Midweek Mixes (16/02/22)
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.
This is A Psychic Yes’s second appearance on Midweek Mixes (this was the first), and much like the Oxbow Lake radio shows and Third Place mix before it, this selection for Fact Magazine sets out wilfully for the outer margins of club music. At times, the beat dissipates completely into eerie electronic ambience, shimmering modern classical, or things that seem to merge the two. It’s pleasingly unclear whether the sounds of birds, rainfall, or a funny telephone conversation are part of the tracks or have been added on top (in fact the latter is from a collection of intercepted phone recordings released by Scanner 30 years ago).
When beats do appear they are generally imposing, even severe, though there are some exciting polyrhythms in the mix too. My favourite moment is around 23 minutes in, when the rather wobbly ‘Math’ by Chekov suddenly twists itself into a moment of beatless (and wordless) vocal gymnastics, which turns out to be the break of Hannah Holland’s ‘Sth London’. When the beat kicks back in it’s like an explosion. The more linear sections - like the sequence following ‘On’ - are less my cup of tea, but soon enough a more inriguing atmosphere returns with Greetje Bijma & Oceanic’s ‘Technicolour Memories’.
The tracklist for the mix can be found here.
Mike Starr (aka Nike Star by his sweater) is a regular at Berlin institutions Gegen and Buttons and is responsible for an old favourite Honey Soundsystem mix of mine: Makings Of A Gemini. That set showed off his deeper Detroit housey techno/techno-y house side, but his more recent excursions seem to lean more heavily into up-tempo ghetto and booty house. Check his remix of ‘Janet’ on the latest Raiders compilation for an example.
This set for Raiders at Berlin’s favourite bathroom Hör keeps the bpm above 140 and the vibes set to «strong», building steadily through various brands of moody Drexciyan electro and stealthily slipping in the odd bit of ghetto house and more down the line 4/4. Robert Armani’s slamming beat track ‘Up’ is a particular highlight, before Mike ends with a few dreamy numbers to take us home.
(Part of me always wants Armani tunes to be just slightly less fucked-up sounding, but of course that’s a big part of their charm. I always stop short of sticking on ‘Ambulance’ though, cos I simply can’t justify subjecting people to that level of distortion!)