For those old enough to drink in the U.S., I’ll have the privilege of dj’ing with Alex Ruder of KEXP and III Cosby, head of Car Crash Set on February 13th (Living Room Bar, No Cover). I recently learned more about friend, Alex Ruder in his recent Stranger article. As you’ll see in my interview below, he is incredibly enveloped with his craft of dj’ing, and missing his show at the Living Room Bar will be a mistake!

INTERVIEW

DD Sup Alex! I enjoyed learning more about your show in that Stranger article, I feel we are kindred music spirits. What are you up to right now? 

AR Hey Jimi! Thanks! Definitely feel like there’s a wonderful community of new music diggers in Seattle and just really happy to be a part of it. I’m chilling on my break from pushing movies at the video store I manage on Queen Anne, trying to sneak in a quick listening session to some new sounds before heading back to work…

DD I’ll be DJ’ing with you and III Cosby on 2/13 at The Living Room. Very hyped on this! What kind of set will you be playing? For those who listen to your show, are there any favorite tunes you’ll be adding to your living room set? 

AR Yes, really excited to get to share a set with you and Ill Cosby for Street Halo on the 13th! I’ll most likely be putting a set together of new stuff I’m digging and go heavy on some lush/introspective/sexy beats (my fave!) before getting into some more uptempo (but still moody) UK dancefloor flavors. I try not to repeat myself too often, and I try to find something new everyday that blows my mind, but right now I’m really feeling some new and forthcoming releases from Shlohmo, Lapalux, The Host, Ghost Mutt, and Time Wharp on the beats tip, and new UK material from Scuba, Throwing Snow, Disclosure, and Dauwd in the more dance-friendly realm. I’ll probably throw in some Burial as well. Gotta pay respect to the night!

DD How would you describe the NW electronic community? How has it evolved since you first became interested in it? Which artists around here have really stood out to you? 

AR Super hard to put it into words, but I feel that the NW electronic community is a group of genuine, dedicated music lovers, explorers, and creators that are doing what they do out of the sheer love for it. It’s been a treat to not only become more involved in the local scene over the past 8 years but also see the community grow, both in our own circle and on an international scale with the continual rise and success of Decibel Festival. Some of the newish artists that have stood out to me include Ill Cosby and a lot of local folks that have been affiliated with his Car Crash Set label, like Kid Smpl, DJAO, and Kimnusico Trio (who just moved back to New Mexico at the end of last year). I’m also super hyped on Chris Roman’s new house project J.Alvarez. Everything I’ve heard him produce under the new alias are some serious jams! Couple other new local producers that I’ve been feeling recently are Keyboard Kid and Giorgio Momurda. There’s loads more, but those are some of my 206 faves as of late.

 

DD Walk us through your show last Saturday morning. What songs were you especially hyped to play? Any NW artists in the track listing? 

AR I was extra giddy before this past weekend’s overnight show, as I felt like I had an extra heavy dose of new jams I was excited to share on the airwaves! As usual, I started off uptempo before chilling out towards the end of the first hour, and then just tried to keep an interesting vibe and flow throughout the rest of the show, hitting various genres from indie rock, worldly flavors, spacey ambience, pretty folk, to banging hip-hop, as well as the usual assortment of fresh contemporary beats that span the hip-hop and electronic realms. It’s a long list, but I was especially hyped to play Shlohmo’s “The Way U Do,” Lapalux’s “Moments,” Scuba’s “The Hope,” Tom Flynn’s remix of Niki & The Dove’s “DJ Ease My Mind,” Amusement’s remix of Disclosure’s “Flow,” Keep Shelly in Athens’ remix of Solar Bear’s “Cub,” Matthew Dear’s “In the Middle (I Met You There),” Todd Terje’s “Inspector Norse,” Two Inch Punch’s remix of Metronomy’s “The Look,” Eliot Lipp’s “I Wanted To Be A Rock & Roll Star,” Panoram’s “Mute City Blues,” Jacaszek’s “As Each Tucked String Tells,” Elephant & Castle’s “En Memoria (feat. tUnE-yArDs),” Goldie’s remix of Joker’s “On My Mind,” Plug’s “Feeling So Special,” Machinedrum’s “Van Vogue,” Gonjasufi’s “Blaksuit,” John Talabot’s “Journeys,” Mmoths’ “Heart (feat. Keep Shelly in Athens),” and Sonnymoon’s “Goddess.” There was still a lot of new tracks I couldn’t fit into the show that I’m looking forward to sharing on my next shift! Some local acts that I was stoked to sneak into the show were Kid Smpl’s latest unreleased track called “Corridor,” Gabriel Teodros’ “Mind Power,” “Format” by J.Alvarez, the new house-oriented alias of Seattle’ Chris Roman (aka 214),  Filastine’s “Ja Helo,” DJAO’s “Engraving” off the killer new Gem Drops Two compilation, and Keyboard Kid’s “Get Based.”

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See ya’ll on the 13th! 

Jimi Jaxon 

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