Dummy Mix 308 // Darwin

An enigmatic DJ and resident of Berlin club Griessmuehle, Darwin is always slaying. Whenever she's not on the decks, Darwin is heading up her own imprint SPE:C, a label which rolls between what she describes as "heavy, sci fi influenced techno and broken, bass driven grooves". Debuting in 2015 with Decka's industrial techno epic Escalation, it was recently followed up with second release from Trans A.M., Speechless.

A true multi-tasker, she's also reigniting club night Locked at Griessmuehle alongside founder Dean Driscoll, fuelled by a mutual desire to fill a void of British artists they'd like to play in Berlin, and they'll be kickstarting the party over Easter weekend with Hops and Asusu. To keep us ticking over, Darwin's kindly done a mix to warm us all up. Recorded at home on a pair of Technics 1210s, the mix encompasses the typical mood of a Darwin set – including her favourite tracks from the likes of DMZ and Function.

Hey Darwin – how's tricks in 2016 so far? 

Darwin: "I've got a lot of exciting things coming up so I'm kind of buzzin'. Going to Cuba and getting to see Mala play at Manana Festival and getting booked at Moog Fest would be the highlights."

Tell us more about the mix – was it recorded with any mood or activity in mind? 

Darwin: "I recorded this at home on two Technics 1210's, I'm too lazy to learn how to use CDJ's so please excuse the dirt you can hear on my records. I wanted the vibe to reflect what you could expect to hear if you came to see me play at Griessmuehle and to showcase the sounds that influence my label."

Any stand out tracks or exclusives up in there?

Darwin: "There are two of my favorite records of all time in the mix, Function's Burn and DMZ's Eyez."

Tell us a little more about the side projects you're working on, the label SPE:C and your night Locked?

Darwin: "I started my label SPE:C on my birthday last year, after coming across a couple of young guys from Bristol called Decka & Trans A.M. There were some pretty cosmic vibes happening from the start with the Decka release, as our birthdays are on the same weekend and his demo EP was named 'Begyndelsen' – which means "beginning" in Danish – not knowing that he would be the start to my label when he submitted it. He passed me some tunes from his flatmates Trans A.M and I just put those out too.

Locked is my friend Dean Driscoll's old night that we decided to revive together on my home turf of Griessmuhle. Not many people are booking the UK stuff we want to see in Berlin so decided to do our own night. We've got Asusu and Hops from Hardwax, who runs a killer label called Version, coming up over Easter weekend."

What's the most exciting thing in Berlin at the moment?

Darwin: "My bed (for sleeping!)"

Any last words?

Darwin: "Enjoy."