This is our fourth year of running Mantissa and for certain, our most fun and successful year to date. All of this would not be possible without your enduring support, so many thanks! Although we may not have hosted an event in 2019, we have had some great additions to our mix series and insightful interviews our blog. To make it easy for you, here are a handful of our best bits:
An Interview: Ciel
A Review: Nachtdigital Mint
An Interview: Niks
An Interview: Closer Residents
An Interview: Anna Haleta
If you enjoyed these, do not hesitate to check out the rest of our SoundCloud and Website for more content. Thanks to all the artists who have taken the time to contribute to Mantissa in one way or another in 2019, you make the effort worthwhile!
Enjoy your New Year and look out for plenty more mixes, articles and potentially events from us in 2020!
James and Tom’s Highlights
Tom’s Mix Highlight – Livity Sound w/ Two Shell on NTS Radio
2019 has been great for listening content and so picking a particular highlight for the year has been tough. I have gone with Two Shell’s sting on the Livity Sound NTS Show back in early October. Two shell brilliantly blended in a multitude of different styles both sonically and technically to produce something I have repeatedly come back to over the last few months.
The selection is one of the best I’ve heard all year, with tunes such as Shygirl’s Uckers, and Leftfield’s Inspection (Check One) through to Dan HabarNam’s Draw Your pattern littering the show – all tracklisted by the great DJ Bigos. In between blends the two of them shout and sqwark over the show – something which I at first was unsure about – but now I think its something geniously fun and carefree which has been harnessed by the pair to help this show stand out to me in particular.
Tom’s Event Highlight – Brave! Factory
Out of all the possibilities for event of the year, I’ve put Brave! Factory as my particular highlight for a few reasons. Firstly the location, not just being in Kiev, but also being hosted in the old Soviet Era Metrobud Train Depot gave the whole aesthetic of the festival something different to what I have experienced before – and within that, the Closer team managed to give each of its 6 stages a wonderfully unique feel – separated between weird and wonderful art installations.
The performances from the wonderfully diverse range of artists were complimented brilliantly by the sound systems put in place. And as previously stated by us in our review of the event – the ability to mesh both local and international artists gave Brave! such a unique atmosphere that for me put it up there with the best of 2019. I look forward to seeing what 2020 brings for Brave and the Closer crew!
Link to our original review:
https://mantissamix.com/2019/09/06/a-review-brave-factory-2019/
James’s Mix of the Year: re:ni Dekmantel Podcast 253
re:ni has had a standout 2019, playing at the likes of De School and Panorama Bar and hosting one of NTS Radio’s must-listen shows alongside partner, Laksa. Any one of her mixes for Crack, No Symbols, or Dekmantel could be deemed a contender for mix of the year, however it is her Dekmantel Podcast that is my personal favourite.
It is a mix that showcases the breadth of her musical tastes as she traverses, from one track to the next with ease; often chopping, cutting when moving swiftly between tracks, and extending the mix when aiming to increase the impact of her track selection. Stand-out tracks from Sputnik One, K-Lone and J:Kenzo feature.
James’s Event of the Year: Nachtdigital Mint
There is only one contender for event of the year. This is the consensus for any one of the 4000 ravers that descended upon Bungalowdorf Olganitz to attend the final edition of Nachtdigital. Keeping with previous editions, the Nachti line-up combined established names such as “Helena Hauff” and “Powder”, with upcoming talent such as “Akiram en” and “YPY”, alongside their residents, “Manamana” and “Steffen Bennemann”.
Polo & Steffen Bennemann @ Nachtdigital Mint
There is something truly unique and special about the sunrise sets at the Main Stage as the sun glistens on the lake, early evenings in the sweat-box that is the Tent Stage, and afternoons chilling by the lake or having a boogie knee-deep in the lake itself at the Lake Stage. Its presence on an increasingly loaded festival circuit will be missed.
Notable Mixes & Radio Shows:
BIS Radio Show #1020 Part2 with PLO Man
Robert Johnson Archive 0001: Lena Willikens
RA.665 LNS
Truancy Volume 240: Batu
Skee Mask & Zenker Brothers at Dekmantel Festival 2019
RA.700 Powder
NTS Radio – The Trilogy Tapes w/ East Man – 6th May 2019
NTS Radio – Naff: Ex-Terrestrial & Priori – 7th October 2019
Mantissa’s 100 Tracks of the Decade
Finally, here is a selection of some of our favourite tracks from the last decade. Keeping with the Mantissa ethos, there is a wide variety of music on offer, including, Grime, Hip-Hop, UK Techno, Ambient to name a few. Enjoy!