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.

Eli Verveine - Live @ fabric Room One (24/09/22)

A master at work, Eli Verveine delivers a practical example of what she and I talked about theoretically in this Q&A we did last year. This is two hours of her warming up fabric Room One in September last year, from dreamy dubby mood-setting to jacking Chicago trax to the kind of snappy minimal house that I will always associate with that room and its astonishing sound. And I say this as someone who hasn’t been there for over ten years!

Yet I can picture myself in the centre of that vibrating dancefloor, taking great pleasure from the records Tali plays — deep bass, light hats, snares slapping — and the patient yet powerful way she plays them. And oh to hear ‘Storm’ or ‘The Choice’ on that system!

Maybe 2023 will mark my return…

Chima Hiro - Live @ Infinity Rug (18/11/22)

Infinity Rug is the ambient/experimental ‘sonic seance’ listening concept that runs around Europe and in November hosted an event at Planeta Manas in Lisbon (a club I’ve written about previously here and here). I wasn’t able to attend but on the bill was one of my favourite DJs, Chima Hiro, who herself is no stranger to Midweek Mixes (here and here — and isn’t it funny how those entries form a constellation with both Eli Verveine, above, and A Psychic Yes, below?)

Thankfully this beautiful sunrise set was recorded and I can’t recommend it highly enough for getting you through any kind of travel situation — a busy airport, a noisy train. These are contexts far removed from the meditative/psychedelic one I imagine those in attendance experienced back in November, but that’s the point: this recording can take you out of your daily struggle and transport you to that head- and bodyspace, and bring you a precious modicum of peace.

(Campaign for Chima Hiro at the Cochilo Stage of Waking Life 2023 starting now!)

Paramida - Radio 1 Residency Special Places

Listen here

This mix starts very auspiciously with A Psychic Yes’s ‘Blood Moon’, which was one of my records of last year (that list will be put on here shortly) and also a release that I wrote the promo notes for. Thanks to my correspondence with Tim and our chance meetings in Lisbon and London, most recently at the Adonis NYD party, I feel this track, and his music more generally, are loaded with personal history and meaning*.

This is the narrative Paramida focusses on through this show, which is full of records of personal meaning to her. The way she talks about this subject as a DJ resonates strongly with me, though I do find myself wishing I could have a version of the mix with just the music to really lose myself in the flow of the selections — which are dynamic, left-turny and exciting. Such is the ambivalence of radio. Highlights include that Dmitri From Paris freestyle re-version of ‘Erase/Rewind’ and Virgo’s ‘Crayon Box’ a welcome reminder of their evergreen Resurrection box set.

(*Hearing ‘Blood Moon’ played by Anders at Jolene was another connection — and I will use this opportunity to mention that since I wrote about my experience at Jolene the staff there have collectively left the club in protest against their awful treatment by the owner. It’s a sad reminder that the achievements of people working at clubs most often happen in spite of, not because of, their employers. I stand with the staff at Jolene and hope that from this heartbreak they can build something new.)