KimchiCast (Radio)
Kimchi Records isn’t your typical record shop. With a sister shop in Quito, Ecuador, Kimchi is run by Chicaiza and Patamamba, DJs who specialise in deep, esoteric electronic music. For their mix series, the label invites DJs from around the world, each reflecting the stores’ deep and eclectic taste. KimchiCast started as in-house DJ sessions before hopping online. The mix series dives into Afro-Caribbean beats, downbeat, deep techno and more, featuring guests like Berlin’s Edna Martinez, Japan’s Que Sakamoto and Egypt’s Khaled Youssry. With regular parties across town and a string of solid record releases, Kimchi Records is firmly establishing itself as one of Berlin’s go-to hubs for inventive, off-kilter electro, with KimchiCast leading the charge.
- Listen here.
Greetings from Soulgaria (Album)
Bulgarian Cartrader
On his second album, Bulgarian Cartrader takes us on a journey to “Soulgaria”, an imagined version of his home country. The album title nods to Bruce Springsteen’s debut Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., with crooning and lamenting across a string of Telecaster-driven tracks. He shines with lyrics that explore his struggles with depression, his attempts to reconnect with home and a challenge to Eastern European stereotypes. Standout single ‘Telecaster Warrior’ is a beautiful and touching ballad tackling the singer’s issues with self-doubt and imposter syndrome, with a guitar riffing over a gentle R’n’B beat. It could be an 80s Bruce Springsteen hit – if he’d been born on the Black Sea. Though he’s no longer trading cars (yes, that was his previous gig), he is putting Bulgaria back in Berlin, one hit at a time.
- Out Oct 10
Otis Mensah Vinyl Only DJ Mix (Mix)
Matter of Fact Vinyl
What better place to spin records than somewhere that actually makes them? Based in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Matter of Fact has become a favourite pressing plant for Berlin producers and labels. This year, the pressing plant launched a YouTube channel, streaming DJ sets and interviews with some of its beloved clients and closest friends. A recent highlight from the factory floor was a soul- and R’n’B-infused DJ set by Berlin-based British jazz-poet and all-round soulster Otis Mensah. Mensah’s album before the noise my cousin was one of the highlights of this year, an album packed with old-school conscious rap and smooth jazz. Mensah’s influences are on full display as he spins classic soul, hip-hop and dub, while the Matter of Fact team keeps busy in the background, pressing, filing and shipping records.
- Listen here
X-berg Dubs (EP)
buttechno
A connoisseur of all things abstract in techno, Russian producer buttechno – aka Pavel Milyakov – rolls out yet another batch of rave-ready tracks. Having already carved his name into cult labels like Nina Kraviz’s трип (pronounced “trip”) and The Trilogy Tapes, the producer’s EP nods to 90s rave as it drifts through jungle, dub and old-school techno. Resonating with low-end thumps and crushing breaks, X-berg Dubs is intense and energy-packed. Standout track ‘Grey Dungeons’ is a modern-day hardcore anthem that could have dropped straight out of another decade, complete with rave rhythms and nostalgic atmospheres. With a steady stream of releases packed with eclectic beats, buttechno’s dedication to cutting-edge techno knows no limits.
- Out now on PSY X records
