8 Tracks Of: Beat Hotel 2020

Music

If you're looking to escape the rat race for a few days look no further than Beat Hotel. Spawned from the Glastonbury stage, the crew behind it decided last year to up sticks (temporarily) and take this spirit and ethos to the beautiful climes of Marrakesh in Morocco.

A little slice of paradise, the festival brings together DJs and live acts from around the world to play beneath the plains of the Atlas mountains, paired with tasty local cuisine and wellbeing activities. The second edition, which kicks off on 19th March, sees the likes of Floating Points, John Talabot, Kindness and DJ Tennis rubbing shoulders with local artists and musicians, promising a melting pot of musical influences and genre-bending sets across the four day festival.

In the hope of saving you some time to catch them all important rays, we've picked out a few artists who you simply cannot miss over the weekend…

1. Yu Su

Keifang-born DJ and producer Yu Su has made a huge impact since releasing her first EP on Wichelroede back in 2017. With one foot in the world of fourth world and ambient and the other firmly in off kilter dance floor grooves, Yu Su has released a diverse catalogue of music on People's Potential Unlimited, RVNG Intl., Arcane and Second Circle. Not only a talent in the studio, her DJ sets are mind-bending trips through organic rhythms and oddball electronic music while her live sets bring those meditative feels in abundance.

Her debut on Ninja Tune's Technicolour below is the perfect accompaniment to those tasty cocktails you'll be sipping by the pool…

2. Lauren Hansom

We love Lauren! The Sydney-native, who now resides in Berlin, is a DJ and selector with taste to boot. Unearthing forgotten gems on her travels around the world, her DJ sets and radio shows on Red Light Radio are always educational, finding a common thread between seemingly disparate sounds like new wave, boogie, electro, ambient and synth-pop. Give her Dekmantel mix a spin for a taste of what you can expect…

3. Alek Lee

Tel Aviv multi-instrumentalist and producer Alek Lee is a master of rhythms. A dab hand on percussion and drums (basically anything that's going to get your hips moving) his EPs have landed on Zaltan's Antinote and he's contributed tracks for Correspondant and Rhythm Section, but more recently he's been working on two collaborative projects. The first being Project Runaway who made their debut on Emotional Especial last year, and the second (who you can catch on our Ransom Note stage) is Shame On Us, the band he makes up part of alongside fellow Tel Aviv producers Yovav and Naduve.

Get your ears around this one which first got us hooked – his debut on Antinote back in 2017…

4. Call Super

The develishly stylish producer and DJ brings meticulous care and curation to everything he does. Be that through his compositions on Peach Discs (below), Dekmantel, Nous and his long standing partnership with Fabric's imprint Houndstooth, or his exciting DJ sets which see him regularly share the decks with Shanti Celeste, Ben UFO and, of course, Objekt, under their Everything Is True moniker. Be prepared for a real masterclass boys and girls…

5. Charlotte Adigéry

There might only be a few live acts amongst the wealth of DJs on the line up but every one of them is well worth checking, particularly Belgian-Caribbean singer songwriter Charlotte Adigéry.

Her quirky take on electronic pop has been compared to that of Santigold (praise indeed) and matches playful beats with soft vocals and a real knack for telling a story. With all her previous EPs released via Soulwax's Deewee records, she's one to keep tabs on…

6. Manfredas

Our man Manny couldn't go without a mention… A stalwart of Lithuania's music scene, his Smala party at Vilnius' Opium Club has become the most prolific residency at the club, welcoming friends and family from near and far. As a producer his EPs have landed on Multi Culti, Microdosing and close pal Ivan Smagghe's Les Disques De La Mort, who he'll be joining for a b2b tour over in the US and Mexico soon.

He makes up part of the mighty fine line up for our Ransom Note stage on the Friday alongside Shame On Us, Pional and Nadia Ksaiba. You know where to be!

7. Raw Silk

Lovely London-based duo Raw Silk have gone from strength to strength over the last year or two. Promising the best in past disco and house (and we mean the best – there'll be no 'Keep The Fire Burning' in sight), Steph and Grace's skills behind the decks have earned them a residency at Percolate and have seen them play gigs and festivals the world over.

For that optimal sunshine soundtrack look no further than this pair, vibes guaranteed…

8. Khidja

Hailing from Romania, electronic duo Khidja have been doing the damn thing since they were at school. It's no wonder then that their beguiling productions have seen them become regulars at labels like Malka Tuti and Emotional Especial, as well as John Talabot's Hivern Discs, Love On The Rocks and most recently DFA, on the below link. Their DJ sets, like their music, lock you in from start to finish… You never know what to expect.