Electronic Beats Weekly

We live in a time of division and polarization. But when it comes to dance music and club culture, we like to think of them as a unified global community. How true is that, really? In this episode, Otto Kent and Juba are joined by Cormac, the DJ, Polari Records owner and host of the Queerly Beloved podcast. They dig into what exactly people mean when they talk about "community", and the shared values they perceive in dance music and club culture worldwide.Electronic Beats Weekly is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: OttO Kent & Juba Producer: Aaron GonsherEdit and Sound Design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel Woop

We love to go out to clubs and have a good time with friends and strangers alike. But anytime you're on a crowded dancefloor, not everyone’s going to be on the same page when it comes to appropriate behavior. The way we all act and interact can make or break a night, but these expectations can also be hard to pin down, and vary widely depending on the city, scene, and personal preferences. In this episode, 032c editor Cassidy George joins Juba and Kikelomo to talk about the best dancefloor etiquette, their unwritten rules of clubbing, and the different trends affecting how people party in 2024. Electronic Beats Weekly is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: Juba & KikelomoProducer: Aaron GonsherEdit and Sound Design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel Woop

In September, the visionary electronic producer SOPHIE released what was promoted as her final album, three years after her tragic passing. And people had a lot of opinions on it – as they usually do with music that comes out after an artist's death, whether it's Tupac, Avicii, Lil Peep, DJ Rashad, Prince, or many, many others. There are moral and musical questions to consider. So this week, Kikelomo and Juba are joined by artist, curator and cultural commentator Christa Belle to talk through the complicated emotions posthumous releases inspire. Electronic Beats Weekly is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: Juba & KikelomoProducer: Aaron GonsherEdit and Sound Design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel Woop

That's what the Jamaican production duo Steely & Clevie are trying to do, with an ongoing lawsuit claiming ownership of the so-called "dembow" riddim – the basis for reggaeton worldwide. It's one of the most significant music copyright cases of the last decades, with significant and widespread implications for both the mainstream music world and underground dance music. To discuss the questions and possibilities that the lawsuit raises, Kikelomo and Otto Kent are joined by Oscar Atanga, a resident of the African Acid is the Future collective and Refuge Worldwide Berlin.Electronic Beats Weekly is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: OttO Kent & KikelomoWriters:: Aaron Gonsher & Merle VenzkeProducer: Aaron GonsherEdit and Sound Design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel Woop

Clubs are closing all around the world, but it still seems like there are more DJs than ever before. Why do so many people want to be DJs – whether bedroom amateurs or touring professionals? And how does all the attention and effort affect the scene? In this episode, Otto Kent and Kikelomo explore the ongoing impact of the pandemic and social media on DJing, the musical, social, and financial motivations for becoming a DJ, and how much the culture can sustain this trend. Electronic Beats Weekly is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: OttO Kent & KikelomoWriters:: Aaron Gonsher & Merle VenzkeProducer: Aaron GonsherEdit and Sound Design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel Woop

It’s not just Fred again fans trying to identify an unfamiliar genre. Drum & bass, jungle, and breaks are back in a big way – both in the underground and on the UK charts. Chase & Status have earned #1 records, artists like Kenya Grace are going viral, and there's a vanguard of producers like Tim Reaper and Nia Archives waving the flag for the genres while continuing to push them forward. But did drum & bass and jungle ever really go away? And what's led to the current pop embrace? Our hosts OttO Kent and Juba asked DJ NORTHERN, the co-founder of Berlin's drum & bass party FACILITATE alongside DJ Flounce, as well as a co-founder of Garage Girls, to share their perspective on this resurgence - what's exciting, what's frustrating, and where things might go from here.Follow DJ NORTHERN, FACILITATE, and Garage Girls on InstagramThe Week is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Hosts: OttO Kent & JubaProducer: Aaron GonsherEdit and Sound Design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel Woop

Clubs in Berlin are closing at a rapid rate – including the legendary Watergate. And it’s not just Germany. In the UK, a study found that if nightlife continues struggling at the same rate, there will be no clubs by 2030. Some of these issues are perennial, but the reality is that “Clubsterben” is accelerating – even though there seems to be more money in nightlife than ever. So what impact do these closures have on artists and audiences? Are clubs still actually centers of musical and social communities? And what role does the internet play in all of this? We invited the Berlin-based DJ duo Surf 2 Glory of Club Heart Broken and Venus Vessels to talk about their experiences navigating this shifting landscape.Electronic Beats Weekly is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Hosts: OttO Kent & JubaProducer: Aaron GonsherEdit and Sound Design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel Woop

We're back for our first episode after the summer break. Or shall we say... Brat Summer break? With her sixth studio album, BRAT, released this last June, Charli XCX sparked what was arguably the biggest pop culture trend of the social media age so far. From underground producers serving up remixes to brands (and presidential candidates) jumping on the meme bandwagon, the British pop star with rave culture roots was just about everywhere all summer. In early September, Charli herself ended Brat Summer with a post on X. But is it really over? What will remain of it? How does the hype compare to other pop culture phenomena in recent times? And what's next in this hyper-paced era of mega trends and micro genres? Electronic Beats host Kikelomo and Juba sit down to serve up their very own takes on everyone's subject matter of the summer. The Week is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: Kikelomo & JubaProducer: Carlos SteurerEdit and sound design: Marc ÜbelLead Producer: Isabel Woop

Do you still feel like wearing a piece of merch makes you a part of a specific subculture? Or has that sense of exclusivity and meaning been lost? This week, our host Otto Kent speaks to writer Claire Mouchmore about our shifting relationship with merch, and how that's changed along with the internet and the explosion of niche identities. Plus, we discuss new features on YouTube music, UK laws against spiking, and the nonrefundable fees paid by African and Asian artists when they apply for UK and EU visas.The Week is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.Host: OttO KentProducer: Aaron GonsherEdit and sound design: Marc ÜbelExecutive Producer: Isabel Woop