good sets in general

Recorded live at Observe Los Angeles, November 25, 2023

Live @ Observe: Los Angeles

Dustin Zahn x Truncate Live @ Observe Los Angeles (11/25/23)

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

Recorded live at Villa San Michele during 53100 festival 2024. Photo by Teo Giovanni Poggi

Garçon @ 53100 - 2024

There was impressive scenery on the second floor on the last day of the festival. The time for Sunju Hargun, who was to take the stage with two different sets, dancing and listening, to heal the bodies of the dancers who had been dancing so long in the rain. Deep dub echoes, Layered drones, and healing sounds echoed through the room, melting listeners' consciousness and guiding them into a deep meditative state.

フェスティバル最終日、セカンドフロアの朝の光景は印象的なものでした。ダンスとリスニング、二種のセットで登壇することになったSunju Hargunが、雨で踊り続けたダンサーたちの身体を癒した時間です。とろけるようなダブエコー、ドローン、ヒーリングサウンドが室内に響き渡り、リスナーの意識を融解させる深い瞑想をガイドしました。

Sunju Hargun-Alternative Set at rural 2024

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

Live at Breakroom - 29MAR25

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