EX.779 PinkPantheress

The New York-based journalist talks about her breakout book, Mood Machine, live from Soft Centre Festival in Sydney. As we approach the end of 2025, it's clear that one of the year's most zeitgeist-defining books has been Liz Pelly's Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist. The New York-based writer has been on a promotional tour, speaking at festivals around the world, and one of her recent stops was at Soft Centre in Sydney, where this Exchange was recorded live with writer, editor and DJ Audrey Pfister. Pelly's background is in the DIY scene, college radio and independent alt weeklies, all of which ignited her interest in writing about music. Over the last few years, she has become an outspoken advocate for underground music, and an incisive critic of how the streaming economy has debilitated independent artistry. In this conversation, she unpacks some of her book's main conceits. Spotify, for example, was originally designed around advertising models rather than music-first models, which is why it rewards music that performs well at scale. She explains how that's created so much growing inequity in what performs well on the platform, and she also draws fascinating parallels between the streaming economy and digital media. Mood Machine ends on a somewhat hopeful note, and Pelly proposes some solutions: as custodians of the independent music scene, we have a responsibility to go to live shows, subscribe to emerging DIY media projects and give money directly to artists by buying their music and merch. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

The first-ever live recording from an elusive icon of dubby electronic music. Lore is an underrated quality. Neuroscientists have mapped that music elicits similar feelings in the brain to when we satiate cravings, but what about the psychological impulse that drives listeners of a certain disposition toward everything they don't know? It's tricky to put your finger on, but artists able to conjure intrigue without overhawking the backstory can really cut through—just ask SAULT, [ar:pi:ar] or Gerald Donald. Then there are those who don't try whatsoever. These are the ones who stay in mind the most. In 2001, a striking 12" called Ship-Scope emerged through Chain Reaction, credited to Shinichi Atobe, with no other info available. Okay, mulled fans, this is probably a cat-and-mouse game dreamed up by someone on a label with a fine line in foggy obfuscation. Vainqueur on a wind-up? Another Moritz 'n Mark alias? But no: Atobe was real, and really had posted a demo to Hard Wax. It was that simple. Then he went back to his day job—until, after 13 years of silence, an even better follow-up emerged. From the near-perfect Butterfly Effect onwards, Atobe has built up one of the most revered catalogues in underground circles. A steady clip of elegant, transportive dub techno and deep electronics has arrived on Demdike Stare's DDS, complimented by the launch of his own label, plastic & sounds, earlier in summer 2025. Atobe has also made strides into the public domain, DJing intermittently, as well as performing live for the first time in 2023, gracing WWW at the tender age of 52. It's that debut 2023 show heard on RA.1009: a hypnotic yet comparatively pumping set full of Atobe staples, as well as material you won't find anywhere else. Contact with the big man, as you might anticipate, is glacial: since we first reached out, the RA Mix has changed name, look and rolled over into its second millennium. Still, patience pays off. This is a one-off we're stoked to run. – Gabriel Szatan @shinichiatobe Find the interview at https://ra.co/podcast/1028

There are few names as widely loved in clubland as Bristol-based producer Omar McCutcheon, AKA Batu. His label Timedance, currently celebrating its ten-year anniversary, has been instrumental in shaping a certain corner of contemporary electronic music. It champions a mutant, rhythmic, UK-flavoured sound that escapes any obvious genre touchstones, as well as spotlighting the careers of artists like Verraco, Ploy and Hodge who push musical and cultural boundaries. In this Exchange, McCutcheon sat down with Resident Advisor's editor, Gabriel Szatan, in London to reflect on the label's Afrofuturist philosophy, its journey over the past decade and the sense of purpose and direction that have developed over time. He spoke about the impact that scenes beyond the UK—such as China, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico—have had on his productions and label curation, and how they offer fresh perspectives that contrast with Europe's sometimes overly nostalgic take on dance music. He also discussed finding positivity in a dark time, and music's enduring potential to inspire and connect.

A joyride through rave-ready tech house, speed garage, jungle and more. To the casual onlooker, Enzo Siragusa may seem easy to pigeonhole as just a UK DJ playing chunky house music. Wrong. The Maidenhead native has serious pedigree, earned from 30-plus years fully immersed in the rave, first as a dancer at jungle and hardcore parties, then as a hobby DJ and finally as the cofounder of one of London's most influential club nights: Fuse. What began life in 2008 as a ramshackle afterparty on Brick Lane is now a global brand with multiple festivals and roving events, and Siragusa its figurehead. For years, Fuse's MO was doggedly down to earth, built on a love for intimate shows where the residents took top billing. Its impact on modern dance culture is clear to see in the runaway success of the so-called UK tech house movement (think Michael Bibi, PAWSA and Chris Stussy). And yet Fuse always cut deeper, darker and dubbier. "I felt you could bring the emotion of jungle and hardcore into minimal house, which is what became the Fuse sound," Siragusa told fabric last year. A child of Metalheadz as much as Perlon, his tastes—and vast vinyl collection—run wide, and today the breadth of these influences inform his creativity behind the decks more than ever. As RA.1008 illustrates acrpss nearly two hours, dazzling tech house, minimal, speed garage, jungle and more all fit under Siragusa's roof. The blending is sublime, each new transition a window into a fleeting sonic world. There's no tracklist, with a clutch of totally unreleased tunes aired for the first time. Happy IDing. @enzosiragusa @fuselondon https://ra.co/podcast/1027

The gifted London DJ and curator goes big on bass futurism. "To pull a thread." This old English adage means to follow a small detail that might unravel into something larger and more significant. It's also the inspiration behind London artist mi-el's NTS Radio show, and a neat way of understanding her approach as a DJ. Take mi-el's rich archive of mixes. From NTS to The Trilogy Tapes, they show her to be a deeply personal selector and curator, pushing past functionality into something more expressive, narrative and often political. A show about Refugee Week? Afrofuturist world-making? Interlocking systems of domination? All material is putty in her hands. Now based in Berlin, mi-el is simply a wicked club DJ. In just a few years she's played Panorama Bar, De School and FOLD, as well as festivals including Waking Life, Terraforma and Field Maneuvers. Alongside peers and predecessors like Josey Rebelle, she represents a new generation of Black British artists reinventing the wheel, and as we mark the beginning of UK Black History Month, no other candidate felt more fitting. RA.1007 shows why. The 55-minute session is a deft balancing act of depth and playfulness, humour and heaviness, rooted in club intensity and the futurism of the UK hardcore continuum. It's firm confirmation that, in mi-el's hands, the art of the DJ mix is alive and well. @miellllllll Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/1026