Dekmantel Mix Series Archive 1-500

Jon Rust is a real DJ’s DJ. With roots in London’s club heritage and an approach to DJing which reflects that, Rust draws inspiration from the city's rich diversity and no-holds-barred approach to music. This is also backed up by the fact that he has hosted a deliciously diverse show on NTS since the stations first week of broadcasting - "No Boring Intros". Rust also runs his own label, Levels, where he has put out music from Lord Tusk and Ajukaja, amongst others. His 75 minute mix for us proves why this Londoner is so admired: it wastes no time in setting a nice house vibe with the use of plenty of unusual tracks, unknown gems and unlikely grooves. From bumping and dirty to down and deep, he manages to tie all these different strands together into something truly thrilling.

Brazilian duo Selvagem is made up of Millos Kaiser and Trepanado. Their alias translates from Portuguese as “wild” and their collective output fits that word well: it is organic and from-the-jungle, littered with traditional instruments as well as weird synths, plus bird calls, naturalistic sounds and vocal chantings. As well as being colourful DJs and record collectors, the pair host their own much loved sunset parties and intimate club events in Sao Paolo and Rio de Janerio. Mostly they command the decks themselves, but guests like Optimo and Andy Blake have also stopped by. A genre-less approach informs their DJ style and finds the pair mixing up sounds from many worlds other than dance, including rock, soul and funk as well as house and techno and plenty of indescribable moods in between. All of this is laid bare in their podcast for us, which is a seventy five minute, sun-kissed trip though pan pipes and afro-disco, breezy house and kaleidoscopic grooves. One of the most erudite offerings in our series, this set really does invite you into a whole new musical realm.

Kobosil is one of the new wave of artists to have emerged under the wing of Berghain. As well as being a resident at the club, the Berlin DJ and producer has also released on its in house labels Ostgut Ton and Unterton, as well as on fellow resident Marcel Dettmann’s own eponymous imprint. His dark, heavy sound also gave rise to a debut full length earlier this year, and with its clear focus on big linear drums and shadowy atmospheres, it proved he is here to stay. Now, the boss of his own RK label steps up to our series with a similarly impressive mix. Starting out in frazzled and dystopian fashion, the mix wastes little time in setting a high impact, high tempo techno agenda. Overdriven percussion and lurching synths, wild machine sounds and thumping drums are all hurried and forceful and encourage you to lean right into the grooves, head down, stomping away. It is a powerful and maximal one hour selection that cannot fail to get your attention.

If you manage to come up and make a mark on the Detroit scene, you are clearly doing something right. And that’s just how Derek Plaslaiko started: spinning his clinical yet sophisticated sets at various key raves around the Mid West of America before eventually establishing himself on the global underground circuit. Now, although Berlin based, you may caught his name on the flyer for the No Way Back parties (put on by Interdimensional Transmissions - the Detroit imprint that has put out several of Plaslaiko’s rare original releases) and is a resident for Bunker NYC and has been for years. He also releases his stylish brand of techno on the club’s in house label and has close ties with Ghostly International. Add to this the fact he played a sublime closing set at our festival back in August, and Derek is a natural choice to mix it up for our podcast series. The resulting two and a half hour selection is an exquisitely programmed ride through many shades of techno, from stripped back and thumping to eerie and heady via raw and nasty. Just when the pressure seems like it might get too much, Plaslaiko masterfully switches up the mood and takes you somewhere else, thus keeping you locked to his grooves. He says of the mix, “it was done in one take at the Resident Advisor offices in Berlin. The neighbours complained about the volume near the end of the recording, so I was forced to do the last few mixes headphones only. It's made up of about 60% current favourite tracks, and 40% unreleased material from a handful of friends. Kris Wadsworth, Jared Wilson, Todd Osborn, Dona, DVS1, Mr Statik, Secret Studio and Israel Vines all submitted tracks specifically for this mix. Will Lynch, Jim Beam and a massive amount of Burger King all played a major role in getting it done. I like a good story when hearing a DJ set, so that's what I was going for when programming the mix.

The Canadian techno scene would sound very different without the work of Adam Marshall and Christian Anderson. The former runs the essential New Kanada imprint and the latter is one of the most regular artists on it. As well as that, the Berlin based pair work together as Graze, and on November 8th will put out their first EP on our own UFO label. It is a varied four tracker that showcases their futuristic, drum driven style, and is another fine entry into their discography which already takes in six EPs and two LPs in the last three years. Ahead of that EP comes the latest entry in our mix series. It is a to-the-point, forty minute selection that is always driven by tightly programmed drums. Forceful percussion, spaced out electronics and big warehouse techno all get called upon along the way, and the result is a sweat inducing, beautifully dark and machine made set that ends on some dystopian ambient and white noise that all fits in perfectly with the vibe of the UFO label and associated stage at Dekmantel Festival.

Mr Beatnik is a proud musical boffin. As well as being a writer able to talk at length about Tangerine Dream, the history of hip hop or the influence of George Duke, he is also boss of his own cult label Mythstery Records. On top of this he is a DJ that spans all sounds and scenes with real knowledge, and as a producer the last ten years have proven him to be a master of both classy house and direct techno. From the sumptuous strings of Synthetes to the elegant and emotive melodies of his Savannah EP via more recent forays into acid and techno, his work most often comes on Don’t Be Afraid and never repeats the same trick twice. Beatnik also hosts an NTS show that mixes up dusty disco, brand new music, spiritual jazz and more, and it is that sort of widescreen vision he displays for us on out latest podcast.

Doms & Deykers is the work of two dance music powerhouses. Better known as Steffi and Martyn, between them this Dutch pair have helped shaped the underground with not only their high class DJ sets (they are both Panormaa Bar Residents), but also their always fascinating EPs and LPs on labels like Ninja Tune and Ostgut Ton. Of course, Martyn also runs 3024 and Steffi runs Dolly and off shoot Dolly Dubs, where she has put out two of his more recent EPs. On October 24th they come together again to release their latest collaborative work; an album entitled "Evidence From A Good Source". Fusing all their influences it is a timeless melodic journey into house, techno and broken beats that will bring real class to the dance floor. Ahead of the album and the live shows that will follow comes an equally exciting new podcast for our series. At nearly two hours it really finds the pair dig deep and start slow. Blissed out hip hop and spacey electronics all build towards a breezy groove that takes in house and acid old and new. At times pure house party vibes and at others much more suited to a dark backroom or vast warehouse, it is a perfect coming together of two of the best.

Roland-TR808 and Afro obsessed duo Africaine 808 conjure up the sort of loose limbed, tightly programmed drum based grooves that are aimed directly at your body. Made up of Berlin based Dirk Leyers and Nomad, they most often do so on Golf Channel Recordings and imbue thousands of years of rhythm history into their own borderless sounds. “No Rules. No Bullshit. All Styles,” is their own apt mantra, and they recently stuck to it when playing live at Dekmantel Festival 2016. We have a recording of what went down and it makes up this week’s podcast. Across one impossible to categorise hour they weaved their own unique tapestry of steel drums and rubbery kicks, skittish toms and squeaking synths. Fluid and evolving with a life of its own at every turn, the set is a testament to their ability to play with and coax all manner of sounds out of their machines. At times dark and high pressure, at others laid back and full of sun, it was one of many highlights and we are proud to be able to relive those moments with you again now.

Simoncino is a life long student of classicist house and techno. Having soaked up all Chicago and Detroit has to offer for as long as he can remember, Simone Vescovo fomented his own style that draws on the past but looks to his own life for emotional inspiration. Always made with an authentic selection of original hardware such as vintage synths and analog drum machines, his frayed and nostalgic sounds have come on L.I.E.S and Creme Organization, Mathematics and Echovolt. Remixed by everyone from Larry Heard to Chez Damier, this Italian is an adopted son of the cult US house scene who also runs his own HotMix label. All of his influences are laid bare on the mix he has served up for us: from deep and vocal stuff to lo-fi and gritty offerings, there is a timelessness and melodic freshness to Simoncino’s house that really stands it apart. Growing ever more cosmic and spaced out as it unfolds, this trip ends up in a blissed out utopia filled with real romanticism.

Though very much part of the lo-fi techno movement of recent years, Florian Kupfer’s past includes six years as a soprano choir boy. As such it is no surprise there is a real sense of enchanting grace to his work, which most often comes on LIES, but also on Russian Torrent Versions and Wille Burns’ W.T. Records. Whether mechanical and menacing or sombre and heartbreaking, his grainy grooves always manage to cast a spell on the dance floor. The mix he serves up here makes scant use of drums, especially early on where lingering piano solos, looming ambience and foreboding acoustic guitars add up to something incredibly powerful despite being so sparse. Grinding drums and malfunctioning synths eventually take over and work to soundtrack a desolate industrial space where all traces of humanity have long gone. It’s bleak but beautiful, much like everything to which Kupfer puts his name.

Honey Soundsystem is an American creative collective that has become hugely influential in the decade since they formed. As DJs both solo and as a team, the San Fran foursome has more than made its mark with an eclectic sound that draws on the diverse backgrounds of the musicians, performers and designers involved. They also host their own parties—famed for fantastic art installations as well as carefully curated headliners from all across the musical spectrum—and run plenty of labels between them, including HNYTRX and most famously Dark Entries, which has poured many attention on Patrick Cowley with a series of resurrected releases. Very much setting their own agenda, then, the group does just the same with their two hour mix for us. It is a fresh offering that rolls through a bouncing selection of well polished house and techno. Clean and tinged with a stylish sense of retro-futurism throughout, there are nods to darker synth wave sounds and colourful disco vibes that will keep you coming back for more.

Little is known about Stump Valley, but the Italian duo sure did make an impact with their unassuming EPs on Off Minor and Uzuri in the last two years. Before that they had worked solo on numerous projects, and came together over a shared love of vinyl and with the aim of making something “old sounding but modern conceived.” They melt jazz and ambient moods into languorous house soundtracks that suck you down into the deep, and often remix their own material into more urban sounding, street influenced music as Mtrpls. Their mix is unhurried and curious, with spacious jazz and churning, Rhodes laden grooves making way for raw broken beats and much more. A very real human heart lurks beneath every track, from the wild melodic cuts to the more hard hitting deep house thudders. Plotting an unpredictable but inviting arc, our latest podcast is as intriguing as the duo behind it.

UK artist Lone emerged on a wave of rave nostalgia and computer game sound effects back in 2009. His earliest albums and EPs were like juicy peaches with reflective and refracted stabs making for succulent party sound tracks. Since then he has emerged with a new direction on each new album, his latest being full of jungle and hardcore tropes that cannot fail to make you move. As well as releasing on Werk Discs, he has made R&S his home and has become a real jewel in the underground’s crown. As such it is a real treat to have a specially recorded mix from him, and one that gives us a hint at where he is at musically right now. Featuring four brand new Lone cuts as well as unreleased material from Ross From Friends and Gnork, his selections are decidedly deep and seductive with bumpy house and deconstructed grooves the order of the day.

Space Dimension Controller’s music is as obsessed with sci-fi themes as the man himself. His latest album—Orange Melamine on Ninja Tune—is another ode to hazy ambient sounds, cosmic energies and colourful soundscapes which proves that once more. It was written in a teenage Jack Hamill’s bedroom and is a thoroughly absorbing affair as indebted to Eno as it is to Boards of Canada. Before that he has released conceptual albums like Welcome to Mikrosektor-50 as well as plenty of other EPs on R&S and Clone Royal Oak, all with decidedly intergalactic bents. Over the course of three hours here, Hamill really stretches his legs and shows us many different sides. There are, as expected, cosmic and deep space overtones early on, but also a love of playful melodic house, disco jams and party starting anthems also shines through. This, then, is a shapeshifting selection that twists and turns and keeps you on your toes throughout.

It is a wonder it has taken us this long to get Tom Trago involved in our series. The Dutchman has been a pillar of the Amsterdam scene for years, either as a producer for Rush Hour and a veteran of no fewer than three artist albums, or as a resident at places like the sorely missed Trouw. He also runs his own Voyage Direct label, has worked with everyone form Aardvark to Bok Bok and, of course, played our festival once again this past weekend. Trago’s sound--in both the booth and the studio--is a colourfully eclectic mix of disco and afro, hip hop and jazz, as well as house, techno and electro, and it as charming as the man himself. His two hour session for us is a perfectly soothing selection to get you back into the groove after a full on weekend at the festival. From horizontal ambient and deeply seductive house, the mix stays pretty spaced out and lazy for the first hour, before more driving drums and pumping chords colour the second half. Always warm, human and inviting, it is a suitably personable mix from one of house music’s nice guys.

Joy Orbsion is someone we have a long and fruitful relationship with here at Dekmantel. He is, and always has been, a pure embodiment of UK dance music. His sound is steeped in English musical history (often explicitly in the form of sampled monologues) but also very much makes a new history of its own. He’s had countless underground hits from his definitive post-dubstep breakthrough ‘Hyph Mngo’ to his peak time tech tools with Boddika, and each one marks a mini reinvention of his style. What ties them all together, though, is O’Grady’s unique penchant for blending garage, bass, funky, house, techno and old school jungle into his own fresh concoctions. The two hour podcast he has served up here -as a perfect warm up to our festival this weekend- is split into two parts. Says the artist himself, “the first half is basically a way of showcasing producers that are doing great things at the moment and is completely made up of new, unreleased music, and the second half is basically winding things down with a load of stuff from my record collection. A come down, of sorts.” Starting with a spoken word snippet from his jungle playing uncle Ray Keith, the mix is initially atmospheric and moody, with sleek and stripped back drums and smeared synths making for a heady and intimate mood. After picking up through skewed bass patterns and skeletal techno, the second half seduces with elegiac rhythms, jazz selections and spoken word tracks as well as delicious soul sounds, reggae and stoned broken beat. The results show exactly where Orbison is at musically, as well as offering an insight into where he has come from.

Few people have shaken up the dance world as much as Ron Morelli in recent years. With his punk attitude and lo fi aesthetics, his L.I.E.S. label has flooded the underground world with raw, dirty, imperfect music for freaks and outsiders. The New Yorker himself produces a sketchy variety of sound that draws on “the fear and repulsion of basic human interaction,” amongst other things, and he has also nurtured his own community of likeminded artists. Together they have made for an unlikely but influential crew of weirdos whose take on noise is truly singular. The one hour set he has served up for us here is just the same. It is a largely atmospheric affair that marries knackered drums with glassy melodies, deep space energies with an impending sense of apocalyptic doom. Always absorbing and subversive, this is insular music that runs a gamut of emotions from tortured to optimistic and thus keeps you trapped in Morelli’s musical head from start to finish.

Danny Wolfers aka Legowelt is irrepressible. Creativity flows from the Dutchman like water from a tap: if he’s not making his own fan magazines, writing and performing in web movies about space weed, drawing album art based on his own dreams or making his own synths, he’s probably making music. That music comes under an intricate web of aliases on labels all over the world , and at Dekmantel we recently signed him up as Occult Orientated Crime, one of his more ambient leaning projects, for the May album Just a Clown on Crack. It was a dark and abstract affair and in that spirit Legowelt recorded us a podcast of similarly subversive and immersive sounds. Over the course of 80 minutes, the mix has you suspended in outer space as all manner of spaceships and alien life forms drift by your window. Rippling synths and smeared pads, gurgling machines and silky melodies all stretch out into the distance and range from rueful and reflective to rather more meaning later on. It is the perfect soundtrack to sooth busy modern minds.

One of our all time favourites delivers a 4,5-hour long live recording for this week’s Dekmantel Podcast: BMG is the man in charge of the Interdimensional Transmissions label and Ectomorph - two dynamic, long-standing Michigan institutions. Brendan M. Gillen is part of the history of Detroit as much as the acclaimed superstars. Through a network of pseudonyms such as Ectomorph, BMG, Flexitone, Existence And Uniqueness Of Solutions and others he wrote pages and pages of history. Gillen will play this year’s Dekmantel Festival By Night as part of the No Way Back showcase, featuring Bryan Kasenic, Carlos Souffront, Erika, and Derek Plaslaiko. The mix was recorded at a The Bunker Limited night at Trans Pecos.

Peter Van Hoesen might be best known for his techno work, but the Belgian’s real resumé is actually much more diverse. Formally trained on organ, bass and guitar, the Time to Express boss has put out albums of abstract sound design, has composed for contemporary dance, has been a sometime promoter, run various labels and works with Yves De Mey as Sendai. He also recently stepped up to mint our own new sub label, Dekmantel UFO. On that EP he showed his ability to distil groove and atmosphere into intense soundscapes filled with fascinating details, and it is the same story with the mix he serves up here. Over the course of an hour, Van Hoesen sucks you deep down into his hypnotic sound world, where train track grooves and suspensory pads trap you in the moment. As things unfold, rays of melodic light, unsettling analogue sounds and broken drums all make for a more unhinged ride that is both seductive yet visceral. It makes for an intense listen that takes you right to the heart of an otherworldly the dance floor in the dead of night, no matter where you listen to it.

Kosme is a label boss, producer, DJ and promoter who has built his own discerning musical empire in France. That musical empire is one laced with a spaced out spiritualism, with trippy sci-fi melodies and a seductive sense of groove, whether on 12” format via labels like Thema or his own Cosmic AD, at his cult Cosmic Adventure club night at Le Sucre or in the DJ sets he plays. Kosme is without a doubt one act to watch in this years Dekmantel Festival By Night program at Amsterdam's Melkweg. A real sense of serenity and space also characterises his work, as it does the mix he has put together for us, which is quite different to many recent offerings in our series. Atmospheric and sleepy to start with, it soon gets coloured with playful melodies, beautifully synthetic sounds and warm rubbery drums. It is a charming and romantic affair that is lovably naive and innocent in its breezy grooves and sunny moods.

What stands Marcel Fengler apart, as well as his knack for refined atmosphere, is his widescreen vision: he reaches for records from all across the electronic spectrum and from throughout the ages. His official mix for Berghain proved that, snaking as it did through a number of different moods and grooves, but all with a sense of cohesion that betrays his many years behind the decks. As a producer, too, he has amassed an assured body of work on Ostgut Ton in both LP and EP format that is fantastically functional. The mix Fengler has put together for us is a high impact hour of firmly rooted rollers embellished with spooky synths and knotted acid, kinked drum lines and insistent claps. Always on a smooth upward trajectory, it is a mix that you can feel transporting you to another realm and one that manages to balance punishing passages with airier moments of trance inducing atmosphere. As such it packs a lot in, but never feels rushed, and leaves you desperate for more.

Many people claim to have eclectic tastes, but few carry through on their promises as ably as Illum Sphere. The Manchester man is as likely to drop a hip hop joint as he is freak you out with some wave or dub, make you move your ass with some boogie or pummel you into submission with some techno. It is the same story at his night, Hoya:Hoya, which has grown into one of his native city’s most acclaimed parties, with unbeatable residents like Jon K, Krystal Klear and Jonny Dub a key part of that. Given his magpie approach to playing records, it’s no wonder the same goes for Illum Sphere’s style when producing. He has put out his wares on 3024, Fat City, Young Turks and Tectonic, and is now a regular Ninja Tune artist with a brand new album one the way later this year. The mix, which is the first after his Fabriclive in November 2014, Illum Sphere serves up is typically atypical. Over the course of eighty minutes he takes you up, down and round and round through a hard to categorise world of sound. Atmosphere and texture are as important as beats and tempos, and it is hard to think of anyone as able to cover as much ground, with as much of a sense of cohesion, as this most fascinating musical man.

New York City’s Veronica Vasicka very much discovered an untapped musical mine when searching for music for her radio show more than a decade ago. That mine was full of rare, overlooked and forgotten DIY synth records from the 70s and 80s and inspired her to start her own label, Minimal Wave. Since then it has become an imprint with a very focussed musical and visual identity, has spawned compilations on Peanut Butter Wolf's Stones Throw Records and has made Veronica an in demand DJ all round the world. At those gigs, she offers up a sleek musical vision that is mirrored here in the mix she had done for our on going series. Starting with a poignant monologue about new music, it then drops into a rugged groove that is industrial and machine made, abstract and futuristic. The ensuing hour touches on the robo-techno of Levon Vincent, terse beats and raved-up electro as well as some colourful and trippy disco. A lot is packed in, but a buffed metal sheen ties the whole thing together and subtly oozes the very essence of Minimal Wave.

As co-founder of the Music From Memory label, UK born but Berlin based Jamie Tiller has encouraged us all to take time out, go slow and get lost in some essential Balearic, neo-classical and minimalist works by legends old and new. As well as working with celebrated Italian composer Gigi Masin, the label has put out the work of ambient super group Gaussian Curve and Joan Biblioni amongst others. The next project for these obscure gem lovers is a timely re-issue of UK band The System and as such Tiller and co are doing fine work as historical treasure hunters. Jamie —also part of the Red Light Records team— DJs all round Europe and as such has put together a mix for our series that shows where he is at. It proves him to be a lover of colourful and harmonious melody, of beachy guitar licks and sun kissed sounds that bounce along on a buoyant groove. Flashes of 80s sass, pumping euro disco and slick, classic sounding house are all part of the most pleasing puzzle.

Being a long time resident DJ somewhere teaches you the sort of skills that stand you out from the pack. Cologne’s Lena Willikens is one such special selector who has very much made Salon Des Amateurs in Dusseldorf her own. As well as serving up singular sets there, she is also a key part of the Comeme Records crew with the likes of Barnt. For them she hosts a regular radio show, and for them she has released her brooding, industrially bleak techno sounds. Lena’s influences come from well outside the normal cannon - proto techno, industrial boogie, synthesised disco, outlier house and robot jack all characterise her work, and the set she has served up here. It is one hour of unusual grooves, unsettling atmospheres and metallic textures that are abstract and dehumanised and take you to a raw and visceral place that is hugely intoxicating. Easily one of the best mixes this year so far in our humble opinion!

UK DJ and producer Kowton admits that he is obsessed with sound. For the past five years he has been locked away in Bristol with the likes of Peverelist and Asusu working on perfecting the most hi fidelity, highly functional bass and techno that he can. It has lead him to release on influential labels like Hessle Audio, Livity Sound and Idle Hands, and last month his debut album proved his mission has been worth it: "Utility" features nine tracks of crisp, atmospheric techno that brood with urban menace. Physical, broken and punchy, the beats are designed simply to make you move your body, and they sure do that. The podcast he has served up for us (which features a number of unreleased and forthcoming tracks on Ilian Tape, Not So Much and Trilogy Tapes) marries that same sense of stripped back functionalism with clean and abstract sound design, heavy bass and high pressure beats. There is a real sense of late night mischief and subtle rave energy to it that makes the whole thing feel hugely coherent from start to finish. Modern, left of centre and rather UK centric, the Kowton sound sure is serious, but it is also hugely seductive.

Working from his hallowed Stockholm bunker with Studio Barnhus label mates Petter Nordqvist and Kornel Kovacs, Swedish art graduate Axel Boman makes music with a rare sense of charm, wit, and humour. In both EP and LP format, he focusses on playful and curious atmospheres, kinked grooves and left of centre sampling. When not making earwormy dance music, in the past he has been found synthesising sound with nuclear physicists as The Radioactive Orchestra and also works on more clubby fair with John Talabot as Talaboman. His sets, too, are just as joyous and off beat, and are as effective for trippy after hour sessions as they are for peak time parties. The one hour selection the singular selector cooks up here is something of a curveball, full of unexpected twists and turns that showcase a breadth and depth of his influences whilst sounding perfect for Spring time. It's an effortlessly jaunt through freewheeling melodies, excitable disco groovers and breezy, swinging house all peppered with classics, singalong vocals and feel good gems. Well balanced so as to not be all too sugary, the far ranging mix is another wondrous window into the colourful world of one of house music’s most likeable and easy going characters.

There is no one quite like Dave Huismans, aka A Made Up Sound. The Dutchman, who's of course also known as 2562, has been in a musical world of his own ever since he first turned heads with his debut in 2006. As of that decade, he has continued to confound expectation and operate away from any prevailing trends, mostly on his own self titled label, but also for other cult outlets like Clone, Trilogy Tapes, and Delsin, where he just dropped his newest release. His music toys with convention, finds rhythm in unknown places and cooks up textures you didn’t think were possible. Broken and abstract yet absorbing and emotive; his sound is a left-field marriage of techno, bass and electro that has proven impossible to imitate. Over the course of ninety minutes, The Hague man showcases his penchant for kinked grooves and for high pressure drums. He manages to be maximalist and in your face one moment, then subtle and subversive at others. From disco to electro and techno, it’s all here. It all creates a rugged, seat-of-your-pants ride that throws up plenty of curveballs along the way.

Until he launched his own Radio Matrix label with a clever and conceptual series of EPs in 2014, Delta Funktionen was exclusively tied to Dutch stable Delsin and its sub labels. It is there that he has roamed from techno to electro to dub, and there that he has put out a string of EPs and coherent full length over the last decade. Unlike many of his underground peers, Delta isn’t too serious and likes to have fun when DJing, so can go hard and fast or deep and warm according to the context. He often marries analogue and digital techniques in his work, takes cues from traditional hotbeds like Detroit and Chicago, but always comes correct with his own unique perspectives. Across the course of 75 absorbingly sci-fi minutes, the Dutchman cooks up a cinematic ride through deep space atmospherics, electronic funk and slick electro. The latter half grows more disturbed and dystopian, but there is always a very real and metallic aesthetic to the seamlessly segued sounds that ties the whole thing together with real narrative.

Just like Larry Levan was Paradise Garage, Tony Humphries was Club Zanzibar. With his inimitable take on house and garage, the US-DJ was able to command audiences for hours, taking them up and down, round and round with a dizzyingly eclectic mix of soul, tribal and gospel styles. Kerri Chandler has said before how much of an influence Tony was on him during those early days in New Jersey, and this August he will offer a very real link to that past with a set at Melkweg under the title 'A Tribute To Zanzibar'. Ahead of that, Tony has served up a ninety minute mix for us that showcases the skills he has been honing for more than 35 years. It is a party starting selection that touches on every facet of house music in feel good fashion. Quick and slick and always smooth, more than the odd history lesson is included along the way but the results never feel less than timeless.

Quentin Vandewalle is probably better known to you as Zaltan. The French DJ is head of the Antinote label; a homebase for many upcoming artists such as Syracuse (catch them on this year’s Lente Kabinet), D.K, Dominique Dumont and Geena. It is the place where horizontal ambient, gently Balearic sounds and nostalgic house all rub up with retro design attached to it. Each EP and LP is a lovingly crafted and memorable affair that will sooth any busy brain or tired soul, and that is the case with his journeying mix for Dekmantel. Over the course of an hour, it will ensure you to forget your woes and drift to a sunnier place before getting down to some dancing action. Vocal ditties, dusty breakbeats and crunchy DIY beats get blended and fused into a set that is expertly slow to start, then decidedly direct later on. Listen and learn from a master of balancing beats with blissfulness.

Vakula is a prolific Ukranian producer, DJ and outspoken artist who very much has his own sound and is a Dekmantel family member for a long time now. Releasing a vast amount of house and techno that touches on everything from super sweet and deep to melodically off kilter, stripped back and ornate to magically cosmic. Before now the Leleka boss has released a number of conceptually strong LPs and plenty of EPs as well as an album of psychedelic rock and spoken word. His album 'You've Never Been To Konotop' is a modern classic. He takes risks and isn’t afraid to buck trends, basically, and for that reason has a cult following around the world. Proof that Vakula does things his own way is this mix (released on his birthday) which focusses completely on techno. At around two and a half hours, it really allows him to stretch his legs into a weird and spaced out techno world. From Detroit and Millsian to old school and jacking, many different moods and grooves are explored here but never do energy levels dip below full on sweaty.

Gerd Janson is the influential label boss, journalist, DJ and producer behind the Running Back imprint an doesn't need any introduction nowadays. With a fine ear for unearthing new artists and developing them on his label, Gerd has a very busy schedule and puts out a dizzying amount of music from ambient to disco, house to techno. As a DJ, he has no identifiable style but is a master of many and is someone who can play to just about any crowd and make them move. As if that wasn't enough, as one half of Tuff City Kids he kicks out the club-ready jams that keep kids dancing. Back on New Year’s Eve 2015, he played back-to-back with Irishman Krystal Klear, who is at the heart of the modern house scene in his hometown Manchester. His fresh take on a classic sound has seen him win plenty of favour with the youth of the day, as well as getting him signed to Kerri Chandler’s MadTech label. Only active for six years, he has already become a regular on the global circuit and now heads up his own Cold Tonic label as well as hosting an influential show on Rinse FM. With a great sense of humour that always permeates his music, former Hoya: Hoya resident Krystal Klear has a passion for a wide range of sounds. Our latest mix is taken from the five hour b2b the pair played that NYE. As such it really found them stretching their legs and playing across the board. From slow disco to playful r&b grooves, 80s synths to classic house, it is a truly playful set that is chock full of jams, all carefully mixed into one explosive and loved-up whole.

As you would expect of someone called Lovefingers, American DJ and producer Andrew Hogge has a very special touch when it comes to making, playing and releasing emotionally involving, blissed out music. Hailing from LA, he runs the magical ESP Institute label and is also half of The Stallions as well as being a self-proclaimed hippie. That always comes through in the organic, loved up music he works with, and visual aesthetics always seem just as important to him as musical ones. The romantic and intoxicating mix he serves up is dedicated to Red Light Records owner Tako Reyenga and Mule Musiq affiliate Kuniyuki Takahashi. It is a loose-limbed, love-fuelled and fully horizontal delight made up of underlapping grooves, oriental motifs and gluey pads. The second half touches on more physical drums but also offers up yet more heavenly ambiance, bird song and jumbled percussion that will have you reaching for your shades and dreaming of summer.

Just a few years ago, Daniel Avery emerged from a famous Scrutton Street studio where the likes of Andrew Weatherall and Timothy J FairPlay were regulars. Since then, he has gone his own way, releasing a machine made, proudly analogue brand of indie-electro-techno-dance music that has come mostly on Errol Alkan’s Phantasy Sound label. Mixing dark beats with dense and smoky synth atmospheres as both a DJ and producer, he knows how to cook up a metallic and menacing groove with aplomb. After impressing with his debut album, Drone Logic, in 2013, we're proud to invite him to this year's Lente Kabinet, Dekmantel Festival (together with Roman Flügel), and our mix series. The fabric resident kicks off his mix with some heady drones and deep, spacious grooves that are eerie and unsettling. The next 90 odd minutes sees him blend sublime acid, slithering synths and increasingly minimal techno into a seductive set that is expertly paced and seamlessly mixed. Perfect for the dead of night in some intimate back room, it shows a heady and atmospheric side to Avery that is truly compelling.

We would like to think we have served up plenty of special treats in our podcast series so far, but this latest one is certainly one that many people will get very excited about. It is not often that Detroit key-figures step out and offer us a window into their current musical world, but that is what we have here from Sherard Ingram aka DJ Stingray. Famed for many reasons—not least for always DJing in a black balaclava—he is founder of the Urban Tribe super group with KDJ, C2 and Shake, was DJ for the legendary electro outfit Drexcyia and is also a fierce DJ and producer in his own right. He came up playing tough techno and electro in hardcore motorcycle clubs in the D, but is now a regular in the world’s finest underground spaces, where he pushes a dark, intense sound that is socially and politically charged. Shades of Miami bass and ghetto tech also characterise his work on labels like Shipwreck, Bleep43, [NakedLunch] and Unknown to the Unknown, and in 2016 he is as busy and prolific as he has ever been. This summer he plays a rather exclusive back to back set with Helena Hauff at our festival in Amsterdam. The mix he serves up is a great snapshot of what Stingray does - forces you to dance to his high tempo, high impact sounds. He mixes them quickly and slickly and there is a real sense of urban paranoia and future menace in every tune he reaches for. Sit back, then, and bask in the glory of a real master.

German Daniel Ansorge, aka Barnt, is a DJ and producer who, in his own way, sticks to the Bauhaus principle: he makes music that has nothing in it that isn’t totally necessary or functional. With this rough blueprint, he has conjured up some unsettling techno on his own Magazine label as well as Matias Aguayo’s Cómeme. Mule and Hinge Finger have also come calling for his works, and despite their minimalist approach, they are textured and hypnotic, strange and subversive. Last year he toured the US for the first time, and he's already a very welcome guest at Europe's forward thinking clubs. So after years of quiet toil, he is now getting the recognition he deserves around the world. The fascinating mix he serves up is suitably spooky and chilling to start, with ambient drones, soft drums and haunting pads all operating on a bleak horizontal plane. Later on some sleek metal grooves and post apocalyptic techno gets you on your toes before everything decays back to a dystopian nothingness. It makes for quite the trip and offers a snapshot of the sort of thing you can expect from the man when working in either the DJ booth or home studio.

The undisputed talent of Miami-based Greg Beato graced its way to two of the most unique souls in electronic music. Both Ron Morelli (L.I.E.S.) and FunkinEven (Apron Records) signed his distinctive, tripped out dancefloor material that majestically sits in a class of its own. As a DJ, Beato is spinning into prosperous future as well, playing at the worlds clubs and festivals alike. His Podcast is a live recording from a night in Cologne somewhere late 2015 and has the signature Beato vibe all over it.

We keep it local with our next podcast, a long time Dekmantel friend. Yuri Boselie is an occasional producer of deep and moody sounds but is foremost a DJ extra-ordinaire. He was a resident at the sorely missed Trouw and is the sort of DJ who defies categorisation. From major festivals to Boiler Room gigs, intimate basements to open air sessions, he knows exactly what to draw for and when to draw for it. House, garage, techno and plenty in between are all fair game for the man who has also collaborated with Tom Trago, and who is responsible for the Beat Dimension compilations that kickstarted the growth of the beats scene in Europe. The podcast he puts together is 70 minutes of smooth, feel house and playful grooves. There are trips into acid, tracks from yesterday year and pure party vibes all neatly melted together into the sort of bouncy session that is deceptively effortless.

Invisible City Editions is a cult reissue label based in Toronto, Canada. Run by Brandon Hocura and Gary Abugan, it puts out long overlooked or lost gems, much needed reissues and rare disco delights that immediately get snapped up by record collectors around the world. The men behind it are obviously avid diggers themselves, and really know how to pull out amazing records from many different genres. As such they also make for an amazing DJ team who surprise and shock, delight and entertain whenever they play. The sun scorched mix they have put together for us proves that: it is a truly worldly selection that marries off kilter funk with organic hand drums, afro futurism with house music’s sense of groove. Despite touching on so many diverse and hard to describe styles and left of centre melodies, it is all expertly tied together and perfectly sequenced so as to make for a truly different and distinctive ride.

Although he has had a fair amount of success as a producer on We Play House (most famously as part of FCL) San Soda is still a DJ first and foremost. The Belgian is a renowned vinyl hoarder who spends most of the time between gigs in places like Chicago, Shanghai and Sydney digging for new beats. Those beats can be anything from afro to funk, disco to deep house, and he threads them together with very little reliance on FX and tricks, instead he prises sequencing and selection over all and can ether hypnotise dancers in elongated groves or switch up the mood with every new track. The mix he has put together for us here is over two hours of seriously feel good stuff that will keep the vibe of summer alive all through winter: lots of funky songs, dazzling disco delights and authentic old school jams get stitched together in effortless ways. Colour and charm, good vibes and unpredictable selection characterise the whole thing and confirm San Soda to be a party starting DJ with slick skills to match his sick selections.

Bill Kouligas is the Berlin based Greek who runs the PAN label. It is a place where underground dance, conceptual art and experimental electronic music have been colliding in captivating ways since 2008. Although he himself releases infrequently (but keep your eyes peeled) the label has become a go to outlet for forward thinking sounds that range from jungle to dark ambient thanks to artists like Lee Gamble, African Sciences, Objekt and many more. The design of each release is done by Bill, who has a background in graphic design, and is what ties the whole ever evolving project together. Expect a podcast consisting of old and current favourites and of course a fair share of unreleased PAN material.

There is no one quite like Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being in today’s electronic music scene. A Chicago native who runs the Mathematics label and releases on Rvng Intl, Soul Jazz and Ninja Tune, he is a raw, uncompromising and experimental live act and producer who operates right on the fringes of house, acid and techno. As such, he very much embodies the contemporary Windy City sound having first been taken under the wing of Adonis way back when. The charismatic Moss has put out music on Creme Organization, Further and Planet Mu, is a notoriously analogue centric artist and releases an awful lot of essential music on a regular basis. And a lot of it is showcased in this podcast, which was a live and fully improvised three hour session recorded on a Friday night at Secret Service on November 20th 2015 in Minneapolis. The raw, expressive set really showcases the breadth and depth of Moss’s sound. Ranging from prickly and abstract to melodically inventive, acid laced and dark, it is a truly textural affair that never stops evolving from start to finish.

Jon K was a hidden treasure in the Manchester scene for many years. A DJ with a fine reputation amongst those who had seen him play, he has rightfully risen to prominence in the last couple of years off some key sets and mixes, including his notorious FACT mix of the year 2013. Part of his well informed record collection no doubt comes from the fact he has long been involved with the Fat City record store, and he has also had a residency at Hoya: Hoya alongside the likes of Illum Sphere and Lone. He is someone who always impress no matter what he is playing, and that can be anything from doom to spaced out echo-disco, hip hop to raw Chicago drum tracks. With a widescreen taste and plenty of skills to showcase it in coherent ways, he is real master of his art which is shown in his newest podcast. Jon K: “The starting point for the mix, which clocked in a lot longer than I'd planned, was a few records I picked up last time I was in Amsterdam. Next to that there's a load of forthcoming bits on there as well as a few records I've not played for donkeys years. That's actually one of the things I love about doing mixes - they make you go back through your collection & appreciate stuff in a different way.”

Some producers manage to make many different styles of music that tie together through a shared sense of mood. Suzanne Kraft is one of those. Actually a man named Diego Herrera from Los Angeles, Kraft has excelled at ambient, slow motion house and Balearic drones in recent times. Releasing on Rush Hour, Gerd Jansen’s Running Back and the excellent Melody as Truth, there have also been dalliances with disco and deep house across a number of EPs and two full lengths. As able to layer up proper synth ballads as he is programme loveably lazy drums, Kraft’s mix for us excels at both. It is subtly propulsive mix that starts sun kissed and horizontal and slowly arouses your senses. Colourful disco, watery synth tracks, groove driven house and the odd Chicago classic all fly by over the course of sixty minutes, and with that we have a perfect peak into the shiny musical world of this real sonic craftsman.

Arriving as something of a poster boy for the so called outsider house scene that emerged in 2013, Huerco S is Kansas born, Brooklyn based artist Brian Leeds. His sound is resolutely lo-fi, scuffed up and knackered, as proven by his Colonial Patterns LP on the Software label, which is a modern classic. Further EPs on Future Times and Antony Naples’s Proibito label have found him distilling his cerebral and atmospheric sounds yet further, with occult moods and foggy grooves encouraging listens to sink deep into his abstract but inviting worlds. As a DJ he is no more of a hurry to make an impact. This podcast he has put together is thoroughly absorbing from the off, with cavernous chambers of implicit rhythm, iridescent pads and loosely scattered hits slowly transforming into something resembling a groove. Later in the two-hours long recording, the mix serves proper house tunes with which Huerco S. proves to have a keen eye for the dance floor too.

"It’s kind of whacky, but it comes from the heart,” says Anthony Naples about his Dekmantel podcast. Frankly, you would expect nothing less from the New York producer, who in just a couple of years has emerged as one of the most exciting artists in modern techno. His crowning glory to date was Body Pill, the album he released earlier this year on FourTet’s Text label after cult EPs on Miter Saturday Night and The Trilogy Tapes. His sound in the studio is raw and rugged, visceral and honest, melting together ambient and experimental tropes with his four four grooves. Importantly, his work in the DJ booth is just as idiosyncratic. From UDM’s disco to Theo Parrish’s shamanic house via DJ Sneak’s loopy jams and Fresh and Low’s slick tech, this is a wild mix that covers many stylistically diverse dance sounds in just 75 minutes. There are blends and fades, quick mixes and longer transitions and it lends the whole thing a live and authentic, playful, party starting style that is effortlessly enjoyable.

ROD is the incarnation of Dutch multi talent Benny Rodrigues. For the last four years it is a moniker that has found the Dutchman exploring supple, fulsome techno sounds with a healthy dose of funk. To date his functional characterful EPs have come on labels like Klockworks, Field Records and CLR. Intense and absorbing, it is music that’s informed by a rich tradition but that never sounds pastiche. His DJ sets are equally aimless affairs, and so it is that we tapped him up for our next podcast. Just over an hour in length, the mix is a serene, tripped out and intergalactic one full of slithering electro lines and dreamy pads. There is a fluidity throughout the first half that comes only after years of practice, and even when things grow more physical and frazzled, acid laced and macho in the latter stages, there is still a great sense of control. It might be Monday, but sounds like this will surely have you out of your chair in no time. edo

Over the last couple of years, Dutch artist Mitchel van Dinther has slowly but surely been picking up a cult following as Jameszoo. His releases on Rush Hour’s daughter label Kindred Spirits have been inventive affairs that marry jazz, electronica and hip hop aesthetics together into a fresh new style. In the club, he is a stellar DJ who already played Dekmantel Festival twice and paired up with The Gaslamp Killer. Next to that he is a performer who cooks up wholly improvised shows teaming up with the likes of Dorian Concept, Julian Sartorius, Binkbeats, and Gideon van Gelder while he also played together with The Roots frontman Questlove as part of the RBMA in New York. Jameszoo’s sound is curious and compelling and the world is keenly awaiting on his highly anticipated debut album. For a taster of what to expect, the Dutchman made a selection of recordings that inspired him in making his first LP.