The Week

This week, OttO Kent speaks to Marke Bieschke of the Stud collective to learn the inspiring story of a community banding together to save a beloved local venue. Plus: an iconic house label is reborn, Black British music at the British Library, and celebrations of Rico Wade of Organized Noize and footwork pioneer DJ Rashad...

How is the electronic music scene in Ukraine keeping up and evolving since the Russian invasion? This week OttO Kent talks to Ukrainian DJ, promoter and producer Human Margareeta about keeping a culture alive and the importance of daytime raves during the war. Plus: first results of Berlin’s drug-checking program, protests at Burning Man, the unexpected return of Fyre Festival, some shady support for the concert ticket reform in the US and your weekly recommendation from OttO...

WTF was happening at Burning Man this year? First climate protesters were blocking the entrance, and then a rainstorm hit the desert playa so that people weren’t allowed to leave the ground. OttO – who’s an burner himself – talks to DJ Kim Ann Foxman, who’s been a Burning Man aficionado for decades. They talk about the reasons for people hating the festival and about what’s left of the original principles...

Are demons taking over pop culture? This week OttO talks to a mystic creature herself – the british artist Sarahsson – about the current trend of playing with the devil, cybersigilism being the new tribal tattoos and how a new generation is charging their Whoppers while remixing the forbidden...

Should we consider turning away from the DJ booth? That’s what an older generation of ravers is proposing on social media? Kikelomo has some strong feelings about that – and even the science to back them up. She’s joined by co-host OttO Kent to dive into the debate and to talk about the history and evolution of the DJ booth. Plus: Songs as investments, UK bans laughing gas, the new iPhone as a gaming console, and Mexican singer Peso Pluma facing threats by a major drug cartel...

Dance music from the Latin diaspora is making waves into the European scene – but who’s really profiting from the boom? This week OttO Kent talks to the Venezuelan writer and deputy editor of Crack Magazine Rachel Grace Almeida about the long-overdue attention that Latin American artists are getting, and why it’s problematic to lump all these artists and countries into one box...

While West-African music is celebrating new milestones globally, the electronic music scene is still underrepresented. The Nyege Nyege festival in Uganda and its community have been a centerpoint for highlighting dance music and queer culture from East Africa. In this episode Kikelomo talks to Turkana, who’s part of the experimental Anti-Mass collective from Kumpala...

Why is it more important than ever to create ‘safer’ spaces and awareness concepts in our club culture? And what can we all do, so that everybody feels safe while going out? Kikelomo talks to diversity consultant Lewamm Ghebremariam about the evolution of safer spaces, why she rather speaks about intentional spaces, and how the Netflix series “Sex Education” is a great learning experience for basically everything...

Alcohol can be quite central and inescapable at clubs and parties. So what would happen if someone banned alcohol completely from their party? That’s basically what journalist Michelle Lhooq did at her ‘Shroom Raves’. OttO Kent talks to her about her inspiration for the idea and about what it means to create a space for experiencing other kinds of drugs...

What a time to be online. In this week’s episode Kikelomo and OttO Kent discuss whether or not artists are obligated to post on social media in the wake of political crises...