There are few names as widely loved in clubland as Bristol-based producer Omar McCutcheon, AKA Batu.
His label Timedance, currently celebrating its ten-year anniversary, has been instrumental in shaping a certain corner of contemporary electronic music. It champions a mutant, rhythmic, UK-flavoured sound that escapes any obvious genre touchstones, as well as spotlighting the careers of artists like Verraco, Ploy and Hodge who push musical and cultural boundaries.
In this Exchange, McCutcheon sat down with Resident Advisor's editor, Gabriel Szatan, in London to reflect on the label's Afrofuturist philosophy, its journey over the past decade and the sense of purpose and direction that have developed over time. He spoke about the impact that scenes beyond the UK—such as China, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico—have had on his productions and label curation, and how they offer fresh perspectives that contrast with Europe's sometimes overly nostalgic take on dance music. He also discussed finding positivity in a dark time, and music's enduring potential to inspire and connect.
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RA.1008 Enzo Siragusa
A joyride through rave-ready tech house, speed garage, jungle and more.
To the casual onlooker, Enzo Siragusa may seem easy to pigeonhole as just a UK DJ playing chunky house music. Wrong. The Maidenhead native has serious pedigree, earned from 30-plus years fully immersed in the rave, first as a dancer at jungle and hardcore parties, then as a hobby DJ and finally as the cofounder of one of London's most influential club nights: Fuse.
What began life in 2008 as a ramshackle afterparty on Brick Lane is now a global brand with multiple festivals and roving events, and Siragusa its figurehead. For years, Fuse's MO was doggedly down to earth, built on a love for intimate shows where the residents took top billing.
Its impact on modern dance culture is clear to see in the runaway success of the so-called UK tech house movement (think Michael Bibi, PAWSA and Chris Stussy). And yet Fuse always cut deeper, darker and dubbier.
"I felt you could bring the emotion of jungle and hardcore into minimal house, which is what became the Fuse sound," Siragusa told fabric last year. A child of Metalheadz as much as Perlon, his tastes—and vast vinyl collection—run wide, and today the breadth of these influences inform his creativity behind the decks more than ever.
As RA.1008 illustrates acrpss nearly two hours, dazzling tech house, minimal, speed garage, jungle and more all fit under Siragusa's roof. The blending is sublime, each new transition a window into a fleeting sonic world. There's no tracklist, with a clutch of totally unreleased tunes aired for the first time. Happy IDing.
@enzosiragusa @fuselondon
https://ra.co/podcast/1027
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RA.1007 mi-el
The gifted London DJ and curator goes big on bass futurism.
"To pull a thread." This old English adage means to follow a small detail that might unravel into something larger and more significant. It's also the inspiration behind London artist mi-el's NTS Radio show, and a neat way of understanding her approach as a DJ.
Take mi-el's rich archive of mixes. From NTS to The Trilogy Tapes, they show her to be a deeply personal selector and curator, pushing past functionality into something more expressive, narrative and often political. A show about Refugee Week? Afrofuturist world-making? Interlocking systems of domination? All material is putty in her hands.
Now based in Berlin, mi-el is simply a wicked club DJ. In just a few years she's played Panorama Bar, De School and FOLD, as well as festivals including Waking Life, Terraforma and Field Maneuvers.
Alongside peers and predecessors like Josey Rebelle, she represents a new generation of Black British artists reinventing the wheel, and as we mark the beginning of UK Black History Month, no other candidate felt more fitting.
RA.1007 shows why. The 55-minute session is a deft balancing act of depth and playfulness, humour and heaviness, rooted in club intensity and the futurism of the UK hardcore continuum. It's firm confirmation that, in mi-el's hands, the art of the DJ mix is alive and well.
@miellllllll
Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/1026
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EX.777 Sama’ Abdulhadi
Has the techno industry failed Palestine?
Sama', the world's most famous Palestinian DJ, talks about Israel’s genocide in Gaza and how the music industry—and some of her peers in techno—have failed Palestine.
The most deeply divisive topic of the year is undoubtedly Israel's genocide in Gaza. The issue has prompted some artists to step boldly into the political ring and others to shield their professional identities from scrutiny and public discourse, with each camp drawing fierce backlash.
After a brief summer hiatus, the RA Exchange returns with a new season, launching with Palestinian DJ Sama’ Abdulhadi, who addresses all this and more in a charged interview. The Ramallah-born artist has since gone on to tour non-stop internationally, regularly appearing alongside some of her idols growing up, such as Richie Hawtin and Nicole Moudaber. She's also no stranger to RA: in 2023, she graced the cover of this magazine and, just this summer, contributed to our drop of RA.1000 anniversary mixes.
This interview, though, is the most outspoken Abdulhadi has ever been. She shares her take on what's happened since October 7th, including her assessment of how and where the music industry, and her peers, have fallen short; the pressure she feels to be a global spokesperson for Palestine; why she feels that the revolutionary spirit has drained from a subculture built from resistance; and how, despite it all, she retains a sense of optimism and forward momentum. Listen or watch the episode in full. -Chloe Lula
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RA.1006 Collabs 3000
Three hours of incendiary techno, as two veterans go head-to-head.
When Speedy J described his studio dynamic with Chris Liebing back in 2014, he put it bluntly: "I try to piss him off a little." The result? Dance music that's as functional and precise as Liebing demands, with just enough chaos to keep it interesting. That tension has defined the duo's partnership, Collabs 3000, since their first releases, and it's alive and well on their debut RA Mix.
Both artists are techno heavyweights in their own right. Jochem Paap, AKA Speedy J, helped Europe slow down after the breakneck '90s, proving that techno could chug as well as pummel. Liebing, meanwhile, commanded his popular label CLR and went from transforming schranz into the hard techno sound that recently swept up a younger generation of ravers.
As a pair, Collabs 3000 undeniably has its ear trained on the big room. Paap and Liebing are both former Berghain regulars, and the Berlin club's influence is clear across RA.1006: taut, muscular techno, or "effective and structured" in Liebing's words, with Paap injecting the right amount of unpredictability. Their 2005 full-length, Metalism, remains a landmark: polished, uncompromising and dynamite for any large sound system.
With the album now remastered for its 20th anniversary, Collabs 3000's RA Mix brings that same ferocious energy into sharp focus: smouldering textures, peak-time pressure and three unrelenting hours of classic techno.
@chris-liebing
@jochempaap
Read the interview at ra.co/podcast/1025
Australia