Fall In The Mix
A collection of recordings to level up your Autumn vibes
Henry Ivry’s mix picks are back on Guerrilla Bizarre - this time delivering 7 underground, eclectic recordings to soundtrack your Autumn moments.
Don't get me wrong, I like a Pumpkin Spice latte and a decorative gourd as much as the next person. But I still struggle with fall. Having exclusively lived in places where there are only two seasons most of my life, it's hard to enjoy the foliage changing when I know that in a week or two I'll be slipping into long johns and playing chicken with frostbite if I go outside for more than a minute. So to help warm things up, I've found 7 mixes that find that sweet spot between fall and summer - capturing that slow fluctuation in light and temperature that will hopefully keep us smiling even if we are staring down the business end of COVID spike 35 (or whatever we are on now).
Seekers live act #2 - Cosmic JD
I try to rep Canada as much as I can when it comes to electronic music. Although Toronto certainly doesn't have the pseudo-European sex appeal of Montreal, or the weed smoke haze of Vancouver (although we do now boast over 400 weed stores), Ontario is also home to a set of producers, centered around the Hypnotic Mindscapes collective, that is releasing funky, analogue techno that can sit up there with the best of our European counterparts. Case in point is this mix from Cosmic JD recorded live at CDV this fall. Squiggly synths dart over robotic grooves and topped with just that final helping of Midwestern soul that Europeans, with their social safety nets and lax liquor laws, will never be able to emulate.
B.ai Sequalog Diffusion 3
Bai Cici AKA B.ai popped up on my radar after an absolute stunner of a windswept 12-inch on TC80's Sequalog label earlier this year. And now, she returns to the label with the third mix in their series. The Cheng Du-based producer starts on a bit of a melancholic note with some broody electro. But lest too many tears fall in our beer, she quickly ups the ante with hearty heapings of sinister techno, quirky breakbeats, and absolutely vintage house. Popping this on for (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend is guaranteed to have even the saltiest of your aunts grooving in her seat.
Malika - Dimensions 250
Casablanca born DJ Malika's "High Seas" mix from last year was one of my favorites. Malika's effortless movement through house records that could have been released at any point between 5 years from now and 1988 built to a series of crescendos that never quite let you back down to the ground. While the word "breezy" may be a bit of cliche, her selecting has that feel of ineffable organicity that means that each record feels like it blew in off some sun kissed coast to match seamlessly with the one preceding it. Her mix for Dimensions is no different. The vocal sample on the first track repeats, "Vibration," and this seems like a manifesto for the mix more generally - wiggly, timeless, house strewn together seamlessly.
Weekend Logic - Outsiders Cast
The DJ and occasional producer Adam Solomon is a hero of the Canadian underground, throwing parties and playing some impeccable sets in his hometown of Montreal. Full disclosure: I regularly check his Discogs page (shout out the legendary user name as well, Adam420) to see what he's commented on to snag it before the price goes through the rafters. His submission for the Montreal ‘Outsiders’ podcast delivers exactly the type of stuff the sharks are constantly fighting for: intergalactic, airy, deep, and just a bit wonky dance music that touches on techno, house, and electro. An hour of magic that will leave DJ Bigos in the dark for years to come.
Micha - Reptilian Mix 06
If you've kept your eyes on a certain corner of the dance world, you may have started to see the name "192" popping up with more frequency. The DJ collective (and soon-to-be-label!) have been turning heads with an irreverent take on the rarified diggers' world. Their mix series has also been an excellent showcase for the young upstarts coming from this scene. I don't know much about Micha (even though I am proudly one of his 58 SoundCloud followers now), but the mix here is fire. Complete with a manifesto reclaiming not just tech house (which has been the genre du jour for 2021), but also that always dirty word "minimal", this is an hour that might have you looking into booking a Sunwaves ticket.
Drum Syrup Podcast 01 - Abdullah A
By law, any mix round-up is required to include at least one downtempo mix. But even without this contractual obligation, I'd still slide Abdullah A's inaugural Drum Syrup podcast into my favorite mixes of the month. The force behind the rising label MINERAL, coasts through breezy breakbeats and hip-hop rhythms with the top down and the sun blaring down. It's enough to get you weepy (if you live in a place where temperatures have already turned) as we already miss those dog days of summer.
Nobii Records 033: Georgia
Nobii Records is a rising record label based in Sao Paolo, Brazil. They also run an excellent podcast series focused on local talent. Their mix from Georgia is reason enough to get those Bandcamp notifications set-up. There is a grooviness that runs throughout the mix. Although the Brazilian selector touches on some darker shades of dance music throughout, she manages to keep things light - as soon as she gets a little too dark, she throws in a track with just the right amount of sunbursting emotion.
Words by: Henry Ivry
