Joakim: The Ransom Note Mix

Music

Step back, this is a big one.

Across the past couple of decades there have been very few who can attest as much influence as that of Joakim, a singular producer who has been charted as an influential figure by many of the leading producers and disc jockeys in the present.

The French outsider has amassed a notorious reputation for his eclectic style as a disc jockey and producer having released music on the likes of Versatile, Kitsuné Music, Life And Death, Crosstown Rebels and beyond. As the founder behind Tigersushi Records and Crowdspacer he has been responsible for leading a new generation of talent into the dance and has played a key role in the future development of dance and electronic music.

As an individual his own take on music is wide and vast, not one to shy away from the alternative or experimental he has done well to channel a sprawling array of style, genre and sound across his own lengthy career and in all honesty Joakim continues to surprise and intrigue with delight.

A Dj's dj, he is a firm favourite and we welcome him as part of the series.

Please introduce yourself… Who are you, where are you and what are you?

I am Joakim, I'm in a dungeon and I'm a service dog.

What is the ethos behind your own music and label?

To put it in a nutshell it's post transversality at the intersection of a smooth family and an infinite-dimensional parametrization of the means of mass production.

What does your music sound like? Can you draw what you think it sounds like for us (an image from the old internet is acceptable)?

It sounds like a guy who learned classical music and is sometimes trying to make people dance, like someone who loves experimental music from all sides of the spectrum but dreams of making a perfect pop song, like a nerd who is obsessed with sound but doesn't fetishize technologies. My ultimate goal is to make music that is instantly universal, emotional without being corny and at the same time seamlessly complex, multi-layered, meaningful and open to many interpretations.

Where was the mix recorded?

At a friend's, at night, on a 3 decks set up.

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

This mix is my idea of a late night DJ set : psychedelic, hypnotic, deep with some wilder moments. It's faster than most of my recent mixes, ranging from 125 to 146bpm. So it would be ideal in a dark club with an amazing immersive soundsystem and a fog machine. It could also be your home after party soundtrack. I reckon it would work for a very long walk through the city too.

What should we be wearing?

Crocs. Just crocs. Or a nice leash.

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

I think being teleported in the latest Zelda game, in a hilly forrest of Hyrule would be pretty neat.

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

Not new but it's gotta be Benedikt Frey – Soleil Toujours which I've been playing a LOT. It's a perfect late, trippy track for me.

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

Honestly I can't really answer that, I very rarely listen to recorded mixes… There's too much music I need to listen to out there, no time for mixes. But I guess if I had to pick one, I would say a Ron Hardy mixtape, so wild. He was the king.

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

Ron Hardy? Would be quite a challenge though.

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

2 Technics SL-1210 MK2 and a Vestax mixer. Now it depends on the days, I don't have a permanent DJ set up neither at home or in the studio where most of my records are stored. I use my E&S and turntables to digitize vinyls most of the time.

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

Both are very important. But the one everyone will remember is the last. It's also a track that acts as some sort of barometer of the night, a summary of the night and a "thank you" to a specific crowd, space and time.

What were the first and last records you bought?

I can't remember the first record I bought, I'm always impressed at how people can remember such things so clearly. I guess it's partly because before I bought records I used to record my own tapes from the radio. The first record (actually tape, it was the Walkman hey days) I got might be a Jimi Hendrix live concert recording, but I'm not 100% sure. The latest one I got was that M/N 2018 compilation on Melodies Souterraines, a great French label releasing strange music.

If this mix was an edible thing, what would it taste like?

Magic Mushroom green tea.

If it was an animal what would it be?

A snake.

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

That Evans Pyramid "Never Gonna Leave You" is pretty hard, not impossible, but hard. Which is why I did that remix of it with Max Pask recently.

Upcoming in the world of…

The remix of Evans Pyramid (wow, see how good I am at casually slipping a bit of promo in those questions). A new Full Circle 12" soonish (the slo-mo trancey project I do with Alexis Le Tan). Both on Crowdspacer.