Dekmantel Podcast 350 - Akua
Techno has been reclaimed and refined in the last few years. For Ghanaian-American Discwoman associate Akua (@akua_b), that means a deep dedication to bringing forth narratives about the genre's history. It's about original, authentic and rebellious old school values of the sort that Underground Resistance defined so early on. It's about breaking modern expectations with a fresh sense of attitude. Her recontextualisation of techno centres its long lineage for contemporary audiences. All this most often plays out in Akua's blazing sets, most often during the late-night and early morning hours of the clubs around her New York City hometown. They find her transmute 90s nostalgia while connecting the dots between past and present. "Playing fast feels cathartic," she says, "and helps me deal with the nostalgia I have for a time that I never got to experience but remember and connect with so fondly.” This week's mix is a testament to that: it starts with 1994's 'Global Warning' from the late great K-Hand and goes on to cover decades of history at warp speed. There are frenetic layers of percussion and hammering kick drums, bouncing bass lines and arresting rave synths all threaded together into something hugely powerful and muscular. It is only a DJ with Akua's sense of control that can serve up a chaotic collision of sound in such a compelling way. Tracklist K-Hand - Global Warning [Warp, 1994] Voltage 9 - Untitled B1 - Candema [Synewave, 1994] Drax (Thomas P. Heckmann) - Search [Trope Recordings, 1998] Mike Dearborn - Warning [Majesty, 1994] Gene Hunt - Juno 106 [Contaminated Muzik, 1998] NYCO - Plasticity [ESP Collective, 2021] DJ Shufflemaster - 808 Cosmetics [Self-Released, 2018] Mike Dunn - Damn You All [Trax Records, 1994] DJ Powerout - Lift [Synewave, 1995] DJ Slugo - Taris Sleeps Wild [Dance Mania, 1995] DJ Rush - Control Yourself [Djax-Up-Beats, 1999] Fuzz Face (DJ Hyperactive + Woody McBride) - New Ones [Communique, 1996] DJ Slip - Bushwick Birds [Kanzleramt, 2001] DJ Hyperactive - Get In [4 Track Recordings, 2008] Joey Beltram - Caliber [Warp, 1994] Surgeon - THX-1139 (Level) [1996] Creeper - Spoke [Cluster Records, 1997] DJ Jes - True Honesty [Contaminated Muzik, 1998] Tevatron - Molekule [Re-load Records, 1998] Jana Clemen - Momentum [Convex, 2001] Decoder - Populations [Self-Released, 2021] Unknown Force - Internal Drive [430 West, 1995] Bios - Basic Black [Black Nation, 1998] DJ Apollo - Hooligan Stomp [Head In The Clouds, 1996] DJ Genderfluid - Dirty Funker [Wet Trax, 2021] Woody McBride + DJ T-1000 - Test Three [Generator Records, 1995] Fumiya Tanaka - Micro One [Torema, 1995] Max Watts - Ichi 3 [ESP Collective, 2021] DJ Rashad - Acid Bit (Feat. Addison Groove) [Hyperdub, 2013]