worldwide is a radio station and community space based in Berlin-Neukölln.
➡️ More info, more music: www.refugeworldwide.com

Help us stay on air by donating to our fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-refuge-worldwide-community-radio

TWIRL! - Dan B. Hood - 01 Dec 2025

Rumors Mix Series 022: MAKEEN

Beyond Repair returns this month with guest Dan Hood. Based in Chicago, Dan has self-released a few EPs this year that are available on his bandcamp and has dived into the terrible world of DJing with the rest of us. This mix showcases some recent purchases made at Gramaphone in Chicago.

Grey People takes over the first 1.5 hours with the usual shit - acid, jack, old crackly house records, forgotten b-sides, and some recent music as well.

Beyond Repair w.Grey People Guest Dan Hood

https://soundcloud.com/makeensound
Introducing, the newest member of the Research & Development team, Chicago-based producer, composer, and DJ, Eric Fernandez. Fernandez is known for performing under the moniker of Makeen. His live sets are centered around improvisation and spontaneity. Makeen’s sensibilities are the result of years performing solo and in collaboration with fellow Chicago artists. These previous experiences have allowed him to carry a heavy, dance floor focused raw energy into both his DJ sets and hybrid performances. 

In 2019, alongside well known mutant electronics manipulator, Beau Wanzer, he co-founded and helped curate the monthly techno party, Near Dark, at the legendary yet sadly defunct Danny’s Tavern. This year, he looks forward to a handful of new releases and is excited to join JS Alvarez in the lab for Research and Development.

RND 022 - Makeen

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

Mixes by R&D members

Research & Development Mix Series