Shine A Light On Mix… Full Circle (Alexis Le-Tan & Joakim)

“To complete a journey is to learn and to slow down and re-imagine is to enrich – Full Circle hears the hedonistic sound of the 90’s in a light that reflects a different space for our current time and beyond. Always bridging the gap between the past and present: they are and continue to go Full Circle.”

You got that? Good… then let’s get our ears round their first recorded mix action and dig into their minds a bit more.

Listen and read the interview below:

Please introduce yourself…

Who are you?

We are Full Circle. Alexis Le-Tan & Joakim

Where are you?

We are both based in Paris.

And what are you?

Originating from very diverse multicultural backgrounds, we are united by food and music.

What does your music sound like?

A : The main inspiration for Full Circle comes from the true Goa sound. Not what it became in the mid-nineties but more what birthed it between the mid-eighties and the early nineties: TRANCE in its all-encompassing sense of the word and its origins, which exist since the beginning of mankind. Nothing to do with stadium Trance and its affiliates.J : Alexis used to DJ at Goa parties in the mid 90s and also released music at the time on all the key labels: Blue Room, Flying Rhino, Dragonfly, Atomic… After leaving the scene in the early noughties, discovering a plethora of other sounds and being particularly drawn to the early Cosmic mixes by Baldelli and Loda, a happy accident led him to experiment slowing down his old Goa Trance records.

Back To Disco Valley, the first Full Circle mixtape, opened the portals to what became a fruitful collaboration between us, about 10 years ago. We already knew each other for quite a while and had already played together through the Tigersushi Bass System. I was always into psychedelic-leaning electronic music in every genre so that was quite a natural fit for me.

A : The fact that this sound/genre has now taken on a new life of its own with many DJ’s playing this type of music and/or producing it is the most rewarding aspect of the project.

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

Where was the mix recorded?

The mix was recorded at The Abominable Slowman & Club Blanco party at Strangebrew in Bristol on the 4th March 2023. It also happens to be our first live recording.

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

Disco Valley or Chapora Fort in Goa, anytime between 87-92.

What should we be wearing?

Some vintage Space Tribe gear or a thong.

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

A pretty desert beach at sunrise with a proper homemade hi-fi sound system, some portable DAT and reel players with pitch control and a rotary mixer.

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

That would be telling… Most important one is Die Orangen “Yaranabe” (Full Circle Goa Way remix). Our second remix and definitely the track which best defines our sound so far.

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

Any mix by Mike Maguire. Mike Maguire of Juno Reactor fame was the best DJ to play outside of Goa (and there too;-) throughout the nineties. He was one of the only ones that didn’t care about playing the Goa Trance records that were being released at the time, instead of which playing a real mixture of all sorts of other techno releases which had that trancey vibe to them and which would rock the dancefloor regardless. We were thrilled to reconnect recently for one of our forthcoming projects which he leant a helping hand to. Read on to find out more…

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

We are already going back-2-back with each other, so that would be back-2-back-2-back which may be too much. If we were to go back in time, seeing Laurent playing in Goa between 87-92 would be magic. Laurent’s sets are known to be legendary and anyone that witnessed them will agree that not much came close. Unfortunately he never played outside of Goa…

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

A : Some Technics SL1210s that were bought in 1993 that I still have today with a shitty Numark mixer. I upgraded to an E&S DJR400 mixer early 2000 and haven’t changed since besides getting my turntables rewired by a friend a few years ago.

J : 2 technics SL1210s that actually belonged to my younger brother and a 2 channel Vestax DJ mixer. Now I basically don’t have a DJ set up at home but I do have turntables and an E&S rotary mixer as well.

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

Both of course : one to start and set the mood, the other to bring things to a perfect close that you will remember the next morning.

What were the first and last records you bought?

A : The first electronic music records I bought were Aphex Twin « Selected Ambient Works vol1 », The Future Sound Of London « Accelerator » and The Orb « Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld » when they came out.The last ones were Zaumne « Parfum », V/Z « Suono Assente » and Maara « The Ancient Truth ».

J : Hard to remember but could be a Jimi Hendrix live album on cassette. Latest ones : the Nakibembe Embaire Group LP and Freddie Fresh’s Comatone EP.

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

Mushrooms obviously.

If it was an animal what would it be?

A Sonoran desert toad.

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

There is always a way to mix in and out of any record, beat matching not necessarily being the only way one can or should mix.

Upcoming in the world of…

We have a Further Knowhere mixtape and a track on the next All Welcome compilation on Good Morning Tapes coming out soon. A track on Avidya which happens to be a remix of one of Alexis’ tracks from 98. And most importantly we just finished a new 12″ called “Mastermind” that will be the first outing on our new label Full Circle Released + a Full Circle compilation, “Kicking Dust: The Goa Way”. This compilation was a long time coming and has been in the works for almost ten years… Special thanks for the help with the liner notes to Mike Maguire and even more thanks to my old partner in crime and great friend Tom Colebrooke for writing them! It was initially meant to come out on Malka Tuti, then on Emotional Rescue but neither had time to take care of the licensing so it’s also coming out very soon on Full Circle Released. Both should be available before the end of the year.

Anything else we need to discuss?

We figured it was about time to start a new label to put our own stuff out but also offer a platform to other likeminded souls. We already know many out there, but if anyone would like to be part of the gang and think they fit the bill please send us your demos!