The best DJ mixes of the year 2023 so far - February - Music - Mixmag

Aya on NTS

Back on the NTS airwaves after a 10 month break - or 10 months since her “last confession”, in her own words - Aya debuted her new Wednesday evening show and quickly excelled in the “pretty sweet” slot on Channel 1. Opening on the rocky noise of $HIT & $HINE and moving through collapsing bassweight, spacey breaks, Maloya protest music from Reunion and more, the amazing sounds are elevated by Aya narrating throughout in her affable style. A radio hostess with the mostess.

Kiernan Laveaux ‘DJ Mag Fresh Kicks 194’

Kiernan Laveaux’s mixes tend to take you through the wormhole of mind-altering rave rhythms and this is no exception. With the genre simply tagged as #Magic on SoundCloud, it’s a spellbinding blend of throbbing, pulsating and skewed club sounds.

Nique J ‘Sound of Looney Choonz mix’

Nicknamed ‘La Reina de #Unshazamble’ by peers, Nique J ‘s sets are filled with edits and deep cuts. Putting together this set to feature within our recent report on the sounds developing within London’s Afro house movements, written by NKC, it’s an energetic and typically tantalising showcase of the dynamic tracks dancers hear at RJ’s Looney Choonz party.

DJ Wawa ‘Daisychain 266’

A proverbial love letter to the smooth, shuffling sound of East Coast house music — NYC-based DJ Wawa’s hour-long mix for Daisychain digs deep into its influences, packed with cuts from Mr G, Roy Davis Jr and Alexander Robotnik — from digger specials to familiar favourites. Sensual and energetic from the get-go.

Toumba ‘Mixmag Impact’

Deliciously complex, overwrought with frenetic percussion and low-end bass, Jordan-born producer and DJ Toumba digs into the rich tapestry of Levantine club music for his hour-long Impact mix. Fresh off the back of his Hessle Audio debut, the mix is bubbling with the same eager, fluctuating edge as his ‘Petals’ EP — playfully introducing us to new sounds by patching them up against familiar favourites, slicing between the likes of Biome, Lechuga Zafiro, TSVI, Georg-i and Capuiz.

S-candalo ‘Fact Mix 897’

We’re not exaggerating when we say that this serotonin-inducing hour from Berlin-based sibling duo S-candalo is exactly what your week has been missing. Celebrating the euphoria and drama of Latin LGBTQIA+ club music, the mix consists of a plethora of Latin house edits and high-energy trance and electro classics — with sensual vocals consistent throughout. We want to be on a S-candalo dancefloor.

Charlotte ‘Circoloco Radio 280’

Next up representing the sounds of legendary Ibiza Monday afterparty Circoloco is French DJ Charlotte (one half of Charly & Scotch), who has long been a mainstay of the French underground house and techno scene. Moving through dusty Chicago house, spooky electro and squiggly techno ­– if you close your eyes, you can taste that White Isle air.

Per Hammar ‘XLR8R Podcast 777’

For the lucky number 777 of the long-running XLR8R podcast series, the platform invited Swedish don Per Hammar, who has quietly been releasing some of dubby techno and minimal house’s sharpest records over the past 15 years. The mix is precisely an exploration of that – an hour long mix made up entirely of his own original music, with some picked out from his back catalogue and a healthy sprinkling of unreleased gems.

Loa Szala ‘Trommel InSession 093’

For Trommel, our 2023 artist to watch Loa Szala gifts 75 minutes of house and techno music excellence. It’s a dancefloor-focused peek into the London digger’s deep and diverse record bag, full of classy tech-house grooves, acid wonkers and sub-aquatic electro, mixed flawlessly.

Ikonika ‘Mixmag In Session’

In our most recent In Session mix with Ikonika, the lifelong Hyperdub affiliate goes in with a club-inspired mix starting off at a slower BPM with a collection of amapiano and UK amapiano cuts before “getting into some more familiar club sounds”, she explains. Including a track from her latest solo EP ‘Bubble Up’, Ikonika also pays homage to her current favourite South African sounds. “There’s also some Bacardi, cruise beat, gqom and some forthcoming Night Slugs bits."

Kilig on Rinse FM

Kilig’s latest appearance on Rinse FM gave a taste of the tunes he’s been spinning of late - from Facta’s ‘Mirage’ to Jay Carder’s ‘Reverse Disorder’, Sam Goku’s ‘Libellenflug’ to Ehua’s ‘Piume’. This hour-long Rinse mix traverses rave, dubstep, and pop-leaning breaks with a heavenly selection of dance music’s finest.

Eamon Harkin 'XLR8R Podcast 781'

Just ahead of the release of his next EP ‘Old Sage’ on Sorry Records, Northern Ireland-born, New York-based Eamon Harkin appeared on XLR8R’s Podcast with a selection of fresh minimal and synth-led tracks. This two-hour mix is packed with eclecticism, from Pearson Sound’s ‘Alien Mode’ to a classic cut from Roman Flügel, 1999’s ‘Test 1’.

AK Sports on Rinse FM

After a wild roster of new names joined Rinse FM, AK Sports kicked off their residency with a roaring mix of hyper techno. Two hours fly by as their selection effortlessly blends vigorous tracks together to make a mix that you’ll never want to end. You don’t even need to leave the house to rave with this mix under your belt.

TAAHLIAH ‘Crack Mix 489’

TAAHLIAH always blows our mind with her mixes. This one’s another absolute belter. With the violent drum beat of Jack Ward’s ‘Rain On Me’ edit to a ferocious take on Skrillex’s ‘Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites’, this mix has taken classics to a completely new level. There’s also some of TAAHLIAH’s own work within this mix, including her remix of UNIIQU3’s ‘Microdosing’ and her edit of Kesha’s ‘Cannibal’.

Specialists + Shanti Celeste on Foundation FM

Explore a mixture of funk, house and more with Shanti Celeste as she glides us through her latest picks for Foundation FM, with plenty of new tracks inside to discover. Spinning a cocktail of bubbling cuts, this mix is going to raise those serotonin levels.

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