RA.862 Yazzus ⟋ RA Podcast

A genre-defying, era-spanning mix celebrating Black excellence.

Yazzus is one of the most exciting DJs out of the UK right now. But she doesn't play the usual UK stuff. Instead, her work—her productions and her DJing—is both a historiography and a dialogue of the Black Atlantic connection, taking in dance music genres from both sides of the pond. Her work, encompassing techno, electro and sometimes house, is an Afrofuturist project that combines past, present and future. Her recent EP, Black Metropolis, accomplishes this with a genuinely innovative take on '90s Black dance music that uses a vintage template to do something fresh. She calls her RA Podcast a "Black excellence" mix, traveling between eras and places, featuring artists like Skin On Skin, Paul Johnson, Drexciya and Huey Mnemonic. It's part of her mission to highlight (and remind people) about the Black origins of dance music, and also the vitality of today's Black dance music. This mix is a history lesson, a narrative and a rave all in one, something we're proud to host from an exciting young mind in the electronic music scene. What have you been up to recently? Been travelling loads—reaching and connecting with so many people in different cities, making new friends and having some insane experiences!! For me this is the first year where I'm 'on the road' a fair bit but it's also something I've worked towards since the beginning, so feeling super blessed to be able to do my thang to many new audiences! And of course always important to have a balance of resting up, so been checking out loads of amazing new anime that's currently in rotation, haha. How and where was the mix recorded, and can you tell us the idea behind the mix? So this mix I call The Black Excellence Mix, using tracks made by Black artists from all over spanning across a really cool range of genres and vibes. This stems from my latest EP on Tresor Black Metropolis where, within using an Afrofuturist scope, I create a metropolis of forward-thinking sounds, whilst staying true to the origins traced from Black culture. It's all about putting Black voices in the centre and really listening to our perspective. This mix acts as a score for this unique scape where you can traverse the concept of time with pioneers of the past and new producers I'm loving now, from house to jungle. There's even a track from my crazy talented cousin Retromigration! It's been a healing experience working with Black art. What, to you, does Afrofuturism mean when it comes to music (and especially electronic music)? The music industry has been whitewashed for years, eroding the Black origins of electronic music, so with the Afrofuturist perspective in motion it allows Black artists to be at the centre again, and to be able to truly pioneer something which we invented, and to be in control of its future. Many things have been culturally appropriated so far that it’s almost like rewriting history, e.g. the amount of arguments I've had that techno does in fact come from Black culture. It also means paying credit where it’s due, and honouring the struggles and resilience of the originators. So to look ahead, this can be seen with more representation on line ups, label rosters and just in general more presence within the scene, not just within the club but also journalism and executive positions. As reinforced by DeForrest Brown Jr's Make Techno Black Again. How do you balance paying tribute to the people and sounds that came before but still keeping it fresh? Ever since I started producing I've always been drawn to unconventional sounds, and this idea of an otherworldly feeling in my tracks. I like making music that doesn't seem like it’s from Earth, but from a complete parallel universe where shit is just different! Of course the '90s and '00s have always had the template which I'm drawn to, the percussive choices, the inherent fun cheekiness and sexiness, to which I then add a touch of the future with some alien sounding synths but mega charged up like they just inhaled some ecstasy you know? I also think faster music in general gives a more noticeable bounce and a feeling that we are in a time warp, if you play a house track at 150 BPM it immediately sends you in an episode of The Jetsons... try it at home now. What's one cause or issue you'd like the world to pay more attention to? We all know the world is super shitty, but if you're doing something positive no matter how big or small, you can still make an impact. For me and something highlighted from this mix, is of course tackling racism and discrimination, respecting origins of most if not all music genres, and addressing the whitewashing of the industry. Black Artist Database is a great platform for discovering Black talent and creatives too as well as featuring inspiring articles and podcasts surrounding our experiences so if you do want to make a change this is one place to start. What are you up to next? There's a lot of exciting shows coming up, and next year will be a biig one for sure, honestly just watch this space ;pp

Lista de títulos

Cygnus - Sit Back & Relax feat. Xavier Gladstone DJ T-1000 - Detroitism Paul Johnson - A Little Suntin Suntin Galaxy 2 Galaxy - Hi-Tech Jazz Jaymie Silk - Acid Black Box MoMA Ready - For You Skin On Skin - For Tha Shot Altered Natives - What Life Once Was DJ Delish - The Panel feat. MC Debra Megan Thee Stallion - Big Ole Freak (Ase Manual Edit) GRRL - Echolocator H3LLNAH - 3cc0 Drexciya - Black Sea (Aqualung Version) Yazzus - Human Error Processor Huey Mnemonic - D'wave Zone MCR-T - OG LOC Silkie - Bass Junkie Jasmine Infiniti - YES, SIR 93SOVAGE - DRUNKARDS SAFIYAHH - INFLUENCER CONVENTION [TOOL](ThisIsDeadweight) feat. TURKANA & FREEMAN713 UNiiQU3 - CUMMIN FOR COMMA$ Femanyst - Suk My Diq' (Fem Edit) François X - Shame Stare Yazzus - Perforated SAFIYAHH - official#1bitch Yazzus - Wearing My Hyperpop Rolex JLZ - DZ7 AMX - Ride Retromigration - Rum & Lime feat. Passion Deez Yazzus - ??? Beyonce - formation (saint deepthroat club edit) WTCHCRFT - SHAKE IT That Kid - FUCK IT UP feat. PRINCI, FAGEDELICS, BELLADONNA, VISAS2K, WIFI BABY Dudley Slang - Pop Dat Ass Up Underground Resistance - Technology Gap Heavee - Where the Party @ DJ Rashad - Double Cup feat. Spinn Sinistarr & Stingray313 - Untitled GEOTHEORY - TOMB RAID OF PHARAOH D-Bridge - Kismet TYGAPAW - So It Go Roni Size - Out Of Breath feat. Rahzel