Max HeyraudThis week’s entry to the Mix of the Week comes from powerhouse Belfast techno girl band, as Hannah invites Emma, MK Best and Princess Glitoris for a two-hour masterclass that glides through a silky concoction of house and techno. Loopy, swung, and endlessly rolling.
When some of Belfast’s finest DJs are close friends coming together for a pre-AVA warm-up, you can guarantee the result is something special: a mix that lands perfectly between house and techno while staying light years away from formulaic tech-house territory. It sits firmly in that sweetest of sweet spots.
The tracklist speaks for itself, a deep assortment of essential producers spanning Deetron, Truncate, Eddie Richards & Terry Francis, Luke Slater, and Adam Beyer, to name a few. Swing-heavy rhythms and hypnotic loops are woven together with effortless precision. There’s often a danger when too many DJs collaborate on a mix that it can feel overcrowded or disjointed, but the opposite is true here. Tracks melt seamlessly into one another, creating a polished, cohesive journey that sounds as though it had been carefully sculpted over time, adding even more weight to what was ultimately an off-the-cuff session.
What stands out most is the restraint. Nobody feels like they’re trying to outdo the other. Instead, the mix feels considered, poised and heads down. There’s no reliance on cheap tricks or gimmicks; the magic lies in the swing, the subtle tension, the dusty drum grooves and slippery, dissonant chords that flow through the heart of this two-hour delight.