We have selected three mixtapes that are rather different from each other but have two things in common: they are all awesome and they cannot wait to be played!
Drowned in Sound is a UK-based music website/community/label founded by Sean Adams in 2000. They are focusing on a variety of quality sounds from electronic music to pop and rock (and oh, so much more!), and they have published interviews with everyone from Björk to Paul McCartney. If someone knows what’s the hottest music out there, @seaninsound is your man. He created a special mixtape for you to dig in – highly eclectic and full of surprises. Let yourself swoon over this excellent selection!
Featuring: Banks, Janet Jackson, Four Tet, Nine Inch Nails, Nicolas Jaar
We have to admit: @the_evangelist has converted us to faithful followers by preaching excellent stories with his mixtapes. He blends tracks we would’ve never dreamt of being mixed together (Ennio Morricone and Starboy? Wow!) and he does it in the most captivating way. He also brings the most out of Pacemaker, chopping up and repeating tracks has never been more fun.
Featuring: The Weeknd, ZAYN, Kiiara, M.I.A., Major Lazer
Cheers to @billionbeatz for creating this epic sonic journey through the realms of techno and tech house! It’s delicate and candid, raw and melodic at the same time with dream transitions that teleport you straight to a dark, underground club where no one can guarantee what comes next.
Featuring: Dave DK, Kölsch, Audiofly, Dominik Eulberg
It’s that time of the year again: Valentine’s Day! You might be knee-deep into roses and chocolate or just waiting for this annoying day to be over… either way, why not express your feelings with a mixtape? Purely 🧀 and 💦 !
Create a mixtape for your better half, your chihuahua, that noisy neighbour, that cute girl or boy in school, for your favourite user on Pacemaker or just create it for @emoke, our Community Manager. (I love mixtapes but I don’t like Valentine’s Day too much, cheer me up!)
Here is some inspiration for starters:
1. Click on the mixtape below.
2. Add/remove tracks to remix it and make it yours.
3. Post it in the community, hashtag with #ValentinesDay & share it via iMessage, Facebook and Twitter!
Unleash all the love and fury, we cannot wait to listen to your mixtapes!
What’s the hottest in the ever so colourful world of deep house? @shisharka knows the answer. The ‘Nu Nu’ series is a carefully selected and mixed collection of deep and tech house tracks, infused with lush vocals and electro grooves. Here’s one of our favourite mixtapes from the series, your weekend treat!
#deephouse #laidback #edm #spinninrecords
@srankfinatra is probably one of our most prominent users in the community. You often see his infamous club mixtapes in the Hot Feed and it does not take too long to cash in all the well-deserved likes on his perfectly synced creations. Take a trip to the deepest depths of house music with one of his last mixtapes and be his 101th follower!
#house #oldschool #rhythm #party
@stacobo is one of our many users who deserves to be more in the spotlight. One of his latest mixtapes is absolutely supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (yes, that’s the word!), the ultimate energy bomb for a successful Saturday night. Disco and house bae, there’s no time to waste – you gotta stay true to the beat!
Stay inspired, keep your mixtapes coming – next week it could be your turn!
This week we have a smashing guest mixtape by Dirty Disco Radio and two gems from the Pacemaker community filled with tech & deep house. Dig in!
Dirty Disco Radio is the weekly podcast of Kono Vidovic – DJ, producer and radio host from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Showcasing the finest deep house and nu disco sounds, Dirty Disco Radio recently celebrated its 200th episode. The latest show was created in Pacemaker so you too can savour Kono’s excellent music taste. Carefully selected deep house tracks, neatly packed and mixed in two hours. He is not only a good storyteller when it comes to music but also when it comes to being interviewed. While you’re listening to his mixtape, read our conversation about discovering, curating & enjoying music.
We couldn’t be more grateful to have @provocateur with us. You should closely follow him, especially when the weekend is closing in – he’s providing the perfect soundtrack for your parties. This session is the perfect combination of tech and deep house, mixing up past and future, glancing back to Daft Punk and lifting up labels like Toy Tonics and Closer to Truth. Not a dull moment in here!
Hey @rawdog1969, Detroit called and they want their vibes back! This energetic mixtape evokes the most precious sounds of the legendary Detroit house era. The twist about it is that it’s filled with a pinch of nostalgia and a bunch of recent releases (Detroit Swindle, Bicep, Nhan Solo, Borrowed Identity, Coeo) that remind us of the golden era but still are hot and crispy, just like deep house should be.
Dirty Disco Radio is a weekly podcast on DeepFM by Kono Vidovic – a versatile DJ, producer and radio host from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Showcasing the finest electronic sounds, Dirty Disco Radio recently celebrated its 200th episode. The latest show was created in Pacemaker so you too can savour Kono’s excellent music taste.
Carefully selected deep house tracks, neatly packed and mixed in two hours. He is not only a good storyteller when it comes to music but also when it comes to being interviewed. While you’re listening to his mixtape, read our conversation about discovering, curating & enjoying music.
Kono Vidovic
When and how did you get interested in music?
I always believed I was born with music in my veins. Just like a lot of other artists, DJs etc. As a young boy I had a big interest in anything where sound came out of, especially when those sounds had a melody. 😉 As I grew up, the interest in music grew in me and I noticed at a very young age that I liked to entertain people with playing music for them. Whenever my mother was away for work she told me not to touch her music collection and hi-fi stereo installation. Guess what I did every time she went to work?! That was how I discovered a lot of great artists in the 80s, which set the tone for my musical journey. After discovering music, I discovered DJing. The way I started was pure coincidence, but it was clearly something that needed to happen. From there my journey went through a lot of different styles and genres, and made my sound what it is today.
What made you decide to start your own radio show? Please tell us a bit about the birth of Dirty Disco Radio.
My DJ career started long before the internet revolution. I have always recorded my own mixtapes on cassette, later on CDs and even on mini disc for a short time. Do you remember them? Haha, moments like these make me aware of my age, thanks a lot! 😉 In the years when the internet became very popular, different platforms to upload your DJ mixes to, started to rise. But on a whole different level than these platforms are nowadays, copyrights and things like that were much more complicated than now. I really tried almost all those music platforms. When Soundcloud came, it was finally a proper and easy platform specially made for DJs. It was the time when the Nu Disco genre came in, which grabbed my attention right away. As I loved that sound and noticed that it was very underground and many people did not know the genre yet, I started to upload monthly mixtapes on Soundcloud called ‘Dirty Future Disco’.
After 4 months of doing this, I had a lot of listeners and followers on my account who really liked the sound I was bringing. Then a radio promoter from France contacted me and asked me if I wanted to do a weekly radio show. First I had those thoughts that everyone would have: can I do that? Is my voice good enough? Probably not. But I figured that with all those DJ mixes out there it would be different and something people would like if somebody finally started to talk to them during a DJ set. Not that I was the first one to do this. There were a lot of online radio stations, but 90% of these did not play presented shows just DJ mixes, nothing more. So I just went for it, to see how it would work out – and Dirty Disco Radio was born.
Curating music takes a lot of time and energy – where do you discover music these days when the possibilities are endless and it feels like there’s more and more new music coming each day?
Another great thing of the internet, the limitless possibilities of discovering and making music. The internet is a place where you can go wherever you want, as long as you know where to walk. It gave talented producers new possibilities to create and upload music. The whole digital revolution made it easier to create music for everybody with just a small amount of equipment.
Before the internet and digital revolution I was digging for music in record stores, which could take up days. Those times where awesome. I was always hanging out at local recordshops, met a lot of other people, and dug up some very good records. When the way we consume music has changed, I figured there had to be more places to find music than just the commercial online record shops like Beatport etc. In the beginning of Dirty Disco Radio, I was digging around on a lot of ‘underground’ blogs, which took a lot of time and energy. But that way you can find music not everybody knows and create your own sound. Next to that, you’ll discover a lot of unknown talents. This way I could give their music a platform at the same time and promote their music to a bigger audience. Now after more than 4 years of Dirty Disco Radio, I built up a network. I still get music from all kinds of places like blogs, Soundcloud and online record shops. But a lot of the music that I play comes from my network, record labels that send me their demos, DJs and producer friends.
Next to Dirty Disco Radio, I also occasionally play gigs. As I have a big love for electronic music and that is what DDR stands for, I have love for all kinds of music. In the residency where I currently play, I play a lot of Soul, Funk, Disco old and new combined. Because my musical needs are so big, I work a lot with Spotify. This gives me the ability to always check for new music, find interesting tracks and artists. Wherever I am, Spotify is with me. When I’m in the gym or driving my car, I often listen to the weekly refreshed personal suggested music playlist that Spotify creates for me based on my likes. This is a real cool feature and allows me to curate new music. Whenever I hear something that I like, I add it to a playlist or save it so that Spotify knows what I like.
Do you still buy records or do you prefer the digital streaming more nowadays?
First I was a very stubborn DJ. When all the other DJs started to play with CDs, I still carried my 20 kilos heavy record box with me to every DJ gig. I did not want to surrender myself to the new technology. It took a while, but I noticed that not only CDs came in which made it very easy to bring music and even more music with you as a DJ, but also the digital, which opened up a lot of new possibilities. From there I decided to stop being stubborn and go with the flow. I still like records, they have something magic and that warm sound to them. But I also like convenience, so I’m a really big Spotify fan. I can create playlists on the go. Find new artists and music, and even curate music and play it for other people while I’m not actually playing by creating and sharing mixtapes so people can follow you and listen to them. I see a lot of possibilities in the coming years.
How did you discover Pacemaker?
I’m always in the search for new technology and solutions for my musical needs. With me being a premium Spotify user I searched for an app or device that made it possible to mix tracks straight from Spotify, not for the big PA’s but for small parties this could be very efficient. But also to test which tracks could work well together and to have fun. That is how I found out about Pacemaker. I found more apps and solutions that made it possible to use Spotify, but these were never sophisticated enough. When I met Pacemaker, I knew this was the one to stick with.
You’ve been using Pacemaker for quite some time now. What do you like the most about it and what would you like to improve?
I know there is a separate version for iPad and iPhone but unfortunately I don’t have an iPad, so I’m using it on my iPhone. I’m not using it for professional needs, except this time when I dedicated a Dirty Disco Radio show to the app. But can you see me playing in front of a crowd from my iPhone? 😉 Well never say never, I can imagine some situations where it would be very cool. But with friends at home or in a nice place that gives you that home feeling, Pacemaker can definitely add and create an atmosphere like no other app can.
When I show the app to my friends, they get excited right away and start downloading and installing it themselves to get into the mix, since it’s very approachable. You don’t even need to know the DJ basics or understand DJing at all. That is what makes it really cool. Everybody can do it. Now that there is the social aspect to it, it’s even better, you can now share mixtapes inside of the Pacemaker community. Another very cool thing is that you don’t even need to mix yourself, you can let the app do it for you. This is perfect for home parties, like birthdays and other cosy nights with friends and or family. You can curate some tracks with Spotify, make a playlist of them, open up Pacemaker, open the playlist and just hit play! Pacemaker starts mixing it up.
There is one thing that I would like to see as a new feature, it would be a great thing if you as a user could assign your own cue points for even better mixes.
Kono in action
Please tell us a bit about your selection for the mixtape you made for us. What can our users hear once they push play?
Once you hit play, it gets started. 😀 And with ‘it’ I mean really anything. The party, the cosy night, the listening pleasure. Dirty Disco Radio is a feeling that takes you on a ride, you can approach it how you please. If you want it as the music for a party, no problem, if you enjoy your laid-back moments of peace, that will work out as well. The genres that I curate within DDR are very broad but within the electronic genre. Expect Electronica, House Music, Deep Discofied sounds. DDR is about enjoying every moment of life to appreciate the small things. I try to motivate people to stay positive and healthy, just to get the best out of themselves. You can dance, you can have your favorite drink or a cup of tea, sit back and relax. Just make sure you have the volume up to an acceptable level and enjoy!
This week Kitsuné is back with a guest mixtape created by Los Angeles-based artist Allen French and we’re back with two superb deep house mixtapes from the Pacemaker community.
Allen French fuses the finest sounding electronica with tribal beats, Latin grooves and deep bass. His signature sound shines through his mixtape he created from the Kitsuné Hot Stream playlist. If you’re curious to find out more about him, read our interview. If you want to catch some Kitsuné artists live, check out the Kitsuné European Tour – good vibes might come to a club near you. 🍒
With this selection, @withaph has created one of the smoothest and most rewarding deep house mixtapes you will hear all year. A stellar selection of dubby synths, pulsating beats and deep rhythms by the likes of Leon Vynehall, Maceo Plex, Moderat etc. You’ve got 2 hours to get deeper. We dare you! 👊
All we know about @stanfitz is that he lives in Cologne, Germany, he enjoys his life and makes absolutely smashing deep house mixtapes. It’s really difficult to pick a favourite from his mixography but here’s a selection that moves your body and relaxes your mind! Check out his profile and follow him for more earcandy! 🍬👂🏼
Kitsuné is back with a guest mixtape created by Los Angeles-based artist Allen French. Read our interview to find out more about this mysterious melody maker!
Allen French got more than a decade of experience as a DJ, which is a source of inspiration in finding his own voice when it comes to creating music. He fuses the finest sounding electronica with tribal beats, Latin grooves and deep bass and his signature sound also shines through the mixtape he created on Pacemaker from the Kitsuné Hot Stream Mix #2 playlist. His own track is also nicely hidden in there, make sure you check it out and in the meantime read our interview to find out more about this mysterious melody maker.
Allen French (Photo: Lance Skundrich)
You’re from San Francisco but you’ve got French roots – as your artist name suggests too. In your music you’re blending various cultures and vibes from all over the world. What would you say your most defining musical influence was in your early years?
I think living and growing up in San Francisco in general had the biggest influential impact by introducing me to so many different cultures and music communities. There’s been a strong local music presence in SF going back to the 60’s and 70’s which has always been interesting and inspiring to me. I was fortunate to grow up on local hip hops acts like Souls of Mischief and house legends like Miguel Migs and Mark Farina amongst many other genres and scenes.
You’re living in LA. How do you manage to navigate the broad music scene over there? How would you compare it to the SF scene?
I usually just try and support the local scene as much as I can and I love checking out my favorite artists when they’re in town. SF still has a good scene and there are so many talented local DJs and musicians but there isn’t nearly the amount of shows and parties happening on a weekly basis compared to LA.
How easy do you think it is to make it these days in the music industry? What does it really take to stand out and make yourself heard?
I don’t think it’s an easy road at all these days to make it. There’s so much talent out there and with all this new technology at our finger tips you really need to stay ahead of the curve. I think as an artist / producer it’s really important to set yourself apart by creating a sound and brand that’s unique to you. It’s easy to get caught up in certain music trends that may be hot at the moment but I think ultimately if you just do you, the rest will follow.
Who or what would you name as your biggest inspiration when it comes to creating or playing music nowadays?
My uncle who I actually never got the chance to meet is a big inspiration for me at the moment. He was an engineer during the rock revolution that took place in San Francisco and recorded acts like Fleetwood Mac and Grateful Dead. My family has been digging deeper into his life recently and it’s been really inspiring finding out more about his story.
If you would have to describe your music for someone who’s never heard it, how would you describe it in 5 words?
Warm, exotic, modern, dreamy, sensual
You’ve recently released your single ‘Nova Vida’ on Kitsuné Hot Stream. How did you get in touch with them?
Kitsuné had discovered one of my previous singles ‘Fiendin’ that I released last summer and when the time came to release Nova Vida, i knew I had to share it with them.
What are your plans for this year? More studio work and gigs?
I’ll be spending a lot of time in the studio this year for sure and I’m also looking forward to playing more DJ sets come spring / summer.
Allen French behind the decks (Photo: Daniel Boot)
Tell us a bit about the selection in your mixtape, how did you pick these tracks?
It was tough narrowing down so many great tracks! At the end of the day I had to go with the songs that struck a chord with me the most. I think the tracks I chose all coincide with each other in some way which was also important.
It was the first time you’ve created a mixtape in Pacemaker. How do you like the app? What would you improve?
It was fun and really easy to use! If there could be a way to automate EFX during a transition or set loops that could be cool…
Welcome Watch The Hype! London-based electronic music curators share their first mixtape on Pacemaker. We’ve also selected two mixtapes from the community that take you on a special trip around the world.
We teamed up once again with online underground electronic music magazine Watch The Hype – this time we are proud to share their very first Pacemaker mixtape with you. The London-based curators are dedicated to focusing on forward-thinking artists, constantly supporting the latest and best in electronic music. If you want to find out more about them, check out our interview. This exquisite selection features some of the finest dub techno and dub reggae tracks by Moritz von Oswald, Rhythm & Sound, Pablo Bolivar, Claro Intelecto etc. You’re in for a special treat! 🍬
Whenever @tefoden posts a new mixtape, an unknown world opens up full of mysteries. This time he tells us a weird and beautiful folk story with a distinctive musical tapestry inspired by the afro-electro soundscape. Exploring a culture by its sounds gives a unique space and experience to the listener – a clash of African and electronic elements, highly eclectic, very percussive and extremely recommended.
If the previous mixtape was eclectic, @dreadslevin’s debut selection sets the bar even higher when it comes to blending sounds, genres, cultures and moods. Oriental bass, jazz-hop, deep house, electro pop, hip-hop… did we miss anything? You have two hours to immerse yourself in a parallel universe that sounds familiar but fascinating and strange at the same time.
We teamed up with the online underground electronic music curators Watch The Hype and we are proud to present their very first Pacemaker mixtape.
The London-based curators are dedicated to focusing on forward-thinking artists, constantly supporting the latest and best in electronic music. We chatted a bit about their background and their involvement in the music scene and they also created an exquisite mixtape featuring some of the finest dub techno and dub reggae tracks by Moritz von Oswald, Rhythm & Sound, Pablo Bolivar, Claro Intelecto etc. You’re in for a special treat!
Who’s behind Watch The Hype, where are you guys based?
John: There are three of us main guys behind the platform – myself, Matt and Oli. I live in North-West London suburbs and Matt and Oli both live south of the city. We have a core family of five top music heads who write for us and run various features of our platform, and there are a number of other freelance contributors spread across the globe. All of us work from home on our laptops and have other jobs – it’s a pretty modest setup to be honest.
What’s your mission, tell us a bit about the birth of Watch The Hype and how you decided to launch your platform.
John: Our mission is to advocate social change through music, focusing on direct artist-led curation. Watch The Hype began as Oli’s humble university journalism project to aid his course and covered all styles of music. Matt joined, it became focused on electronic music and started to build a name for itself through our consistency in YouTube radio rips (primarily forward thinking UK techno and bass music). I met Matt at uni and we clicked on music terms instantly. Working together, the blog grew quickly and has continually evolved (and it’s still evolving) to become what it is today.
What is the most rewarding thing about running Watch The Hype?
John: I think I speak for all of us when I say being able to have genuine, involved conversations and even friendships with artists and heads in the scene we truly admire. It’s a wonderful community of people on the whole. Also, the ability to promote the music of friends and emerging talents is truly rewarding.
Oli: When people come up to you and say they’d first heard a track on our platform and haven’t stopped playing it since, or were introduced to an artist who they’ve really connected with and saw them live. I think music is incredibly powerful for a few reasons: therapeutically on a personal level; its potential to spread ideas and messages to large audiences; as well its ability bringing people together. It’s really nice to hear when our platform has been an initiator of that for people.
How did you get into music? Do you remember your first revelation when it comes to discovering something?
John: Now that is a hard question – for anyone. I can’t remember any specific moment in time, but I remember my first real influences came from my dad. Artists like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Steel Pulse and later the likes of Herbie Hancock, Steely Dan and many soul/disco records. I remember a specific revelation which transformed my taste during my first year of university: hearing Burial & Four Tet – Moth. That opened my eyes to dance music other than dubstep haha.
Matt: Like John, my earliest music related memories are with my Dad. When I was a kid he had a drop top car with a 6CD changer in the boot. I distinctly remember loading up albums from artists like Moby, The Prodigy and Royksopp, then blaring them out as we cruised about. I still listen to Moby and Royksopp actually, that music was and still is a big influence on me. In terms of the style of music I am into now, I have to credit Fabric in London. A couple of mates and I went there for the first time when I was 19 and I was blown away. I remember feeling like I had unlocked a whole world of music that I wasn’t aware of. My interest and involvement with the scene spiraled from there.
Oli: My mum always tells me the story of her playing music to me when she was pregnant, like putting the headphones up to the ‘bump’. Rumours have circulated that it’s suppose to make the child smarter, but I think that’s all lies… I can’t really remember that so I guess music started becoming a big part of my life when I got my first walkman. I was the age when you wanted a CD just cause it says ‘Explicit’ on the cover, and you wore bolts jeans with at least one chain. I was listening to a lot of Korn, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit etc. Then a year or so later, I moved to America and became obsessed with hip hop and rap, specifically D12, 50 Cent, Timberland’s productions. From then my music taste has become incredibly eclectic, listening to a huge range in genres on a weekly basis and trying to keep my mind open to different sounds and conceptual ideas within music.
You’re curating tons of great music for your readers but how do you discover music yourself?
John: From as long as I can remember and to this day, recommendations from friends. Now, a combination: primarily record stores; a few of the main publications; artist charts and mixes; and good old YouTube.
Matt: I’ve found a ridiculous amount of music from radio shows, in particular Hessle Audio on Rinse FM. Radio is a great platform for DJs to showcase a much wider spectrum of their taste. I’ve found many quirky, leftfield tracks that I would probably have never have heard in a club.
Oli: A lot of my time is spend YouTube and Soundcloud hopping, as well as IDing tracks at events and word of mouth.
Who are your favourite artists at the moment?
John: DJ Sotofett, Mark Ernestus, Lena Willikens, Kendrick Lamar. These are my sounds right now.
Matt: In terms of DJs: Ron Morelli. I saw him at Oval Space the other day and I couldn’t believe the sounds that were coming out of the speakers. Objekt has also been amazing to watch.
Oli: J Cole (the man is a god), Call Super, Skee Mask, Project Pablo. I’m also really into Jóhann Jóhannsson, an Icelandic composer who’s done a lot of soundtracks. His most recent work is the score for Arrival, which I thought was outstanding.
Matt: That’s a tough one. I wouldn’t want to pick a favourite without going through my entire collection of music, which would be a bit of an ordeal. Of the top of my head, I think meandyou Manchester have got their art pretty spot on.
Oli: Probably Bonobo’s North Borders. I think artwork is almost as important as the music (contradictory of Omar S’s views). It’s what conveys the message of the music into picture (as well as music videos). I guess more relevant to vinyl and CD than any other medium, but it is the first thing a lot of people see before they actually play a track.
How do you like Pacemaker? What are your favourite features and what would you like to add or improve?
John: I had a lot of fun creating that first mix (Watch The Dub). Pacemaker’s mixing ability is pretty damn good, even though I threw some mixed tempo curveballs at it. The platform is neat and intuitive, and users are uploading some great music – but that’s expected with heads like you lot behind it! One thing I did find limiting was the inability to start a track when you like. It seems you can cut one to finish but not decide when a track starts (I appreciate this has something to do with the way it programmes the mix, but perhaps being able to select the rough area a track starts might be a bonus?).
On the whole it’s great for two reasons. The first being the ability for any non-DJ to be able to make a neat mixtape for journeys, parties or whatever. The second, it’s a great little tester for DJs to find out what tracks might work together while you’re on the move! (Although you won’t be finding any of your dubplates on Spotify of course…).
This week we have selected three awesome mixtapes by three awesome women from the Pacemaker community. You’ve got deep chill vibes, groovy house rhythms and some real good hip-hop to discover!
@pien has a refreshing collection of mixtapes, she’s curating the finest of everything. Let it be trap, deep house or hip-hop – you get a special treatment if you tune in. One of our favourites is this laidback chill selection with deep vibez, capturing a wide range of genres from Jamie xx to Frank Ocean. Take a deep breath and inhale these soothing sounds! 😌
@menard_danielle recently started creating house mixtapes and this is where she seems to have found her true calling! Her latest beat collection consists of carefully selected groovy rhythms that lead you to an exciting place spiced up with deep, electro and tech house. With constantly two tracks playing simultaneously, this is your ticket to all the wild parties this weekend! 💃
In her second mixtape, @mikaelapeach rolls up some of her favourite evergreen hip-hop and rap tunes. It’s not only a dope heavyweight selection with straightforward transitions but also a smooth ride through the legacy of legends like Aaliyah, 2Pac, MF DOOM, Joey Bada$$ and OutKast. Peachy!
Stay inspired, keep your mixtapes coming – next week it could be your turn!
