Dekmantel Podcast Series

@fadimohem is right at the heart of contemporary techno. He brings his own twist on the classic sound - deep, rhythmic and atmospheric. He's a Berghain resident whose first contact with the genre came at the hallowed club, and since then, he has blazed his own trail on the most influential labels in the scene, including his own Mohem imprint. This year, he plays twice at Dekmantel Festival, once as part of WSNWG Live and once on the Radar stage. Ahead of that, he has put together an exclusive one-hour live set comprised only of unreleased music. It's a masterclass in control that embodies just what you get from Fadi in the club: deep techno planted firmly on the floor but always going somewhere. As dubbed out low ends, glitchy textures and more tripped out melodies come and go, the tension ramps up while both body and mind stay locked.

NIKS (@niksbad) is as dedicated as anyone to furthering dance music culture. Hailing from south-east London via Bath, NIKS has long proven her curatorial skills with radio shows on BBC Radio 1, Rinse, and NTS. Her idiosyncratic blends of ‘90s groovy, rhythmic sounds and forward-thinking, underground-leaning soundscapes have brought her to some of the world's most revered clubs. After contributing music to various compilations, last year she explored bass-heavy sounds with her first solo EP on Or:la's Céad label. Beyond her work as a musician, NIKS also co-founded the Black Artist Database, a crowd-sourced list of Black-owned labels, artists, and producers designed to amplify and uplift talent. Ahead of her debut at the Dekmantel Festival this year, NIKS serves up a 90-minute window into her current musical world, including her own forthcoming productions in a deep, dub-infused journey into hypnotic techno and house rhythms that intertwine to create a warm, supple soundscape. Its seamless flow takes in sounds from the past, present, and future, and they all encourage you to move and meditate in equal measure."

South London's @angeldlite is a musical thrill-seeker. Her colourful take on rave is all about big moments, big energy, and big love. The newly installed High Hoops resident effortlessly straddles genres. From piano house to emotive trance, always delivering uplifting moods and euphoric drops that turn her dance floors into spaces of pure joy. This June, she'll be closing down the Poppy area at Lentekabinet. Ahead of that, she serves up one of her signature sessions for our series: a jam-packed ride through every corner of rave culture. Expect strobe-lit synths, rapturous vocals, thumping bass, and playful twists. It's the perfect soundtrack for the road to Het Twiske—and a summer full of fun.

@oscarmulero is one of those artists whose sound is immediately identifiable. It has had an unwavering depth, headiness and atmospheric richness to it for more than 30 years, which is a remarkable achievement few can match. A famous non-conformist, the Spaniard's top-tier three-deck mixing skills and ability to distil techno to its most hypnotic form have also long stood him apart, as have his Polegroup and Warm Up labels. Mulero's consistency of sound means you know what you're going to get with this mix: spaced-out, layered and deep techno brilliance. Whether more dubby and roomy or glitchy and intense, it's music for both mind and body from one of the scene's most low-key but high-class veterans. Turn it up loud and look forward to more of the same when he plays at Dekmantel Festival later this year.

Bristol-based @k_means operates at the fringes of electronic music. It's not tempo and genre that unites their sound, but more an exploration of mood and texture underpinned by bass-heavy low ends and hypnotic rhythms. The Noods, Rinse FM and Kiosk Radio regular is also resident at Bristol's Psychotherapy Sessions and will debut at Dekmantel Festival where you should fully expect to be taken into plenty of unknown musical territory. It is the same with their mix for us this week - a wild trip into futuristic drum patterns and interplanetary sounds that melt the mind and contort the body. There is a constant push and pull between the organic and the synthetic with tribal percussion and warped vocals brushing up with bleeping synth modulations and experimental minimalism. It's a magnetic selection that's as much an imaginary movie soundtrack as it is a dance floor escape.

The next Dekmantel mix is a wild melting pot of dark, murky techno grooves by @mattikk. A pillar of the Amsterdam underground, the Garage Noord resident has a long history of DJing in the city and is closely connected to your favorite techno labels. He's the mind behind Delsin Records' Mantis series, collaborating with artists like Forest Drive West, Konduku, Lemna, and Dino Sabatini. Drawing on UK sound system culture, his selections always carry an experimental edge, whether diving into deep Italian techno or ambient. Usually, he crafts mixes for immersive listening pleasure, but here he makes a rare turn to the dance floor, inspired by his closing set on the UFO2 stage at last year's Dekmantel Festival. Over an hour of powerful, driving grooves and subtle details, sprinkled with new tunes and some personal favorites that span low-end-heavy electro and broken beats.

@noizar's sound goes far beyond conventional house or techno. The Ukrainian DJ, who is now based in Amsterdam, has long since proven this with countless closing sets as resident at Kyiv's legendary Closer club. It was there where he stood out for unearthing minimal techno treasures in places no one else looks. As such, you can always be sure that wherever Noizar mixes crop up online, they will be flooded with cheeky "ID?" requests, and quite often you will find they come on his vinyl-only Wicked Bass label. For his Dekmantel Mix he offers a perfect snapshot of what he does in the booth: carefully dug out delights that don't really fit in usual categories. But they do tap into a specific deepness and groove that is rooted in Kyiv's minimal scene and the dance floor of Closer club. It results in a tight, taught hour of body music that perfectly balances function and form.

@eli-verveine is a musical chameleon who can do it all from banging peak time sets to pensive warm-ups via weird and wonderful hour hours sessions. She has proven that over the years in many of the scene's most cultured clubs whether playing solo, B2B as Among Trees with Andrey Pushkarev or live with Gwenan as Gin & Tonic. On top of all this, she has a well-formed discography that delves further into her versatile sounds. This week's mix reflects her musical malleability as she draws on plenty of diverse tempos and textures to craft a lively trip. There are moments of blissful deepness next to more nuanced rhythms, futuristic bass explorations and cosmic electro sojourns that keep things moving at pace, but always with great control and expert selections.

Milan-based Piezo (@piezopz) sits at the heart of the current club sounds. He has long had an obsession with sound system music and that defines what he does today: mutant and beguiling club tracks with meticulous sound design and thrilling energy, heavy low ends and a real dose of UK influence from d&b to garage, grime and techno. He kicked off the year by dropping his genre-busting Ecstatic Nostalgia EP on our Dekmantel-UFO sub-label and now returns with a podcast that is just as fresh. It's a futuristic mix of bleeping machines and lurching rhythms with bright synth designs and deep space ambience. Over the course of 90 minutes, the pace picks up and you're whisked along a variety of rhythms from broken to dubby, head spinning to minimal. It feels utterly spontaneous but is also a fully coherent mix from this restless innovator.

@sunjuhargun is based in Thailand and has been bringing all new energy to the Asian scene for more than 20 years. He has Indian heritage and Japanese roots which inform his mystic sound and the music he releases via the the label he co-founded, Siamese Twins Records. As he proved when he played our festival back in summer, he transcends musical and cultural borders to bring everything from, warm and percussive tribal grooves to more psychedelic sounds, acid textures and mind altering techno. Sunju explains his approach to this week's mix. "I wanted to capture a special memory using records picked up during my trips between Amsterdam and Japan over the past few years. The result is a selection that blends the past, present, and future. As with every mix, I approach things naturally, with spontaneity. Live recordings have a unique energy that you can only feel in person, but sometimes that feeling can get lost when making a mix at home. This here is 60 mins of a raw, spontaneous reflection of friends in my living room, just hitting record and going for it. No filter, no perfection—just creativity with a limited selection.”

Laksa's (@laksauk) contribution to techno is as vital as it is hard to define. The London-based Bristolian never sits still in one stylistic niche and is as likely to ramp up the techno as he is slow then down. His meticulously designed grooves have come on tasteful labels like Hessle Audio, Timedance and Ilian Tape, always with a focus on dance floor dynamics. Further creative outlets come in the form of the re:lax label, club night and NTS show he runs with with re:ni. Most recently he has cooked up the WONDA EP which includes a vocal collaboration with Nyege Nyege-affiliated Phelimuncasi The podcast he serves up for us is, in his own words, "a mix of hype and hypnotism" and it includes some tasty unreleased music from the man himself as well as the likes of Ma Sha, Siu Mata, Erik Luebs and Crespi Drum Syndicate. The 90 minutes are as wide-ranging as you might expect with bass-heavy grooves, trance-inducing synths, broken techno workouts and tribal rhythmic explorations all making sure both head and body are catered for in style.

Whatever Jennifer Loveless (@jenniferloveless) turns her attention to, she always looks to find real human emotion. The Berlin-based, Australian-born multidisciplinary artist works across a wide musical realm as a DJ, producer and top-line writer who also scores for the screen. In the club, she is all about big energy, warmth and colour as she flits between future sounds and euphoric nostalgia all while dropping plenty of big tunes on labels like Sex Tags UFO, Planet Euphorique and Future Classic. Over the last decade-plus, she has proven herself adaptable in the DJ booth and just as able to lock in a heady crowd at Panorama Bar as she is making her mark on festival stages like Horst. Across 90 minutes in this week's mix, Loveless draws on all of that experience to lay down a silky smooth trip that touches on deep techno and lush electronic minimalism before delving into more menacing atmospheres, jacked-up house and feel-good sunrise sounds.

London's Moxie (@djmoxie) has always embodied a fearless approach to DJing. Her sets are driven by her famously eclectic taste and can go from deep Detroit techno to face-melting bass via loved-up disco in an instant. She made her name as one of the earliest hosts on NTS Radio but is now a favourite of the global underground who has often impressed at our own events. Her "Moxie Presents" compilations have shown her dedication to championing forward-thinking artists and have helped make her a genuine new school tastemaker. This week Moxie has put together a breezy jaunt through many different facets of her sound. There are balmy summer pads and carefree house beats to start with then things head indoors for deeper, darker sounds but always saved up with plenty of warmth and emotion. This mix is a perfect encapsulation of how Moxie can take you from the early evening to late into the night without you even noticing.

FAUZIA (@djfauzia) is an artist who is always evolving. The UK DJ, producer and live act first broke through as a DJ who played fast music be it techno, electro, IDM or bass-heavy breaks. Her famous NTS has always shown a different side, where anything from soul to jazz can be called upon to tell a story. As a producer since 2020, she has tended to mine a more emotive side with releases that explore dub, ambient and jungle. She has also done pop collabs with Kelela and sings ever more on her own material. Basically, she is anything but easy to categorise, and instead works in many different worlds with equal style and skill. For this week's mix, FAUZIA focuses on the dance floor with a thrilling 90-minute selection. The scene is first set with some escapist ambience, deep and beatless jungle and spine-tingling vocals but then some serious breakbeats arrive. They come thick and fast and take on many forms from heavy and apocalyptic to blissed out and astra. FAUZIA's own voice occasionally arrives to lend them a personal, intimate quality while the mix grows faster and more futuristic. It's a showcase that's as brilliant in taste as it is in technique.

Sound Metaphors (@sound-metaphors) is Nemo Ripoll and Castro Moore, but it is also the name of their famously well-curated label and record shop in Berlin. As such the pair has been helping to define the sound of the underground on many different fronts - electric DJ sets, cult events and even through the custom-made sound systems built for customers worldwide. With a vast musical knowledge between them and a never-ending supply of their own unreleased edits and DJ tools, they are able to tell musical stories that draw from all across all genres and many different eras. That plays out in the superb mix they have put together for us this week. It's a full-bodied selection that shows off their love of contrasting styles - loose, percussive house music brushes up with deep and dubby cuts, dark acid grooves sit next to '80s synth sounds before a disco finish goes from stomping to funky. The exuberance of it all is infectious and leaves you wanting more.

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

Not only is Polygonia (@polygonia) playing her first live show in the Amsterdam forest this summer, she also just delivered the 468th instalment of the Dekmantel Podcast. Under the Polygonia moniker, multidisciplinary artist Lindsey Wang (also: founder of QEONE and IO Records) moves between the worlds of techno, downtempo and ambient – heavily inspired by Mother Nature and her thorough knowledge of music theory and live instruments. Listen to our Soundcloud for 96 must-hear minutes that will equally comfort and challenge your senses.

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.

American artist Introspekt (@sageintrospekt) has a sound rooted in the darker side of UKG but comes at it from a unique perspective that incorporates elements of US garage and ballroom. The LA-born, NYC-based talent has now made her mark in Europe as a DJ and a producer on labels like Eris Drew and Octo Octa's T4T LUV NRG. Her style blends heavy basslines, diva vocals and well-crafted broken beats into something that harks back to the sounds that once came out of the likes of Paradise Garage and Club Zanzibar, always with a focus on bringing up her own community. She says that the idea behind this week's mix was "to take the listener on a journey through tech-garage sonics and intergalactic dancehall rhythms." Tracks of her own and those from Skream, Holloway, Hatcha, Phuturistix and many more all plot a line through earth-shatteringly heavy rhythms from across the past, present and future of garage, dubstep and bass. It's a mix aimed at both body and head from this formidable talent and is a great taste of what to expect from her when she plays Dekmantel Festival later in the year.

Without people like Cashu (@carol-schutzer), São Paulo's queer community wouldn't be thriving in the way that it is. The Mamba Negra label collective, party and label co-founder has been working tirelessly to provide safe spaces, creative outlets and raise funds for the LGBTQIA+ community for many years. She closely intertwines politics and dancing at events that reclaim urban spaces and now enjoys an international DJ diary that sees her mixing up breaks, techno, dancehall and electro across Amsterdam, Berlin, and places like our own Dekmantel Selectors. She takes us on a similarly whirlwind tour with this week's mix, including some unreleased gems. It's a full-throttle party selection that fires through several house, club and techno rhythms - some bounce on big bass, some are twisted with raw percussion and some get stripped back to loopy drums and trippy sound designs. These global beats from the likes of DJ Wawa, Nick León, and Lewis Lowe add up to a colourful carnival atmosphere that sounds even better when the sun is shining.

Stella Zekri (@stella-zekri-ouiddir) is based in Berlin but her sound defies the usual expectations of those who dance in the city best known for house and techno. Her sets instead are instead led by soul and emotion and reach far and wide into the worlds of hip hop, house, new beat, trance, jazz, disco and bring rich colours and exultant vibes to the scene. She often likes to play long sets and isn't afraid of twisting and turning through diverse tempos and rhythms along the way, which is something she also does at the Body Language events she founded with Camilla Rae and Caitlin Russell in 2021. They have brought something all new to the queer scene in Berlin, while her monthly Breakfast Show on Refuge Worldwide and her studio work with 80s zouk and boogie band Stella and the Longos are further creative outlets that make Stella a new school star. All of this is reflected in the sixty-minute selection Stella has put together for us this week: it's a celebration of her eclectic collection that is powered by outgoing pianos, emotive vocals and gleeful grooves. There are old school house jams and silky soul-laced depths, happy 90s tracks and plenty of sensuous voices that all prove Stella Zekri's ability to keep the good times flowing is second to none.

There is nothing ordinary about Sepehr (@sepehr-a): he hails from the Bay Area of San Fran, is based in New York City but has Iranian heritage and takes great pleasure in pulling apart everything you think you know about dance music. His maverick approach results in versatile and genre-defiant sounds that collide EBM, drum & bass, techno, electro, acid and plenty more on some of the finest labels out there. He runs his own Shaytoon Records which is focussed on the Middle Eastern underground, and in May lands on our own Dekmanel Records with Genesis Domain, a varied EP full of intriguing sounds. The same could be said of his mix for us this week. It's a deep dive into his eclectic and eccentric musical mind that spans several sounds and scenes. Although united by body-moving rhythms, there is everything from club to techno to broken beat and plenty more besides. Each track is packed with detail and surrealist sounds that will keep your head as busy as your heels.

JakoJako (@jakojako_live) always wanted to make music and her self-confessed hyperactivity ultimately led to her getting the most joy out of playing about with machines and patching up synths. These days the Berghain resident is a celebrated live act and DJ who draws on the considerable knowledge she picked up working at Berlin's legendary synth shop SchneidersLaden, but she has also worked on several high-profile motion sensor dance projects at places like The Royal Albert Hall. Her smart sound designs and unique rhythms have landed on Leisure System, Tresor and Figure and she has a new EP coming on Mute this June. Her mix for us this week features a sneak preview of one of the tracks from that EP as well as mixing up music from Alaric, Siege, Altinbas and many more. It's full of high-speed sounds couched loosely in techno but with moods and textures borrowed from industrial, minimal and even trance as things reach an emotional peak late on. Though she broke through as a live act, this set shows JakoJako can now speak just as freely through the decks.

Answer Code Request (@answercoderequest) has long since mastered the art of mixing up the physical the with cerebral. His broken, industrial-tinged techno drums are powerful enough to have made him a long-time Berghain resident, while his harmonic pads make a lasting impact on your mind. While releasing on the likes of Ostgut Ton, Dolly Deluxe and Monkeytown Records, he has also established his own ACR label and never fails to blur boundaries between sub-genres whenever he steps out with a new sound or set. He pulls no punches on this week's mix which is a broad showcase of his ability to thread together many different strains of techno and beyond into a coherent whole. There's everything from transcendental and linear rollers to dubby bangers, twitchy rave anthems blissed out deep space minimalism via party starting piano house. It's fun and functional in equal measure and is the sound of a DJ very much in full flow.

In very loose terms, James K's (@jamesk_1 music operates at the fringes of the pop world. It is experimental and industrial, packed with hooks and riddled with dreamy textures that show off her mastery of synths. She has released it in album form with Dial and Incenso, dropped EPs on AD 93 and collaborated with the likes of Drew McDowall and Stefan Maie, and always manages to imbue her adventurous arrangements with real-world emotions and anxieties. This year she will join us at Dekmantel Festival but not before serving up this week's podcast. It's the sort of rhythmically thrilling workout that has always stood James apart: jittery drum patterns and kinetic grooves that unfold at 100 miles an hour as a barrage of caustic motifs, hypnagogic melodies and hyper-real colours all bounce about the mix. There is an ever-present sense of tension in the way things are assembled - it's as if they might implode or explode at any minute, and it all sounds fantastically futuristic.

Priori (@priori-ties) has always explored a wide range of techno from dense and introspective to more joyous, often against the backdrop of technological possibilities. He hails from Canada and has been prolific since first emerging with two full-lengths to his name on his own NAFF label. They pair dubby undercurrents with crystalline melodies and contain the sort of unresolved tensions that keep you locked in for the ride. This weekend he plays Dekmantel Naarm 2024 but first has served up this new mi for us. Priori says this is the first dance mix he's done in a long time, adding "It's an hour and a half of fresh rhythms and rave sounds that I recorded while on tour in Australia. It features a few tracks I have been playing a lot lately and some forthcoming bits by myself and some friends." In just over 90 minutes he works through a rollercoaster of deep techno rhythms that are firmly focused on the future and flow as fluidly as water.

Mia Koden (@miakoden) first emerged as half of Sicaria Sound but since breaking out alone has established her own musical identity. It draws on her South Sudanese heritage and music from across the African continent and beyond, not least her current surroundings in South London and the city's rich sound system culture. Often operating around the 140BPM mark, she dropped two head-turning tracks ‘Hot Take' and 'I Did' early last year then debuted on Ilian Tape with a dark and irresistible EP that traverses multiple bass-heavy genres. Mia does the same with her mix for us this week with, in her words, "bass, percussive, 2step, 140BPM, dubstep, dub, dub techno and breaks" all coming thick and fast at up to 150 beats per minute. It's a breathless 90-minute selection of global body music packed with lively percussion, big on low ends and not afraid to get rhythmically inventive while also dropping in the odd playful vocal from the worlds of grime and r&b. Both technically sound and tastefully assembled, it's a thrilling statement from the vital Koden.

British-Nigerian-born, Berlin-based Richard Akingbehin (@richard-akingbehin) is behind many crucial projects in electronic music, and most of them revolve around his exploration of deep and dubby sounds. Not only is he a co-founder of the excellent Refuge Worldwide radio station, but he also runs the experimental label Kynant Record and has some key residencies when not headlining other cult clubs around the world. His label recently released the first new album from dub techno don Tikiman in almost 20 years and this summer the pair will be playing together again as part of a mini tour. Ahead of joining us at Dekmantel Selectors later this year, Richard recorded this week's mix for us in the Refuge Worldwide studio with the aim of showcasing what he is playing in the clubs at the moment. It takes in his signature blend of dub techno styles with music from the likes of Parallel 9, Tikiman, Dialog and Delano Smith. It's spacious and unhurried but slowly ramps up the pressure to get you on your toes and vibing to his ever-warm, supple and minimal rhythms.

AGY3NA (@agy3na) draws on many different things when it comes to the music he plays and the messages he shares. There is an intersectionality to his identity as a gay black man growing up in Germany that informs everything he does from DJing to promoting parties. He has a background playing baritone and percussion, has a degree in psychology and a master's in cognitive science, and continues with academic research alongside his music pursuits which blend house, electro and Afrofuturism in all new ways. What underpins it all is his focus on feelings of freedom and playful rhythms from across many different genres and decades. All that bares out across this week's mix which unravels over the course of 90 subtly uplifting minutes. It's a peaceful selection to start with where gentle rhythms and organic pads awaken the soul before vibe-fuelled house ups the energy levels. AGY3NA unobtrusive, efficient mixing style then works through Afro-centric grooves, broken beats, and worldly percussion which all bring vigour and vitality and leave you feeling high on life.

Dutch-born but Brussels-based Zeta Lys aka Lucia (@zetalys) has a club-ready sound that draws on a world of broken rhythms and heavy percussion. Her influential radio show at The Word Radio finds her head into all new genre pockets around the globe and she has previously stood out at our Dekmantel Selectors festival. Lucia also composes for film and video and techniques from both disciplines inform and inspire her work with the result being music that is rich in dynamic narrative and ever-evolving mood. Her selection for us is prickly and fizzing with fresh rhythmic patterns. Static electricity, warped basslines and distorted synths bring great movement from the off as mutated and broken techno, dystopian jungle and deconstructed club rhythms all collide at great speed. It's an involving selection that combines many different worlds with great control, ramping up and then smoothing out the grooves at whim.

@animisticbeliefs bring energy and innovation in equal measure whenever they serve up one of their electrifying sets or thrilling tunes. They are most at home when on stage cooking up captivating mixes of IDM, club music and drum & bass with smart infusions of influences from South East Asia and a sense of spiritualism that sees all things as equal. Their productions have come on labels like Cultivated Electronics and Pinkman and always push technical and emotional boundaries. The pair will be joining us at Dekmantel Festival 2024 in August and here offer up a teaser of what you might get: darkly involving moods, industrial textures and otherworldly timbres that are paired to a wide range of rhythms and tempos. There is a looseness to the set that keeps your body in constant motion while the details woven in between the beats keep your mind just as busy. From unusual instrumentation to foreign language vocals, this is an action-packed selection for peak-time dance floor fun.

Vlada (@playvlada) has been playing all over the globe since just 18 years of age. Russia-born but Berlin-based for many years now, her sound is defined by a long, winding mixing style and is built on hypnotic basslines that slowly but surely zone you out. That very much comes out in this week's mix which initially locks you into a signature meditative pace but then builds with smart gear shifts and technical mixes. There are acid flashes to liven things up, bright synths spiraling around electrifying techno, broken beats to keep things moving then more stark industrial and metallic textures that place you at the heart of a strobe-lit and floor. It is another masterful mix full of must-find tunes from this ever more essential selector.

@sedefadasi's style is impossible to pin down. Embarking on her sonic journey, she fearlessly navigates her craft through a multifaceted universe of rhythms and genres, captivating dance floors with her everlasting groove and electrifying embrace. The best place to experience this rollercoaster is her own monthly HAMAM party at City club in Augsburg where she has invited plenty of international guests to join her. The Turkey-born, Germany-based artist is also a resident at Blitz Music Club and is set to join us at Dekmantel Selectors later in the summer, but first comes this week's podcast. It launches in seductive fashion with the moonlit deep house of Chicagoan Ben 'Cosmo' D then cruises through smooth but punchy grooves that stay low and bring hints of old-school cool in the basslines, stabs and drum breaks. Adasi's shift through the gears is almost imperceptible here as the pace quickens and the drums grow more physical. That is a testament to not only her smart selections but also to her ability to thread together these sounds quite so seamlessly.

Not only is @theokottis joining our podcast series this week, but early next month he will join the label family too. His new Lighthouse EP is a perfect encapsulation of the Scotsman's style - house, techno and electro fusions with a knowing nod to the 90s and plenty of both physical and emotional impact. It's his first work since a "self-imposed creative reset" and comes after previous outings on the likes of Permanent Vacation and DGTL that have established the Space Dust label and party founder as someone who is as effective as he is unpretentious whether making or playing records. His mix for us is inspired by recent gigs and is made up of tracks that were particularly well-received by the crowds. It's two hours of slick selections cross the house, techno and electro spectrum so, says Theo, "there's something for everyone to dance their way into 2024." And he's not wrong: this is exactly the sort of impossibly groovy soundtrack you want to warm you up and get you going with just the right balance between head and heel.

@poly-chain very much takes electronic much into the future. The Kyiv artist born Sasha Zakrevska uses IDM, electro, and techno as building blocks to construct her own eerie, intense, and atmospheric sound worlds that are as cinematic as they are physical. Her edgy melodies are inventive, and her machine rhythms are hugely distinctive. She has not only written solo albums but has composed for theatre and museums, collaborated with Nene H, and released charity albums for Ukraine as part of her ongoing musical resistance. For this week's podcast, Poly Chain has sent us the recording of the very special live show she played at Dekmantel Festival this summer. It is an absorbing hour of beatless sound that will move you as much as any drum track. There are storytelling chapters to the set that takes you from darkened underworlds to starry cosmic expanses as the moods go from reflective and calming to more intense and unsettling. It is very much the sound of tomorrow, today.

@le-motel is a film composer, graphic designer and producer who draws on his worldly travels to make richly immersive music. It comes detailed with field recordings from remote locations, visual cues from his design work and a mix of the organic and the synthetic and has mixed up everything from jazz to juke, techno to hip hop. As well as running Maloca Records he has picked up props from Gilles Peterson for an album for New Zealand's Cosmic Composition, has collaborated with Fuzati on Ombrage Éditions went solo into a breaks, bass and grime fusion on YUKU in summer. Now the Kiosk Radio resident arrives in our podcast series with 60 minutes of earth-quaking global rhythms. The tempos are slow to start with but the impact is heavy from off. Lithe minimal drums fizz with dystopian energy and evolve from deep and dubby to broken and intense as Le Motel ramps up the pressure and keeps your body moving in ways only he can.

@loekfrey is a name that now sits up there with some of the most exciting talents to have emerged from the Dutch scene in recent times. It's his unique blend of IDM, techno, breakbeat and drum & bass that has turned so many heads, not least with his Decipher album on home label Omen Wapta which was a widescreen soundscape of varying intensities and tempos. His ability to veer from the intricate and experimental to the hallucinatory and vibrant is second to none as he proves with his mix for us this week. It is a special one that is fully live and made up entirely of his own productions so makes for a perfect window into his world. Inside you will find 60 atmospheric minutes that soon immerse you in cinematic cosmic ambiance and hurried minimal rhythms embellished with ghoulish voices and dark undertones that unite both body and mind. It's a sleek and linear journey defined by the constant presence of a supple and pulsing bassline that transports you to distant future worlds in style.

As the updated old saying might go, life is like a Lydo set - you never know what you're gunna get. This New York City-based interdisciplinary artist has plenty of tricks up their sleeve and a real love of mixing up genres in ways you wouldn't think possible. They have done so across Europe and North America and have a hardcore following at home where they run the legendary X-TRA.SERVICES. It makes regular seasonal appearances at BASEMENT, where LYDO (@lydole) is also a resident, and is a safe place to party for queer, trans, and non-binary people of colour. LYDO's selections for us this week blow open the usual boundaries of techno. It's a mix of contrasts, where barrages of noise and malfunctioning machines are lit up by the most gorgeous melodies. Thumping and heavy rhythms are offset by wispy and light-emitting synth leads as energy levels are masterfully controlled. They build to moments of real intensity before being boiled down to pent-up promise and heads-down grooves. Somehow these sounds are both retro yet future, animalistic yet human, and they are proof that LYDO is a standout contemporary talent.

Benedikt Frey (@freybenedikt) has been on a journey of musical adventure and exploration over the last 15 years. He has made everything from deepest house to bottomless dub, UK jungle to irresistible edits of Notorious BIG. Those early forays came on labels like Nous'klaer Audio and Hivern Discs but in the years since the German has looked more to industrial and post-punk for inspiration. His Fastlane album on ESP Institute this summer blended those vibes with his own take on techno and resulted in his most accomplished and singular work yet. Now, the Lopasura label head steps up with an extra special two-hour mix that peers into the farthest corners of his sound. It is the sort of all-consuming trip that plays out like a mind movie as it works through serval different chapters - some heady and deep, some direct and unsettling, always with great control. Whether laying down electro, wave, techno or serious bass weight, Benedikt Frey is always taking you somewhere new.

African Head Charge is a legendary psychedelic dub outfit who have recently returned to their home label On-U Sound with A Trip To Bolgatanga, their first new album in 12 years. As always it finds the peerless Adrian Sherwood at the controls and joins the dots between what the collective has done before and what they are doing now, all with a distinctly Ghanian twist. The signature drums and chants remain at the core of the album of course, as well as plenty of other thrilling new sonic concoctions on keys, guitar, percussion, strings, vocals, kologo and more. It's the latest chapter in a fascinating story that has already seen them release some 16 albums since its inception in 1981. This week's mix is a deep dive into the uniquely melon-twisting sounds of African Head Charge. Sherwood's mastery at the controls means sound is twisted and contorted, dubbed out and reverb-rich from start to finish. Traditional dub sounds melt away into ghoulish vocal passages, unhinged instrumentals come and go and the collective's signature sense of dark soul and mystic ritual holds the whole thing together in a spellbinding fashion.

@surusinghe is one of many exciting Naarm/Melbourne artists to have broken through in the last couple of years. She has been working behind the scenes in the industry for a decade but only started to release her own music in 2022. Now based in London where she has co-founded the Phenomena label, she has an international mix of influences that make her club-ready sounds utterly thrilling. They all draw on the fact that she is a clubber first and foremost, and one proud of her Sri Lankan heritage. She goes big over the course of an hour for us this week and threads together plenty of body-popping rhythms from dembow to techno to wobbly London dubstep. She drops in several of her own tunes, one of which is unreleased, as are two others from Doctor Jeep and Tom Kami. It's a fresh and futuristic workout of high-octane sound from an adventurous DJ who always brings the party in fresh new ways.

After a busy few weeks having plenty of festival fun, our podcast is back and rolling with self-certified 'rave mom' Partok next up. He's played standout sets at Glastonbury and Panorama Bar this summer and still regularly returns home to Israel to play all-night-long sets. It is there, as a resident at the Tel Aviv club The Block that he first made an impression many years ago. Since then his endless explorations of all forms of techno have earned him an international following. Partok brings his own distinctive party sound to our series this week with an electrifying mix of peak-time fun. He packs plenty in, too, dextrously switching up the mood as he weaves through evocative and emotional sounds that aren't afraid of a tender melody or soulful vocal, but are always powered by crisp drums. From banging grooves and brain-frying synth textures to psychedelic loops and hands-in-the-air piano chords, it's a high-definition, big-hearted selection that leaves you feeling good.

Back from another festival dream, we're kicking off September with a razor-sharp mix by @mariemontexier. Fully based on the artist's exceptional vinyl collection, this Dekmantel Podcast is a must-hear introduction to a future star.

Australian Kia very quickly rose up through the grimy after-hours rave scene of Melbourne to make her mark on the international stage. Now Berlin-based, her unique grasp of rhythm is rooted in a love of bass, IDM and deeper techno though she is adept at exploring a wide range of moods within those worlds. She has done so at places like ADE and our own festival and extends her good taste to the curation of her Animalia imprint and its ambient sub-label Cirrus as well as her own original tracks on Nous'klaer Audio. In this week's mix, Kia showcases a colourful and kaleidoscopic take on techno which she says was awakened by an early trip to Japan's famously head Labyrinth festival. It's a hi-fidelity feast of supple rhythms, icy synths and deep space ambiance that unfolds in late-night fashion. The melodies are as delicate as silk, the drums rubbery yet punchy. It's high-paced future music that manages to be as delicate and beautiful as it is dynamic.