RA Podcast

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RA.900 Bobby Beethoven (FKA Total Freedom) Sep 03, 2023

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Ashland Mines, AKA Total Freedom, AKA Big Gay Idiot DJ, AKA Bobby Beethoven, is one of the best and most influential DJs of the 21st century. Starting out at pioneering parties like Mustache Mondays and Wildness (which he cofounded with Wu Tsang)—and a regular at GHE20G0TH1K—Mines helped to define the style that would become known, however cringe-inducingly, as experimental club or deconstructed club, directly inspiring fellow visionaries like Arca. Like some of the best DJs before him, Mines uses the CDJs as an instrument, but that doesn't mean just fancy tricks and looping. Instead, he artfully throws together clashing sounds—effects, samples, monologues, pop and R&B acapellas, and beats that run the gamut from dancehall to kuduro to breaks and techno. He's not afraid of the grotesquerie of human life and movement (just check out the monologue at the beginning of this mix), and he likes to push buttons. Once he put on a party where dancing wasn't allowed. Some of his sets are intentionally anxiety-inducing, evoking horror movies and modern classical composers like Penderecki, while others are bouncy and ebullient, weaving between genres and tempos like an old-school platformer. The best are both. On Mines's RA Podcast—a milestone 900th in the series—he shows off this inimitable style, sharpened and reinforced over a decade-and-a-half of playing some of the world's best parties, fashion shows, you name it. He's the kind of DJ who creates his own music as he goes along. He makes you hear old tracks—especially pop music and R&B—in a whole new way. Titled "Cursed Piercing," this is a near-hour of controlled chaos that'll confound you at one moment and deeply move you the next. Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/900

RA.899 Stacey Hotwaxx Hale Aug 27, 2023

Show notes

Talk to any veteran artist and they'll tell you consistency is the secret to longevity. Staying relevant in a competitive industry requires unwavering dedication to the craft—a lesson that nobody knows better than the godmother of house music, Stacey Hotwaxx Hale. The gear head, educator, music nerd and Detroit legend is considered the Motor City's first woman DJ to play underground house music. Her inquisitive mind, passion for audio equipment and community spirit has led to a decades-spanning career that has inspired countless women and expanded Detroit's rich musical heritage. As a teenager, she learned to record on reel-to-reel tapes before learning the ropes from club king Ken Collier in the late '70s. Mastering the art of what she called "sneak-a-mixx"—seamlessly mixing vinyl records continuously—she beat over 600 artists to win the 1985 Motor City Mix competition. DJing remained a given in her life, even when she pursued a full-time engineering degree. She's often described in interviews how she would do math homework in between mixing tracks during gigs in her 20s. When she's not behind the decks or playing in the live ensemble Nyumba Muziki, she teaches DJing and production classes with the goal of teaching her students self-expression. Hale's sound is warm and dynamic, incorporating everything from gospel, electro, hip-hop, techno and live instruments with the goal of spreading positivity and happiness. Those feelings and cross-genre moods are all tangible on her RA Podcast. Moving gracefully between disco, funky techno, R&B and classic house, Hale's mix feels like the perfect night out, showcasing her versatility, love for vibrant rhythms and her sharp ear. @hotwaxx Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/899

RA.898 Colored Craig Aug 20, 2023

Show notes

People in Los Angeles usually remember the moment they first saw Colored Craig DJ. He cuts a memorable figure: throwing down records on the turntables and dancing like he's in the crowd, not behind the decks. He's one of those rare selectors who's almost as fun to watch as he is to listen. But the rest of the world should be listening. Over the past few years, Colored Craig has become one of the LA area's most in-demand DJs, not just because of his considerable skills, but because of his old-school, loved-up ethos. He plays classic house records with a verve and style that you can't really teach or learn. You just have to have it. A choreographer by trade, everything about Craig has to do with movement, the joy of it, the energy you both gain and lose through dancing. His RA Podcast, recorded in his living room (a sort of nightclub in itself) gets across the infectious, uplifting energy of his sets, blazing through tracks from Kerri Chandler, Masters At Work and Chez Damier, and even including a disco house track that samples the Price Is Right theme. You might call this sound nostalgic, but it doesn't feel that way coming from Colored Craig, who is obsessed with the now, and the power of the moment. That outlook is all over this mix, and with any luck, you'll be hearing and watching him DJ around the world outside of LA sometime soon. @coloredcraig Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/898

RA.897 IG Culture Aug 13, 2023

Show notes

Broken beat, or bruk, is intrinsically collaborative. Its London originators often recorded together, taking inspiration from jazz, hip-hop, deep house, drum & bass and Afrobeat. Because the genre was born of fusion, it brought together heads from all corners of the music spectrum—sound system purists to junglists to Latin Nuyorican aficionados—who each resonated with bruk's complex rhythms in their own ways. Ian Grant, AKA IG Culture, is an early pioneer of bruk, and his story underlines the style's synergetic nature. Starting out as an MC, he struck fame in the early '90s as one half of Dodge City Productions but quickly grew disillusioned with the major label business. After immersing himself in early George Duke records, Fela Kuti, Fuji music, The Headhunters and the like, he started experimenting in the studio. The jazz inspiration, plus his roots in reggae and background in hip-hop and acid jazz, led to his now-seminal, late '90s productions as New Sector Movements—widely considered as the starting point in bruk history. Since then, Grant has kept building infrastructure for the hybrid sound. Alongside Bugz in the Attic, Phil Asher, Dego of 4hero, Demus and Orin Walters, he cofounded the legendary CoOp party, which became a meeting place for diverse musical minds and enabled bruk to keep evolving. Grant remains deeply committed to co-creating, as seen by the Selectors Assemble artist collective he runs with Alex Phountzi (the two are also known as NameBrandSound), his releases with Psykhomantus as Shall I Bruk It, his Afrofuturist take on bruk as Likwid Continual Space Motion and various other projects. On his RA Podcast, the veteran artist presents a forward-thinking portrayal of bruk, adjacent styles that were directly inspired by it and other global club cuts. There are cerebral, jazzy cuts from his CoOp label, Nigerian cruise music, percussive UK garage, 2-step swing, dancehall dub and much more. This is Grant's world, where rhythmic and swung beats reign supreme. @ig-culture Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/897

RA.896 Kerrie Aug 13, 2023

Show notes

Kerrie started a label called Dark Machine Funk, a name which hints toward the kind of music she plays. And while the Irish artist might be a capital-T techno DJ, her idea of "dark" is a little different than the black-clad legions of her generation. You won't find whiplash-inducing BPMs or racy pop edits in her sets. Her idea of techno is more classicist, without veering towards the stuffy or the retro. Her DJIng and her productions bridge the divide between Euro and American styles. Hints of breakbeat or other broken patterns bring in ideas from the UK techno that she loves so much, such as the pivotal label Blueprint, where she's become a regular as of late. With her, the devil's in the details (listen to those deliciously twisted hi-hats in recent track "Transient Belief"), and that comes down to mixing records, too. Her RA Podcast is a fast but measured run-through of 90 minutes of techno by artists like Exium and Tensal and from labels such as Token and Soma. Though none of her own tunes make the tracklist, this mix perfectly captures Kerrie's style. She's someone who appreciates that the real power and force of techno comes from its groove, not just the impact of the kick drum or pure speed. @kerrie_DJ Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/896

RA Community Connections Copenhagen - Atikka @ Drift Radio Aug 10, 2023

Show notes

RA CC Copenhagen brought together online radio station Drift Radio for a livestream and local community builder and record store Proton Records for a pop-up record sale at cultural hub Øen in celebration of the interconnectedness of their community and the distinctiveness of the Copenhagen sound. https://soundcloud.com/atikka-music https://soundcloud.com/drift-radio https://www.pr-t-n.org/ https://soundcloud.com/oencph

RA Community Connections Copenhagen - Cockwhore & Macho @ Drift Radio Aug 10, 2023

Show notes

RA CC Copenhagen brought together online radio station Drift Radio for a livestream and local community builder and record store Proton Records for a pop-up record sale at cultural hub Øen in celebration of the interconnectedness of their community and the distinctiveness of the Copenhagen sound. https://soundcloud.com/cockwhoreandmacho https://soundcloud.com/drift-radio https://www.pr-t-n.org/ https://soundcloud.com/oencph

RA Community Connections Copenhagen - Lyra Valenza @ Drift Radio Aug 10, 2023

Show notes

RA CC Copenhagen brought together online radio station Drift Radio for a livestream and local community builder and record store Proton Records for a pop-up record sale at cultural hub Øen in celebration of the interconnectedness of their community and the distinctiveness of the Copenhagen sound. https://soundcloud.com/lyravalenza https://soundcloud.com/drift-radio https://www.pr-t-n.org/ https://soundcloud.com/oencph

RA Community Connections Copenhagen - Téa @ Drift Radio Aug 10, 2023

Show notes

RA CC Copenhagen brought together online radio station Drift Radio for a livestream and local community builder and record store Proton Records for a pop-up record sale at cultural hub Øen in celebration of the interconnectedness of their community and the distinctiveness of the Copenhagen sound. https://soundcloud.com/teateatea123 https://soundcloud.com/drift-radio https://www.pr-t-n.org/ https://soundcloud.com/oencph

RA.895 Ruby Savage Jul 30, 2023

Show notes

Like most multi-genre music fans, London-based Ruby Savage approaches DJing through a wide-angle lens. Whether she's touring, playing her post-punk disco party, In Flames, or hosting her monthly show on NTS, the Amsterdam native opts for warm, bouncy tunes that traverse dub, jazz and '80s proto-house. As she once Mixmag, she isn't beat-matching but "heartbeat-matching." For her, a dance is a means to feeling the full spectrum of emotions in a healthy way. Years spent behind-the-scenes at influential institutions have added to her understanding of energy and flow. She's worked the counter at Honest Jon's Records, managed Theo Parrish's Sounds Signature label (plus created the Wildheart Recordings sister label) and Gilles Peterson's Brownswood imprint, in addition to helping the Worldwide FM don launch Arc Records. When she's not DJing, Savage is spearheading community initiatives like Don't Be A Creep, an educational platform about club safety, as well as Artist Recovery Club for creative growth among music-makers. For her RA podcast, the vinyl enthusiast crafted a house music odyssey through soul, disco and gospel-inflected cuts like "Glory" by Waajeed and Dames Brown. It's an uplifting excursion through joy, catharsis and self-affirmation, relayed straight from the heart. @kwasiba3000 Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/895

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