Midweek Mixes (29/09/21)
A short 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.
It’s a UK special this week, with mixes from friends doing the business in Manchester, London and my home town of Birmingham. They’re all familiar names if you follow this newsletter or my incessant IG sharing, and there’s a reason for that: their mixes and radio shows (and sexy radio voices!) are a constant source of joy in my life.
I’ve written about Rizmi twice before (here and here). Each mix of hers is a new lesson in how to play music of all styles, ages and provenances in a coherent, compelling and body-moving way, while also transmitting a political message. Her selected tracks hold meaning beyond simply what they sound like, be it in highlighting the tangled roots of contemporary dance music, giving space to folk music of different cultures as it’s being used in current scenes, or, most explicitly, by including spoken narratives. For the latter, check ‘Two Thousand Seasons Dub’ by the Ugandan collective Sankara Future Dub Resurgence, part of a session from Indigenous Resistance, which acts as a righteous centrepiece to the mix.
Mood-wise the session is signature Rizmi, starting slow and funky (with tunes from London, Chicago, Paris, Birmingham, Melbourne, and a smile-raising 80s sequence of Fred Ventura and Komix in his Mr & Mrs Dale guise), then inexorably ramping up through chugging-then-driving US acid house (Traxx, Justin Cudmore, Mike Dunn) before letting fly with the ballroom flair of Byrell The Great & Precious’s ‘Da Function’. From here on it’s a breaks-, electro- and diva-heavy sprint that is something I need to hear in a club rather than in my kitchen. It’s exhilarating, but for me loses some of the quirky charm of that opening section.
When the now-breakneck tempo finally and unexpectedly unfurls into the dreamy croon of DJ Paypal’s footwork version of Drake’s ‘Crew Love’ it’s the moment of lightness, humour and renewed funk I’ve been looking for. Chika’s ‘Songs About You’ as a final chaser is the icing on the cake of yet another fantastic mix (Chika’s Tiny Desk Concert is a must-see by the way).
Check here for the full tracklist.
Nick Kagame @ Steam Radio (12/09/21)
Imperative monthly listening, Nick Kagame’s Steam show draws me in with tunes I know and like and keeps me listening with tunes I might otherwise never hear: from beguiling experimentalism (Pataphysical’s opening ‘Hypotoposis’) to upfront percussion-led club tracks (‘Espuma Nocturna’ by A.k.Adrix on Príncipe) to prog rock (Tortoise! Mixed out of a Príncipe tune! YES!), and that’s just the first half an hour.
Later on there’s a one-two between house favourites Ali Berger (‘CAR PARK!!’) and Out Of The Blue (‘Half-Moon Ride Pt. 2’). The mixing throughout is a dream - discreet yet cleverly dynamic.
The final two pieces of music, from Paddy McAloon and Rwandan singer Cécile Kayirebwa, were chosen by Nick in memory of his late mother, Maria. Love, loss, hope, pride, belonging…: as always, music helps us process, communicate and share these feelings in a way words rarely can.
Sofie K’s Work Out @ NTS (17/09/21)
Sofie K has moved to a new NTS slot on Fridays and the vibe is still very much ‘get fresh for the weekend’, with new electronic pop from Gooch (lol) and Apiento (from Test Pressing), updated 90s-throwback house and the usual 80s slammers - ‘Bored To Tears’ by Double-Z being a particularly appropriate soundtrack for waiting in an hour-long bag-drop queue at Berlin Brandenburg airport.
In the second half of the show there’s Unknown DJ’s ‘Basstronic’ (which never gets old, just like this clip of it from the New Dance Show also never gets old) and the fabulous new pop banger from Anz, ‘You Could Be’.
Now that the show is live the chatroom fun is back on air, with Sofie ‘the K is for Kancelling’ giving various chatters a dressing down, answering would you rathers and just about remembering to DJ in between. What was the word again? JOY!