Just because the entire world is in lockdown there is no need to go without your favourite brand of underground music as there is an ever-growing list of top-notch live streams most days of the week. We have compiled a selection of some of the shows that have been getting us through these difficult times and remember that if you didn’t catch them live the first time around they are usually found on the dedicated Facebook page.
The MUDD Show
Conceived in Spring 2019, The MUDD Show has been running at Hoppetosse and also in conjunction with Club der Visionaere on their CDV TV platform before and throughout lockdown. In line with both venues’ booking policy, they have had some amazing artists perform such as Margaret Dygas, Lamache and Ivan Iocobucci to have streamed from the clubs recently.
PIV Records
Amsterdam house label PIV Records has been delivering some sweet stream sessions for a while now and with their previous events taking place at the iconic Sir Adam Tower. More recently resident artists Prunk and Chris Stussy have hooked up with DGTL, LOVELAND, and De Marktkantine for some top streaming action.
Cocoon
The Frankfurt mega-brand continues to deliver on-point music throughout lockdown too with Gregor Tresher coming live and direct from Cocoon HQ with a cool 360 degree visual and long-time affiliate Ilario Alicante presents Electronic Renaissance. A special fundraising LIVESTREAM from Albero della Vita at the MIND Milano Innovation District. With Sven Vath’s legendary label set to be a driving force at festivals such as Mysteryland and Caprices amongst others, there will likely be more digital sets for you to enjoy in the near future.
BE9
As part of the #StayHomeFestival BE9 in conjunction with Reciproc Agency delivered a tasty rooftop experience that saw sets from leading label artists Ben Balance, David Nicolas, and Fabe. With the Mannheim crew being amongst the most in-demand artists around there will definitely be more chances to check these guys out in action again soon.
ReSolute
The New York-based party promoters have an indelible connection to the major player in the Romanian minimal scene and regularly host the biggest names. The most notable streams that Resolute have had hitting the airwaves recently is that with Cristi Cons and Cotė providing the visuals. The 3D mapping of Cristi’s performance space was very cool and also a bit of a precursor to the Sunwaves 24h stream that also recently blew apart the streaming game. Other streams that have impressed came from Lamache and Flabbergast with visuals from Damination, and of course, O.BEE who was joined by Dreamrec and his otherworldly visuals.
Club Guesthouse
Way before this whole pandemic really took hold of the world Club Guesthouse sadly announced that they would be closing the doors to their infamous Popa Nan Street location at the end of May. With this date looming high on the horizon the Bucharest club has been making full use of the club space before that fateful time arrives. So far in the series, there have been sets from Sepp, Tulbure, Miss I, Sublee, Charlie, and the most recent sets have come from Dubtil and Julian. Let’s just hope that these Saturday night sessions are not going to act as the swan song for this genre-defining venue.
Sunrise HUB
For some, the recent 24H Sunwaves stream will be the first time that the Sunrise HUB has been seen. While there is MUCH more to this complex of studio’s, labs and performance spaces they have made a great start in showcasing what they have up their sleeve. Prior to the recent pandemic woes, Sunrise HUB has been presenting extended sets from their growing agency of artists and there has been sets from Bila, caLLy, Emi ∫, Andrei Ciubuc, Prichindel. Gescu, Dragos Ilici and Crihan. This could be seen as merely testing the waters for what was to come with the Sunwaves stream and with a host of top artists that included Mahony, Seth Troxler, Paco Osuna, Dubfire, Maher Daniel, Sonja Moonear, Priku, Gescu b2b Arapu, Raresh, Cap and Mihigh. As well as awesome music from start to finish the visuals that accompanied each set from Cote and Noetic were among the best we had seen during a live stream.
Viceversa
The Italian super-spacey selections have been cropping up in the bags and tracklists of the top artists for some time and so an artist in the comfort of his own living room is always going to mean something special. With a glass of red wine in hand, Viceversa weaved his way through a deft selection of tracks that spans his multifaceted sound. Running to just over 3 hours this was as close to catching the talented Italian in action, let’s just hope it’s too long before he repeats the performance either in a club or from his sofa.
Spaced
A firm favourite in London’s nomadic club scene Spaced made its name throwing some of the city’s finest parties at some of London’s least obvious venues. Think bars, clubs, warehouses, record stores, lofts, boats and you are only halfway towards what Spaced is about. They have now brought this madcap brand of undergroundedness to the airwaves and have been running live streams with their selector friends such as Muesla, GABBS, and Toby Nicholas. As well as presenting some of the best musical talents around Spaced will also be raising money for Human Aid UK where they have teamed up with Royal London Hospital to help provide food and supplies for frontline NHS workers who are in self-isolation.
Yoyaku
It is impossible to talk about minimal DJ streams without mentioning Yoyaku. The French taste-making record store and label have been beaming their take on micro house, minimal and groove-laden bombs for years now. Yoyaku is an almost guaranteed seal of quality so regardless of the stream you have caught or listen back to you are likely to be impressed. Recent streams have come from record store manager Woddd, Jonas, Janeret, and Le Loup. There is little doubt that Yoyaku will continue to lead the way with their tried and tested 2 turntables + rotary mixer format.
FUSE London
London’s success story or one of many will also be joining the stream event industry. Having been keeping the Fuse hoards happy with their LOCKED IN podcast series since the current situation began unfolding the combination of rising stars and established crew members has included Janeret, Rowlanz, Rossko and Michael James. Hopefully not to be a one off their last isolation session included Toman, Casey Spillman, Fabe, East End Dubs, Seb Zito and boss man Enzo Siragusa.
Picnic
Since making serious waves in their home turf of London party crew Picnic have been making moves towards Amsterdam recently. With a number of parties at Veronicaschip Picnic have also thrown a number of instore events and have recently launched their recent venture at top vinyl store Killacutz. Picnic main man and Amsterdam resident Andy Luff were joined by Erik Sebastiaan and Herra. Good vibes assured just make sure you tune in to the next edition that will again be coming from Killacutz on Saturday, May 16th, and will feature sets from Daan Donk, DJ MB, and Pelle with donations going to Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).
United We Stream
Berlin’s clubbing industry is, like most going through an unprecedented time at present and in response comes #UnitedWeStream an initiative by the Berlin Club Commission and the campaign platform Reclaim Club Culture. As well as offering daily streams from Berlin’s finest clubs, brands, and DJ’s this great initiative also offers talks, lectures, and films focusing on club culture. During these tough times giving a voice to a proud scene is essential and as well as this 8 percent of the proceeds go to the “Foundation for Civil Sea Rescue”. With new streams going out daily the content is fast-moving so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for what they have coming up.
FOLD
It is a crying shame to see clubs like FOLD falling silent due to the imposed lockdown so the recent UNSTREAM shows have been a welcome addition to the Ethernet. With the club normally playing host to parties such as Goosebumps, Stump, Art of Dark, Half Baked, and Picnic the streams have been on more of a techno tip but spot-on none the less. As well as the on-point beats the stream is also a great opportunity to catch a glimpse of one of the best clubs in the game.
COLLECT
Another outfit that was repping the stream before lockdown was even a thing is Joao Maria’s COLLECT. The Lisbon lynchpin has been delivering eats, beats and 2nd hand vinyl treats via his COLLECT store since last year and has cemented its place via a slew of fine live streams. Once the gates finally open to the rest of the world make sure you check this spot out as the selection of records in stock is second to none.
HÖR
What appears to be an acoustical nightmare has been consistently pumping out some outstanding music and DJ sets since before the current pandemic. With recent showcases from the likes of Libertine Records, OYE, ://about blank, as well as artists Ian Pooley and Ellen Allien have all starred at this panic room style stream show.
Red58
The Spanish club has always been all about quality and regularly attract the best in the scene as well as nurturing local talent. As well as their hot booking prowess, they also regularly hook up with cosmic players Art of Dark, Cartullis and Watermelon. Recent streams in aid of the emergency and medical staff that are currently fighting the COVID-19 outbreak have included sets from Loud-Contact resident Lumiere, TC80 and Derek.
Half Baked
With Half Baked presenting some of the best minimal vents in London it was only a matter of time before they delivered a live stream. Taking place at HB HQ the collective invited Bas Ibellini, ADMNTi and long-serving resident Greg Brockman their al fresco stream was hopefully the first of many to hit the airwaves.
Internal Connections
Running over 3 days between Friday, May 15th, and Sunday, May 17th is an exciting stream project from Curtea Veche, Subtil, Unic, OGE, E-Numbers, MINIM Records, Romana Records, and Leftback. This cabal of forward-thinking labels and their associated artists have put their heads together and joined forces to deliver a sizzling 38-hour stream special. Kicking off on Friday, May 15th there will be sets from Dan Formless, Bunny, KB Gems, and Matt Star. Then, on Saturday, May 16th there will be live streams from Elia, Trixie, Luke Black, Dudley Strangeways, Annie Errez, Frazer Campbell, Mortalyf, and Ruslan. Rounding out the weekend on Sunday will be Magnus Asberg, Nils Weimann, TIJN, Haydn, Halo Varga and to top it off the legendary Jay Tripwire.
Dragutesku
Taking place on a Bucharest terrace is a 2-hour long stream from DRG Series boss man Dragutescu. The stylishly filmed set takes in the surrounding urban backdrop and mixes it with the Romanian selectors’ abstract minimalism that he has become so loved for. Fingers crossed this is the first in a series of mixes from Dragatesku who is in the process of climbing the many stairs in the minimal scene.
