Dekmantel Podcast Series

Woody92 (@woodyninetytwo) is a true experimentalist who operates at the fringes of the electronic scene. The Dutchman draws on his interest in graphic design to come at sound from a different perspective. His psychoactive mix of leftfield, techno and minimalism is rare and deep. He has built an international but close-knit circle of creative friends and collaborators who all work on fresh future music for his Omen Wapta label which he calls "a transitory playground for the imagination." In this week's sublime and subliminal mix, you'll hear plenty of upcoming Omen Wapta releases and collaborations Woody92 has worked on with different artists. He says he has researched other parts of his musical self in this mix and tried to translate uptempo rhythms "that reflect a continuous movement into temporal realms - ancient fundamentals smudged and sculpted into a deconstructed landscape full of ancestral constructions.” It's a truly mind-expanding listen that opens up all new pathways.

Dutchman Kennedy (@kennedyams) is a mainstay of Amsterdam's underground. He's worked in record shops, hosted radio shows, thrown his own parties and played the city's best venues as well as further afield at places like About Blank, Tresor and Griessmuehle in Berlin. In the studio, he aims to translate his dreams into music using an array of machines. His grooves dance in the middle ground between soul, techno, house and jazz, with nods to the atmospheres of Detroit and the rhythms of Africa. He serves them up on his own Dream Machine Recordings and most recently collaborated with Amsterdam jazz veteran Han Litz on his latest 12". It brought a fresh dimension to his always cultured music and with this week's mix, he proves that as a DJ he is no less considered in what he does. It is a selection of serene hi-tech soul powered by dynamic drums and overlaid with lush chord work. There is plenty of rough-edged analog jack, wonky acid and deep and dusty techno in the first half before a party breaks out with loved-up disco. A slow descent into more dark and trippy sound worlds closes down a mix that has the haziness of a half-remembered dream you wish you could return to.

@toumbaa sits on the crest of a wave of experimental artists in his hometown of Amman in Jordan. He mixes up a passion for UK rave and various sounds on the hardcore continuum with the traditional rhythmic forms of his homeland. After previous outings on All Centre and Hypnic Jerks, a superb debut EP on Hessle Audio last month has made him one of the most talked about producers in the game right now. His staggered broken beats, hefty sub bass and knack for a catchy rhythm are exceptional in design and execution. As a DJ he is no less meticulous: this week he works through some 35 tracks in 90 minutes, many of which are his own singular creations. They sit amongst work from the likes of Scratcha DVA, Migos, DJ Paypal and The Maghreban in a mix that is brilliantly loose and lithe to start with before tightening the screw and locking you into an all-body workout. In effortlessly joining the dots between the music he grew up with and the UK music he has grown to love, Toumba offers up all-new sound worlds.

Lucas J. Hatzisavas has several different aliases but as Reptant (@reptant_the_lizard) since 2017, he has really excelled. The Melbourne-based reptilian has spread his electro sounds far and wide on always classy labels from Kalahari Oyster Cult to Trust to Craigie Knowes. His acid-laced machine sounds are often jammed out live before being edited into tracks. They are imaginative, bristle with energy and feed into an alien lizard narrative he's built around the project, not least with his debut album Return To Planet X'trapolis. This week we're invited to peer through a window into that otherworldly universe with 60+ minutes of kinetic rhythms and cinematic sound designs. All shades of electro come up from sleazy and ghetto to sci-fi and smooth. Plenty of acid lines weave their way throughout as Reptant slithers from dark corners of the cosmos to strobe-lit dance floors amongst the stars.

He might hail from France but @simocell has always worn his love for UK music on his sleeve. It is no wonder then that his intricate broken beats, bass heavy grooves and halftime techno has come on vital labels like Livity Sound and The Trilogy Tapes. He is a frequent collaborator too, with everyone from Peter van Hoesen to Hodge, but his own signature sound design always stands out. The TEMƎT Music head's Selectors set from 2021 remains one of the most impressive multi-genre showcases we have heard and this week the Paris-based DJ repeats that trick once more. Over the course of 100 minutes, Simo Cell goes deep into everything he has always been about: heavy rhythms designed to move the body, heady synth designs that are intricate yet powerful, and a masterful control of energy and flow which means he can lock in a dance floor whether firing out high-speed juke or teasing with slow and supple dub. It's a whirlwind ride that will awaken every fibre of your being.

@suze_ijo hails from the vibrant city of Rotterdam but her sound is inspired by her own heritage and takes in scenes from all over the world. She is a passionate collector of broken beats, techno, and breaks from West Africa, South America and the West Indies who has made her mark both in the club and her radio shows. She has hosted her own proudly diverse parties and always works to make the dance floor a place of harmony and togetherness. This week, she weaves together a lush array of soulful sounds across the house spectrum. The grooves are smooth and analogue and flow freely as water as emotive vocals, warm late-night synths and cuddly pads all make for an intimate and heartfelt selection for cosy dance floors. It's a perfect way to awaken your week and enrich your senses.

Gamma Intel (@gammaintelligence) is a sonic explorer who can rewire your brain with his left-of-centre approach to sound and rhythm. The Dutchman is a master of contrast between the dark corners of the dance floor and moments of emotional light. He draws on broken beats, acid, techno and electro but skews them through his own lens on labels like brokntoys, Pinkman and Mechatronica. He recently co-founded the Nerve Collect label with friend Identified Patient, and will release his E.M EP there at the end of March. Gamma's love of creative sampling and meticulous sound design carries over into the music he plays in his sets. This week's mix is perfect proof as it twists and turns on contorted basslines and muscular drum patterns. It's an intense and futuristic listen that goes through moments of all-out hand-in-the-air dance floor joy and heads down marching to slick jungle workouts and dystopian worlds of bass. Few DJs can manipulate sound in such thrilling ways.

Swiss pro­duc­er and DJ NVST (@ghettonast) likes to shock her crowd. She thrives on clashing sounds, scenes, genres and textures into uncomfortable new worlds, all of which is a result of coming up from the illegal party scene in her homeland. She works hard to develop and preserve that native scene in many different ways: she is part of the Female:Pressure fam­i­ly, co-runs the French label Big Sci­ence and hold­s down res­i­den­cies on LYL­Ra­dio and Rinse FM. This week's mix was recorded in Le Bourg, a club in Lausanne that NVST tells us has recently been taken over and is working hard to bring something fresh to the scene. The mix is filled with unreleased tracks from NVST's favourite artists and forthcoming tunes from labels like Big Science, Kindergatern and moshtrq next to some of her all-time favourites. It opens with a collage that includes Tamika D. Mallory's 'State of Emergency' speech of which she says "I remember the first time I heard it so accurately; I knew I should include it symbolically as well because it resonates so much with me."

For our first mix of the year, we keep it homegrown with Rotterdam duo @black-cadmium. Mike Richards and Joginda Macnack's artist alias is influenced by two things - their Surinamese descent, and a poisonous chemical which they say is a metaphor for "the discrepancy between one's capabilities and the world's view." Their own capabilities lay in mixing up everything from hi-tek to Detroit tech, London grime to Dutch electro. They have landed on labels like Vault Wax and really open up their collections for this week's podcast. In usual Black Cadmium fashion, anything goes here as they race through rave, bass, acid and club with relentless energy. The mixing is tight and quick as tracks fly by at a high pace but always in a great balance between the mind, body and soul. A jacked-up soulful house cut will lead to a double-time bass workout then deep and punchy Motor City sounds make way for head-wrecking bass futurism. Hold on tight, then, because this is one thrilling ride.

Truth is, we’ve been dying to share this one. PSY X records' @buttechno aka Pavel Milyakov takes on the brand new Dekmantel Podcast. Buttechno's ability to manipulate sound and massage rhythm into new forms is laid bare in this week's mix. It starts off as deep and atmospheric - swampy dub, sub-aquatic bass, funky static electricity - and then slowly morphs into more fulsome body music. It's never less than a warm, elastic take on techno that is stripped back but packed with an inviting and playful charm.