Enjoy a new episode in the Dekmantel Mix Series, published bi-weekly.
http://www.dekmantel.com
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Enjoy a new episode in the Dekmantel Mix Series, published bi-weekly.
http://www.dekmantel.com
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OKO DJ is a core member of a few key collectives: the first is the Brothers From Different Mothers label she has been signed to, and the second is LYL Radio, where she heads up the Paris department and hosts the monthly Synchronisme ou Barberie with the Bruits de la Passion crew, as well as her own women-only show Pu$$y Nightmare. She is utterly diverse in the music she plays, which ranges from doom laden psych to 80s synth to cold body music via futuristic soundscapes. Mixing with a focus on vibe and feeling rather than scene or style, she is freed up to go wherever the music takes her. And so it is that her mix starts with an energised spoken word monologue then transitions to experimental beats, spooky synth tracks and jungle all within the first fifteen minutes. Dark and foreboding passages are often offset by more exotic moments of calming ambiance and for every frazzled synth and blizzard of drums there is a restorative dub moment to reset the mood. Such a series of highs and lows, darks and lights is not often found in the same set, and what’s what sets OKO DJ apart.
A true student of world music, specifically scenes across West Africa, Auntie Flo’s music is an always authentic distillation of afro drums and rhythms. His latest album was the finest example of that and featured collaborators from Senegal, Cuba and London who all added a true sense of character to his meticulous production. The tracks ranged from broken beat to string laced soul and featured found sounds from Moroccan markets and bustling townships that took you on a truly global adventure. His mix, of course, travels just as far and wide and plays out like an audio diary that tells a thousand stories. There's gorgeous instrumental fair setting the scene and sojourns into heavy drums that’ll have you in a trance psychedelic melting pots of intoxicating synths and wind instruments and steamy and menace, it takes you places you’ll likely never have been before.
Chinese born Tzusing has spent time in Chicago, Singapore and Taiwan and “this condition of dislocation” is what informs his music. It is a brash mix of industrial textures, harsh broken techno and subversive pop, trap and rap that is all blurred into one borderless offering that mirrors his own personal intersections. That music has come on LIES since 2011 and has given rise to standout LP 東方不敗 in 2017 that lead to shows on Boiler Room, Dommune and at Berghain. He was quiet on the release front in 2018, but has started this year with a new split EP on Pan, and now offers us a musical catch up ahead of him playing at Dekmantel Festival later in the year. Over the course of seventy minutes he jumps around restlessly, but somehow his sounds remain united by shiny metallic surfaces whether he’s mixing in Asian pop, whirring computer sounds in meltdown or horror-core. To us, it sounds like a futuristic soundtrack to some hyper urban metropolis that’s on the brink of collapse, and it’s genuinely compelling.
Mike Parker, you would assume, is a perfectionist. His techno is meticulous, his grooves as hypnotic as any. Over the course of two decades he has honed in on his vision with ever increasing accuracy. He manages to get huge amounts of detail into his tunes that elevates them above purely functional material and lands him on labels like Semantica, Prologue and Tresor in both EP and LP format. The American is just as deep and powerful as a DJ, even without the use of kick drums. And that’s the path he follows over the course of one absorbing hour here, laying out a cinematic journey into space that is propelled by ambient synths and sci-fi motifs that set real scenes and have a real sense of narrative. At times it is blissful, at others more unnerving, but rarely will you hear an ambient mix as coherent and compelling as this.
Detroit’s Patrice Scott is a lifelong student of the deep who brings something fresh to his more techno orientated hometown. His smoky, atmospheric house lays low and rolls on endlessly, getting you in a meditative state and keeping you there with spine-tingling vocal motifs and beautifully delicate keys. His own Sistrum label has been on a similar mission since 2006, and you’d be hard pushed to find deep house as raw and emotionally charged anywhere in the world. His podcast is a two hour masterclass in smooth and seductive house that explores plenty of different moods. Selections exude the sort of class and quality that Scott has made his trademark: he’s not afraid of a jiggy drum pattern, or a vulnerable female voice, but the kicks always remain rooted to the floor and impossible to ignore. Come rain or shine, outdoor stages or indoor sweat boxes, this is the sort of mix that will always make a mark.
Has anyone toyed with the rules and subverted expectation quite as much as DJ Fett Burger in recent years? We can’t think of many people who are more thrilling to listen to than the Sex Tags co-founder. Whether viewing ambient through a dubby house lens, getting wilfully weird with time signatures or wonderfully wonky with his grooves, the Norwegian is in a class of one. He’s fairly prolific too, with more than 22 EPs to his name since 2012, yet each and every time he steps out, he manages to sound more fun and freaky than before. It’s the same story with his DJ sets. The one we have here is a three-hour ready-made party: it starts with ass-wiggling funk and joyous disco before things begin to unravel into tumble-down house and heavily percussive afro drums. Fett Burger isn’t afraid to suddenly switch up the tempo or roughly blend in a new tune, either, just so long as the energy remains. And it does, with things ending up not far from where they started with a classic slice of Prince that will leave you wanting to do it all again.
VC-118A is a firm favourite with electro’s most hardcore fans. The Dutchman - who also works as Mohlao and Multicast Dynamics - covers every shade from moody and insular to purely for the floor. He’s a regular on the most reliable labels in the scene including Delsin (where he just released his new album 'Inside'), Frustrated Funk and Radio Matrix, and always manages to get rich contrasts in his music that make it as impactful as it is thoughtful. He’s also one of the most able live acts in the game; someone who soundtracks imaginary movies that play out while you’re lost in the darkness. He keeps it high tempo over the course of an hour here, with corrugated drum funk and glistening sci-fi synths all racing along and taking you with them. At times there is an aggressive sense of industrialism to the music, but just when the pressure is about to get too much, you’re off into more eerie and empty sonic worlds that forever keep you guessing. Sit back, then, and enjoy a master at work.
Techno collaborations don’t come much more exciting than Neon Chambers. Made up of UK titan Sigha and famously experimental Frenchman Kangding Ray, the pair have very much defined the modern sound of the genre with their solo careers. When coming together for their blistering live show, they fuse avant-garde sounds with machine-driven grooves and work up music that manages to make an impact on the floor as well as fire your cerebral cortex. Later this year, the pair will play at Dekmantel 2019, but before that we have a set to get you in the zone as to what to expect. Of course, it is a stylish and boundary pushing exploration of tempo and texture that is all up close and intricate synthesis one moment, then more laid back dub swagger the next. Never rooted to one sound world, there are cosmic vibes as well as raw industrialism all touched upon, and the result is as arresting as you would expect from this hugely proficient pair.
Jonny Rock knows how to entertain any sort of dance floor. The Worldwide FM radio host runs Turkish focussed labels Hamam House and Disco Hamam and has very much driven the renewed focus in Eastern music as a result. His record collection is a treasure trove of knowledge when it comes to unusual scenes and sounds and will put anyone’s to shame. He has held residences at places as diverse as Classic at The End, Key at Phonica and Herbal, and his own productions take in whatever he wants, be it house on The Nothing Special or techno on ESP Institute. There is no holding back over the course of his podcast, which gets straight to business with some wild breakbeat action. All forms of house from jacked up to deep, celebratory to acid then get seamlessly linked together into something that feels very much informed by the past but in no way a slave to the classics. It’s the sound of a man who very much knows what he’s doing in top form.
Although a relative newcomer to the DJ game, JASSS has really managed to shake up the dance floor in the last couple of years ( not least with her residency at Berghain's Säule). Releases on Anunnaki Cartel, Mannequin and iDEAL Recordings have showcased her rugged and gritty approach to EBM, industrial, acid and techno. Between those releases she has covered experimental sound art, soundscapes and more club focusses beats, all while playing to her own rules and fighting her own internal battles. On her Dekmantel podcast the Spaniard goes direct to the club with visceral drums and stark synths. It’s a mix that hurries you along for the ride, jostling you with breakbeats and rave stabs then rewriting your brain with prickly techno before allowing you a moment to breath in some more elastic and rubbery house music. It’s always full flavour, high impact stuff that is brilliantly compelling and strobe lit throughout, whether stepping at half time or falling over itself in a race to the end.