AZU TIWALINE
BITTER BABE
BUTTECHNO
DJ PLEAD
EHUA
FOREST DRIVE WEST
INVT
KIA
KIKELOMO
MI-EL
MSJY
NICK LEÓN
PERILA
PESSIMIST
SPEKKI WEBU
TOUMBA
 
Azu Tiwaline (Livity Sound, IOT Records)

Azu Tiwaline is an artist creating new worlds for us all to hear and see each other within. Conjuring a sense of cosmic belonging within life’s maelstrom, her music is an extension of her being transformed into abundant rhythmical energy - beloved for her wonderful ability to channel vast inner realms into the outward joys of dance & movement.

With an extraordinary musical vision firmly rooted in the freeing kinetics of Soundsystem psychedelia, her vibrations bring vivid influence from the El Djerid desert & her Tunisian heritage into communication with the transcendent spatial awareness of dub and the grooving, dynamic exuberance of techno. Uniting these spellbinding elements into an alchemic synthesis, she conducts Saharan frequencies into eclectic, entrancing rhythms with a nimble & profound elegance - contrasting microcosms of light & darkness immersed in mercurial depths, ecstatic percussive intonations, & the breathtaking enchantment of bass weight pressure.

It’s within this expansive palate that Azu is able to weave entire multiverses of sensation together - establishing herself as one of the most exciting entities in a groundbreaking zone of contemporary electronic producers, while invoking a bewitching sonic experience that is uniquely all her own.

Through much-adored releases on Marseille’s IOT Records & Bristol’s Livity Sound, she’s amassed love & respect for her practice the world over, bringing her hybrid live/DJ abilities to esteemed festivals like Dimensions, Freerotation, and Unsound Adelaide, as well as contributing podcasts to venerated mix series Dekmantel, Illian Tape, or Crack Magazine.

At its core, her music celebrates the beauty of nature & the potential to see understanding & connection in all aspects of life - transmuting the mystique & possibilities inherent to our existence, always urging us to find knowledge & insight within ourselves & the world around us.

Bitter Babe (TraTraTrax)

Is a multidisciplinary artist and DJ who hails from Bogotá, Colombia. Her cutting-edge selection blends Latin-inspired percussive rhythms ranging from dembow, raptor house, tribal, guaracha, reggaeton, and Brazilian funk, with bass-heavy, low-end groove club music.

Now based in Miami, Bitter Babe has been a key player and part of the new school of artists shaking up the city and putting it on the international sight, alongside artists like INVT, Coffintext, and friend + collaborator Nick León with whom she has co-produce 2 EP’s, Fuego Clandestino on Tratratrax and Delirio on Club Romantico, as well as participate on Air Texture’s compilation curated by Anthony Naples and Dj python.

Her solo projects can already be found on avant-garde label SVBKVLT where she collaborates on a remix for Rilla and on forthcoming compilations TraTraTrax, “no pare, sigue sigue” and “Homecare! Miami All-Stars” on Omnidisc. Bitter Babe also has a future solo EP release coming on TraTraTrax in the first half of 2023

Co-founder of LATITUDES, a multidisciplinary project focused on the unity and growth of the Latin American electronic music community. LATITUDES was created as a new space for conversation and coordinated actions where the diversity and commonalities of the regional countries are placed on the forefront, formed by a group of producers, promoters, journalists, and more, from places like Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Peru.

Buttechno (PSY X Records, Incienso)

Having achieved certain recognition with his dancefloor-oriented project Buttechno, the Berlin-based artist is currently focused on sonic experiments and artistic collaborations under his birth name.

Opposed to the aggressive imperial politics of his homeland, Pavel uses his work to acknowledge the historical and cultural context, delving into sociopsychological issues that haunt society, and addressing both collective and individual memory and its potential to change our visions of the future.

Working in various musical genres, he created collaborative works with artists such as Bendik Giske, Alex Zhang Hungtai, Yana Pavlova, and Richie Culver.

Pavel presented his live sets at such venues as Berghain, and Tresor and performed at festivals like CTM, Berlin Atonal, Terraforma, and Primavera Sound.

Working with different media, he created the audiovisual pieces “Infra” and “Haunted Mansion” commissioned by the Venice Biennale in 2020 and 2021.

Pavel also runs and curates the “psy x” record label — a platform for sonic and visual works by like-minded artists and for ‘non-format’ records of his own.

DJ Plead (Livity Sound, AD 93)

Who said bass-weight music had to be relentlessly moody? DJ Plead absolutely understands what to dial in when for maximum soundsystem impact, and he does so with a zest that cuts through the murk. In his ebullient productions and dexterous DJ sets he radiates flamboyance and flair with swagger to match, all in pursuit of slaying the dance.

Growing up in Sydney and now based in Melbourne, Jarred Beeler broke through as a producer first and foremost with a debut drop on Air Max ‘97’s DECISIONS label in 2018. From the outset, he put his Lebanese heritage in the foreground both in terms of rhythm and melody. If distinctive Eastern scales and snappy, intricately threaded drum patterns have since become DJ Plead’s calling card, they came through fully formed on that first EP, dancing the divide between traditional musical motifs and precision-engineered electronics.

Plead also co-founded the SUMAC label alongside some of his peers from Australia’s contemporary club scene – LOGIC1000, Cassius Select, and Utility – and worked alongside Cop Envy (aka Big Ever) for a follow-up release on DECISIONS. Meanwhile, the sharp accents of his sound caught on internationally, landing releases on revered labels Nervous Horizon, AD93, and Livity Sound. The drums got defter, the lead hooks more sprightly, and in the tumultuous days of 2020, he was invited to indulge a broader dimension of his sound through the widely acclaimed Relentless Trills LP for Boomkat’s Documenting Sound series. The space beyond the confines of a club release revealed an artist still absolutely clear in his creative intentions, with those aforementioned Lebanese roots shining through more than ever across a range of tempos and timbres.

With such notable releases came an attendant rise in DJ Plead’s presence in the club. His approach to DJing serves as a natural extension of his studio artistry, folding his exclusives into the mix with the work of his peers and sympathetic sonics across the amorphous plains of modern dance music. There are shades of techno, house-like grooves, broken beat angles, and dubwise anchors, but never one dogmatic style other than Plead’s own. It’s a sound that has comfortably juiced up parties from fabled festivals like Dekmantel and Meakusma to iconic clubs such as Fabric, Space Miami, Yu Yu, and De School.

DJ Plead’s piquant sound continues to bloom in new and unexpected ways, consistently making the club a more interesting environment to inhabit by splitting the difference between finesse and fierceness, landing heavy blows while keeping light on his toes.

Ehua (3024, Nervous Horizon, Femme Culture)

Italian producer and DJ, Ehua has been making waves since the release of her 2018 debut EP, ‘Diplozoon’. She has since played at some of the world’s most iconic clubs and festivals and she holds a bimonthly residency at Rinse FM, where she explores percussion-influenced sonic realms across a wide range of tempos.

Her recent releases include ‘Clouds EP' on 3024, ‘Aquamarine’ via Nervous Horizon, an EP inspired by the colour and motion of water, and ‘Giada’, a single part of Fabric Records’ V/A ‘Fabric Selects II’.

Away from club music, Ehua retains a life-long interest in the arts. She has composed various soundtracks for short and feature films, as well as for artistic performances. Ehua is part of SPAZIO GRIOT — a collective and influential online hub based in Rome focusing on arts from Africa and its diaspora.

Forest Drive West (Livity Sound, Rupture London)

Forest Drive West is the alias of producer Joe Baker from East London. His music has created a stir across the UK underground and beyond, with stripped-down, atmospheric and hypnotic techno tracks contrasting with his heavier, jungle-influenced sounds – all with a connecting thread that explores intricate rhythms and inventive percussion.

Since 2016, Forest Drive West has been building a rapidly growing catalog of releases, receiving critical acclaim for records on labels such as Livity Sound, Ilian Tape, Mantis, Echocord and Rupture London.

He co-runs the emerging label OODA alongside localhost. A project conceived to explore polyrhythmic techno, bass and ambient experiments in all forms.

INVT

INVT is the multidisciplinary art project of Luca Medici and Delbert Perez. The duo specialize in electronic music and fashion design. Their sound consists of a mix of Garage, Dubstep, Techno and various forms of Latin bass music, like Dembow, Cumbia, and Reggaeton. Luca and Delbert have grown their audience through their high energy live sets as seen at Fabric and Panorama Bar, as well as their DJ sets and various independent releases that are all produced, mixed, and mastered by the two.

In addition to their music, Luca and Delbert have launched a sustainable clothing project in which they repurpose vintage clothing through screen-printing, embroidery, cut and sew, and acid washing. Every piece is a one of a kind garment made by hand in Miami by Luca and Delbert. Their designs and stylistic choices, such as the color schemes and graphics, are highly influenced by Miami’s unique environment. Many of the silk screen designs are photoshop collages made from photos they have taken in Miami. Many of these designs are also seen in cover art for their music which is also designed by them.

Kia (Animalia)

Kia’s speedy rise to notoriety is no surprise. Although young, Kia plays with the confidence and experience expected of a DJ with many more years under their belt. With a keen ear for bass-heavy rhythms, IDM, and the deeper shades of techno and trance, Kia glides through genres and emotions in exciting and often unexpected ways.

Her talent for weaving musical narratives has been recognized by local and international labels, having already constructed revered mixes for Nous’klaer, Truants, c- and Patterns of Perception. Whilst the popularity of these mixes clearly proves her ear for telling stories with music, her bubbly presence behind the booth makes her stand out. Kia is an open-eared music digger, searching tirelessly for lost obscurities to pair alongside modern finds and hidden gems by local artists.

She wields together her intimate knowledge of local music and attuned ear, bringing it all to a masterful fruition in her record label, ‘Animalia’, with an ambient sub-label ‘Cirrus’ on the way. Beginning in 2019, Animalia is now home to a highly reputable powerhouse of releases, mixes, and events which pave the way forward for the future of electronic dance music in Australia. Kia encourages experimentation and nuance in every release by bringing underground and DIY sounds to the forefront.

Bookings at Amsterdam Dance Event, De School, Sustain Release, and Monument festival is a part of a growing list of impressive gigs Kia is being booked for. As she relocates to Europe in the early new year, with many exciting shows on the horizon and solo productions in the works, Kia is undoubtedly one to keep tabs on.

Kikelomo (Oroko Radio)

Kikelomo is a critically acclaimed British-Nigerian DJ, Presenter, Curator, Boiler Room Host, and co-founder of Accra community station Oroko Radio. Kikelomo has experienced explosive growth, playing across multiple continents alongside industry heavyweights. She has launched t-shirts in collaboration with Adidas and Keep Hush, played and regularly hosts at Boiler Room, as well as continuing to showcase her sound at Festivals like Melt Festival and Dekmantel Selectors (forthcoming), world-renowned clubs such as Amsterdam’s De School, New York’s Nowadays and London’s Phonox, as well as regularly playing in Berlin’s prestigious Berghain/Panorama Bar. She was given the honor of playing to a crowd of 100,000+ people at the Brandenburger Tor national monument, broadcast on national television to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Kikelomo is renowned for her eclectic sound, which stems from many influences in her life, including her home city London and her Nigerian roots. As a result, her high-energy sets are packed full of everything from techno, house, garage, bass, deconstructed club, house, jungle, jersey club, electro, hip hop, and more. Her sound has become renowned for its ability to get crowds moving.

Through dedicated festivals, workshops, and one-on-one mentoring, Kikelomo has a wealth of experience establishing programs equipping marginalized identities with the skills and confidence to progress their careers, working together with support from Musicboard Berlin, Adidas, Zalando, Jagermeister and more. As a co-chair of the Diversity and Inclusion working group for the Association for Electronic Music, Kikelomo is actively involved with broader initiatives pushing for diversity and inclusion in the music industry, including the setup, development, and active management of not-for-profit community radio station in Accra, Oroko Radio.

MI-EL (NTS, Big Dyke Energy)

A deeply personal selector - with radars for the wacky, the moody and the lowercase - mi-el’s style is a deft balancing act, from sung soundscapes and explorations of her heritage to contemporary bass, electro, and vanguard electronics.

Those who’ve caught her live will know the former MOT booker and now NTS resident is apt to blur the thinning line between selector and sound artist, having torn up countless great nights, venues and festivals in just a few years: dare we say Panorama Bar, Field Manuevers, Boiler Room, De School, Big Dyke Energy and FOLD. It’s folk wisdom, almost a given at this point, that mi-el is killing it.

MSJY (Unposed, Femme Bass Mafia)

MSJY mines joy from the unlikely, manoeuvring through bass music’s exhilarating fissions with an infectious energy that carries through her work as a DJ, producer and talented merchant of digital soul under the Xades alias.

A nomadic energy fuels the Berlin-based artist’s craft, finding an honest home in any of her multi-disciplinary practices. Influenced by her mixed background, she absorbs influences with an open-mindedness that inspires fascinating hybridisation of global ideas. Encounter her playing a peak time DJ set day or night, delivering swooning vocal-led electronica pop, leading workshops for FLINTA identifying persons as a core member of the Femme Bass Mafia or raving in the corner of any dark club; it’s clear in her remarkably varied output that there’s a binding commitment to music and uplifting the communities surrounding it.

NICK LEÓN (naafi, TraTraTrax)

Nick León’s dystopian club music samples the sounds of Florida’s diverse ecosystem, but his style has varied fearlessly along the way. Finding his way into the rap world at a young age, he collaborated with some of the biggest underground rappers in South Florida. He also gravitated early towards the Latin sounds coming out of Puerto Rico and Colombia, and as a self-taught producer and DJ in Miami, he felt compelled to shift his focus to his own work. After pivoting towards textural elements and buried melodies, Nick released a handful of projects, one of them being his Aguacero EP under Mexico’s celebrated NAAFI imprint. It encapsulates the growing anxiety in a city threatened by the very things that help make it beautiful, inviting you to dance through the impending storm of uncertainty ushered in by climate change.

As of recent, Nick released his highly anticipated Xtasis EP on TraTraTrax which featured DJ Babatr and remixes by Doctor Jeep and Pearson Sound. He also started 2022 on a high note, claiming a production credit on one of the most well reviewed albums of the year – MOTOMAMI by Rosalía. With coveted spots on Miami’s III Points festival, various film scores, and further production for a slew of artists, Nick León’s hands are full and his music is teeming with real life.

Perila (Sferic, The Trilogy Tapes)

Perila is a St. Petersburg-born, Berlin-based sound and visual artist, DJ, performer and poet exploring sensitive borderlines and depths of subtle matter. Her practice centres around textures, tangibility and spatiality of field recorded sound, raw emotions, voice, poetry, body and change. Music as a healing and transformative agent; an invitation to open other layers of engagement with reality utilizing deep listening, observation, presence and mutual dialogue with an audience.

Her performances and DJ sets are dense and intense narratives drifting through a rich sonic palette immersing a listener into a personal and sensual trip, while delicate poetry and soft voice breathe with a sense of closeness, desire and release. She aims to create other sound worlds to get lost and find oneself, to challenge and overcome boundaries and share this expansion with the Other.

Perila’s works have been released on Smalltown Supersound, Sferic, The Trilogy Tapes, Shelter Press, Longform Editions, Motion Ward, 3XL, Paralaxe Editions, Vaagner, Boomkat and Lillerne Tapes. She is the founder of WET: an online community featuring sensual podcasts with spoken word, poetry, ASMR, field recordings, and explorations of sonic sexuality. She is also a co-founder of radio.syg.ma.

Pessimist (Ilian Tape, Blackest Ever Black)

Pessimist, real name Kristian Jabs has been releasing music since 2010. Previously one third of the Bristol trio Ruffhouse, his constant development over the years has gained him a respected reputation throughout the electronic music industry. With firm roots in Drum & Bass & Jungle, Pessimist has not only made an impact within the Drum & Bass scene but also the wider electronic music community. With his critically acclaimed debut self titled album released on Blackest Ever Black turning many heads and garnering a clear non-conformist vision, Pessimist has carved out a stand-alone status and has influenced a whole new generation of experimental Drum & Bass producers and DJ’s.

Whilst running his own imprint Pessimist Productions and co-founding UVB-76 music, Pessimist has also released on labels such as Blackest Ever Black, Osiris Music, Ilian Tape & legendary Drum & Bass labels such as Cylon Recordings & Renegade Hardware.

You can expect a hybrid of Drum & Bass / Jungle, Techno, Ambient Interludes and back-to- the-90’s TripHop all within his DJ sets, a true translation of his productions and influences.

SPEKKI WEBU (MIRROR ZONE)

Versatile, exquisite, and resourceful - elements that shape the limitless possibilities of master spellbinder Spekki Webu. Hailing from the unpretentious city of Delft in The Netherlands, this conceptual sound composer and artist continues to create an ethereal realm of its own through multiple artistic outlets.

Guided by an ethos gained through his involvement in the gabber and tekno movement, Spekki Webu cultivates a sound that can be described as persistent and ritualistic. Whether it is his DJ sets, live performances, or music productions, the mysterious chief mind expander deconstructs time and space with fierce precision and tactility. On a constant quest to explore the unknown, his studio-binging sessions resulted in releases on widely respected labels such as Amniote, Blue Hour, and Positive Source.

Moved by his philosophical beliefs on spiritualism, Spekki Webu’s output manifests itself beyond the dancefloor with a strong emphasis on multidisciplinary collaboration. His vision of electronic music translated through his Mirror Zone label and Optic Portal sublabel. As a composer, he pushes the boundaries of sound through his Signal Transmutations AV project and multiple spatial installations presented at places such as Lunchmeat, FIBER, and De School. While behind the scenes, he works on scores and sound design for movies and series.

Navigating through the crossroads of tribalism, experiment, and rhythm - the broad musical spectrum of this lysergic gatekeeper drags you into a wormhole that goes beyond the here and now, captivating listeners into a deep state of introspection.

Escape the simulated reality as you delve into the unknown depths of your mind with Mirror Zone head honcho Spekki Webu.

Toumba (Hessle Audio)

Born and raised in Jordan, DJ and producer Yazan Zyadat, aka Toumba, is now based in London, where he fashions lithe club bangers that melt Middle Eastern elements with dubstep basslines and clattering breaks. Last year he experienced a flurry of interest when Ben UFO's Hessle Audio label released his "Petals" EP and Zyadat was able to broadcast his unique sounds on a larger platform. Tonally ambitious and deviously percussive, his music takes the essence of Arabic tarab and shelat forms (often seen as wedding music) and dilutes it in a dance floor- ready roil of booming bass and dissociated synths.

AD 93 / Whities is a London label run by Nic Tasker. What started with the intention of providing a platform for off-kilter techno has, in its four years, morphed into something looser and more eclectic while remaining committed to dance music.

The label has been lucky enough to find a space deviating between the compelling, floor-friendly offerings of Avalon Emerson, Lanark Artefax, Minor Science, Giant Swan, Tessela, Kowton, Terron, Koehler and SMX, and distinctive sounds of Jules Venturini, Quirke, Reckonwrong, and Coby Sey. Connecting all of them is a sense of musicality and peculiarity, and a commitment to emotion and rhythm. Whities has formed lasting relationships with many of the artists, working together on events and projects in art, film and fashion. Designer Alex McCullough, the man behind most of Whities artwork and beyond, has been equally as intrinsic to the label’s identity.

Records aside, Whities has been known to throw a good party. Establishing a solid grounding at The Yard in Hackney Wick, the parties have since gone worldwide, with DJs including Vladimir Ivkovic, Call Super, Bambounou, Courtesy, Skee Mask, Rroxymore, Galcher Lustwerk, John Talabot, Beatrice Dillon and Willow joining the regular label artists.

Incienso is a New York based label founded in 2017 by Anthony Naples and Jenny Slattery.

disconnect - transmissions from the basement

connect@disconnect.li


Limitation of liability for internal content

The content of our website has been compiled with meticulous care and to the best of our knowledge. However, we cannot assume any liability for the up-to-dateness, completeness or accuracy of any of the pages.

Pursuant to section 7, para. 1 of the TMG (Telemediengesetz – Tele Media Act by German law), we as service providers are liable for our own content on these pages in accordance with general laws. However, pursuant to sections 8 to 10 of the TMG, we as service providers are not under obligation to monitor external information provided or stored on our website. Once we have become aware of a specific infringement of the law, we will immediately remove the content in question. Any liability concerning this matter can only be assumed from the point in time at which the infringement becomes known to us.

Limitation of liability for external links

Our website contains links to the websites of third parties („external links“). As the content of these websites is not under our control, we cannot assume any liability for such external content. In all cases, the provider of information of the linked websites is liable for the content and accuracy of the information provided. At the point in time when the links were placed, no infringements of the law were recognisable to us. As soon as an infringement of the law becomes known to us, we will immediately remove the link in question.

Website: Cornelius Altmann, Dominic Osterried

Pessimist - Atyeo - Ilian Tape