Dresden live from The Beach Stage at Love International 2023.

Live from the Adriatic 2023: Dresden

INTERVIEW & TRACKLIST > https://inverted-audio.com/mix/black-light-smoke

American producer @black-light-smoke steps up to deliver the 374th edition of the IA MIX Series, interweaving a subterranean masterclass of deep club sonorities, bolstered with his own edits of classic tracks from Maurizio and Chip E.

Originally from Chicago, Jordan Lieb studied in Massachusetts before relocating to New York in 2001 to pursue a career in music. He met Francis Harris (circa 2010), whilst Harris was looking for a studio to mix down his debut album ‘Leland‘. This initial friendship blossomed into a mutual kinship that resulted in Jordan releasing the first two vinyl releases on @scissorandthread.

Jordan's second studio album ‘Ghosts‘ is a woozy deep house LP packing 15 chugging grooves, analogue synth melodies and sultry vocals that will appeal to the deepest of house heads. In the interview below, we find out more about the makings of the album, its cryptic artwork, collaborations with vocalist Léah Lazonick and his long-standing admiration for all things Terre Thaemlitz, alongside studio gear and his approach to using social media.

IA MIX SERIES

INTERVIEW

IA MIX 374 Black Light Smoke

Jane Fitz @ Dañs An Diaoul 2024

They don’t come much more influential in the game than Fred P, a true pioneer that certainly does not lean on his past achievements. Having cut his teeth in New York City’s world renowned house scene, this Brooklyn native has stamped his name across the music spectrum. From afro-tinged house to stripped back rollers, Fred P is a name synonymous with high grade music that is made to stand the test of time. With a wealth of musical knowledge at his disposal he wields a number of aliases, but perhaps his most well known moniker is that of Black Jazz Consortium. This is just a part of what sets Fred P apart from his contemporaries as his mindset and approach to his craft is one that will continue to draw fans new and old to his music. [continue reading at...https://trommelmusic.com/music/podcast/trommel-199-fred-p/]

Trommel.199 - Fred P

Serenne - Serendipity Mix

all night long at Platforma Wolff in Bucharest 25.02.22

Andrew Weatherall's first official posthumous mix. The only b2b DJ Harvey ever agreed to. Six hours at Trouw. This one's special.

When mulling which direction to go in for RA's 1000th mix celebrations, many options came to mind. Some shadowy character 2-stepping around the fringe of our collective consciousness? An impossible-level IDM icon?

All tempting. But, ultimately, we are a DJ-forward publication and this is a DJ mix series. It felt truer to the history of the RA Podcast to release deep vault material from a time when the world of niche records felt different, tighter, more discrete.

The fourth-longest mix in the series' history is an unrepeatable marathon set recorded in 2012 at a superclub that no longer exists. 2012, incidentally, is farther away from 2025 than 2012 was from 2000... if we have to clock it, so do you.

It's the coming together of one British icon who passed away in 2020, and another whose time on the road has scaled back considerably as of late. DJ Harvey agreed to exactly one b2b set in his life: this one, with Andrew Weatherall.

The night took place at Trouw, an Amsterdam club already considered legendary before it shuttered its doors in the opening hours of 2015, as part of an RA series anchored around start-to-close combinations. Harvey was at the peak of an irresistible career second act, which dovetailed with a disco revival that dominated clubs for years. Weatherall, with infinite brownie points stockpiled from the '90s, remained everyone's favourite debonair psychonaut. 

What follows is 385 scintillating minutes of arpeggiated chug and slow-cresting climaxes: a moment when the resting heart rate of dance floors plunged lower than any comparable point in the 21st century. A masterclass, entirely self-contained in audio form.

If you've got time to spare, a fun side game is sussing out who plays what. A disco-dub cover of Echo & the Bunnymen? Smart money's on Weatherall. Exuberant EQ'ing of The Isley Brothers? Gotta be Harvey. As for the low 'n slow, lightly spangled house that was all the rage in the early 2010s (think Maxxi Soundsystem, Disco Bloodbath, Rub & Tug, C.O.M.B.I. and Full Pupp), it's anyone's guess. 127 BPM feels practically like an F1 car.

When we kicked off our RA.1000 campaign, we outlined a few goals: tick off a handful of long-awaited dream guests, honour architects who shaped the world around us and deliver recordings you truly can't hear anywhere else. Full send.

DJing and the mythmaking around it has undergone a quantum leap since 2012, let alone 2006, 1996 or 1989. For those of us who were kicking around in the former, there's a creeping melancholy that our prime is fast becoming a matter of historical record. The killing moon really did come too soon. 

Where will electronic music, DJ sets or any of this be in 2044? Hard to say. Best not to overthink that one. Instead, we want to say thanks to all contributors on the series so far. Now enjoy luxuriating in the company of two of the greatest to ever do it, together, for the first and last time.⁠ – Gabriel Szatan (Editor, RA)

@andrew-weatherall

Read the interview with DJ Harvey and Andrew Weatherall's family at https://ra.co/podcast/1016. Listen to all RA.1000 mixes, as well as the complete history of the RA Podcast, at https://1000.ra.co

RA.1000 DJ Harvey & Andrew Weatherall

Palco Vazio

Ivan Smagghe is the seamlessly cool founder behind Les Disques de la Mort. For years he has been regarded as one of the leading figures in Electronic music and continues to push the boundaries between the weird, wonderful, obscure and danceable, alongside the likes of Andrew Weatherall, Optimo, Trevor Jackson and more. He slots firmly into chic French fashion culture and gritty, underground musical eclecticism at the same time. Over the past couple of years his label has released music from far and wide: pop obscurities from Israel, punk funk from Lithuania and experimental electronics from the likes of Mutado Pintado, Golden Bug and Margot. He delivers over an hour of energetic fun for Ransom Note.

@colonelgatito

Ivan Smagghe: The Ransom Note Mix

Giegling Mix

ATEQ - Sunshine Night (Giegling Mix 04)

((SEP)) EP326 -Daniel Bell -  Live @ Detroit Love, Canibal Royal Beach Club (Mexico) - 12-JAN-2017

Ransom Note is an online music, arts and culture magazine. We provide a home for readers and writers with boundless enthusiasm, esoteric knowledge, fierce opinions and impeccable taste.

With our core team immersed in all aspects of dance music, we publish news, articles, and interviews covering the greatest in innovative, underground culture from across the globe. We offer regular, exclusive music and mixtapes from our favourite artists, and publish features shining a light on everything from the freshest new artists to the untold tales from rave history.

Alongside this we offer musings on film, books, life, and art, generating some context and controversy as an antidote to the reheated PR that clogs up the internet. Our office is fuelled by Tunnock’s Bars, cat memes, hangovers and a ridiculous, never ending love for our culture.

We're always interested in getting new writers on board – feel free to get in touch if you’ve got a story to tell.

With love until the grave.