RA Exchange

Faced with shrinking margins and higher rents, event organisers are finding new ways to keep the party going. As the cost of living crisis continues to eat into club land, promoters around the world are increasingly being forced to adapt to shrinking margins. This new episode of Source Material, our documentary-style podcast series, shines a spotlight on Glasgow, Taipei and Chicago, where local or...

"I hate being recorded," Mala says nine minutes into this interview. "I don't like my sets being recorded, I don't like being video recorded." The Deep Medi boss and DMZ cofounder is describing his fiercely independent nature to journalist Kieran Yates, explaining how bright lights and prompts leads to self-consciousness. That's why DMZ parties are held in dark rooms, as to encourage freedom, he c...

It's been a busy year for Jessica Cho, AKA Korea Town Acid. She's put out three records since 2021 and built close ties with neighbouring cities like Montreal and New York all the while finessing her live hardware shows. Speaking to Resident Advisor during MUTEK Montreal this past August, Cho unpacks her creative philosophy and the inspiration for her new album, Elephant in the Room."There's alway...

New York's dance music culture evolves every weekend. A constant wave of new collectives, promoters and artists, combined with a host of legacy names and an ever-growing batch of enthusiastic ravers, infuse the city with a vivacious energy that's hard to find elsewhere. This episode of Reflections, a series that digs deep into RA content, pays tribute to New York nightlife through three heartfelt...

"Everyone knows I'm a lively character, I like the party." Oliver 'Skream' Jones is attempting to explain his stamina over a near two decade-long career and true to his unpretentious personality, he makes it sound easy. The 36 year-old has been making music since the age of 15 and despite being a busy father, this hour-long, unfiltered conversation at RA's London headquarters confirms that his lov...

Mykaell Riley has worn a number of hats in the music business. Starting off as a vocalist and founding member of Grammy-winning roots reggae band Steel Pulse, he's since dabbled in marketing, consulting, artist management and composing for the big screen. As director of a University of Westminster research project that examines the legacy of Jamaican music in the UK, he currently explores how ska,...

This past August, a panel of artists, creatives and various members of club communities gathered in Berlin to discuss the threats weighing on global nightlife. Part of Jägermeister's #SAVETHENIGHT initiative to rejuvenate the after-dark economy as well as Tresor's 31st anniversary celebrations, the discussion touched on a variety of social, economic and community issues such as gentrification, inc...

In a way, every Critics' Roundtable episode feels like a time capsule. Each month, the show documents the tracks and talents on the personal playlists of RA staffers, serving as a snapshot of the musical zeitgeist at the time. On this edition, staff writer Kiana Mickles, software engineer Alex Wanyoike and senior writer Nyshka Chandran outline their most listened to records from the past three mon...

Patrice Rushen is the type of musician whose skill set can't be neatly summed up in a few sentences. After studying to become a classically trained pianist—work that began while she was barely a toddler—she arranged, performed and composed three albums of jazz fusion for Prestige records in the mid-'70s, all while landing sessions playing with the likes of Donald Byrd and Jean-Luc Ponty. She was a...

Shanti Celeste is one of those artists whose personality matches her DJ style. Her fun-loving nature and breezy demeanour always light up a room, as do her vibrant sets that span sunny house music, slow-burning disco and emotive techno. Fresh off her Hessle Audio debut, the London-based artist sat down with RA's Martha Pazienti-Caidan for an honest chat about track selection, bad gigs and her appr...

What did your summer sound like? For the RA staffers featured on this month's episode of the Critics' Roundtable, the answer ranges from dubby jungle to cheeky UKG to hazy krautrock. Looking back on their favourite records from recent months, managing editor Chloe Lula, Mexico City manager Valeria Martin del Campo and senior writer Nyshka Chandran highlight Dax J's Soul Enforcer,Prelude by Barbie...

Bahar is an avid collector of rare vinyl, possessing one of the world's biggest vinyl collections. The artist has embodied the vinyl-only ethos since growing up in Chicago in the '70s—the heyday of gospel, funk, and jazz soul in the US. He started the party Soul In The Hole with Lee Collins, which embodied and celebrated his passion for what he calls "real" music—music made by "real" musicians pla...

In many ways, Eli Escobar represents the soul of New York nightlife. He can literally play any genre, often jumping from Afrobeats to garage to disco in a single session—a wide-ranging style that's unique to the city and tangible on his recent RA podcast. First emerging on the scene in the late '90s, he's built a reputation for consistently drawing loyal crowds without ever compromising on his per...

Like countless others, Steve Goodman played a lot of video games during lockdown. At the time, the artist known as Kode9 and founder of the iconic Hyperdub label found himself imagining a game about Scotland and the country's plan to set up a colony in Panama back in the 1690s. Those thoughts later crystallised into Astro-Darien, an AV installation, "sonic fiction" and album that explores Scotland...

This volume of the Critics Roundtable, Resident Advisor's monthly podcast that showcases staff selections, looks back at the summer's important moments and releases in electronic music. Over the course of 40 minutes, podcasts chief Martha Pazienti Caidan, events writer Katie Thomas and content intern Fahad Akinsanya each recap a memorable news story, record and live performance from the past two m...

Patrick Topping's love of dance music stretches back to his early teenage years when he discovered mákina, a subgenre of hard Spanish techno that's popular in North East England. "I still love that music now," he says on this week's episode. Since those early days as a young raver in Newcastle, Topping has become an in-demand artist known for a wide range of styles that includes happy hardcore, cl...

A repeat episode from 2020.Lafawndah's second album, The Fifth Season, on French label Latency, is a journey through science fiction, friendship and cinematic storytelling. It saw the Paris-born artist expand the myths of NK Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy and cover the likes of Beverly Glenn Copeland and Lili Boulanger. The record continues a four-year run of avant pop jewels, kicked off by her a...

Berlin has witnessed an alarming number of drug and needle spiking incidents in recent months, raising worries about nightlife safety in one of the world's top clubbing destinations. In this edition of Reflections, a new series on the RA Exchange that breaks down important journalism on our site, staff writer Anu Shukla and managing editor Chloe Lula examine the context surrounding recent spiking...

Darren Dixon, AKA D Double E, wants the world to know that he's not just a MC. In a short but deep chat with London DJ and presenter Tash LC on the sidelines of Outlook Festival's debut UK edition, the grime veteran discusses his recent productions for for the likes of Novelist and others. Despite producing for years, Dixon has largely hidden that side of his artistry from the public. But that's n...

New music, community-driven parties, tech talk and more from RA staffers. Every month, members of Resident Advisor's global team highlight their favourite artists, exciting labels and industry trends on the Critics' Roundtable podcast. This edition, featuring senior designer Lucy Ross, senior US partnerships lead Lottie Moore and senior staff writer Nyshka Chandran, jumps across genres and regions...

As a DJ, Rafaela Andrade AKA Badsista channels her childhood, culture and history into no-holds-barred sets that blur the lines between Chicago house, techno, hip-hop, pop and baile funk. At this year's edition of Nuits Sonores, the São Paulo creative jumped from Rihanna to acid, incorporating a medley of styles she grew up with. "I'm a result of my time," she tells Resident Advisor at the Lyon fe...

Reflections, a new addition on the RA Exchange, takes a magnifying glass to long-form journalism on our website. On each episode, writers break down their latest feature in an effort to shed more light on underlying issues surrounding the story. As part of Resident Advisor's technology month, senior staff writer Nyshka Chandran investigated how blockchain networks known as Decentralized Autonomous...

A repeat episode from last year in celebration of Pride month. Steven Braines and Sophia Kearney founded the party brand He. She. They. in 2018 with a mission to make their events "a utopia where people feel they belong whilst expressing their utmost individuality." Their first event was at London's Ministry Of Sound and has since visited Pacha, Watergate, Rex Club and other big-name venues in Eur...

As an artist focused on experimental electronics, visuals, AI and augmented reality, Portrait XO is used to thinking in a multidisciplinary approach. Whether developing sound installations, musical dining experiences or audiovisual albums, the Berlin-based creator consistently intertwines music, art and immersive technologies. This integrative way of working stems from the artist's synesthesia, a...

Two new faces join Head Of Podcasts Martha Pazienti-Caidan on the June edition of Critics' Roundtable, Resident Advisor's monthly podcast that showcases the varied tastes of our contributors. Over the course of 40 minutes, Glasgow City Manager Rose Manson, Staff Writer Zoey Shopmaker and Pazienti-Caidan herself present their favourite music and new stories from the past three months. Their selecti...