Dekmantel Podcast 343 - ISAbella

"Since I was a little kid I have found a safe space in music," said ISAbella (@bellasalmonella) on her Instagram recently. Nowadays, the Colombian DJ uses music to create those same safe spaces for other people. She is a resident at Barcelona's influential Macarena club, where she runs the Mistress night which aims to empower women and give visibility to the underground. She is also co-founder of MARICAS, a queer night that has hosted parties in Barcelona, Paris and Amsterdam and spawned a vinyl-only label that launched in 2020 with a thrilling EP of house, breaks and electro from ISAbella herself. All that features in this week's podcast, which is a smooth and serene trip to the deepest recesses of the dance floor. It finds ISAbella laying down bumping drums and punchy rhythms throughout, but always with a sense of warmth and positivity. There are heady cosmic melodies, nostalgic chords and sci-fi motifs among the way. At times things feel futuristic, at others, there is a sense of retro familiarity, but it adds up to a mix as stylish as it is effortless.