Features

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, DJ Perception dives into his record bag for deep cut garage gems

Tbilisi, Georgia's Gacha Bakradze has spent a decade refining his signature sound, weaving emotive electronic melodies and guitar lines through skittering techno and IDM beats. He's also co-founder of the renowned Left Bank club and community space, which celebrates its second official anniversary next month with the launch of a new label and compilation. Here, alongside his club-tuned, three-deck On Cue mix, he speaks to Eoin Murray about how family life and running a venue has changed his relationship with music, his background in bands, and his community-driven vision for Left Bank

Emerging technology has left the DAW at a crossroads. A combination of legacy code, compatibility restrictions and a user base who expect their favourite tools to remain familiar has left music-making software lacking innovation. As the pandemic, cloud-computing and generative AI shift expectations of how music-making tools should look and feel, Declan McGlynn asks: will the DAW adapt or die?

Deborah De Luca has risen out of her home city of Naples in Italy to become a in-demand international headliner. She’s been one of the main DJs at premium White Isle club Amnesia this summer, and here she talks to DJ Mag Ibiza about her love for her home city, her incredible fondness for dogs, body image issues, and how long she might remain in the DJ game

Fatima Hajji chats to DJ Mag Ibiza about the secret to a long career, her favourite spots on the island, and the making of her upcoming album

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, Paurro spotlights all-time favourites and meaningful tracks from throughout her life, from pop and dance anthems to blissful electronica

Melding psychedelic house, trance and techno with crackly charm, Naarm's  Butter Sessions imprint is raising the heat on dancefloors across Australia and beyond. Alongside a mix of tracks from its catalogue, Anisha Khemlani speaks to founders Sleep D about their community-building approach

Sampling has been a central pillar of music production in the 30-odd years since MPCs hit the shelves, crucial to the development of hip-hop, breakbeat, house, jungle, and countless splinter styles across the dance spectrum. In the decades since, ever-shifting technology has slowly vaporised the analogue world that sampling was built from. Here, Chal Ravens asks: how is the culture of sampling evolving?

Jonny From Space’s percussion-fuelled and psychedelically hazy take on electronic music has made him a core figure in Miami’s percolating underground. Alongside a roasting hot Recognise mix, Bruce Tantum catches up with the ascendent artist about the DIY spirit and sense of community in the city's scene, and the evolution of his sound

Timothy Smith, better known to the festival-going world as the big-tune-spinning, horn-tooting Timmy Trumpet, presents a showman’s image of controlled anarchy when he’s on stage — but it takes a lot of hard work to get to where he is today. As he relaxed on an Aegean island, on a rare break from this summer’s main stage circuit, he filled DJ Mag in on his background in jazz, his reliance on Stoicism... and the New York Mets

Music director of Defected’s Glitterbox brand, boss of The Remedy Project, radio stalwart and more, Melvo Baptiste brings a healthy dose of the soul to everything he touches. Ria Hylton visits him at home in Watford to rummage through his extensive record collection, hear about the influence of his soul boy dad and uncle Norman Jay MBE, and find out why Notting Hill Carnival holds a special place in his heart

In an ableist world, underground dance music spaces continue to be vital for marginalised communities and the socially shunned. But how inclusive are clubs and festivals for autistic and other neurodivergent people? And what can be done to improve this? Here, event producer and music writer, Rihana Osman, speaks to neurodivergent ravers, academics and club owners to investigate

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, ahead of his new album on SVBKVLT, Cairo’s ABADIR spotlights experimental electronic gems for the club and home listening alike

The growing awareness around the prevalence of neurodivergence within electronic music has led many to wonder if they might be neurodivergent too. Here, following up his 2022 exploration of the topic, AuDHD writer and DJ Harold Heath investigates, speaking to DJs, producers, publicists and coaches about their experiences

Toronto’s myst milano. records a dazzlingly high-energy club mix for the Fresh Kicks series, and speaks to Megan Venzin about activism, AI, chronicling the conversation between Black music genres, and their new album, ‘Beyond The Uncanny Valley’

As Call Super, the London-born artist Joseph Richmond Seaton has established themself as one of the most consistently thrilling DJs on the underground circuit, using house and techno as a springboard to explore all manner of moods and sounds. As a producer, their albums for fabric's Houndstooth label and Incienso have explored more abstract terrain, and their upcoming fourth LP, 'Eulo Cramps', goes further still. Among the trees in London's Hampstead Heath, they meet Eoin Murray to discuss the journey of introspection that led to its creation, leaving things open to interpretation, and the multitude of selves within us all

A decade on from their Mercury-winning debut, Young Fathers were nominated again this year for 'Heavy Heavy’ on Ninja Tune . Neil Kulkarni meets the Edinburgh outfit to get a grip on their fierce sound, their recording processes, and why they don’t get played on BBC Radio 1

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, Chrissy spotlights melodic thumpers, rowdy club tools and mind-bending genre mashups

Founder of the Sea Cucumber imprint, and a L.I.E.S. label regular, Tzusing is a stylistic shapeshifter with an impeccable ear for detail. Niamh O'Connor speaks to him about his recent album for PAN,  ‘绿帽 Green Hat’, how his sound has been informed by cultural and familial pressures, his approach to DJing, and his time spent living in parts of Asia and the US

The latest and greatest DJs and producers rising to the top this month. From peak-time tech house and restless electro into darkwave, orchestral ambience and beyond, here’s September’s 2023’s list of upcoming talent you should be keeping track of