Reclaim Your City 689 | Thomas Hessler

Actively pushing back the borders of techno language for the past fifteen years, German DJ and producer Thomas Hessler chose to relocate to Tbilisi, Georgia a few years ago and given the current state of the local scene, there is little wonder why. Tireless provider of equally hard-hitting and cerebral grooves that have taken him to play the best stages out there including Berghain, Fabric, Bassiani and Tresor, Hessler’s name has become synonymous with stunt-filled, hi-octane sets and productions that operate in the gap between kevlar-coated payload, mind-bending loops and raging sub-bass drive. Expect a fiery, laser-precise deluge of ultra-dynamic psychedelia and rattling machine funk. No surrender.

All the way from Colombia, Zemög turns up in our weekly podcast series with a vengeance. Explosive and sharp, this two-hour salvo summons a versatile array of floor-busting ordnance: from acid-soaked heaters to atmospheric escapology, through proto-techno chuggers and non-formulaic, abstract-leaning grooves. Boasting a deft hand for these full-immersion sorties into techno deep space, this mix swings the pendulum betwixt laser-like engineering and eerily synthetic emotion, beckoning us onto the path of total subjugation in a near-somnambular state. Channeling energies and brainwaves like a puppeteer, here’s Zemög with the trance-inducing hoodoo. Don’t sleep. 

Punching in with a two-hour round of deep sonic immersion, Rome-via-Berlin up-and-comer Costanza steps in to serve up a glimpse of her highly eclectic, boundary-pushing artistic headspace. Operating at the confines of atmospheric techno and further leftfield-leaning electronics, Costanza has been laying the foundation to a rivetingly profound body of work, extrapolating the functional requirements of dance floor maneuvering into the realm of pure sound-borne elevation. A true herald of techno quality expressing herself through stripped-down introspective pieces, here she goes with a deep, mesmeric dive into her ominous and highly intoxicating soundscapes. Blast it out loud. 

Up this week in our podcast series, Argentinian DJ and producer Pulso steps up with a two-hour ride spanning dark, brooding floor material and verbed-out oddities. Championing a sound both unremittingly abrasive and truly hypnotic, sitting at the junction of hard-hitting big room ballistics and abstract-leaning dub groovers, Pulso dishes out a masterclass in trippy, pulsating sonic tapestries. Wild rhythms and sci-fi-informed atmospheres coalesce in a furnace-hot environment, all set at triggering off the crowd’s most buried raving instincts. Expect a suspenseful workout of a set, rife with massive twists and turns. Fiery! 

Hailing from the lands of ‘Nordic swamp psychedelica’ as he likes to call it, Finnish DJ and producer Kaspiann fractures his way into our weekly podcast series with a special hour-and-a-half-long sonic rodeo spanning frosted hi-tech minimalistic architectures, playful polyrhythmic debauchery and further genre-unbound incursions into icy proto-futuristic territories. Unleashing a vibrant outpour of experimental-leaning rollers, jagged zero-G maneuvers and straight out effusive dubs from down deep, Kaspiann beckons us on the path of sheer multi-sensory abandon and inescapable full body & soul immersion throughout. Expect a deluge of heavily textured envelopes, polychromatic fractals and tribal folk-informed percussive hoodoo to wrap your ears around at various tempi and in various configurations. Monster versatility, monster execution, monster impact. 

This week’s guest in our podcast series is Australian-born / London-based Zara, a name that’s been making waves in the underground UK techno scene and now graces us with her debut two-hour RYC mix. A versatile juggler of styles and tempi, Zara dishes out a multi-faceted set spanning jagged hi-tech grooves, faux-organic downtempo ambiences and further cross-pollinated dubs from outer space. Never quite limiting herself to straitjacketed protocols, the Kinesis Recordings boss pulls out a wealth of unsuspected moves and maneuvers, blurring the line constantly between club adaptation and non-formulaic musical detours bordering on experimental and leftfield. The result is a mix that hums and throbs like nothing else, a proper sound UFO if you prefer, rebellious by nature and rogue by necessity. Beware, shockwave coming in hot. 

Irish DJ and producer Mode_1 is our guest this week with a two-hour sonic cruise running the gamut from psychedelic post-industrial soundscapes to stripped-down brutalist grooves. Cutting a path of destruction across the dance floor, this mix is designed to have all ravers’ adrenaline levels topped out as they wait for the next bar’s own idiosyncratic thrill with blind obedience. Championing a sound both clinically crisp and entrancingly dynamic, Mode_1 is your guide for a deep dive across fractured 4x4 atmospheres and effervescing peak-time jousts. Leaving no stone unturned in his quest for the most hair-raising crescendo, there goes the Dublin whiz firing on all cylinders, ready to buckle knees by the dozen. 

Queens-based DJ and Volnost resident Clarisa Kimskii takes the helm this week with two hours of proper mind-expanding wares, acid-drenched psychedelia and rugged, industrial-informed grooves. Known for her intrepid sonic journeys and hi-impact blends, the US artist takes us on a bumpy ride fusing hi-octane big room momenti, aesthetic style clash and proper eruptive floor combustion. Hold onto your seats and hunch your shoulders. Acceleration is happening, takeoff is imminent. 

Serial havoc-wreaker Amotik punches in this week with a hi-velocity two-hour round running the gamut from mind-expanding minimalism to claustrophobic dubs onto proper heavy-duty, industrial-informed big room wares. Unleashing wave after wave of unrelenting synth undulations and clinical basswork that'll send shivers down your spine, his set is pure techno NRG in a bottle. Ease yourself into Amotik's shape-shifting cyclonic architectures and doomed hi-tech atmospheres, the ride ahead ticks all the boxes of an entrancingly memorable sonic voyage. Lock in and lift off. 

Swinging by with her debut RYC transmission this week is Giegling affiliate and Blitz resident jockey Yamour, a DJ who blends the finest of classic Chicago house joints with Detroit style churners to decisively compelling effect. Showing a particularly deft hand for building soulful sonic narratives with a truly hypnotic edge to them, Yamour digs far and deep into heritage grooves and newly released heaters to form her own floor-focussed musical alphabet, bridging hypnagogic house, eclectic machine funk and muscular techno dubs throughout complex, intricately woven tableaux. Never quite where you’d expect to find her at, cutting her own singular path away from formulaic criterions and run-of-the-mill genre-boundness. A joy to hear from start to finish, Yamour’s versatility blazes with every bar and every beat, writing its own idiosyncratic chapter in the big book of electronic music with unparalleled swagger and chemistry. Hectic.