Midweek Mixes (05/11/25)
A run-down of some of the mixes and radio shows that have been soundtracking my existence – from the box-fresh to the tried-and-tested – all guaranteed to brighten up your week.
If you’re reading from Berlin, please come down to Arkaoda for the launch party of ‘In The Pocket’ this Friday! Doors open at 23h, Gwenan’s concert begins at 00h and then me, Stephen Howe, Dana Kuehr and G again will be DJing until late. I was packing my bag this morning — a real bag, with actual records — and I’ll also be bringing copies of the CD (there aren’t that many left). RA listing here.
Chima Isaaro Live @ Parabéns (26/10/25)
One recent Sunday I got up at a very civilised 10am or so, had some breakfast and headed out to a party. In my experience, Lisbon has never really been much of an afters city. When I first moved here there was Europa Sunrise, which I occasionally went to at 8 in the morning because it was round the corner from my old flat, but it was usually zombie central. For several years before covid ELA provided a far more fun alternative, but the days of those unhinged parties in Marvila are long gone.
These days I suppose Harbour is the main dedicated option and I know it can occasionally be a good time, but it’s very male and hetero and the opposite of musically adventurous. Enter Parabéns, an afterparty taking place every few months at Arroz Estúdios (where I used to do my label parties), organised by weirdos for weirdos. From the fabulous posters designed by Pom Lette (see the image on the soundcloud set above) to the decor (acid trip on the verge of going wrong) to the catering (jelly and cake, principally) this is a party that takes not taking itself seriously seriously. When Dana and I played for their anniversary last November this was the vibe:
Anyway, all of this to say that Parabéns can be relied on for some seriously not-serious Sunday lunchtime fun. Within 10 minutes of arriving to this particular edition, chicken wrap in hand, I found myself explaining the entire plot of Hausu to a stranger who had just bought a haunted (or so I determined) cabin in Japan. Mid conversation I spotted Arroz founder Steven wandering past in a kilt. I ventured into the indoor area to find the latest Parabéns scenographic installation of fabric, tinsel, pool noodles and bubble wrap hanging from the ceiling, the bubble wrap tantalisingly within reach from the centre of the dancefloor. (By the end of the party it had been well and truly rinsed.)
Chima Isaaro was taking over the decks from SoundPreta. The BPMs had been at a healthy 150 and Chima duly came out swinging with Aaron-Carl’s ‘21 Positions’ (you can just hear this fading out at the start of the recording). She chased this with half an hour of funky hardgroove-y techno, before switching things up into DJ Nigga Fox and then Lord Tusk feat. James Massiah’s ‘Might Be The One’. When the latter tune dropped, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. You can hear the crowd reaction on the recording — what a huge tune.
Slowing down through soulful cuts from Ron Trent and Kyle Hall (one of the many, many DJs who, I gather, now call Lisbon home), Chima then gave us an analogue acid workout moment with two contemporary Sweater On Polo jackers, Zopelar and the appropriately named ‘Jack Shit’ by Arsene. She broke the tension with a dance version of Pharoah Sanders’ ‘You’ve Got To Have Freedom’ from his all-timer LP Journey To The One (here’s the version she played), foreshadowing the moment later on when she brought her set to a close with one of the great man’s originals, ‘Pharomba’.
A D’Angelo coda had people in tears on the dancefloor — a dancefloor, I would note, I had not left once over the previous two hours. RIP to the artists we’ve been losing (Ronald Burrell cut deep yesterday); long live Parabéns!
Razrbark - Untitled #909 Podcast 240
As regular readers of Midweek Mixes will know (archives here), Razrbark has a penchant for the WIDE function on the CDJ. Just over halfway through this mix she plays ‘Garden Dub’, the sprawling B2 from Gladstone Deluxe’s No Haterade EP, out on Fixed Rhythms earlier this summer, but she plays it on -13, bringing it down from 133 BPM to a stately 115 (admittedly short of the WIDE range, but still). With the master tempo off, the track is reconfigured from nervy tech house pot boiler into something far more luxuriating, the original’s acid details losing their metallic edge and turning liquid, the kicks drawn out now, entirely unhurried, even languid. It’s a complete transformation, and achieves the kind of vibe that always takes me back once more to that Lis Dalton set at Campout 2023 (it’s no coincidence that Razrbark was on right before Lis that evening).
Elsewhere in this set she gives us industrial funk, deep house (Semtek’s ‘Angel’ sounding particularly delightful), reduced drum workouts, Marco Passarani’s killer M. Chrome EP (one of my records of the year) and an absolutely brilliant new tune, ‘Your Favourite Cowboy’ by EBM band Autumns, except this one she only slows down by a modest -7.
Clark Price Live @ Gimme A Reason (20/09/25)
Not much to say about this other than it wipes the floor with most of whatever has been passing for euphoric-gay-dance-music across the queer (and not only) dancefloors and festivals of Europe these past several years. Right from the off you have an extended workout of Green Velvet’s ‘Answering Machine’ and from there it just keeps rolling. My favourite moments are Ralphi Rosario’s evergreen ‘Suavecito’, whatever’s going on at 45m30s — a kind of inside-out UK Funky? — and the Nick León edit of Big Boi that follows it, the layered Whitney dub at the midway point, and the game of Night Slugs vs Todd Terry ping pong near the end.