In late 2023 I was chatting with a musician friend about labels, and whether they're really all that necessary these days. As someone mainly focused on self-releasing my music through Bandcamp, I think for the most part the answer is no. One should focus on passionately creating things and being involved in their local music community. Over time, label or not, things will hopefully start to take care of themselves on their own. I did however mention that there was one label I thought was really cool, and would definitely be interested in working with: it was Nous'klaer Audio. Incredibly, the next day I received an email from Sjoerd Oberman, who runs Nous'klaer, inviting me to join for a release and performance at Draaimolen. Of course, I was delighted to be involved. This would be my first show in the EU. I spent about 3 months preparing a new set. Having grown rather bored of CDJs and DJ mixers, I opted to prepare a live set, in which I control 8 channels of audio tracks along with drum machines and FX. This setup gives me a lot of freedom to explore new arrangements of my catalog, and better command the dynamic energy on the dance floor, pushing and pulling things forwards to capture the mood of the crowd. To prepare for Draaimolen, I organized several shows across Japan (where I live), further refining the setup after each performance, and deciding what tracks would be the best fit for the 60 minute peak time set I was scheduled to perform. I was very nervous about how my set would be received, but it ended up working very well, and was the highlight of my year. From the very start, the positive reaction from the crowd put me at ease, and Draaimolen's focus on sound and stage design gave me peace of mind, knowing that every frequency was being perfectly reproduced on the floor. I'm so grateful for the opportunity Nous'klaer and Draaimolen provided me. Long live Nous'klaer and long live Draaimolen. Thank you Sjoerd and Milo and Kani and Hannah! 
- Erik Luebs

Erik Luebs live at Draaimolen Festival 2024

A lesson in rhythm from a former De School resident.

When it comes to minimalist dance music, Ruben Üvez, AKA Konduku, is one of the best in the game right now. With a masterful and ever-shapeshifting understanding of rhythm, the Berlin-based artist crafts sublime dance music with a staunchly leftfield bent. Don't just take our word for it: how many DJs, after all, can claim to have moved De School to a puddle of tears?

Musically, Üvez is hard to pin down. He's often billed as a techno artist, but actually you'll find his sound sits outside of the genre's many conventions. With an outsider's curiosity, he leans into diverse moods, tempos and genres, though one throughline is always how he arranges his drums. Whether it be deep, Nobu-core techno such as 2023's Hayal EP or UK beat science á la Peverelist on 2019's  Gegek, he leads with rhythm across his DJing and production. The end product is a hypnotic, one-of-a-kind sound that hits the body before the brain has time to catch up. In short, it slaps.

As Üvez's RA Podcast demonstrates, he's got a serious knack for crafting and selecting tunes that can  deeply captivate a dance floor. Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, RA.967 is an excursion through a timeless sound, packed with long, layered blends, flick-of-the-wrist transitions, locked grooves and spine-tingling atmospherics. In 2020, we called Ruben Üvez one of techno's brightest new talents. This mix sees him ascending to a seat at the top table.

@kondukukonduku

Read more at ra.co/podcast/967

RA.967 Konduku

Full Tracklist: https://bleep.com/bleep-mix-297--sandwell-district

For our latest Bleep Mix instalment, Sandwell District come through with a hefty programming of dark rollers fulfilling that promise of reinvigorated purpose they mentioned before: “Having a good time”. And with a wealth of exclusive unheard material it’s hard to refute the mission statement. Dropping straight into the cavernous environs of an unreleased Regis side Frosty Jack’s, the selection rides a restrained line building tension through a number of Nastia Reigel tracks deployed with utmost precision before upping its stride with Luke Slater’s Planetary Assault Systems and quickly landing first peak from The Wizard himself, with Jeff Mills' slamming ‘93 cut Step to Enchantment (Stringent). Taking in a track from their comrade Surgeon’s forthcoming album, as well as the simmering acid of their own tune Hidden, Sandwell District bring it back round full circle via two further unreleased reworks of heroes Meat Beat Manifesto providing a breakbeat singed rupture to close out the proceedings with the vocal snatches of MBM’s Helter Skelter summing it all up really: “It's in my brain now. This is it!”

Bleep Mix #297 - Sandwell District

Tracklist: https://bit.ly/polygoniacovermix
Read the cover feature: https://bit.ly/polygoniamixmag

@polygonia shares a mind-melting and expansive mix accompaniment to her new album 'Dream Horizons' on @dkmntl, on which she flexes full creative freedom.

"A reflection of shifting dreamscapes, this mix traces the arc of 'Dream Horizons', my new album on Dekmantel. It mirrors the album’s wide stylistic and tempo range — traversing pulses, textures, and energies, swelling into a feverish rush before breaking apart and exhaling into a halftime echo. Genres dissolve and reemerge not as contrasts, but as fragments of a shared vision."

The Cover Mix: Polygonia

Live recorded on 3 turntables, vinyl only.

B2B with Helena Hauff Live at Trädgården, Stockholm

Listen exclusively here to the premiere of the track ‘ cat can do - Run Aziz Run!‘ to be released with the ‘Mad guys‘ EP on October 30, 2025 via Diffuse Reality / DRSS1183

Get your copy here: https://diffusereality.bandcamp.com/album/cat-can-do-mad-guys

Follow:
https://soundcloud.com/user-943722762
@diffusereality

_______________________
Buy-link: 
https://diffusereality.bandcamp.com/album/cat-can-do-mad-guys


Other links:

Diffuse Reality Records instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/diffusereality?igsh=MWdqYWFicmZsM21sbg==

cat can do instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/therealcatcando?igsh=NGt5YnU1bWlvZzgx

cat can do Soundcloud:
https://on.soundcloud.com/nPwMNZOzTbDMSEwIgv

Premiere: cat can do - Run Aziz Run! [Diffuse Reality]

Function lays down the Sandwell District style on this week's RA podcast.

RA.177 Sandwell District

Two and a half hours of blistering electro from DJ Stingray, recorded live at Studio Spaces for RA In Residence: fabric

RA Live

RA Live 2016.12.17 - DJ Stingray, fabric In Residence, Studio Spaces, London

And so we arrive at the end of the year, New Years Eve to be precise and there was only one DJ we wanted to have us screw-facing and fist pumping in 2018. Enter Stingray with a furious 90 minutes of power.

Recorded at his set at Katharsis Festival, it's one of DJ Stingray's best and favourite performances of the year so we're naturally thrilled to present it you today.

2017, you were turbulent, you were, at times, stressful but throughout the madness, there was a constant and that was DJ Stingray knocking it out of the park. Each and every time

More exclusive music

In Session: DJ Stingray

Download the set here: 
https://corenews.me/dj-stingray-essential-mix-2019-03-02/
Tracklist over here:
https://tracklists.thomaslaupstad.com/dj-stingray-essential-mix-2019-03-02-tracklist-playlist/

Core News - http://corenews.me/

DJ Stingray - Essential Mix 2019-03-02

Recording of Helena Hauff's & DJ Stingray's set at Dekmantel Festival 2016.

RA Live 2016.12.17 - DJ Stingray, fabric In Residence, Studio Spaces, London

Resident Advisor