Mandar was formed in 2013. It’s the project of Nick Putman, Charlie Naffah, and Samuel André Madsen. Of the three, Naffah is the most well known; as Lazare Hoche, he’s gained a reputation for dancefloor geared, deeper-than-deep-house records and reissues of classic, underappreciated French house 12″s through his eponymous label. He also co-runs the Oscillat Music label with his two partners in Mandar, who’ve each built reputations of their own with respected releases and labels Vigenère and Delaphine. Together, they blend their styles as producers and DJs, aiming to present what they term a “unique synthesis,” combining the old with the new, the classic with the innovative.

Considering the trio live in different cities, Mandar releases have landed with remarkable frequency. Following 2013’s Oscillat debut, they’ve put out six more EPs and an LP, which arrived in the late summer months of 2016. A five-vinyl box set recorded in Paris, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam, it featured 12 groovy house cuts, all fit for home listening. All in all, it was a “considered, deeply impressive” LP that “any house music aficionado would go head over heels for,” wrote Ben Murphy in his review.

Fans of Mandar, or indeed any of the three, will certainly enjoy this week’s podcast. Consisting entirely of unreleased and unshared Mandar material, it’s in effect a brand new Mandar LP for your listening pleasure. As you’d expect, it’s a well compiled and well mixed hour of high-quality house music—as perfect for home listening as it is the club.

Lazare Hoche will be performing live at next year’s Comunité Festival in Tulum, Mexico. Also on the bill are Rhadoo, James Holden & The Animal Spirits, Lawrence, Vlada, Auntie Flo, and many more. More information can be found here.

What have you been up to lately?

Making music.

What was the inspiration for starting Mandar in 2013?

The inspiration came directly from the studio. The first time the three of us were together we spontaneously made music together and had a lot of fun doing it. We found we complimented each other nicely in the studio as well as behind the decks, so within a week of meeting each other, we formed Mandar.

How does it work in the studio — given you all live in different cities? 

It works in so many different ways. It’s not often that we are all together in the studio. When we are not, we send sounds back and forth via the internet.

When and where was the mix recorded?

It was recorded in Berlin summer of 2017.

Could you tell us about the idea behind it?

We all love mixtapes and playing other peoples material, but we wanted to make something very special with this mix and showcase some unreleased material of ours. Some tracks in there are still just sketches but we thought it would be fun to include the listener in that as well—sort of an exclusive intimate look inside Mandar.

Where do you think the mix is best listened to?

Wherever really. Headphones when traveling, at home when cooking, at work when working.

The mix consists entirely of unreleased material. When was it produced?

There is some brand new stuff in there made a month ago and there is some old stuff in there made quite a few years ago. We just made a huge list of our unreleased stuff and chose the tracks, we’d like to share with the world.

How does the mix compare to your club mixes?

Club mixes are exactly that: club mixes. Though we do play a lot of our own stuff in the club none of us enjoy listening to too much club music at home. This mix has a more gentle approach. It’s a showcase of our production—a continuous “album,” if you will. It’s mixed in a way which is suitable to listen to “on-the-go.”

What’s next for Mandar?

We work every single day on new material and push ourselves to make some great new music. We’ve released a lot of EPs for the club and that is fun indeed but we love to push ourselves and each other further always to try and come up with something new.

Expect the unexpected.