2025 Part II

Born in Rome, now based in Florence, DJ and producer Matisa has long been attuned to the intersection of music and style. Having studied at Polimoda, one of the world’s most respected fashion schools, she approaches music selection with an aesthetic gaze – crafting bright visions and immersive environments from her record crates.

For her Crack Mix, Matisa drifts between 133 to 135 bpm playing vinyl only. Setting the scene in her own words, Matisa told us, “I imagined the feeling of recording this in a water bubble, I wonder if your perception will be the same!”

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Mind EXpansions

Crack Mix 428: Matisa

placid.deep.electro.

Live from Radio80000 Munich. Monday, Sept. 11, 2023 

Recent faves, shares, discoveries

*Xtra tnx to Benny and Jannis

Gates of Sincerity

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

Scott Zacharias Live at Party Line 10/4/24 ☎️

Project Reality w/ Deejay Energy - 230425

This is a recording of KOOLMFL live show during 7hinner 6roove at Mago, Nagoya which was the first night of '7hinner Tour' back in 2024 . .

We also have a juicy Thinner Groove party happening soon at,
Shhhh.. secret location  🍇  featuring a live show of KOOLMFL

Save your dates and come to Secret Location, Nishiazabu Tokyo 
on May 5th, starts 23:00- sharp. 
https://www.instagram.com/p/DIB98cJy9jl/?img_index=1

Bandcamp

KOOLMFL -  Live at Thinner Groove (2024)

A clinic in minimal from the elusive Acting Press boss. 

Why do certain sounds cultivate a cult following? Simply put, it's often because they resist easy consumption. PLO Man and his imprint Acting Press lean into this. 

Searching for the Berlin-based DJ and producer, you won’t find much online presence, interviews or conventional PR. What you will find, if you look hard enough, is a catalogue of records and mixes with a kind of tape hiss charm (a spiritual successor to Basic Channel and Chain Reaction, but scuzzier and lighter on its feet).

Founded in 2015, Acting Press once seemed to belong to the short-lived "outsider house" trend, but is now synonymous with a certain strain of modern minimal, one that is analogue, spacious and pointedly opaque. PLO Man's output is equally sparse by design: this week, he joins the RA Podcast with a characteristically elusive style, accompanying the near two-hour mix is a one-answer Q&A that gives almost nothing away.

Stripped-back, ever-so-slightly sleazy and coated in dust, PLO Man's RA Podcast continues that lineage in style. Opening with the featherlight microhouse of Margaret Dygas, RA.988 unfolds into a carefully curated spectrum of minimal, dub and deep techno. Among familiar names—look out for the blinding Rhythm & Sound and Moodymann blend—are deep cuts and left turns alongside the odd outlier, like lovers' rock pioneer Gregory Isaacs.

Like the best of his forebears, PLO Man wants RA.988 to take time for you to settle in. But once you do, you won’t want to leave. 

@p_el_oh

Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/988

RA.988 PLO Man

https://callshopradio.com/shows/objet-personnel

Objet Personnel w/ softburn (Klympt) 13.05.25

Recorded at Airhouse festival 2025.5.23 (Maum stage)

Ambient set in The airhouse festival by Jongho

CZ Wang

Based in New York, CZ Wang is a DJ, producer, and engineer with deep ties to Vancouver’s influential Mood Hut collective. Over the past decade, he has played a pivotal role in shaping underground sounds, both as a selector and behind the scenes, contributing his skills to collaborations with artists like Huerco S, Nick Len, Okay Kaya, Daniela Lalita, DJ Python, Ana Roxanne, Jack J, and untitled (halo).

He holds residencies at Public Records and Eavesdrop, and regularly performs at renowned festivals like Sustain-Release and Warm Up MoMa PS1. His sets can also be heard at iconic clubs including Nowadays, Bar Part Time, Sunday Sunday, and Renate.


CZ Wang 是一位駐紐約的 DJ、製作人與工程師，擁有深厚的 Mood Hut 廣受讚譽的溫哥華音樂集體背景。在過去十年中，他作為選曲人和音效工程師，對地下音樂場景產生了深遠的影響，並參與了 Huerco S、Nick Len、Okay Kaya、Daniela Lalita、DJ Python、Ana Roxanne、Jack J 和 untitled (halo) 等藝術家的合作。

他目前在 Public Records 和 Eavesdrop 擁有駐場 DJ 位置，並在 Sustain-Release、Warm Up MoMa PS1 等音樂節上演出，此外，還常常出現在 Nowadays、Bar Part Time、Sunday Sunday 和 Renate 等知名俱樂部。

CZ Wang @TOHA Radio 2025.04.29

Extracted from the archives, we have Lena's Bank Holiday set from last August for you. 
It was sadly Lena's only set at The Gun, but it was a wild night, sweaty and heaving in the extreme & certainly one of favourites. The crowd had been dancing from about 7pm (Casper Clark and I's warm up is also available here) so when Lena got on for the remaining 4.5 hours, the room went nuts. Its a brilliantly varied and balanced set that encapsulates so much of what we loved at The Gun, banging enough for a room full of seething heads. dancing into the early hours and considered and classy do that it suits playback at any time of the day.
The recorder died just before the end of the set, so it appears those very last tracks were just for us there on that night, the rest is ready now. (Thanks for this Lena x)


Lena Willikens Live at The Gun August Bank Holiday Sunday '24

Wake up with NTS... 
Find the full tracklist and related episodes on NTS: https://www.nts.live/shows/breakfast/episodes/breakfast-leon-vynehall-30th-may-2025

The NTS Breakfast Show w/ Leon Vynehall  300525

Nosedrip at Garage, Horst Arts & Music 2025

The Space Between Spaces with Ron Like Hell @ The Lot Radio 06-10-2025

gate

"𝑇𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑐 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟"
𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 & 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔

a community radio based in Taipei

CZ Wang @TOHA Radio 2025.04.29

TOHA Radio

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