Bruce & Dar Disku: The ‘Ransom Note’ Mix

There’s a collective musical spirit in Bristol which makes it a very special place to reside. Spaces like Strangebrew, The Love Inn and Noods Radio have become hubs for the music community within the city; the latter of which has recently secured a permanent home at its own cafe and bar, Mickey Zoggs.

It’s in this fine new establishment that today’s mix was recorded, courtesy of two of Noods residents, Bruce and Dar Disku. The pair have made plenty of moves in their own right. Bruce has been a key figure in the city for some time, releasing music on local mainstays like Timedance, Idle Hands and Hessle Audio, while Dar Disku – a label and collective made up of Mazen Almaskati and Vish Mhatre – have been treating listeners to their contemporary take on rarities from the Middle East.

Recorded in May, over an hour and a half Bruce and one member of Dar Disku, Vish, embark on a global expedition through Belgian new beat, Arabic oddities, noughties hip hop and free jazz…

Where was this mix recorded?

Vish: This mix was recorded at the new home of Noods Radio, Mickey Zoggs

Bruce: Aka Paradise

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

B: Mickey Zoggs, obviously 

V: Somewhere which feels natural. Whether that’s outdoors or during a set in a club. The feeling can’t be forced and you can’t think about it too much. My favourite mixes have been collaborative ones where you can really feel the connection between people and hear them feed off each other’s ideas and thought processes. It’s at that moment you can almost hear the dialogue between the DJs behind the decks.

What should we be wearing?

B: Mickey Zoggs T-shirts and wrap round shades, obviously 

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/format?

B: On the roof of Mickey Zoggs, playing out to the street of beautiful Bristol people

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

V: Kent Yasami by Senay. I picked up the record on a trip to Istanbul after hearing it playing from a Simit stall (v delicious Turkish bread). I spoke to the person running the stall and spent the next 48 hours trying to source it around record stores in Istanbul. I don’t think there’s been a Dar Disku set that I haven’t played it in. It’s become a bit of a permanent fixture as it encapsulates what we try to do as a label. Introducing the sound of the Middle East to new audiences in a way that feels familiar but also totally new at the same time. The record never fails to get a reaction. 

What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?    

V: Probably my Dad’s Panasonic multi CD player which I would cue up full of CDs one after the other. Mainly mix CDs I’d made when I was about 13 or 14. You couldn’t blend on that bad boy so I’d just manually choose the next track with long awkward pauses in between. It’s not like I was playing to anyone but me anyway… It taught me that so long as I was enjoying myself, hopefully other people would enjoy themselves too. Now it’s 2 CDJs and a turntable and my trusty e&s DJR 200 with a boss dd7 to cover up my train wrecks.

B: Two turntables and a mixer. It’s the same now. 

If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?   

V: Probably any of the DJs that were playing in clubs in the Middle East during the 70s and 80s.

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

B: End on, although I recently realised I’m almost never actually present/listening on the dancefloor during people’s last tracks – too busy chatting lol

V: The tracks in the middle. A good closer always leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy though so probably that.

What were the first and last records you bought?

B: Burial – Street Halo (2011). Burial – Chemz / Dolphins (2021)

V: Probably a Led Zep or Jethro Tull record my dad gave me so I didn’t really buy it. Latest was probably the cake reissue on our good friends Mutual Intentions and Steve Kekana’s Bulldozer from South Africa. 

One record in your collection that is impossible to mix into anything?

B: Surely no track is impossible to mix? You just need more reverb and/or dub siren! 

V: Everything is mixable with the right amount of fx send… but probably ‘Ya Habayeb Hebbouna’ by Sammy Clark. I just let it play all the way through…

Upcoming in the world of Bruce…

Music

Bambounou x Bruce – Final Conference on Bambe – just announced
Sublove – The Other Side (Bruce’s ‘Black Ice’ Mix) on Few And Far Between – released 25th June

Shows
Pop Messe Festival Czech Republic 24th July
Origins @ Night Tales 31st July
Houghton Festival 13th August
Rhythm Section @ Colour Factory 14th August 
Signal Festival 20th August
Come Bye Festival 17th September 

Upcoming in the world of Dar Disku… 

V: lots of shows and hopefully a new Dar Disku record. 

Shows
23 July – Boiler Room W/ Hunee, Saioirse & Jayda G  
25 July – Bristol Beacon W/ Electric Jalaba   
30 July Meraki -W/  Antal, Young Marco, Nabihah Iqbal, Anu , Giovanna  
Aug 6 – Basket of Light Festival, Wales   
Aug 7 – London – Percolate Queens Yard Summer Party Festival   
3 Sep – Wide Awake Festival W/ Altin Gun, Manfredas , Erol Alkan, Tinariwen
10 September – London, Jazz Cafe W/ Habibi Funk, Nabihah Iqbal

Follow Bruce & Dar Disku.