Mixes of the Month

From dubby downtempo to club carnage, here’s what Chinese DJs have been up to

Welcome to Mixes of the Month, where RADII highlights the music that DJs in China and across the diaspora have been sharing over the past month. Looking back at October, there was plenty of contemplative ambient perfect for easing into autumnal melancholy, but also a dose of high-energy dance music that can give you a taste of the music being played in Shanghai clubs right now.

Stella Z – Thoughts and Ideas, Mutant Radio

UK-based Chinese artist Stella Z has been gigging steadily around Europe and regularly dropping radio mixes since releasing her debut album In The Woods, Will Be Late earlier this year. Inspired by her home province of Fujian, the album blends calm melodies with watery textures and rhythms that propel the listener forward without breaking a sweat. This mix for Japanese producer Que Sakamoto’s show on Tbilisi’s Mutant Radio sits well with the sounds on the album, pairing simmering dance music best described by the wonderful adjective “chuggy” with 1990s Sinophone classics: Faye Wong, Wong Kar-wai soundtrack composer Frankie Chan, and Hokkien popstar-turned-ambient-master Lim Giong.