Sedef Adasi @ Making Time 09-23-2023

British-Nigerian-born, Berlin-based Richard Akingbehin (@richard-akingbehin) is behind many crucial projects in electronic music, and most of them revolve around his exploration of deep and dubby sounds. Not only is he a co-founder of the excellent Refuge Worldwide radio station, but he also runs the experimental label Kynant Record and has some key residencies when not headlining other cult clubs around the world. His label recently released the first new album from dub techno don Tikiman in almost 20 years and this summer the pair will be playing together again as part of a mini tour. 

Ahead of joining us at Dekmantel Selectors later this year, Richard recorded this week's mix for us in the Refuge Worldwide studio with the aim of showcasing what he is playing in the clubs at the moment. It takes in his signature blend of dub techno styles with music from the likes of Parallel 9, Tikiman, Dialog and Delano Smith. It's spacious and unhurried but slowly ramps up the pressure to get you on your toes and vibing to his ever-warm, supple and minimal rhythms.

Dekmantel Podcast

Dekmantel Podcast 457 - Richard Akingbehin

At peak time during Summer in the City, Ciel & Priori snapped the mainstage in half with an energetic open-air masterclass. Now we get to enjoy that moment again!

Ciel b2b Priori - BFC Summer in the City 2024 @ Der Hintergarten

Another Barker masterclass.

Sam Barker asks more from techno. The artist known simply as Barker is one of electronic music's most consistently conscientious and curious producers, challenging listeners to question the norms we accept about our shared culture—whether it's the music that fills the room, the process behind it, or the purpose of the space itself.

British-born yet based in Berlin since 2007, Barker forged a connection to many of the city's leading institutions, including Ostgut Ton, and over the course of a long and fruitful relationship, he carved out one of the more singular paths on the club and label's roster.

Not one for orthodoxy, Barker challenged four-to-the-floor techno framework in favor of melodic experimentation. By decentering or completely stripping away the typical trappings of kick drums and claps, his productions are both light and immersive, buoyant in low-end presence and shimmering in weightless space.

Six years after Utility, his sophomore album Stochastic Drift arrives this month. Shaped by pandemic-driven reinvention, it burrows deeper into harmonic twists and freeform drift. "At some point I became conscious of the process," he wrote of his latest album. "The only thing you can do is embrace the uncertainty and see every change as a potential positive.”

Consider his RA Podcast another sequel. Like his much-beloved 2019 mix for FACT, it's a collage of live recordings and a fitting expression of the artist's own internal spring. RA.982 radiates wide-eyed optimism: percussion cloaked in foggy, swirling pads and trance-like chords, neatly synched in synthetic glimmers. 

All in all, it's an hour of music crafted for contemplation, collective euphoria, or heads-down epiphany—or for that matter, any moment, really, its emotive depth seemingly endless.

@voltek

Find the tracklist and Q&A at ra.co/podcast/982

RA.982 Barker

NIKS (@niksbad) is as dedicated as anyone to furthering dance music culture. Hailing from south-east London via Bath, NIKS has long proven her curatorial skills with radio shows on BBC Radio 1, Rinse, and NTS. Her idiosyncratic blends of ‘90s groovy, rhythmic sounds and forward-thinking, underground-leaning soundscapes have brought her to some of the world’s most revered clubs. After contributing music to various compilations, last year she explored bass-heavy sounds with her first solo EP on Or:la’s Céad label. Beyond her work as a musician, NIKS also co-founded the Black Artist Database, a crowd-sourced list of Black-owned labels, artists, and producers designed to amplify and uplift talent.

Ahead of her debut at the Dekmantel Festival this year, NIKS serves up a 90-minute window into her current musical world, including her own forthcoming productions in a deep, dub-infused journey into hypnotic techno and house rhythms that intertwine to create a warm, supple soundscape. Its seamless flow takes in sounds from the past, present, and future, and they all encourage you to move and meditate in equal measure."

Dekmantel Mix 490 - NIKS

@faited b2b @octoocta
Coming at you direct from the Little “T” LUV NRG Soundsystem truck radio! All the galloping and rolling late 90s tech step and proto-neurofunk that Octo Octa and Faited blast out of a tiny bluetooth speaker inside the cab of an Isuzu NPR HD.

This set was played live at Envelope Soundsytem’s 2024 Ēostre ritual deep in the redwood forest within the Oakland, CA hills. The intention behind this ritual: 

“Ēostre marks a period of rejoining with queer family and community, and of setting intentions towards the approaching sun-drenched days. We celebrate this ritual to conjure the collective dream, and to see the fractal paths toward our individual dream’s first concrete forms. But dreaming alone can not dispel living nightmares—we must speak our dreams aloud and act towards them in anger. Come, you and yours, come weave your hopes with ours.”

Eostre 2024 - Faited b2b Octo Octa

90 minutes of zippy house, techno, electro and more from the NTS resident, recorded at Mode Festival 2024.

@danielle_dj

RA Live - Danielle - Mode Festival 2024, Australia

@MattiasElMansouri
Wildeburg Festival
July 12, 2025 - Bud x Kas
Kraggenburg, Netherlands
www.wildeburg.nl

Mattias El Mansouri - Wildeburg 2025

Alberto Tolo - Born To See [PREMIERE]

Afterwork is pleased to announce the release of our third EP, Neutral, available on September 15, 2025.

This release comes from Sebastián, known artistically as Nøctem, a Colombian DJ and producer based in Barcelona. With a deeply personal approach and refined production, Neutral is a testament to the artist's talent and sonic evolution.

Across six tracks, Nøctem guides us on an immersive journey where hypnotic techno and dynamic grooves converge with soundscapes that evoke both euphoria and nostalgia. Each track is designed to progressively release energy, creating a sonic narrative that captivates from the first moment.

This EP is a clear example of Nøctem's vision and the spirit that defines Afterwork: music with identity, depth, and purpose. 


Punto Cero - Noctem (Original mix)

Step into the pulse of the machine: Iron Veins is a driving techno-industrial track, where relentless rhythms and metallic textures collide with a hypnotic, semi-melodic undercurrent. Built for dark rooms, heavy sound systems, and restless minds.

Expect pounding kicks.
Expect grinding energy.
Expect no mercy.

This is The World Of Ragus in raw, industrial form.

RA Live - Danielle - Mode Festival 2024, Australia

Resident Advisor