As the DJs of the upper hemisphere enter “holiday mode” and the Hawaiian shirts and pina coladas that come with it, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the alien sirens of Dekmantel are just around the corner. Not for UK-by-way-of-Berlin DJ Yazzus, who signalled the end of silly season and the beginning of UFO season with a furious, unrelenting hour of nosebleed techno and frenetic footwork just ahead of crowds descending on Amsterdamse Bos. Absolutely not letting up, not even once, her Dekmantel podcast mix rarely dips below the 160 mark — keeping things interesting with a dazzling array of bold vocal edits and grinding bass. Cast those swimmers into the ocean folks, we’re in harness szn now!

Scintillating, skillful and a little bit sadistic, VTSS’ Boiler Room was easily one of the big standouts from this year’s Dekmantel festival. The master of tongue-in-cheek tumultuous techno, toys with the unsuspecting (or suspecting by this point, if we’re honest) late afternoon fan-clutching Dekkers crowd with a bolshy mix of high-speed bass, sexed-up vocal cuts and nail-biting breaks — hand plucked from the worlds of hardcore, jungle, EBM and more. All without breaking up so much as a sweat. Let ‘em have it!

Demonstrating the soft, grandiose side of low-end house and techno, Berlin-based techno savant DJ Fart In The Club turns her hand (or her wrist) to the waft, with a downtempo mix of benevolent party starters on NTS. Building energy, slowly, as the hour progresses, she delivers a masterclass in doors-open rhythm, without letting up on firmness, creating a mix that is as seductive as it is melodic.

One for the summer lovers, the New York-based artist intertwines her homely influences through meandering sounds of indie electro, post-punk and pop. The hour-long mix for Dutch label Intercept is a heartfelt affair, packed with personal touches such as self-proclaimed curveball track Yuma X’s ‘Swimming Pool’, listened to by Y Not ‘24/7 in 2017’. A perfect storm of melancholy and contemplation for prime heatwave listening.

This jungle, breaks and bass-heavy mix features everything from Sam Binga and Om Unit, to DJ Harmony, and tracks by Sheba Q herself. It’s seamlessly mixed, with each beat drop, build-up of drums, deep bass moment and wheel transitioning into each other smoothly. It’s high-energy, fast-paced and enough to get you wanting to be on a dancefloor and losing yourself to the potent drums of jungle.

This mix is fun and vibrant - everything you’d expect from the Southall group. Featuring many of their own tracks, tunes by Panjabi MC, and edits from the likes of Manara, this Desi-fuelled mix is full of bangers to get your body moving.

Normally known for his drum ‘n’ bass sets, on a bike, Dom Whiting has switched to mixing techno for his latest mix in Berlin. For mixing while on a bike, it’s pretty impressive. The transitions are smooth, the selections are aptly fitting for the setting, and the flow of the set is infectious.

Purveyor of big bassy beats, Ross From Friends ended his summer residency on Rinse FM with a slightly off-kilter mix this month. “I’ve been feeling pretty horrible about dance music recently,” he said on Instagram, declaring that he’d been exclusively listening to ‘60s and ‘70s music for the past few months. Therefore, in a change of pace from his regular show, the DJ pulled together “a collection of those tunes I’ve been listening to to help me clear my head,” all of which were made between the years 1964 and 1981. “No talking, no beatmatching, no electronic music,” he ensured. The resulting mix is a compelling compilation that boots off on the Sabbath classic ‘Planet Caravan’, and concludes on the much more up-tempo Aphrodite’s Child track ‘The Four Horsemen’.

Amy Dabbs oozes energy on her latest mix for Origins, an hour-long mashup of hard breaks and jungle. Featuring tracks from artists including Tim Reaper, J:Kenzo, LMajor, and Coco Bryce, Dabbs also includes a handful of her own forthcoming productions on Cheeky Music Group’s Low Battery imprint, including the euphoric jungle cut ‘Your Move’.

DJ Cuddles - better known as Mr. Mitch by his long-term fans - unveils his new alias with a mix for Crack which looks at the producer’s house and techno palette as opposed to his usual grime productions, something he’ll be exploring more under the second alias. “This mix is just a collection of music to make you move and feel good, with some forthcoming DJ Cuddles tracks inside as well,” he says.

With a taste for the best dance music out there and obviously her own experiences in the field, Romy pulls together an eclectic medley of Dua Lipa remixes into her own ‘Lights Out’ with Fred Again.. And HAAi. Many pop classics are transformed in this mix that evolves well-known music to a new level.

It always feels like an honour to listen to a set from Mark Farina. A living, breathing legend of the decks, and this set proves that he still knows how to get a party moving and grooving. Two hours of pure house, it embodies a history of clubbing and his DJ wisdom. Just give it a listen already.

A set that many at Dekmantel festival were lucky to witness. It keeps BPM up high as it drops non-stop beats, inducing mania with rave synths through jungle breaks. It's a ride that puts you exactly in the festival zone.

The set everyone is talking about. Trym’s sweaty techno had a roaring response thanks to its killer energy and dark techno tracks. Beyond the hardcore however were remixes of Fatboy Slim’s ‘Right Here, Right Now’ and Nelly Furtado’s ‘Maneater’, just to make the night even more iconic. One of the final moments was Durdenhaurer’s edit of A$AP Rocky and Skepta’s ‘Praise The Lord’.