RA.997 Verraco

The Medellín maverick opens RA.997 with another mind-altering home run. As part of our countdown to the 1000th edition of the RA Podcast, a milestone in the 18-year history of Resident Advisor's weekly mix series, we're switching up the usual format. This week, following heady excursions through Lagos, Kampala, Detroit and Chicago, our focus shifts to Latin America—arguably the story in underground electronic music since the pandemic. After years of being all but overlooked internationally, the explosion of distinctive club sounds emerging from Peru, Brazil, Colombia and beyond has finally begun to get its due. Among the movement's great success stories are two artists who exemplify its refreshingly undogmatic energy: Verraco and Bitter Babe, and the former handles the A-side of RA.997. Is there a more compelling electronic artist around right now? Both in the studio and behind the decks, the Medellín-based DJ and producer currently sits in that coveted creative sweet spot, where every fresh musical morsel feels like a moment. To bask in any of his singular tracks on VOAM, Timedance and now XL Recordings, is to be bowled over by their rhythmic brilliance, madcap hooks and whirlpool basslines. ("Basic Maneuvers," anyone?) His mix is tough to pin down—a blend of dubby techno, tribal atmospheres, slanted bass and sharp edits. Or, as he puts it in the accompanying interview: “an intersection between dub-infused techno but with some flow, reduced atmospheric tribal, edgy bass cuts, mental emo-tek.” There’s plenty of unreleased TraTraTrax material here, alongside tracks from artists like Virginia, A Made Up Sound and a euphoric flip of Ploy’s “Ramos.” Slippery, emotional and surgically precise, it’s Verraco doing what he does best. Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/1001