Dekmantel Mix Series Archive 1-500

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Dekmantel Podcast 397 - Alberta Balsam Aug 09, 2022

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A vast technical understanding underpins the work of Rotterdam's @albertabalsam. It allows her to deconstruct norms and rebuild music with her own rules as she draws on electro, IDM, heavy techno, broken beats and avant-acid sounds. This has made her a firm favourite at artful events all across Europe where she joins the dots between outlier sounds while never forgetting to get people dancing, while also releasing on our label, Carista’s United Identities and Tzusing. Alberta's quest to do the impossible, her passion for sci-fi motifs and a love of 90s vibes all shine through in this week's mix: it's a hard-to-define trip through elastic bass and out-there rhythms. Icy and sparse electro makes way for unhinged drum flurries and sleazy broken beats, freaky sound designs sit next to weirdo vocals and leave you wondering WTF? while loving every second of the maverick musical madness.

Dekmantel Podcast 396 - Yazzus Aug 01, 2022

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UK dance music has always been defined by its eclecticism. And few artists capture that better than @yazzus-1. Both her sets and her productions are turbocharged tornados that collide rave, breakbeat, techno, jungle and footwork. They are playful and knowingly over-the-top, take in plenty of bootlegged edits and have landed her on labels like Diplo's Mad Decent, Mall Grab's Steel City Dance Discs and the legendary Hospital. She co-runs her own Rave Litany party and has DJed as part of the 6 Figure Gang so basically never takes her foot off the gas, whatever she is doing. It is no surprise then that this week's mix is one of the most hard-hitting we have had in a while. Everything is turned up to 11, from the fast mixing style to the faster beats. It explores all kinds of techno from bass heavy to twitchy, raved-up to old-school nose-bleed. Later on, there are warp-speed explorations of juke, footwork and club that leave you gasping for breath but desperate for more. Strap in!

Dekmantel Podcast 395 - Jana Rush Jul 25, 2022

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For as long as there has been footwork, there has been Jana Rush (@jaru-1). The Chicago-born pioneer started on the decks aged just 10 and was producing not long after. Since the mid-nineties, she has put out music that endlessly innovates within the juke and footwork framework. Her coiled rhythms and stripped-back drums are the vehicles for emotions that range from anguish to empowerment. Last year she dropped her second album Painful Enlightenment on Planet Mu and it was a frank listen that spoke of her struggles with depression. This week's mix is a controlled but chaotic fusion of all elements of footwork from the silkier and more melodic side to heavy jungle rhythms and on through electro-tinged bangers. It is brilliantly hyperactive as it ducks and dives through so many emotions, and it finds Jana packing so much in over the course of an hour that it feels like you have been locked in all night long.

Dekmantel Podcast 394 - Tone B. Nimble Jul 18, 2022

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American @tonebnimble has been a vital part of the dance music underground since growing up in Chicago in the mid-eighties. He's one of those artists who has always stayed under the radar but is a firm favourite with those who know, from Sadar Bahar to Gilles Peterson. Part of that is because of the faultless labels he runs which shine a light on both lesser known and more modern soul, disco and gospel gems. First, there was Al-Tone Edits with Al Bum, and then came Rain&Shine which put out eight volumes of Tone's magnificent Soul is My Salvation series. All of these life-enriching sounds old and new are served up on this week's mix in a positively uplifting fashion. It's a glorious selection of soul-stirring songs, funky disco bombs and golden gospel grooves that work in just about any setting, at any time of day. Mixes as irresistible as this are as much education as they are entertainment, and they should really make us thankful for diggers like Tone B. Nimble who work so exhaustively to bring us such high-grade musical pleasures.

Dekmantel Podcast 393 - Orpheu The Wizard Jul 11, 2022

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@orpheuthewizard is one of the many jewels in the Amsterdam scene, as well as being a regular with us here at Dekmantel. He's one of those DJs who was born for the backroom, a place where his curveballs and oddities make for subversive soundtracks that span sounds and scenes from across the decades. For that reason, he is an ever-popular guest on stations like NTS and can either cast you adrift in the cosmos or lock you in with a cold wave beat. He's in a club-ready mood on this week's mix and it's one that proves exactly why they call him Orpheu The Wizard: it's a journeying selection of intergalactic tracks that bang and bounce in many different ways. There are nostalgic retro-future workouts mixed into brain-boggling trance-techno cuts, rave bombs and bright progressive classics all upping the energy levels and leading to your eventual take-off. Strap in!

Dekmantel Podcast 392 - Coco Bryce Jul 04, 2022

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Coco Bryce (@cocobrycebeats) is a veteran of the drum & bass scene, but also one of its most cutting-edge artists. The Breda-born DJ and producer is a master of intricate drum patterns and superbly warm and emotive pads. His silky, soulful sounds some with deft vocals and proper piano riffs that are always on the more minimal end of the spectrum, but still make a lasting impact. Next to his own Myor label, he has landed on the likes of Critical Recordings, Lobster Theremin and Fresh 86, and in 2022 alone he has put out at least six different EPs. True to his prolific form, this week's mix is packed with his own exclusive and unreleased tunes as well as gems from Paradox, Denham Audio and DJ H. It adds up to an absorbing hour of stylish and stripped-back rhythms that both float in the cosmos and root you to the dance floor. Lush chords and subtle waves of euphoria permeate the whole mix and make it as emotionally touching as it is physically moving.

Dekmantel Podcast 391 - Monotronique Jun 27, 2022

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@monotronique hails from Kharkiv, which is one of the cities affected most by the war in Ukraine. Before the invasion, he had become one of its most definitive DJs thanks to his residency at Zhivot. That was the platform that helped him break out on the European scene with his brand mix of house, techno and bass. Drawing on those genres, his productions pair minimalism with experimentalism and have come on the likes of Livity Sound, Opal Tapes and Banoffee Pies. This week's mix is an epic one spread across two and a half hours which showcases Monotronique's ability to start slow and build a fantastic mood. Nothing is rushed here as the electronics go from deep and dubby to smooth and seductive. House, techno and raved-up breaks all build the pressure then well-placed moments of euphoria break out to release the pressure before things build once again. It's a brilliantly balanced mix from this essential Ukrainian.

Dekmantel Podcast 390 - Flore Jun 20, 2022

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@flore is adept in many different fields. She was Ableton's first certified female trainer in her native France. She pioneers a leftfield take on bass with her own music and heads up the crucial POLAAR label. Her explosive sense of energy and ever-curious mind draws on the fundamentals of Jamaican sound system culture and embellishes it with the new music she is constantly searching for. Across two full-lengths she was ahead of the curve, first with a unique take on bass, and then a futuristic techno offering on 2020's Rituals. Guessing what might come next is part of her appeal. In a little over an hour on this week's mix, Flore whips through 30 thrilling tracks. Almost every single one has a different rhythm, some pound, some skip, some float. There are jungle throwbacks, future club tracks and manic acid cuts that make for a full-throttle ride, but always with a sense of control that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Dekmantel Podcast 389 - Lefto Early Bird Jun 13, 2022

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Like many of his generation, @lefto Early Bird has gained a global following because of his radio shows. Broadcasting on the likes of Studio Brussel, Kiosk Radio and Worldwide FM from his base in Brussels, he's become a beacon of good taste whether dropping jazz, new beat, house or hip hop. He manages to make seemingly unrelated sounds make sense in the same context and is just as versatile in the DJ booths of Europe's best clubs and festivals. He plays for us at Dekmantel Selectors later this year and is sure to serve up one of his magic musical melting pots. This week's mix is just that, with a brilliantly broad selection of tracks from Sun Ra & His Arkestra, Kerri Chandler, Synkro and Kendrick Lamar just some of those he weaves in. It makes for something that manages to transport you to a sun-kissed beach, a prohibition-era speakeasy and then a boogie-fuelled dance floor in the blink of an eye. You are sure to be left wondering how on earth he does it all.

Dekmantel Podcast 388 - Fortuna Records Jun 08, 2022

Show notes

For the last decade, the tireless work of Tel-Aviv quartet Maor Anava, Zach Bar, Yoav Magriso and Ariel Tagar has been shining a light on magnificently obscure and previously forgotten Middle Eastern sounds. As a DJ crew and label heads of Fortuna Records, their carefully curated reissues focus on the psychedelic end of the spectrum and give their Israeli homeland the exposure it deserves. Their NTS show is another bastion of good taste and takes in everything from Arabic pop to acid, free jazz to traditional Arabic sounds. This week's mix is a similarly freewheeling selection that is steep in hypnotic Arabic music, transcendental instrumentals and curious grooves. It makes for an intoxicating listen with snaking melodies that lead you down a rabbit hole before loose-limbed Middle Eastern rhythms carry you to the edge of the dance floor and back again. Add in leftfield dub and ritualistic vocals and you have an authentic snapshot of a unique musical world.

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Dekmantel Mix Series Archive 1-500

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