Last week, we kicked off the brand new series with close family member Palms Trax who did a Joaquin Joe Claussell tribute, and we’re happy Jameszoo jumped on the train as well to do the next. Let's admit it right away: he has absolutely blown our minds by cooking up a 𝟐𝟒 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐱 (!) for In Focus. A favourite digger of ours blows his collection wide open to soundtrack a perfect rotation of the earth: "brushing teeth, eating dinner... losing and regaining focus many times." What a champ.

Jameszoo: "For me real focus is too scarce to be able to rely on it. It comes and it goes without me feeling like I have got a firm grip on it. Luckily, I very much enjoy the shift of focus. I enjoy it when focus is there, but also when it becomes fluid again. I remember seeing a 6 hour chunk of Christian Marclays 'The Clock' where fragments of film together with my own (lack of) focus created ever changing new narratives.

During these following 24 hours of music, it will certainly become night and then day again, the earth will rotate once (perfectly), we will brush our teeth and eat dinner, and most likely we will lose and regain focus many times. If anything it will help to bring us to this exact moment one day from now — enjoy."

Last week, we kicked off the brand new series with close family member Palms Trax who did a Joaquin Joe Claussell tribute, and we’re happy Jameszoo jumped on the train as well to do the next. Let's admit it right away: he has absolutely blown our minds by cooking up a 𝟐𝟒 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐱 (!) for In Focus. A favourite digger of ours blows his collection wide open to soundtrack a perfect rotation of the earth: "brushing teeth, eating dinner... losing and regaining focus many times." What a champ.

Jameszoo: "For me real focus is too scarce to be able to rely on it. It comes and it goes without me feeling like I have got a firm grip on it. Luckily, I very much enjoy the shift of focus. I enjoy it when focus is there, but also when it becomes fluid again. I remember seeing a 6 hour chunk of Christian Marclays 'The Clock' where fragments of film together with my own (lack of) focus created ever changing new narratives.

During these following 24 hours of music, it will certainly become night and then day again, the earth will rotate once (perfectly), we will brush our teeth and eat dinner, and most likely we will lose and regain focus many times. If anything it will help to bring us to this exact moment one day from now — enjoy."

Last week, we kicked off the brand new series with close family member Palms Trax who did a Joaquin Joe Claussell tribute, and we’re happy Jameszoo jumped on the train as well to do the next. Let's admit it right away: he has absolutely blown our minds by cooking up a 𝟐𝟒 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐱 (!) for In Focus. A favourite digger of ours blows his collection wide open to soundtrack a perfect rotation of the earth: "brushing teeth, eating dinner... losing and regaining focus many times." What a champ.

Jameszoo: "For me real focus is too scarce to be able to rely on it. It comes and it goes without me feeling like I have got a firm grip on it. Luckily, I very much enjoy the shift of focus. I enjoy it when focus is there, but also when it becomes fluid again. I remember seeing a 6 hour chunk of Christian Marclays 'The Clock' where fragments of film together with my own (lack of) focus created ever changing new narratives.

During these following 24 hours of music, it will certainly become night and then day again, the earth will rotate once (perfectly), we will brush our teeth and eat dinner, and most likely we will lose and regain focus many times. If anything it will help to bring us to this exact moment one day from now — enjoy."

Robert Witschakowski-Jockel (@the-exaltics) has been a core part of electro's evolution since the late nineties. From early days bringing big names like Jeff Mills and Robert Hood to his hometown of Jena as a promoter, he soon elevated himself to become one of the best acid live acts in the game. Nowadays, he runs his own carefully-curated Solar One Music, has collaborated with Drexciya's Gerald Donald and released his own shadowy electro on Shipwrec, Clone West Coast Series and Crème Organization. He is a hugely prolific artist who is always tweaking and evolving his sound while staying true to his original sci-fi visions.

All of that feeds into this week's mix, which is a bumpy, rough riding electro adventure that unfolds with a real sense of narrative. From the icy and high speed launch it quickly moves on to moments of smooth-cruising calm, guides you through solar storms and frantic acid work outs. The texture change, too, from ragged and frazzled to shiny and seductive, but are all stitched together seamlessly by a master of the form.

Our new In Focus mix series have been brought to life during times of isolation. And what’s better than spending your time diving into new music or DJ-sets from artists you admire? That’s what we thought. The next couple of weeks, we will be asking one artist each week to deliver a mix build around a self-picked theme. Everyone is free to do what and how they feel like, and create something special for themselves and everyone who’s keen to give it a listen too. We hope you enjoy.

Who else would be better to kick off with than our dear friend Palms Trax? Not only has Jay been a favourite of ours for years, he has become probably everyone else’s as well. His contribution to In Focus is one we have listened to in one go: a “100% originals, features, edits and remixes by Joaquin Joe Claussell” mix, which resulted in a stirring and spiritual tribute to one of the all-time greats.

Palms Trax: “Over the last couple of years I’ve found his music to have this wonderful effect on a dancefloor where the whole place can feel like it’s levitating, so when lockdown hit I started going through his records at home and found it to be incredibly healing. Hopefully some people out there feel the same way!“.

Planet Euphorique is the name of @d-tiffany’s label, but also a perfect summation of her sound: musically she reworks rave, euphoria, trance, electro, breakbeat and techno into all out emotional onslaughts that get hands in the air and chests swelling with joy. The Canadian - who also runs the xpq? label - has always got things done on her own terms, from running parties in her own house in Vancouver to making dance music with the gear she had previously used as part of a band via setting up her own women-focused Intersessions DJ school.

This week she treats us to an extra special two hour selection that will take you to the heart of a rave in your front room. It’s a mix that bristles with life, from dusty and teary-eyed breakbeats that are shrouded in nostalgia to more clipped and kicking techno. The mixing is tight and urgent and after initially serving up plenty of lush moments of melody and IDM introspection, it grows all the more direct and unhinged later on.

New Yorker @acemo is an artist with an intense work rate. In the DJ booth he races through tunes, rhythms and styles with an insatiable sense of energy, and in the studio he is as prolific as they come. He has put out four EPs in the last year that take in jungle updates, battered techno and euphoric bass, and his self-released Existential album in late December came with a more thoughtful and philosophical dimension.

This week's mix is a bumping one that hits the ground running. Impassioned and uplifting house soon gets you locked before you rough ride through dusty breakbeats, twisted acid and percussive work outs. Kinetic juke and footwork styles and more fist pumping, brain frying house are all touched upon throughout this most wide-ranging selection and breathless selection, so strap in!

Born and raised in Amsterdam and with his roots in Japan, Masalo (@masalo-music) is an artist who is firmly at the heart of the city’s music scene. He’s active in numerous ways, though his focus lies solidly on DJing and producing, in which he has been turning heads with his open minded approach that takes in music that brims with vitality. The Brighter Days party he runs with Kamma is famously colourful and friendly, like the man himself, and his choice productions have found their home on the Rush Hour label, the imprint he’s closely connected with.

For this week’s mix he takes us on a two hour journey to a better place with an electrifying selection of organic dance jams, new wave, spiritual house and big hearted disco that will have you in a spin. The mixing is superbly tight given that the tunes jump around so freely from the old to the new, and it all adds up to a huge injection of escapist positivity that we all need in our lives right now.

@markknekelhuis is a world explorer who brings a love of live instrumentation to his dance music. The Knekelhuis label boss is a staunchly DIY operator who is also the voice of Volition Immanent, a live act along side Dekmantel regular Parrish Smith. He makes music that manages to be deeply personal but also immediate and arresting and that same style defines his radio shows on Red Light Radio.

His mix for us is an exploration of deeply hypnotic sounds and dreamy breakbeats to slowly but surely wake you up right at the start of the week. Once you’re in the groove, there is space travelling electro and beautifully delicate melodic techno that continues to sooth your soul as you journey through the cosmos and off to a better place.

@roi_perez is at the beating heart of the queer dance music scene in Europe. His route to the top started with a residency back home in Tel Aviv, but since moving to Berlin 2013 he has gone on to make a wider impact with regular standout sets at fetish club Lab.Oratory and Berghain’s Panorama Bar. His focus is always on buying, playing and selling records rather than making them, so he is an adventurous DJ who is always evolving but is famed for his long, winding, eclectic sets that span multiple sounds and scenes.

Even over the course of just an hour in the mix for us this week, he manages to travel far and wide. It's a party starting selection, for sure, with emotive breakbeats next to pumping percussive rhythms, steamy house and jacking acid. The rhythms are always raw and ragged, meaning Perez does a fine job of keeping you on the tips of your toes from start to finish.