Recorded live on a Sunday morning at Otsukimi festival in Hakuba, September 2022. 

Beautiful music for a beautiful setting. One of my favourite sets in recent years.

Otsukimi 2022

GiGi FM returns to The Lot Radio.

https://www.instagram.com/gigif_m

GiGi FM @ The Lot Radio 06-01-2024

Command D summons the gods of the deep to have us completely submerged in a world of interdimensional dub techno, traversing us through an hour and a half of infinitely looped reflections and subaquatic soundscapes. 

@commandd

Q. This certainly feels like one of your most immersive mixes to date, deeply contemplative and full of dreamy dub techno atmospherics. What inspiration did you draw upon, and what type of setting or situation could you imagine it being enjoyed in? 

A. I started to get into this sound when I was putting together my mix for the Moonshoe mix series. I didn’t know what to call it at the time but I found all of those tunes and tied them together with a certain feeling that was really inspiring me then, it was very organic and that is still one of my favourite mixes. You can hear dub elements scattered throughout that whole mix.

As I started incorporating more dub elements into my productions I discovered artists like Stephen Hitchell and Rhythm & Sound that had created a kind of music that was really extremely satisfying for me to listen to, especially considering my developing love for hi-fi and larger sound systems. I incorporated those artists into my FHUO mix which was a much more considered exploration of the style. Looking back on the process of making the mixes and how much I enjoyed them really assures me that the deep and contemplative sound is a big part of who I am.

For this mix I’ve taken inspiration from the MDC series itself which I’ve been listening to for years. I wanted to add little hints of deep house sounds as a nod to the mixes of the past. I personally think mixes like this are the best to listen to when you’re travelling and looking out a window, otherwise maybe sitting at a desk on a rainy day doing some work. I’d like people to listen to this in a time where they won't be distracted by something else or feel the need to skip forward, I’d want people to just throw it on and let it play, drifting in and out of the tracks and their own thoughts.

Q. Are there any songs in the mix that are especially close to your heart, and what is it about these tracks that resonate with you so much?

A. My favourite tracks in the mix are Saftig Komposition by Rasmus Hedlund and Sedlec Ossuary by Persuasion. At a base level I love these tracks because they take a more modern approach to a dub techno track with tight production. Going deeper, the thing that really resonates with me is hard to put into words and best left unsaid. I think this kind of music (along with many other kinds) allows the listener to feel emotions that aren't able to be put into words, part of why I love it so much. I find that dub techno specifically can feel sad and happy at the same time like lots of jazz ballads. That to me is a really beautiful sound that kind of encapsulates life in general.

Q. Tell us about the development of your live set, and where things are currently at with it? Do you feel like you’re able to explore different shades of your sound when playing in a live setting?

A. Putting together my first live set was an awesome experience. I got to play it all around Australia from clubs to rainforests. I’ve put the current live set to bed for now and am starting to work on a new one with a slightly different setup. Although it was a challenging experience, I loved making a live set because often when I would dig for tunes to play out I’d think ‘I wish I had a song like this’ and writing a live set meant that I could bring those ideas to life and curate a set exactly how I wanted. I think I’m really starting to settle into ‘my sound’ in production and DJing, but there are creative limitations in both like finding new music or learning new skills. Overcoming technical barriers in production allows me to get closer to my most true form of expression when it comes to what’s coming out the speakers so I’ve been really working on that recently. Hoping the next live set will be bigger and better : )

MDC.302 Command D

recorded live at camp kennybrook in monticello ny from 3am to just after 7am on Kiddo's birthday to greet the sunrise and close out what turned out to be a killer night of Friday (the 13th) programming that we lovingly curated (feat. our friends and yours POSI-TRACK, Rachel Noon, and Purelink) for the debut of the new and improved Bossa Lounge at Sustain-Release Year 10 (2024).

curatorially, we imagined the room to be an affirmation of the aesthetic wonders and general badassery of LOUNGE as not only a tragically overlooked piece of the electronic music history puzzle but also a vastly under-appreciated form of rave-adjacent social practice. 

conceptually, this mix builds upon and extends the project of sonic-affective worldmaking that was initiated and established by our previous performances at S-R (years 4 & 5). regardless of genre, playing at sustain is always an opportunity to focus on cherishing the juicy site-specificity of listening to psychedelic music in nature with your friends, and the rare forms of potentiality held therein. 

this time, we chose to allow the form of the set to be organically guided by the concept of THE FOUR ELEMENTS. dynamically following the progression WATER • EARTH • FIRE • AIR the set prioritizes and performs an ethos of maximal transport, simultaneously journeying inwards, onwards, upwards, and outwards. 

we really put a lot into this one, and sincerely hope you enjoy the ride!


Tracklist: 


Part I: WATER 🌊 

1.	Björk – The Anchor Song 
2.	Underwater Sounds Channel – Soothing Natural Water Sounds for Sleep 
3.	Underwater Sounds Channel – Underwater Bubbles 
4.	Valentino Mora – Hadal Zone 
5.	Michael Stearns – Craft: Dimensional Release 
6.	Sequential (a.k.a. Pete Namlook) – Lost in the Sea
7.	Polygonia – Lullaby of Yews 
8.	John Lyell – The Deep Unknown 
9.	Patrick O’Hearn – Slow Time 
10.	Dorisburg & Sebastian Mullaert – Archway
11.	Gabriel Hops – Sina (Laura BCR Remix)
12.	David Morley – Aquarium 
13.	ASC & Inhmost – Wave Clouds 
14.	Klaus Wiese – Ocean I 

Part II: EARTH 🌿

15.	The NRG – Earth Mother 
16.	Yialmelic Frequencies – Auric Massage 
17.	Tulpa Atma – RVEAL 
18.	The Orb – Just Because I Really Really Luv Ya 
19.	Pole – Paula 
20.	Michael Stearns & Ron Sunsinger – Portal 
21.	Suspended Memories – Shaman’s Dream 
22.	Randy Greif – A Riskier Joint 
23.	Brin & Dustin Wong – Texture I: Bespoke Trapeze 
24.	Sam Goku – Before I Knew 
25.	Brian Eno – Tal Coat 
26.	Arnaud Le Texier – Murazzi 
27.	Tourmesol – Scapeland 
28.	Sun Electric – Opening 
29.	Jack Wall – New Worlds 
30.	Re:Axis – Syntonize 
31.	Klaus Schulze & Pete Namlook – The Final DAT Part I
32.	The NRG – The KLF 

Part III: FIRE 🔥 

33.	Prins Thomas – H (The Orb Orbient Mix)
34.	Pete Namlook – Lost in Passion 
35.	Between Interval – Aerolith 
36.	Mist – Mist House 
37.	Global Communication – 8:07
38.	Tangerine Dream – Sensing Elements 
39.	The Irresistible Force feat. Nik Turner – Duende (Mixmaster Morris Ambient Sunrise Mix)

Part IV: AIR 🌬️

40.	Silence (a.k.a. Pete Namlook) – Master of the Sky
41.	Thom Brennan – Silver Part 3
42.	Low Leaf – How to Open a Portal 
43.	Sam Goku – Things We See When We Look Closer 
44.	Jonn Serrie – The Sentinel 
45.	Biosphere – The Things I Tell You 
46.	Varg feat. Ecco2k – Vanity Lights (First Crush)
47.	The NRG – De-NRGizer 
48.	Anugama – The Empty Sky 
49.	Sounds of the Earth – Wind Chimes 
50.	The NRG – Dr Sunshine (California Trippin’) [Chill-Out Room Mix]

Pure Immanence Live at Sustain-Release Year 10

Kaleidoscopic psychedelia from one of Australia's finest.

While it might feel early to call bets on DJs of the decade, Kia Sydney, best known as Kia, is undoubtedly one of them. The Animalia founder began in Naarm's (Melbourne) underground scene in the mid-2010s, crediting a trip to the influential deep techno Japanese festival, Labyrinth, as the inspiration behind her sound.

Deep techno might not cut it as a descriptor for Sydney's sound, though. Hypnotic ribbons of steely techno mix with atmospherics and nimble grooves, drawing from IDM, dub and tech house, sharing as much with DJ Nobu and Donato Dozzy (try to find the track that overlaps with Dozzy's own RA Podcast) as well as modern practitioners like Priori and Beatrice M.

This distinctly Australian scuttling psychedelia has made Kia one of the most sought-after underground DJs globally. Her brainchild, Animalia, showcases a plurality of sounds and scenes, serving as living proof of the fruitful shift of the 2020s: less serious, perhaps, but with a sense of open-minded worldliness that offers a far more promising vision of what dance music can be and achieve.

Sydney's rare talent lies in forging connections, bringing people, sounds and ideas together with a distinct playfulness. Her RA Podcast showcases this alchemy in abundance, weaving classics like Monolake and Enya with peers such as OK EG, Cousin and Command D.

As she told us in her 2023 Breaking Through profile, "people tell me I have quite a distinctive sound but I can't tell so much because I hear so many different versions of it." RA.973 serves as confirmation that Kia's style is, to say the least, the mark of a generational talent.
 
@kia-sydney @animalia-label  @cirruslabel

Read more at ra.co/podcast/973

RA.973 Kia

@syberkid creates a journey through the flames, leaving us with the burning embers of an eclectic mix of drone and ambient harmony. This was recorded live at the ‘Burning of The Clavie’ at MKII in London, on January 11th 2025.

This artwork is a collaboration between Sybil, Adam, and Mark, creating cymatics of sonic experimentation, and with each installment of the series, we will explore turning a fraction of sound into light. 🎨

episode IV ~ w/ Sybil

A live recording of Steve Good opening the final day at The Labyrinth 2019. This was the Typhoon Hagabis year, an event that began and ended with storms, with a sunny respite in between. This set represented a moment of calm before the storms returned on that special weekend which we will never forget.

The Labyrinth 2019 - Steve Good

Full spectrum session, recorded in Tokyo, 30 March 2025.

In flight

Tanz der Zeiten - newer versions equalized rendered - delayed .mp3

Ambient.

Read more here: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=605

@mnml-ssgs

RA.605 Chris SSG

Resident Advisor