The best DJ mixes of the year 2022 - May - Music - Mixmag

IXINDAMIX ‘Castlemorton Revisited: 30th anniversary’

This month marked 30 years since the UK’s notorious Castlemorton rave, the largest free parties to have ever taken place in England. To celebrate the monumental event, IXINDAMIX headed up a 90-minute mix for the old skool heads with a hefty sum of rave classics that once marked a turning point for the UK’s rave and club scenes all those moons ago.

Kessler ‘Mixmag Impact’

Dark, atmospheric while still packing a significant amount of welly, Kessler’s one-hour foray into breaks and techno demonstrates exactly why he’s become an imperative booking this upcoming festival season. Inspired by a longer set at Berlin’s RSO, the Belfast-born, Rotterdam-based DJ provided a compacted version of his four hour set into this mix — showing off killer blends, bewildering acid and high-energy electro. Probably NSFW unless you don’t mind giving your colleagues a full bass face demonstration (we don’t).

ATRICE ‘ITPS079’

Taking over this month’s Ilian Tape podcast for its 79th episode, Zurich-based composers and sound designers Atrice (AKA Lino Schillin and Pablo Chacon-Pino) went hard as nails. Between raucous 160 cuts and wobbly edits sits a good number of unreleased heaters from Atrice that are yet to hit record stores.

salute on Rinse FM

When salute was appointed to take over new monthly Rinse FM slots together with a stellar cast of selectors, his debut mix proved why he was given such a hefty task. salute’s two-hour show transitions ever-so-gradually from the disco and house flavours of the producer’s crates, speeding up slowly to include more garage cuts before turning up the pace to a finale of clubby hits and the odd track from salute himself.

Manuka Honey ‘FACT Mix 860’

Summer is nearly here, and we’re in the mood for sweaty dancefloors, sultry vocals and sexy reggaeton — luckily Manuka Honey’s FACT mix delivers all three in spades. Exploring the “sexiest corners of the Latinx club scene worldwide” the DJ, producer and astrologer meanders between modern sandungueo club cuts by way of Nick Léon and the avant-garde via Arca and King Doudou. The mix at times can delve into the darker recesses of the club, coming up for air with sultry high-energy dums — seamlessly jumping tempo, presumably due to the fact Manuka built the entire thing in Ableton. Hace calor aqui!

Nick León ‘RA.833’

Miami’s rising star Nick León flexes his skills with this hour-long RA mix — showcasing his signature “Miami electro” alongside frenzied percussion and some delectable shadowy synths. Having produced for the likes of Rosalía, Denzel Curry and Robb Bank$, León is quickly making a name for himself through his unique fusion of West Coast bass, spindly reggaeton and grinding techno. Featuring a combination of his own productions, picks from frequent collaborators DJ Python, Ayesha and Bitter Babe, and some lofty tracks from Hagan, R.A.W and Ricardo Villalobos — the mix spans everything from blissed-out ambient to bolshy, high speed drums to spine tingling lazers.

CRYSTALLMESS ‘Dazed Mix’

Sometimes we need to delve into the deep, dark and eerie parts of our soul, and this unnerving offering from Paris-based DJ CRYSTALLMESS may be the perfect soundtrack to do so. Kicking things off with a dark soliloquy from Blackhaine’s ‘Stained Materials’, she quickly moves into the foreboding synths and bawdy lyrics of Clipse’s ‘Trill’. Though there is much needed respite, following a foray into the spooky, horror synths of Dopplereffekt’s ‘Z-Boston’ she quickly brings the mood up with a luscious drop of Frankie Knuckles’ ‘Your Love’. Worth a whirl for some fast-paced angst and spellbinding bass.

Hessle Audio ft Perko on Rinse FM

This Rinse FM show from Hessle Audio welcomes FELT boss Perko - and it’s filled with crawling anthems, fast-paced drums, squelchy synths, catchy vocal samples and more. With tracks from the likes of DJ Nobu and Tammo Hesselink — this two-hour mix is filled with tracks that would blow your mind when played on a good set of headphones or a club soundsystem.

SUCHI ‘Boiler Room: Hyderabad’

Laced with South Asian vocal samples, deep bass moments, breakbeats, and potent percussions - this mix showcases rising star SUCHI’s impressive selections and mixing abilities. Filled with feel-good club anthems and a plethora of tracks produced by South Asian artists - including ‘Rezo’ by Ayesha, Omar ؏’s ‘Dola Re Dola’ remix of ‘Gypsy Woman’ - it’s guaranteed to get listeners dancing.

Nia Archives ‘Mixmag Cover Mix’

As expected, Nia Archives has blown us away with a non-stop, jungle-infused set that fuses old skool inspirations and her very-own tracks, exploring the past, present and future of jungle, drum ‘n’ bass and breaks. It gives festival vibes with tracks such as CoCo Bryce’s ‘D.L.P’ and the fiery track from Shitmat ‘Whitelabel Unity’.

Shadow Child ‘9 years on Rinse / The Final Show’

Shadow Child’s left Rinse FM with a bang this month. After nine years on the air at the station, his last show flowed with earthy house tracks that embodied his time on the station. Moments slip into the mix from fans of Shadow Child, expressing their love for the DJ and sadness for his residency to go. It’s an emotionally-charged mix that ends on a remix of Orbital’s ‘Halcyon’. What a finale.

Sarra Wild ‘FACT Mix 857’

Preferring to “be in front of a crowd”, those of us behind screens are grateful for this Sarra Wild mix of techno, 90s rave and R&B. Whether in your bedroom or on a dancefloor, it’s impossible not to dance to this many bangers. The winners of this mix are Ploy’s edits of Blu Cantrell and Sean Paul’s ‘Breathe’ and Khia’s ‘My Neck, My Back’.

DJ SWISHA, AceMo, Kush Jones & MoMa Ready B2B @ The Lot Radio 05 - 18 - 2022

An energetic start gets your head nodding from this mighty four-way B2B2B2B, who work seamlessly together. Falling from techno breaks to house and disco, there is something for everyone. It’s a mix we’ve been playing on repeat and we’re still bowled over by how many gems are inside.

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