Recommendations: July 2022

and

Aug 14, 2022

This is a very delayed recommendations newsletter for July. The beginning of August saw the return of Dekmantel Festival where I was working on-site for five days, leaving me feeling very inspired by all the amazing performances I saw but physically and mentally drained from being switched on for all that time. It was one of the best editions of the festival yet - my fourth time attending and my first time working on-site. A highlight was being able to witness the live shows during Dekmantel aant’IJ on Wednesday and Thursday including a spellbinding display by Mary Lattimore which was so simple - just Mary, her harp and one spotlight singing down - but so beautiful I was close to tears at one point. Eris Drew performed her first ever live show and it was wonderful to hear iterations of her album in a club setting for the first time. A new discovery for me was KeiyaA who also performed on the Thursday, I was instantly drawn in by her stage presence. And my favourite of all time, Azu Tiwaline, performed live at the Shelter. It was the third maybe fourth time I’ve seen her play live in the last few months and I will never stop leaving in awe of her - the way she has everyone in a trance, swaying in sync to her dub-heavy productions, she commands attention. Those were just the performances I saw the first two nights! Other highlights from the weekend include Sangre Nueva, Darwin, Batu’s closing set on the main stage, Kampire, 15 years of Hessle Audio, and Felix Hall. It was the first year I didn’t spend most of the weekend in UFO I! The new The Nest stage is where it’s at.

Anyway, enough about Dekmantel. Here is my July round-up. Upcoming for me is a trip to Berlin next week for the 3rd edition of REEF at Berghain (too bloody excited) - it will also be my third attempt of travelling to the city this year after two failed trips in May (annoying passport issues due to Brexit). I’m looking forward to being back in the city, especially in summer, and reuniting with friends. After that, it’s time to hibernate from life for a little while and have some time to myself to recuperate as I’m feeling the burn out. Summer has been a lot and it’s kinda reflected in the music I’ve been listening to recently - a lot of ambient, downtempo and introspective stuff. Oh, and my latest Refuge Worldwide show is now live and archived on their site which you can check out here - the debut with my new DJ name basic chanel (thanks for the inspo Graeme) 💅🏼

Listening Session

Releases

Unity Vega - UV1

a wild release from a mysterious new alias

Rat Heart - Ratty Rids The Clubs From The Evil Curse Of The Private School DJ’s

a more manic release from Rat Heart

Joe Armon-Jones & Mala - A Way Back

a match-made in heaven

dgoHn - Undesignated Remixes

pretty bonkers collection of remixes with standouts including Equinox, Forest Drive West, Skee Mask and Djrum

Nick León - Xtasis

‘the hottest record for the hottest summer yet’ - Mary Anne Hobbs and she wasn’t wrong. the Pearson Sound remix was the unofficial anthem of Dekmantel Festival - we heard it four times (five times hearing tracks from the EP) over the course of three days and I’m sure there were sets we missed that included it. my favourite moment was Sangre Nueva playing it at the beginning of the weekend - pure goosebumps!

Dites Safran - Fila / Raole

oddball dancefloor tracks

Elijah Minnelli - Creamed Horn

Elijah Minnelli makes their debut on Accidental Meetings with one of the best EPs of the year!

Near Dark - Sinistro

a new favourite discovery - this is a knockout release on Florida-based label Optikal Records. everything on the label is worth checking out

perila - amazer

haunting

Anthony Naples - Swerve

the title track on here is like an instant dose of serotonin

Mixes

004 - Martyn - fabric podcast