Each week, FACT trawls through the untamed world of free mixes, radio specials and live blends so you don’t have to.
Helena Hauff gives us a history lesson in Frankfurt’s late ‘80s techno scene this week, while cult movie soundtracks blend with Bernard Parmegiani on the latest mix from Blackest Ever Black’s Dalhous. There’s also a Prince tribute, ‘90s hip-hop classics and a trio of killer live sets on Hessle Audio’s Rinse FM show.
Nitetrax
Prince special on NTS Radio, June 7
Manuel Zambrano, boss of record label Citinite, art director of Optigram and committed Prince fanatic, first saw Prince in 1990 aged 19. “It’s always been a regret that I wasn’t able to see Prince earlier, when he was performing with The Revolution, a line-up that was so perfect for him,” he told us last month in our tribute to the Purple One. For his latest NTS show, Zambrano reaches into his bootleg archive to piece together a show of Prince’s greatest live moments, beginning of course with The Revolution and those two powerful words: “Dearly beloved…” You’re in for a treat.
Helena Hauff
Mixmag: In Session
Helena Hauff has turned in an absolute stormer for Mixmag this week, a 75-minute tribute to the sound of Frankfurt in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. If you’ve never heard Klangwerk, Robotiko Rejekto, Konzept or Blind Vision then prepare yourself for a techno maelstrom that sounds like the product of a union between Italo and EBM. One of her best mixes, and that’s no mean feat.
Funkmaster Flex
The Golden Era 90’s Mix (Hot 97)
We know, we know – the world keeps turning, it’s not the ‘90s any more. But on the low, we quite like going back and basking in some nostalgia every once in a while, and who better to rep the era than veteran spinner Funkmaster Flex? An hour of bangers starts with with Brand Nubian and skates through Tribe, Gang Starr, Kriss Kross (seriously), Redman, Nas (of course), Run D.M.C., Wu-Tang Clan, Smif-N-Wessun, Dr. Dre, Snoop and loads more.
Ben UFO, Peder Mannerfelt, Fabric and _moonraker
Rinse FM
Live electronic sets can be hit and miss, but thankfully Ben UFO’s picked out three of the best in the business for this week’s Hessle show on Rinse FM. Master Swedish synthesist Peder Mannerfelt, under-the-radar Chicago genius Fabric and Philadephia duo _moonraker all contribute 30-minute sets, moving through ambient techno, monolithic drones and irregular mechanical rhythms seemingly beamed in from Mars. Prepare to have your brain rearranged.
Dalhous
Secret Thirteen Mix 187
Cult film and video game scores combine with 20th century composition on Dalhous’ absurdly good Secret Thirteen mix. We’ve got John Carpenter, Harold Budd, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and Bernard Parmigiani blended with elements from the Eraserhead score, memorable snippets of Resisident Evil 4’s classic merchant theme, the opening theme from video nasty Burial Ground, the cursed video theme from The Ring and more. It’s bloody brilliant, basically. Grab this and then watch Session 9 – that’s Friday night sorted.
