Midweek Mixes (19/04/22)
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.
Note: my radio show FLAMINGO will broadcast today 16h GMT on Rádio Quântica.
Since I’m not travelling right now my consumption of mixes has dipped somewhat. I do usually listen to music at home when working or cooking, but never with quite the same attention as I do on the road. And more often than not, instead of whatever podcast has just come out this week, I’ll find myself reaching for an old and familiar favourite, or The Immaculate Collection. Nevertheless, here are a couple of things I’ve been enjoying while moping about at home dealing with bureaucracy and wishing I was elsewhere.
Oliver Hafenbauer - 百会 Baihui (22/02/22)
Co-founder of EOS Radio (where I have a residency), Oliver Hafenbauer has long been someone I wanted to see play live but never managed to. His Robert Johnson’s Live series recording from late 2019 is a lesson in mood building through body music - electro, acid house, italo - often edging towards the darker side but never going too dark. Musicality is always present, as is a lovely 80s pop sensibility.
Though it’s obviously presented more for home listening, this mix for Chinese radio station Baihui also can’t resist a bit of pop flair, as the meticulously controlled dubby electro and slow techno of the first 45 minutes finally breaks out into the Dynamix II-sampling ‘Technoid’ from 1989.
Here’s another DJ who can’t resist a bit of punky electronic body music. I’ve been waiting for a new mix from Ethan since his short-lived NARR radio show (covered here) and he comes back with a bang, opening this set with Richard X and Annie’s creepy-silly ‘Just Friends’. As someone who has been relentlessly caning ‘Finest Dreams’ for the past 6 months, I can confirm we are having a bit of a Presents His X Factor Vol. 1 moment right now.
It’s the perfect choice to lead off this mix, establishing a noir mood that only deepens further via stompy beats, distorted guitar riffs and all manner of bleeps and squiggles. There’s a particularly fantastic transition at 43 minutes when one belting acid number melts into a modern-sounding italo banger, the key matched perfectly as the atmosphere expands. I guess what’s missing for me is a bit of levity to counterbalance the serious mood: it’s all a bit minor key, and I start to yearn for a sweet moment, or something that combines the darkness with a sense of humour (like ‘Just Friends’, in fact).