Take The A Train

As far as duo's go Ben Lewis & Josh Ludlow are a force to be reckoned with. With their party and label Make A Dance along with its also much beloved subsidiary imprint M.A.D Edits, the two have given a much needed outlet to the scene in London as well as further afield. With their party driven sound meeting ties with deep house as well as disco, italo and more they have proven to both deem a quality selection that can bring any party to its knees. And for the 122nd Phonica mix they do exactly that; a pure scope of energy mixed with quality deep anthems and a hint of acid to top it off. We had a quick chat with Ben and Josh about the mix and what they got going in the works.

Phonica Mix Series 122: Make A Dance

Recorded Live @ Detroit Love, San Francisco  // July 20th 2024 

My recorder has been all over the world with me, but I only recently started using it religiously. 10 years on the road taught me not to take moments for granted. You never know when (or if) you’re gonna play somewhere again. ⁣
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Soooo I’ve collected a bunch of sets over the summer that Ima start sharing. A lot of them feature the same tracks, but I think you really hear the art of DJing in how different the same tracks can sound in different contexts. Plus… ijdgaf ⁣🤷🏽‍♂️
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First .wav I’m sharing is from Detroit Love in SF where I got to play at Great Northern with one of my heroes Moodymann (Crowdstrike sadly kept Carl Craig stuck in the D). Keep an👂🏽out for:⁣
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𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐱: 𝟓𝟎:𝟐𝟎 - These two tracks sound like they came from the same cinematic universe somewhere between the Jungle Book and Saturday Night Fever. ⁣
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𝗪𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐱: 𝟒:𝟐𝟐 - Proof that good beat matching, FX, or fader tricks can’t overcome the harsh realities of harmony. I managed to escape, but only after lingering too long.⁣
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𝐇𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: 𝟏:𝟏𝟑:𝟎𝟒 - Felt cocky dropping Da Dip after Da Whip, underestimated the power of Miami Bass, and had that shit gained up way too loud. Nearly blew up my recorder, but lemme tell ya... it worked on the night. 

✌🏽A

STE-005.wav

Recorded last Xmas but never uploaded. A party starter with some of the biggest tunes of the time (in my world anyway!). Enjoy...

Only The Hits

Interview: http://offtherecord.net/phonica-friends-family-mix-series-22luther-vine/

The Friends and Family mix we have been all been waiting for. The long time standing Saturday manager of Phonica records steps up for just over an hour of what he knows best: deep dug out and well selected tech house grooves.

There has been many recognisable faces from dance music to work the weekend shifts at Phonica over the years. Artists like Heidi, Anthea and Danielle have all spent Saturdays and Sundays shifting the latest 12"s to the vinyl hungry punters of the Soho haunt. As these staff faded from the floor to bigger things Luther Vine has filled this void with a gusto and eagerness matching to his past colleagues (of course with his own flavour).

With a hand in the Phonica record label, running its latest Phonica AM off-shoot and also running his own imprint Fragments Of Reality with Ralph Lawson of 20/20 Vision - it is no secret that Luthers ear falls expert to minimalistic cuts as well as grooving tech-house sounds. This you can also find in his solid productions on the two previously mentioned labels including a pretty memorable cut with good friend Subb-An (who also released the debut release on Phonica AM) on Fragments Of Reality Vol. 2.

On top of all this Luther is a very credible DJ in the circuit having exhibited his skills all around the UK, further afield and as well as laying it down at London institution fabric on more than one occasion. For this mix he takes us into the deepest corners of his record bag with an all over minimalistic and tech house excursion with a perfectly built narrative and warmness to the craft.

Phonica Friends & Family Mix Series 22: Luther Vine

Dorisburg @ The Lot Radio 11-15-2024

I wanted to put together a mix of more chill music which I am really leaning into at the moment. Hope you enjoy!

T/L

How Du - 12th Planet
Massive Attack - Risingson (Setting Sun Dub Two)
Om Unit - Acid Tempo
Theory - Babylon Dem (Dubmonger's The Drum Machine Museum Dub)
Lucid Dreams - Slow Wave
Tracey Thorn, Massive Attack - Protection (Radiation For The Nation Mix)
Strategy - Lone Wolf Dub
Photek - Into the 90's
Madlib - Road Of The Lonely Ones
Lucid Dreams - Blur
Skee Mask - Session Add
Weird Weather - Heavy Metal Bathtub
Massive Attack - Black Milk
Korridor - Transferring
Versa - Flux 22
Planète - Eternal Now
Ovïd - Internal Dialog
Big Hands - Presagio - Hē thálassa hē kath'hēmâs
Flørist - Untitled 1
Rhythm & Sound w/ The Chosen Brothers - Mash Down Babylon
Xoki & Hieronymus - Peak
Babe Roots - Outro

Think About It

PT Promo Mix March 25

No pigeon holes. Just pure early summer joy on this one. Hope you dig!

The Next Big Thing

Episode 5 of the Sixth Sense mix series brought to you by Peach. This episode by Toronto based Ciel (@ciel_dj). little blurb, interview, tracklist >>>>>>>>>>thisissixthsense.com<<<<<<<<<<

Sixth Sense 005 - Ciel

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

Take The A Train

Tim Factor