Future Star 002 (Toku Edit) 171

Trailing down the dusty highway at dusk, soundtracked by Western-flavoured downtempo sounds. Lapsteels, anachronistic electronics, and deconstructed country ballads.

https://www.nts.live/shows/the-nts-guide-to/episodes/the-nts-guide-to-ambient-americana-16th-february-2023

Dust To Dust: The NTS Guide to Ambient Americana 160223

SLSWP - Vol. 2

Farsight - CAMBIOS

The fourth entry in a series of living documents of momentum

Euphoric kinetic connection embraces disorder inside the void, as we smile & dance toward anamnesis together

Primarily manifested live at UFO CAMP festival 2024, in Guanajuato Mexico, on May 18 2024 as the vibrant golden hour solarity melted into dusk, further and further into the celestial embrace of night. Some sonics were added into this mix later on by me for deep listenability at home :)

Gratitude to UFO CAMP crew for having me play, a special set in a special place on a special day of life <3

ENCAPSULATED JOY 004: LIVE @ UFO CAMP 5/18/2024

A mix beamed in from the future by singeli's young star.

If singeli has a new era, DJ Travella is its leading light. At just 23 years old, the Tanzanian producer is pushing the genre into fast, frenetic and unmistakably futuristic territory. And while there aren't too many entries in the RA Podcast's 20-year history where you can say, "this has no parallel whatsoever," RA.984 shatters that assumption in style.

Singeli emerged from Dar es Salaam's underground in the early '00s, forged from limited resources and unlimited creativity. Producers looped and sped up taarab instrumentals using basic software like Virtual DJ, creating a sound that was chaotic, witty and lightning fast. With support from local studios like Sisso and Pamoja, singeli took root as the breakneck pulse of Tanzanian youth culture.

Travella—real name Hamadi Hassani—came up outside that infrastructure. He began producing music aged ten, self-taught and internet-savvy. By 2022, he was touring Europe with Kampala-based collective Nyege Nyege and gaining global attention for a distinct style he's dubbed "cyber-singeli." 

Like gabber, hardcore and jungle before it, singeli is unapologetically go hard or go home. It's unique and utterly infectious. After all, what could possibly connect pop provocateur Arca to the late president of Tanzania? Not much—except singeli. 

Travella's RA Podcast is a white-knuckle ride through this blistering sonic universe. It's wild and joyful yet controlled—a window into one of the most exciting young minds in global club music.

@user-643479850

Find the interview and tracklist at ra.co/podcast/984.

RA.984 DJ Travella

A rare club mix from the ever-evolving artist, with 90 minutes of shadowy, atmospheric pressure.

Music's therapeutic value is often linked to relaxation—gongs, singing bowls and the like. Dense passages of foggy droning and eerie static aren't traditionally considered restorative, but Laurel Halo makes a pretty good case for it.

The Detroit-born, Los Angeles-based musician's abstract, often improvised productions are heavy on sound design and emotional climax. Driven by atmosphere rather than rhythm, they push listeners to grapple with their innermost insecurities, fears and dreams. "I'm lucky my music has helped people through crises," Halo once told Discwoman. It's easy to see why.

Since her 2010 debut King Felix, Halo has built a stunningly diverse catalogue of classically-informed records. A multi-instrumentalist—piano, violin, guitar, keys—her sharpest instrument is arrangement. Inspired by the surrealism of Italo Calvino and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, her releases, from Atlas to Behind The Green Door, unfold with slow-burning narrative and dense emotional weight. Her soundworlds are layered and labyrinthine—an architectonic space where self-reflection happens almost by force.

Even in the club, the sought-after composer excels in immersion. Her sets extend the expressionist palette of her records, trading traditional rhythm for tension, space and surprise. It’s no wonder she takes a genre-agnostic approach to the dance floor—her deep roots in freeform radio began at WCBN-FM in Michigan, followed by Berlin Community Radio, Rinse FM, and now a regular show on NTS.

RA.992 stitches foggy ambient loops, propulsive techno, mutant percussion and heady left turns with care. Tracks from DJ Rush, Octave One and Eddie Fowlkes nod to her Midwestern heritage, balanced out by deeper, psychedelic fare from the likes of Polygonia and Cousin. It's the mark of an artist revealing both deep curiosity and a precise hand as a selector. Rare, indeed.

@laurelhalo

Find the full interview at ra.co/podcast/992

RA.992 Laurel Halo

recorded live at good work in a backyard on a lovely saturday in brooklyn

Loidis @ Good Work - 12 July 2025

Five days, five mixes. RA.999 launches with two of the 2020's most exciting techno producers tearing a portal to the future.

When it comes to purveyors of contemporary hardgroove, it's hard to top 1morning and Regal86. The duo have emerged from a buzzy, and decidedly funk-oriented techno scene on the American West Coast, repping Los Angeles and Monterrey respectively. Bound by a shared love of old-school flair and intuition behind the decks, you'll often find Regal86 ditching headphones altogether in favour of studying waveforms in real time, while 1morning's vinyl-only sets are steered by the movements of the dance floor and the fire in his heart.

So it comes as no surprise that we had to invite them back in session. In the last week before we celebrate the 1000th RA Podcast, we'll drop five back-to-backs over the course of the week. From the NYC Downlow to Berlin's Bar25, what unifies this cohort is a sense that they capture where dance music has been—and crucially, where it's going.

Kicking off the week, we have this exclusive recording from the duo's co-headline show at New York's Bossa Nova Civic Club—the "extra special" final stop of their recent US tour. As the first instalment of RA.999, this one-hour set makes a strong case for what it means to achieve ultimate freedom in the booth.

Regal86 and 1morning might be known for their raw, swung techno explorations, but here, their more sensual leanings carry the most impact. You'll find hardgroove's very own daddy Ben Sims, Paul Mac's 2002 melodic beauty Struggling Event and the lavish stomp of Percy X's As Is. And, of course, it wouldn't be a Regal86 and 1morning linkup without a healthy dose of Mexico City rising star—and the former's frequent sparring partner—1OO1O.

But really, this mix proves just how perceptive the two are. It opens a portal into the beating heart of groove-first techno, masterfully flowing between impulse and restraint, tradition and modernity. And who are we to resist?

@bregal86
@1morning

Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/1004

RA.999 1morning & Regal86

RA.1000 launches with Theo Parrish, live at fabric: a vanishingly rare club mix from the king of deep crates and impossible transitions.

There are DJ sets and then there are Theo sets. No matter how many times you've caught him in action, every time still feels like the first. Running hot, levels smoking, isolator working over time. You think you know dance music? Think again.

Parrish's debut on the RA Podcast is a milestone for the series, one we've sought for over 15 years. So it was only right that Theo led off our 1000th celebrations. Recorded live at fabric last December as part of RA's party with the London club for their 25th anniversary, this three-hour segment documents the crescendo of his eight-hour marathon. 

The Detroit legend doesn't release mixes often, and when he does, they're usually studio recordings: think NTS shows, his 100% Detroit edition of DJ-Kicks or classic tapes Body (1997) and Methods of Movement (2000). A capture of the Sound Signature boss on the dancefloor is hard to come by.

Sure, there's galvanising build-ups and crowd-pleasers, but laced throughout a Parrish beatdown are rarities designed to shock the system. In a business dominated by marketing, the vinyl master towers above thanks to a relentless hunger for lustrous melodies, moods and textures of all stripes, which he and he alone can fold into an inspiring and exhilarating joyride.

On RA.1000, blissful reggae precedes new wave disco; '80s R&B morphs into synthy techno; bleepy Chicago jack makes way for a poignant vocal ballad. It's Theo through and through. Once again, he proves that anything and everything is possible with the right records.

@theoparrish @fabric @soundsignaturedetroit @crownruler

Listen to all RA.1000 mixes, as well as the complete history of the RA Podcast, at https://1000.ra.co

RA.1000 Theo Parrish

Seven and a half exhilarating hours from one of modern club's sharpest.

Tim Reaper's mammoth entry for RA.1000 is all about range. You thought the Future Retro London boss was just a jungle and hardcore head? Think again.

The mix's infinite-scroll tracklist (the longest we've ever published in full!) includes a who's who of top-rate producers, from A Guy Called Gerald and Cari Lekebusch to Batu, Mia Koden and the one and only Shackleton.

Opening with weighty grime and ending on head-spinning drum & bass, the mix journeys through US club, wobbly dubstep, classic techno and, of course, many shades of jungle. Rather than go the easy route, the Londoner approached the assignment with the curiosity, integrity and vulnerability of fellow shapeshifters like dBridge, Calibre and ASC.

"The idea was to represent other styles of electronic music that I've been a bit self-conscious about openly expressing my interest in," he told RA.

RA.1000 isn't just another side of Tim Reaper's artistry: thankfully for us, it feels like only the beginning.

@tim-reaper

Find the interview and tracklist at ra.co/podcast/1012. Listen to all RA.1000 mixes, as well as the complete history of the RA Podcast, at https://1000.ra.co

RA.1000 Tim Reaper

The first-ever live recording from an elusive icon of dubby electronic music.

Lore is an underrated quality. Neuroscientists have mapped that music elicits similar feelings in the brain to when we satiate cravings, but what about the psychological impulse that drives listeners of a certain disposition toward everything they don't know?

It's tricky to put your finger on, but artists able to conjure intrigue without overhawking the backstory can really cut through—just ask SAULT, [ar:pi:ar] or Gerald Donald. Then there are those who don't try whatsoever. These are the ones who stay in mind the most.

In 2001, a striking 12" called Ship-Scope emerged through Chain Reaction, credited to Shinichi Atobe, with no other info available. Okay, mulled fans, this is probably a cat-and-mouse game dreamed up by someone on a label with a fine line in foggy obfuscation. Vainqueur on a wind-up? Another Moritz 'n Mark alias?

But no: Atobe was real, and really had posted a demo to Hard Wax. It was that simple. Then he went back to his day job—until, after 13 years of silence, an even better follow-up emerged.

From the near-perfect Butterfly Effect onwards, Atobe has built up one of the most revered catalogues in underground circles. A steady clip of elegant, transportive dub techno and deep electronics has arrived on Demdike Stare's DDS, complimented by the launch of his own label, plastic & sounds, earlier in summer 2025.

Atobe has also made strides into the public domain, DJing intermittently, as well as performing live for the first time in 2023, gracing WWW at the tender age of 52. It's that debut 2023 show heard on RA.1009: a hypnotic yet comparatively pumping set full of Atobe staples, as well as material you won't find anywhere else.

Contact with the big man, as you might anticipate, is glacial: since we first reached out, the RA Mix has changed name, look and rolled over into its second millennium. Still, patience pays off. This is a one-off we're stoked to run. – Gabriel Szatan

@shinichiatobe

Find the interview at https://ra.co/podcast/1028

RA.1009 Shinichi Atobe

💿 😜 🌈 💥 🌷 🌡 ⚛ 🏆 🐷 🌄 🚺

Future Star 002 (Toku Edit) 171

toku

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