New Delhi independent radio station and label Boxout FM has just started a new series of DJ compilations that “give listeners a taste of the current soundscape in India”. The first collection is curated by Norwegian-Indian DJ Suchi, who hosts the Boxout show Through the Smog, showcasing leftfield electronics and club sounds from a new generation of Indian producers.
For this first comp in the series, Suchi has leaned heavily into crisp, rugged electro, techno and breaks. Whittling down a long list, she reached out to producers all over India for a nine-track collection of tracks that could just as easily slot into a modern CPU Records playlist or a 90s electro set by Dave Clarke or Billy Nasty.
The tracks cover a lot of sonic ground, from FILM’s fluid Drexciyan energy, Monophonik & Trafficc’s devastating synth stabs and Prismer’s jungle breaks, to deeper, dubby electro and ambient sounds from Kohra and Sijya. And Marbman’s ‘Unhindered Self’ has a nervy synth lead that’s begging for a basement club 3am freakout near the end. But while much of Suchi Selects will have you pining for a sweaty dancefloor, there’s plenty here to hit the head as well as the body.
Moo Kid 