RA Podcast Folgen

Emma Blake is, musically, something of a nomad. She made her name—Solid Blake—that is, in Copenhagen, where she cofounded the influential Apeiron Crew alongside Mama Snake and Smokey. They were responsible in establishing the city's "fast techno" sound, which blended sleek techno and trance influences into something colourful and retro-futuristic. But Blake's side of things was always more rooted in electro, with a party-starting flair that you might be tempted to pin to her Glaswegian upbringing. (Her first release, Mario, came out on the label of the legendary Glasgow taps-aff basement nightclub La Cheetah.) And she's also spent time in Berlin, so she has those techno bona fides, too. Another EP, released on Modeselektor's Seilscheibenpfeiler, further fleshed out her electro-techno hybrid sound, also explored in her Historical Repeater project with Danish artist Ctrls. DJing has been her major focus, though—she has an excellent Rinse FM show—and you'll hear a refined approach on her excellent RA Podcast, which is like a club set in miniature, starting out midtempo and rushing towards a heady climax with tracks like Pariah's "Squishy Windows." It's loaded with creative grooves, toothsome textures and the kind of sleek melodies that helped define her stint in Copenhagen since the beginning. @solid_blake Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/873

Joe Delon loves music. You might think that would (or should) be self-evident in someone who DJs for a living, but the electronic music world would be a better place if everyone cared and thought as much as he did. In addition to being an increasingly in-demand DJ, he runs a stellar label, Welt Discos and moonlights as a music writer, with a beloved Substack newsletter that he usually updates twice a week. A blend of touring DJ travelogue and mix recommendations, it's a rich source of information and music from an artist with a warm, friendly voice—and perhaps more importantly, impeccable taste. It's that taste that has endeared him to many dance music fans around the world over the last few years, developing a dedicated fanbase who greet every new mix with bated breath (including, hopefully, this one). He's something of a record digger, but not in the clichéd way—he just loves to find records new and old full of melody, springy rhythms and a generally quirky, positive vibe. The music he selects often has an '80s tinge to it, even when it's not from the '80s, but it's hard to pin down what he plays, both because his sets are so unpredictable, and because it wouldn't be fair. His RA Podcast, as he explains below, is meant to sum up his last year of DJing, a carefully put together selection of favourites from 2022 (meaning records he played that year, not that came out last year). As always, it's a mix of familiar and far-flung records, mixed with Delon's breezy, unique style. Part of the reason why people have come to love his DJing so much is that it just kind of puts a smile on your face. Listen and you'll see. @joedelon Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/872

"I'm usually the first person to label Valentine's Day a commercial scam," says Kikelomo in the interview below, "however I recently realised that sharing music and connecting with people through sound is one of the ultimate expressions of love for me." When the Berlin-based DJ sent in her mix to RA, she subtitled it "All about love." It's nearly two hours of dance music that radiates warmth, positive energy and compassion, expressed through the wide, almost kaleidoscopic genre lens that Kikelomo has made her own. House, jungle, electro, hip-hop, you name it. The mix is even split into two distinct sides, like an old-school cassette mixtape. In addition to being a great and adventurous DJ, Kikelomo also started @orokoradio, a station based in Accra, that connects the Ghanaian capital—and other African cities—with the usual electronic music hotspots, and showcases homegrown talent and sounds through a platform of their own making. It's all part of her mission as a DJ to not only share music and love, but also to connect, uplift and create real community, as she also discusses below. It's not just a buzzword for Kikelomo, but a mission. @kikelomooo Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/871