Boska started producing sparse UK-influenced house in Norway’s infamous techno capital Tromsø before being taken out of the music studies and into the city’s night clubs by local DJs and promoters. His style has progressed through a number of releases on Love OD Communications, Studio Barnhus, and Permanent Vacation, and recently into its most bare bones iteration on Trax Couture. He’s also known for his collaborations with Charlotte Bendiks and Fiordmoss. His music balances intuition and inventiveness, channelling ghetto house, ballroom, grime through the time scope of techno. He is also part of SHAPE, a platform to support emerging artists.

This year he’ll be performing at TodayArt Festival taking place from September 22 – 23 in The Hague, Netherlands. On the lineup this year are Legowelt, Laurel Halo, Marie Davidson, Ron Morelli, and many more. More information is available here.

When and where was the mix recorded?

I’m at home in Berlin, recorded the mix this morning.

Could you tell us about the idea behind it?

I wanted to try something different, so I threw all of the tracks into my live setup. Obviously, it was a bit awkward since I’ve never DJ’d with ableton before, but I had a lot of fun using the instruments with the tracks. New experiences always have a freshness to them.

How did you choose the records in it?

I knew that I wanted to put the Reniss track and the rRoxymore remix in there, since those are recent musical crushes, so that’s where I built it from. I’m really always looking for tracks with strong musical or sonic ideas, a deep atmosphere I can get lost in, or just some great drums. Trying to walk the tightrope of making it artistically interesting without losing the groove that gives it value as dance music in the first place.

How does the mix compare to one of your live sets?

The obvious difference between a live set and playing tracks is the amount of sonic detail and variation — the live improvised stuff tends to have a more raw energy to it, less planned. I really love how that simplicity sounds on a big system though. A mix like this one is a listening experience, put together by complex and carefully planned productions.

What have you got planned for the rest 2017?

This month we’re doing a couple more live shows with Charlotte Bendiks at festivals, and my own live set at TodaysArt in the Hague and Insomnia in Tromsø. My band Fiordmoss is releasing its debut album on October 12th, and touring a lot after that, which will be great. After that I’ll probably spend some time in the studio with my own tracks as well, preparing a release for next year.

Tracklisting

01. Reniss “Pilon”
02. Superfície “Hélice”
03. Massacooramaan “Xeviousness”
04. Spoko & Aguayo “Esquina” (rRoxymore rRemix)
05. NKC “Dual Power”
06. Richelle, Xzavier Stone & Sinjin Hawke “All Black”
07. Ikonika “Shovel”
08. Cooly G “Hard”
09. Oly “Hylo”
10. DJ MARFOX “Banda 52”
11. Boska “Wires” (fragment)
12. DVA -Hi-Emotions “Dead End”
13. Zutzut “Ojos Negros”
14. Zíur “U Feel Anything?”
15. HOLLOWAY “Annoushka” (Moleskin instrumental mix)
16. Asmara “Anything”

Photo: Jan Durina