RA Podcast

Sensational ambient techno, dub pressure and acoustic visions, sculpted for dreaming and dancing. In 2023, we called Mariachiara Troianiello one of techno's most exciting producers. And time has only confirmed that statement. Belonging to a new school of head-spinning artists following in the lineage of Donato Dozzy and Cio D'or, the Turin producer put out her debut EP as Katatonic Silentio, Emotional Gun, in 2019, exploring breakbeat and IDM through a distinctly introspective lens. Since then, her evolution has been striking: from hyperkinetic, post-rave intensity to the sound design-rich tapestries heard on releases for Delsin, Ilian Tape and Mantis. At first glance, Troianiello's RA Mix ends on an unlikely note: "Technologystolemyvinyle," Moodymann's gloriously disjointed 2007 house cut. But this is a mix best understood in two halves. The opening stretch leans heavily into acoustic, organic sonics before kick drums gradually emerge in the second half. Even at its most stripped back, RA.1021 feels full-bodied: immersive, meditative and transportive. There's also an unmistakable sense of freedom throughout, the sound of throwing caution to the wind, playing purely on instinct and joy. It's the feeling of being invited into Troianiello's inner world, and revelling in it together. That unguarded spirit defines RA.1021. Find the tracklist and Q&A at ra.co/podcast/1040

Stumble into 2026 with the 3XL favourites' uncanny vision of ambient. It's become a tradition that the first RA Mix of every year eases listeners into January with soft, gentle and unhurried tones. For RA.1020, though, crimeboys take a different approach. Made up of Ben Bondy, Special Guest DJ and Pontiac Sterator, the US trio are all loosely associated with 3XL. Over the past decade, the Berlin-based label, run by Special Guest DJ, has helped define a strain of ambient that foregrounds strangeness, texture and eccentric detail. This energy comes through immediately on RA.1020. Listen to the first ten minutes and you might not quite feel soothed. Stick with it, though, and a different logic begins to emerge, as church bells, corroded electronics and industrial abrasion give way to long passages of dub pressure, shadowy rhythm and low-lit propulsion. Across two hours, the trio draw a map of influences both internal and external to the 3XL universe, from foundational reference points like Skinny Puppy, M.E.S.H. and DJ Krush to artists embedded within the label’s wider orbit, such as Perila, james K and Critical Amnesia. Together, these selections trace a throughline from '90s industrial and jungle into dub techno, experimental club and contemporary ambient's more unsettled edges. RA.1020 isn't comfort listening in the conventional sense, but it does offer its own form of recalibration and release. Stay put, and you'll be rewarded. Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/1039 @triplexlarge @benbondy @pontiacstreator @specialguest-dj

We close out 2025 with a rare studio mix from the gifted London DJ. DJing is a craft. It reveals itself over time rather than all at once, and few embody that better than OK Williams. Active since 2019, the London DJ has built a reputation through steady accumulation rather than acceleration, becoming one of the city's most trusted and widely admired selectors in the process. Williams has never been interested in narrowing her taste into a single calling card, and it's no coincidence that her roots lie at NTS Radio. She learned to DJ at the Hackney station, starting out as a volunteer producer in 2017. Musically, she moves easily between moods—sometimes cheeky, sometimes deep—and tempos, playing everything from 160 BPM jungle and amapiano to baile funk, deep house and dub techno. For her RA Mix, Williams offers up her "purist" side. Despite her background in radio, Williams doesn't share mixes often and RA.1019 arrives as a relatively rare studio document. Recorded at home on vinyl, the 90-minute session mostly leans into '90s and early '00s techno and prog house. "Ten years ago I tried learning how to play [vinyl] on a friend's 1210s and gave up after a couple of weeks,"Williams tells us below. "Those same decks were then gifted to me years later and were used to record this mix. It's quite nice to see how far I've come." In returning to vinyl, and to the decks that once marked a rocky start, Williams' RA Mix arrives as a fitting marker for the year's end. As 2026 approaches and new resolutions begin to crowd the horizon, RA.1019 serves as a welcome reminder that the best things seldom arrive in a hurry. Find the tracklist and inteview at https://ra.co/podcast/1038 @okwilliams

"The Budots Three" showcase the thrilling sound of Filipino dance music. If you were on TikTok in the summer of 2024, there is a good chance you heard "Emergency Budots (Paging Doctor Beat)." The DJ Johnrey track spread fast, soundtracking countless dance clips, and just as quickly sparked a wave of corrections. Budots, viewers were told, wasn't new. And most people weren't dancing it right. To understand Budots, DJ Love, DJ Danz and DJ Ericnem are a useful starting point. The three producers have been making Budots music since the early 2000s, developing the genre largely outside formal club infrastructure, and across the trio's RA Mix, the genre's playful character comes into focus. Bouncy like a ball, it's primary elements are clipped vocal samples, pitched-up synth hooks and tightly looped rhythms. Heard in full, RA.1018 plays out as an hour-long joyride, making it difficult to square the music’s buoyancy with Budots' earlier local associations with disorder and crime. DJ Love has been central to reframing Budots, positioning it as a form of release for the working-class neighbourhoods he calls home. "People fight in the slums," he told The Face. "I wanted to turn that energy into enjoyment." RA.1018 offers a glimpse into that world. Working collectively as The Budots Three—extra points if you catch the nod to a certain pioneering Detroit outfit—Love, Danz and Ericnem showcase the richness beyond TikTok's compressed snapshots. Across the hour, the mix moves between classic Budots reworks and newer mutations, tracing both the genre's roots and where it might head next. It's Budots, in full view. Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/1037 @easternmargins

The Leisure System co-founder talks psychology, behavioral science and his standout album of the year, Stochastic Drift. Sam Barker's influence on contemporary electronic music culture spans many levels—not only as a producer and DJ pushing against traditional genre boundaries, but also as key figure behind the scenes as head of the label Leisure System. He came into RA HQ to talk about the central thesis in his current work: exploring organic, human timing in a genre that has become increasingly obsessed with mechanized grids. The Berlin-based artist tells us about how he puts this theory into practice in his standout album of the year, Stochastic Drift, and his recent collaborative project with saxophonist Bendik Giske. Beyond the technical, he also reflects on the evolution of the Berlin scene, the surprising arguments for liberation in the streaming economy and the role of art in imagining a utopian future. Listen to the episode in full.