Dummy Mix 160 // Dynoman

Haamid Rahim, as co-founder of the Forever South collective and producer Dynoman, is a prominent name in the Karachi electronic music scene; entrenched in LA beats and the sounds of UK dance pioneers like Four Tet and Mount Kimbie, Rahim brings a whirlpool of influences to a place where rock and indie music are very much the mainstream preference. When we spoke to him last month, he told us that the electronic scene in Karachi was “currently booming”, and now he’s gone and made us a ridiculously fun and bright mix to prove his point.

In his Dummy mix, Dynoman starts out brash and bold, with Flying Lotus, Mount Kimbie, Pakistani producer Dalt Wisney and Burial all brushing up against one another, and it’s nothing but an indication of what’s to come. Prepare for a breathless trip through some of Dynoman and his peers’ most blissful work, interspersed with stalwarts of UK and US production, encapsulating the global conversation that electronic music has formed over the last few years all within 45 minutes. Stream it here, and keep scrollin’ for our Q&A with Dynoman and his tracklist.

Hi Dynoman, tell us about your day.

Hey, my day has been good. A little more hectic than usual but a good day so far.

What were you trying to do with this mix, and how did you want listeners to feel?

With this mix I was trying to blend my influences in with my own productions as well as with the productions of the collective/label I co-own with another producer Bilal Nasir Khan. There are a bunch of tunes in there that are chilled out as well as dancy so listeners can put the mix on when they want to relax or put it on when they want to dance.

You recently told us about how both the LA and UK music scenes have influenced your sound, and both are nodded to in your mix, but how has the Karachi and wider Pakistani music scene shaped your music?

I have never really followed the wider Pakistani music scene however a few people that I respect and enjoy the music of from the scene here are the producer Dalt Wisney, the duo Sajid and Zeeshan and my Forever South peers Toll Crane, Rudoh, TMPST, and Alien Panda Jury to name a few.

For people wanted to get more into the Karachi scene, who would you recommend they listen to and why?

Forever South!! Haha, there are a bunch of awesome acts out here that should be heard from both the Karachi and Pakistani music scene. I have already mentioned Dalt Wisney and Sajid and Zeeshan who are ace in terms of electronic and experimental music. There is the Pakistani Coke Studio that should be checked out for a taste of the mainstream music scene here and some awesome bands from the Karachi scene such as //Orangenoise, Mole, Sikandar Ka Manda, Jumbo Jutt, and Basheer and the Pied Pipers.

Please could you tell us about some of the Forever South tracks included in the mix?

The Forever South tracks that are in the mix are all new and fresh tracks that artists from our roster have made. The TMPST track Magnolia is an unreleased track that may feature on his upcoming EP to be released on Forever South. The Rudoh track is also an unreleased track and the Toll Crane track is off his new EP Pink Passport that was released on Forever South earlier this month. I have also put in an unreleased track of my own that belongs to an EP I am currently putting together.

I love the vocal samples on your track Naubahar particularly. Where do they come from?

The vocal samples in most of my tracks are usually cut up from different acapellas that I use in my production. I usually take a few acapellas and cut them up into micro fine samples and tune them in together and then use them as percussions or even like a synthesizer!

There’s a very warm and hopeful spring to your music. Does that reflect your outlook on life?

Yes it does! ‘Naubahar’ was a very happy album because it reflects a new beginning for me. I had also made the album during lovely summer time in New York City so that really influenced my mood and the music I made.

How and when will you be following up your ‘Naubahar’ album and what musical directions will you be exploring?

I am currently in the process of starting to work on a new EP. The title of the EP is going to be ‘Travels to Janaika’ and I am keeping the core element of ‘Naubahar’, that is the melody aspect, intact but am pushing the experimental side of my beats more. This album right now is turning out to be less reliant on synthesis and has different instruments such as the piano, guitar, live drums, etc in it. I am really liking what I have put together so far and excited for this new journey.

What else does Forever South have coming up this year?

Forever South has a bunch of awesome releases and nights to be put up this year. We have the Treehouse EP ‘Past Athena Court’ set to be released next. We have another show coming up on the 27th of April in Karachi called HYPE!, we have a TMPST EP in the works and an Alien Panda Jury EP as well. We have shows planned for the rest of the year and would like to have a Pakistan-wide tour sometime in June. The future is looking good for us!

Tracklist:

Flying Lotus – Do The Astral Plane
Dalt Wisney – Catapilla
Mount Kimbie – Mayor
Burial – Untrue
Rudoh – A 5
Flying Lotus – Satelllliiiiiteee-
Burial – Archangel
TPMST – Magnolia
Mount Kimbie – Field
Dynoman – Naubahar
Dynoman – Kiran
Flying Lotus – Zodiac Shit
Curtains Don’t Talk (Daedelus’ Pacific Footwork)
Tsutchie – Sincerely
Teebs – _For Phil
Let Me Love You (Lapalux Bootleg Remix)
Bondax – Gold
Rudoh – Istanbul Pls
Four Tet – Glue of The World
Dynoman – Dust
Dynoman – Unreleased
Shigeto – Huron River Drive (Elaquent Remix)
Smax – Spendin 3
Smax – Fade
Toll Crane – Jackie Brown’s Getaway
Four Tet – Angel Echoes

Forever South released ‘Collections Volume 1’ on Bandcamp on 14th February 2013.