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On Cue: Chrissy

San Francisco’s Chrissy sprints from house, Hi-NRG and EBM into UKG and breakbeat hardcore in his ecstatic On Cue mix, and speaks to Marke Bieschke about reviving rave’s original mission on his Hooversound album, ‘Physical Release’

Does rave need a do-over? Three decades on, some of the movement’s most ardent believers have become its fiercest critics. 
“Our scene has failed to...

Real Gang header featuring Nicolau and gang

DJ Mag sits down with brand co-founder, DJ and producer Nicolau Caldeira to chat about Real Gang, the clothing company and record label creating a forward-thinking, underground community

In 2015, Nicolau Caldeira spent a summer in Ibiza with his step brother Pete and friend Miller. With a shared synchronicity when it came to...

Grey Code

Get acquainted with Grey Code, the Metalheadz affiliated, London-based producer synthesizing new styles of drum & bass

In just over half a decade of releasing music, Grey Code has racked up an impressive catalogue. The UK producer has credits for the likes...

Soul II Soul

Soul II Soul helped give Black British music and UK club sounds a truly unique identity. Collective founder Jazzie B talks about their ground-breaking debut, ‘Fairplay’, and traces his journey from London soundsystem culture to global star with Ben Osborne

When, after a series of near misses, Jazzie B and DJ Mag finally connect, Jazzie’s in a taxi heading for a video shoot. “I’m not...

These are the most exciting amapiano producers right now

Amapiano has become a world-conquering genre since emerging in South Africa over a decade ago, with the sound mutating in recent years to solidify its place as an embedded dance music culture. Here, Shiba Melissa Mazaza asks: who are the South African artists carrying the torch for amapiano right now?
 

Amapiano (also known as ipiano or ’piano) began in the streets of Gauteng, South Africa, in the early 2010s. The now world-conquering sound is a...

The Sound Of: Me Me Me

Though a clear reflection of his taste in music, Newcastle’s Me Me Me label isn’t all about its founder, Man Power. Alongside a mix from its hard-to-define and easy-to-love catalogue, the DJ and producer tells Kristan J Caryl about the imprint’s focus on bringing artists together

“There’s nothing quite like the collapse of society to make you contemplate how self-interested you may have been,” says Man Power in the first week...

TYGAPAW: music for the revolution

TYGAPAW makes music with a message of liberation, and of working toward a world where everyone is free to be true to themselves. It also happens to be music that slams. Bruce Tantum meets the Brooklyn-based artist to learn about their long journey to get to where they are now, and the road ahead

There’s a documentary called Underplayed, released in 2020, that focuses on gender, ethnic, and sexual equality issues within the electronic music world as seen “through...

SANSIBAR

Get acquainted with Sansibar, the Helsinki producer fusing vintage rave euphoria with a futuristic edge

“I don’t like this idea of only being able to play one thing or being puritanical to a sound or scene,” says Sunny Seppä, aka...

Selections: DJ Neptune

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, Nigeria’s DJ Neptune spotlights his recent favourite Afrobeats, Afropop and amapiano tracks

Lagos’ DJ Neptune has been at the forefront of Nigeria’s music scene for over a decade. The award winning artist rose to prominence as backing...

clubbing with crowds and plants

Emerging technology, BODYHEAT, promises to make clubs more carbon neutral. Sophie Lou Wilson speaks to those behind it, the first club to trial it (SWG3 Glasgow), and others about how it works, as well as its potential and limits

Fifteen minutes’ walk from the site of the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, there’s a nightclub. SWG3 is an independent venue that has put on...

Album covers from electronic music film soundtracks

Exploring the history of cinema, Martin Guttridge-Hewitt compiles 11 landmark electronic music movie soundtracks, arranged in chronological order, each of which earned its place on sonic merit, and significance in the canon of music and movies

When Bebe and Louis Barron presented their music for Forbidden Planet, Fred Wilcox's 1956 adaptation of The Tempest, the sounds were so alien, even compared...

Nia Archives Fresh Kicks mix

Jungle and drum & bass’ breakout star Nia Archives demonstrates her electrifying sound for the Fresh Kicks mix series, and chats to Ria Hylton about her new EP, making “pres and afters” music, and inspiring young Black women to come to the rave

The lilting toplines and lo-fi-inflected sheen in Nia Archives’ ‘Headz Gone West’ began making waves in the Spring of 2020. The debut EP, which lasted...

vinyl

Manufacturing delays and other issues continue to put a strain on small and independent labels. Taiwanese press plant Mobineko has unveiled a new pressing machine specifically for short runs, aiming to reduce the global bottleneck for vinyl production. Declan McGlynn speaks to Josh Doherty about the problems facing vinyl today, how the new machine works and what impact it could have on the future of vinyl

On the surface, the good news keeps coming for vinyl. Every year, new numbers are released showing the format’s strength and resilience continues. In fact...

tiffany-calver

Tiffany Calver is redefining the role of the rap DJ. As well as helming the influential Rap Show on BBC Radio 1Xtra, she hosts club nights, runs her own label, and DJs for superstars. But, as she reveals to Christine Ochefu, her journey to the top hasn’t always been easy

When Tiffany Calver was a child, her mother made sure she knew exactly who she was. “It was a standard in my house; my mum...

11 emerging artists you need to hear this February

The latest and greatest DJs and producers rising to the top this month. From stomping techno and jazzy breaks to experimental reggaetón and melodic house, here's February 2022's list of upcoming talent you should be keeping track of

South-East London DJ and vocalist Ell Murphy has been making waves with her multi-genre mixes and releases. Behind the decks, she combines both disciplines to...

Selections: Wayward

In this series, Selections, we invite DJs, producers and label heads to dig into their digital crates and share the contents of their Bandcamp collections. This week, Wayward spotlight cutting edge electronic and club sounds from around the world

Wayward have their finger on the pulse. The UK duo, who’ve made their name over the past decade with their luminous club productions, DJ sets...

Album of the Month: Huerco S. ‘Plonk’

Huerco S. returns to Incienso with a landmark album of strange, cascading beats inspired by trap, drill and a childhood love of cars

You probably think of Huerco S. as an ambient artist, reluctant poster child of the mid-2010s ambient resurgence. His 2016 album ‘For Those Of You...

Kings Of Tomorrow

A soulful house classic, Kings Of Tomorrow’s ‘Finally’ appealed across the board thanks to its universal lyric and hopeful message. Kristan J Caryl talks to vocalist Julie McKnight, co-producer Jay Sealee, Defected’s Simon Dunmore and Bushwacka about its evergreen appeal

“I was visiting my cousin Jay,” remembers Julie McKnight of one special night in a New Jersey living room 20 years ago. “Sandy, the other...

Debit

On her new album for Modern Love, Mexican-American producer, DJ and audio engineer Delia Beatriz, aka Debit, combines ancient Mayan wind instruments with machine learning. Ahead of its release, she records a “pre-hispanic to post/transhispanic ambient mix” for the Recognise series, and speaks to Eoin Murray about DJing for Azaelia Banks, her desire to contribute to the canon of electronic music, and making ambient music that goes beyond “beautiful”

Delia Beatriz stands at a unique intersection in electronic music. As Debit, the Monterrey, Mexico-born, New York-based producer, DJ, audio engineer and live artist has...

DJ Couza

Get to know Bloemfontein, South Africa's DJ Couza, the DJ and producer fusing deep house with indigenous African sounds

We’ve said it many times in these pages, but it bears repeating — some of the most soul-stirring house music around is coming out of...