Phonica Mix Series 139: Austin Ato

Glasgow’s own Austin Ato has quietly built one of the most compelling trajectories in contemporary house music — a DJ and producer whose colourful, groove-laden records nod to 90s house, deep disco and soulful rhythms while always carrying a distinctly modern pulse. Over the past decade he’s dropped vinyl and digital cuts on revered imprints like Phonica White, Classic Music Company, Me Me Me and Defected — from the piano-rich Song For Mr. Lewis and the groove-driven Heat to his own rework series I Love Your Edits — earning love from tastemakers across the global scene. Behind the decks he’s just as at home firing up Glasgow’s Berkeley Suite as he is packing floors from Edinburgh’s Bongo Club to Berlin’s Wintergarten, deftly blending deep, jazzy house with disco inflections and thoughtful edits that reveal both his crate-digging instincts and dancefloor intuition. For his Phonica mix, Ato cuts away from the constructed-mix template and instead offers a live warm-up set from his own I Love Your Energy night (Dec 27th, 2025) — a recording pulsing with real crowd energy, shimmering between deep, jazzy moments and intricate, drum-machine house workouts. Ato’s aim? To share the same flowing energy he feels when playing to people, giving the Phonica listeners a late-doors vibe that’s groovy, soulful and deeply immersive rather than a peak-hour stomp.