We are delighted to start 2016 with nothing but extraordinary discoveries of good music and releases. This year we would like to invite you to join the adventure around the globe to discover and explore the scene with our new monthly feature, Citypack. Expect to see our selected tastemakers representing their cities through Citypack mixes along with the interview to give you the insights of how the electronic music scene is there.
Our first installment of Citypack comes from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Meet Stephan Kain, who makes music simply under the name KAIN. His music, while unquestionably in the realms of bass, has flickers of hip-hop and experimental sounds throughout. As the member of Akhyla -house for some of Asia's best emerging producers- he already has several releases under his belt, including his own EP “Headlock/Cold”, OJ Law’s Introvert remix, and also a collaborative album with VMPRMYTH “Clairvoyants”.
We asked KAIN a few questions about his musical influences, production process, the scene in Kuala Lumpur and far more -check out his special Citypack Mix of Akhyla's exclusive relesases below. Read on!
Hi KAIN, thanks for agreeing to do the interview. How has 2015 been for you? Any highlights?
No worries and thanks for giving me this opportunity. 2015 has been a hell of year for me, so many unexpected things have happened and I’m glad that this year is coming to a good end. Aside from studying, I’ve been spending a lot of my time working on my forthcoming album ‘Duality’ that will be out in the next few months. The highlights would be meeting a lot of new musicians in Singapore and Malaysia, there’s a whole lot of talent brewing up in these two countries and it’s very exciting to be apart of.
Where exactly are you from? Were you born in Malaysia, how did you get there?
I’m half Taiwanese and half German, I was born in Singapore and after a few years I moved to Kuala Lumpur. I pretty much consider Malaysia my home because it’s where I spent most of my life.
What music did you grow up listening to and how have your interests changed over the years?
I went through a lot of phases growing up, I’ve made some drastic changes in my taste of music. I owe it a lot to my mom, during my childhood whenever we would be in the car she would play all sorts of music you wouldn’t expect your mom to listen to. She would play music from Trance all the way to Hip Hop, it exposed me to a lot of music children wouldn’t usually hear at that time. I got really into metal and I really thought I was gonna pursuit that route and be in a band. That didn’t work out lol. After that phase, I toned down a lot and went through hip hop phase, house/techno phase, and got really into dubstep/drum&bass for quite some time. Now it’s just all over the place and my music library has become pretty diverse. Now I’m really interested in electronic music that is outside the box and a lot of jazz/rock/soul. Pretty much anything that’s unique.
>Was there a specific moment you remember decided that producing is what you wanted to do, and how were those early days of making beats?
Before getting into production, I was in a symphonic band for a few years and played the guitar a lot. One of my good friends showed me virtual dj at 14 and after a year it made me want to start creating my own music. It started slow because I spent most of the time looking through tutorials and fiddling around with different DAWs but by the time I was 16 I got really into it and I’ve been at it since.
How do you go about choosing samples and at what point in your production process do you work them in?
I’m using samples all the time, I’ll find any sound that I like and piece it together until it becomes something. There’s no set way I go about approaching when I use my samples, if I’m working on drums I’ll combine one shots with chopped up loops/breaks or I would sample some song (I like to work with ethnic music most of the time) and use that to start my track. It all really depends on what inspires me at the moment.
Can you tell us more about your collective Akhyla and how did you first link up with them? What is your level of involvement?
Akhyla is a music collective that is based in Kuala Lumpur and it consists of 10 beat makers who each have their own styles. Next year is an exciting year for us because we have 4 more artists that are joining us and it’s going to be a new direction for us. You can expect a lot of new music that is different from our usual stuff, so keep your eyes peeled because we’ve got a lot of good stuff under wraps.
My involvement started when I got to know and make music with VMPRMYTH, and after some time he decided that he wanted to build up a platform so we could give our music a home. We had no expectations it would grow the way it did, it was all about releasing our music officially. Through time the circle got bigger and everything happened quite organically. I’m super grateful that it’s given me the opportunity to meet so many new talented musicians that have the same goal in mind. Now we’re at a position when we have enough material to make a whole mix of just our music. In terms of my involvement with Akhyla, I work a lot on the operations side of things.
How do you see the development of the electronic music scene in Malaysia in the last several years, both in terms of bringing in International artists but especially regarding local talent?
Malaysia has grown a lot in these couple years, there’s definitely way more producers on the map now and it’s a really exciting time. The standards are definitely rising which is awesome. I’ve gotten to know a lot more producers through our Midnight Oil initiative which is a beat making cypher. It’s great that the scene is getting more support from the community and the media, we’re all gonna go up.
Here are the details for how you can participate:
https://www.facebook.com/midnighttoil/?fref=ts
In terms of bringing in International artists, I still find that Malaysia is lacking when it comes to bringing down electronic acts that don’t play dance music. It seems like the same DJs come through everywhere, more variety would be nice.
Are there any differences between the scene in Kuala Lumpur and other cities in Malaysia? Or is it tend to be much “centralized” in KL?
It’s definitely centralized around KL because it’s where there is the most demand for electronic music. Johor has really good acts too and the scene there is growing. I haven’t come across much music from other cities so I’m not too sure about that one.
Lastly, what are your recommended places to visit in KL? (Cafes, Clubs, Shops, etc.)
Live Fact Is a place to look out for, it’s a venue in Plaza Denau and the guys that run it are dope. They’ve been really supportive by letting us play gigs at their space. It’s a great space to get people together.
Tracklist:
Vmprmyth & Kain - Deadringer
Yahna- Paraphilia
Thruoutin - Beiwai (Vmprmyth Remix)
Thruoutin - Chicano (Reddi Rocket Remix)
Anorak - July 4th in Chinatown
The Shakes & Shelhiel - ATL
Yoshi - Ode
Kain - Middle Passage ft Vmprmyth
Anomy, Jandal & Kain - Kronik VIP
Kain - Rush
Nemo - IH8CØP$
Vmprmyth & Kain - Voodoo Juke
Vmprmyth & Kain - Sly bitch
Yahna - Duraga
Nero One - Terra II : Center Of The District (DNB REFIX)
Kain - Forward
soundcloud facebook akhyla
The name says it all; Laid Back Sessions (LBS) is a serial underground party created by Belda of Imaginary Voyage and Hikko a.k.a DJ Kasep. Initially started in 2013, they strive to keep a laid back, no-holds-barred vibes.
LBS previously has been held in several places: from Mondo, Soupanova to Lucy In The Sky, with Belda & Hikko as the residents themselves plus appearances by some special guest djs, including Chida (Ene Records), Force Of Nature and Sunshine Jones (Dubtribe Soundsystem) on the list.
Discover the bottomless pit of musical rarities with Laid Back Sessions –strictly underground, no EDM. Read on!
*This interview did on 2014*
How do you first got involved in the music scene and starting nights such as Laid Back Sessions?
Belda: Well it’s a long story, but in short, I met Hikko when he first moved to Jakarta in 2012-2013ish. We happened to like the same kind of music and rooting for the underground type of party.
Hikko: There’s no music scene like in Tokyo here in Jakarta. I was looking for a partner to throw an underground party like I used to do with my friends in Tokyo.
What was your vision of Laid Back Sessions when you started?
Hikko : We just wanted to make an underground party in Jakarta. No top 40 !! No dress code !! No police!! No imigrasi !!
Belda: Just pure good music, good vibes and good friends. We wanted to make a party where the DJs can play anything they want, no request and the rest of the people who came to the party can enjoy great music, loosen up, dress up, dress down, get wasted but above all we want you to have fun. I really can’t describe much about LBS. You should come down to the basement of Café Mondo to see it for yourself ;)
What’s the story behind the name of your event?
We called it Laid Back Sessions because we wanted people who came to our party to feel laid back, hang out with one another, listening to great music and feel free to dance.
Who are some of the talents that have played for your events and how do you source them?
On the first LBS party we have Ridwan from Quirk it! Sound System as our special guest. Second we have Mick from MOOV/-is ness, Japan or you might know him from his famous 10” release called “Macho Brother.” Gerhan from Quirk it! Sound System or Akamady Records along with Jonathan Kusuma (Ojon) from Space System. Then we have Chida from Ene Records, Japan earlier this year. For the 1 year LBS anniversary party we had Derry and Bergas from W music. Every DJs that have played at our parties are good friends of ours. We know that they have amazing taste in music and we love having them to play at our parties.
With genre-spanning talent from around the world, is there a common thread? A particular sound you’ve seek that ties them altogether?
No, we don’t really think about that stuff, really.
What’s your current favorite venue in your town? When you’re making an event, what makes you consider on choosing the venue?
We love love love Mondo. We feel like it’s the only place that is perfect for LBS. Mondo is by far the only place that has the laid back profile we are looking for in a party venue, the community that supports the kind of music that we play and the only place that can drive the vibe we create when we do the party. Plus we choose Mondo because Shun (one of the owner) allows us to bring our own smoke machine, strobe light, shot lights for the mirror ball, our own DJ mixer and other party equipment.
Your dream venue?
Place that is small, laid back and has great and loud sound system. Or some place by the beach where we can chill and party from sunset until the sunrise or maybe until the sunset again? Yes?
With social medias such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, how these tools helping the promotion of a dj, musician, or party by your point of view ?
Hikko: “I don’t care …..our party is supported by our good friend and good homies,”
Belda: “Whatever he said..! hahahaha!”
What’s your interpretation of a good or succesful party?
Hikko: “If I lost my memory from the party, then it means it was a good party. And if we ran out of smoke machine liquid, that’s gotta be a good party.”
Belda: “ I would say the same.. but I think a good party is when you still have a good bunch of people dancing till the very last track played at the party and when the vibe sticks even days after the party was over.. or yeah when you can’t remember much from the party but it felt like you just had an epic night last night, now that’s a good party”
How’s the party scene in your city at the moment?
Hikko: Here in Jakarta there is no other underground house party like LBS. However, lately there are a few places that can throw good parties like when Ojon and Gerhan played at Safe House.
Check out LBS’ facebook page and keep yourself updated. Stay tune for our upcoming special feature about Belda & her Imaginary Voyage radio, soon on Trash Tapes x Fresher Globe.
London-based Ope Alayande (better known as Orion Anakaris) is known for his internet-based label Hardjazz7, the home for Matatabi, Vink and also Mr. Orion himself, whose music ranging from soul, hip-hop, jazz, and all in between. We caught up with the humble label boss via email to dig deeper into his ideals of creating an online music community and his determination to put out good music for the masses.
Can you tell us the story behind Hardjazz7?
It started up in October of 2012. I had some money saved aside from my job at that time and I had already set up a Bandcamp page a year before that, for some early instrumentals I had made. So it was just a matter of me learning how to write emails to blogs, pulling together artwork etc. I sent an email to a blog and one of the editors asked what HardJazz7 Music was. At the time I wasn’t aware of many other netlabels, I thought most labels were fully focused on physical distribution, with digital on the side. So with the netlabel title there was a focus on the music being released digitally but not excluding physical. As time went on, there was a need for one central hub of information about the music being released, so I put the HardJazz7 website together. As far as the name, the “hard” part stands for an expression of something being very good. The “Jazz” part stands for art music of Black origin. The “7” is a distinguishing number.
What motivated you to start it?
As a fresh face on a scene like this, part of you knows that you haven’t yet reached your full potential, part of you wants to be as creative as possible, the other part of your senses that there isn’t interest in your music from others because there’s no familiarity with someone else’s style. As much as you’ll hear people scream “be original”, music audiences really aren’t taking to a lot of original music. I don’t know If that’s a subconscious thing, but I don’t feel it’s completely bad as a lot of great music has been quite derivative of something else. So I think creating a solid platform for, both artist development and innovative hip hop, jazz, soul, funk etc. influenced music was really at the heart of it. Any label can take an already established act and put out their music to the audience they already cater to, I think it’s much harder to take/come out as a new act and find an audience with great new music.
What do you think is the most important thing to do when starting a music-related project?
It’s important to plan, analyze and budget. You want to be able to do research into what sort of strategies are working best for like-minded artists, while doing it in your own way. Most importantly you want to make sure that the music sounds undeniably great to yourself. If you don’t enjoy listening to the music you’ve made before you release it out there, don’t you think others will notice you never really gave it your best shot? That sort of question is always important.
How do you assemble (build) your roster/line-up?
The main roster consists of artists (Producers, DJs etc.) that have directly released music on the label. The affiliate side covers artists that are not directly releasing music on the label, but create music that relates to what we’re doing. I listen to all demos sent to my inbox and reply accordingly. It’s important to do that as I might get lots of demos and there might be that one gem in there. Other times, myself or a relative or a friend will have found an artist that has flare for their craft.
Since a large portion of people's lives are now being spent online, how has the internet played a role in developing your community?
If we’re talking about consistent supporters of the music we’re creating, I would say the internet has played a huge role in reaching people globally. Whether via newsletters or social networks we’ve been able to reach and communicate with people from all over the world. That’s why the net neutrality rule changes are likely to affect many indie artists and labels the most. On the flipside there’s been a sort of disconnect from the real world. Many indie hip hop producers for example, are now not local artists by default. There’s little or no presence for many in the local scenes even If you’re doing regular live events. If I go up to a person in the street that “based on statistical data” might like certain music and ask them do you know who ________ is? Do you know ________ song? They’d be like “Who?” Several years ago in the UK, people had to go through their local scene before going global, which had sort of solidified their lane but also meant they might not end up being globally renowned.
I've seen a lot of progression in the music scene these days. There are far more interesting labels and musicians out there than there were 5 years ago. People are eager to produce their own music and embrace their uniqueness. What do you think drives people to go into that direction?
As far as self production that can come from a variety of reasons. If you’re a vocalist it makes sense to want to minimize your losses. Producers’ fees vary a lot; at times you’ll get a reasonable price, at others it’s way out of your budget. Sometimes only a vocalist can think of the sound their looking for, so by making their own beats they can work that out. NY rapper, Roc Marciano is a good example of that with some of his solo material.
In terms of embracing uniqueness, I reckon that’s based on audience demand. If there’s a market for it, people will do it. Quite a while back there were a lot of global hip hop acts that would rap with faux North American accents, because that’s what they believed there was demand for. Now we’re seeing more and more acts embrace their own voice or rap with the same accent they talk in. That’s dope because then your core audience knows it’s authentic and people from a similar background can relate to what you’re saying.
Where do you see your project fit into the scene?
It’s difficult to say where HardJazz7 fits into the music scene right now. We’re much smaller and younger compared to some of the more established labels that have been around for years, with a lot of experience. I think as time goes on more people will see that we’re more driven by the love of good music.
What do you think sets you apart from these like-minded people?
Strategy is going to be a major difference. The same strategy doesn’t work for every artist, even If you’re like-minded.
Finally, what are your hopes for the future?
I hope the masses of genuinely talented artists/labels/media that are passionate about pushing great music get their dues and appear on the forefront of the music scene. I would also say I hope our core audience continues to enjoy what we’re doing, they are really the only reason I continue to keep the label running. I have seen a lot of labels lose sight of their original goal or have to change what they were doing great at before, because either it wasn’t financially rewarding or wasn’t attracting a huge audience fast enough. I’d like to think that HardJazz7 could be an escape from all that and at the same time be aware of and avoid not developing what we’re doing already (stagnate).
Check out more of Orion and the rest of HardJazz7’s crew via links below:
Pop quiz alert: “What do Kim Clijsters and Stephane Lallemand have in common?”
No answers? Okay, let’s try again
“What do Kim Clijsters and LeFtO have in common?”
Yup, both are Belgians and talented in their respected fields.
(I know I should stop with these tennis comparisons but sometimes one just can’t help it, sorry)
The Brownswood recruit has been successfully hosting his own weekly radio show and that’s pretty understandable. The guy has exceptional taste when it comes to music and more often than not throws in eclectic selections into his mixes. Prior to his gig in Jakarta a few weeks back, we caught up with him via e-mail and so far his views on Indonesia’s most famous island, parallel universe and Brussels are quite stimulating, to be fair. Read on.
How was Bali? Did you have a good time?
Well, Bali is a very beautiful and spiritual place, with big, small and micro temples everywhere on the island. The amount of energy going out of this island must be crazy, and you can feel it as everyone’s smiling here. It’s a good place but I must say I am a bit worried for the future of this island. I have a feeling they’re trying to build the whole island with resorts and hotels, and the purest form of nature is slowly disappearing, on the coastlines are hit by waves of businessmen taking over the charming environment. That’s just how I feel about it. There are still many places to go without being surrounded by concrete and businesses.
Care to explain to us who LeFtO is in 5 words?
Simple
Complicated
Curious
Lover
Traveller
How did you first get into DJing?
I got introduced to the art of using the turntables by my friends in school. Some of them were really into hip hop and the turntable is a central piece in the culture. Vinyl is a part of the whole scene, from 12” releases to the art of scratching, it’s all there and that’s how I got really interested in it. I tried not to kill my father’s turntable and jazz record collection so I practised most of my time at my friends’ place.
You are by far one of the most prolific individual on the scene; DJing, curating, filming and the list goes on. Imagine being in a parallel universe where you can only choose one job to work on, which one would it be and why?
It would be curating, so I could invite many DJs and filmmakers to that universe, and that way I would convince the leaders of that parallel universe that it is possible to have more than one job. And maybe after I would be able to DJ too in that parallel universe.
How do you pick and curate your selections? How do you think the internet has played a role in your selections?
I just listen to a lot of music. I buy a lot of records too, I check out a lot of stuff on the internet. I would type in one record and many others would show up, making my journey looking for a record super interesting. Internet is a really good place to find out about records as there are a lot of music lovers out there sharing their thoughts on records.
How has your hometown (Brussels) influenced your music?
Oh well, Brussels has always been that city away from the hypes of cities like Amsterdam, Paris or London. It’s a big city with a proper character, it is not playing the game other capitals play, Brussels is not trying to be the best, the leaders of the city don’t try to make it look better than other cities, the city is living because of its citizens, and our citizens are from so many different countries that it is giving it its own identity. Isn’t that exactly what I’m doing in my DJ sets? Ha.
Do you, by any chance, keep your eyes peeled on Asian music scene? Do you have any upcoming talents from Asia that are under your radar?
For Asia, it is really hard to say but every country has a scene, some might be very small and others might make more noise on the internet but what I think is important to Asia is to try to sound like Asia, and not like Europe or the US. I mean, it would be so fresh to have an artist making beats with the influence of the music of his ancestors; that would be interesting.
Lastly, do you have any hopes for the future?
There’s not much hope left because we’ve been too far already but if there’s really one thing, I hope that our children will do it better than our ancestors, for the sake of our planet.
LeFtO has just celebrated his 15th anniversary on the radio airwaves! Be sure to check out his last show of the season below:
P.S.: Shouts to Karan Bharwani @AshramProject for giving us an opportunity to interview Mr. Lallemand! (｡^‿^｡)
Did the 15-year-old you listen to Omar-S back then?
"Is he some sort of multimillionaire from Arabia?"
Did you even have a slightest idea what Detroit techno is?
"Uh, techno music from Detroit?"
Sigh.
Same.
Our selector this time is a certified high school music snob and you have the least right to question his credibility. I bet he'd point you to online music publications available in order to answer every single music question thrown his way. S/O Mthrfnkr and all based blogs out there. Oh how the times have changed.
words by @natangelica // photo by @ariefwiratama // special thanks to Putri Anindya
Darker Than Wax, one of Asia’s finest digital label, has established a name of their own throughout the globe. They have carried big names on their roster, with the likes of Samuel Truth, Wayvee and Indonesia’s own Midnight Runners. It was a pleasure to get a chance to sit down with Dean Chew, the founder as well as Marco Weibel and Archie Dennis, two of the label’s prolific representatives, each offering their lengthy-but-well-thought insights on starting a music project, the internet and how music relates to architecture.
Can you tell us the story behind Darker Than Wax?
Dean (D): It all started when my partner Kaye and I met each other almost like 12-13 years ago. He was a saxophonist wanting to learn more about electronic music and I have always been collecting vinyls for a long time. We started DJing and then got together playing in Singapore during the late 90s. Since then, we’ve always been stuck together as a unit. I went away to Australia for some time but we’ve always kept in touch with each other. I think all these times when we performed together, we realized it’s quite important to have a platform in Singapore to sort of “push” the music to get them out there.
Darker Than Wax started out as a label to release our own music and represent people that we want to [promote] within the region— within Singapore, but then I think it has always been very “organic”. We didn’t actually have a glorious plan that within 5 years, this thing could be something else. We saw it as a very organic movement and it’s not even a label, to be honest. It’s more of a movement of ideas; it’s more like jazz, where it’s very freeform. It’s going to [be] up to you how you want to interpret the movement. But still, the roots are in Black American music, from jazz to soul to hip-hop to funk, to Chicago house. So, diversity is what we really emphasize within the label. You can hear that in our shows; it wasn’t just one kind of music. That’s the essence of what we do, but mind you it’s a very freeform movement. Aside from label, we also have visual artworks and I personally designed artworks for Darker Than Wax, so it’s really like a complete brand.
Marco (M): Yeah, we even do music consultancy with brands and curate music for their stores.
D: I also do A&R for the label, and I find it interesting how we can keep contact with international artists around the world and we only form this community based on music and mutual respect. There’s very little ego involved in our movement.
What motivated you to start it?
D: The motivation behind is just to connect and create a very distinct relationship with people. I think music is just like food, you know. It’s raw and yet universal; breaks down the language and race barriers. The closest things to compare music with are probably food and sports; they have the power to bring people together regardless of the circumstances.
Another reason would be that I wanted people to know the roots of songs. Guys like Justin Timberlake, Mayer Hawthorne, they learned it from the older generations, soul music from the 60s/70s. This would be essential for people to know more about, you know, how current music developed or where it comes from, so that you can see how much it evolved throughout the years and thus gaining insights on quality music.
What do you think is the most important thing to do when starting a music-related project?
D: You have to be real to yourself. You have to question yourself, what your intentions are, what the objective of your project is and what you want to make out of it. Those are key points right there, because if you have no clear idea about it, then you basically don’t know what you want to achieve out of it. You can absorb anything along the way, but you’re not going to move forward, career-wise. We’ve always talked about it and I think that is one of the major roadblock for most labels out there; focusing on reposts and likes (on Soundcloud), being popular, basically doing things just because you know there are people out there that are paying attention to you. We’re not trying to say that that’s a bad thing, but that shouldn’t be your main motivation. And we’re not interested in that, most definitely.
How do you assemble (build) your roster/line-up?
D: Very organic. First there were Kaye and I, producing as Cosa Nostra, and then the second was a good friend of mine from Paris. Oh and also, Ta-Ku was actually one of our first signee before he became big. But yeah, to answer the question, there weren’t any plans when we choose our artists; just the music we like, that’s all.
Since a large portion of people's lives are now being spent online, how has the internet played a role in developing your community?
D: It helped a lot.
M: Yeah. Soundcloud, for example, it’s where most of our followers come from. Nowadays, without the internet you can’t connect with people from all over the world.
D: This represents the digital age where digital labels are creeping in. Digital labels have more control because they relate directly to the end user. So, with DTW, Soulection and the likes, we are part of the internet culture as we are using social media and whatnot to represent our views and ideas. I think without that, it’ll never work. I came from a vinyl background and back in the days you need to send demos in black/white label vinyl by post, but that doesn’t exist anymore. It turned out to be pretty interesting for me personally, as a 30-something born in the 70s in this transitional period, seeing the younger generation having all these tools. It’s very cool.
I've seen a lot of progression in the music scene these days. There are far more interesting labels and musicians out there than there were 5 years ago. People are eager to produce their own music and embrace their uniqueness. What do you think drives people to go into that direction?
D: I think most of the people these days are doing music not for the right reason anymore; basically just doing it for the fame. That’s one negative manifestation of social media: contaminating music culture. It’s all about the latest kicks, the latest this and that. Music has become the latest tool for people nowadays to become somebody else. Then, my question would be: why are you in music then? What’s your real agenda? Now, I’m not suggesting that they are wrong, but the emphasis has changed. You see, music as a medium has shifted and some forces have changed the way people consume music as well. Journalism – online journalism being the very part of that, controlling people’s minds. It influences how you wanted to produce your music. But then again, is that the kind of music your soul is really looking for? Hard to tell.
Where do you see your project fit into the scene?
D: We are the scene (laughs). Man, we are the game.
What do you think sets you apart from these like-minded people?
D: To be honest, I don’t think any of us are consciously trying to be different from anyone else. In fact, we just want to attract like-minded energy. What’s interesting is that I can’t even define what Darker Than Wax is to myself, but when we’re in the mood of creating or DJing or communicating or making a piece of artwork, that’s when you know something else takes over you and you’re just a tool in the greater movement. And then when someone else understands, that’s very important because that’s when everything ceases to exist all at once. Sometimes you understand it and sometimes you don’t; you just don’t have to define it all the time. It’s like architecture, for example, or space and nature; you don’t know why it exists but it exists. It’s abstract.
Finally, what are your hopes for the future? (Either personal goals / hopes for the scene).
Archie (A): Keep moving man. Keep moving. That simple.
D: To participate in living as a human being, that’s it. To get better and better in what you do each day.
Prolific DJ slash videographer LeFtO has carved his name on the scene for quite some time now. His rise to prominence includes working with Brownswood Recordings and frequent touring with Gilles Peterson & co.
.One of the most sought-after selectors, LeFtO is staying true to his roots which include jazz and hip-hop, but tracks on his mixes are often not limited to that part of the spectrum, either. Ranging from future garage to afrobeat, he is one of the chosen few who can seamlessly mix Marvin Gaye and Flume, or Googoosh (who?) and Night Slugs’ signee Jam City. Long story short, you can’t really grasp how mental this guy can be unless you listen to his mixes, and don’t say I never give you the chance to. Alrighto, off you go.
Head here to listen to the gems he created and watch his footages of touring life.
Scottish poptarts popstars CHVRCHES get a majestic revamp by the queen Ikonika in this 80's inspired remix. Arpeggiated synth meets thumping bassline blended perfectly, bringing you a glimpse of disco's good old days.
kianamaiart
stormborns
annaxmalina
origamiaround
jacobvanloon
andulkaphoto
baratheonpilled