Below is the streamlined transcript and audio recording for a panel I moderated at Unsound 2019 in Kraków last October, programmed with the festival’s theme of ‘Solidarity’ in mind. Since then, COVID-19 has revealed the fragilities not only of global underground music ecosystems, but of the globalised, capital-driven world as a whole. Within music, artists, […]
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Okkyung Lee has spent over two decades playing experimental music around the world. Though known for her dissonant, wiry cello-playing and her invigorating use of extended techniques, she has never settled. On her 2005 LP Nihm, harsh noise exercises share space with rhythmic jazz workouts and melodic laments. More recently, her explorations have led to […]
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New Jersey, New York and Detroit. Three of the key cities in the development of house music in the United States. Turtle Bugg was born in Jersey, lived in New York for a long time and now resides in Detroit. It’s fair to say these locales influenced his approach as a DJ, as well as […]
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Having formed a trademark sound that flirted between electro, EBM, acid, wave sounds, post punk and industrial, Identified Patient’s penchant for club and genre experimentation always left the door open for a producer wanting to keep things fresh and interesting with every release going forward. His debut EP, The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, landed via Common […]
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With a background originating among Sheffield’s DIY/independent punk scene and now existing as an explosive part of Manchester’s DJing circuit, Clemency was always destined to thrive in liminal spaces. The producer and DJ has spent the past few years gaining a reputation for dropping the dark and dubby right in with frazzled techno, tense-yet-cathartic hardcore […]
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As Gabber Modus Operandi, vocalist Ican Harem and DJ Kasimyn have spent the past couple of years raising hell across their native Bali and beyond. The duo connected over their shared love of disparate musics, including metal, grindcore and noise from the local punk scene, regional sounds like dangdut, koplo and gamelan plus footwork, happy […]
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You will, of course, be familiar with the work of Thomas Martojo. The internationally recognised dance music brand, Dekmantel, for which he is partly responsible, continues to be a signature moment within a claustrophobic festival landscape. On the other hand, the Dekmantel label consistently serves as a reliable litmus test of who you should be aware of […]
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Everything SHYBOI seemingly touches is delivered intuitively and with intent. Her sets may not be planned, but they feed off the crowd’s energy in a sort of unspoken symbiotic exchange. She may also casually mention a documentary she’s worked on, without letting the audience in on the fact it’s been several years in the making […]
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Minor Science is an alias of Angus Finlayson, initially known as a music writer for sites such as Resident Advisor before surprising many with the release of his debut 12″ as Minor Science on Will Bankhead’s The Trilogy Tapes in 2014. An impressive, intriguing five-tracker, it showed a willingness to explore unexpected terrain in the […]
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Doc Sleep is an unsung hero. Low-key and understated, she’s an accomplished DJ and producer, as well as being part of the two-person team behind the consistently excellent Jacktone label. The label has amassed an incredible 70 releases since 2013, putting out tracks from the likes of gayphextwin, Roche, Experimental Housewife, CMD, and past Truancy […]
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Hank Jackson’s music has been notoriously difficult to pin down, as his shifting sound has stretched in simultaneous directions over the years. Nevertheless, a constant thread in his productions are their explorative nature, defying genre conventions to forge a personalized path. Over the course of his releases on defining US electronic music labels such as […]
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London-based artist patten is difficult to put your finger on. Whilst known for the variety of his creative outlets – from AV shows and video production to art installations – he’s been consistently dropping music for over a decade. His ability to blend seemingly unblendable sounds landed him on Warp Records early in the 2010s, […]
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