Reclaim Your City 718 | Sunju Hargun

Throughout the past decade, Swedish DJ and producer Martin Strömstedt alias Martinou has been shaping some of the most gorgeous and elegant techno around, gracing the grooves of high-profile labels including Nous’klaer Audio, Mule Musiq, Studio Barnhus and Horoom. Inspired by the cosmos, from its archi-movement to its infra-visible modulations, Martinou champions a sound that is both highly poetic and deep-diving, clad in soft membranes and ample yet delicate harmonies. Mostly elevating and soothing, though sometimes murky and claustrophobic, Martinou’s body of work embodies the dual nature of our age, where the all-engulfing darkness of our times calls for the brightest, most dazzling beauty in return, and where - perhaps, the seemingly relative importance of a poignant strings flight, graceful textures or luminous momentum can reveal all the more essential tools to elevate people out of their condition, and beckon us onto a brighter, more inclusive future. 

Hailing out of Bangkok, Siamese Twins Records co-founder Sunju Hargun has been pushing the Asian techno scene forward untiringly. Exploring the confines of tribal-informed techno through propulsive, boldly minded sets and productions, Sunju keeps swinging the pendulum betwixt eerie, hallucinogenic ambiences and cosmic-tinged, future-proof buildups. Sharp and precise, his nimble mixing style serves as the perfect vehicle for these lengthy, immersive swirls of deeply hued harmonics and feverish rhythmic assault. Expect blissed-out, climactic moments and unharnessed descents into darkling layers of pure, unadulterated techno and trancey hedonism. Oneiric raving in its finest shape. 

Dwelling the interspace between abstract, ambient-adjacent techno and heavily dubbed out electronics, Osaka-based artist TENO is the epitome of a true sound artisan, breathing the most minute attention to detail and textural developments to his complex musical tapestries. Immersive to the full, his mixes teleport us at the junction of meditative stasis and rhythm-driven abandon, infusing each bar with a singular soul of its own, and each sequence with a distinctively vivid impetus. Reverbs and delays blazing, each brushstroke gains mythical force in TENO's kaleidoscopic deluge of changing colours and intense percussive firepower. A hi-res tornado of surgical groove flex, crisp sound design and impeccable transitions, rolled into the most cinematic floor narrative you could think of. Sensitive hi-tech drifter in full effect. 

Up this week with a highly psychedelic two-hour mix, Italian DJ and producer D-Leria steps in with a barrage fire of heavy-duty dubs, tribal-informed polyrhythms and cosmic brainwaves. As a true explorer of uncharted sonic horizons, constantly pushing the envelope of techno and its sub-branches, Giuseppe Di Leria has established a name synonym with quality and innovation - as advocated through a bunch of acclaimed releases for the likes of Non Series, Semantica, Avian and his own imprint, Delirio. Opaque and mystic-imbued, his sound bridges the gap between hi-velocity functionality and abstract-leaning escapology, treating the club space as its playground of choice for bold experimentation. Spanning a wide range of musical genotypes - from rugged, post-industrial 4x4 wares to streamlined, bass-heavy combers, via intricate percussive workouts and tripped-out entrancers, D-Leria’s set is techno at its most enjoyably state-of-the-art and cerebral. 

Punching in with two hours of esoteric techno and multi-layered electronics, Ouroboros crew and Non Series / Samurai Music affiliate Vardae brings over the eerie dubs and arcane moves to RYC. Championing an eruptive blend of tribal-informed breaks, acid-soaked bass waves, tape-delayed patterns and spirals of hypnotic psychedelia, Vardae develops his broad, all-embracing vision through chiseled constructions and articulate dynamics. Built for full-immersion raving and introspective journeying, his mixes route us onto euphoric apexes via craggy meanders and jagged panoramas. Expect a playful, mind-bending trip into Vardae’s shape-shifting imaginarium. A most unpredictable, restless ride awaits. 

Up this week with a lushly-forested sonic voyage, De Lighting, Midgar and Nous’klaer affiliate Human Space Machine treats us to one of his trademark deep, highly cinematic sets. Blending elegant soundscaping with a sixth sense for crafting off-kilter floor momenti, HSM beckons us on the path of slo-entrancement through deftly welded track combinations and surgically executed angle shifts. From abstract-bordering downtempo joints to straight out propulsive, club-ready ordnance, HSM’s range knows no bound as he keeps juggling signatures and purposes, easing us into a kaleidoscopic tableau where the Dutch producer’s widescreen mindset shines in all its unadulterated glory. 

KSR boss Gianluca Caiati aka Kaiser steps into our weekly podcast series with a powerhouse two-hour round of clinical groovers and heavy-duty bass bombs. Championing a sound that goes straight for the jugular, the Italian DJ and producer dishes out mixes that blend fierce Detroit-typical salvos with sheer Berlin-built muscle, going all in on floor-focussed weaponry and no-nonsense club narratives. For lovers of streamlined 4x4 buildups and sleek, reverb-drenched workouts, this one has Caiati zeroing in on the dubbed-out side of operations, unleashing maximal firepower with every bar. One heater after the other. 

This week’s mix comes courtesy of Japanese DJ Yusuke Harada, alias YSK, a particularly deft merchant of deep-diving techno grooves and layered, abstract-leaning sonic explorations. His rapid-fire mixing style, exacting and dexterous, takes us on a journey down mesmeric dub-scapes and intricate mazes packed with hi-NRG cliff-hangers and unsuspected crossroads. Running the voodoo down with remarkable consistency and unfailing precision, YSK is yet another instance of the Japanese scene’s ability in shaping some of the most skilled and discerning DJs around. Be ready for a massive two-hour deluge of brooding sines and claustrophobic atmospheres, wreaking the kind of mastered chaos from which you won’t come out unchanged. 

On the rise towards wider recognition and duly so, Swedish DJ and producer Joline Scheffler - whose path may cross that of RYC in other ways soon *wink wink* - has been making waves with her highly dynamic, exhilarating take on classic techno motifs, pushing grooves that bridge the gap betwixt entrancing cavalcades and more intimate sonic explorations. Dexterously swinging the pendulum from immersive 4x4-spoken poetics to verbed-out refraction, through more spacious, cosmic-leaning developments and a proper pictorial sense, opening up portals onto new dimensions and sensations with every bar, Joline excels at crafting these unsuspected epiphanies and fulgurations that can be enjoyed as intensely both on and off the dance floor. A master of translating emotion through signals, who keeps affirming techno’s never-ending power of transcendence and subjugation. 

Dwelling the deeper end of the spectrum, Amsterdam’s own brooding vibist Nawaz clocks in this week with a raw, uncompromising entry. Adepts of menacing sub-bass onslaughts and cutting-edge minimalism will find in Nawaz’s contribution the perfect companion to their next couple of hours. Dynamic and nuanced, structured yet chaotic, his mixes explore the darkest, infra-visible layers of audio synthesis, with a clear focus on the tantric, hypnosis-inducing effect of loops and repeated motifs. Enter a realm of complex sonic architecture and intricate envelope interplays, each membrane throbbing with a life of its own that echoes far and deep into the psyche long after the lights have gone off.