Dekmantel Mix Series Archive 1-500

Latest Episodes:

Dekmantel Podcast 042 - DJ Nobu Nov 02, 2015

Show notes

For our next podcast we head out to the Far East, specifically to Chiba in Japan, where the cult favourite DJ Nobu resides. From there the man behind legendary party Future Terror and esteemed label Bitta has been putting out weird electronics, spacey electro and atmospheric techno since the late 90s. He releases rather infrequently, but when he does you can be sure he never does the same trick twice. It is the same story when he is DJing: he always manages to conjure up fresh tricks, textures and tunes depending on the situation and has put out many official mix CDs to that end. From contemporary electronic pieces to abstract techno, his wide repertoire has made him a favourite with the likes of the Berghain crew and Hessle Audio associate Ben UFO, who played with him recently at the Red Bull Music Academy, whilst he also played a stand out set on Boiler Room at our own Dekmantel festival earlier in the year. The podcast he has put together for us is just over an hour of occult ambient littered with the sounds of the Far East. It is patient and absorbing, zoned out and eerie as well as being hugely organic and natural sounding. Drums only appear in the latter half and when they do, they still come embellished with pixel thin pads, metallic surfaces and harmonic sounds that continue to sooth your mind in fresh new ways.

Dekmantel Podcast 041 - Voiski Oct 26, 2015

Show notes

Our 41st podcast comes from techno producer Voiski, who is a close associate of experimental label Silicate Musique, is part of Field Records duo Kartei and is also a regular on LIES and WT Records. His techno sound veers from off kilter and odd to more dance floor focussed, and is never short on intrigue. Characterised by infinitely repetitive loops and acerbic drums, his often analog tracks look to the future for their inspiration and always manage to be cerebral yet hypnotic. The mix he has served up for us is mostly made of old personal classics and or new tracks made by friends. “Intimate, glimmery and a bit strong,” says Voiski, the mix is a perfect one for this time of year and has some “heartwarming 90s trance to smile at with some solid techno to dance to.” He’s not wrong there, because this is an absorbing selection that might well surprise you with some of the more fun and sunny inclusions early on, but as things move on that deep, heady, hypnotic Voiski sound soon wins out with smooth coherent transitions that sound just like an extended track by the man himself.

Dekmantel Podcast 040 - Fort Romeau Oct 19, 2015

Show notes

Michael Greene is Fort Romeau, an accomplished producer of smooth and sumptuous, or more groove driven and kraut influenced, house music. It has come in the form of many compelling EPs and LPs and on labels like Spectral Sound, Live At Robert Johnson and 100% Silk and takes cues from Italo and New Wave amongst other things. An intriguing producer who is genuinely bringing something new and fresh to the decades old house sound, he is a welcome addition to our series. The mix we have on offer from Fort Romeau is one recorded at a recent gig at Corsica Studios in London that found him playing all night long. It was a real opportunity for the man to go deep, serve up curveballs and indulge many musical passions in one long session. “I really like playing in this way,” he says. “There’s so much freedom to shape the entire musical language of the evening and to make connections between disparate musics that you just can’t really do in two or three hours at peak time. Corsica is one of London’s best spaces in my opinion, the DJ booth is rock solid with none of the typical problems of playing vinyl that plague clubs these days, the sound system is good and the crowd has always been great in my experience, so i was pleased to be able to take over the programming for the night.” The near six hour selection touches on ambient as well as various different strain of techno and house from across the ages. All knitted together into a perfectly balanced and well paced mix that keeps a vibe alive throughout, it is a fine testament of his skill in the booth as well as a nice little peak into the influences and inspirations that inform his productions.

Dekmantel Podcast 039 - Rrose Oct 12, 2015

Show notes

Rrose—named after Marcel Duchamp's character, Rrose Selavey—is a dark and mysterious figure who makes dark and mysterious music. It comes mainly on his own Eaux label after early forays on the influential Sandwell District, and it combines mean and heavy overtones with more lithe and agile synths work. Most recently this American producer and live act served up an absorbing album of droning soundscapes on Seattle’s Further Records, whilst 2015’s EP output has seen him master supple techno forms drenched in reverb and soot black atmospheres. This deep, thick and industrially influenced sound carries over in to his live set, and that is exactly what we are serving up for you on our next podcast. This one hour session is an absorbing one that sucks you deep down a blackened rabbit hole. It is one that recreates his show at this year's Dekmantel Festival and across the course of an hour invites your mind to get lost in elongated synth lines that slowly drift about like planets in orbit. Occasional percussive patterns and crunchy textures get loosely scattered across the airwaves and along the way the brooding clouds break to let in some blissful rays of optimism. There are few who have a sound as focussed and singular as this, as this podcast proves.

Dekmantel Podcast 038 - JD Twitch (Optimo) Oct 05, 2015

Show notes

JD Twitch is a true musical magpie. Over his long and storied career the Scot has been responsible for seminal Glasgow party Optimo alongside Jonnie Wilkes, has put out post punk compilations, done trance mixes, run various different labels (from Autonomous Africa to Optimo Music) and is a famously skilled and eclectic DJ who has headlined all over the world. He has done a fabric CD and a compilation for R&S, produces with Dave Clark as Optimo (Espacio) as well as solo under a wide range of aliases. As such he is a veritable mine of musical knowledge and a real pillar of the underground scene. For his Dekmantel podcast he has delivered us something, as you would expect, rather special. “It's a mix of all Dutch dance tracks from the very early 90s,” he says. “It features a handful of well known classics but lots of forgotten gems and these were all records I played incessantly in very sweaty raves at that time, so a few of the records are a little scratchy, dusty, worn down. I wanted to do this mix as I was mad about Dutch records back then and I think Holland produced so much amazing music during this period and had a very distinctive, unique sound and perhaps a lot of people today don't know it was one of the pioneering nations of house and techno. The club I did back then, Pure, brought over a lot of dutch artists to play in the early 90s - Dimitri (many, many times), Eddie de de Clercq, Marcello, Random XS, Terrace, Miss Djax, Unit Moebius, Orlando Voorn, Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia and Acid Junkies to name a few. Lastly, I think the records from back then still sound great today!” Tune in and you will surely agree.

Dekmantel Podcast 037 - Esa Sep 28, 2015

Show notes

This week’s podcast shines light on Esa (Williams) also known as Mervin Granger. Although his mother land is South Africa, and he was one of Glasgow’s underground key figures, he’s currently located in London. As an integral part of the Auntie Flo live set up, he has played at Europe's leading venues and festivals including Fabric, Razzmatazz, Sub Club, Plastic People, and Snafu. Be sure to check his contributions to Huntleys + Palmers sister label Highlife and keep an eye for al upcoming releases. The mix is an interesting, storytelling affair heading off through some African ambience, playful and melodic house and plenty of other left of centre grooves. It is a mix where each new track sounds wholly different than the last, but with an underlying sense of worldly rhythm the thing that ties it all together. This, then, is a personal glimpse into he world of Esa and his crew, and one that makes for absorbing listening.

Dekmantel Podcast 036 - Basic Soul Unit Sep 21, 2015

Show notes

As you might have heard already, we’re quite stoked about our upcoming Dekmantel Records release by Basic Soul Unit. His debut at our label comes in the form of his album “Under The Same Sky”. The Canadian producer, real name Stuart Li, has been dropping quality records via a litany of highly respected imprints like Ostgut Ton, Crème Organization, Mule Electronic and Versatile over the past decade. Hypnotic and deep, but always funky, and very well produced. In this week’s podcast Basic Soul Unit proves he’s not only a stellar producer, but a very skilled DJ with a keen eye for tracks that others don’t pick up. Enjoy a classic ride trough subtile house, some disco, a couple uptempo tracks and of course some music of the upcoming album.

Dekmantel Podcast 035 - Autechre Sep 14, 2015

Show notes

Very few musical acts achieve the levels of unanimous acclaim of Autechre. The English duo of Rob Brown and Sean Booth are not an act you simply like; they are an act you love, fawn over and dream about. They’ve got themselves here over the course of the last 28 years, and have done so by amassing a discography that’s about as perfect, influential and accomplished as could ever be possible. A key Warp label act from day one, they have released tens of albums, well over a ten EPs and have featured on a dizzying amount of essential compilations, mixes and remixes in that time. Without their contribution to the IDM canon, its fair to say the modern musical landscape would look very different. Rhythmic but experimental, absorbing yet abstract, cerebral and psychedelic, their ever evolving output is up there with the likes of fellow luminaries Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin as some of the most important in all of electronic music. As well as being fine craftsmen in the studio, Autechre are also revered live performers who really manage to conjure up captivating and otherworldly soundtracks that marry heavy bass with ethereal melody. The pair themselves do not care for genre, but suffice it to say that they have mastered everything from hardcore to ambient to glitch and plenty of indescribables in between. When the pair recently laid down an impressive set at Dekmantel Festival, we asked if they might be up for a doing an early inspiration mix, whereby they put together a collection of the sort of electro and hip hop tracks that turned them on as youths. At first they hesitated, pointing out that "we don't do strictly retro stuff, it's too corny.” But alas, a few days later, a huge file landed in our inbox… That file is a 4 hour and 18 minute mix that basically encapsulates not just Autechre’s own influences, but also acts as a fine anthology of the greatest electro sounds of all time. Every sub genre imaginable gets touched upon along the way, with nods to forefathers like Kraftwerk, killer cuts from Man Parrish, classics from Newcleus and retro gold from the likes of The Beat Club. It is a thrilling ride and a truly rare treat that reminds us just why we love Autechre, as well as shining a light on a vast genre that often pays second fiddle to house and techno.

Dekmantel Podcast 034 - Traxx Sep 07, 2015

Show notes

If you ever witnessed a performance by Melvin Oliphant III aka Traxx, you know that the man is more than just your average DJ or producer. Genre-bending and constantly in a state of trance, Traxx is a unique species in our contemporary world of electronic music. All comes forth out of a endless love for music that catches his ear and instantly sets all motion in his body in progress. Seeing him play a deck-segment for the first time will probably knock you out of your shoes as his intense, expressive way of experiencing the music he plays is unparalleled. Not only are his performances not to be missed, his contribution to the Jakbeat movement via his Nation imprint amongst other affiliated labels and his own productions and collaborations are on a similar level. In 2013 Traxx closed out the smallest stage stage of the first edition of Dekmantel Festival, to prepare the inauguration of a long-standing commitment between Nation and Dekmantel that went into it's third time this year, when Traxx got up on the decks of the Melkweg Club to close out Saturdays Dekmantel by Night. Nation decided to share with us in this podcast of the recording from that first night in 2013. An energy-level so intense that brought the crowd into a frenzy, while dancing in the rain. Hit play, and reminisce...

Dekmantel Podcast 033 - John Talabot Aug 31, 2015

Show notes

John Talabot is the acclaimed Spanish DJ and producer who has brought a real sense of melody and occasion to house and techno. The Hivern Discs boss, as well as releasing a standout album in ƒIN, and fine collaborations with Axel Boman and Pional, is also an in-demand remixer celebrated for being able to create majestical grooves from originals by people like The xx and Shit Robot. He has also put together a stunning DJ Kicks mix and now he has been in the booth again, putting together a typically epic podcast for our on going series. Across the course of one and a half hours, the Barcelona based Talabot lays out his musical modus operandi in all its glory: serene house riddled with melody, dreamy pads and wavy tones that speak to the soul. With a rather blissed out and dreamy undercurrent, he slowly works through house old and new and keeps a strong, compelling groove present and correct at all times. Officially entitled "Post Summer Melodies" by Talabot, this mix is full of just that, and is sure to keep you warm long after the sun has gone.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Dekmantel Mix Series Archive 1-500

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected