RA Podcast

Earlier this year, we described Los Angeles act 1morning as one of the funkiest young producers in modern-day techno. And we stand by it. The fast-rising upstart is building a solid fan base around North America and beyond with a rugged, vintage style of swung techno and hardgroove. His all-vinyl DJ sets and pumping productions on the likes of Fixed Rhythms and Mála Ádh stand out for their distinctly old-school flavour—steamrolling hi-hats à la Robert Hood, swift choppage behind the decks and deep, deep grooves. Like many of his all-vinyl heroes, he's also a treat to watch behind the decks

The up-and-comer had a hell of a year in 2023, from playing in Japan to going on his first European tour, and his momentum shows no signs of slowing. He debuted at New York's dweller festival this year and K9 Unit, his duo with Bloodhound, recently did a night with fellow hardgroove king Regal86. It's only a matter of time until 1morning gets to a festival or a club near you so until then, enjoy his RA Podcast for now. The mix unfortunately came with some less than stellar circumstances, as the records 1morning pulled were stolen from his car, and so instead this RA Podcast became a statement of resilience and creativity—and, in his words, "an outlet for my rage."

@1morning

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/932

Sam Coates took to techno like a diligent pupil, falling in love with the genre through labels like CLR in the late '00s. It didn't take long for the student to surpass his proverbial teachers. Almost immediately, the Manchester native was putting out pitch-perfect, functional techno records with everything intricately balanced. The requisite move to Berlin only sealed his fate as a future techno luminary, and by now, based in Kyiv, he's one of techno's most reliable, yet exciting, workhorses. Setaoc Mass records (and those on his label, SK_eleven) are minimalist but colossal, deceptively simple but not easy to pull off.

We've praised him in these pages for his "sense of economy—how to get the hardest impact out of just a few elements," and that's the idea behind his RA Podcast as well. Put together from records old and new, and intricately layered, Coates's mix is like a time-travelling wormhole connecting disparate eras from techno, and highlighting the genre's most timeless attributes: mechanistic rhythms, careful pacing, rudimentary melodies made out of the strangest sounds and, of course, the power of the bass drop. It's hard to imagine anything that sounds more capital-T techno than this mix, which is a high compliment. It's easy to hear why his records and DJ sets are only more in demand from techno heads across the geographical and generational spectrum.

@setaoc_mass

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/931

Most underground movements in the arts can be boiled down to one key ingredient: friends doing dope shit together. Childhood BFFs Luca Medici and Delbert Perez have been doing just that with INVT (that's "innovate"), a multidisciplinary art project that spans club music and streetwear. Before exploding onto the international stage and playing to massive crowds in Ibiza and Tulum, the Miami natives built a solid community at home through electrifying DJ sets, releases and fashion. They might be globe-trotting artists now, going back-to-back with artists like Skream and playing Panorama Bar, but their raw DIY spirit stays strong.

Their tunes and live hardware shows fuse jungle, techno, East Coast club and dubstep—and lately, tech house and tribal house—with bass-heavy Latin genres like cumbia and guaracha. A reflection of Miami's diverse demographics, their genre cross-pollinations bring together skaters, dancers, artists and various subcultures. Their clothing lines are equally cross-cultural: repurposed vintage items made from screen printing and acid washing, using photos and designs that represent their home city's vibrant street culture. True to their grassroots ethos, everything's done in-house, from mixing and mastering tracks to embroidery.

The next-gen duo's ultra-rhythmic productions, characterised by deep, swinging drums and trippy textures, is delivered to the world at a rapid-fire pace, testament to Medici and Perez's seemingly insatiable hunger. Their explosive career has helped bring fresh shine to Miami talents who feature heavily in their sets, including this RA Podcast. Featuring DJ Babatr, Coffintexts and plenty of their own unreleased heaters, INVT's mix represents their friendships, community and Miami's thrilling melting pot of dance music that they're still a core part of even as they move across the globe.

@invt305

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/930

Last year, when we wrote that "the best UK garage is coming out of Los Angeles," we were talking about Introspekt. The US DJ, who has since moved to New York, really understands the genre—its appeal, swing and unique, bassy whomp. Listen to any of her tracks, like last year's "Forlorn," and you'll hear someone who produces like she's been making UKG all her life. This is probably partly because she comes from a dubstep background, but either way, if you're looking for new UK garage beats, Introspekt is one of the best going right now.

Her DJing also hits a distinct sweet spot, zeroing in one of the proto-dubstep, dark UK garage days when producers like El-B were making the hottest shit around. Her sound is both retro and forward-looking, as you'll hear on her RA Podcast, which balances vintage Big Apple cuts from Skream & Benga with new-school tunes from Amaliah and Surusinghe. It's not so much a throwback as it is a rejuvenation of an old sound—a new way to look at it and a new way to make it. If hindsight is 20/20, then Introspekt has perfect vision, and mixes like this are the perfect way to educate listeners, make them move and innovate a little in the process.

@sageintrospekt

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/929

Berlin label and collective Live From Earth crew does things its own way. And it works. Over the past ten years, the team has become a major force in the city, mixing a killer ear for techno and house with a sense of humour and pop sensibility that has proven irresistible to audiences and scenes around the world. That's why we chose Live From Earth for our latest cover story: its DIY attitude, humble origins and tenacious spirit are everything we love about underground dance music.

Accompanying the cover story, this RA Podcast features a recording of a live back-to-back between two of the label's chief artists, DJ Gigola and MCR-T (the latter of whom has produced some of Live From Earth's biggest hits, including horsegiirL's "My Barn My Rules"). The hour-plus recording makes for a handy microcosm of the label's sound, rushing through contemporary and vintage techno with plenty of raunchy vocal samples and hip-hop a capellas. It's blazing but never too hard, catchy but never predictable. Above all, it's fun—the group's guiding principle.

@mcr-t @djgigola @livefromearth

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/928

Of all the Berlin DJs who make a living spinning strange, I'm-not-sharing-the-tracklist kind of records, Sugar Free, originally hailing from Madrid, might be the most fun. She plays bold, colourful tracks with an air of sci-fi and sleaze, somewhere between Italo, hi-NRG, electro and house. (Her Dimensions Mix last year was one of our favourites of 2023.) She's the kind of DJ who messes with your perception of genres and tempos by how she blends tracks together, and also a DJ with a rare grasp of mixing melodies and moods—just check out the first transition of this RA Podcast for a spine-tingling example.

Sugar Free doesn't speak much publicly, and you won't find a lot about her on the internet. She prefers to let her DJing speak for itself. And her RA Podcast says a lot: proggy basslines, heart-in-mouth descents into reverb-heavy breakdowns, eerie vocals and a general feel of psychedelia and '80s decadence. It's difficult to tell what era these records are from, which is part of the charm. For a bonus point, try and pick out two just-completed Sugar Free originals, some of her first productions ever after her debut track came out on Limousine Dream in 2022.

@freesugarfree

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/927

In December 2023, during Miami Art Basel, RA hosted a Community Connections event co-produced by Technique Records and RA City Manager Daniel Jinks. As part of the event, RA Senior Staff Writer Nyshka Chandran moderated a panel with four key figures from the Miami dance music scene: Danny Daze, Jubilee, Nick León, and Romulo Del Castillo to delve into the vibrant, broader history behind the city’s electronic dance music scene.

Miami's music is dominating worldwide club circuits. The city's current sound—forward-thinking medleys of dembow, cumbia, techno, and breakbeats made by both vanguards and veterans—has been rinsed out at festivals and dance floors in recent years, catapulting the city back into global dance music conversations. This hybrid style has ushered in what many call a renaissance in Miami's creative underground, marking a new chapter in the city's electronic music lineage. How has this current sound been influenced by older, influential genres like Miami bass, electro, and IDM that have long characterized the city? Are there any new societal, cultural, and structural changes that are paving the way for ongoing genre cross-pollination? RA sits down with some of the city's most established names for a deep dive into the explosive growth and origins of Miami music.

Technique Records

https://www.instagram.com/techniquerecords/

Danny Daze

https://www.instagram.com/dannydaze/

@dannydaze

Jubilee

https://www.instagram.com/jubileedj/

@jubileedj

Nick León

https://www.instagram.com/nicknoexit/

@nickleon

Romulo Del Castillo

https://www.instagram.com/schematiccommando/

@romulo-del-castillo

FAUZIA is an artist of many moods. The UK talent moves from IDM to soul on her NTS Radio residency, while her club DJ sets reveal her love for '90s-style breaks, electro and bass-heavy sounds. In the studio, she explores her softer side through self-released homespun dub and ambient jungle.

In recent years, she's gravitated towards live performances. Her gossamer vocals, one of her strongest suits, cuts through live instrumentation like a hummingbird in agile flight. In 2020, the London-based talent told Mixmag that she was done being categorised as a "dance music" artist—and so far, she's succeeded. While she incorporates clubby touchstones into her work, there's a deep level of cross-genre knowledge and blending at play.

FAUZIA's RA podcast makes that clear. Free of any four-to-the-floor music, it moves from experimental jazz to orchestral melodies to R&B ballads for a thoughtful and introspective journey full of her own unreleased music that points towards her newer interest in composition. This is music to be felt, so let your guard down and let it wash over you.

@FAUZIA

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/926

Shubostar's RA Podcast begins and ends with video game music. (The beginning kind of sounds like Mary Poppins, actually.) Lots of DJs and producers play or make music that emulates the nostalgic sounds of old-school gaming, but the South Korean artist goes direct to the source. Before falling in love with dance music, she went to an animation-focused high school and learned how to make video games—so it's basically in her musical DNA. And while her DJing isn't as out-there as you might expect from that description, '90s and '00s Japanese video game (and anime) soundtracks offer a good idea of what her playing sounds like: lush, synthetic and a little naive, full of wonder and positive vibes.

With releases on labels like Permanent Vacation, Internasjonal and her own uju Records, Shubostar is also a student of cosmic space disco, inspired by artists like Daniele Baldelli, Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas. Lately she's been rubbing elbows with Âme and Dixon. She picks tracks from across eras and genres on her RA Podcast, with cuts from Yellow Magic Orchestra, Baldelli and Kraftwerk alongside selections from DJ City and Private Agenda. It's a mix full of mood shits, dazzling keyboard runs and, of course, melodies that seem to reach out towards the heavens—or outer space.

@shubostar

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/925

If Bitter Babe was a perfume, her scent would be animalic—heavy musk, bergamot, worn leather and burnt spices. The Bogotá-born, Miami-bred and now Berlin-based artist has a heady, ultra-rhythmic sound that feels made for sweltering summer nights and feral fantasies. Combining pan-Latin styles with hard drum and industrial touches, she's crafted a singular mood that defines her DJing and production: hazy, high-energy and sensual.

Bitter Babe's ascent on the international circuit has been tied to her role in Miami's electronic renaissance. Whether it's proto-reggaeton, dense ambient or guaracha, her sets and productions are characterised by evocative low-end, darting synths and distorted frequencies that exude drama. With releases on TraTraTrax, Air Texture and SVBKVLT, she's cemented her position as an experimentalist, leaving the door open for more deconstruction and abstraction.

As cofounder of multidisciplinary project LATITUDES, Bitter Babe seeks to unify Latin America's electronic music communities. Her mixes are a great source for discovering under-the-radar acts from Peru, Brazil and beyond, some of whom are featured on her RA podcast. Starting with subby downtempo before moving onto swampy baile funk, technoid mutations of dembow and cheeky UKG, it showcases her expertise for trippy yet deeply kinetic grooves.

@bitterbabe

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/924