Wild City

Bangalore based duo Audio Units showcases a more downtempo, laid back-side to their aesthetic in Wild City Mix #109. Brothers Ashwin Baburao and Ashrith Baburao have been making music together as Audio Units since the early 90s. Ashwin had already established himself as a selector by 2000, playing at large festivals and venues across the country, while Ashrith dived into the self-described ‘geekier’, more technological side of things. Audio Units’ sound traverses a range of styles within experimental, often bass heavy house and techno music tailored to suit the needs of the dance floor. Over the last couple of years, the outfit has managed to release music through labels like Dutchie Music, Deep Edition Recordings, Qilla, Soupherb and many more. Their charismatic live lets are usually brimming with energy, which is why their laid back mix #109 for Wild City came as a bit of a surprise. The brothers forego the music they usually have to play to cater to club audiences for more downtempo, minimal and melodic

The Mumbai based recording engineer, drummer and music producer is probably best known for his staggeringly beautiful music as one half of Nicholson. Most of Ramanna’s time, however, is spent helping other people make music at Cotton Press Studios, which he founded with the Something Relevant members in 2012. Ro. has been in the business of music for close to a decade now, composing, producing, mixing and mastering music for television, film, radio, as well as independent musicians. On top of that, he’s currently on Nicholson’s first full-length album (after two powerful and very well released EPs) after having performed at festivals including Alchemy at Southbank Centre in London, The Great Escape festival in Brighton, NH7, Magnetic Fields and more. The coming year will also see a release with his newest independent collaborative project, Doe - with singer-songwriter Divya Lewis and guitarist Amandeep Singh. With a resume as expansive and accomplished as his, we thought it was time we got an insight into t

Ninja Tune beatnik and Activia Benz founder Slugabed offers up a selection of filtered, twisted bass and metallic melody for Wild City Mix #107. If you’re not already clued in on London based producer and DJ Slugabed, he can best be described as contemporary bass music’s leading meme informed (self confessed), polychromatic and gifted oddity. Nothing about him is completely straightforward or black and white. Ever since he emerged on the scene as a teenager in Brighton the late 00s, where he played an instrumental role in the success of local club night Donky Pitch, the international music community has been keeping a close eye on Greg ‘Slugabed’ Feldwick. 2012 saw the release of Slugabed (a word defined on urban dictionary as “a lazy person; one who dislikes work”) acclaimed debut album ‘Time Team’, via famed UK label Ninja Tune, soon after which he decided to begin his own bizarre and diverse Activia Benz label. The producers distinct sound is an irreverent kaleidoscope of compressed hip-hop beats combin

Wild City Mix #106 comes from French hip-hop and electronic music producer and DJ Epic Empire. Parisian future bass artist Epic Empire a.k.a. Fabrice Delcambre is all set to tour India at the end of the month with Mixtape. The artist, who has earned a formidable reputation for his carefully structured sets and bass heavy, hip-hop influenced electronic productions will be playing in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune from 21 to 24 April . Epic Empire was previously known for his work with StereoHeroes before venturing out solo in his more groove and melody focussed solo project, releasing 3 EPs so far. He was recently nominated as Best Newcomer on DJ Mag France. Delcambre stitches together a collection of hip-hop an electronic influenced bangers for Wild City Mix #106. With tracks that include remixes of popular tunes like Alessia Cara’s ‘Here’ and Rihanna’s ‘Work’ playing alongside Vic Mensa, Baauer and Goldlink, we’re sure this one’s going to be a massive crowd pleaser. For a tracklist and further

Reunion Island selector Karl Hungus delivers a diverse selection of funk for Wild City Mix #105. Resident DJ at Sakifo Musik Festival and one of Reynion Island's biggest concert halls Kabardock, Karl Hungus is the latest contributor to our mix selection at Wild City. Many of you will remember the expert selector from his recent India tour with Mixtape and performance at the 2016 edition of The Lost Party. He’s known to always be on the lookout for rare and unknown 50s rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco and more. For Wild City Mix #105, Hungus shows off his selection abilities by starting off focussing on rare, groove heavy funk, R&B and soul from the likes of Rita Wright, Little Richard and Ernie Hines, before moving on to a more hip-hop influenced sound. The energy stays nice and easy throughout, making this the perfect set of tunes to kick off a cool evening in with some friends. For a tracklist and further info, head over here: http://www.thewildcity.com/EN/music.xhtml/article/9448-wild-city-105-karl-

Experimental Kolkata based duo JESSOP&CO. pick a diverse and immersive selection of tunes for Wild City Mix #104. “We have no musical talent, but if we don’t do this, we will go crazy.” We first heard JESSOP&CO. after they sent us a private SoundCloud link with this cheeky imgur attachment. They’ve held our interest since then with the debut ‘সূক্ষ্ম’ EP and more recent live performances at REProduce’s Listening Room Sessions in cities across the country. The duo is, in their words, “inspired by the decaying/rotting, the macabre discoloration of this city and its inhabitants and the various other forms of malaise (particularly those which suddenly creep up on you as you are about to descend from your favourite form of conveyance or mode of intoxication)”. The duo employs elements of drone, noise and ambient in their music, producing some of the most foreboding, all engulfing walls of sound we’ve had the pleasure to listen to recently. JESSOP&CO.’s forward thinking, genre irrelevant mix #104 mix clocks in

Bangalore based Aniruddh Menon, known best for his work with Machli and newly formed label Consolidate compiles a selection of unreleased material for Wild City Mix #103. Menon launched his eponymous solo project last year with his impressive first EP ‘Another Summer’. However, the first time we heard of him was when he still played with Musharraf Shaikh, Sandhya Visvanathan and Maitreya Mer with Machli, a band, which despite splitting up (hopefully temporarily), remains one of out favourites to this date. The odd Bollywood samples, unhurried mood and moody synths carried over from Machli to Menon’s solo work; most recently on ‘Ugh’ - his single on Consolidate’s debut LP ‘FRNDS &FMLY 2016’. If you’re a stickler for genres, his beat driven, sample heavy music has been described as 'left-field instrumental hip hop' by Consolidate’s label founder, Rahul Giri. Aniruddh Menon’s debut full length released titled ‘Love Songs’ will be released via Consolidate “soon”. To tide us over, the musician has put toget

Pioneers of the Indian electronic scene, The Midival Punditz offer up a retrospective of their sound for Wild City Mix #102. The past decade or so has seen an undeniably meteoric rise in the popularity of electronic music in India. In simpler times, before festivals like VH1 Supersonic and Sunburn took off (circa 1997, in the age of Anu Malik and the Colonial Cousins) Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj - known together as Midival Punditz, sowed the first seeds of a genre that was going to blow up in a way no one could imagine back then. The duo realised early on that Western dance music didn’t connect with them in the same way that indigenous sounds did, and even now, The Punditz’ sound is instantly recognisable for its unique amalgamation of Indian classical/folk music and popular electronic genres. After making a mark on the map with their collaborative gigs with Tabla Beat Science (Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell), The Midival Punditz honed in on their vision with their event series Cyber Mehfil – a modern update

Mumbai based musician and producer Spryk brings in 2016 with a high energy, exclusive mix for Wild City. Fresh UnMute signee Tejas Nair is a Mumbai based producer and Tabla player who has only recently started making music as Spryk. Nair also runs an audio lab called Press Play, which works with installation sound, games and other projects. With his debut EP slated to release later this month, we thought it was about time to shine the spotlight on his impressive work so far. Growing up in Mumbai before making the journey South of the equator to Australia, Spryk has a cross-continental range of influences that have helped shape his music. His 40-minute mix focuses on his own work in the form of carefully produced original tracks featuring changing textures and chopped up, manipulated vocals as well as dance friendly remixes of Musemesis, SickFlip and more. Wild City Mix #101 begins on a relatively mellow note, moving on to some bass heavy goodness before ascending to frantic, D&B influenced tempos that end

Wild City’s mix series turns 100 and we’re celebrating with a very special selection of tunes from Los Angeles based German producer Robot Koch, who’s all set release his new album ‘Hypermoment’ via MONKEYTOWN Records on 25 November. The mix coincides with Koch’s second tour of the country later this month which will mark the launch of VOI Nights – a new music property initiated by British apparel company Voi Jeans and Wild City that aims to introduce fresh Indian and international acts across the country. Robert Koch has visited to country once before in 2013 for the Border Movement SoundLab in Chennai and as the headliner for the flagship edition of Magnetic Fields Festival at Alsisar Mahal in Rajasthan, where he played an unforgettable set. ‘Hypermoment’ will be the first full-length release from the producer since his relocation to Los Angeles from Berlin. Koch tells us it’s his most personal release yet and was created after seismic shifts in his personal and professional life in Berlin. From what we’

DJs, producers, label owners and veterans in the Indian electronic scene - Ash Roy and Ashvin Mani Sharma (a.k.a. Calm Chor) come together as Bit Of Both for mix #099. There aren’t a lot of Indian acts that have been making and promoting electronic music for as long as Bit Of Both. Ashvin Mani Sharma and Ash Roy started off as founding members of hugely prolific Jalebee Cartel, which at the time also includede G "Force" Arjun (of Else If) and techno maestro Arjun Vagale. 2013 saw the launch of their imprint – Soupherb Records (here’s an old interview we conducted with Roy about it last year), a rapidly growing label that features upcoming producers in electronic music, mainly concentrated on techno, house and minimal. Bit Of Both is a live collaborative electronic project that they launched last year. Their aesthetic is apparent in the mix they sent us – the music features minimal, repetitive grooves with gentle overlying melody and vocals (by Roy). The act’s first music video for ‘Time’ featuring Anushka

Mumbai/Berlin based selector, producer and Regenerate crew member Troja goes deep for mix #098. Trideep Roy is the latest beat maker to contribute to our expanding list of mixes here at Wild City. The Mumbai based producer and DJ has been spinning tunes across the country and established crews like Bhavishyavani future Soundz, Dusdozen and KRUNK in the past. Troja believes his music is a product of his travels in Europe, where’s he spent a large chunk of his life. Despite having started his journey in Scotland, it’s obvious in his mix that Berlin – Germany in general – has played a major role in shaping his musical sensibilities. Troja went back to the city this summer to take up residency at Suicide Circus and play for crowds in the region. The musician is also one half of a collaborative project called Botief. His hour long, exclusive mix for Wild City explores a range of deep house perfect to match the energy of a post party. It begins with Florian Rietze who eases things in with the pulsating ‘Treibhol

Wild City Mix #097 comes from an enormously talented young producer and recent Red Bull Music Academy selectee – The Sine Painter. Jayanth Ramachandra has been on our radar since November 2014, when he innocuously contacted us on SoundCloud with two original productions. We saw promise in the relatively unknown young Bangalore based producer back then, and decided to feature his work under our ‘Dropbox Talents’ section. We weren’t the only one’s who saw something special. In the last few months, Jayanth R has created a space for himself in our forward thinking music community, making more music and performing in his hometown and recently in Delhi. The Sine Painter’s added another feather to his cap after the Red Bull Music Academy announced that he will the only Indian selected to be a part of their Class of 2015, set to take place in Paris in November. The achievement is especially admirable for someone with limited experience, and we hope that his example will push other young bedroom producers to not th

Bangalore native Praveen Achary explores the deep, melodic side of electronica for Wild City Mix #096. The artist is constantly on the move performing and DJing at the countries most popular venues. As a DJ he’s known best for his unique combination of deep, tech and progressive house, though really his sensibilities have never been confined to the manacles of genre (as this mix testifies). 2013 saw the producer launch his very own label – Juicebox Music, with the aim of delivering ‘freshly packed’ sound to electronic music enthusiasts. Praveen Achary has got good things planned for the future of his music and label – his most recent venture saw him remix a track by UK progressive trance giants Above & Beyond, featured below in his mix. Falling just short of 50 minutes, mix #096 sees the artist delve into a side of electronica that isn’t immediately associated with his style. It starts slow and mellow with music by Turkish producer Erdi Irmak and Jamie XX, and Achary keeps the smooth, chill out vibe going

Analog junkie and Mumbai resident Aqua Dominatrix stitches together a delirious collection of synth-pop for mix #95. The musician, real name Akshay Rajpurohit, is also a guitarist for metal bands Scribe and Pangea (making his pretty, dreamy mix all the more surprising). He’s a relatively new solo producer, playing as ‘Aqua Dominatrix’ for only a year and releasing his full-bodied debut album ‘Sadomist’ earlier this year. It’s barely crossed the 6-month mark but ‘Sadomist’ has already collected more than 11000 downloads and over 10,000 streams on bandcamp - no easy feat for any alternative producer in India. But as good as ‘Sadomist’ was, nothing quite compares to Aqua Dominatrix’s live shows. In the few short months that he’s been playing live, Akshay has opened for quite a number of notable homegrown and international musicians including Para for Cuva, the Glitchmob and Pretty Lights. With an album due to come out later this year and a slew of shows planned for the coming months, we thought now was the ri

Karachi native and RBMA Tokyo alumni Tollcrane explores fringe electronica and left-of-centre dance in an exquisite mix for Wild City. In the last couple of years, Talha Asim Wynn has proven time and again that he is a force to be reckoned with, and we’re not limiting our opinion to South Asia. Also a guitarist for shoegaze and noise band //orangenoise, Talha ventured into the electronic realm after a recording session with his bandmates - “…I thought to myself, I really need to make some dance music of my own.” What began as an unassuming idea soon ascended into what would become one of the most prolific talents nurtured out of the region. After experimenting with every genre you can think of (jazz, acid, house to name a few) under the solo moniker Tollcrane for a couple of years (his debut EP Bébo came out in 2011). Talha went on to apply and get selected for the 2014 Tokyo edition of the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy. As for his sound – it’s uniquely, indescribably Tollcrane. ‘Balanced’ is the key

Mumbai based electronic producer Kumail shares a rich, emotive mix for Wild City. The 21-year old music maker has been making music for 4 years now and has put out two EPs so far – his debut ‘Flashbulb Memories’ and the recently released ‘Shift’ EP – a meticulously produced, cleverly constructed downtempo collection of music, reviewed in detail here. Kumail is now signed to Mumbai based booking agency KRUNK and has played a number of shows in the last year, recently opening for Malaysia based duo Bass Sekolah. Influenced by a range of sounds from minimal and ambient (apparent in his work) to rap and dubstep, his music aims to extend beyond the confines of a club, exploring ethereal and cerbral realms that work best on a set of headphones. His exclusive mix for Wild City is shorter than what we’re used to (clocking in at just over half an hour) but packs in a quality assortment of relatively contemporary, beautiful tunes. Shlohmo (a major influence) kicks things off with ‘Same Time’, followed by the cinemat

Indian born, Canada based Iyer turns in a rattling selection of footwork for Wild City Mix #092. It isn’t a surprise that Iyer, with his background in classical Carnatic music, has explored a vast range of genres in his years making music. Though his main area of expertise remains drum n’ bass, the producer has also played with elements in UK garage, dubstep, house, and more recently, footwork. His technical finesse, bold production and ambitious mixes of different styles of music from across the world have helped him cement a place in Singapore’s music community. Iyer’s is currently involved in pushing forward thinking sounds off his digital label Phyla, while pursuing a Bachelors degree in Applied Sciences in Ontario, Canada. Iyer’s exclusive mix for Wild City begins with the oddest two minutes we’ve heard on any of our mixes so far – a giggling intro of Yogi B and Natchatra’s rendition of ‘Go Shorty’. The producer keeps the hip hop vibe going with Sid Vashi’s first-rate Danny Glover cover followed by so

Sri Lanka’s SMPRSN (alternate alias Daffy Maestro) is the next selector to contribute to our growing music division here at Wild City. The Kandi based artist, known to his peers as Gihan Senevirathne, has been making tunes at home since the late 90s. He put out his debut four track EP ‘Home’ on Soundcloud under the name Daffy Maestro in 2013, playing with lo-fi, bass centric electronic sounds with a touch of experimentation. He came into the spotlight as Daffy Maestro in 2010, after he began contact with Border Movement and Colombo based DJ, producer and label owner Asvajit. The last year has seen him play live in his country and also recently in Mumbai for the Border Movement Sound Lab, where he performed and collaborated with acclaimed Indian and German acts including Sandunes, Aqua Dominatrix, SnowShoe and Sasha Perera, Toto Wolf and Oren Gerlitz - together known as Perera Elsewhere. Senevirathne’s Wild City Mix echoes the streamlined auditory aesthetic of SMPRSN which explores the dark contemporary bas

Wild City #090 comes from Karachi based electronic producer TMPST – a genre bending artist who’s been at the forefront of the Pakistani scene for some time. With the third edition of the (Pakistan focused) Border Movement Lounge in India taking place tonight at the Max Mueller Bhavan, we thought it’s about time that we featured another exclusive, carefully curated mixtape from our contemporaries in the west. Asfandyar Khan is the man behind the 2-step, garage inspired beats and synths of TMPST as well as a range of downtempo, often hauntingly composed ambient music he records under his own name. He’s been making music since 2010 and equipped with nothing other than a guitar, released his first album, titled ‘Snow Makes Things Perfect’. The musician’s affinity for bass and beat only became apparent in 2012 with the birth of his ‘post-dubstep’ and garage inspired outfit TMPST. Despite TMPST’s foray into the world of bass however, he never quite manages to let go of the ambient sounds that began his journey an