M&A #39: Osito

Now we're well and truly into our second yeah chucking music at you, it's about time to level with you. This started as a way of documenting a blossoming uni dance scene at a time when people were holed up in libraries working away while they dreamed of being back with their friends at clubs and festivals. The first 20ish mixes were all from Cambridge's club DJs, people who'd played out and had dropped a beat or two at Fez, Ballare, Junction etc. But thats really only a small part of what makes up a uni dance music scene. DJing happens at every pres; any time someone is on the aux they're carefully thinking about the playlist they've selected, worrying about the next track and where the vibe of the evening is going, while across the room there's someone thinking of what they want to hear, judging you for putting on Shaggy's It Wasn't Me AGAIN. This dynamic often leads to someone in the group buying a controller to try out mixing, and so appears the lesser celebrated domain of dance music: The Bedroom DJ. Here the appetite of the city is formed, where the excitement for a night builds and a lot of talent is hidden away. Now we're all inside, strung across the country, this platform is perfect for showcasing those people in all their glory, bringing them into the limelight and sharing all the little gems they've found,  the favourite live stream moments, the whacky tastes and those two tracks you've always thought would work really well together. 

With that, I introduce Osito. A clear music fanatic, he's not appeared much on the club circuit in Cambridge, but on this evidence should be on many a line-up next year. The opening sets the mix up beautifully: a low-pass filtered beat gently opening up, building its thump gradually until the euphoric vocal line emerges to carry us into the mix. What follows is a 90 minute pumper of a mix, which takes you from those classic sunny summer festival scenes, to a darker twilight zone of electro, and into the late night psychodrama that comes once the sun has finally disappeared. When the light fades on those days, the vibe just changes, it just hits different. This feeling is wonderfully summed up in this mix, as Osito introduces himself in fine form. Enjoy.

How did you record the mix?

Pretty much as soon as i got back from uni started digging around home to try to get a set up together. It’s all mixed on a DDJ-400 with Rekordbox, which is essentially the only controller I've used since I got it last summer. Aside from that it’s my dad’s old monitor speakers and an old amp from my guitar as a sort of bass bin. Threw in a few old xmas lights to complete the lockdown ambience, imac for flex, and turntable to make me feel bad about my technical skills . 

What were you trying to do with it?

It kind of started as a practice mix, since lockdown started I've been trying to do timed sessions to make sure I actually focus and mix carefully. Since term ended I've had a pretty significant backlog of tracks and ideas so I rarely end up actually setting the time aside to build something longer. After the first few songs I ended up just sort of getting into the right headspace. I like 90 mins as a length because it’s easy to structure into three bits, so went for 30 mins of feelgood disco/house, 30 mins of more heavy/electric house, and then 30 of slightly more out there, darker cuts. A lot of it is basically drawn from a playlist of Boiler Room Shazams I made a while back, so lots of Gerd Janson/Dan Shake/ Honey Dijon steals. Kind of wanted the disco sounds to become progressively more electronic, while still retaining a general light feel, kind of like going from an 80’s disco to a sort of TRON feel? “Bang” by Harry Romero is sort of the perfect track for transitioning between genres, partly, because of the energy it’s got, but also because of how heavy and processed the drum machine sounds, so that’s sort of the halfway point. While I was mixing I thought I might try to go for two hours but Nachtbraker's “Hamdi” is so good it almost doesn’t warrant mixing into. Might be a lot of 4/4 House as things go but good times had by all I should hope. 

What’s your musical guilty pleasure?

Hard to start. I get a lot of shit for how much I like Jason Mraz, but he’s got some back catalogue and live albums that blow “I’m Yours” out of the water. I’ll say a lot in defence of Owl City’s Ocean Eyes album, it’s got tracks about drunken dentistry, romance, sunburn and insomnia, all common themes in my life!

What’s the last song you listened to?

Champagne and Reefer By Muddy Waters (Live)

Who is your favourite producer/performer at the moment?

Keep finding myself coming back to Big Miz right now. It’s not only that he’s massively prolific, he’s also crazily consistent . What’s nice is that it’s constantly surprising, some have that Four Tet kind of percussive floral/spacey vibes, others get you into that nice disco/house rolling-groove, but you’re always one errant click from some pretty serious filth. Would listen to CYT and Straight Thru Cru as examples of the different sorts of tunes he’s creating. Overall he’s just very representative of what exciting coming out of UK underground centres like Glasgow. Sort of appropriate: he's swigging buckfast in his Boiler Room, the music goes down smooth, but it’ll get you wild if you’re not careful. 

What is your go-to banger?

There’s so many to choose from, I’d have to go for either Neutron Dance by Krystal Klear (which i’ve included) or the Fool’s Gold Remix Rabbit in the Moon did. Different energies but both have me bouncing off my basement walls. 

What’s coming up for you during/after Quarantine?

Literally whatever gigs i can get my hands on/ can get tickets for. Am pretty much the definition of a bedroom DJ so sort of just excited to get out there and get started! Hopefully will be able to get out and about for festivals if this all clears up any time soon. Thriving with all the livestreamed Boiler Rooms from the comfort of my bed, so will enjoy those while they last!

Osito's Tracklist:

Nyra- Take My Hand 

Alex Virgo- This Might Take Some Time 

Straight Thru Cru- Big Miz 

Craze at Midnight- Dj Spen 

Can’t Stop Myself- Alex Virgo

The Rollercoaster- Yuksek 

Bang- Harry Romero 

Neutron Dance- Krystal Klear 

Big Wig- PBR Streetgang 

Burnin’ - Daft Punk 

Propane- Elliot Adamson 

The Story Continues- Marco Lys

CYT- DABJ, Big Miz

Black Smoke- Mike Dehernt X Nails Hair Hips Heels- Todrick Hall 

Thunda (Rampa Remix)- Honey Dijon 

Cape Fear- KMA Productions 

Burn- Joy Orbison, Infinite 

Bias- Floating Points 

Bromley- Joy Orbison, Overmono 

Serotonin- Elliot Adamson

Passing Place- Big Miz

Hamdi- Nachtbraker