Each week, FACT trawls through the untamed world of free mixes, radio specials and live blends so you don’t have to.
After May’s avalanche of Very Important Albums from pop music’s big-hitters, it’s been a relief to detect silly season on the horizon with this week’s mixes and radio sessions. And what could be better than a velvet-smooth afternoon with house great Larry Heard (recorded on the hottest day of the year), obviously the soundtrack to your third Negroni and/or four-for-a-pound tinny in the park this week.
Also: vaporous synths from Dream Catalogue, more bloghaus nostalgia from A-Trak, someone drops ‘Do The Bartman’ and a PROGRESSIVE HOUSE mix! There is nothing else you need right now.
Larry Heard
NTS Radio, May 6
2016 is shaping up to be Chicago icon Larry Heard’s biggest year yet, with one of the anthems of the year in the bag and his first live show in 20 years still to come. The legendary artist also reminded us he’s one of the best DJs in the game this week with an unmissable slot on NTS Radio filled with deep house gems. There’s only one word to describe it: smooth.
Local Action w/ Betty & Teki Latex
Radar Radio, May 5
You thought you were alive and breathing and getting on with life just fine, didn’t you? Turns out you haven’t actually lived until you’ve heard Betty from Rinse France mix Zapp’s ‘More Bounce To The Ounce’ into ‘Do The Bartman’. Her session with the inimitable Teki Latex (who’s been smashing it lately – catch up with the latest Sound Pellegrino mix for proof) and Local Action label head Tom Lea is way too much fun condensed into two hours – no genre limits. Teki even drops the bloody Rogue One trailer in a particularly inspired blend. (We have also discovered that Shonen Knife recorded a Japanese version of ‘Do The Bartman’. Thought you should know.)
Dream Catalogue
Boiler Room Upfront 066
One of the best labels around lulls us into a neuromantic trance with a downtempo mix of unreleased and forthcoming material. Label boss HKE has an ear for voyaging synth trip-outs designed for lonely headphones moments – ideal for the train home, the night bus, the airport departure lounge, the MRI scanner and similar. Movement and stasis in one.
A-Trak
Bloghaus Revival Pt. 2
Back in October, A-Trak give us his Bloghaus Revival mix, a selection of tracks from the 2007-2009 golden era when the bass was noisy and the drops were very big. He’s returned with the second instalment, and it’s another reminder that a lot of the music from that era was actually really enjoyable, especially Joakim’s remix of DJ Mehdi and the Boys Noize remix of Feist’s ‘My Moon My Man’.
Zora Jones B2B Sinjin Hawke
Rinse FM, May 8
Fractal Fantasy’s Zora Jones and Sinjin Hawke come through with a masterclass in off-the-wall club energy as guests on Hyperdub’s Rinse show. A bunch of exclusive tracks from their own folders make an appearance, including edits and remixes of DJ Slugo and their host Scratcha DVA, plus collabs with Spinn & Rashad, Murlo, and each other, and much more secret sauce.
Aidan Hanratty
Prog 2016
Progressive house has a bad reputation these days, but Bandcloud and Truants writer Aidan Hanratty is here to reclaim it. If you’re worried his Prog 2016 mix is just a load of Sasha and John Digweed tunes, fear not – it’s a mix of classics from the ‘90 and ‘00s with “new ones with the same feeling and spirit” as the glory days. Probably one of the few mixes you’ll find Danny Tenaglia and Rui Da Silva on the same tracklist as Call Super, Bandshell and Aurora Halal.
