2019 Recap Dekmantel Records

On the doorstep of 2020, and the first releases of that coming year already in the pipeline, we're looking back into the past twelve months and the releases that saw light on Dekmantel Records — including some first-hand insights by the artists themselves.

Dekmantel Radio End Of The Year Special

The last Dekmantel Radio of the year features part the Dekmantel staff discussing some festival highlights, tracks from this year's Dekmantel Records catalogue and a whole bunch of our other favourite tracks that were released in the past year.

Interview Slikback's Kaleidoscopic Dance Floor Rhythms

Over the past two years, Kenyan-producer Slikback, aka Freddy Njau, has transcended from making tunes at Boutiq Studios in Kampala to sharing his gleefully genre-swerving sounds around the world.

Podcast RA Exchange with Leroy Burgess

“Allow your work to speak for you and you won’t have to say much.” — Spot on statement by the legendary Leroy Burgess during the Resident Advisor Exchange talk at this year's Dekmantel Festival. If you’re interested in more wisdom from the seminal disco vocalist, this podcast is a must listen.

Interview Batu: Imaginative Dance Music

Humble, perceptive and driven by curiosity: this interview with Batu reveals what makes this outrageously DJ/producer/label boss tick. Zweikommasieben caught up with him about his approach to and his position in contemporary club music.

Interview The Many Faces Of Tadd Mullinix

Performing Sunday daytime on the UFO II tent was Tadd Mullinix’s more elaborate alter-ego Charles Manier. Mullinix goes by many names, but most probably know him as James T. Cotton, or Dabrye. We spoke with him at Dekmantel Festival to get sense of his world.

Interview In Conversation With John Talabot

We caught up with the Hivern Discs head honcho right after his closing set at the Main Stage of Dekmantel Festival 2019 and talked about his label, collaborations, touring regime and more.

Interview Mulatu Astatke, an Ethio-Jazz legend far from slowing-down

"Ethio Jazz has such a long tradition, but it’s important for me to stretch that it stems from the incredibly diverse musical and cultural landscape that Ethiopia has."

Feature Reburning the flame

Dekmantel and Is Burning talk about joining forces and their mutual love to drive electronic music forward, while paying respect to the past.

Sound and Vision Dekmantel Festival's Thursday programme brings together three thrilling artists with totally different sound aesthetics

Thursday’s lineup at Dekmantel Festival features pulsing techno from Detroit producer Gerald Donald aka Arpanet, big booming drones from Seattle’s mighty Sunn O))), electronic explorations from shadowy figure John T Gast and the dark dancefloor mutations of Manchester duo Demdike Stare, among many others.

Interview Rave Revolution: Eris Drew shares the Motherbeat

One of the artists we are excited to have over for the very first time is Eris Drew — spiritual divinity of the American rave scene and lined up for a back-to-back with Octo Octa at Dekmantel Festival 2019. Glamcult caught up with her to discuss the party as ritual space, resisting homogeneity in the scene, the healing capacity of music, and more.

Interview The Meticulous Mind of Jeff Mills

Speaking to Jeff Mills is not so much a conversation as it is a chance to tune into his passionate theories and philosophies about space, the future of the human race or the possibilities of techno as an art form. It is this sort of thinking outside the usual lines that resonates with Dekmantel and makes Mills such a cherished and regular guest at the annual Amsterdam festival.

Feature Living Legends: Pharoah Sanders Quartet & Cybotron create the sounds of the future

While 75% of this year's Dekmantel Festival line-up is comprised of festival newcomers, the Wednesday Concerts is rooted in modern music history, celebrating two pioneers: Pharoah Sanders Quartet & Cybotron.

Article Leroy Burgess’ 10 favourite slow jams from the ’70s and ’80s

"Leroy Burgess is a figure whose contribution to ’80s disco lore precedes him. As a guest vocalist, he has cut a melody across a number of hits from the ’70s and ’80s, coming up with frequent collaborator Patrick Adams in NYC’s soul and disco scenes."

Review DJ Python's first EP on our label discussed by Pitchfork

"Lush, heady, and shot through with an undercurrent of wistful contemplation, producer Brian Piñeyro’s “deep reggaetón” sound can’t be called lo-fi anymore."

Feature Made in Mega-Cities: China's Underground Club Producers Break Through

If music has taught us anything in this century, it’s that the world gets smaller as the internet gets faster. But for a fifth of the world’s population, music portals like YouTube, SoundCloud and Spotify are only been accessible to those who can crack the so-called “Great Firewall of China” and sidestep the country’s harsh censorship. In recent years, a new generation of Chinese DJs, producers and clubbers has begun to break down barriers and make their mark internationally.

Interview Adam X: "I'm from Brooklyn motherfucker"

It was there in New York City that Adam X was born in 1971. It was there he grew up "besides the train tracks" and went on to become the police’s most wanted graffiti artist in 1989. But most importantly, it was there that he built New York’s first techno scene with older brother Frankie Bones.

Interview DJ Storm talks to Untitled #909 about her pioneering work as a DJ

"It’s hard to know where to begin when talking about someone as influential as DJ Storm. A powerful force to be reckoned with, the First Lady of drum and bass is a role model to many in the scene and beyond."

Feature Inside The Ride: The Making of Dekmantel Festival 2019

Every year when it comes time to announce the new edition of Dekmantel Festival, we aim to generate a mix of surprise and elation. Each back-to-back ends up dissected. Repeat appearances demand explanation. Head Programmer Thomas Martojo explains this years festival line-up.