Welcome to the March section of our best DJ mixes of the year 2021 rundown — read the full list here

You always know you're in for a joyous ride with an Octa Octa mix. The DJ and producer has a thing for ravey records packed full of energy, whizz and hefty breaks. This mix for RA has all of those things, from The Chemical Brothers' 'Morning Lemon' up to outrageous happy hardcore track 'One Moon, One Star' by Radicall.

This was recorded over a year ago before lockdown happened and Seattle DJ T.Wan thought the recording was lost. Luckily for us, the Apt E found the set and T.Wan posted it, letting us experience just over two hours of crispy breaks, warped electro, a snippet of Depeche Mode's 'Enjoy The Silence', Desert Sound Colony's wriggly, rave-ready cut 'Mox Diamond' and DJ Infiniti's dark and dirty remix of Olive's 'You're Not Alone'.

An hour of new dubstep material from Skream? You know what to do...

Digger’s delight! An absolutely essential listen for fans of New York house and garage as UK legend Richard Sen dips into his record bag as well as shares memories from a very special time in dance music history.

Dive deep with Space Afrika, who journey through dubby, experimental ambient in a way only they know how.

Jetsuo, DJ Stich, Yung Slice and Snow take over on Balamii – playing some of the best underground and alternative hip hop that the UK has to offer, alongside some house and electronic music. Victory Lap have the drop on what we should be listening to at the moment.

The March edition of KeiyaA’s ‘Merkhabia’ on NTS digs deep into soul and R&B – featuring music from Amerie, Brandy, Kelis, and a host of other musicians in the genre. KeiyaA’s track selection feels incredibly well thought out and deliberate – it’s a smooth listen.

Anz’s March show was a lucid trip into techno, breaks and acid. The talented producer and DJ takes us into her sonic space for her monthly residency on NTS, cycling through tracks with sweet vocals, to more drum-driven techno.

Slauson Malone was selected as part of NTS’s WIP, aimed at supporting artists and helping them develop their careers. On his March show, Malone explores various genres, moving from J Dilla, to Drexciya and Frank Ocean. An eclectic and interesting listen.

In line with their name, which translates as ‘home of the disco’, Dar Disku are devoted to sharing exciting sounds from Arabia, the diaspora and beyond, both new and old. For their take on the CTW Podcasts series, they continue to dig deep, spinning everything from Turkish acoustic ballads to club-ready acid heaters and Italo disco, with plenty of filter action throughout. This one is the perfect soundtrack for your dinner party as much as it is your pre-night out rituals.

The Detroit beatmaker Black Noi$e took over on NTS in March. The producer is known for his glitchy and experimental style that pulls from genres all over the musical spectrum. This is evident in the choice of music for his March show, moving from Vegyn to Fat Ray.

Leeds-based selector and Noods resident Zoe Pea is known for their genre-spanning output, always shaking it up somewhere between lush new age textures and fervent industrial bits. Here, they extend the canon further still, accompanied by fellow Leeds DJ Dubrunner. The pair ride out an hour-long session of tripped out trancehall, hypnotic downtempo and other dancehall-adjacent sounds, including a few unreleased tunes from the latter.

This mix dropping had us like: God, remember fun?! Sherelle’s Bangface mix is that, bottled. Yes technically it isn’t from this year, but when the recording was released in place of this year's festival, the joint feeling of “Jesus fucking Christ” was palpable. The set is high-tempo from the offset, rarely deviating from 150 BPM+ - flitting frantically between a mix of footwork, hardcore, jungle and heavy techno. Highlights include Hooversound release 'Fck.gov.uk' (just a year and a half before its release) slinking seamlessly amid heavy hitters such as ‘Meet Me at the Love Parade’, and a bittersweet hardcore edit of SOPHIE’s ‘HARD’. There is zero chance for a breather here, be prepared for 59 minutes of adrenaline-pumping, scream-if-you-wanna-go-faster, smile-so-wide-your-face-hurts madness.

How exactly do you pay tribute to the 28-year history of Daft Punk? Following their split in March, Annie Mac and Radio 1 roped in Dance System for a 30-minute tribute to Thomas and Guy-Manuel - a good choice considering the French duo's otherworldly adventurousness and brash flair are ever-present in the London-based artists own productions. The mix is an illustrious journey through not only Daft Punk's many, many hits (they are all there, we’ve checked) but also their development and influence as artists. During ‘Harder Better Faster Stronger’ Dance System cuts between the track they sampled to create it - 1979 funk anthem ‘Cola Bottle Baby’ by Edwin Birdsong, alongside the Daft Punk-sampling ‘Stronger’ by Kanye West. The result is an educational, but party-ready homage to one of the greatest electronic duos on the planet. Voicemail tributes from Daft Punk’s friends’ Todd Edwards, DJ Tonka, Dave Clarke, DJ Deonn, Skrillex, Boys Noize and more make a beautiful finishing touch.

Not to fall short of underground bangers, Savvy brings her mix of new-to-the-scene names along with FrontBench. Footwork and breaks galore, this two-hour mix features jungle powerhouse Sully beside Tom Jarmey, Equiss and Paul Blackford.

Stamp The Wax brings in Prins Thomas for a fistful of raw electronic tracks in honour of Japanese producer Shinichi Atobe on this mix. With an hour of mellow Sunday morning tunes from the disco producer who also paid tribute to Atobe’s minimal work in his last record, this mix calls for a cup of tea and a spot of sunshine through the window.

Netherland’s Shinedoe takes over RRFM radio for an hour of hot, frenzied techno featuring tracks from Germany’s S-File, techno affiliate DVS1, and a spattering of the Amsterdam-based DJ’s own tracks. Always a step ahead with her bass-heavy beats, Shinedoe draws in the Saturday night revelry with this mix.

More New York disc jockey than Californian hip hop star, DJ Muggs really knows how to run a mix. Cypress Hills’ most beloved, the Queens-born DJ brings an hour-long set to the ears of NTS listeners with an eclectic mix of trap instrumentals, hip hop beats and the occasional jazz overlay.

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Swamp 81 is symbiotic with London's dark side, a dubstep and grime charged label honing in on the UK’s most talented. This mix from Sumgii perfectly captures that moody feeling with a track-for-track play through of the DJ’s favourite dubstep tunes.