RA Podcast

Kaleidoscopic psychedelia from one of Australia's finest.

While it might feel early to call bets on DJs of the decade, Kia Sydney, best known as Kia, is undoubtedly one of them. The Animalia founder began in Naarm's (Melbourne) underground scene in the mid-2010s, crediting a trip to the influential deep techno Japanese festival, Labyrinth, as the inspiration behind her sound.

Deep techno might not cut it as a descriptor for Sydney's sound, though. Hypnotic ribbons of steely techno mix with atmospherics and nimble grooves, drawing from IDM, dub and tech house, sharing as much with DJ Nobu and Donato Dozzy (try to find the track that overlaps with Dozzy's own RA Podcast) as well as modern practitioners like Priori and Beatrice M.

This distinctly Australian scuttling psychedelia has made Kia one of the most sought-after underground DJs globally. Her brainchild, Animalia, showcases a plurality of sounds and scenes, serving as living proof of the fruitful shift of the 2020s: less serious, perhaps, but with a sense of open-minded worldliness that offers a far more promising vision of what dance music can be and achieve.

Sydney's rare talent lies in forging connections, bringing people, sounds and ideas together with a distinct playfulness. Her RA Podcast showcases this alchemy in abundance, weaving classics like Monolake and Enya with peers such as OK EG, Cousin and Command D.

As she told us in her 2023 Breaking Through profile, "people tell me I have quite a distinctive sound but I can't tell so much because I hear so many different versions of it." RA.973 serves as confirmation that Kia's style is, to say the least, the mark of a generational talent.

@kia-sydney @animalia-label @cirruslabel

Read more at ra.co/podcast/973

A full four hours of the main man Caribou, recorded live at The Cause last summer. What more could you want to chase the blues away?

Dan Snaith is one of the most enduring figures in 21st century electronic music. From early records as Manitoba, to 2010's Swim (which RA called Album of the Year in a runaway vote), to Grammy-winning 2014 hit album Our Love, as well as ongoing collaborations with Four Tet and dance floor excursions under his Daphni alias, the Canadian DJ-producer is a fixture for a reason.

Ahead of a Caribou (Full Band) tour across the UK and Europe starting in February, we can now let loose the full four hour recording of his RA Live from 2024.

In it, Snaith goes in hard, rolling out bassy, wobbly and fidgety heaters, running through everything from speed garage and UK funky to Afro house and anthemic deep house—and even a sprinkle of Stevie Wonder for good measure. It's what he truly does best: bangers on bangers (and more bangers).

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM38RA6dkMs

@caribouband

"I'm like a collector—everything I come across makes it into my music." The dance music don talks about the music that shaped him and his recent L.B. Dub Corp album on Dekmantel.

Luke Slater, the British DJ, producer and occasional drummer, has been making music under a slew of monikers since the '80s: Planetary Assault Systems, L.B. Dub Corp, LSD, The 7th Plain, Clementine—the list goes on. While he's put out an excellent range of dynamic analogue music that runs the gamut of house, acid, breakbeat, electro and even spoken word, he's probably best known for his productions and live shows that focus on sleek and solid techno, as showcased on Ostgut Ton and his own imprint, Mote-Evolver.

In the latest instalment of our flagship live series Playing Favourites, Slater unpacks the tracks that, for him, best illustrate the history of techno at large, as well as the records that define his creative process and career trajectory. He speaks with Chloe Lula live from Polifonic festival about his love of Detroit and Underground Resistance, as well as the abiding influence of hip-hop on his early work and his love of intentionally integrating mistakes in his music. He also reflects on how he became the first non-German artist to release on Berghain's esteemed record label, as well as discussing his most recent release, Saturn to Home, for Dekmantel. The double LP saw him return to his drumming practice and introduce surprising and powerful collaborations from electronic music contemporaries and vocalists like Kittin and the poet Benjamin Zephaniah. Listen to the episode in full.

Party-starting stompers from a crossover star.

Even if you've never met Adam Longman Parker, AKA Afriqua, you can get to know him pretty well through his music. His lyrics ("Would you house me in a house, would you house right in my mouth?" from "Dr. House"), track titles ("Wagwan Bhagwan?") and cover art exude a charmingly cheeky demeanour that makes his music personable. It helps that his latest records are absolute smashers–funk bombs with jacked beats and bouncy grooves.

Once ensconced in the minimal world, the Virginia-born artist gravitated towards Miami bass, Midwest house and zesty techno before the pandemic. Thankfully so: his recent discography combines Moodymann's slinky swagger with The Neptunes' killer sense of rhythm. Just like those legendary acts, Parker carries weight in both the underground and mainstream—he's released with Tomorrowland label CORE Records and DJ'd at Ibiza superclubs, while still appealing to more headsy crowds.

His career expansion hasn't cost him his principles, either. A champion of Black history and culture, the classically-trained pianist infuses overlooked Black musical traditions like psyfunk into his work. Coloured, his debut full-length, was a tribute to what he called the "Black musical tree."

"Genre is just temporary housing," the now Berlin-based producer noted in a recent Instagram post. That mentality informs his RA Podcast. From '90s-inspired house and luxurious harp melodies to some of his originals and even a "Satisfaction" remix, it's a celebration of unpretentious, feel-good music. Put simply, it slaps—hard.

@afriqua

Read more at ra.co/podcast/972

"We put all of these philosophical concepts into our lyrics." Sister Bliss talks about the band after Maxi Jazz, weaving politics into rave anthems and the dance floor as salvation.

Even if you're not into electronic music, chances are you've heard tracks like "Insomnia" or "God Is A DJ" on the radio or in a film. These '90s rave anthems were written by Faithless, a British electronic band that received huge acclaim in the UK especially. Its original members, who launched the project in 1995, were Sister Bliss, Rollo and charismatic lead singer Maxi Jazz, who died in 2022. At their peak, they sold millions of records, performed all over the world and played giant festivals like Coachella and Glastonbury to hundreds of thousands of people.

Faithless is now toured solely by Sister Bliss, the keyboardist and songwriter. She speaks with Chloe Lula about the band's trajectory and the legacy left behind by Maxi Jazz. In her words, Faithless appeals to such a wide audience because its output isn't dance floor music in a traditional sense. Instead, it occupies a space where poetry, beats and melodies meet. With Maxi Jazz as their frontman, the group spoke to themes around human rights, politics, protest, equity, collapse, spirituality and the notion of dance music as a secular religion. Their transcendent live shows—which Sister Bliss will revive in 2025—have even been called a "church for the unchurched." Maxi Jazz was a practicing Buddhist monk whose lyrics and message of connection and compassion touched legions of fans over the years.

In this Exchange, Sister Bliss reflects on Maxi Jazz's death, being a mother on the road, continuing to release music under the Faithless banner and what it ultimately means to find salvation in faith, music, community and life at large. Listen to the episode in full.

Enter the wormhole with one of the techno artists we're most excited about in 2025.

Born in Osaka and now based in Tokyo, DJ MARIA. joins a decorated lineage of Japan's psychedelic elite, cut from a similarly explorative cloth as Wata Igarashi, Haruka and esoteric icons ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U and DJ Nobu. This nerdy sanctum of deep techno is a notoriously hard world to break into: only the very best make the grade. DJ MARIA.'s head-spinning sets emphasise why she's already part of the club firmament at home, and is now in the midst of a global breakthrough.

Her trademark is tapestries of acid, trance and techno that strike a perfect balance between vibrancy, impact and restraint. She bit the bug through a teenage discovery of DVDs showing legendary psytrance raves like Solstice and Vision Quest, yet it wasn't until 2014 that she started DJing, balancing gigs with shifts at Tokyo's Face Records and, as of late, motherhood.

Today, as well as producing and touring venues such as FOLD and Bassiani, she helps run two boutique forest festivals—Moment and Transcendence—both of which play a big part in upholding Japan's storied techno tradition. DJ MARIA. has reached these heights principally because of her exceptional talent as a DJ, which is on full display on this week's RA Podcast.

The two-hour mix is pure manna for psychedelic techno heads, though we're confident the depth of feeling, subtle pacing and seamless stitching will lure in fans from across the electronic spectrum. RA.971 is a total treasure—the latest wow moment from an artist destined to have a career littered with them.

@djmaria-jp

Read more at ra.co/podcast/971

"Why would you care about anyone else's opinion?" The DJ and dancer talks about work ethic, living authentically and the power of lifting each other up.

DJ and dancer Patrick Mason emits high vibrations and high-energy dance music. But that wasn't always the case. Before he was playing the world's biggest techno festivals, he grew up in conservative Bavaria, where he claims that he "suppressed his truest self" as a closeted gay Black man. Born to an American GI father and a German mother, he learned the power of visualisation and hard work in order to launch himself to Berlin and the freedom of expression it represented. It was in the capital that he had his first sexual experiences and climbed the ranks of fashion and modelling, spending weekend stints at Berghain and immersing himself in the new world of techno.

Career burnout and the Covid-19 lockdowns set Mason down the path of DJing in 2020, and he's since carved out a niche as a party-starter known for flamboyant selections that accompany his elaborate dance routines behind (and even on top of) the decks. In this interview recorded live at ADE 2024, he speaks with Chloe Lula about the obstacles he's overcome to get to the top, personal trauma and struggles with self-acceptance, body dysmorphia, depression, and gay male culture's sometimes unrealistic physical ideals. He also discusses his ambitions to marry the worlds of fashion and music, and his vision for a more authentic music industry. Listen to the episode in full.

The Dekmantel favourite kicks off 2025 in an exploratory mood.

Since her breakout in 2017, Thessa Thorsing has built an enviable CV: a debut release on Nous'klaer Audio, an album on Dekmantel and a residency at former Amsterdam clubbing institution De School. Over these years, she's honed a singular sound, navigating wild variations in tempo and mood that dance along the edges of techno, IDM and drum & bass (we could list many more, but you know the drill).

Her creative arc has seen her delve into ever more abstract concepts, such as 2024's ambient-leaning album, Strange Meridians, exploring the interplay between synthetic and natural textures through drumless experimentations. As she explained in her 2018 RA Breaking Through profile, "I just want to hear the weirdness in the music."

Thorsing's RA Podcast showcases exactly why she's one of the most consistently adventurous names in dance music. Describing it as "a mix with a narrative," the former landscape architecture student flexes her ability to build sonic environments, beginning in a landscape more akin to a swamp than a club.

Across 90 minutes, she moves through numerous layered terrains, exploring everything from Skee Mask's lucid, beatless techno to the piercing acid of Mike Parker. Unfolding with a restless sense of curiosity, RA.970 captures an artist challenging the boundaries of electronic music, ever upward.

@upsammy

Read more at ra.co/podcast/970

Ring in 2025 with a three-hour flex from a hero of UK club culture.

They don't make DJs like Lukas Wigflex anymore. The Nottingham DJ and promoter has a love for UK club culture that borders on the unfathomable—and he does it all with a gusto that is unmistakably, one hundred percent pure Lukas.

Wigflex started out as a "Wigflex Wednesdays," a free bar night in Nottingham with two-for-one pizzas to hook punters in. In the 19 years since, it has grown into one of the UK's most established party series, welcoming dance music giants while still championing homegrown talent. Recalling its journey from a modest bar night to powerhouse party, he told Stamp The Wax: "I created a mixtape and called it Wigflex 2000. It all just evolved naturally from that."

"Evolved naturally" is, perhaps, too modest. In an increasingly hostile operating environment, it's hard to overstate the achievement of Wigflex's longevity, a testament to his tenacity and distinctive spirit. Who else, let's be honest, could get away with taglining their event, "Survival of the Wrongest." But don't let the tongue-and-cheek persona fool you, mind—he's deadly serious about tunes.

His RA Podcast is a window into what Wigflex is all about: electro in all its shades, from the Hauffian to the Drexciyan, alongside wigged-out EBM and a healthy amount of Wigflex classics.

Even if you didn't know it was coming from him, you would certainly get the impression it sounds a lot like somebody who adores dance music. What better way to ring in the New Year?

@wigflex

Read more at ra.co/podcast/969

The RA Exchange wraps up 2024 with an episode dedicated solely to vinyl culture, from dubplate production to record store culture, all-vinyl DJing and running labels that release records.

In the first part of this episode, which was recorded live at Wire Festival, panelists and vinyl DJs Mary Yuzovskaya, Clarisa Kimskii and Devoye Folkes discuss the benefits and drawbacks of playing records in the digital era with RA editor Gabriel Szatan.

According to the panelists, playing vinyl could be seen as a skill analogous to driving stick shift: while it's not always necessary, it gives new artists a better understanding of a DJ set's underlying machinery. They also talk about how a DJ's identity used to be intertwined with their personal collection of records, and how the digital paradigm shift presents today's DJs with infinite choices.

The Exchange's second half takes listeners behind the scenes, investigating the challenges and opportunities inherent in running a business based on vinyl sales. Live from Wall to Wall Festival at RSO, HHV Records, Bandcamp Berlin, Objects Manufacturing and Elevate Record Store speak to the overhead investment, production time and ecological considerations they take into account in their day-to-day operations.

They also shed light on the statistics behind the enormous sales of vinyl records in the past few years and the breakdown of which artists are making money from digital versus physical music sales and why.

Listen to the episode in full.