Dekmantel Podcast 368 - Machine Woman

Russian-born Anastasia Vtorova makes music that is autobiographical in style, but also in name. The titles of @machinewoman's tracks reference things like her favourite bouncers ('Camile From OHM Makes Me Feel Loved’) as well as her least favourite genres ('I Want to Fuck Tech House'). The beats themselves bare the hallmarks of the different chapters of her life, from the industrial she was first exposed to growing up in a post-Soviet environment to the late-night eeriness of Salford where she lived before moving amongst the minimal rhythms of Berlin. All this came out most recently in her distinctly glitchy, mechanical sounds and abstractions for toucan sounds with Derek Muro late last year. This week's mix feels like a continuation of that, with spacious after-dark electronics, moody ambient and shadowy dub techno soundtracking a walk through a desolate network of abandoned warehouses. Ghoulish sounds lurk around every corner as the pace picks up, with the occasional ray of light, drip of water or hallucinatory synth pulling you ever further into her world. It's a fascinating place to be.