Back In The Pocket: A Primer
I was about to start this newsletter with the words “back to music” but I’m stopping myself, because even when I’m writing about losing my marbles on a Sunday evening at Campout, I’m still talking about music. And the thing I’m writing about today is all about the connection between music and human relationships in the same way that Campout is.
To cut to the chase, I’ve made another CD. Just like the last one, this is a way for me to pay tribute to a classic physical format (you can read about my past with mix CDs here) while also inscribing the friendships, professional or otherwise, I’ve developed over the years with artists all around the world.
Last time it was 21 tracks by musicians in cities as far flung as Manila, Rio de Janeiro, Stockholm, Bogotá and Brussels. This time it’s a more modest 18 tracks that, once again, I’ve put together into a 74-minute DJ mix CD to be played on your discman, car stereo, or just sit on the shelf looking pretty.
Ahead of the full CD announcement next week, and since it’s Bandcamp Friday and all of the artists involved are working musicians, I figured I’d share some of their previous work here as an introduction. I guess this is a primer on why these people have ended up on the project, presented in the format of SICK TUNES and assorted anecdotes about how we met (or, in a couple of cases, still haven’t).
So here we go.
A Psychic Yes - ‘2000427’ [Bathtime Sessions, 2020]
I think I first met Tim aka A Psychic Yes [SC/IG] at an Adonis party in London, but we’ve bumped into each other at many other parties since then and always have time for a natter. The angular meditation ‘200427’, released on a fundraising quarantine compilation back in 2020, was my first introduction to his music and I’ve been hooked ever since. I put a tune by him in my Truancy mix and am still rinsing EP4 on Nummer at every opportunity. The track Tim has contributed to the CD is an old one that we picked out of the archives and it really makes me think of vintage The Black Dog.
Ali Berger - ‘Life In Twilight’ [Trackland, 2025]
This STL-like track appears on the second of two vinyl EPs Ali Berger [BC/SC/IG] has self-released in the past few years, the first being the evergreen infinite chime EP. I bought my copy of that one when I saw Ali in Detroit in May 2024 and was amazed by the hand-spray-painted sleeve. True DIY! In total it’s been six years since I first asked Ali if he’d be interested in releasing music on Welt Discos, and here we finally are. The track he’s contributed to the CD is taken from a DJ set of unreleased music he did back in May on The Lot Radio - see if you can guess which one!
Bouffant Bouffant - ‘Baeleric Bayou’ [Chinotto, 2025]
Brett aka Bouffant Bouffant [SC/IG] is the founder of New Orleans dangerous gay nightclub party Gimme A Reason, which I’ve had the pleasure of playing at twice now. One of those times, after my set, I had to pause midway through snogging someone to vomit in a nearby bin. That’s how good a party it is. Brett’s music is steeped in his family history in the Cajun south: bright sparks glimmer above a swampy substrate, while swung hand percussion drives things forwards. His track for the CD is the mix opener, a step into beatless cruising territory.
C Powers - ‘Angel Uh Oh’ [Fixed Rhythms, 2026]
C Powers [BC/IG] and Fixed Rhythms recently rejoined forces for a follow up to 2023’s brilliant Sheer Sky EP, which was the record that first alerted me to Cecilia’s music. ‘Skidlet’ off that EP has been a staple in my sets over the years, and I sort of got the idea that Cecilia mainly did electro. Her Unlawful Assembly EP on Sorry Records (which I reviewed here) went some way to disabuse me of that notion, but it’s only more recently that I’ve understood the true range of her work, from jungly smashers and footwork edits as Power Play (with PlayPlay) to crunched up bass as Pump Media Unlimited (with CH ROM) and, for her track on the CD, UK Funky-inflected acid house. She’s also a sick DJ, as I discovered when I finally saw her play at Jupiter Disco a month ago.
Ciel - ‘El Califa’ [!K7, 2023]
PAURRO - ‘Kiumi’ [Clasico, 2025]
I first saw Cindy aka Ciel [BC/IG] DJ at the Gaze hidden garden party at Lighthouse Festival in 2022, which was that time I slept through my alarm and missed my flight (write-up here). Her set caught my ear big-time, and since then I’ve dipped in and out of her discography, with a fav being her Aqua Hotel EP as Cloudsteppers (with Dan Only). Just the other week I dug far back enough to find her Orlando EP, released on !K7 in 2023, which features the crafty techy original ‘El Califa’ and a remix by sometime collaborator Ali Berger. It makes sense that for this CD she contributed another collaborative track, this time made with PAURRO [BC/IG] in CDMX. Pau put out this banger of an EP on Clasico in late 2025, and is also responsible for one of my favourite Chico Blanco remixes, of ‘Not Sorry’.
COLA REN - ‘Mekong Ballad’ [Human Pitch, 2025]
COLA REN [BC/IG] is a multi-instrumentalist and gear wizard whose live performances feature everything from the latest synth modules to live trumpet and melodica. I first heard her music via her Hailu EP on Third Place and then her EP on Polygonia’s QEONE and this one on Tristan Arp and Simisea’s Human Pitch, which also features her own vocals. We met rather serendipitously in April 2024, after I got refused boarding on a flight leaving Hong Kong for Chengdu and had to spend an extra night in the city. That evening was the launch party for an EP by Xiaolin (who was on the first CD) and Cola was doing the warm-up. Her track for the CD is a sweet, even bucolic vignette that helps set the scene for the rest of the mix.
Gladstone Deluxe - ‘Portal C5AD’ [Subsonic Ebonics, 2026]
Gladstone Deluxe [BC/IG] is one of the most exciting producers out there right now, and has been for a while now. From their solo EP debut Spherical Intelligence on Data Disk (still in the bag) to last year’s killer No Haterade EP on Fixed Rhythms to this 3/4 slowburner from this year on Huey Mnemonic’s Subsonic Ebonics imprint, Stone’s music is always detailed yet free-flowing, drum-forward but also harmonically together, feeling both human and machine like at the same time. They’re an actual multi-instrumentalist and music scholar and it shows. We first met outside The Lot Radio a couple of years ago and since then we’ve become bouldering buddies. Stone, I’m not just using you for your climbing gym +1 passes, I swear!
Jorge - ‘Croquetas De Jamon’ [Doodle, 2020]
I met Brooklyn-to-Lisbon transplants Jorge [SC/IG] and his partner Corrina at Outra Cena a couple of years ago, but properly got to know at a slightly unhinged afters at their house a few months later. I’d say my hit rate of making friends at afters must be around the 1% level, so you know these two must be up to scratch. Jorge makes a huge amount of music but not much of it has been released. His two tunes on this EP on his own label, Doodle, show off his more minimal side, which is the vibe for his track on the CD too. But he’s not averse to a big techy banger, as you can hear on his recent EP on Sol Asylum.
Knopha remix of Michael Cignarale - ‘Let Your Body Go’ [Maximum Airtime, 2024]
Me and Noah aka Knopha [BC/IG] crossed paths very, VERY briefly at OIL Club in Shenzhen in Spring 2024. He popped into the club early doors with Bake, who was playing the next night, so I had a chance to fanboy out for a bit with both of them. Like his compatriot and sometime collaborator COLA REN (above), he has real range, having put out techy rollers on Peach Discs, jazzy instrumentals on Mule Musiq and vocal drum n bass on Mood Hut. I love this remix of ‘Let Your Body Go’ from 2024, where he takes Michael Cignarale’s stomping italo original and flips it into an wistful, stepping lament.
Lerosa - ‘Plateau Rosa’ [eudemonia, 2018]
I think I own more records by Lerosa [BC/IG] than any other producer. One day I should do a full retrospective, but for now let’s just say he’s been a favourite producer and a great friend ever since he stayed at mine in Camberwell in 2010, when me and my friends booked him to play at the Russian Bar for our night Kiss Me Again. I had a different DJ name back then and all. He did the second release on Welt Discos, also named the Kiss Me Again EP. More recently he’s been making synth bangers under the alias Ingo Hammer, reorganising his studio in Dublin for the nth time, and playing live at Waking Life. He’s also, I’m glad to report, playing next week in Lisbon itself. Here’s an evergreen I’ve picked from the archives.
Lupone - ‘Ruta’ [Pleasure Management, 2026]
Emilio aka Lupone [BC/IG] is another contributor to the CD who I’ve never met, but in true nerd fashion we’ve maintained an internet correspondence ever since I played and wrote about his beautiful tune ‘Cuando Nos Vemos’ on Muy Muy, back in 2023. More recently he’s put out some finely sculpted bass/140/dubstep like this EP on Pleasure Management, which also shows off his handiness with a vocal sample. Late last year, before I even thought about doing another CD, he sent me a track that ultimately became the closing track for the project. And there’ll be an EP to follow!
Miagma - ‘Puppy Dog People’ [Loosenecks/Not Safe For Wax, 2025]
Donald aka Miagma [BC/IG] is both a producer and a pizzaola, which isn’t a phrase you hear all that often. This past weekend he both DJed and served up pizzas at SF radio station SutroFM’s new campout Everything In Color. Having included his music in my end-of-year lists since 2023, I finally met him at the party Quiche in SF back in June. I respect Donald’s approach to releasing his own music: you can tell each release is carefully thought through and tries to say something about himself and his evolution as a producer. This tune from last year’s Evergreen Crush EP has been a regular go-to for me, and the track he’s contributed to the CD is similarly pristine, though a bit moodier!
Miami Daddy aka CC:DISCO! - ‘Feel It Peak’ [Miami Daddy, 2024]
I’ve always been drawn to those moments that Courtney aka CC:DISCO! [BC/IG] aka Miami Daddy conjures between the bangers on her records. These studio fantasies are the glue that hold the EPs together, but also show her at her most romantic and fantastical, free of the limitations of the dancefloor. The first reference point that springs to mind is always the interludes on Janet’s Rhythm Nation 1984, a kind of pop storytelling and world-building that few club producers really seem to get into these days. So for the CD I asked Courtney to make a track to bridge two others near the end of the mix, and she delivered big time. It just brings a massive smile to my face to know that this project features a bona fide bespoke Miami Daddy interlude!
Raiders Of The Lost ARP - ‘Funk 006 (Drop)’ [Pigna, 2004]
Where do I start? A musical hero of mine, ROTLA [BC/IG] aka Mario’s 4 LP is one of my all-time top dance albums. His tunes push all my buttons: classic arrangements, big hooks, vintage sounds but futuristic vibes. It’s music you put on in the car for driving a little bit too fast. I’ve never met Mario but since I like these CD projects to reflect all aspects of running a label, I figured I’d reach out as a fan and see if he wanted to contribute. He made a completely new track, which I have to say is a real honour. Until then, bask in the sheer exuberance of ‘Drop’.
Sara Wual - The Theremin Woman Vol 1 [Self-released, 2026]
I’ve known Sara Wual [Subvert/IG] for over a decade, as I used to attend her ELA (East Lisbon Afters) parties back in the day. ELA was the only party in Lisbon that approximated the afters I’d been going to in London in the years leading up to my move, and I don’t think it’s really been replicated since. Sara has been fine tuning her productions and live show for years now and is finally putting some of the fruits of her labour out there. The Theremin Woman Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 are experimental albums focussed on her signature instrument and downtempo moods, but it’s worth catching her live in the club too, where she layers melodic theremin work on top of a whole range of house, electro and techy hardware grooves.
schuttle - ‘Junkman’ [Bakk Heia, 2023]
This is still my favourite schuttle [SC/IG] tune, though 2025’s BH 008 EP was also a hit. The label Johnny co-runs, Bakk Heia, has been an essential if unlikely through-thread in UK dance music these past seven years, with his psychedelic excursions providing a welcome foil to Jorg Kuning’s more festival-ready footsteppers. Johnny absolutely loves a massive breakdown, and the one in ‘Junkman’ is up there with his most celestial. He’s done it on the tune for the CD too, though there’s a more earthy feel to the track in general. I’ve been playing it out a lot.
Snad - ‘Loop Stew’ [Spandrel, 2026]
History fails to relate the exact moment I met Shyam aka Snad [BC/IG] (was it the first and only time I’ve ever been to Heidegluehen?), but since then we’ve had the pleasure of bopping around clubs and festivals in several different countries. Over the years he’s also sent me a bunch of music, from his first outings as Spandrel (‘It’s Hard 2 Fuck Up Eggs’ remains a fav from that first LP) to earlier outings on Terrafirm and, just recently, the stunning Spandrel 004. ‘Loop Stew’ finds Shyam reimagining Garrett David’s 2002 hit ‘Loop Soup’ in vintage Charles Webster/DJ Profile style. This new version is a bit like a watercolour of Garrett’s gouache original, that Chez N Trent sample washed out into an evanescent highlight, the star now those diffuse synth trails and a huge, dubby bassline.
The Chic Patina feat. Asia-James - ???
I’m thrilled that the CD features a track by a completely new production outfit, The Chic Patina feat. Asia-James. A fresh alias of Eli Welbourne, studio producer, instrumentalist and general tinkerer, I’ve already had the pleasure of catching The Chic Patina live on CSD weekend, where Eli and vocalist Asia-James took to the Crack Bellmer floor with a set of sultry disco, house and acid freakouts. I originally met Eli in West Hollywood, just before he moved to Berlin and brought all his vintage studio gear with him. The tune he and Asia-James have contributed to the mix CD is a certified HIT (I’m calling it now) and I can’t wait to share it with everyone.
Stay tuned for the Back In The Pocket: The Sound Of Welt Discos II announcement next week!
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