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Scott Garcia 'A London Thing' artwork

UK garage pioneer Scott Garcia released ‘A London Thing’ in 1997 as a kind of signature track for the burgeoning scene. For this month's Game Changer, Rob McCallum speaks to the DJ/producer to learn the story of an enduring UKG anthem
 

When Scott Garcia's ‘A London Thing’ was released in November 1997, it shot an arrow through the heart of a generation of clubbers in the...

Map of Gauteng province in South Africa, with photos of interviewees inside, all on a yellow stylised backdrop

South Africa's love for house music flourished in the early ’90s as the Apartheid era ended, pushed primarily by DJs in and around Johannesburg and Pretoria. Now, it's a focal point, filled with local styles and stars. Martin Guttridge-Hewitt heads to Gauteng to learn the story of the scene’s origins, and the risks its pioneers took to pave the way for its thriving industry today

It’s sometime after 11pm on a warm December night when DJ Mag meets Vinny Da Vinci. An understated guy, this giant of South Africa’s club...

The Sound Of: The North Quarter

Launched in 2016, Amsterdam-based imprint The North Quarter has become a key platform for soulful drum & bass and beyond. Alongside a mix from its catalogue, founder Lenzman speaks to Ben Murphy about surprising listeners, originality, and the guiding principle of sharing the music he loves

“I feel like, with artists, if I discover someone new, the most important thing for me isn’t if they already have a fanbase or if...

DJ Mag’s rap artists to watch in 2023

Introducing the MCs, DJs and producers set to make an impact on the global rap scene in 2023. From voices that can move between dancehall and drill, and those challenging industry shortcomings, to a DJ mixing hip-hop and R&B with amapiano, and producers pushing localised hip-hop sounds into the future, these are the artists daring to be different and set to make the global rap scene theirs this year

One of the UK’s most promising and versatile MCs, Cristale has proven herself across dancehall, drill and jungle, spitting fire one minute before going deep...

Get To Know: Toumba

Get acquainted with Toumba, the Jordanian producer merging cutting-edge machine drums and heavy bass with the melodies and percussive rhythms of the Levant

From the kuduro of Angola to the cumbia of Colombia, the singeli of Tanzania to the mahraganat of Egypt, rhythms from across the world have...

Selections: Identified Patient

In this series, Selections, we invite DJs, producers and label heads to dig into their digital crates and share the contents of their collections. This week, Identified Patient dives into murky percussion, eerie acid breaks, dark psychedelic trance, and more

One of the first things you hear in ‘Elevator Music for Headbangers’, the inaugural EP from Identified Patient on his newly minted Nerve Collect label...

Orbital: on and on

Orbital’s 10th album, ‘Optical Delusion’, explores division, discontent and dislocation, but equally celebrates collective rave euphoria. Joe Roberts speaks to the Hartnoll brothers about writing the record in lockdown, the enduring live evolution of 'Chime', co-opting pop, and more

“When’s the zombie apocalypse coming?” jokes Paul Hartnoll, one half of Orbital, as we’re chatting over Zoom about the run of events leading up to...

WHIPPED CREAM

Ever since a sudden and unexpected change in career trajectory, Caroline Cecil’s full focus has been on music. That has paid off: While working as WHIPPED CREAM, she’s managed to climb to electronic music’s top rungs in just a few short years. With the release of the new ‘Someone You Can Count On’, along with a journey toward self-discovery, she’s entered what feels like a new phase in her life

Caroline Cecil tends to speak with a near stream-of-consciousness cascade of positivity. She buzzes with wonderment and joy, surprised at where her life has taken...

On Cue: R3LL

Part of Jersey club’s second wave, R3LL has taken the sound to the world’s biggest stages without losing touch with his roots. Alongside a blazing mix, he speaks to James Gui about Brick Bandits, bringing legends to play in LA, and pushing future stars of Jersey club at home and abroad

Terrell Griffith is all smiles. The second-generation Jersey club pioneer known as R3LL admits to squeezing in a game of NBA 2K to settle pre-Zoom...

Get To Know: AAA

Get acquainted with AAA, the East London selector and No Signal resident with a penchant for polished transitions and stunningly varied selections

The phrase ‘triple A’, long associated with ‘access all areas’, has taken on a different meaning, co-opted by an East Londoner with a penchant for...

Selections: Sicaria

In this series, Selections, we invite DJs, producers and label heads to dig into their digital crates and share the contents of their collections. This week, Sicaria spotlights system-shaking sub-bass and percussion from the wide 140 sphere

As one half of Sicaria Sound, Lou Nour’s specialisms in system-shaking sub-bass and rumbling rhythms around 140 BPM have been well-honed over the past six...

Kiss Nuka

After years spent as an established pop artist, Goa's Kiss Nuka devoted her life to underground electronic music, and has never looked back. She tells Tara Joshi about making music on her own terms, her commitment to activism, and celebrating feminine energy

When Kiss Nuka’s face appears on the screen of our video call, it is covered in tattoos. Not in a SoundCloud rapper way: these are...

Album of the Month: Kelela ‘Raven’

Flitting between the sweat of the dancefloor and the fog of the chillout room, Kelela’s latest album for Warp channels Drexciyan mythology and modern rave sonics into an aural manifesto of aquatic Afrofuturism

Six years after her monumental debut LP ‘Take Me Apart’, Kelela’s voice hits as it always does, in whispery, diaphanous textures that carry an impossible...

Urban Tribe

Urban Tribe, aka Sherard Ingram (DJ Stingray 313), released 'The Collapse Of Modern Culture' in 1998. Enlisting a host of Motor City legends and stepping outside the restraints of tempo and genre, Ingram created a slice of future-proof ambience. Here, Jack Anderson explores the largely under-the-radar LP

Released in 1998, Urban Tribe’s ‘The Collapse Of Modern Culture’ stepped outside of tempo and genre. A communal work helmed by Sherard Ingram (aka DJ...

Fresh Kicks 194: Kiernan Laveaux

Kiernan Laveaux records a mix of psychedelic rave magic for the Fresh Kicks series, and speaks to Eoin Murray about Cleveland’s queer club community, T4T LUV NRG, empowering others through music, and being a ‘house is a feeling’ DJ above all

It's Sunday night at Freerotation 2022 and, after three days of raving at the intimate festival in Wales' Baskerville Hall, energies are wavy, and starting...

Saoirse: body mover

A lifelong raver, Saoirse has grown into a dance music multi-hyphenate: a revered DJ, flourishing producer, label boss, and a unifier of LGBTQ+ collectives through her Body Movements festival. She speaks to Anna Cafolla about her long journey of musical and self-discovery, the challenges she's faced along the way, and her vision for queer art

It’s 2am on Boxing Day in Belfast’s Ulster Sports Club. Bouncers are funnelling the crowd out so quickly that several iPhones are still being held...

12 emerging artists you need to hear: February 2023

The latest and greatest DJs and producers rising to the top this month. From vibrant techno and futurist tech-step to classy house, lush field recordings and more, here’s February 2023’s list of upcoming talent you should be keeping track of

WAAW are a London-based DJ duo — literal twins, best represented by a palindrome that screams “WOW!” — whose global club sound curation is both...

Selections: Holly Lester

In this series, Selections, we invite DJs, producers and label heads to dig into their digital crates and share the contents of their collections. This week, Holly Lester highlights house gems for all occasions

Northern Irish DJ Holly Lester’s devotion to house music has made her something of a hero in her local scene. Behind the decks, she runs...

Recognise: Mandidextrous

Mandidextrous electrified the drum & bass scene in 2022 with their turbo-charged speed bass sound, but their story as a pioneering producer and queer figurehead goes back much further. Alongside a thrilling mix for the Recognise series, they speak to Ben Hindle about finding a home in the free party scene, being an EQ50 mentee, and working hard while having fun

To put it plainly, Mandidextrous tracks bang. By their own admission, the Bristol-based DJ and producer has little room for “chill” in their music, and...

watergate header

Berlin's Watergate club has played a crucial part in the city's clubbing history, and was formative in the journeys of DJs including Anja Schneider, Dixon and Solomun. Ria Hylton meets some of the club’s founders and residents to hear the secrets of its success

Tucked away on the southside of the Oberbaumbrücke, at the foot of a bridge that used to straddle a once divided city, lies Watergate. It’s...