The weekly RA Podcast features an exclusive mix of electronic music from top producers and DJs around the world.

RA Podcast Archive: 001-500

RA Podcast

RA Podcast Archive: 500-750

Imagine growing up near Berlin, getting into dance music, going to Berghain for the first time and getting your mind blown by techno. Then, ten years later, you become a resident DJ at the fabled club. Not many people—any people?—can claim this story, but for Fadi Mohem, what would be so many DJs' dreams became a reality. After getting his 2017 debut 12-inch Reckless in the hands of all the right people in Berlin, Mohem established a bold, bouncy techno sound with releases on Modeselektor's Seilscheibenpfeiler, Ben Klock's Klockworks and FJAAK's SPANDAU20, pretty much the cream of the crop of modern techno.

Now, this year, he's becoming one of Berghain's newest residents, alongside other exciting names like Sedef Adasï and Naty Seres (and Lakuti upstairs at Panorama Bar). As heard on his recent collaborative with Ben Klock, Mohem has modern techno down to a science, thanks to a combination of reverence for the old-school and clever rhythmic touches, like the irresistible snare pattern on "Prefix." His RA Podcast sounds like what you might expect from a new generation of Berghain resident: aerodynamic, heavy and, honestly a little midtempo compared to a lot of other young techno DJs. It's the sound the club has made world-famous, with cuts from Reeko, Heiko Laux and Truncate, plus some special moments from aya, DJ Deeon and Petar Dundov. It takes a certain kind of DJ to get to this hallowed place, and Fadi Mohem deserves it.

@fadimohem

Read more: https://ra.co/podcast/842

RA podcast

RA.842 Fadi Mohem

Hailing from Melbourne but making waves on the global techno scene, STÜM is proving himself as a name to keep an eye on. Here's what went down when he closed Strawberry Fields' Wildlands stage back in November 2023.

@stumstum

RA Live - STÜM - Strawberry Fields, Australia

Of all the Berlin DJs who make a living spinning strange, I'm-not-sharing-the-tracklist kind of records, Sugar Free, originally hailing from Madrid, might be the most fun. She plays bold, colourful tracks with an air of sci-fi and sleaze, somewhere between Italo, hi-NRG, electro and house. (Her Dimensions Mix last year was one of our favourites of 2023.) She's the kind of DJ who messes with your perception of genres and tempos by how she blends tracks together, and also a DJ with a rare grasp of mixing melodies and moods—just check out the first transition of this RA Podcast for a spine-tingling example.

Sugar Free doesn't speak much publicly, and you won't find a lot about her on the internet. She prefers to let her DJing speak for itself. And her RA Podcast says a lot: proggy basslines, heart-in-mouth descents into reverb-heavy breakdowns, eerie vocals and a general feel of psychedelia and '80s decadence. It's difficult to tell what era these records are from, which is part of the charm. For a bonus point, try and pick out two just-completed Sugar Free originals, some of her first productions ever after her debut track came out on Limousine Dream in 2022.

@freesugarfree

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/927

RA.927 Sugar Free

Berlin label and collective Live From Earth crew does things its own way. And it works. Over the past ten years, the team has become a major force in the city, mixing a killer ear for techno and house with a sense of humour and pop sensibility that has proven irresistible to audiences and scenes around the world. That's why we chose Live From Earth for our latest cover story: its DIY attitude, humble origins and tenacious spirit are everything we love about underground dance music.

Accompanying the cover story, this RA Podcast features a recording of a live back-to-back between two of the label's chief artists, DJ Gigola and MCR-T (the latter of whom has produced some of Live From Earth's biggest hits, including horsegiirL's "My Barn My Rules"). The hour-plus recording makes for a handy microcosm of the label's sound, rushing through contemporary and vintage techno with plenty of raunchy vocal samples and hip-hop a capellas. It's blazing but never too hard, catchy but never predictable. Above all, it's fun—the group's guiding principle.

@mcr-t @djgigola @livefromearth

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/928

RA.928 MCR-T & DJ Gigola

Narciss stepped up to open the Pitch Black stage on the second day of Pitch Music & Arts 2024. Listening back, you'd never guess it was only 7 PM.

@itsnarciss
@pitchfestival

RA Live - Narciss - Pitch Music & Arts 2024, Australia

RA Live - Clara Cuvé - Pitch Music & Arts 2024, Australia

Unfortunately a corrupt file means we're only able to share half of Parisian artist Mac Declos' set on RA's stage at Pitch Music & Arts 2024. Fortunately, this half is enough to deliver the goods.

RA Live - Mac Declos - Pitch Music & Arts 2024, Australia

By anyone's standards, KI/KI has had a meteoric rise. She started DJing at queer party SPIELRAUM in Amsterdam in 2018, and by now she's one of Europe's most-talked about DJs. She blends modern strands of techno with trance and acid in a way that feels all her own, veering away from the sugar highs of other DJs or the clobbering kick drums of so much fast dance music. Her style is aerodynamic and sleek, not bludgeoning.

In addition to her DJ career, KI/KI runs the label slash, which has put out music from the likes of Alpha Tracks, Peachlyfe and Newa, artists who share her canny blend of trance and techno aesthetics and sneaky pop sensibilities. Acid is another big love, as shown by her 5HRS OF ACID concept. The decades-old sound has become a key part of her style and appeal, as you'll hear on her RA Podcast. It's a barreling 90 minutes through techno and trance with trap and dubstep accents, breathless but perfectly paced.

@ki_slash_ki

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/933

RA.933 KI/KI

Pure energy from one of electronic music's brightest lights: Sofia Kourtesis. Clamour had built around the Peruvian artist's poignant brand of house music following a string of EPs and 12"s, culminating in last year's Madres—a passionate, vulnerable and excellent album that resonated widely.

Madres packed in rare specificity for a dancefloor record, combining paeans to the power of sound with direct tributes to the neurosurgeon who saved the life of Kourtesis' mother. (Kourtesis even took him clubbing in Berlin as an additional thank you.) The album's earworm melodies and approachable aura helped launch Kourtesis from bubbling to breakthrough on the global stage. In both sound and impact, it mirrors another record: Swim, the 2010 classic made by Kourtesis' friend and mentor, Dan Snaith.

Speaking of @caribouband: RA.943 kicks off with a brand new Sofia Kourtesis & Daphni collaboration, before powering through summer-ready cuts from LUXE, Floating Points, IceMorph, DJ ADHD and an old Oliver Lieb classic. Even as her reputation as a recording artist swells, this power-hour mix is a sharp reminder of Kourtesis' DJing chops, teeing up a victory-lap summer ahead.

@sofia-kourtesis

Read more at ra.co/podcast/943

RA.943 Sofia Kourtesis

What does great techno sound like in 2024? Enter LYDO. This week's RA Podcast captures @lydole in full flow, combining the old-school vernacular of European and North American techno—reduced rhythms, hi-hats and punchy 909s—with tracks from the new guard (Sev Dah, GiGi FM, D.Dan) sprinkled throughout.

After moving to New York in 2015, the Vietnamese-American sound artist and X-XTRA.SERVICES founder became one of BASEMENT's first residents; the scene built around the revered Queens club has helped nurture their adventurous sound. Lately they've been making waves beyond North America, playing with the MARICAS crew in Barcelona and locking down slots at De School, Bassiani and Draaimolen.

RA.947 is the sound of artful hypnosis: it's techno with elegance, depth and just the right amount of thump. Rig this up on a proper system, turn off the lights and any worries—about the genre's direction of travel, or otherwise—might melt away. 

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/947

RA.947 LYDO

"The first time I heard a Moog, it blew my mind." The esteemed neoclassical composer talks about his long standing love of synthesisers and his forthcoming album, In A Landscape.

German-born British composer Max Richter has led the vanguard for post-minimalist classical music. His work has soundtracked major film and TV, ballets, runway shows and exhibitions globally. He also gained recognition for Sleep—an eight-and-a-half-hour-long concept album written around the neuroscience of the sleeping brain—which he's performed regularly to crowds of sleeping people, including at Berlin venue Kraftwerk.

While Richter has garnered widespread acclaim for his classical compositions, his original source of inspiration was electronic music. In this Exchange, recorded at his home and studio in Oxford, England, he recalled discovering Kraftwerk while watching a travel show as a teenager. He quickly began designing and building his own synthesisers after that, enamoured by the sound of the filter on the Moog, which remains one of his favourite instruments and go-to tools. 

Richter, who went through rigorous classical training, rejected the genre's orthodoxy, inaccessibility and view of the "composer as master." His work challenges the conventions around this school of music, appealing to a broader audience through his deconstructed compositional style, which he continues to explore in his forthcoming album, In A Landscape, out on September 6th. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.724 Max Richter

Speedy percussion meets screwface basslines: the Parisian club maestros are in session. 

Trying to find one word to describe the music of Amor Satyr and Siu Mata could run you into difficulty. But if we were to try, we'd reach for amphibian: slippery, nimble and evading borders with ease.

With solo and shared releases on labels like SSPB, HARDLINE, TraTraTrax and their own WAJANG, they have evident kinship with what moves contemporary dance floors. The pair are also linked to the rise of an alchemical style they like to call "speed dembow"—taking the looping rhythm of dembow before pitching it up to modern club tempos and adding muscle.

Combining tribal techno, baile funk, dubstep, jungle, dancehall and beyond, their RA Podcast makes for one hell of a ride, with over two hours of romping percussion, lysergic effects, high drama and plenty of wobble.

@amorsatyr @siumata

Read more at ra.co/podcast/948

RA.948 Amor Satyr & Siu Mata

"If someone from Detroit wins, it's another win for Detroit." The duo discuss their longtime roots in the Motor City and how their work has evolved after more than 30 years in the game.

To commemorate August 8th, we're featuring an interview with the Detroit duo AUX88. Tommy Hamilton—AKA TOMTOM—and William “BJ” Smith—AKA POSATRONIX—are pioneers celebrating 35 years in the music industry, known for their work combining elements of ghetto tech, Kraftwerk-indebted techno and Miami bass. Their sound has remained consistent throughout the decades, and their influence on club music extends far and deep.

In this Exchange, RA editor Nyshka Chandran interviews the duo live from Detroit earlier this year, where they discuss their trajectory in the scene. They started out playing at local businesses, they recall—flower shops, coffee shops, cabarets and strip clubs—sometimes to no more than three people. They also unpack their creative setup and why their music has and always will be indebted to futurism and sci-fi. The duo turn their attention to the present. AUX 88 just released an EP called ALPHA WAVES and are starting a new label that will help champion local artists. In their words: "If someone from Detroit wins, it's another win for Detroit." Listen to the episode in full.

EX.725 AUX88

A roaring hour from one of the most vital talents in Naarm: First Nations producer Paul Gorrie, AKA DJ PGZ.

The Gunai/Kurnai and Yorta Yorta artist is a fixture of forward-thinking dance music in Australia, with releases on labels like Butter Sessions, Pure Space and !K7, as well as numerous club and festival gigs on the circuit. An international breakout moment for the Naarm (Melbourne)-based talent feels inevitable.

There's much to be said about the lack of visibility and support for Indigenous artists within the global electronic ecosystem, but at the root of all PGZ's disparate interests are community building and the advancement of marginalised peoples.

To that end, DJ PGZ's RA Podcast is notably laced with multiple cuts from Nene H's Gaza fundraising compilation. It's distinctly fresh—the oldest track you'll find is from 2022—as he gallops through Kalahari-style wigged-out prog and techno, through to harder drum syncopations. Consider this a firm tip from us: PGZ is the truth.

@dj-pgz

Read more at ra.co/podcast/949

RA.949 DJ PGZ

"Dancing has always been visceral to me." The DJ and producer talks about bringing movement into her music practice and the role mythology and meditation plays in art and life.

The Italian-French DJ, producer and dancer Giulia Fournier-Mercadante—AKA GiGi FM—has had a varied, multidisciplinary career. Originally a dancer, Fournier-Mercadante received a scholarship for the New York City Ballet and the contemporary dance outfit Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as a teenager. Finding the dancing world difficult to navigate, especially in its approach to body image, she graduated and moved to London to focus on music. It was there that she discovered techno and its capacity to heal. She started hosting a regular show on NTS, getting booked locally and then touring around the world.

Today, Fournier-Mercadante has integrated dance into her productions, which use motion sensors to transform physical movement into MIDI. Her use of her body as her basic instrument has led to a unique, kinetic sound palette that defines all of her tracks. In this Exchange, she unpacks how she's worked with this technique and rediscovered her love of dancing, as well as how spirituality, dream states and astrology inform her life and work. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.726 GiGi FM

A glorious ode to sound system culture. For her RA Podcast, Brooklyn-based DJ Ayanna Heaven celebrates vibrations echoing down the ages, connecting seven decades of trailblazers and trendsetters. It's a soundtrack we've timed with an eye to that golden late summer run of Notting Hill Carnival, Brooklyn's West Indian Day Parade and several crucial dates in the Jamaican calendar. 

Since 2020, the Brooklyn-based DJ, ethnomusicologist, dancehall advocate and promoter has held down two shows on the city's most popular stations: the monthly "Sounds of Heaven" on The Lot and biweekly "Across 110th Street" on WKCR. That's roughly 72 hours of radio every year. Light work for Heaven, though, whose sound traverses the limitlessly fertile ground of reggae, dancehall, funk, soul and beyond.

From Sly & Robbie, Aswad and Vybz Kartel through contemporary heaters and reskins of platinum-plated standards like "No Games" and "Sun Is Shining," RA.950 is a story of a thriving culture, grounded in the past yet with intentions set firmly on the future.

@ayanna-heaven

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/950

RA Podcast 

RA.950 Ayanna Heaven

"The honesty of my music and poetry comes from church." The South London artist discusses his turn away from religion and his love of sound systems as the city celebrates 56 years of Notting Hill Carnival.

The annual Caribbean street parade Notting Hill Carnival has taken place in London since 1966 to celebrate the influx of immigrants brought to the UK during Windrush. Carnival is a celebration of the rich and multifaceted artistic heritage that came with them, especially in the form of Afro-Caribbean music, dance and sound system culture.

The South London-born poet, producer and NTS Radio host James Massiah is one of a generation of musicians who has been influenced by the city's Afro-Caribbean cultural legacy. In this interview, he talks to Errol Anderson of the South London-based curatorial platform Touching Bass about his connection to London's sound systems and his own artistic evolution. His output centres around hedonism and what he calls "joyful living"—a reaction to the church community he grew up in. Many of the lyrics on his most recent EPs, like True Romance, paint a picture of drugs, partying, sex, addiction and heartbreak (he's even gone on to name his recurring poetry night Adult Entertainment). Music, he reflects, has provided a powerful and cathartic means to express himself and open up.

In his youth, Massiah wasn't just shaped by his church, he says, but by the Afro-Caribbean genres circulating through his neighborhood: '80s funk, raga, garage, grime and a form of Jamaican dancehall called Yardie. Later, as he was exposed to popular rock and house music, he took the sensibilities he heard in pop acts like Fleetwood Mac and applied them to a Caribbean musical framework. His sound palette is an uncanny amalgamation of Stevie Nicks' ethereal voice with the stylings of soca—a sub-genre that fuses calypso, reggae and Caribbean zouk. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.727 James Massiah

Ask Berlin's network of revered deep diggers who their favourite "DJ's DJ" is, and there's a strong chance you'll hear one name immediately pop up: KRN.

Phil Kearney, AKA KRN, is one of those rare types who has built a reputation away from the limelight. Formerly a resident at The Ghost's Hoppetosse party as well as a Get Perlonized devotee (plus, full disclosure, reviewing events and working at RA in the mid-2010s), he's well-versed in both wiggle and waft. The hubbub around KRN can be put down to the fastidiousness of his approach: he unearths rare gems from the roots of the underground, before mixing it up with a deft hand.

Kearney's RA Podcast, sweetly subtitled "Dadhouse," is an ode to his partner and newborn, as well as a window into his personal palette. He starts in serene IDM territory, before shifting into playful grooves and tactile house oddities. Good lucking ID'ing many of the tunes—we asked for a tracklist but, deep down, already knew the answer. We know this, too: one listen and you'll be hooked.

@k_rn @theghost

Read more at ra.co/podcast/951

RA.951 KRN

90 mins of Two Shell, live from Horst.

We've been angling for an RA Podcast from Two Shell ever since they shifted from lowkey producers into hijinx hackers rummaging around the dance music mainframe.

Now that we've bagged a mix from clubland's premier iconoclasts, it still poses more questions than it answers: Was this pre-recorded? What's the deal with that AI voice guiding the set along? How can we be sure it was even them? Hang on: is "even them" even them?

What we can tell you is that the duo floored RA's stage at Horst Arts & Music 2024. Few genres were left untarnished as they veered off-piste on a thrill seeking mission toward breaking the 170+ BPM speed barrier. No tracklist, so ID crew over to you (Alex Gaudino makes an appearance, you can have that one as a freebie.) True to form, Two Shell always do it their own way.

@twoshell @horstartsandmusicfestival

Read more at ra.co/podcast/952

RA.952 ▶︎ •၊၊_၊_။_ TWO SHELL HORST 24 ၊၊_၊_။_။•◀

"I'm a noodler." The vaunted experimental producer and DJ discusses his playful approach to engaging with philosophy and making art live at Atonal's OPENLESS in Berlin. 

British artist Lee Gamble has long been captivating listeners with high concept dance music. A loyal affiliate of Kode9's Hyperdub label, Gamble—whose work sits somewhere at the intersection of philosophy, computer music and sound art—has been building weird and wonderful musical worlds that have shot him to experimental stardom since the early 2010s. In this RA Exchange recorded live from Hard Wax at the one-off event Atonal OPENLESS, Gamble meditates on his penchant for eschewing conventions, beginning with growing up in the countercultural, working class hub of Birmingham.

Gamble reflects on the first time he experienced what's called "future shock," a reference to a book by the same name written by sci-fi author Alvin Toffler. This set him on the pursuit of finding and making music that had a similarly bizarre quality. Gamble isn't just a producer but an avid admirer and connoisseur of critical theory, and he also discusses the thinkers who have informed his production (and even his approach to DJing), as well as his recent interest in the ethics and applications of AI and deep fakes, which he explores in a touching full-length, Models. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.729 Lee Gamble

In time for 9/9, here's… 999999999.

The Italian duo's reputation as a rave demolition crew has made them one of the most in-demand acts on the global circuit. Too nosebleed for 'business', and too close to Defqon.1-level hardstyle to be hard techno in the classic sense, 999999999's headline sets practically require a new category to convey the sense of scale: let's call it megatechno. 

Following a string of unsubtle yet undeniably impactful hit records in the late 2010s, Carlo B. & Giovanni C. became fast favourites of a generation who prefer their 303 cranked to 11. Their rampant velocity arrived at the right moment, proving parallel compatibility with acid lifers and younger audiences making the leap from EDM to hard dance. Flash forward to 2024 and they're flanked by flamethrowers while mashing down colossal crowds at festivals like Awakenings. 

Here, they purposefully strip it back and emphasise the core elements of the 9x9 formula—high drama, jackhammering kicks and the kind of tweaked-out acid air sirens that would make the likes of Hardfloor and Miss Djax scrunch their noses in approval. In other words, non-stop wrecking balls trained squarely at the foundations of a hangar near you.

@999999999music

Read more at ra.co/podcast/953

RA.953 999999999

"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

Three sizzling hours from the mind behind one of the world's best labels, Kalahari Oyster Cult.

What you'll hear on this week's RA Podcast is the closing slot of 2024's Organik Festival—already a coveted moment. But as the sun dipped on Taiwan's north coast, something else was going on: Rey Colino was laying down quite possibly the set of his life.

We're big fans of Colino, AKA Colin Volvert, here at RA. Few do it better when it comes to the type of pacy, lysergic thumpers that have become synonymous with both Kalahari and the distro One Eye Witness. A quick glance over the Belgian label's impressive alumni confirms how deeply his work flows through contemporary clubs.

On RA.954, Volvert's sharp ear and swaggering DJ style are on full display. He locks in with many shades of his record bag, alongside a grip of new and forthcoming KOC cuts—some so fresh, the ink on the deal is barely even dry. We could go into the particulars, but it's best to just get stuck in: this one's a deep, deliriously effective trip.

@reycolino @kalaharioystercult @oneyewitness @smokemachinetaipei

Read more at ra.co/podcast/954

RA.954 Rey Colino

Living, breathing, banging techno from an artist defining the highly-textured new frontier of the sound in 2024.

Lindsey Wang, AKA Polygonia, has an amorphous style you could call organic—or, better yet, harmonious. She interweaves unfamiliar elements with a mercurial touch. Wang can make something completely otherworldly sound totally, well, natural. It's made her a fixture everywhere from Munich's BLITZ to major festivals like Sustain-Release and Draaimolen.

Unsurprisingly, Wang is not one to be pinned down. Be it the sound design-anchored side project Lyder, her own label QEONE, or co-producing an album's worth of experimental percussion alongside jazz drummer Simon Popp, it's fair to say her personal output matches the feverish energy of her mixes. There's multidisciplinary, and then there's Wang: Poly-disciplinary, you might say.

Wang's entry into the RA Podcast series is no different, another stellar emphasis of her artistry. RA.955 is a voyage into wild variations of texture, rhythm and feeling, guided along by the principle of endless metamorphosis. Supple driving grooves meet crinkled surfaces, scuttling hi-hats meet chattering sonics, and good luck keeping hold of a consistent drum pattern for long. Behold a living organism raised by the club and the great outdoors in equal measure.

@polygonia

Read more at ra.co/podcast/955

RA.955 Polygonia

Maximalist house from the sibling duo at the forefront of Berlin's new wave. 

Berlin is built on dance music. But of the many DJs who live, work and play there, few represent the evolution in the city's club culture like Tania and Dominik Humeres-Correa, AKA S-candalo. If the city was once governed by the tyranny of minimal, the post-pandemic era has cemented its reputation as the spot for "more-is-more" club soundtracks. It's still house and techno, but the chords are big, the drums are big and the basslines are even bigger. 

Nowadays, S-candalo are firm favourites at hotspots across the German capital, from Panorama Bar to Multisex and Radiant Love (not forgetting La Noche, their own burgeoning party). The duo find rich inspiration in '90s-era Latin house, a sound that takes New York house and incorporates rolling percussion from Latin genres such as samba, popularised on labels like Cutting Records and Strictly Rhythm (there's not one but two records from the latter in this mix). 

RA.956 fittingly lands at the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month in the US (more on that to come) and it's a resolutely fun affair. The duo's RA Podcast has got drive, sultry vocals and enough bounce to make you want to keep dancing way beyond the 90-minutes, marrying percussion-heavy house and ballroom with trance-inflected Eurodance from the '90s and early 2000s. (Oh, and a Shakira moment.) 

Genres aside, the duo's musical raison d'etre is pleasure. Perhaps the real scandal here is how it took us so long to get them on the series.

@s-candalo @thc_dj @dhc_bln

Read more at ra.co/podcast/956

RA.956 S-candalo

"Our collaboration is greater than the sum of its parts." Kai Campos and Dominic Maker discuss their new album on Warp and what it felt like to work together again after years apart.

British outfit Mount Kimbie first made their mark with their 2010 release Crooks and Lovers, inspired by contemporaries like James Blake and King Krule. The group's two primary members, Kai Campos and Dominic Maker, met at London South Bank University, where they simultaneously became enamoured with the '00s dubstep scene and the intersection it paved between commercial stardom and the underground, illuminating an alternative path for artists, producers and selectors on a global scale. Together, they became synonymous with hazy electronics and lo-fi indie pop throughout the mid-'10s.

Over the last few years, Maker and Campos have pursued different paths: Maker moved to Los Angeles, where he's produced for hip-hop giants like Travis Scott and Jay-Z, while Campos explored the world of DJing and electronic music, releasing a number of mixes geared towards the club. But they reunited for the first time in years on their newest album, The Sunset Violent, which came out on Warp Records in April. In this RA Exchange, the duo talk about the recording process and what it felt like to work together again after spending so much time on independent projects. They also unpack the power of making art for art's sake and how their respective experiences in art and in life have taught them to be better creative partners. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.733 Mount Kimbie

The singular Príncipe artist showcases her shapeshifting sound. 

Before she was simply Nídia, Nídia Borges was Nídia Minaj. Modelled after a musical idol of hers, Nicki Minaj, in 2017, she shed the borrowed surname. As she later said in an interview with The New York Times, "Today I have my own identity. I'm not going to imitate something that someone has done already."

And Nídia couldn't be further from an imitator. As one of Príncipe's two non-male members, her body of work stands apart even within Príncipe's unique sonic universe. She traverses a broader emotional territory and extends to collaborations with Fever Ray, Kelela and Yaeji.

Her RA Podcast is a restless affair–60 minutes of pushing, pulling, tiptoeing and gliding through the sounds of the Príncipe universe. True to the label's communitarian foundations, the mix contains predominantly original and unreleased material from her colleagues. 

In 2014, DJ Lilocox told RA: "Whatever your age, skin colour, sexual orientation, money in the wallet, clothes on: Noite Príncipe is for all who come to dance... forgetting the outside world." A decade on, RA.957 echoes this sentiment, a celebration of Príncipe's enduring magic: delirious, transcendent dancing for all.

@nidiasukulbembe

Read more at ra.co/podcast/957

RA.957 Nídia

The smartbar affiliate talks to the Fool's Gold Records founder about climbing the ranks, DJ discourse and how to exist in commercial and underground scenes simultaneously.

This week's RA Exchange takes us to Chicago, where 
two big names—The Blessed Madonna and A-Trak—have a chat ahead of their back-to-back set at underground institution smartbar last month. These are two DJs who have been around the block. The Blessed Madonna (FKA The Black Madonna) is originally from Kentucky, but made her name in Chicago. She started out as an intern at smartbar and working at the local label Dust Trax, later becoming lead A&R and an established DJ in her own right. 

A-Trak is a Canadian artist who cut his teeth as head honcho of Fool's Gold Records. He's known for having developed the careers of artists like Kid Cudi and Danny Brown, and he also formed Duck Sauce with Armand Van Helden, a project synonymous with the bloghouse era. 

The two have a long history with Chicago, and they engage in a discussion about how they think the city looks from the outside. As one of the most segregated cities in the US, they say, what the rest of the world sees as one cohesive and unified hub for house music is instead divided by genre and area code. They also debate the complexities of existing in commercial and underground music worlds simultaneously, our collective over-fetishisation of the past, the stupidity of DJ discourse and Europe's tendency to impose its view of America—and American dance music—on the Midwest. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.734 A-Trak & The Blessed Madonna

A journey through 35 years of house from the godfather of UK rave. 

In popular mythology, the '90s are without question, the halcyon days of dance music—an era of free raves and unadulterated hedonism. It's a myth that Matthew Nelson, AKA Slipmatt, knows better than most–he was there. 

During the late '80s, as the rave scene in the UK began to boom, Nelson began moonlighting as a DJ. He would land his first residency at Raindance, the East London rave that launched in September 1989 and would become the UK's first legal rave. By 1991 , he'd reach number two in the UK charts with "On A Ragga Tip" as one-half of SL2 and two years later, sell over 10,000 copies of the first pressing of SMD#1.

Nelson has got a lot to share (as you'll see in his interview) so we'll let him do the talking. He's been variously called the godfather of rave and happy hardcore, but what you'll hear on RA.958 is as "a journey through my 35 years of house." A DJ with this much pedigree brings much more than that, of course: touching on the breakbeat, jungle and acid house that soundtracked that golden age, as well as nods to the rich cross-pollination with scenes beyond the UK, from Joey Beltram's "Energy Flash" to Stardust's "Music Sounds Better With You."  

@slipmatt-1

Read more at ra.co/podcast/958

RA.958 Slipmatt

Effervescent club cuts from one of Southeast Asia's rising DJ stars.

In Indonesia, the term santai (relaxed) is more than just an adjective—it's a lifestyle, one endearingly embodied by DITA. The New Delhi-born, Bali-rooted DJ's breezy attitude to life is reflected in dreamy, blissful euphoria.

DITA's RA Podcast is a window into both her disposition and sound, blending wiggly breakbeat into tweaking acid, Detroit house into Spanish electro, Balearic to '90s house and some grittier club fare, too. Her sets are rooted in a feel-good philosophy that allows her to freely play with energy and mood.

Don't just take our word for it: DJ Harvey hand-picked DITA to be a resident at his new club Klymax, nestled within the world-renowned Potato Head Bali, where DITA is also Head of Music. With gigs at everywhere from Panorama Bar (the first Indonesian woman to play) to Rainbow Disco Club and Dekmantel under her belt, the world is now taking notice of DITA's killer groove. A breakout 2025 surely beckons.

@dita-putri-widyanti @headstream

Read more at ra.co/podcast/959

RA.959 DITA

"There are so many different takes on reggaeton." The Latine supergroup discusses dembow, Afro-Caribbean music and more in this Playing Favourites live from C2C Festival.

This week's RA Exchange revisits one of Resident Advisor's flagship live formats, Playing Favourites, where we bring guests onto the pod to walk through their musical influences and play us some tracks that have been formative in their personal and creative development.

This week, we're honouring El Dia de la Raza—which happened on October 12th—an occasion that remembers the colonisation of Latin America and pays tribute to its heritage and cultural diversity. Our guest is Sangre Nueva, a trio made up of the artists DJ Python, Florentino and Kelman Duran. They all come from different backgrounds: Kelman is a Dominican multidisciplinary artist, Florentino is a musician of Colombian heritage signed to XL Recordings and DJ Python is Ecuadorian-Argentinian, releasing prolifically under a number of aliases in the worlds of ambient and club-adjacent music.

Together, their style explores pan-Caribbean musical styles, especially dembow, which is experiencing a parallel renaissance in the underground and commercial dance music spheres. In this conversation, they talk to journalist Christine Kakaire from last year's C2C Festival about what it means to approach Latin music from an experimental perspective to bring an amalgamation of Caribbean and Spanish-speaking musical cultures into their work. They also reflect on the stigma that was attached to reggaeton for a long time and the songs that represent its reclamation in the world of contemporary club music culture. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.735 Sangre Nueva

"A system that's equal doesn't benefit the people that have the power." The Rhythm Section International founder talks about creating opportunities for Black artists and entrepreneurs, Caribbean conviviality and his abiding love for Peckham.

Bradley Zero, the DJ and founder of the label Rhythm Section International, is known for his commitment to his community. Zero grew up in a rich Caribbean culture in Leeds, where he and his family gathered in friends' living rooms to listen to music and eat home-cooked food. In opening Jumbi—the bar and listening space in London's Southeast neighborhood, Peckham—Zero has attempted to recreate this lively Caribbean conviviality. The venue is filled with his own personal record collection and one turntable. His style (as reflected in his imprint) celebrates house, soul, disco, funk and various shades of music from the afro-Caribbean diaspora.

In this RA Exchange, he talks about how the neighborhood has changed in the time he's been based there, how and when his career exploded from local pool hall gigs to an active global touring schedule and why he decided to study for an MBA. October is British Black History Month in the UK, and in this interview, Zero also discusses ways that he hopes to empower the Black British community to start their own businesses and assert power from the top echelons of the music industry. Rhythm Section International has started a touring series of free masterclasses called Future Proof, in which Zero and his team invite guests to teach hard skills on business and label management, how to cultivate a brand and much more. Listen to the episode in full.

EX.736 - Bradley Zero

A new record for the longest RA Podcast ever: Ten hours from the powerhouse duo sweeping techno, Chlär and Alarico.

Both commanding performers in their own right, sparks fly when the Swiss-Italian duo of Funk Assault combine. The buzz surrounding their productions, DJing and their label Primal Instinct is at fever pitch, and short wonder: when it comes to gritty, high-impact sets that barrel through multiple shades of techno, few are in their league right now.

RA.960 was laid down at Watergate this March during a signature Funk Assault marathon. The pair ramp up incrementally, and even before they hit top velocity, you can hear them ripping through records with tenacity and verve. You don't need elbows in your face to tell the place is rocking.

We're informed that ID'ing the set would probably take longer than playing it (fair enough), so no tracklist for this one. Instead, fill in the blanks at your leisure. As well as 150+ BPM stompers and groove wormholes, there's everything from tribal to ballroom, electro to bassbin rattlers, and plenty of classics. 

As an encapsulation of a night out's full arc, RA.960 does the business—and best of all, you won't even need a trip to the bar for water. The gauntlet has been thrown down.

@primalinstinctrecords @funkassault_og @chlaer @alarico_katana

Read more at ra.co/podcast/960

RA.960 Funk Assault

Our fifth Resident Advisor podcast comes from Finnish talent Kiki.

RA.005 Kiki

Our fourth Resident Advisor Podcast is provided by Fabric and Panorama Bar regular, Margaret Dygas.

RA.004 Margaret Dygas

The third Resident Advisor podcast comes from Jay Haze.


RA.003 Jay Haze

The second Resident Advisor podcast comes from DJ and production duo Pig&Dan.


RA.002 Pig & Dan

Our debut podcast comes from Berlin resident Troy Pierce.


RA.001 Troy Pierce

RA's #1 DJ steps away from the dance floor.

Dixon, Steffi, Nicolas Jaar, Ben UFO and Omar-S mark our 500th podcast.

Read more: http://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=500

@dixon


RA.500 Dixon

Exceptional house and techno from the Panorama Bar resident.

Steffi, Dixon, Nicolas Jaar, Ben UFO and Omar-S mark our 500th podcast.

Read more: http://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=500

RA.500 Steffi

A strange and lovely bricolage.

Nicolas Jaar, Dixon, Steffi, Ben UFO and Omar-S mark our 500th podcast.

Read more: http://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=500

RA Podcast: @nicolas-jaar

RA.500 Nicolas Jaar

A leader of the scene looks to the future.

Ben UFO, Dixon, Steffi, Nicolas Jaar and Omar-S mark our 500th podcast.

Read more: http://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=500

@benufo

RA.500 Ben UFO

The Swedish artist delivers a "pulsating bouquet of vibrations."

Read more: http://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=501

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