Each week, FACT trawls through the untamed world of free mixes, radio specials and live blends so you don’t have to.
With apologies to our antipodean readers, we’re edging ever closer to summer over here and yearning for that hot tarmac, those burnt barbecues and a few boozy hours on the patio. This week’s mixes could be the soundtrack to that dreamed-of and so rarely attained seasonal bliss, from Lone’s sunshine rave nostalgia to Nigerian afro-pop to a bundle of vintage 45s from Tanzanian rockers – yes – Sunburst.
Lone
Solid Steel Radio Show, May 20
Lone’s jungle and hardcore-influenced new album Levitate is shaping up to be one of his best, so this Solid Steel appearance is a must-listen. A club-focused mix filled with forthcoming tracks from his Magic Wire label and music he’s working on under an alternative name, it’s the perfect middle ground between dank, crunchy house and ravey sunshine beats.
Lena Willikens
Dekmantel Podcast 070
Cologne’s Lena Willikens has been making a name for herself as one of those DJ’s DJs in the last couple of years, holding down a residency at Dusseldorf’s “post-kraut Hacienda” Salon Des Amateurs while building her international profile and looking cool as a chain-smoking cucumber while doing it. She brings an assortment of awkward dance shapes to Dekmantel’s podcast via raw house, visceral bleeps and weird interludes from Dinos Chapman, Batu, Kyle Hall and Container – it’s both eclectic and well executed.
Palm Wine Club w/ Yemi Alade
NTS Radio, May 14
UK Afrobeats is about to blow up, with fresh new talent like Jaij Hollands, Mazi Chukz and more blazing a trail for the hybrid dance music. This week NTS Radio’s Afrobeats show, Palm Wine Club, welcomed Nigerian afro-pop star Yemi Alade onto the show to talk about her second album Mama Africa. Weaving the discussion around Beyonce’s Lemonade and black feminism, in addition to playing tracks like ‘Waka Waka’ – featuring Bucie from scene heroes Black Coffee – this is a perfect primer to the genre.
Route 8
Lobster Theremin Podcast 001
The first in a new podcast series from London’s Lobster Theremin label is a live set from Route 8. The hour-long mix covers the Budapest producer’s whole range, moving from woozy ambient and laid-back breakbeat to chunky techno and new-age acid. As the label explains, it’s “love, pillows, ciders and melancholia borne deep in the depths of the smoke-filled warehouse.”
Duncan Brooker
East African 45s mix
This mix coincides with the release of Strut Records’ Sunburst retrospective, Ave Africa, The Complete Recordings 1973-1976, the first of its kind on Tanzania’s Afro-rock heroes. The record compiles music from the band’s singles and sole album, Ave Africa, along with an unreleased radio session recorded in Tanzania in 1973. To celebrate, Strut’s Duncan Brooker has crafted this hour-long snapshot replete with Sunburst’s own tracks along with those of their peers.
