୭˚. ᵎᵎ untitled 909 podcast 225: minù jr ୭˚. ᵎᵎ

“i took your invitation as an opportunity to do something i hadn’t really done before in a podcast — play something a bit more dancefloor-oriented. i actually rarely play at this bpm range, and i thought it was interesting to explore that side.” lyon-based dj and producer minù jr leans into his techno influences from ghost warrior to dvs1 and wata igarashi to build a groove-filled, textural peak-time mix filled with warmth.

minù jr is firmly embedded within the music scene in lyon. from being a resident of the collective and record label monochrome as well as ouroboros festival - two key outputs of the city’s low end psychedelia scene. as a producer, minù jr’s sound is nestled nicely within the slow/fast side of psychedelic music as he creates these deeply rhythmic wormholes to get lost in that are filled with dub and drum & bass influences such as the qabam ep on monochrome ~ a release i can’t get enough of. super inspired by his output and this movement that’s happening in lyon, i’m excited to have minù jr on the 909 series this week :)

hey antoine! how are you doing? what have you been up to lately?

hey chanel! everything’s fine here — the nice weather is finally coming to france and lyon! lately, i’ve been working on a live set with my friend tampo. we’ve been working on it since september 2024, and we’re really excited to share more about it and let people hear it this summer!

let's start from the very beginning, what was your first introduction to music in general and then more specifically electronic music?

i think my first introduction to music came through my brother. i started by listening to whatever he played for me when i was really young — it was super diverse: i listened to a bit of everything. it ranged from nina simone to pink floyd, with bloc party and gorillaz in between, and even daft punk and iam. later on, i naturally leaned more towards rock. so i basically started a band with my three best friends (who still are my best friends to this day) — we wrote rock/psych tracks, i played drums, and we had so much fun doing it. we released an ep, then we all had to move away for different reasons. at that same time, my brother was running an annual week-ender called chalet perché located in a beautiful family place between nature and mountains. we had 350+ people in that place from friday night to sunday afternoon, full of dj sets. it was not a techno/drum’n’bass whatever parties i’m going to now, it was just any kind of music but just friends playing sets after sets non-stop. (it was actually the first time i made a dj set, around 16 years old i think). emotionally, chalet perché was really something else. this event was not only about music, it was basically friends and people that my brother and i met in clubs, festivals in the same place, for 3 days, in a family place. years after years, i helped him more and more and after 10 years we did the best edition ever and closed it. the spirit is still here :) during all that time (approx 4 years) i was also on ableton trying to produce some things. i think i found that same sense of rhythm i had behind the drums in deep techno and drum’n’bass…

who was the first artist or band that you were a fan of?

what a tricky question. i’ve been listening to music since i was a kid, as i just mentioned, so many bands have left a mark on me. it’s not the first band i was a fan of, but i’d say tame impala perfectly bridges my love for rock/alternative music and electronic, repetitive sounds. the early albums are incredible. i’m less into what they’re doing now, but i still really love lonerism, innerspeaker, and currents. i’ve also always admired their visual world — it’s a whole experience.

was there a formative moment growing up, whether that’s seeing your favourite band live or an incredible dj set, that led you to this path?

toki fuko’s latest live set has been a real source of inspiration for tampo and me while

working on our own live show since september. as for dj sets, a peter van hoesen all night long at carbone (formerly essaim) in paris really blew me away. it was a secret line-up — we got there right when it started, and even though i was supposed to head home early, i couldn’t leave the dancefloor until the very last track. more recently, konduku’s set at parallel festival in 2022 was one of the biggest musical experiences i’ve had in the past few years. if you were there, you know… ogazón at waking life last summer was also something truly memorable. every live act/dj set i see/hear brings me something at some point, even the worst ones.

where do you look for sources of inspiration outside of music?

that’s honestly a question i’ve asked myself for a long time.

after releasing my latest ep qabam on monochrome, i finally found some kind of an answer

(i actually talked about it in the words that came with the release). i think i draw inspiration from the people i meet, their energy, and just life in general — what happens to me and around me.

if i’m feeling down, the track will sound 'sad'. if i’m feeling good and full of energy, the track will come out in a totally different way. my inspiration also comes, in my opinion, from the different styles of music i listen to outside of electronic music: i love jazz, french rap, rock of course… all of that is part of my musical identity. it’s hard to explain, but i’ve really started to feel that clearly since qabam. as a fact, the letters in qabam refer to the first letters of the names of my family members. i think that could answer the question here!

how has lyon influenced or informed your sense of self and artistic output? what is the scene like in lyon at the moment?

when i first arrived in lyon, i quickly met cédric aka vardae, who sold me my first gear and really set me on the right track to move forward with my music. he was obviously my biggest influence. after that, everything moved pretty fast — i joined monochrome, we met the team from ewo collectif, ouroboros was created, we did the first edition of the festival, then the second one, and so on. people connected, and it’s pretty crazy to see that today, lyon has become a central spot in france and europe. we’re lucky to have so many talented music producers and great labels here — it’s really cool :)

you’re a resident of the event series and record label monochrome, how did that connection come about?

i was lucky to meet axel and his friends, who had already started this project two years earlier in lyon, during a workshop for producers and djs. we weren’t really into the content of the workshop and ended up just leaving together to go listen to music somewhere else over a few beers, haha. since then, we’ve been inseparable. we truly share the same artistic vision and the same outlook on our scene — he immediately brought me into the monochrome project. we also exchanged a lot with distab, another founding member of monochrome. that eventually led us to create the label and start organizing events that reflect monochrome’s identity.

when it comes to your productions, do you often have an idea in mind when you start a new track or are most of your records informed by improvisation?

at first, i really work in a very improvisational way. that’s actually what i love about producing — i give myself a lot of freedom during the first sessions in front of ableton, and then i start shaping things in a more defined direction. to be honest, i think that’s the only way i know how to work. that’s how we used to compose when i was playing drums in my band, so it just feels natural for me to do the same with ableton and my few machines. and most importantly, i’ve learned to stop when i feel like it’s not the right day, instead of forcing it and ending up with nothing good. but lately, i’ve been having more good ideas than bad ones, haha.

what has been your most recent musical discovery that you’re obsessed with?

ghost warrior’s work really impressed me recently. all of his releases are absolutely amazing and have a vibe i haven’t found anywhere else. so i couldn’t help but slip one of his tracks into the podcast.

you’ve also contributed a mix for the 909 series, what’s the concept behind this one?

i took your invitation as an opportunity to do something i hadn’t really done before in a podcast — play something a bit more dancefloor-oriented. i actually rarely play at this bpm range, and i thought it was interesting to explore that side. being able to go a bit more 'techno' on this one was really enjoyable! i’d say this mix is a blend of my latest influences and my earliest ones — from ghost warrior to dvs1 and wata igarashi.

how does your approach to dj sets differ from studio mixes and radio shows? is there a narrative in mind that you’re always trying to tell through your sets?

for podcasts, i always start with a bpm range and an introduction track. that’s my way of building podcasts, i really enjoy following this guiding line and composing around this bpm and reference track. in a dj set, it’s different. i always have my 2-3 opening and closing tracks, and in the middle, most of the time, i compose on the spot to take the crowd from point a to point b. when the conditions are right, i really love doing this, even though i do it less these days. i also love having a few tracks that are out of the ordinary, but that i have to drop in the middle of my set. it’s kind of a “challenge” with myself, and it’s fun for me. for example, the track from dvs1 in the podcast i sent you is one of those.

when was the last time you were on the dance floor?

well, i work in a club, so... hahaha. the last time i was on the dancefloor (and it was my choice!!!) must have been at our monochrome residency at super5, a small club in lyon that really highlights the local scene, and they do it really well. that night, we had invited an amazing local dj named mryka, who’s doing some great work. i can’t wait to play at this residency with mastaï, another fantastic local artist. we have completely different styles, but that’s what i love about this venue: anything goes, it’s up to us to make it great!

what are you most excited about right now?

we are going to celebrate the 5th anniversary of monochrome really soon. we’re working on some great events that will truly reflect the past years of developing our project and identity. i won’t say more… we still have our residency at laut club in barcelona, which is a really dope place. the next one will be early next year: we’ll be performing our live set with tampo! we love going to barcelona, it’s everytime a pleasure to visit our friends over there: pablo and imox from subradio, perreos mediterraneos… and of course, the amazing edition of ouroboros festival is coming in september. the lineup is insane this year, and we’re going to keep improving the site—this year’s festival experience is going to be amazing once again.

what’s on your vision board at the moment?

finish the work started on the live set with tampo and perform live for the first time in our lives this summer. work on the label. having a good time with my family and friends. enjoy life ❤️

tracklist:

Ghost Warrior - Titania

Sunju Hargun & Konduku - Mekong

VC-118A - Spiritual Machines

Pianeti Sintetici - Dry Marsh

Efdemin - Subconscious dub

Exos, Octal - Grow

Aedis - RTHM

Decoder - Inaction

Feral & Luigi Tozzi - Neon

Agonis - Gamma Ray

Valentino Mora - Doppler Shift

DVS1 - Polyphonic Love

Wata Igarashi - The Sailage