Best Mixes from May 2016

It’s music listening time! This month’s selection includes a wide variety of beautiful, melodic sets Dubspeeka, Iron Curtis, Kollektiv Turmstrasse, Andre Hommen, Timelapse, Cubicolor, Dorisburg, Traumprinz, Fur Coat, John Talabot, Kim Brown, Lee Burridge, Robo X, Ata and Gerd Janson, Krink, Fatima Yamaha, Baikal, Paul Twin, Denis Horvat and Rosas Nievas. Mixes are listed in no particular order.

John Talabot – Signal Hills #87

Hivern Discs record label boss, fantastic DJ and inspiring producer, John Talabot, has been one of our favorite producers for years. No matter if it’s his edit, remix or original production, John Talabot sets standards and inspires producers around the world with each release. This is the live recording of his set and it’s John Talabot at his best. Catchy arpeggios, groovy percussions and sampled haunting vocals are dominant elements in this mix. This magnificent mix has been on repeat in Fiction Lab and it will be amongst your favorites as well.

Paul Twin – TM089

The Netherlands is a never ending source of electronic music talents and Paul Lodder, a.k.a Paul Twin, is no exception. His very first EP, ‘White Island’, which was released on the Dutch label Nous’klaer Audio earlier this year, gained a lot of attention from fans, DJs and producers around the world. Paul was invited by the Toekomstmuziek Radioshow in Amsterdam to do an exclusive mix, and he made this masterpiece. The mix is an almost 2-hour journey, and it captures the listener from the first beat of opening track, Ben Frost’s – Peter Venkman. It contains some old, fresh and unreleased stuff from Nous’klaer Audio label as well as some amazing edits by Paul himself. This is one of those masterfully crafted unique mixes that you’ll listen again in couple of years and still love it. 

Dorisburg - at Under Bron, Stockholm 03.18.2016

The super talented producer from Sweden, Alexander Berg, better known as Dorisburg, is one of our favorite producers at the moment. His beautifully crafted unique production shows that there is still so room for creativity and originality in electronic music. Dorisburg has released on labels such as Aniara records and Hivern Discs. This is a live recording of his DJ set at the Swedish nightclub Under Bron. This incredibly hypnotic, percussion driven mix, will explore house music from deep and dreamy to melodic and acid.

Traumprinz – Live at Planet Uterus

Mysterious German producer Traumprinz who also releases his music under DJ Metatron and Prince of Denmark monikers is one of the most respectable names in the underground electronic music scene. His productions range from downtempo to break-beat to hard techno, with a special attention to details and very unique organic sound.  It’s the second year in a row Traumprinz makes a mix as a part of the ‘Live at Planet Uterus’ series. Last year he did it under the moniker Prince of Denmark and it was a beautiful dark and minimal techno journey that ended in a dreamy ambient melodies. This year his ‘Live at Planet Uterus’ mix is a deep, intricate and groovy house mix that will be on repeat for days. 

Ata vs. Gerd Janson - live at Robert Johnson

Ata is a DJ and owner of one the best night clubs in the world, Robert Johnson. He joined forces with the legendary Gerd Janson, Running Back record label boss, for this marathon b2b set which is actually only one part of their all night session that happened on May 14th at Robert Johnson. This mix contains Italo-disco, disco-house, deep house and techno in its best. The only thing we can say is – we wish we were there!  

Dubspeeka – iDJ

Darren Beale, better known as Dubspeeka, is a Bristol based producer and DJ who gained respect from his peers with impressive releases on labels such as Drumcode, Last Night on Earth, Bedrock and his very own Skeleton imprint, to name just a few. Dubspeeka is not a stranger in the international music industry. He was one of the members and producers of the band Kosheen, that had multiple international hits and was responsible for two Gold selling albums. His style is best described as mature, well-polished techno. This mix for British fashion magazine i-D is no exception. Perfect flow and tracks from techno giants such as Ripperton, Scuba, Rod and the man himself – Dubspeeka, make this mix a must listen for all techno lovers.

Iron Curtis - Too Fast For Love

Berlin based producer and DJ, Iron Curtis, is known for his unique blend of soulful house and organic techno. Having releases on some of the most respectable underground labels such as Mule Electronic and Smallville, his original production became a staple for many underground DJ’s around the world. 
This mix is a live recording from his set at ‘Too Fast For Love’ party in Mainz in mid April. Enjoy truly uplifting house music throughout this 2hrs mix.

Kollektiv Turmstrasse – Diynamic Festival Podcast

Christian Hilscher and Nico Plagemann, duo from Hamburg, a.k.a Kollektiv Turmstrasse, have been known across the globe for their talent to produce crowd-pleasing tunes that are played by the biggest names in the industry. Their original productions and remixes have been released on labels such as Diynamic, Connaisseur, Poker Flat and Get Physical, to name a few. They also run a very successful label called Musik Gewint Freunde, where they concentrate on a beautiful, deep electronic music. This mix was recorded as promo material for the Diynamic festival that took place in Amsterdam. Perfectly mixed with some of the hottest tracks at this moment, this mesmerizing mix will be your great companion during warm summer days.

Lee Burridge – Essential mix

Lee Burridge is a true icon in the electronic music scene. Having his Tyrant residency in early 2000s at the infamous London club, Fabric, alongside Craig Richards who helped him build a reputation as one of the best DJs in the world. At that time his style was darker and more progressive from what came years after, when he teamed up with Matthew Dekay and started All Day I Dream parties along with the record label of the same name. Nowadays ADID style is connected with deep, dreamy and positive melodies. For the Essential Mix series, Lee made a mix that is a perfect presentation of ADID style. It’s a coloured hypnotic journey with dreamy melodies that will leave a smile on your face and the desire to listen to it again and again. This is what Lee Burridge said about creative process of this mix: “My essential mix was created with a sunrise set on the robot heart bus in mind out at Burning man, 2015. I played the actual set at BM pretty much the same time this mix was broadcast on Radio one. I don't usually plan mixes out but for this one special occasion I purposely created a similar flow and some of the mixes featured here. “

Denis Horvat – Muting the noise

With each new release Denis Horvat proves his undeniable talent to produce dark, edgy and groovy techno. Being supported by the majority of industry leading DJs, Denis’ career skyrocketed in the past few years. His DJ style is not much different from his production and this mix shows why. It’s a dark, mind-bending journey with haunting synths and mesmerizing melodies. It was made as part of the Muting the Noise series to celebrate his latest release, ‘In Herz’, on the MTN label, which was a huge success and it’s still banging dance floors around the world. 

Baikal – DHA mixtape #210

Mark August, a.k.a Baikal, is one of the Maeve label bosses, a record label that is a true taste maker in underground electronic music scene. His latest release ‘Pelican’s Flight’ came out almost three years after his last release and it was worth waiting for. ‘Pelican’s Flight’ has been demolishing dance floors around the world without pardon. In the light of the release, Baikal made a podcast for the popular electronic music blog Deep House Amsterdam. It’s a powerful mix - as powerful as Baikal’s latest release. It’s rich with many layers and different elements which, when properly combined, create a feeling that you are in some kind of mighty engine that never will stop.  

Krink – Live at Kater blau, May 2016

Usual suspect in our blog, Krink, delivers one hell of a mix recorded live in Berlin’s infamous club Kater Blau. Krink’s ability to transform his live sets is unbelievable. We had an opportunity to hear Krink playing his live set few months ago in Berlin at Ritter Butzke, and it was a much slower and mellower set perfectly fitting into the whole vibe of the night. This time Phillipp Krink brings much more energy into his set - one hour of groovy, mind-bending techno. One more time Krink proves that future is a very bright for this talented producer.

Kim Brown - Electronic Beats in Air Flux FM

Ji-Hun Kim and Julian Braun, better known as Kim Brown, are a German duo who produce beautiful, easy listening, deep house. In April of this year, Kim Brown released their second album called ‘Wisdom is a Dancer’,  via Berlin record label Just Another Beat, which was also home to their first album release back in 2013. The mix that they made for the German radio station Flux FM takes the listener to all corners of deep house territory, from catchy vocals to haunting bass lines. Enjoy this pure one-hour joy ride of stunning music.

Track list: 
1. Gold Panda – Pink And Green
2. Mr. Fingers – Nodyahead
3. thatmanmonkz – Boogie Down ft. Erik Rico (Laurence Guy Remix)
4. Sam Irl – Brothers
5. Lawrence – Clouds And Arrows
6. Rudolf C – Chez (Jacob Korn Remix)
7. Trevino – La View
8. Area Forty_One – Voyage
9. Kim Brown – Gated Communities
10. Midland – Outpost
11. Von Spar – Breaking Formation (Axel Boman Remix)

Andre Hommen – The Sound of Connaisseur #38

The weekly radio show ‘The Sound of Connaisseur’ on Ibiza Global Radio hosts some of the most popular and in-demand DJ’s at the moment. This time they have an incredibly talented German producer and DJ Andre Hommen as their guest.  Andre has been producing electronic music for years but he made a breakthrough in 2014 with his super popular remix of Ane Brun – To Let Myself Go, followed by outstanding releases on Poker Flat and Objektivity in 2015. With this mix Andre demonstrates to its listeners that he’s equally as talented as a DJ as he is as producer. Get ready for some heavy weight hits by Clavis, Lord Of The Isles, Denis Horvat, Manuel Tur, Musumeci, DJ Koze and many others.

Cubicolor – DHA mixtape #206

Cubicolor is a producer coming from Netherlands,who caught attention of listeners across the globe with his single ‘Falling’, released via Edu Imbernon’s label Fayer. 
His latest release ‘Mirror Play’ via London-based label Anjunadeep has also proved that there’s a bright future in front of this incredibly talented producer.  Cubicolor’s debut album is set to be released later in 2016. This mix is a laid back genre-spanning journey that will be enjoyable company during hot summer days.

Fur Coat – Fabric Promo mix

From the moment they showed up on electronic music scene, Fur Coat has been notorious for their energetic, peak-time production. One of the first to recognize their talent was Crosstown Rebel boss Damian Lazarus, for whom they released multiple EPs. Fur Coat also released on labels such as Bpitch Control, Hot Creation and Last Night on Earth. This hour long mix was recorded as promo material for Fur Coat’s gig in the infamous London’s nightclub Fabric. It is filled with a stunning dance floor hits and represents a true peak time club set. 

Rosas Nievas – S&T podcast

One of the most original record labels in NY, Scissor and Thread, brings Rosas Nieves, a.k.a Arnaldo, for their latest S&T podcast. Rosas Nievas released records under the moniker Arnaldo for labels such as Smalville and Until My Heart Stops, and is recognizable by his mesmerizing, warm, organic deep house sound. His style perfectly fits into the Scissor & Thread catalog and it’s no wonder why label bosses Francis Harris and Anthony Collins decided to release Arnaldo’s new record named ‘Going Away Soon’ on their imprint. This podcast is Rosas’ live performance and it’s exactly what you can expect when it comes from Scissor and Thread – quality, and authentic, inimitable style.

Fatima Yamaha – Beats in Space #834

Fatima Yamaha (real name Bas Bron) is another talent hailing from the Netherlands. His track, ‘What’s a girl to do’, originally released in 2004, gained deserved recognition more than 10 years later after it was heavily played by Innervisions boss Dixon. Fatima’s career went uphill from there. His unique style of down-tempo house and analog sound captivated fans worldwide. While he was in NYC, he visited Tim Sweeney’s Beats in Space show and brought us a beautiful, unique one-hour live performance. 

Robo X – Utopia podcast

Hailing from Singapore, founder of the Love.Play radio show and Karotz clothing line, Robo X is one of the names to keep an eye on. Influenced by industry heavy weights such as Innervisions and Maeve, his style ranges from deeply emotive house to brooding acid techno. This podcast includes some of the biggest tracks at the moment: Patrice Baumel – Surge, Trikk – Proto and Rhyt, Aera – Running Hot,  just to name a few. 

Timelapse – Deep Klassified podcast 42

Italian Berlin-based duo, Timelapse, is a fairly new project from Antonio Del Prete and Pierluigi Velotto. Even though they started producing music under the moniker Timelapse in 2014, they already have releases on respectable labels such as Liebe Detail and Last Night on Earth.  This podcast was made for Dutch promoting team Deep Klassified and represents Timelapse’s style in their best – deep and beautifully melodic house.