Dekmantel Podcast

DJs have always had to dig for records, but Nicolas Lutz has taken the search for sound to obsessive new levels. The Uruguayan has spent more than 20 years excavating tunes, labels and artists most of us never knew existed. Genre is largely irrelevant; instead, the My Own Jupiter boss threads his finds into beautifully dark and alluring soundscapes full of mystery and tension. Playing in that way requires great technical skill as well as refined taste, and this week's podcast is further proof that Lutz has both in high supply. For almost two hours here, he navigates stark and moody atmospheres, trippy, stripped-back machine grooves and music that fires both head and body. Techno, breakbeat, IDM and wave all feature, but the outcome is never predictable. And that's exactly where the magic lies.

Ryan Elliott has been woven into the fabric of the underground for two decades. The Detroit native and Faith Beat label head cut his teeth back home before relocating to Berlin in 2009, where he became a core member of the Berghain and Ostgut Ton family that helped shape the sound of the contemporary scene. He has always straddled the house and techno divide, merging moods and rhythms from each into his own immersive soundscapes. Not long after a 12-hour, all-vinyl set at Berghain to mark his 50th birthday, Elliott has now selected an hour of "old, new, rare and unreleased music" and rolled it into a typically smooth selection for us. Warm, fulsome low ends underpin a cool, unhurried mix that slowly dials up the pressure with passionate vocals and playful rhythms. It's the sound of a real master at work.

Techno heavyweights Function and Nastia Reigel first came together over a shared love of early, rave-leaning and transcendental grooves. After months swapping tunes from both the old and the new school, they got to work in the studio and, in May, dropped their Devocion EP on Dekmantel. The four tracker explores broody and melancholic techno that is doused in emotion with plenty of shadowy atmosphere and deep rolling rhythms. Off the back of that, they have now put together a mix that explores this world even further with tracks from the likes of Donato Dozzy and Regis, plus two from their own EP. The drums are quick and the mixing is tight as the pair seamlessly traverse sounds that veer from the futuristic to the psychoactive. It's colourful techno that goes way beyond pure body music.

Guy Blanken has been part of the Dekmantel family for almost 20 years. Under his Makam alias, he explores a light, deep and dreamy sound that contrasts with his darker work as Talismann. He recently returned to our label with the delightfully dubby house album Tarp, featuring tracks from the last 10 years, made all over the world with complete freedom. “It’s more about creating a space or a feeling than telling a specific story,” he told us recently. This July, Guy joins us in the woods for The Archive, a brand-new live show featuring plenty of treasures from his vaults. But first comes this week's mix, which follows a similar path to the album. The liquid, elongated grooves sink you in deep to dubbed out underworlds layered with painterly synth strokes and soft acid washes. Pressure and tempo build almost imperceptibly towards a refined, minimal take on techno that is for the head as much as the dance floor.

Curaçao-born sound curator Rozaly both ignites and unites the dance floor. The sounds he plays are designed to blow open preconceptions about Caribbean music and tap into a more collective sense of memory. The distillation of his musical heritage through a new contemporary lens has made him a favourite at our festivals, which is why he will join us again in Amsterdam and Croatia this summer. But first, his mix, which he describes as "a dream through the night of the Caribbean" that starts in the evening and takes you through to early morning and touches on niche styles like zess, chutney and soca, to Rabòday, Bouyon and Carnival Ganza. The selection is marbled with his own forthcoming field recordings, demos by friends and never-released tunes from overlooked cultural pillars. "A micro patchwork of the complexity of our identities in sound, aiming to fuel a forever-growing organism of pride. Caribbean pride."

BASHKKA plays with a purpose beyond making people dance. The Munich-born artist is an advocate for the social and political power of electronic music and is a proud advocate of queer culture. Next to her residency at Amsterdam's Raum and Blitz Club in her hometown of Munich, she plays across the world while dropping evocative originals and remixes across the house spectrum. For this week's mix, she homes in on a seductive groove that is grounded in her own "sensual, hypnotic and driving" house music DNA. Technically mixed but full of selection flair, it's infused with glimpses of her own forthcoming tunes while cruising through classic Chicago, bouncy old school and delicious depths.

Rene Wise - Johnson's Theme - Dekmantel - DKMNTL-UFO21 https://dekmantel.com/shop/records/rene-wise-johnsons-theme https://renewise.bandcamp.com/album/johnsons-theme a1. Johnson's Theme a2. Granite Skin b1. Flow b2. Kanga Tapping into the otherworldly frequencies of the UFO series, UK-born, Lisbon-based prodigy Rene Wise (@renewise) arrives on Dekmantel with an assured demonstration of his position at the cutting edge of real techno. Andrew Shobeiri appeared in the cut and thrust of the scene fully-formed around 2017, instantly bringing his Rene Wise alias to top-tier labels with a razor-sharp combination of functional minimalism and mind-warping flair. There's no grey area fluctuation in his hypnotic, intentional sound — this is deep, captivating techno for the long haul, music to submit yourself to. True to his sound, Rene Wise makes his presence felt on Dekmantel UFO with a varied spread of sounds, leading with the melancholic charm of the melodic sequences weaving through 'Johnson's Theme' before sinking into the engrossing folds and low-end rumble of 'Granite Skin'. There's a lighter atmosphere at play in the vaporous impulses that mark out 'Flow' before rolling into the rhythmic urgency and strafing bleeps of 'Kanga'. This is the Dekmantel UFO experience as expressed by one of the leading lights in modern techno — an artist who understands the psychoactive power contained within the subtleties of production and pursuit of the ultimate loop.

Alfred Anders is the sort of character every good local scene needs—collector, curator, connector, risk-taker. This week, we get a taste of his mix, cruising at 110 BPM on the slower fringes of club music. A journey through trippy, outer-space spacelines and wonderfully weird grooves, moving from early ’80s house and tribal vibes to New Beat and Proto-Techno, all anchored by his Belgian sound as a guiding red thread. Behind the decks, he is one of the main arteries of the Brussels music scene and nightscape, digging deep for unknown gems that move, entrance, and intrigue. In 10 years time he built up Crevette Records to be a globally recognized and respected record shop, in addition to co-orchestrating some of Brussels’ most sought-after events.

Locked into the rhythm of today’s techno landscape, Berlin-based sorcerer Jesse G shapes an intense, ritualistic musical journey. This mix brings you to the depths of dark minimalism, melting into deep, psychedelic passages that become pacy and percussive before the boosters kick in and the trip gets cosmic.  Her textures contain power, but never at the expense of emotional nuance, as elements of bass music, breakbeat and UK sound seep into her selections. Witness this Tresor Resident and Hard Wax staffer casting a seamless spell of punching grooves with psychedelic atmospheres at Dekmantel Selectors this summer.

Hailing from Düsseldorf, Time Passages label head Binh takes crate-digging dedication to another level. His ear for discovering unknown gems has made him a long-time underground favourite, often showcasing his wax during marathon-length sets in Berlin or back-to-backs with fellow cult vinyl heads. Dive into 75 minutes of his signature minimal pressure: thudding kicks and spangled synths, laced with a dark yet futuristic mood. A taste of what’s to come when Binh joins us for the 10th edition of Dekmantel Selectors on the Adriatic coast.

Léa Occhi is Berlin-based, Paris-rooted, but hard-wired into the dancefloor’s more introspective frequencies. The co-founder and resident of queer collective Spectrum Waves channels techno into mental, minimal rituals that are emotionally charged and deep, regardless of energy levels. Outside of the club, she's a proud champion of marginalised communities who uses music to bring people together, despite being a reserved character herself.  Ahead of her appearance at Dekmantel Festival 2026, Occhi soundtracks a world where tension, groove and inward reflection collide. Supple, deeply rooted rhythms set the tone as sci-fi techno, psychedelic minimalism and pressurised dub are threaded together into a controlled, classy trip full of machine warmth.

Roza Terenzi & S-candalo at Lentekabinet 2025 by dekmantel

Amsterdam’s T.NO delivers the 503rd Dekmantel mix, giving a taste of what he’s bringing to this year’s festival season. The Rinse FM resident draws on his Surinamese heritage to weave kawina rhythms into club music with a sharp, contemporary edge. Bass-led and grounded in Afro-diasporic traditions, his productions carry a restless, exploratory energy on labels like TraTraTrax, Club Djembe and re:lax. His mix for us is a widescreen two-and-a-half-hour selection that dives deep into all aspects of his sound. After a serene ambient start, T.NO wastes no time in getting down to business and lays down stripped back global rhythms that demand a full body response. Moments of percussive, drum-led intensity are woven into futuristic electronics and heavy bass workouts, always under high pressure and with great control.

Our first mix of the New Year is an otherworldly back-to-back between DJ Nobu & Aurora Halal that was recorded live at Dekmantel Festival 2023. Japan's Nobu is a renowned selector with a singular but fluid approach to techno and experimental electronic music. He’s the cult figure behind the long‑running Future Terror party series and Bitta label, both of which showcase truly adventurous sounds. Halal, meanwhile, is the Brooklyn‑based favourite who runs the respected Mutual Dreaming series and has a shadowy, psychedelic style that melts genres together with experimental textures. The pair represent two distinct but complementary strands of underground music culture, as heard in this special two-hour recording. There's a rawness to it that keeps you on edge as the duo weave mind-melting techno tales, spin out into cosmic electro and strip everything away to reveal pulsing, hypnotic rhythmic cores. It's an utterly immersive musical dialogue between two modern titans.

Recording of Kamma & Masalo's set at the Greenhouse stage during Dekmantel Festival 2025.

Recording of Shanti Celeste's set at the Selectors stage during Dekmantel Festival 2025.

Javybz at Greenhouse - Dekmantel Festival 2025 by dekmantel

Recording of Noda & Wolfers's set at the Greenhouse stage during Dekmantel Festival 2025.

Recording of Casper Tielrooij & Victor's set at the Selectors stage during Dekmantel Festival 2025.

Recording of Yaeji's DJ set at The Nest stage during Dekmantel Festival 2025.

Recording of Honey Dijon's set at The Loop stage during Dekmantel Festival 2025.

Recording of NIK's set at The Loop stage during Dekmantel Festival 2025.

Recording of Nèna's set at The Loop stage during Dekmantel Festival 2025.

Recording of Ineffekt's set at The Loop stage during Dekmantel Festival 2025.

Recording of Four Tet's set at The Loop stage during Dekmantel Festival 2025.

Recording of Avalon Emerson's set at The Loop stage during Dekmantel Festival 2025.

Recording of Wes Lee's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of DJ Marfox's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of Hervé's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of Kikelomo & DJ Spit's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of Oyubi's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of Afra's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of TAYHANA's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of ketia's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of Toma Kami's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of Sarkawt Hamad's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of Folake's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of The Blessed Madonna's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of pebblle's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of Mina & Bryte's live set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of Gyrofield's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of Dinamarca's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Crystallmess at Lentekabinet 2025 by dekmantel

Recording of Coco EM's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of Gabrielle Kwarteng's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of Retromigration's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Recording of kimmah's set at Lentekabinet 2025.

Sweden's Olof Dreijer is one of electronic music's most beloved outsiders. His work as half of The Knife alongside his sibling Karin is the stuff of experimental pop legend, while his solo output is just as wonderfully weird. He showed that again in September with Iris, his second EP on Dekmantel, which featured two originals that twist textured beats and smudged chords, intricate sound designs and hyper-real melodies. Across his 75-minute mix for us this week, Dreijer works quickly through everything from carnival house to zippy club music, mutant bass and thumping techno. Plenty of his own music features, including his recent remix of Björk, Rosalia, plus cuts from DJ Hyperactive, Jeff Mills, DJ Rush and many more. It's a full throttle selection for the peak time.

Sound Metaphors DJs at Dekmantel Selectors 2025 by dekmantel

500 episodes. 10 years. Millions of beats. ⁠Our celebration of the artists who define and defy the dance floor continues with a milestone set from Job Jobse. Amsterdam’s long-time favourite shares his most personal mix to date, unfolding the full spectrum of his sound: from warm-blooded, dreamy house to dubby electro and new-age techno.⁠ Featuring music by Priori, Donato Dozzy, Barker, CCL, D.Tiffany, Mr. Fingers, Maara, Avalon Emerson, Anunaku, Dorisburg, Pariah, James Holden, Bambounou, Peach, Call Super, Parris, Oceanic, Sasha, Opal Sunn, Sohrab, Marcel Dettmann, Ryan Elliott, Aril Brikha, Future State Of London, Melatonin Man, Doms & Deykers, Martinou and many more.