Wild City

It’s no enigma why heavyweights like Four Tet and Ben UFO count themselves as fans of East London DJ and producer DJ Champion. The Formula Records head honcho exhibits the unfaltering ability to be any party’s highlight every time he steps behind the decks. “It’s just about the sickest tunes we can play out and put out”, declared Champion as the vision behind his label – a platform that has (pardon the pun) championed the likes of Flava D and Zed Bias – in an interview with London’s fabric nightclub. The same vision drives this 31-minutes-long mix ahead of his India tour in August. Champion wastes no time on anything esoteric, too hard-hitting or too mellow. The selections serve the sole purpose of imparting fun. The same is reflected in the tracklist, as Champion manages to squeeze a huge chunk of his own productions along with undercuts by the likes of Mind Of A Dragon and Wittyboy, within this short mix. For further details and tracklist: http://www.thewildcity.com/mixes/14131-wild-city-mix-177-dj-champ

If you've ever wondered what it's like to live inside the mind of Dolorblind, we suggest you plug in your headphones (and strap in a metaphorical seat belt) because you're in for quite the ride. Wild City's latest mix was compiled by New Delhi-based producer and graphic designer Rohan Sinha aka Dolorblind. Though it might not be entirely fair to call it a mix – a mixtape, or a collage of sounds might be a more appropriate term for the theatrical, genre-defying experience that it unravels. Dolorblind claims he imagined this mix as his “background score running from a volcanic eruption”. We imagine he's underestimating the kind of sheer terror and panic one would experience in that moment, but if there's one thing he's nailed about that hypothetical situation, it's the drama. Drama is the first word that comes to mind once you delve into the mix. The drama rests primarily in the theatrical transitions in the mix and in the meticulous selection of tracks, which go from mallsoft/post-vaporwave and abstract hip-

Recordings from our 3rd edition of Selectors on the 12th anniversary of Record Store Day.

Recordings from our 3rd edition of Selectors on the 12th anniversary of Record Store Day.

Recordings from our 3rd edition of Selectors on the 12th anniversary of Record Store Day.

Recordings from our 3rd edition of Selectors on the 12th anniversary of Record Store Day.

Recordings from our 3rd edition of Selectors on the 12th anniversary of Record Store Day.

Recordings from our 3rd edition of Selectors on the 12th anniversary of Record Store Day.

Spinning records since the age of 15, New Delhi-based DJ Nash JR is adept at weaving together seamless sets traversing through a variety of genres. He utilises the expertise efficiently in his latest mix for Wild City, which sees the bass-head branch out from his trademark sound.  After kicking things off with the contemporary sounds of Waffles and Tom Misch, Nash introduces world fusion elements with Fun Da’ Mental’s ‘Back To Basix’ before localising things with the Bollywood samples of ‘Party’ by J Rocc. The set features a notable spontaneity in its mixing as Nash jumps from the techno rhythms of Pearson Sound’s ‘XLB’ to the breakbeats of Pangaea’s ‘Bone Sucka’ – connecting the multitude of styles with a rhythmic narrative. The merit of the mix lies in the fact that the constant switch between genres never jumps out, unless you are deliberately trying to split the selections into categories.  For tracklist: http://www.thewildcity.com/mixes/13729-wild-city-mix-175-nash-jr

Often when an artist who isn't a conventional DJ curates a mix, the result is a refreshing selection that doesn’t attempt to make the listener move or engage, but simply sit back and listen. Especially so, in the case of Goa-based singer-songwriter Aditi Veena aka Ditty, who exhibits intimacy and ingenuousness as fundamental features in her music. Consequently, her mix for Wild City comes as an invitation to dig into her personal influences and pleasures. The mix kicks off with ‘Picture a Vacuum’, the opening track to Kate Tempest’s Mercury Prize-nominated ‘Let Them Eat Chaos’. The spoken word piece harkens to Ditty’s own album opener ‘Food City’ from her recently released ‘Poetry Ceylon’. Paying little attention to the process of mixing itself, Ditty instead focuses on building a dynamic listening experience through her selections – catching us off-guard as she follows up her 2017 mellow lo-fi work on ‘Maybe’ (ft. Jayant Manchanda aka Deadcat) with the hard rap of Saul William’s ‘Horn Of The Click-Bike’.

Listeners familiar with Nihal Kanwar aka Trafficc’s boxout.fm show ‘Rush Hour’ know that this New Delhi DJ tailors his selections for an intense time on the dancefloor. Reflecting some 80s and 90s reminiscent raw energy, his hectic mix for Wild City is no exception.. Nihal adopted the name Trafficc after realising that the credit for his expansive sonic palette goes to all the hours he spent listening to music while stuck in New Delhi’s traffic. His dynamic taste in music, meanwhile, can be traced back to his formative years which involved lessons in western vocals and Indian classical music, starting a punk band, being a metalhead, and hosting hip-hop artists in his college dorm room. The ability to traverse through styles, thus, is inherent for Nihal, and it comes into effect in this mix. Unified by the aim of keeping the listener sweating it out on the dancefloor, the tracklist features cheerful electro, jarring techno, energetic breakbeat and heavy hardcore. The set’s consistently high intensity is dr

As one of the co-founders of India’s first DJ collective and music agency Bhavishyavani Future Soundz, Jatin Vidyarthi aka Masta Justy has not just been an ever-present force in India’s club scene but also helped cultivate the same through the collective’s work across the country. Founded by Masta Justy, Mr T, Insat, Kunal Rawat and DJ Bhai Saab in the late 90s over the shared love of raves, mixtapes and Asian underground, BFS curated events featuring d’n’b, ambient and jungle at a time when commercial venues only played Bollywood and psytrance. Through the 20 years of the collective’s existence, Jatin has branched out in radical directions – from giving a 48-hour performance at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry, to live-scoring Franz Osten’s 1929 silent film ‘A Throw Of Dice’ – while continuing to perform on global stages. Naturally, the experience manifests tangibly in his mix for Wild City. Jatin’s thoroughly tested knowledge of what works and what doesn’t reflects in his filler-less selections

With the bulk of electronic producers and DJs focusing their efforts on creating energetic dance floor-oriented sounds, Gillian Kharshiing aka Mero’s adherence to mellower textures makes his latest mix for Wild City stand out. He peppers the largely downtempo mix with bursts of progressive house which creates an engaging contrast. Following mellifluous numbers like Lane 8’s remix of RÜFÜS DU SOL’s ‘Innerbloom’ with the more hard hitting ‘Lisse’ by KAASI, and then softening things again with Chrisitian Löffler’s ‘Haul’, - Mero keeps the intensity rising and receding like tidal waves throughout his mix. The Shillong-born producer started making music 3 years ago while studying sound engineering in Dublin, where he also performed as part of live electronic collective Modem. His rawness and youthfulness as a DJ is reflected in his mix as he fearlessly and drastically shifts tempos - focusing more on curating atmospheric selections instead of showcasing dexterity. The fact that his original track ‘Trail’ from hi

Drum Attic aka Siddharth Mehra’s music and his career as a New Delhi-based DJ and producer share a strong common feature - consistency. Present in the capital’s nightlife for nearly a decade, first as one half of the electronic duo Motion Noir and later through his own moniker Drum Attic, as well as the studio manager at boxout.fm where he also presents the monthly show ‘DulyUnruly’, Mehra has upheld an unfaltering love for hard techno in all his strides. It’s not uncommon to see artists adapt different monikers or shapeshift through their careers as they tip-toe across genres. Drum Attic, however, has stuck to his guns and maintained a constant and ever-improving output of mixes and remixes that may channel influences from dub and acid, but are almost always firmly rooted in pounding 4/4 techno. The same quality comes into play in his latest mix for Wild City, which comes as an anthology of techno’s underdogs with tracks from the likes of Hemka, DJ Overdose, Lag, Morphology, Sebastian Kramer and Drhamer. E

In celebration of International Women's Day (March 8), Wild City has been posting mixes compiled by female artists for this entire month. As March nears its end, we have the final mix of the month – this one comes from Mumbai-based DJ Manaalina aka Manaal Oomerbhoy. Though the last of the series, Manaalina's mix may be the most impactful one yet, and one that truly celebrates women in electronic music. Just one look at the tracklist and you'll see why – the mix features tracks solely produced by female artists. If that isn't a true display of rebellion against patriarchal tropes and gender stereotypes about women in electronic music, then we don't know what is. Manaalina's set is an empowering catalogue of some of electronic music's most powerful and experimental female producers. Ranging from radical artists like Deena Abdelwahed, Kaltes & Nene H, and Aisha Devi to Upsammy, Mor Elian, Aurora Halal, Powder and more, the mix includes tracks from artists all over the map, from Europe to America to Asia and be

One of the more experienced members of New Delhi's all-femme collective Coven Code, the past year has seen Shireen gradually become a regular presence in the Delhi club circuit. It's an impressive feat, considering that she still holds down a full-time job as a senior consultant at a corporate firm, and more so because she manages to squeeze in practice sessions in most of her free time. Few of us have the time or mental bandwidth to pull that off, but not Shireen, who has been playing more and more gigs recently. Heavily influenced by the clubbing culture of the UK, Shireen's sets – just like Mix #168 – typically draw from various genres that fall under dance music, focusing primarily on house and techno, but reaching far and wide into UK garage, breakbeat, dubstep, and anything that falls under UK bass. It's easy to see these influences in Shireen's mix, which relies on tracks by stalwarts like Joy Orbison, Floating Points, Or:la, rRoxymore, Hunee, Octo Octa, Flava D and more to create an atmosphere that's

To celebrate International Women's Day, which is today (March 8), Wild City will be posting mixes compiled by female artists for the whole month of March. The first mix of the series is by East London native Shama Anwar. The British-born, Bangladesh-raised DJ and music publicist grew up surrounded by a blend of different cultures, which intrinsically influenced her sound. Mixing and traversing across multiple genres comes easy to her and is noticeably reflected in her sets. If we were to club Shama's mix for Wild City under a single sound, it would come closest to UK garage, though it kicks off with, and occasionally travels to, techno, house and minimal. Spanning artists such as Chez Damier, Artful Dodger, Groove Chronicles, Robert Owens and more, it's a wonderfully bouncy mix, artfully suited to a sundowner set. Hard-hitting without being overwhelming, her set maintains a relaxed vibe throughout that challenges listeners not to dance (don't even try). Shama's experience with throwing events in London eas

Essentially, DJing is the act of playing one track after the other in cohesion. But that's not how Manali sees it – for her, each set is a sonic exercise in storytelling, a singular journey that transports her audience to other worlds. With her love for spacey, hypnotic, and obscure sounds, the journeys often end up venturing into the future, or outer space. Originally from Mumbai, Manali is now based in Amsterdam. Her move was inspired by her penchant for travel and her inclination towards the city's thriving dance music culture. The past few years have seen her regularly play at popular Dutch clubs, start her own parties, and build a notable presence in the Dutch minimal scene. With her mix for Wild City, Manali fabricates a hard-hitting soundscape charged with futuristic sounds, with a singular intention of making listeners transcend into outer space - or perhaps, more fittingly, to an extraterrestrial party on Mars. Starting with a gripping, jaunty tune (that unfortunately remains anonymous), the mix sh

Few mixes will floor you like this particular one for Wild City by Andi Teichmann. Andi is a well-known and accomplished musician, producer, DJ, cultural activist, and co-founder of Berlin-based label NOLAND. Both as Gebrüder Teichmann – his project with this brother Hannes – and solo, he is known for work that surpasses the limitations of genre or style.  Andi's mix was inspired by a DJ set he played at Popkultur Festival in Berlin last year, as well as his music-related travel and work across Germany, Africa and South Asia, largely in collaboration with Goethe Institut. The mix thus traverses time, space, culture and ideas. Subsequently, most tracks on the mix (several of which are NOLAND releases) offer fascinating cultural dialogue, commentary and history. DJ Raph sparks a beguiling dialogue between contemporary electronic music and African echoes of a pre-colonial time by using sounds from Chad, and a funeral procession by the West African Senufo people on 'The Boy From Digenenthi' and 'Earthstep' resp

The past few days in New Delhi have been decidedly dreary – cold and wet, with a lingering blanket of rain. It's also the ideal weather to park yourself by the window and sit back and reflect, and Sugam Khetan aka 4lienetic's mix for Wild City is perfectly suited to that. Dark and ambient, with spatters of ethereal sounds of nature and rain, the mix pulls you deep into a contemplative trance right from the get-go. That's to be expected, as the hour-long set comprises almost solely of 4lienetic's original music, exceptions being a couple of remixes and edits. The Mumbai-based producer, who creates music under the monikers 4lienetic and 2 A.M Talk, has been prolific with his releases, which range across the spectrum of ambient, future garage and chill out music. Influenced by artists like Brian Eno, Nils Frahm, Burial and Olafur Arnalds, his tracks are particularly emotive and lay heavy emphasis on ambience and piano. The mix starts off with deep, melancholic tracks, laden with liquid atmospheres and compell