No diminution of good recent stuff: it’s what I’ve spent most of the past couple weeks on. This grouping I made a while back, but coming back with fresher ears definitely helped me articulate things. You can hear four of these sets (with a link to the fifth) at this SoundCloud playlist.
DJ Misbehaviour, Surprises the Crowd with an All 45 Vinyl Set (Listening Room ATL, March 24)
The title is right—nothing that this Atlanta DJ plays during this set is remotely predictable. Even when the track that comes in is an acknowledged classic, it seems to enter from a side door. And all of it slaps so hard it hurts. Her Jamaican selections are particularly commanding, and the soca track is so cartoony and ingenious that she rewinds it. Presumably, the crowd demanded it. I would have. What a performance: It’s fun watching her nimbly nail every segue, then pick through the remaining seven-inches.
basic chanel, HVYWGHT x NLDC (05.11.25) (upl. May 7)
basic chanel, Off the Record Mix Series 63 (May 18)
Yes, her again, no apologies—this London DJ goes down specific avenues regularly and rewardingly. Her opening hour for a dubstep party last November sets the table with modest aplomb—and goes far past genre clichés even as she holds close to the beat patterns. The bass lines are the commonality; everything else is variable; all of it is playful and commanding. Her contribution to Phonica’s podcast series steps boldly to stage-front. Minimalist in the millennial-turning sense, the bass lines rugged and darting as much as tunneling, plus lots of new wavy synths and super-bright hat bursts. More to come!
Ben UFO, The Lot Radio (May 29)
Yes, I would have noticed this immediately even if I hadn’t known whose name it was attached to, because for the first twenty minutes on my first go-through, I didn’t. Better yet, seeing who it was came as a surprise. The artful decoration that Ben UFO often DJs with is laid to the side. Tightly played, loosely swinging, with a feet-first formalist build-through that keeps blossoming throughout, low-key but always moving forward. In the final quarter he plays a few wild cards, but overall, it’s Ben UFO at his most directly approachable.
Black Rave Culture, The Lot Radio (May 31)
I counted 44 tracks on the playlist that accompanies the link on the date above, directly to the Lot’s own replay page: No wonder this brick never stops shifting shape. Also, they’re from all over—historically, on the physical map, at bottom and on the top, in language. Karizma, Kelela, and an un-ID’ed “All I Can Say” are coordinates enough for me and I hope you as well. And it proved a perfect nightcap during a welcome visit from an old and dear friend.
Further listening and reading
Listening Room ATL: BC185
basic chanel: BC123, BC126, BC143, BC147, BC157, BC163, BC176
Ben UFO: BC087, BC104, BC114, BC152, BC156, BC161, BC166, BC187