Reclaim Your City

Boss of Madrid’s seminal imprint Semantica, Spanish DJ and producer Svreca steps in the series with a monster two-hour jaunt into his multi-faceted techno headspace. As ever busy pushing the club sound’s envelope with great loads of heavyweight kicks and trenchant snares, Svreca has us all kitted out for a breathtaking dive into gravityless territories and cragged moonscapes. Flush with hair-raising momenti, unsuspected plot twists and climactic rollercoasting, his mix shifts the focus constantly betwixt textural magnification and rhythm-enslaved abandon, having you wading into the instant’s XTC to most mesmeric effect. A rough, Indus-minded masterclass from one of the finest to ever do it. Rampage mode on. 

A gifted, sure-handed groove manipulator, Alienata has been carving out a niche for herself as one of the scene’s most reliable DJs in both actual floor impact and mixing skillset. Also curating the ever consistent Discos Atónicos, which she founded in 2017, she keeps on delivering sets that combine a wide array of styles, from dark disco to acid, through D-town electro, industrial and IDM outbursts with equal poise and gusto, time and again. Expert in chiselled transitions and pristine track selections, the Spanish born DJ builds her mixes like one creates mosaics, building a cohesive whole out of disparate rhythmic elements and tempi, while she snaps ankles and flips brains by the dozen along the way. Yet another faultless mix from a DJ whose palette and perspective here surface in all their abrasive, unadulterated glory. Jet propulsion activated. 

Championing a sound both rugged and trance-inducing, Porto-based Brazilian producer Marcal clocks in this week with two hours blending future-proof warehouse rave material and claustrophobic 4x4 maneuvers. Hot on the heels of his latest ’Nature of the Future’ EP on Donato Dozzy and Neel’s imprint Spazio Disponibile, Marcal takes us on a mind-bending ride down raucous sine-scapes and brooding, verbed-out atmospheres, constantly pushing the envelope of techno as can be experienced these days. Resuming its course as a means for transcending our (currently much gloomy) zeitgeist, techno here gets back on its revolution-friendly tracks, finding its second breath as a metamorphic tool for blazing new paths and routes towards a better, more intelligently designed world. There goes a mix that summons the very finest of Marcal’s boundary-pushing vision and killer knack for crafting memorable and emancipatory floor narratives. Brace yourselves. 

Paris-via-Berlin based DJ and producer Arkan onboards the series this week with two hours fully embracing his deep, hypnosis-inducing mindset and definite knack for shaping streamlined floor narratives. Responsible for a handful surgical transmissions on the likes of Figure and SK_Eleven, in addition to running his own imprints Autonome and Drawner, the French artist keeps carving out a niche for himself at the junction of purely pragmatic, gravity-defying grooves and a certain orientation for experimental-leaning submersion, tailored to maintain techno's intrinsic relevancy and boundary-pushing character when so much material feels stuck in the emulative loop and not caring one bit to opt out the lame-ass continuum. One to keep the adrenaline rushing badman-style, and all brains in the room just as duly, unflinchingly stimulated. 

Amsterdam's one and only Deniro returns to the series with a two-hour treat spanning his fast-paced, hi-res techno headspace. Up with the cutting-edge wares and laser-focussed grooves, the TAPE Records co-founder and RYC alum has us drifting across hi-tech machine funk scapes and jagged analogue reliefs, constantly in search for the next mind-expanding thrill. Known for his impeccably chiselled signature cuts blending the finest of future-facing techno with an experimental-leaning approach to production, Deniro turns in a monster transmission, rife with the hypnotic hoodoo and typically entrancing buildups that've made him the surefire agent of techno he is today. A gigantic ride packed with climactic eargasms and unsuspected cliff-hangers. Lock in, zone out. 

Wrapping up July with a ballistic transmission, Berghain and Khidi resident Hayden Payne aka Phase Fatale punches in with two hours of genre-busting material, ebbing and flowing between surgical rhythmic assault and shape-shifting oneirism. Responsible for a handful of memorable platters on the likes of OSTGUT TON, Jealous God and his own imprint, BITE, Payne delivers a masterclass in laser-like DJing and ambient-scaping, pushing back the limits of techno as a vessel for emotional introspection and wordless communication. Taking us on a captivating ride across slow-evolving, finessed sonic reliefs, mind-expanding grooves and machine-told musings of the soul, Phase Fatale dazzles and subjugates. True to his ever high-flying standards and impeccable touch, a mix that shall leave you gobsmacked. Don’t sleep. 

Local player Mitchel Polderman alias Stranger steps in the RYC mix series with a two-hour pumper of a set epitomizing the very trademark character of his productions: hard-hitting, dynamic, unfaltering. Trading heavyweight floor-busters via his own labels Self Reflektion, Paling Trax and Perspektiv, or through the likes of Monnom Black or Clergy, Stranger has cemented his reputation as a surefire big-room puncher, serving up frantic, utilitarian peak time grooves and hi-impact warehouse ordnance like one goes for a walk in the park. Expertly mixed and proper XTC-inducing, Stranger’s mix vouches for the mad sound quality flowing in the veins of our beloved city. Reclaim. 

Boss of the seminal Belgian techno imprint, Token, and absolute legend of the game, Kr!z returns to the series with a propulsive monster of a mix, ready to take you into the zone, halfway some demented inward dive and trance-inducing dance floor occultism. Boasting the kind of corrosive punch and textural maestria that’ve come to define his style, both elegant and tendinous, Kr!z dishes out a mind-altering treat of a sonic journey, packed to the rafters with spine-tingling climaxes and chiselled crescendos. As the true master of the craft he is, Kr!z unfolds his narrative like a sonic origami of sorts, preserving each twist and turn from easy spoiling and maintaining the kind of tension throughout that keeps you craving for that next bar like some mystic revelation. Thrilling as it gets. 

Co-founder of Manchester’s infamous Rhythm Theory parties, A.Morgan lands his inaugural mix for RYC, showcasing both the breadth of his style and clinicality of his mixing skillset. Fresh off the release of his five-tracker, ‘Hyper Tension’, Morgan onboards the series with two hours of no-nonsense floor-destroying wares, stripped-down 4x4 aerobatics and epic-sized buildups. Muscular and mind-expanding, brace yourself for a set at the junction of proper hi-tech grit and heavily verbed-out grooves, merging the finest of classic 909-fuelled pound with atmospheric abandon and tape-delayed psychedelia. Blast this one out loud, all windows opened and woofers set to eleven. 

Over the past few years, German DJ Marie Montexier has built and cemented her reputation as one of the finest groove merchants around, gracing the stages of the most highly-regarded clubs and festivals out there including Berghain, Fabric, De School and more. Her eclectic selections tap into the broadest spectrum of rhythms and influences, from tribal-informed electronics to straight out surgical indus-minded payload onto breaksy delicacies, propulsive house NRG and jagged funk from outer-space. Highly infectious, here goes an all vinyl mix fusing wild dynamics with deadeye DJing accuracy, oozing unclouded raving joy and out-and-out confidence. A no-miss delivery from a DJ in full possession of her art. 

True to their deep, widescreen approach to both production and live-performing, Parisian outfit Atomic Moog clock in with a helluva sleek and lushly relief’d mix, recorded on the occasion of their latest live performance at Outre Bleu on March 29. Through their releases for the likes of Delsin, Appian, Lowless or Monument, the French duo has been carving a niche for itself at the fringes of the dubbed-out techno tradition and abstract-leaning experimentality. This two-hour jaunt into their reverb and delay-heavy imaginarium has us moving across narrow corridors and cathedral-large spaces by turn, exploring the concept of spatialization in dance music under a new, boundary-pushing light. Through focal-shifting jumps between acid-drenched beds of rippling analogue sine waves and sizzling machine circuitry, the constant angle shifts from macro to micro tell a tale of vibrant sound research, not quite picking a side between the dance floor’s sense of purpose and genre-unbound, creative unintentionality. 

Throughout the years, Detroit-born Berlin-based groove operator and Tresor / Globus resident Eric Cloutier has been honing and refining his palette as both a producer and a DJ. Not one to engage in dogmatic restraint, Cloutier keeps developing his vision through carefully curated selections and an equally impeccable mixing technique. Boasting the variety and precision of his releases for his own imprint Palinoia, the present mix was recorded live at The Chinese Laundry in Sydney last year. Playing the main room open-to-close, Cloutier put together this mix as an evolving story and, much like the crowd of that night which proved highly receptive to the narrative, we hope this one will resonate with you. A most exquisitely complex and deep-diving plunge into Cloutier’s shape-shifting headspace, alternating heavyweight punch and dubbed-out minimalism with swashes of textured membranes and faux-organic, modular-like intricacies, this mix is as elusively impossible to pigeonhole as it proves sophisticated in its design. 

Berlin-based French DJ and producer Perfo is our guest this week with a special two-hour round of cross-pollinated salvos and anti-normative grooves. Having made a name for himself through a string of releases for key imprints including MORD, 47 or Hayes Collective, Perfo serves up a masterly executed set spanning the breadth of his adventurous scope and clinical skillset. From faux-tribal polyrhythmic evocations to future-facing hi-tech stunts, through nods to heavy-lidded machine funk and the Detroit sound's trademark blend of rough-hewn firepower and ebullient sensuality. Serious number. 

Right on cue to support the release of his newest EP on SK_eleven, here comes Manchester via Berlin's own Setaoc Mass with a banger of a mix to break June in proper, pedal to the metal. Exponent of a sound both intrinsically rugged yet layered to mind-altering effect, the British producer has been dishing out unstoppable slices of hi-velocity techno laced with a signature stripped-back, psychedelic edge. This new RYC podcast doesn’t veer off from such a direction and we’re graced with a two-hour mind trip boasting both bass-driven warehouse impact and an elegantly-woven tapestry of abrasive grooves, leaning by turn towards atmospheric elation and on other occasions pushing in the direction of utter fibrous, steel-coated industrial pound. The result is a wilder than wild ride down a smouldering pit of acid-washed hard hitters. Brutal. 

Ghent-based DJ and Fuse resident Marie-Julie is our guest this week with the killer delivery. Merging future-facing, hi-tech abstraction with a sixth sense for those inescapable rhythms and a wonky, off-kilter sonic engineering, Marie-Julie entices us down the path of complete mind-alteration. Constantly shifting gears, her vinyl blends run the gamut from dystopian murk to ankle-snapping old skool breaks, through lysergic psychedelia and chromatic dubs a la Basic Channel, without ever losing in cohesion or attention to detail. Do not resist, but just let this mad whorl of sound grab you and fling you into an entirely uncharted, demented zone of its own. 

A well-known alum of acclaimed record labels such as Hayes, Klockworks, Fuse, Blueprint, Soma et al., Lisbon-based DJ and producer Temudo clocks in with a mix showcasing the breadth of his vista and smooth mixing skillset. Up with a choice selection of unbending warehouse percussion, laser-guided dubs and further esoteric mind-expanders, Temudo reels off a magnetic field of hi-velocity grooves, brutalist analogue bursts and cutting-edge sound design. Swinging the pendulum between straight out heavyweight, 909-fuelled barrage fire and heavily processed electronics on a mission, here’s a mix for those in search of both thrilling floor jack and superior groove know-how. Monster treat. 

French-born, Tbilisi-based Ina Kacz is a DJ and producer whose vision far exceeds the limitations of a genre, including one as multi-faceted as techno. Her shape-shifting sets span a wide spectrum of styles and sub-divisions, flourishing somewhere at the junction of acid-drenched cycloramas, chiselled ambient breaks, twilight dubs and chrome-coated industrialism. With her exquisitely fine touch and impeccable understanding of the groove, the French artist pulls out a two-hour jaunt into her pulsating headspace, packed to the rafters with streamlined style collision, inch-perfectly engineered plot twists and hair-raising momentums. 

A true driving force both within and beyond the South-American techno ecosystem, Zisko graces us with two hours of clinically laid down big-room punch and genre-unbound, off-kilter rhythms on steroid. Championing a sound both highly intense and surgically precise, the Argentinian DJ and producer has us surfing a rogue wave of frenzied analogue funk, sci-fi-informed industrial pound and proto-electroid impulsions. Not one for the faint-hearted, Zisko’s mix is galloping techno at its most eruptively driving and merciless, bound for heavy-duty, mid-set apexes and hi-impact mosh pits down the basement. Total smasher beware, this one’s cut from the heaviest alloy. 

Taking over the RYC waves this week, Tokyo’s finest Mari Sakurai punches in with a helluva 2-hour treat by way of introduction. Working her way in the gap betwixt post-industrial opacity and heavy-duty brutalism, Mari has been slowly but surely making a name for herself with uncompromising sets spanning everything from cool-handed big room pound to mazy abstraction and other bursts of mind-altering sonics from way deep. Known for cutting a path of destruction with every of her mixes, her RYC offering doesn’t depart from such intentions, and we’re invited to a smorgasbord of claustrophobic hi-tech onslaughts and a string of purely exhilarating, apex-seeking momentums. Hi-voltage shockwave due for impact imminently. 

Six-time turntablism champ turned sleek tech groove-provider, Japanese DJ and producer DJ HI-C has had many lives before settling as a merchant of stripped-back, zen-like ambiences and mesmeric club rhythms. Elegant and dynamic, his productions sit halfway deeply organic, atmospheric blends and a further steely, hi-velocity strain of techno. Mind-bending by nature, his mixes open a wide window into a pulsating headspace, rife with ebullient bass drive and obsessive loops, constantly pushing the envelope of danceable material as we know it. Tailored to emphasize the impact of a limited number of components rather than drowning his listener under an avalanche of sonic stimuli, HI-C unleashes a storm of painstakingly textured layers and ripping melodic stabs. Bringing together minimalism with soul is an art, and HI-C is an absolute master at that.