Dekmantel Mix Series Archive 1-500

From cult local beginnings on the Berlin circuit, Rødhåd is now very much part of the global DJ highway. What initially turned heads was his ability to hold down long and hypnotic sets of loopy, moody house and techno all masterfully mixed in immersive ways. His productions, too, mixed sparse ambient designs with rolling techno grooves on labels like Dystopian and Token, and just this month he put out his debut album, Anxious. It’s a filmic meditation on beautifully bleak and eerie sounds and is another reason we love the man after he turned in a memorable closing set on our UFO stage at this year’s Dekmantel Festival. Over a ninety minute live mix recorded recently, he gets more energised with plenty of hurried techno and urgent synth lines all tightly weaving round each other. It’s a high pressure and enchantingly linear set that touches on Millsian space vibes, industrialism and unhinged apocalypse music in one smoothly mixed and sequenced session that will leave you out of breath.

The Hacker has long been turning out essential electro sounds that show off his mastery of his synths. But November will see him reveal another side when he releases analog album Le Théâtre des Opérations on Dark Entries. It finds the Frenchman indulge his love of EBM, techno and wave music and cook up a rugged, gritty and raw selection of tracks that joins the dots between Jeff Mills and Front 242, Dopplereffekt and Drexcyia. It’s arresting and unpredictable from start to finish. Happily, the live artist and producer indulges all those passions and more on this blistering one hour mix. It explores every facet of electro, from squelchy and dark to smooth and grooving. It’s a history lesson, really, that takes us through the musical adventures of The Hacker as well as electro at large. Turn it on, turn it up and turn yourself on to a master of the form.

Canadians Pender Street Steppers appeared as if from nowhere in 2014 and quickly became one of the most visible acts in house music. Their loved-up sound was frayed and roughhewn, sprinkled with lovestruck vibes and built on ramshackle drums that sounded immediately aged yet thoroughly new and fresh at the same time. Their penchant for new age romance and earthy aesthetics are mirrored in the buy-on-sight Mood Hut label they run with a larger collective, and their DJ sets are just as relaxed and big hearted, which immediately stood out at Dekmantel Festival and Dekmantel Selectors over the last couple of years. Across an hour, the famously reticent pair—they’ve done no interviews—effortlessly segue through afro grooves, boogie laced disco and lo-fi house. It’s a timeless mix of sounds that could work a small back yard gathering as much a bigger club setting, such is its irresistibly colourful and emotive sense of charm. That being said, it's probably no surprise that having these two fine and talented chaps on our podcast series is a big honour.

Stellar OM Source is a producer who never sits still. Always growing with each new release, the French woman arrived on a wave of dreamy and evocative synth pieces then went on to make Drexcyian techno and acid laced sci-fi soundtracks. She’s done so over the course of eight albums and a handful of EPs mostly on Rvng Intl. and though quiet on the release front for the last couple of years, she still serves up compelling club sets. Her mix here is a short, snappy and freaky one that leaves you wanting more. It’s a selection composed entirely of Belgian music because, she says, "I wanted to give back some love to the people of the country where I live. So many great talents and so much inspiration. Most tracks have been given by the producers themselves." From frazzled industrial techno to haunting EBM, sparse atmospheric tracks to groaning electronics, it packs a lot in over a short time and is utterly refreshing.

There is no one quite like San Proper. The Dutchman is a rare and real character in a scene that is all too often devoid of genuine personality. It shows in the wild music he makes, the wonderful Red Light Radio shows he hosts and the often weird sets he serves up at clubs and festivals round the world. Releasing most often on Rush Hour but also on Dopeness Galore and Perlon, he can do dark minimal as well as big hearted soul and can lay down a big guitar riff or program an off kilter drum line all with equal élan. His Dekmantel podcast finds the Dr. dig deep into his vinyl collection and serve up 23 slabs of soul, funk and afro magic across two hours that feel very personal. Traversing scenes, styles and tempos with flawless mixing and blending, he tells a very colour tale that breaks all the rules of a usual mix yet still makes complete sense. It is the sound of a selector who has open ears and who, ten years since his first release, is as thrilling and unpredictable as ever.

Paul Woolford’s Special Request alias has developed into so much more than the jungle and breakbeat project it started as. Proof of that comes this month with his Belief System LP, a magnum opus spread across four slabs of vinyl. The first half is a techno trip full of visceral twists and turns scattered with references to his love of pirate radio. The second half is the soundtrack to a fatalist mind movie that is dark and broody. Woolford’s mastery of sound design elevates the whole thing to a new level, and listening to it is as absorbing and complete an experience as you could wish for. As a DJ with many years experience under his belt, his work in the booth is just as essential. In his Dekmantel Podcast he takes us on an unpredictable roller coaster that veers from sparkly New York disco through to haunted beats, twisted electro and monstrous techno. Spin backs, face melting basslines, rave and punishing drums make it as much a party starting main room mix as a heads down let’s ‘av it marathon. It’s fun, full on and pushes and pulls you in many different directions without ever letting the energy levels dissipate.

In 2017, Glasgow based label Huntleys + Palmers celebrates ten years in action. In that time, Andrew Thomson has ensured it became a fertile musical breeding ground and an impossible to pin down outlet that offers up anything from afro to techno to bass music. Auntie Flo, SOPHIE and Alejandro Paz have all emerged from the Glasgow based stable and have put out music that plays with off kilter rhythms. Andrew's curatorial ear has also made the parties of the same name just as unpredictable, and before it closed he was also a programmer at London’s legendary Plastic People. The mix he has served up here under the Huntleys + Palmers moniker, takes a typically widescreen view and includes “tracks that I've been playing for a while and expect I'll continue to play in years to come.” Starting steady and worldly with dub and deep cosmic grooves, it grows more twisted with wiry electronics and frazzled synths before pulling back again, then repeating the cycle. It makes for a perfectly paced and well balanced mix that bubbles and boils and always keeps you guessing without ever falling off the edge.

The music Dane MacDonald plays and releases on his Common Edit label is as warm as his North Canadian roots are not. Always serving up sets with love, he is a big bearded, long haired dancer at heart, and someone who has a close relationship with west coast disco dons Eddie C and Koosh. Now based in Berlin and still pressing up records that will always fire up a more friendly, cosy party, his reputation has grown beyond the cult. Digging deep through rock, new age and freaky disco, he knows how to throw a party as well as how to throw down records. Over the course of 90 minutes he takes us on a sparkling journey where only he knows the destination. One minute you’re lost in a warm and festive disco cut, the next getting down to a low slung boogie track. Heavier drum led house comes later on, before heavyweight dub disco tunes lead us to a jazz-funk crescendo that sizzles with real joy.

After only three EPs since 2016, Borusiade aka Miruna Boruzescu has proved herself to have a very specific and focussed musical aesthetic. It is a dark, shadowy style of synth laden and stripped back disco that is tinged with echoes of industrial, acid and EBM. Correspondant, Cómeme and Cititrax have put out her music, and her perfectly gloomy sound translates to her DJ mixes. She first started playing 15 years ago as one of the few women on the Bucharest scene, and as such knows how to tell an emotive story—no doubt in part thanks to her love of cinema as well as classical music. Her Dekmantel mix is an hour of stark post-industrial sound, desolate landscaping and noir disco techno. From rugged, rattling tracks that sound like a factory in meltdown to more deep and subliminal marching tunes that convey no human life at all, it is a mix that is always on the move, slowly but surely. Ending in a place of angst and paranoia, it’s the sound of a DJ at the top of her game.

In just a couple of years, Glenn Astro has emerged at the centre of an exciting new micro-scene. The German producer is a student of hip hop, funk, soul and jazz who uses that knowledge to imbue his own sounds with a looseness and roughness that makes them immediately appealing. Words like dusty, deep and woody always come to mind when listening to his music, and so far it has landed on Tartelet, Box Aus Holz and of course his own Money $ex Records. Last year he also put out an excellent full length with label co-founder Max Graef on Ninja Tune which went in cosmic new directions, and in 2017 he has continued to impress with his instinctive DJ sets. His mix for us is a one hour distillation of all these sounds. It’s variously lunges and romantic, then more club focussed and beat driven. There are some lovely cover tracks, plenty of jazzed up grooves and flourishes of disco, all knitted together with a great sense of pace. There is a live and authentic feel to much of the music that makes it sound almost like a studio jam than a mix, and that’s another reason you'll play it over and over.

Virginia wears many different musical hats and always has. The Berlin based woman is a DJ, vocalist, song writer and producer who saw chart success early on in her career, as well as receiving underground acclaim for her album Fierce For The Night back in May 2016. She has written music with the likes of Steve Bug, has played a hybrid live and DJ set all over the world and has ties to labels like Ostgut Ton, Dolly Deluxe and Underground Quality. She has also famously provided vocals to some of Steffi’s most classic vocal tracks such as ‘Yours’, so is very much the voice of contemporary house music. Her podcast for us is entitled Greetings From My Garden - Music For The Heart Mix and shows off another side to the artist. It is made up of music more suited to home listening than dancing in the club, and features tracks from Massive Attack, Slam, The Orb, plus a new one of Steffi’s forthcoming album on Ostgut Ton. As such it’s a soothing listen of dreamy synths and comedown sounds, deep grooves and selection emotions that is the perfect soundtrack to the last days of summer.

Lil Tony is a big part of the Finnish scene and revered name on the international circuit. Back home he runs some of the city’s key venues, such as Kaiku, and while on the road he spins well informed sets of house and techno influenced by the American Mid West, but that also expend to take in disco, soul, electro and more. In the studio he turns out slick tracks for Innervisions, HPTY and Mood Music, is part of the Nuspirit Helsinki collective and is all set to play at Dekmantel Selectors this week hosting a boat party with Kaiku. Now, he steps up with a mix consisting 100% of Finnish music mainly from the eighties. It touches on disco, new wave, ambient, soul, Italo, electro, funk and boogie and paints a vivid picture. “I want to give special thanks To Mikko Mattlar, Perttu Häkkinen, Joshi, Pirkka and Juha Mäki for helping me find some of these gems,” says the man whose hour mix starts icy, atmospheric and melodic before slowly thawing out. As the drums appear and the melodies get more cosmic, you begin tapping along then the diva disco vocals, big synths and retro grooves all sweep you away into a world of proto-house and pixelated chords that are brightly coloured and unashamedly fun. Catch the Finnish version of Charlie’s ’Spacer Woman’!

The dance scene in Istanbul might not be one of the most talked about in the world, but whenever it is mentioned it’s impossible not to talk about Zozo. She is a left of centre DJ who was previously in charge of the musical direction of Hush, a gallery and bar on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, and nowadays she plays cult clubs like De School and Salon des Amateurs. She has also put out key cassettes like ‘Witchez of Anatolia’ on Sameheads, as well as being part of the famous curveball label Macadam Mambo. Reaching for curious sounds from her homeland as well as new wave, disco, synth pop, house and acid, a Zozo set of "oriental crime" is as magical as it is mysterious. And her mix for us is no different. In her own words, "frogs, communication, Russians, aliens, nature, wizards, friends, psychedelia, technology, joy, fear, love, human beings, publicity, toxic world and internet" are all sources of inspiration here and it shows. Her 75 minute set is wholly intoxicating, with synthetic sounds and real world samples, languid grooves and drunken rhythm all slowly unfolding and pulling you into their midst before tripping you out. It's weird and wonderful, and sounds like little else out there right now.

After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, American DJ Richard went on to set up White Material. It’s a label and artistic collective including the likes of Young Male that became synonymous with roughed up, frayed house and techno. In 2015, Richard served up a debut album on Dial that was a deep meditation on foggy, ambient coated house drones. Since then, aside from DJ gigs round the world, he has been rather quiet in terms of releases. That means this podcast from him is timely indeed, and shows us just where he is at: serving up jagged rhythms, industrial cold wave cuts and bleak, grainy atmospheres that are devoid of human life if not for the odd dehumanised vocal yelps and pained cry. It’s fizzing, mid tempo but engaging stuff that is underpinned by a tension and darkness that always keeps you intrigued.

Byron the Aquarius is on a roll. As well as being a key proponent in the American house scene, and after a time spent as a producer for others, he is now making very much part of the conversation over in Europe. His music has landed on Theo Parrish’s Sound Signature, Kyle Hall’s Wild Oats and is forthcoming on Eglo. It is warm and deep, with the organic edge and smartly sampled soul that makes US house music so appealing. A keys player by trade, he is also a formal student of jazz, and all this shines through in his recorded output as well as the records he mixes together all over the world. Over the course of an hour for us, Byron serves up breezy and musical house grooves dripping with cosmic keys, jazz looseness and timeless good time vibes. It’s a mix with a big heart and effortless mixing style that manages to be deep but dynamic, and is one of the reasons we are so excited for him to play with us in Amsterdam in August.

Resom is part of the beating heart of Berlin. As a resident at the city’s ://about blank she creates resonant musical soundtracks and very real dance floor experiences from whatever is needed - be it electro, techno, house or ambient. Rather than focussing on genres, Resom focusses on a range of moods and does the same on her travels whether playing our festival in Amsterdam or an intimate club in London. Also a political activist, booking agent and gender equality campaigner, she is a new breed of artist who is mindful of how important her voice and platform can be in the dance world. The mix she serves up for us is one of there longest we’ve had, and over more than two hours offers pad-laced stimulation for the mind as well as jerky machine rhythms that will make you move.“This mix has no deeper concept then to simply let go from having a concept”, Resom adds. Her contribution to our series is often dark and stripped back, there are curveball moments of wildness and heads down passages of electronic funk. Typically free from easy genre signifiers, this is dynamic music that always keeps you guessing.

Dekmantel Records label member Central is part of the Regelbau crew, which is one of the most exciting collectives in dance music at the moment. As well as putting out many records under his own name and as part of Hi Mount, Arhus based Natals Zaks is a record digger and and DJ that defies expectation. Besides that, he also runs Help Recordings alongside his brother, DJ Sports, and makes everything from breakbeat laced ambiance to roughed up house. Last month he stepped up to Dekmantel Records again with his soothing 'Pillow Peace' EP. Before that, he served up his Political Dance series with us and contributed to Part 3 of our 10th Anniversary series. Versatile and vital, he is a breath of fresh air for the scene, as well as our podcast series. Stretching his legs over the course of 100 minutes including loads of unreleased material, Central slowly sets the scene with summery ambiance made from pillowy synth clouds and melodies that drift by like a wispy cloud. It’s lazy and hazy and eventually evolves into shimmering pads and more cosmic atmospheres before some breezy, firmly rooted classic house glides you along. Perfectly feel good and with a big heart, this is the only mix you need for a hot day.

John Gómez is a new school tastemaker. The London based, Madrid born DJ has ties to essential collectives like Rush Hour—who he represents on a regular NTS show—as well as Invisible City and Music From Memory, for whom he recently compiled the critically acclaimed Outro Tempo: Electronic and Contemporary Music from Brazil, 1978-1992. A deep digging, versatile selector, he covers everything from house to afro, forgotten soul to niche disco. The best place to hear all these is at Tangent, the top East London party he has run with Nick the Record for the last few years. Across seventy odd minutes here, John keeps things sunny and tropical, with worldly sounds from niche disco, boogie and afro scenes all over the world. Each track oozes a sense of musicality as well as a solid underlying groove. The tracks feel joyful and happy, innocent and inviting and are all sequenced in a way that allows each one to really shine. All in all, it makes for a perfect soundtrack to a summer’s afternoon.

Umfang aka Emma Olson is one of the most influential figures in today’s techno scene. As co-founder of the Discwoman collective the American is doing essential work promoting female DJs. Of course, her own productions and DJ sets also further the cause as they lead by example and mix raw tension with experimental eeriness. So far coming on labels like 1080p and Allergy Season, videogamemusic, and Phinery, Emma has also played seven hour sets at Hot Mass in Pittsburgh and holds a monthly residency at Technofeminism at Bossa Nova Civic Club. Next to that, the youngster just dropped her new, promising album Symbolic Use Of Light on Technicolour. Clocking in at just over an hour, Umfang’s mix for us is filled with eerie and unusual rhythms that are often hugely roomy but underpinned by solid kicks. As the pressure builds, so does the tension, and by the mid point that boils over into raw and visceral drum tracks before falling apart into a flurry of distorted sounds, percussive hits and frazzled synths. Uncompromising and packing a lot in during a short space of time, it’s an eye opening mix that leaves you in a blissful place after a busy workout.

Marina "Dr" Rubinstein comes at her DJing from the perspective of the dancer. She grew up loving to get down to techno back home in Israeli (though she is Russian born and Berlin based) and will always be a hardcore raver at heart. It means her sets are defined by a certain energetic dynamism that finds her calling on acid, 90s rave and pumping techno to get the floor sweating. She does so at key places like ://about blank and Berghain, and this summer will play Dekmantel Festival. Her adventurous spirit and quest for that “special feeling” on the dance floor characterises her mix for us. It is seventy minutes of grooves designed to make you move, from rugged techno to slippery electro via pulsing kick drums that burrow deep into the night. Contrasting dark with light, wild acid with more streamlined sounds and overtly physical tracks with those that are more cerebral, it makes for an arresting trip filled with special dance floor moments.

Brooklyn’s Jacques Renault is a dance music polyglot. In his long career he has undertaken, and succeeded with, many different projects. Whether working solo or collaboratively, turning out original productions or cultured edits, DJing around the world or running his labels On The Prowl and Let’s Play House, he always comes correct. His sound is impossible to pin down as evidenced by his broad and sweeping DJ sets which range from Italo to techno, Afro to disco and back again. With this mix we find him in fine form across three enthralling and widescreen hours that showcase his democratic approach to digging. Effortlessly drifting from slow and tropical grooves to party starting disco, it embodies the sound of summer, of late afternoon BBQs and sunset sessions before getting more groove driven later on. Bubbly, breezy house becomes the order of the night, and it’s all underpinned by a loose and playful sense of love for the good times.

The Russia based Inga Mauer will proudly line up at our Dekmantel Festival this summer. And it is easy to see why: she has a high impact, strobe lit dark techno sound that is impossible to escape. This is true of her DJ-sets as well as her productions, which have been released on labels like Hivern Discs and shtum. Imbued with elements of EBM, hellish synth craft and psychedelic tendencies, she brings a fresh and widescreen persecutive to electronic music that really stands her out. Her mix is here just as alarming for all the right reasons: it quickly shifts from foreboding noise tracks to eerie drones, from cold wave styles to thudding house via nasty old school techno. Powerful and visceral throughout, it’s a muscular mix that takes many risks and veers off into a weird and wonderful world of sound that is never less than brilliantly unpredictable.

We don’t use the world genius lightly, but young Belgian based artist Roman Hiele might be just that. In only four years, he participated the Red Bull Music Academy and has put out five albums that have proved him to be an one of a kind producer with his own inventive sound. It is informed by a wide world of musical influence from classical to ambient, juke to acid via breaks and techno. Distilling all these into his his own rhythm noise, the artist works on labels Ekster and YYAA with great success. @hielehiele is known for his outstanding live sets and records that draw the perfect landscapes. But his one hour mix for us is one of the most brilliantly unusual in the series, and is completely dance floor orientated. One moment serving up kinetic drum programming it then flips into a retro synth world before dropping into a slow and atmospheric pool of pads and chords. Later on unhinged techno returns, dreamy house makes an appearance and experimental loops of busted drum and frazzled synths play us out. It’s perfectly anarchic and bravely left of centre and never lets up.

Any of you synth freaks out there will know all about London Modular Alliance. It is the alias of a live electronic act made up of Koova, Yes Effect and Pip Williams, but is also a much loved and cult synth shop of the same name in Hackney, London. In the club, London Modular Alliance do things properly: they cook up brain frying soundtracks, on the fly, with modular synths, no laptops, and many patch cables. Exactly what will go down at any of their shows is unknown even by the men behind the machines, such is their nature, but suffice it to say they always impress. Their studio sounds are equally beguiling and have come on Brokntoys and Hypercolour, and now they make their unique entry into our mix series. Clocking in at just over an hour, it is a one of the most alive soundtracks we have heard: the whole thing unfolds and evolves seemingly with a life of its own. There are no joins between tracks, no jarring transitions, just a fluid fusion of electro and techno grooves coated in that raw analogue texture we all love so much. Variously prickly and kinetic, raw and freaky or more supple and seductive, it is a splendid session from some of the finest synth maestros out there.

This week we turn to another close Dekmantel family member in Matrixxman. In just a couple of years the American has emerged as one of the foremost producers in the house and techno world. His rugged analogue sounds have come thick and fast over nearly 20 EPs and are famous for their balance of quality, invention and diversity. Never sticking to the same sound for long, his Sector series on our label proved that, roaming as it does from repetitive peak time techno futurism to mind melting acid and back again. Always focussed squarely on the dance floor, that carries over into his always body jerking sets, many of which have been at Dekmantel events and festivals around the world. Over the course of an hour here, the artist goes deep into a streamlined, intergalactic techno soundworld. Supple synths are layered up over pressurised and rubbery drums, manic melodies circle the grooves and there is a sense of darkness to the whole thing that is truly compelling. As energy levels ramp up throughout, you can’t help but go hard right until the blissed out ambient end game.

Interest in Japanese electronic music never wanes, and that is thanks to the work of producers like Gonno. As a key part of the contemporary musical landscape in the Far East, he has released on local as well as international labels like Perc Trax, Endless Flight and Ostgut Ton. He is someone who brings acid and melody to his techno and has put out fantastically realized full lengths such as 2015’s Remember The Life Is Beautiful as well as many EPs in the last decade. A regular guest at key parties in Europe as well as Japan, he recently played one such party on a Sunday afternoon. Taking place at a club near the beach called Oppala, he played for seven hours straight and managed to record the mix. Now he presented the first three hours for our podcast series. Starting with some unmistakably Japanese ambient sounds and delicate instruments, he then plots a journey through organic slow motion grooves that drip with musicality and tumble in pleasing ways. Never less than smooth and seductive, things get a little more energetic later on with more corrugated grooves, icy hi hats and bumpy beats and the whole thing makes for a rare recorded insight into the DJ side of this esteemed artist.

As boyhood friends, Dutchie @Jan-van-Kampen DJ’ed with founders Casper Tielrooij and Thomas Martojo as Dekmantel Soundsystem in Holland. Anno 2017, the skilled DJ is flying solo quite succesfully. He layed down a super sunny disco set on Boiler Room Dekmantel last year, and now he also comes correct in our mix series. Over the course of ninety minutes he digs out a diverse mix of music from the moody spoken word opener through some breezy house and loose organic grooves. Always hovering around a steady tempo, its the details around the beats that keep you locked here - they are intoxicating and deep, late night and playful, with many different shades of heady house all touched upon in smooth and seductive fashion.

Underground Resistance founder Robert Hood is one of the pioneering old guard who is still doing it right today. He is the epitome of Detroit house and techno, serving up pulsing minimal, and has been since the early nineties. Last year he joined our label for a series of three EPs entitled Paradygm Shift and a full length which will see the light of day the 22nd of May. The project is aimed to take techno out of its current comfort zone and very much did so, as does Hood himself whenever he plays one of our parties. Now he has served up the latest mix in our series and once again subverts expectation. His hour long Paradygm Shift Mix water no time in establishing a rock solid kick drum, and then proceeds to colour the airwaves around it with hypnotic hi hat loops, rougher claps, and raw synths. As ever with Hood, it is a bouncy and fast moving mix that hurries you along at a great rate, but because there are so many thrills along the way, you are more than willing to go wherever he wants to take you.

Mumdance embraces a much wider world of sound than many. The UK producer is an experienced collaborator who grounds his sounds in anything from grime to breaks, techno to hardcore, experimental to world and afro. Making textured noise with a module set up, playing sets that run a dizzying gamut of genres and performing live with the likes of Novelist, he is a restless creative who works with labels like Tectonic, Keysound Recordings and XL Recordings. On top of all this, he runs his own Different Circles label, heads up one of Rinse FM’s most popular radio shows and designed sound presents for the relaunched 303 and 909 machines by Roland. His mix for us is a beguiling, hard to categorise blend of all of this, forthcoming stuff and more: from brain frying frequencies and skeletal grooves from somewhere on the hardcore continuum to sci-fi ambiance, deep techno rhythms and immersive passages of raved-up sound design, it is a singular proposition from someone who embodies many different aspects of UK electronic music past, present and future, often all at once.

The last couple of years have seen D.K. emerge at the centre of a new age, ambient laced and misty sonic sphere. Taking cues from boogie and synth pop, house and funk, the Frenchman’s subtly soothing sounds have come mostly on Antinote and sound at once nostalgic but also forward looking. Musical and lush, dreamy and balearic, it is music for warm climates and laid back moments in your life. And so is the mix he has put together for us: over the course of ninety minutes it takes you from the hammock to the beach bar and on to the club. Starting with the sort of smooth and serene sounds you would expect, things get crunchier and more hard hitting as you move along through prickly house, wild analogue jams and trippy four thumpers.

Since the turn of the millennium, UK artist Alistair Wells has been putting out a tough and abrasive brand of experimental techno that cannot fail to arrest your attention. Always skewing existing ideas into his own new—often brutalist—ways of thinking, his output has seen him become an in demand live act and DJ who plays across three decks all over the world. He does so under the alias Perc, mostly on his own label Perc Trax, and at the same time he has also brought on a number of likeminded artists from Ansome to Manni Dee. His own catalogue boasts albums like Wicker & Steel and The Power And The Glory, and these have rightfully won him deserved time in the limelight. That fact proves that although Wells has been around for years, he is as vital now as ever. As such he brings something new to our mix series across an hour of lively selections. Very quickly settling into a high tempo, high impact groove, there are maximalist techno cuts, passages of angst ridden noise and thumping bangers all bolted together into something uncompromisingly physical and in your face. Franky, it’s a vital visceral offering that would work at any point in the past, present or future of techno.

Here at Dekmantel we are a big fan of Berlin based Brit Objekt. Evidence: you will see him play our festival in Amsterdam as well as Lente Kabinet, and then Dekmantel Selectors in Croatia. And right now, the man known for his unrivalled technical nous is in a fine run of form. His recent, self-released EP is another testament to his ability to skew house, techno and breaks into his own imaginative forms. Following on from releases on Hessle Audio, Bleep and an album on PAN, it is another boon in his fine discography. And he is just as impressive across a 90 plus minute selection for us: it finds him serving up a cavernous world of intricate and hi fidelity sounds that are abstract and unusual. Moving through sparse minimal soundscapes into pummelling but atmospheric drum tracks and on to jungle, dub and experimental worldly rhythms, it is a wildly compelling and singular selection filled with unusual sounds that often leaving you wondering WTF?!

German DJ Vladimir Ivkovic is resident at Dusseldorf’s Salon des Amateurs, and he has truly made the place his own over the last 12 years. Quite what to expect from him on any given night is anyone’s guess: he can do folk and experimental, sludgy techno or abrasive noise that is always original and arresting in equal measure. The Belgrade born artist also runs Offen Music and manages Loco Dice’s Desolat, and this year will close down our Selector’s stage, something we're truly looking forward to. And it is that fact which informs the 80 minute podcast he has done for us here. Designed for soul soothing and post party contemplation, it is a meditative mix with basically no drums. Instead it is about suspensory ambient sounds, worldly lullabies and blissed out Balearic moments that encourage you to lay back and stare into the sky. As beautiful as it is beguiling, it is a mix that has us very excited for what is to come and proves what a singular talent this man is.

Later this year, Awanto 3 will release his new album 'Gargamel' with us. Three tracks from it are included in the podcast he has put together, and as you should expect, they are rugged, hard to pin down affairs. And that pretty much defines the Dutchman’s career to date. Early on he founded Rednose Distrikt with Aardvarck, later on he released on labels like Rush Hour, and always is he inventive and unpredictable, whether solo or working with the likes of San Proper and Tom Trago. From sample heavy house jams to rip roaring techno, he is always on the move, just like his Dekmantel Podcast. Starting warm and loungey, it picks up through dumpy broken drums, colourful chords and spraying basslines. The final third is more jacked up and raw, with filtered vocals and frazzled textures moving you from a vibey house party to a more energetic and cosmic dance floor. Robust and with a heavy analogue feel, it is a fine way to tease us ahead of Gargamel.

Overmono is the UK sibling duo of Tessela and Truss, aka Ed and Tom Russell. As individuals, they have embodied everything that is exciting about the English underground for the last few years on labels like R&S, Perc and their own Poly Kicks. Now, combined as a live duo, they are making widescreen techno for XL Recordings that is informed by a ravey past and always comes on strong. In the club their shows are arresting affairs cooked up on an array of hardware tools. You can catch this show at Dekmantel Festival this year but for their podcast, they enter DJ mode and serve up eighty minutes of the sort of beats that colour their own sounds. Far from an all out techno assault, it is a well balanced trip through reflective metal breakbeats, deep pulsing kicks and experimental electronic ambiance that leaves you suspended in space one moment and tethered firmly to the dance floor the next. Unfolding with a spaced out and dreamlike feel, this is techno but not as we know it.

Dexter is one of electro’s most important figures. The Dutchman has been a key part of the scene for nearly twenty years, both with his own solo works, but also in collaboration with the likes of Steffi. Together the pair run their own Klakson label, a small but well formed outlet that constantly invigorates the genre. As a performer he is famously adroit in the live arena, but also does magical things with records across multiple decks. His roots as a breakdancer mean he is a slave to a powerful rhythm, and that shows in this new mix he has put together. Though it lasts only an hour, Dexter packs so much you feel you have been riding his grooves for much longer: there are plenty of slithering analogue lines and sci-fi melodies, but also much more raw and rugged drum patterns that encourage you to jerk your body as the tempo moves from 120 up to 135bpm at the hands of tracks from labels like Klakson, Viewlexx, Fragile and Apron. Never settling in one place for too long, you’ll find yourself lost in acid, then catching a breath in a more serene synth workout then ducking and diving below a volley of percussion before you can even say ‘hell yeah!’

Like many of his Far Eastern peers, Wata Igarashi has a deep, trippy, psychedelic techno sound. Listening to his tracks is like being beneath a dark sky that is expertly coloured with little exploding fireworks or shooting stars. There is also an element of automated industry to it that speaks to a bleak future and it comes on labels like Time to Express, Bitta and The Bunker New York. On these releases his immaculate sound design is always subtle yet stirring, and his DJ sets are similarly stylish and absorbing. Here he serves up one such trippy techno affair that builds in intensity and has “a little more bite towards the end“ according to the man himself. At two hours long it snakes its way through various desolate landscapes, with dubbed out rollers and more intense, multi-layered cuts all making for a variety of moods and grooves that segue together smoothly and seductively.

As Dollkraut, Pascal Pinkert very much operates out on his own. His mastery of sound makes for music that is at once from the future but also reminiscent of the past. Fusing synth and new wave, pop hooks and a knack for rough riding grooves, he is a versatile producer who can freak you out or make you open your heart. The Dutchman does so with releases on labels like Doppelschall and The Gym; releases that soon sell out and become much sought after. His latest is the gritty yet romantic Holy Ghost People album, which is due on Jennifer Cardini’s new label in March. The same haunting but spaced out 70s sound that characterises his music and DJ sets also defines the mix he has put together for us here. It’s a jaunty journey through a cinematic and upbeat world of naive pop, electro boogie, robot disco and glam-synth gorgeousness that oozes style. Few DJs have a sound that manages to be as aesthetically tight yet musically diverse and this, but Dollkraut pulls it off with ease.

Felix Dickinson’s story is closely linked with the story of house. He has been playing it (and making it legal to do so via his pre criminal justice act rave orchestration) since day one, has held decade long residencies in Japan and has made it under names ranging from Foolish and Sly to Bastedos. Besides working with labels like Rush Hour and DFA, he also runs his own Cynic Music and has been a key DJ at places like Glastonbury, Garden Festival and Sonar. His style is, generally, to play music from all over the place, but he always manages to mesh them together into some thing fun and coherent. Over the course of 70 odd minutes here he shows off his far ranging taste and looks back as much as forward. Carefully controlled throughout, the set mixes up floor filling house with breezy grooves, chattery Chicago jack and euphoric piano anthems. It’s party starting but tastefully so and once again has you wondering who needs DJ Harvey when you have Felix Dickinson.

Lee Gamble is one of the most adventurous producers, label bosses and DJs in the electronic world. Over the course of four album projects and many EPs he has explored the ghost of jungle, abrasive ambient and textural techno in thrilling and compelling ways. Formerly releasing on Pan, he now heads up his own UIQ label and with it has curated some of techno’s most exciting new sounds. As well as DJing, he is behind a regular NTS radio show and tours a mesmeric live A/V show that always encourages you to escape and get lots in unfamiliar musical worlds. The two hour mix he serves up for is the freaky, left of centre post-rave adventure you would expect. It’s disorientating and non linear. Initially it focuses on texture and mood more than groove, then his jungle roots bubble up, and just as you think you know where you are going, Gamble pulls back and descends into bleak cinematic soundtracks. Unpredictable and wilfully contrary, like his own challenging productions it is a masterclass in sonic subversion that reveals more with each new listen.

Elena Colombi likes the weird and wonderful things in music. Her show on NTS proves that, skipping as it does from techno to EBM, post punk to industrial and wave music with an always inquisitive ear. An under-the-radar regular at some choice parties around London for years, she is sure to break out into the wider consciousness in 2017, and we hope that this new podcast from her goes some way to assisting with that, because she is a selector well worth sharing. Filled with frosted industrial landscapes, muffled drums and plenty of metallic surfaces, Colombi’s mix finds light in darkness and human emotions in abstract sounds. It’s a fully realized sonic world that could be old, could be new, but is never less than wholly absorbing and uniquely odd.

The music Aurora Halal creates is informed by many different disciplines. She is a producer, but also a videographer and visual artist who has worked on films about modular synth godfather Morton Subotnick amongst others. She is also the force behind Brooklyn’s Mutual Dreaming party series as well as the Sustain-Release festival. In just a couple of years she has cooked up an expressive and experimental techno sound—solo and with the likes of Ital—on labels such as Lovers Rock and her own Mutal Dreaming Recordings. Oppressive and foggy, her distorted, imperfect sounds made up of heavy drums and scurrying synths have taken her to plenty of remarkable live gigs all over the world. Now she steps up to our mix series with equal aplomb.

It is still only a couple of years since Moire first emerged, but already he operates in his own distinctive sound world. It is a place his broken house and techno is murky and disorientating, ambiguous and otherworldly. So far it has come on cult labels like Spectral Sound, Ninja Tune and Actress’ Work Discs in the form of some essential EPs and an LP, and now he steps up to our mix series ahead of the arrival of his second full length on Ghostly International. Over the course of an hour the Londoner lays down some loose and hazy house that gets more and more rugged as the grooves unfold. It’s lo-fi but stirringly emotive stuff that ends in a place of refracted melodies and heavenly vocals that really lift you out of the real world.

As you will already know, we really appreciate proper selectors here at Dekmantel. The next man to step up to our series is a prime example of that: Brooklyn based DJ and visual artist GE-OLOGY has been writing musical stories with real beginnings, middles and ends since he first started collecting wax aged five. After a career in hop hop working with royalty like Jill Scott and Mos Def, a slightly new direction has seen him put out a select few house productions on revered labels like Sound Signature, whilst the records he plays reflect his genuine musical and instrumental playing skills. Proof of that comes across the two diverse hours he digs deep to serve up for us here. From boogie to disco, jazz funk to smooth soul, this is the sort of golden and heart warming selection that has people demanding IDs and scouring Discogs immediately. Right up there with our friends like Sadar Bahar and MCDE, this is a joyous soundtrack filled with moments you will not forget.

It is fair to say that for every Derrick May and Jeff Mills, the Motor City has produced a whole bunch of talented artists that never quite got the same acclaim. Kelli Hand aka K-HAND is surely one of those. The rather under the radar artist is one of Detroit’s most consistent performers, and has been for the last twenty years. Her music revolves around slick and robust drums and has come on essential labels like Underground Resistance, Warp and Tresor as well as more recently Nina Kraviz’s Trip. Deep seated as her roots are, K-HAND'S music is not all throwback stuff: this mix she has put together for us mixes up the old and the new, the choppy and the smooth. Underpinned by a darkly seductive energy, it bristles and brims with vocal laced breakbeats and swinging garage, glides through some smooth deep techno and gets loose with some wild style jams that will get you out of your seat.

Aussie Mic Newman is true to his Fantastic Man moniker. The music he releases under it is always inventive and colourful stuff that defies easy categorisation. It draws ideas from tribal, acid and abstract sound worlds and marries them to rugged, compelling house and techno grooves. Let’s Play House, Fine Choice and Permanent Vacation all release it and the man himself also co-runs the Superconscious label with his friend Francis Inferno Orchestra. On top of this he also recently explored new age ambient and downtempo as Mind Lotion, so has never been hotter than he is right now. His mix for us draws on all this and more: it is a balmy house trip with curious jungle sounds, breezy melodies and retro sounding oddities that speak of an inquisitive musical mind. Quite often managing to sound both soothing and banging at the same time, it is a colourful affair that never stays in one place for too long, and is all the more absorbing because of it.

It’s fair to say that Kai Alce is an underrated artist. Not only does he turn out a consistent stream of tunes on top labels, but he also oversees NDATL Muzik, one of the most fawned over deep house labels out there. He has actually been active since 2002, and his heartfelt brand of house has always embodied elements of New York, Detroit and Chicago, as well as his Atalanta homeland. It sounds unmistakably alive and irresistibly soulful and has come on labels like FXHE, Mahogani Music and Finale Sessions. As a lynchpin of the Atlanta scene, he and his peers are only just starting to get some of the wider recognition they deserve. The mix he offers us here showcases his impeccable taste and takes in jazzy house styles, loose party jams and vocal groovers that are deliciously deep. Romantic and richly coloured, it’s a set for lovers of laidback grooves and proper musicality. Given the time of year, the whole thing seems to glow like Christmas lights on a festive winter night, so stick it on, warm up some mulled wine and get on down.

It is with great pleasure that we present to you our 100th podcast. Over the course of the series we like to think we have mixed up big names with the stars of tomorrow; have shined a light on lesser known DJs who deserve the limelight and given pride of place to people with their own distinctive sounds. One such artist is Helena Hauff, the DJ turned producer who cut her teeth at the legendary Golden Pudel in Hamburg. Though she is a DJ first and foremost, her recorded material on labels like Werk Discs and Handmade Birds has never been less than arresting thanks to its dystopian blend of electro and techno moods and grooves. This mix she has done for us is just the same: it is ninety minutes of elastic electro, popping techno and slithering electronics that are shiny and metallic, crisp and futuristic. It will push and pull you in many different directions but is all tied together by an infectious sense of slick robo-funk. Right up there with electro greats like Drexcyia and I-F, Helena Hauff is a suitably singular artist to helm this landmark podcast.

Red Light Radio regular Steele Bonus is Amsterdam based but Sydney born. In the last couple of years he has emerged as a champion of darkened synth pop, post punk and Italo disco sounds, and is an expert at mixing them together into something that sounds old yet new. A regular at various parties round his native Australia before making the move to Europe, he is now growing in profile over here and showcases exactly why with a one hour mix for our series. From wonky machine sounds to dystopian 80s new wave via crisp electro and techno, it is a coherent journey that is tight and fresh throughout.

Lord Of The Isles is the alias of British born producer Neil McDonald. Since 2011 the man delivered a steady amount of quality releases on labels like Mule, Permanent Vacation, Phonica and Unthank. Having just released his debut album “In Waves” on the acclaimed Californian ESP Institute label, run by Lovefingers, his contribution to our series comes at the right time. For his mix, Lord Of The Isles comes up with an hour long live set consisting of own tracks, which gives us a coherent insight into his musical mind.