It’s been quite a while since my last missive, and quite honestly that’s because I’ve been going through a fecund period of music acquisition and compiling of late. In the years since I stopped DJing regularly in 2019, my motivation has ebbed and flowed for various reasons, but when the inspiration rains it tends to pour. I’m tempted to think that one of the main reasons for the renewed focus and enjoyment of music is down to the lack of pressure to present any particular side of my taste these days. I recognise, in hindsight, that when I was releasing records with a very particular aesthetic, and playing more regular gigs as a result, my outlook was narrowed to the extent that I was engaging with very little music beyond the strictures of techno (and a specific brand of it at that!). Embracing my new life as a full-time ‘stay-at-home-DJ’, it feels like the sky is the limit in terms of what I can enjoy and express.

This mailer presents a few different sides of my current interests including, if you’ll forgive me the indulgence, my first ‘techno’ mixes in almost 8 years. I made ‘Toils & Snares’ pretty quickly, recording live at home on a bit of an awkward setup, but I was happy to put together some recent favourites such as Purelink, Carmen Villain and Sindh with some all-timers like Future Sound Of London, Sandoz and Frank Bretschneider. You can take a listen via my Soundcloud.

I’m also delighted to have contributed to the excellent mix series of South Korea-based label Oslated, who I befriended while DJing at Vurt in Seoul many moons ago. While working through some ideas, I realised that I could probably make a coherent set of entirely non 4/4, or broken-beat techno. Some older gems by Forest Drive West, Konduku and Baby Ford provided a solid foundation upon which to include some new and yet-to-be released material from the likes of Cousin, Vand and Natural/Electronic/System. I’m pleased with the mix as it feels like a consistent aesthetic is maintained throughout, where the temptation in the past has been to try to cram in a wider pallette, arguably to my detriment at times. I’d be interested to hear what you think! Listen HERE.

Earlier in the year, I reached a landmark tenth episode of my Through The Wreckage mixtape series, and once again I played with the formula. The longest so far at around two and a half hours, the more ambient sections are interspersed with some unexpected yet complementary songs from my collection by the likes of Hank Williams, The Shangri-Las, Lou Reed & John Cale and Dorothy Carter. I find it to be a really deep and immersive listen, and hope that you will too! Listen HERE.

And finally, I once again played bridesmaid on Netil Radio, as W.H.Y couldn’t make their usual slot. I always enjoy filling in where possible, and would like to find a regular radio slot somewhere eventually (if anyone has any suggestions?). This time around I played two hours of new or nearly new music, with as much of an experimental bent as I felt I could get away with. Listen HERE.

Thanks for reading, and forgive me for the barrage of content this time around. Hopefully, next time I can write about something or someone other than myself!

Casper