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At Field Maneuvers 2023, Optimo (Espacio) played the final set in the Sputnik tent as part of the Watching Trees takeover. "We expected everyone to be on their final reserves of energy," they said. "But it was instantly apparent that there was electric energy in the tent. It ended up being one of the most joyous, life-affirming gigs of [the year]."

@optimo-music @fieldmaneuvers

Find out more about Field Maneuvers 2024: https://ra.co/news/80472

RA Live - Optimo (Espacio) - Field Maneuvers, UK

Do!! You!!! radio host and selector steps up for a round of Ransom

The great Sarahtonin is a selector who’s not one to fit into boxes. Less about genre boundaries and more about pure, unadulterated feeling – crafting sets that are part emo-odyssey, part dance floor magic built of rare disco through to techno Sarah’s is one for the journey…

Her Do!! You!!! radio show has already garnered her a cult following, with listeners all over the world. Whether she’s lighting up the sweaty confines of Corsica Studios, festival stages like Gala, or curating mixes Sarah brings an infectious energy that’s impossible to ignore.
 
Buckle up, and let Sarah be your guide.

“Take off all your clothes… I feel the beat… come and dance with me…”

FULL INTERVIEW: https://www.theransomnote.com/music/mixes/sarahtonin-the-shine-a-light-on-mix/

@sarahtonindj

Sarahtonin - The 'Shine A Light On' Ransom Note Mix

Cloone b2b Marco Carola @Mexico EDC

Live set from Music On at Destino opening party.

Cloonee - Live at Destino, Music On Ibiza Opening '25

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

Three selectors , one wild vibe. Here’s a taste of our end-of-summer madness: Tristan da Cunha, Dr Banana, and Truly Madly going B3B for an exclusive SlapFunk session that might return sooner than you think.

Four hours of dance-floor dynamite, curveballs, and high-energy mayhem….your perfect ADE warm-up to get those necks snapping and booties clapping.

Dr Banana b2b Tristan Da Cunha b2b Truly Madly - SLPFNK LIVE CUTZ #01

Roy Wood$ Boiler Room Toronto DJ Set

@SolarSF and @Mozhgan have been kind enough to let us upload their barnstormer of a set from The Island, and by gum this one’s a humdinger. 

For those of you who live under rocks, Solar and Mozhgan popped over from San Francisco to give Bristol’s best venue a proper talking to - and a proper talking to they indeed gave it. The duo took us through selections of punk-laced EBM, futurist minimal synth, headbang techno and old-school acid drivers, solidifying their status as our favourite Bay Area couple! 

As a mix, it is unpredictable, obscure and diverse, but without meandering from a central theme of dark, moody, fun-as-fuck party slammers (DJ Bigos hit us up) - we feel incredibly blessed to have been able to host these two and add this to our humble little series.

Not to mention preserving one of our favourite parties, and some fond memories with 2 of our favourite guests!

Recorded live at The Island, Bristol, 31st January 2020.

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