MCMLXXXV (@thetruemcmlxxxv) is a co-founder and resident at Berlin's celebrated queer party Herrensauna. Though it has gone from being a local underground favourite to a globe-travelling brand, it always remains true to its mission of empowering people though music and community. The soundtrack is hard and dark and comes from across the electro, techno, EBM and industrial spectrum but for every bit of grit, there is always a hint of seduction. MCMLXXXV was a real highlight when he closed down Dekmantel Festival '22 at the UFO stage with his fellow residents so we're delighted to welcome him back to the podcast series.

And he doesn't disappoint across a high-octane hour. The slick selections are in a rush to get you moving and once you start you won't be able to stop. The rhythms are elastic but bumping with earth-quaking bass down low and everything from tribal percussion to liquid synths via sleazy vocals up top. It's a perfect display of MCMLXXXV's ability to blend the physical with the sensual into colourful and contemporary soundtracks that really bang.

Victor's (@victormgcpwr) superpower is his ability to adapt. He is a famously versatile selector who can impress a niche crowd at his Blitz Club residency in Munich, or light up cult festivals like Nachtdigital. The diversity of his solo sets is matched by his skill for finding common ground with other selectors, which is why he famously loves playing back-to-backs. From syncopated, break-riddled techno to ambient dub and everything in between, his selections are unified by their diversity. Victor also heads up his own Main Power label and this week plays Dekmantel Selectors in Croatia.

As a warm-up for that, he has put together a superb 75-minute mix that starts with one of his traditionally atmospheric and beatless openers before taking flight on lithe club rhythms. Genres are meaningless in his hands as the German transitions between deft percussive workouts, swinging drums and dubbed-out soundscapes that are always on the move, never easy to predict, but completely absorbing for both mind and body.

Chinese-German artist @samgoku has a distinctive take on techno that draws on his own Asian heritage and blends it with contemporary electronics. Across two sublime albums for Atomnation and Permanent Vacation, he has infused his fluid rhythms with gorgeous melodies and ambient haze, traditional Eastern instruments and ethereal moods. This summer, he debuted on the Dekmantel label with four tracks of unconventional techno that marry the physical with the emotional in exceptional style.

There are plenty of similar contrasts in this week's mix, which is an almost two-hour dive into his sound world. It is a deep and compelling blend of supple rhythms that are always subtly shifting. His pristine selections take in dubby and cavernous grooves, tripped-out minimal details and stylish techno cuts that always come with plenty of colour and high-definition designs which lend the whole thing a futurist edge but very human soul.

Londoner Josey Rebelle is 'just' a DJ. She doesn't make records, she plays them, but she plays them like no one else. Her impeccable taste and ability to join the dots between disparate genres in the club, on the radio and with the compilations she puts out has won her countless awards. She is known for drawing on her Caribbean roots as much as she is for the passion she pays with and the authenticity of her selections. Whether old or new, jungle or soul, a Josey Rebelle set is a thing of joy.

And she proves that for us this week with an almost two-hour mix that traverses a dizzying amount of terrain. It's a club-focussed trip that fizzes with apocalyptic energy before taking off into worlds of cosmic techno, twitchy club music and supple jungle. The drama comes as much from the mixing as the tunes but one thing is for sure, there is no real way of knowing whether you're listening to sounds from the past, present or future.

Konduku (@kondukukonduku) is Dutch-born but with a proud Turkish heritage that colours the music he makes. It's impactful techno but with curious time signatures and minimalist percussive that draws on the rhythms of his ancestral homeland. As the son of a musician and Balkan folklore dancer, he was always set to spend his life in music and so far it's been a rich one that has included a standout debut album on Nous’klaer in 2018 and fresh EPs on the cult likes of Delsin, Bitta and Spazio Disponibile.

This week's mix showcases exactly what he is all about with 80 minutes of supple and subversive techno. Liquid tracks from Jeff Mills, Donato Dozzy, Shackleton and plenty of his own all feature in this timeless trip where slick transitions and carefully threaded grooves constantly build mood and atmosphere. From deep and cosmic to dark and dystopian, there is an always underlying tension that keeps both mind and body utterly locked in.

My World My Way was the name of @e-saggila's album back in 2019. It perfectly encapsulates her brazen approach to sound which chews up and spits out everything from noise to breakcore to techno. The Iraq-born, Toronto-based artist has always revelled in the contrast between tempos, shocking rhythms and distorted textures. Part of the thrill of listening to it is the sense it could all collapse at any moment, whether releasing on her label Summer Isle or the likes of Opal Tapes, Hospital Productions, and Northern Electronics.

This week she delivers an hour of pure electronic potency that brings to life her uniquely dystopian visions. Staring in what sounds like a haunted underground metro station, she then transitions into futuristic worlds of pulsating bass, squealing synths, scratchy melodies and hyper-driven percussive patterns that race along into the unknown. It's an abstract selection of sound that is cerebral and cinematic but will also cause utter carnage in a club setting.

Bogota-born, Berlin-based Tania Humeres Correa aka @thc_dj has perfected the art of high-energy sounds that get big room crowds close together. The Rinse FM host has her own party series La Noche with Byron Yeates and sibling DHC, and with the latter plays back-to-back as S-candalo. Acid, potent rave bangers, vocal gems and deeper delights all feature in her sets which always look to combine an unbridled sense of party with plenty of emotional nuance.

This week's mix was recorded just after the start of festival season so is aimed at getting your summer started in style. Staying true to her signature house sounds with plenty of warmth, euphoria and rolling grooves, it's a perfect representation of her ideal dance floor soundtrack. While leaning towards the energy of the main stage and "anthemic vastness," her selections never forget about the all-important elements of intimacy and soul which help the beats make a lasting impression.

Wave Arising (@wavearising) aka @69db aka Sebastian Vaughan has lived through many musical movements from hip hop to acid house, rave to hardcore. He began making his own as a drummer and drums remain at the heart of his weightless techno sounds all these years later. That was exemplified once more by his most recent album which is an exercise in rhythm that works equally on mind, body and soul. He has long been a part of several key techno collectives including Spiral Tribe, SP23, R-Zac and Dharma Techno and seeks to bring movement, trance and spirituality to the weightless sounds he makes and plays as Wave Arising alongside the dancer Kynsie.

This week he has put together a special live mix that has been fully improvised in the studio as opposed to a standard DJ selection. It comes ahead of his performance as 69db at Dekmantel Festival this year and is a perfect example of the intense and ritualistic music he makes: it's a tribal soundscape constructed from supple, elongated and heavy rhythms, spaced-out ambient pads and experimental dub movements that are all doused in psychedelic overtones which consumes all your focus.

Check Wave Arising's new album (The) Rooted Sky here: https://wavearising.bandcamp.com/album/the-rooted-sky

Polygonia's (@polygonia) creative world knows no boundaries. It is a project from Munich-based instrumentalist Lindsey Wang that incorporates production, DJing, illustration, graphic design, and photography. Wang is a core part of the IO collective which works all across the audiovisual spectrum, and also runs her own label QEONE. Pining her down musically is hard as she isn't defined by tempo, but instead blends ambient and techno into soundscapes defined by great sound designs, texture and emotion.

Wang's love of exploring a dizzyingly diverse array of musical codes and colours is evident on this week's mix. The 90-minute showcase is a portal into a hyper-real world - an alien yet organic soundtrack of sub-aquatic synths, bioluminescent melodies and pulsing deep space rhythms. Pads drip and ripple, drums are dubbed out but direct and the mood is always brilliantly curious.

Nick León (@NICKLEON) is an artful DJ and producer from Miami who has always operated at the experimental fringes of electronic music. Though he has always pushed at the boundaries he never fully loses sight of the dance floor while colliding reggaeton, techno, ambient, dubstep and hip-hop. He is a frequent collaborator and something of an album specialist who most recently took inspiration from Florida’s diverse sub-aquatic ecosystems on his superb Projections of a Coral City album alongside Coral Morphologic.

Nick will be joining us at Dekmantel Festival 2024 and this week's mix is a great way to keep you going until then. It's an hour of loose-limbed and largely genre-less rhythm with a naturalistic feel. There's a blend of filtered and futuristic voices and centuries-old dancing rituals that take you to the heart of an ancient rainforest, all with his signature Latin flavours and an undercurrent dembow-laced beats.