RA Podcast

A rare snapshot of house music's early days, captured through an archival broadcast from the New York radio pioneer. Every Friday and Saturday night, for over a decade, Tony Humphries checked in to Kiss FM, bringing the club to the airwaves. Alongside a residency at New Jersey's answer to Paradise Garage, Club Zanzibar, Humphries helped define the sound of garage house on the New York–New Jersey axis. Like Larry Levan, you simply can’t think of the city’s scene without him. For Humphries' long overdue debut on the RA Mix series, we publish an original, unedited radio recording from 1986, during Humphries' glorious reign over KISS FM's airwaves at the right hand of Shep Pettibone. The hour-long mix shivers with spectral vocals and solar-plexus grooves alike, a document of Humphries knack for acting as a conduit for various funk-forward tributaries the world over. A mastermix, indeed. Find the Q&A at ra.co/podcast/1055 @tony-humphries

The longtime BBC Radio 1 DJ talks about his rigorous music-discovery routine, soundtracking the world's most elite runways and the legacy of his party series, Deviation. Since first stepping onto the airwaves more than 20 years ago, Benji B has spent his career bridging London club culture with the worlds of art and fashion. He's hosted his weekly BBC Radio 1 show for over two decades, founded the legendary Deviation party series, and served as musical director for Celine, Louis Vuitton and now Burberry. Beyond the booth, the London DJ has also left fingerprints on some of the 21st century’s most defining records—from Kanye West's Yeezus and The Life of Pablo to projects by J Dilla, Pusha T, Sampha, FKA twigs, Tyler, the Creator, Arca and Flying Lotus. Across genres and scenes, he's become known as a consultant, collaborator and trusted ear at the highest level of culture. In this Exchange, Benji B talks about the discipline it takes to sustain a life like this—including his rigorous, long-running "two-days-a-week" music search—and reflects on his creative partnership with the late Virgil Abloh. He also shares how he's brought underground innovators like Jeff Mills and Cybotron onto some of the world's most rarefied runways. Listen to the episode in full.

The star of São Paulo chops up 60 minutes of futuristic, global club sounds. It's an oft-heard cliché to describe an artist as truly singular. But with Roniere Santos, AKA RHR, it couldn't be more true. Part of a generation of Brazilian and Latin American artists reshaping club music, Santos and his peers have propelled it to unprecedented global reach. His sets—fearsome, bass-driven and unbound by BPM—have made him essential at some of the world's most forward-thinking clubs and festivals, from Horst to Berghain to Gop Tun. Behind the decks, his radical approach is both audible and felt through the body, driven by uncanny beatmatching and fluid harmonic mixing. Sonically, he pairs a knowledge of sound design with restless curiosity about music spanning continents and subcultures—evident in this recording, where Brazilian rap meets maqam-inspired melodies and breakbeat sections blend with deconstructed baile funk loops. And while his reach is now global, Santos remains inseparable from São Paulo. It's where he found his footing: from his first residency at Tantša, to belonging at Mamba Negra, to the foundations of an international career. For RA.1035, RHR crosses all the ground you might imagine—trance pads, dreamy pan flutes, post-dubstep, baile funk—with a menacing and seductive energy, a sense of discovery lurking behind every track. Find the tracklist and Q&A at ra.co/podcast/1054 @rhrmusiq

The musical polymath talks creative left turns, the collapse of music media and her new album as Avalon & the Charm, Written into Changes. A decade after her first feature appearance in Resident Advisor, Avalon Emerson returns for a long-form chat about the arc of her career and her surprising left turn towards indie pop. After leaving a successful career in coding in the early 2010s, the American DJ and producer became, seemingly overnight, a headline act touring the world's best clubs. By 2016, she was one of the most vital voices in underground dance music: a regular at Panorama Bar, a master of art of the eight-hour set and an artist releasing tracks that defined an era of emotive techno. Recently, Emerson has surprised fans and critics by making yet another unexpected pivot as Avalon & the Charm. After debuting the dream pop band in 2023, she's back with the second album, Written into Changes, leaning even further into songwriting, live instrumentation and collaborations across the music spectrum. In this candid conversation, she unpacks the new release—the vulnerability of lyrics exploring regret, setbacks and love lost—alongside the financial realities of performing as a live act. She also reflects on the leap of faith it takes to change course in public, her move from Berlin to a more balanced life in upstate New York and the "meat grinder" of the modern music industry, including the state of music journalism today. Listen to the episode in full.

A maximalist sprint through IDM and acid from the Filipino DJ, producer and lore magnet. Ramon Tambucon is, in his own words, "an EDM trap oldhead" through and through. But he takes his work seriously: on TikTok, the LA-based artist has become Gen Z's de-facto electronic music historian, equally at home with Mark Fisher and Skrillex, and has even featured in Forbes discussing IDM. His world extends beyond content, too, obviously. Tabula Rasa, a platform with Jozef White that blends editorial, releases and showcases, has helped document scenes like California's UK garage wave, and Pang's records show a fine-tuned ear for melody. RA.1034 is bright, buoyant and borderline ecstatic. When Pang's own "Forest Volt" hits early, it practically wriggles out of the speakers; from there he snaps between newcomers like Kooxla, ’90s Belgian deep cuts from Gerome Sportelli and Burial, with bird calls, flutes and cascading chords flaring over heavy low-end and lightning-fast breaks. Find the tracklist and Q&A at ra.co/podcast/1053 @ramonpang

The Irish veteran talks about his prolific output, making music beyond the drum & bass canon and his forthcoming album, Tricklemore Sea. Dominick Martin—AKA Calibre—has spent the last three decades carving out one of the most singular paths in electronic music. Known to many as a cornerstone of drum & bass, the Northern Irish artist's work has always defied easy categorisation. His vast output spans house, techno, ambient and even folk. What unifies it all is a sense of what he calls "inner space," which has cemented him as one of the underground's most respected figures. In this week's Exchange, Martin speaks about his creative philosophy, his "three-tunes-a-day" workflow and a recent turn towards abstract downtempo with RA's international content writer, Tom Gledhill. The new album, Tricklemore Sea, arrives on his Signature Records imprint on May 1st, marking a move away from the rigid protocols of the DJ booth toward a space that is deeply melancholic, personal and profoundly poetic. Listen to the episode in full.

The lost art of the slow burn, courtesy of the rising London house DJ. In an attention economy, where hype cycles rise and fall faster than ever, our careers, our lives and our club nights are increasingly structured around instant gratification. But not Isaac Carter. The London artist's approach to DJing is understated and unhurried. You'll still find his RA Mix charged with serious bursts of pleasure (wait for the rattling subs to hit on Alexander Skancke's "You Get a Two" or the soaring pads on Sterac's "Mysterium"), but RA.1033 is a patient exploration of the deeper shades of house, and it's technically perfect—there isn't a single hi-hat out of place for its near two-hour run time. Technical prowess aside, what's most impressive is his sense of groove. There are shifts in energy, including a distinctly after hours section about halfway in, but this is a session that could go on forever. It's a fautless soundtrack to ease us into a spring of swing. Find the tracklist at ra.co/podcast/ 1052

The Dutch phenomenon unpacks the myth of overnight success and the story behind his debut album, Lost, Found & Forgotten. They say it takes ten years to become an overnight success, and in the case of this week's guest, that math almost checks out. Born in Leiden, Chris Stussy has been sharpening his tools for over a decade, and in the years since the pandemic, the world has caught onto his sleek, relentlessly groovy strain of house music. It's been a stratospheric rise for Stussy, culminating in sold-out shows of iconic venues like London's Alexandra Palace, where tickets were gone in a matter of minutes. But if you look past the viral TikTok clips and the fandom that follows him from Ibiza to Coachella, you'll find a dedicated student of the craft—someone who spent his formative years absorbing the grit of the Utrecht underground as well as the foundations of Chicago and New York house. RA editor Gabriel Szatan caught up with Stussy during a rare moment of reflection. His long-awaited debut album, Lost, Found & Forgotten, which officially lands April 3 on his own Up The Stuss imprint, and it stands as his most expansive and personal statement to date. The project is divided into three interconnected chapters: 'Lost' breathes new life into sketches he started earlier in his production career; 'Found' captures contemporary inspirations; and 'Forgotten' nods to the heads and diggers, focusing on deeper cuts that reward patient listening. Stussy also traces the arc of his early releases to his current status as a torchbearer for a new generation of clubbers, and considers how club culture has changed along the way. Listen to the episode in full.

'90s nostalgia, big beat and bargain-bin house courtesy of the NYC dance-pop duo. Fcukers don't really care about success. Or at least, that's how it started. "We don't give a shit. We're not going to have a music career. Who cares? We're going to do exactly what we want," Jackson Walker Lewis told Rolling Stone, recalling the duo's early mindset. The origin of their name, lifted from the iconoclastic slogan that defined a generation of anti-fashion kids, is a fitting touch for a duo transforming '90s nostalgia into something distinctly modern. That irreverence still runs through Lewis and Shanny Wise. Indie kids turned club kids, Fcukers draw from big beat, filter house, dance punk, drum & bass, reggae and dub. Their rise has been swift, catching ears across music and fashion circles alike — including Hedi Slimane, who flew them to Paris to soundtrack a show afterparty. Behind the attitude is a genuine education in dance music lineage, an instinct that's since drawn the attention of artists like Charli XCX and Tiga. Their RA Mix channels the wide-eyed optimism of an era they clearly hold dear. And with debut album Ö landing this week, success seems to have found them all the same. Find the tracklist at ra.co/podcast/1051 @fcukers

Electroclash icon Tiga talks about the manosphere, the currency of cool and his first album in 10 years, HOTLIFE. Canadian producer Tiga—born Tiga Sontag—has navigated the peaks and valleys of electronic music for over three decades. A key architect of the electroclash explosion in the early 2000s, Sontag reigned supreme over the indie sleaze era of the dance floor during the 2010s. But eventually, that momentum stalled. Sontag, one of the scene's most charismatic figures, found himself contemplating retirement while battling a health crisis that threatened to derail his career entirely. In this rare interview, Sontag talks to RA editor Gabriel Szatan about those lost years. Rather than retracing his anthemic hits ("You Gonna Want Me," "Sunglasses At Night"), the pair discuss why, after stepping back from the public eye for over a decade, Tiga is entering a new chapter he describes as "all answers, no questions." His upcoming LP, HOTLIFE, unpacks personal demons alongside his takes on everything from Elon Musk and the manosphere to the "pornographic" repetition of the music industry's relentless churn. It's out April 17th via Turbo Recordings and Secret City Records, and features contributions from Boys Noize, Maara and Priori and more. Listen to the episode in full.

A key architect of the 2020s underground debuts on the RA Mix. Scroll through end-of-year features or the tracklists of a certain kind of new-school techno DJ, and Priori is rarely far away. The Montreal artist has built a reputation as a kind of studio chameleon, working with the biggest names across the underground. Whether it be james K, Tiga or Paul St. Hilare, or his work co-running naff recordings, his output will be familiar to any raver who has touched grass at the likes of Sustain-Release, Dekmantel or Waking Life in recent years. The "Priori touch" is easy to spot. It shapeshifts as you listen: strange, synthetic textures, enveloping low-end, everything draped in a fine silk gauze that seems to hover just above the surface. But for all its hallmarks, it's also deeply versatile. Priori is prog, Priori is dub, sometimes Priori is even pop. Just as you think you've grasped his sound, it slips away. This is by design. Priori takes inspiration from myriad genres and mediums—as likely to be moved by an obscure illbient 12-inch as a Wong Kar-wai film. "I love world-building," he once told Butter Sessions, and that instinct lends his productions a sense of richness. Making his long-overdue debut on the RA Mix, Priori opens the door to the chillout room. RA.1031 is built on thick, enveloping bass and atmospheric drift, as dub, prog and electronica cuts are folded together with ease. Who knows what thrilling new forms await in the future. Find the tracklist and Q&A at ra.co/podcast/1050

The London artist talks about self-doubt, overcoming creative blocks and her forthcoming album on Hyperdub. Today's guest has spent the last decade proving that electronic music is an insufficient label for what she does. Since her landmark Hyperdub debut, For You and I, in 2019, Loraine James has moved through the world of IDM, glitch and ambient with a rare kind of emotional transparency. Whether producing club music under her own name or making ambient soundscapes under her experimental alias, Whatever The Weather, her work often feels like a diary—not just of her life, but of her creative evolution. But as any artist will tell you, the path from one album to the next is rarely a straight line. Following the success and personal pride of 2023's Gentle Confrontation, James found herself at a crossroads. In this Exchange, she sits down with RA's multimedia editor, Bella Aquilina, to discuss the difficult second act of her career—a process marked by self-doubt, creative blocks and the surprising freedom found in the word "pop." James talks about the "11-degree" sound; why the grey, undecided London weather shapes her sonic palette; how she navigated imposter syndrome after a popular record; her "failed" stint as a DJ; her love for Venue MOT and Corsica Studios; and why she's finally ready to leave the bedroom and return to the dance floor. Her forthcoming album on Hyperdub, Detached From The Rest of You, is out on May 8th. Listen to the episode in full.

The ATW Records boss and honorary prince of UK Garage steps up with a mix that might surprise you. From the post-lockdown school of UK garage producers, Adam Emil Schierbeck, AKA Main Phase, is a rare international graduate. The Copenhagen producer has closely studied the British sound, shaping an international garage revival in his wake. Schierback stands as one of UK Garage's premiere tastemakers. Ordained as the king of the speed garage shuffler, a Main Phase track is easy to spot: infectious swing and rippling melodies, underpinned by a sensual, determined mood. With Interplanetary Criminal, he now co-runs ATW Records, invigorating what was once a exploratory imprint into one of the scene's most crucial nurturers of new talent. Some listeners might press play expecting the corybantic ragga edits of "100%," but patience is required: what you may expect from a Main Phase set only pokes its head out briefly (there's exactly one speed garage drop, two hours in). Instead, treat RA.1030 as Main Phase 101. Opening with a dub-techno soundbath, the mix traces the roots and outer edges of his sound, and lands like an artistic statement he has been building towards since he was an awestruck teenager, racing home to catch Rinse FM. Read more at ra.co/podcast/1049 @mainphase001 @atwrec

The vinyl purist discusses his late-career ascent, the discipline of the marathon set and the shifting class dynamics threatening the underground. In an era where the word "techno" is often used as a broad marketing catch-all, Alessio Armeni, AKA Freddy K, stands as one of the sound's most uncompromising activists. The Berlin-based DJ and Key Vinyl label head has spent over three decades operating in every corner of the industry. From his early days on Rome's Virus Radio in the '90s to his legendary 16-hour vinyl marathons at Berlin's now-defunct party Homopatik, he has seen the culture from the perspective of a record store clerk, a distributor, a label boss and now a global headliner. But as his own star has risen, Armeni has become increasingly vocal about the cracks forming in the foundation of the scene he loves. In this RA Exchange, he discusses the renewed normalisation of all-male lineups, the rising upper-class barrier to entry in DJ culture and the complex economics of vinyl—a medium he champions as the industry's lifeblood, even as it becomes a luxury good. Armeni also reflects on his own trajectory; at 40, believing his dream of being a successful DJ had passed, he moved to Berlin to dedicate himself to a life behind the scenes. A change in tide swept him into the global spotlight, and more than ten years later, he contemplates the power of perseverance. Listen to the episode in full.

The singular percussionist turns inward for a rare solo excursion. Valentina Magaletti at the drums is a picture of freedom: laughing, loose-limbed, entirely absorbed. For RA.1029, the London-based percussionist channels that instinct into a rare solo outing—a personal excursion through her musical archive. The atmosphere moves as freely as she plays, shifting from ominous and claustrophobic passages to contemplative field recordings. Collaboration is one of the central ways she continually reinvents herself, whether it be spiritual dub excursions with Shackleton and Holy Tongue, or post-punk melancholia with Moin. As she told The Guardian in 2024, "dialogue is more interesting than monologue." Take her work with Princípe associate Nídia, in which she used Angolan kuduro as a springboard for new acoustic visions of dance music. But Magaletti is also a solo artist in her own right, and RA.1029 is the sound of her own monologue. The 90-minute mix sees her roving through her personal archive, from wild drum excursions and Midwestern industrial to frenetic free jazz, eerie gqom and Ukrainian electro. It captures, she says, her current inner state, a feeling of being "suspended between introspection and anticipation." Fitting, then, for a groundbreaking artist who thrives in the spaces in between. Find the tracklist and Q&A at ra.co/podcast/1048 @magadrum

The contemporary face of garage talks about obsession, overnight success and his turn towards a more mature image and sound. Over the last few years, Zac Bruce—better known as Interplanetary Criminal—has become the definitive face of a global garage resurgence. He seemingly appeared overnight with his 2022 chart-topping anthem, Baddest Of Them All, made with singer Eliza Rose. But his story extends far beyond this career-defining moment. His journey is one of deep-rooted obsession: from the quiet stillness of producing lo-fi and jungle in his bedroom in Leeds, to co-founding the ATW (All Thru the Night) imprint, a label that has become a lighthouse for a new generation of garage heads. This last year was a whirlwind for Bruce. He headlined a show at Brixton Academy and played at major festival stages around the world. But as you’ll hear in this conversation with RA editor Gabe Szatan, Bruce isn’t interested in the shallow shine of accolades. He’s a selector in the truest sense—someone who spends as much time digging for obscure white labels as he does A&Ring the next wave of talent. He and Szatan also touch on the epidemic of “edit culture;” the cost of maintaining artistic integrity; his transition from the "silliness" of his early viral moments to a more mature sound; and the community of peers that make his ATW universe feel less like a brand and more like a family. This one has been a long time coming. Listen to the episode in full.

A kaleidoscope of polyrhythms and post-dubstep. "Music was a way to speak Arabic… It's my way of being confident that I am, in fact, Lebanese," Jared Beeler AKA DJ Plead told Crack Magazine in 2022. Often framed as an Australian producer threading Arabic rhythmic structures through techno and post-dubstep, DJ Plead's music is better understood as tradition embedded inside contemporary club forms, where percussion and bass move as one. First surfacing in the late 2010s with releases on DECISIONS and Nervous Horizon, he has since become one of the most consistent voices in leftfield dance music, defined by the tactile clarity of their drum programming and Maqam-informed phrasing. RA.1028 opens with Bruce's "Just Getting On With It" from Livity Sound's ten-year compilation, a fitting nod to the kind of rhythmic experimentation that runs through the set. From Iran to London to Miami and back again, the 90-minute mix pulls a wide frame into focus, including several unreleased DJ Plead tracks. Whether it's the dry snap of hand-drum hits or sub-bass that lands with chest-caving weight, RA. 1028 is a reminder that rhythm can be a direct path back to the self. Find the tracklist and Q&A at https://ra.co/podcast/1047 @1djplead

Two hours of groove, texture and Black excellence from new-school New York royalty. New York native Jada Lorraine has always represented Black excellence, but in recent years her vision crystallised. The in-demand act and former Nowadays booker has fine-tuned her creative practice, experimenting with tempo and selection in ways that have led to a deep, nuanced relationship with Black artistry, one that centres musical education through storytelling. Behind the decks, Lorraine is principled. They say wisdom brings sorrow, but RA.1027 suggests the opposite. It opens with a vocal sample whose message mirrors her wider creative practice: "I'm an African woman who believes in justice for all people. The priorities of this planet have to completely change." From there, the mix ricochets through rumbly drums and sci-fi whirr, peppering house melodies with slo-mo bleeps and techy steppers. She moves across club genres with fluid ease, keeping the cadence loose-limbed yet dynamic throughout. It's strange and tactile—and it sounds like freedom. Lorraine seems surer than ever about all aspects of her career, and it shows in her RA Mix. If you see her at the function, her joy for her work is ever bountiful. For US Black History Month, it's a timely reminder that history isn't only something we look back on; Lorraine is making it, live. Find the tracklist at ra.co/podcast/1046

The Sonic Youth cofounder opens up about her solo output, the intersection of art and music, and her new album, PLAY ME. For over four decades, Kim Gordon has navigated the edges where fine art meets noise. Her claim to fame was as a founding member of Sonic Youth, the band that took the nihilistic, abrasive energy of New York's no wave scene and forged it into a new language for rock. After Sonic Youth's public breakup in 2011, Gordon returned to her original creative practice: visual art. But in recent years, she has undergone a staggering creative transformation that's led her back to music. At 72—an age when most legends are content with the heritage circuit—she has instead dived headlong into the sounds of the present: industrial electronics, Chicago footwork and the blown-out low-end of SoundCloud rap. Aiming to break with her Sonic Youth legacy, Gordon released her first two solo albums, No Home Record and The Collective, in 2019 and 2024, respectively. And now, she's back with her third LP: PLAY ME. Working alongside producer Justin Raisen, she uses beat-oriented frameworks to interrogate what she calls the "tyranny of frictionless culture." From naming Spotify playlists in her lyrics to donating proceeds to reproductive rights, her work remains a vital, confrontational critique of late capitalism and technocratic fascism. In this RA Exchange, Gordon discusses the process of moving closer to solo work, as well as the masculinity of rock; her evolving relationship with electronic music; the politics of the "body;" and why, after thinking she was done with music, she keeps getting pulled back in. Listen to the episode in full.

A b3b for the ages, straight from Detroit techno's Hall of Fame. "Let's just go through some shit, let's see what we got here." In that unmistakable drawl, Moodymann opens RA.1026—and from there, you know you’re in good hands. Mike Banks, Carl Craig and Moodymann are artists of the utmost standing. As founders of Underground Resistance, Planet E and Mahogani Music respectively, their catalogues have shaped electronic music in profound ways, from Moodymann's 2004 LP Black Mahogani and Craig's era-defining remixes, to Banks's uncompromising output as Underground Resistance. But the records are only part of it. All three artists show you can build something lasting without corporate backing, that creative freedom is a discipline as much as a right. Through their work, house and techno became vehicles for resistance, identity and pride. Recorded live at Movement in Detroit, RA.1026 captures Banks on keys, Craig on the decks and Moodymann on the mic, weaving through Motor City staples, '80s classics and deep cuts, including "The Final Frontier" and "Knights Of The Jaguar." As Black History Month continues in the US, the mix feels especially momentous Coming in at just under two hours, it’s about chemistry, shared history and timeless records. Read the Q&A with Carl Craig at ra.co/podcast/1045. @moodymann313 @carl-craig-official @underground-resistance