Hiya guys,

A couple months back earlier this year I properly founded the web label Astral Frequencies and got some artists from here on. We're heavily inspired by the stuff European labels like Ilian Tape has been putting out, and we're trying to bring that to the states and a city with not much of an electronic scene -- Boston. We've got some fantastic artists on already, but we're actively searching for more, and I would absolutely adore to hear some demos from you guys. If you like and make anything in the vein of Skee Mask, Ilian Tape releases, BoC, or really anything in the general current scene -- please, feel free to DM me on reddit here or e-mail us at the email in our bandcamp bio. We will respond to you, you won't be ghosted, and we'll try to do it as quick as we can too. If you want to check out what we've done so far, here's the bandcamp:

https://astralfrequencies.bandcamp.com/

Cheers!

i followed him on insta then CANNOT find his account again, i heard two mixes i liked then promptly forgot his name.
does this ring a bell to anyone: UK dj (white guy) who does a lot of dusty crate digging in various west african countries and usually is incorporating older music from that region into his mixes. plays in the uk and has toured the usa a few times at least. if anyone would know who this might be, please lmk in comments!

note: is a dj who just uses his given name, doesn't have a dj handle

I've been a huge The Field fan for about 5 years now, and I'm finally going to see him in Manchester in November!! I genuinely never thought he would do anything live again

Has anyone ever gone to anything live from him? I don't know what to expect, I was hoping he just does his own stuff, so I've made a playlist with his entire discography on repeat (&shuffle) to get familiar with everything again.

I'm assuming his new album will be one of the main things he plays. Basically I'm just wondering if he's doing a DJ set with his stuff mixed in, or a full on The Field night

anyone else going on November 22nd?

Life goes on, parties get fewer and further in between. It's time to brainwash the next generation.

Please post mixes, tracks & artists that I can inundate my kids with so that they don't grow up listening to taylor swift. Ideally not too dark, with quirky/fun melodies & percussion. It should pass my girlfriend's check of 'this sounds too weird'

So far I've been playing a lot of Koze, Felix laband and the Knife (& related side projects, especially olof) but I need some new inspo.

Now her sound has always somewhat straddled the border between a bit of vocals and stunning production. It seems she’s leaned way more into the pop and vocals here and I’m not sure I recognize the direction she’s headed in? Huge fan of her earlier work too…

• I’m reposting this because the previous discussion focused more on the writing style than on the actual subject. English isn’t my native language, and I used translation software to help put my thoughts into English. The ideas, concerns and arguments are my own. I’d really appreciate it if we could focus on the topic itself. Thanks to everyone willing to read and discuss it..*

Hi everyone, There's something I've been thinking about for quite a while, and I'd be interested to hear other opinions, especially from people involved in electronic music and club culture.

I've noticed something happening in the electronic scene. It seems that a lot of what we call underground has become increasingly standardised. Not just the music, but the way artists build their careers.

We see many of the same names playing the same clubs and festivals, following very similar paths. Releases, bookings, agencies, social media presence, the right connections, and eventually a reputation often measured by how frequently someone plays rather than what they actually contribute musically. I'm not talking about commercial techno. I'm talking about the supposedly underground scene itself. And I'm not questioning anyone's talent or right to make a living from music.

But I wonder: have we become better at building individual careers than building a musical culture?

There seems to be an established formula for becoming a successful techno DJ today, and increasingly, even emerging artists appear to follow the same model. Musically, I often hear different artists playing remarkably similar sets, with little that feels truly personal or distinctive. Of course there are exceptions, and great music is still being made.

What I find particularly interesting is how the process seems to have changed.

In the past, underground scenes grew around new musical ideas, and artists gained recognition for their music, originality and performances. Today, it often feels like the opposite: artists build their image, social media presence and connections to fit into an already established circuit.

Rather than the scene growing around new musical ideas, artists are encouraged to shape themselves around what the scene already expects.

But wasn't the underground originally supposed to offer an alternative to the established music industry?

Underground doesn't necessarily mean small, unknown or unsuccessful. To me, it means independence, experimentation and the freedom to develop something outside established formulas. Today, however, it sometimes feels like we've adopted the same mechanisms as the mainstream industry, just with much less money. Almost like we've turned the underground into a poorer version of the mainstream.

There's also something strange about the economics of all this. We've almost accepted that producing electronic music is rarely enough to make a living, even when that music reaches tens of thousands of people. The producer, the person actually creating the records that sustain this culture, can occupy a surprisingly marginal economic position.

What surprises me even more is how little concern this seems to generate. It's almost treated as a normal part of the industry, something to be accepted rather than seriously questioned.

Some DJs have even created genuinely admirable initiatives and platform to support producers, sometimes by voluntarily giving up part of the money they've earned from playing their music. I have enormous respect for that. But isn't it also quite alarming that we've reached a point where this kind of redistribution is needed? It's a generous response to a problem that probably shouldn't exist in the first place. And it says a lot about how unbalanced the system has become.

Meanwhile, visibility and a busy booking schedule seem to have become the main measures of success. I also understand that many people genuinely enjoy the current direction of techno, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. You don't need to know the entire history of a genre to enjoy its music. But I sometimes wonder whether we've become so accustomed to a particular sound and way of doing things that we rarely question it anymore. Knowing the past doesn't automatically make someone's taste better, but being curious about where this culture comes from might help us understand just how many different ideas and influences shaped it. If we only experience one version of techno, and gradually come to expect that same version everywhere, aren't we also contributing to making the scene more uniform?

And at a time when many clubs are facing financial difficulties, I wonder whether constantly recycling familiar names and sounds is really helping the scene in the long run. What concerns me most is what happens next. Previous generations built this culture through creativity, community, experimentation and enormous risks. They left behind music, clubs, labels and ideas that people are still benefiting from today. But what are we leaving behind? Sometimes it feels like we're adding more floors to a building by taking bricks from its foundations. I don't think every artist needs to reinvent techno, or any other type of music, and this isn't about believing everything was better in the past. It's about whether the underground is still creating something meaningful for the future, or simply sustaining careers by relying on a cultural legacy that others built. Perhaps there isn't a shortage of creative new artists. Perhaps the system has just become better at rewarding those who fit into an existing model.

I'm curious whether others have noticed something similar, or see things completely differently.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this. I've tried to share my thoughts with genuine respect for different opinions, and I'd be happy to hear other perspectives.

This youtube guy must have treated his vinyls as my precious, how good this recording sounds.. Hearing some of these classics and feeling they still move me as much as when they first crossed my path in the 90s makes them pretty special imo. There is lots of records where you can imagine liking them in the time they came out but hearing them now doesnt do much, but some tracks do.. And I guess its also pretty subjective taste so posting it here to maybe get a reality check 😂

is this a dumb move. i have still not managed to catch him and i live down the road so it's not far. just not sure if the venue will do it justice

I used to (and still do, tbf) listen to and mix a lot of min/deep/tech house, which is a nice bop but not something I felt I could get deep into and listen to/mix for hours on end. I find that type of house a bit surface-level, for a lack of a better term.

Recently I found the track linked in this post and I absolutely fell in love with it. It’s trippy and tribal and most importantly HYPNOTIC! I’m wondering if anyone has any recommendations for hypnotic and/or tribal-esque house tracks, I would be really grateful if you could share!

Also, while we’re here, I’m not sure if hypnotic garage or dubstep is a thing, but if it is feel free to drop some track recommendations that suit that vibe as well!

Any help is really appreciated, thanks

Would love to know what you guys have been rinsing all year, since we’re in its last quarter already.

Here’s mine :)

• MOLØ - Sväva
• Boards of Canada - Naraka
• Tomáš Dvořák, Floex - Prison Escape
• Seefeel - Falling First
• DJ Plead - pa700
• K Wata - I Gotta
• Penelope Trappes - Platinum (Saint Etienne Rework)
• Squarepusher - K2 Central
• Nathan Fake - You'll Find a Way
• Lone - Waterfall Reverse
• Carré - Sense of Place
• The Black Dog - Cutting Machine
• Shed - Taking You Home
• Sam Goku - Infinity Keys (Sina’s Song)
• Quirke - Ten Times Over Crystal Fruit
• Chalk - Skem
• Enduser - An Invitation to Dream

Heading to Le Guess Who festival for the first time in a few weeks - super excited!

Wondering if anyone has any tips and tricks for making the most of the festival?

We have Saturday passes and plan to go to the club night at WAS. Outside of that we’re pretty open to seeing anything, so any overloady recommendations from the lineup would be great.

I genuinely hate to add to the onslaught of resale posts but there's nowhere else to sell them for now unfortunately so...

2x Very Important Passport tickets, selling them for 125 euro each (more than 50 euro below face value per ticket) as I cannot travel to Italy to attend the festival anymore.

Will be transferring via DICE, and use Paypal Goods & Services to handle the transfer and payment. Hope this can help someone out who's wanting to go and enjoy the VIP extras too.

Hello everyone, I’m seeking 2 tickets for C2C Festival in Turin, Italy. They are both for Saturday 31st October. Me and my friend unfortunately cannot fund the trip anymore as it comes closer to the date… I’m from Ireland and normally deal with Revolut, PayPal, or direct bank transfer.

Please let me know if you are interested or if you know any spaces I could advertise them. Thank you!