Each week, FACT trawls through the untamed world of free mixes, radio specials and live blends so you don’t have to.
This week we’ve got tough techno, lovelorn R&B, cosmic disco from an original pioneer and the first in a massive series on Japanese pop. What could be more festive?
rRoxymore
Truants Volume 133
One of the Decon/Recon group alongside Paula Temple, Planningtorock and Oni Ayhun, rRoxymore steps up to the Truants series with a mix that’s as varied and difficult to pin down as her music. There are plenty of tough grooves throughout, but also the colourful, psychedelic touches that make her releases for Cómeme, Huntleys & Palmers and others so appealing.
Jon Dale
Vertigo Games #1
Jon Dale is a record collector extraordinaire whose latest mix is billed as “Japanese underground music from the 1980s – the first of five.” Following his genius two-part primer to Italian avant-prog of the late 70s and early 80s, Dale turns his attention to Nippon’s incredible legacy of underground electronic pop, and the prevailing mood is more rainy day melancholy than YMO exuberance. Can’t wait for the next one. And the next. And…
Zenker Brothers
Electronic Explorations 406
December is here, which means only one thing for techno fans – it’s time for Electronic Explorations’ Warehouse Sessions. Out of this week’s whopping five mixes to be uploaded to the series, our pick comes from Ilian Tape honchos the Zenker Brothers, who put together 75 minutes of tough beats and churning bass. It’s a heads-down affair for the most part, but like their own music, features a few choice moments of rave euphoria.
Scratcha DVA
A MIX 2 MAKE U ADD AN XTRA X IN UR TEXT
Wonky soul, R&B and more from an artist who’s better than most at getting sweet (hello, The Voice of Grime?). Whether your hotline’s blinging or you’ve spent winter waiting on a text that never came, there’s something here for both the loved-up and the lonely. Lovely.
1432 R
RVNG Intl mix
RVNG Intl’s series of occasional mixes this month comes from D.C.-based label 1432 R, which delves into the music of its artists and friends for one of the week’s most eclectic selections. There’s ethereal sample-based wizardry from Ethiopian producer Mikael Seifu, hip-hop from RBCHMBRS and all manner of warped house, strange acid and unclassifiable dancefloor sounds. Imagine the music of Future Times on a very long and drawn-out acid trip, and you’ve got 1432 R.
Daniele Baldelli
NTS Radio mix
The cosmic maestro dropped in to Gillett Square with a bundle of gilded disco-funk, punky Euro-pop, silk-shirted floorspinners and wonky obscurities, all mixed in his own pioneering and rule-breaking style. Be warned: there be bagpipes.
