FACT mix 155 is a heart-stopping live set from Mathew Jonson.

The arrival of Jonson on the world stage nine years ago was a massive kick up the arse for techno. His first couple of 12″s were plenty impressive, but it was the singles and EPs he released over the period 2003-2005 -  including ‘Alpine Rocket’, Typerope, Behind The Mirror, Followed By Angels, ‘Love Letter To The Enemy’, Decompression, and ‘Return Of The Zombie Bikers’ – which established the Vancouver-hailing producer’s solid gold sound. Detailed but dynamic, nuanced but bolshy, with a sense of space and darkness-harnessing that to FACT’s ears has as much to do with jungle as techno, Jonson’s productions are instantly recognisable but always different from one another – from the vamping M-nus anthem ‘Decompression’ to the glacial techno noir of ‘Marionette’ via the ruffneck breakbeat of ‘Return Of The Zombie Bikers’, the now Berlin and Goa-based Jonson shifts rhythms and moods with consummate ease. Oh, and if you haven’t heard ‘Dirt Road And A Boat From Soundwave’ – his 2005 collaboration with The Mole on Kompakt – you haven’t heard shit.

Over the past five years Jonson has dedicated a lot of his time to Cobblestone Jazz, the live techno project anchored around himself and homies Tyger Dhula and Danuel Tate. Cobblestone released their second album earlier this year, The Modern Deep Left Quartet, following their debut 23 Seconds and the classic singles ‘Dump Truck’ and ‘India In Me’. He continues to tour the world with his always evolving and never less than explosive live set, and has continued to release extraordinary solo 12″s like Symphony For The Apocalypse and Ghosts In The AI. This week finally sees the release of MJ’s debut solo album, Agents of Time, an introspective, narratively complex ten-track suite that proves him to be a true electronic auteur as well a certified club-smasher. Available via his own Wagon Repair imprint, it’s essential listening.

Jonson’s FACT mix is a recently recorded live set that goes straight for the jugular, and how. It includes five previously unreleased tracks, including a special edit of the evergreen ‘Decompression’. Tough-as-nails but exquisitely layered and brain-scramblingly intricate, this is quite simply techno at its best. Download, enjoy, and turn the page for a Q&A with the man who made it for you.





Tracklist:
1. Symphony for the Apocalypse – Wagon Repair – Mathew Jonson
2. After the Bombs Fell – Unreleased – Mathew Jonson
3. Never Say Die Remix – Unreleased – Mathew Jonson
4. Decompression Remix – Unreleased (original on Minus) – Mathew Jonson
5. Ghosts in the A.I. – Wagon Repair – Mathew Jonson
6. Octopus Brains (Mathew Jonson Remix) – Unreleased – Mathew Jonson, Deadbeat
7. Lizards and Dragons (Mathew Jonson Remix)  – Unreleased – Mathew Jonson, The Mole, Chris Hreno
8. DMT (Mathew Jonson Remix) – Cobblestone Jazz – Wagon Repair
9.  Marionette (Live Version) – Wagon Repair – Mathew Jonson
10. Marionette (the beginning) – Wagon Repair – Mathew Jonson
11. Sunday Disco Romance – Wagon Repair – Mathew Jonson

Photo credit: Lars Borges

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