Australian Kia very quickly rose up through the grimy after-hours rave scene of Melbourne to make her mark on the international stage. Now Berlin-based, her unique grasp of rhythm is rooted in a love of bass, IDM and deeper techno though she is adept at exploring a wide range of moods within those worlds. She has done so at places like ADE and our own festival and extends her good taste to the curation of her Animalia imprint and its ambient sub-label Cirrus as well as her own original tracks on Nous'klaer Audio.

In this week's mix, Kia showcases a colourful and kaleidoscopic take on techno which she says was awakened by an early trip to Japan's famously head Labyrinth festival. It's a hi-fidelity feast of supple rhythms, icy synths and deep space ambiance that unfolds in late-night fashion. The melodies are as delicate as silk, the drums rubbery yet punchy. It's high-paced future music that manages to be as delicate and beautiful as it is dynamic.

Dekmantel Podcast 440 - Kia

When Smoke Machine started doing parties in Taipei, and then created a revered online mix series, it was clear that it was the work of someone with impeccable taste. That would be Diskonnected, once a resident at the beloved Taiwan club Korner who now posts up at Pawnshop and 宀 in Hong Kong. He's also behind Organik, a festival that takes place on the coast of Taiwan and has become one of the world's top techno gatherings in just over a decade.

True to his alias, the elusive artist likes to switch off from the world. He rarely makes his presence known online, sparingly accepting press and mix requests. He's not one to seek attention—in fact, he actively avoids it—but there's a spotlight on him regardless.

Everything Diskonnected does is executed with patience and class, but don't mistake that for restraint. His style of weightless techno shimmers with the spirit of nature, moving with aerodynamic force. On his RA Podcast, we hear a six-hour all-night set recorded at 宀 earlier this year, keeping an open-ended view of techno as it barrels on, gradually getting faster all the while. It's clichéd to say that if you know you know, but truly, anyone who knows about Diskonnected knows that he's one of the world's greatest techno DJs, with a style and flair that feels both old-school—or maybe just late '00s—but also cutting-edge.

@diskonnected

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/904

RA podcast

RA.904 Diskonnected

GiGi FM - Live at Coppi Berlin

A breath holds time, calibrates space,
The quiet hum of an ancient place.
Petals bloom with power and grace.
The self we hide, the depths we know,
Through shadows deep, the seeds will grow.
A falling leaf, the wind’s soft lift,
Letting go, we rise anew,
Then strength will shine through.
GiGi FM 
~~~~
This set was recorded live at the beautiful community space Coppi in Berlin, where I was invited by my dear friends from the Brandwerk collectif. 
🐚 I took the opportunity to craft a sonic journey filled with some of my favorite vinyls, musicians, and labels ~ music I turn to when I’m at home, spending days reconnecting and realigning my spiritual forces. 

🌀🪷 It’s a trip to my safe space (which is the garden of my mind ~ where I prune the leaves that need care, check in on my inner trees, flowers and roots ~ aka my mental wellbeing)
I meditate, dance alone in my living room, laugh, sometimes cry, write, read, cook, question the world and myself ~ everything.

🧿 This mix begins as an invitation for us to start our inner visit together, exploring our personal safe spaces. May it guide you to some depth within and, hopefully, help you find the strength to face your battles and the freedom to be your true self.
♾️ 
Music from @astralindustries, Evigt, @tokifuko, and @box_5ive.
@phi-psonics @rebecca_vasmant @ancestralvoices, @nzenze @djbigleg,  @alex-cortiz 

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I loved creating it. 

~ With love & gratitude ~
GiGi 💌

GiGi FM ~ Live At Coppi Berlin

Priori (@priori-ties) has always explored a wide range of techno from dense and introspective to more joyous, often against the backdrop of technological possibilities. He hails from Canada and has been prolific since first emerging with two full-lengths to his name on his own NAFF label. They pair dubby undercurrents with crystalline melodies and contain the sort of unresolved tensions that keep you locked in for the ride. This weekend he plays Dekmantel Naarm 2024 but first has served up this new mi for us.

Priori says this is the first dance mix he's done in a long time, adding "It's an hour and a half of fresh rhythms and rave sounds that I recorded while on tour in Australia. It features a few tracks I have been playing a lot lately and some forthcoming bits by myself and some friends." In just over 90 minutes he works through a rollercoaster of deep techno rhythms that are firmly focused on the future and flow as fluidly as water.

Dekmantel Podcast

Dekmantel Podcast 459 - Priori

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

Recorded live at Ratherlost Easter 2025, Lofi Amsterdam, 6-9PM.

Thank you to the @ratherlost team for the trust, to the producers within for their incredible music, to all who shared that moment which will surely endure in my mind.

Artwork by Dypere (dypere.cc).

Aaron J at Ratherlost Easter 2025

Recorded live from our FOLD takeover with Transmissions, this one comes courtesy of softi who opened Room 2 with a two hour set we simply couldn’t keep to ourselves. Weaving through glitchy, swamp-soaked textures and deep, hypnotic rhythms, she laid down a trippy journey that set the perfect tone for the night ahead. Dial in and drift!

@jazz_brown

Harmony Rec. podcast | softi

After visiting the lakeside dreamland last year I couldn't help myself but imagine on the moment what I would play if I had the opportunity to perform there myself (as any DJ would, I guess). I had different archetypes of sets forming in the back of my mind for different times of the day possible, if the opportunity ever came one day. 
So when I got invited to play the opening of Floresta on Sunday, it first came as a bit of a surprise, but the surprise turned into excitement and it was time to prepare a special set where I could dig into my dub techno collection. 
So, I am very happy to share with you the recording of my set, where I finally had the chance to play slow, deep, dubby and sunny techno in such a setting. 
Thank you @wakinglifeportugal for the opportunity. 
I hope you enjoy !

Altinbas at Waking Life 2025, Sunday Floresta Opening

Virus X

High-definition psychedelic techno.

Read more here: https://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=681

@itsallhalal

RA.904 Diskonnected

Resident Advisor