Dekmantel Podcast

Detroit’s Patrice Scott is a lifelong student of the deep who brings something fresh to his more techno orientated hometown. His smoky, atmospheric house lays low and rolls on endlessly, getting you in a meditative state and keeping you there with spine-tingling vocal motifs and beautifully delicate keys. His own Sistrum label has been on a similar mission since 2006, and you’d be hard pushed to find deep house as raw and emotionally charged anywhere in the world.

His podcast is a two hour masterclass in smooth and seductive house that explores plenty of different moods. Selections exude the sort of class and quality that Scott has made his trademark: he’s not afraid of a jiggy drum pattern, or a vulnerable female voice, but the kicks always remain rooted to the floor and impossible to ignore. Come rain or shine, outdoor stages or indoor sweat boxes, this is the sort of mix that will always make a mark.

Has anyone toyed with the rules and subverted expectation quite as much as DJ Fett Burger in recent years? We can’t think of many people who are more thrilling to listen to than the Sex Tags co-founder. Whether viewing ambient through a dubby house lens, getting wilfully weird with time signatures or wonderfully wonky with his grooves, the Norwegian is in a class of one. He’s fairly prolific too, with more than 22 EPs to his name since 2012, yet each and every time he steps out, he manages to sound more fun and freaky than before.

It’s the same story with his DJ sets. The one we have here is a three-hour ready-made party: it starts with ass-wiggling funk and joyous disco before things begin to unravel into tumble-down house and heavily percussive afro drums. Fett Burger isn’t afraid to suddenly switch up the tempo or roughly blend in a new tune, either, just so long as the energy remains. And it does, with things ending up not far from where they started with a classic slice of Prince that will leave you wanting to do it all again.

VC-118A is a firm favourite with electro’s most hardcore fans. The Dutchman - who also works as Mohlao and Multicast Dynamics - covers every shade from moody and insular to purely for the floor. He’s a regular on the most reliable labels in the scene including Delsin (where he just released his new album 'Inside'), Frustrated Funk and Radio Matrix, and always manages to get rich contrasts in his music that make it as impactful as it is thoughtful. He’s also one of the most able live acts in the game; someone who soundtracks imaginary movies that play out while you’re lost in the darkness.

He keeps it high tempo over the course of an hour here, with corrugated drum funk and glistening sci-fi synths all racing along and taking you with them. At times there is an aggressive sense of industrialism to the music, but just when the pressure is about to get too much, you’re off into more eerie and empty sonic worlds that forever keep you guessing. Sit back, then, and enjoy a master at work.

Techno collaborations don’t come much more exciting than Neon Chambers. Made up of UK titan Sigha and famously experimental Frenchman Kangding Ray, the pair have very much defined the modern sound of the genre with their solo careers. When coming together for their blistering live show, they fuse avant-garde sounds with machine-driven grooves and work up music that manages to make an impact on the floor as well as fire your cerebral cortex.

Later this year, the pair will play at Dekmantel 2019, but before that we have a set to get you in the zone as to what to expect. Of course, it is a stylish and boundary pushing exploration of tempo and texture that is all up close and intricate synthesis one moment, then more laid back dub swagger the next. Never rooted to one sound world, there are cosmic vibes as well as raw industrialism all touched upon, and the result is as arresting as you would expect from this hugely proficient pair.

Jonny Rock knows how to entertain any sort of dance floor. The Worldwide FM radio host runs Turkish focussed labels Hamam House and Disco Hamam and has very much driven the renewed focus in Eastern music as a result. His record collection is a treasure trove of knowledge when it comes to unusual scenes and sounds and will put anyone’s to shame. He has held residences at places as diverse as Classic at The End, Key at Phonica and Herbal, and his own productions take in whatever he wants, be it house on The Nothing Special or techno on ESP Institute.

There is no holding back over the course of his podcast, which gets straight to business with some wild breakbeat action. All forms of house from jacked up to deep, celebratory to acid then get seamlessly linked together into something that feels very much informed by the past but in no way a slave to the classics. It’s the sound of a man who very much knows what he’s doing in top form.

Although a relative newcomer to the DJ game, JASSS has really managed to shake up the dance floor in the last couple of years ( not least with her residency at Berghain's Säule). Releases on Anunnaki Cartel, Mannequin and iDEAL Recordings have showcased her rugged and gritty approach to EBM, industrial, acid and techno. Between those releases she has covered experimental sound art, soundscapes and more club focusses beats, all while playing to her own rules and fighting her own internal battles.

On her Dekmantel podcast the Spaniard goes direct to the club with visceral drums and stark synths. It’s a mix that hurries you along for the ride, jostling you with breakbeats and rave stabs then rewriting your brain with prickly techno before allowing you a moment to breath in some more elastic and rubbery house music. It’s always full flavour, high impact stuff that is brilliantly compelling and strobe lit throughout, whether stepping at half time or falling over itself in a race to the end.

Kasra V’s unique fusion of eastern and western sounds has made him one of the most intriguing artists of the day. The Iranian has established himself with an NTS show (that is more than 100 episodes deep) and DJ sound that mixes old school UK rave with Belgian techno, acid house, trance and eastern grooves that make for spellbinding experiences. In 2018 he collaborated with Dopplerekkekt and is working on a reissue compilation series that focuses on Iranian sounds as well as original dance material.

Later this year he will play for us at Dekmantel Selectors so you can get an insight into what to expect on this week’s podcast: It’s a whirlwind hour of trance-inducing electronics. Zoned out synths are layered up over smooth rolling drums, with sci-fi references and progressive grooves lifting you ever higher. Acid flashes, retro motifs and slick mixing all make it a perfectly absorbing trip.

Afrodeutsche’s music is a collision of many different worlds. She herself is British born, but with Ghanaian, Russian and German heritage, while her influences and inspirations span classical piano, film and documentary music. Based in Manchester, she is a composer and producer with a regular show on NTS that explores her love of techno and electro and which goes from dark and tough to jacked up and broken.

Her mix for us is a 90 minute excursion through her musical mind: it’s a busy one that veers from ghostly ambiance to serrated machine music. While a subtle hardcore nostalgia colours the airwaves one moment, decidedly forward facing bass music will twist you inside out the next, and the whole thing is run through with a sense of menace and mystery that is perfect for shady, strobe-lit clubs.

Efdemin has all but perfected his deep, expertly reduced take on house and techno. The German artist has mastered his form over the course of numerous 12”s on various labels, including three albums on Dial Records. They are intricate, mind bending affairs that take you in on yourself and constantly explore new ground. His hybrid mix CD on his own Naïf imprint and Curle last year was another career high point, and recently he has turned himself towards experimental and microtonal composition with yet more fascinating results. February 2019 will see Ostgut Ton release New Atlantis, his latest album and one inspired by Francis Bacon’s unfinished 17th century novel of the same name. Promising to fuse his left-of-centre take on dance music with a new found passion for experimental sound art, it’s the latest chapter in a fascinating artistic story.

His podcast for us is a decidedly club-focussed mix, featuring the sort of warped synths and underlapping grooves you would expect of the man. There are multi-layered tracks of percussion, sound design and stringy rhythms to start, then things slip into long, draw out passages of tunnel vision techno before the drums begin to hit harder to carry you home. At times playful, at others deadly serious, it sums up the career of Efdemin perfectly.

Beta Librae is the brightest star in the Libra constellation, but also one of the brightest stars in techno. Bailey Hoffman hails from New York City and arrived in 2015 pretty much with a fully formed and decidedly singular sound. Releasing albums and EPs on labels like Incienso and Allergy Season, she draws on ambient, downtempo, new age and house music to stir up weird atmospheres and slow motion grooves. Lots goes on between her lazy kicks, and it all serves to sink you into a cavernous and expansive world of beautiful melody and loose percussion.

Over the course of ninety minutes, Hoffman’s wide sphere of influences are all exposed. There’s kaleidoscopic techno that traps you in a hall of mirrors as melodies refracted all around, ramshackle drums that are on the verge of collapse and murky house music that’s gritty and grimy. The transitions between these worlds are subtle, and for every passage of dark and dirty texture there are moments of light emitting beauty that keeps the whole thing moving. This is club music from a whole new perspective.