Music
The best DJ mixes of 2023
Each month, we round up the finest studio mixes, radio sets, and extended audio voyages electronic music has to offer. Here are the best mixes of 2023.
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So much music, so little time -- it's the dilemma every electronic music fan faces.
So help you uncover the best of the best, we've gone to work hunting out the finest DJ sets, live stream recordings and mix series instalments available on the internet. The mixes on our radar span all sounds, from house and techno to trance, drum & bass, UK garage and more, and come from all corners of the globe.
We'll be updating this list each month, so check back in to keep up with the best DJ mixes of 2023.
January
RA.866 - Dam Swindle
If you need a dose of consummate house to ease you into the year, look no further than this RA mix from Dutch duo Dam Swindle (formerly Detroit Swindle).
Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets are true pros of the European club circuit, and their well-respected Heist Recordings label showcases their own music alongside the likes of Matthew Herbert, Marina Trench and Byron The Aquarius.
For their run on the RA podcast, the duo focused on building a steady, intoxicating groove, weaving dreamy cuts from the likes of Genius Of Time, Omar-S, Lil Silva and their Dutch compatriot Tom Trago alongside a few idiosyncratic choices to keep listeners locked in.
HÖR WarmUp_2023 - Anthony Rother (HYBRID ELECTRO)
Electro trailblazer Anthony Rother is no stranger to blending DJ mixing with live performance, and he kicked off 2023 with a special ‘Hybrid’ set from the famed bathroom-tiled HÖR Berlin.
The producer’s hour at the controls, which opens with a favourite cut from his Little Computer People alias, delivers pure uncut electro, performed by an innovator who clearly still loves his genre (and has all the moves). The set was part of HÖR’s WarmUp_2023 series, and it certainly gets the year off to a flying start. Strap in for one of the best to ever do it.
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February
Kassem Mosse - Truancy Volume 301
This has been a very fine year for fans of German house maestro Gunnar Wendel, better known as Kassem Mosse. In February, the producer and DJ returned with the hypnotic and brilliant album, Workshop 32 - his first solo release since 2017. To celebrate, Mosse accepted the invite to contribute a mix to the Truants blog’s Truancy series.
The mix plunges into Mosse’s signature sparseness and abstract touches, without losing its generous house pulse. As the DJ put it to Truants, his contribution “includes some tracks by artists that inspired the sound of the new album, and combines them with older tracks, some classics and more recent tunes that I see as falling into the funkier section of house and techno.” Dive in for 66 slowburning minutes from an understated master.
March
DJ Mantis - HÖR Berlin MAR 17 2023
Old-school trance and hard dance are still having a moment in 2023, and few young DJs embrace the nostalgia quite like Germany’s DJ Mantis.
In this outing for HÖR Berlin, DJ Mantis opens with the Xoro Children remix of Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding’s ‘Miracle’, which sets the candy-coloured tone. From there, the set deftly weaves between old and new tracks, with plenty of hard kicks, gleefully cheesy vocals and ravey breakdowns. As one YouTube commenter perfectly put it, “Jesus wth did I just click on? Made my morning.”
April
Surgeon - Essential Mix
This year has started strong on BBC Radio 1’s stalwart Essential Mix, with powerful sets from the likes of Moderat, Anfisa Letyago and Black Coffee. In April, the show got a dose of purist techno from UK trailblazer Anthony Child, aka Surgeon.
The producer returned to the spotlight this year with a new album, Crash Recoil, via Berlin’s Tresor label, and it’s as steely and accomplished as ever. To mark its release, Surgeon laid down what BBC Radio 1 calls “two intricate and intense hours” for the famous radio show. The tracklist spans over 50 tracks, cut together in Surgeon’s inimitable style, with a smattering of album cuts like ‘Oak Bank’ and ‘Subcultures’.
May
Otik - RA.882
Resident Advisor’s long-running mix series reliably hits a balance between scene mainstays and exciting newer talent. Falling in the latter camp, London-based producer, DJ and Solar Body label boss Otik kicked off May with a compelling mix that focuses mostly on the house and techno side of his personality.
RA.882 includes a pair of Otik’s own productions, ‘Temptress’ and ‘Inertia’, surrounded by heavy-hitters from the likes of Shed, Pangea, Floorplan and Skee Mask. As the man himself told RA, “I imagined what kind of music I'd want to hear at a warehouse party at 3 AM and sort of ran with that feeling.” It’s a mix that demands the lights down low.
