We begin the new year with a mix from SHXCXCHCXSH, the Swedish techno act. Having found each other in Stockholm, the duo began exploring their love for the darker and more experimental realms of techno and soon followed the natural progression of working on music together, incorporating their broad range of musical backgrounds—from hip-hop to rock-pop—into what they term “deadly serious techno” born out of the elements of noise, drone, glitch, broken beats, pounding industrial, and much more.

After releasing on Semantica and Subsist, SHXCXCHCXSH found a home on Shifted’s Avian. Following the series of EPs that caught the attention of techno world, June 2013 saw the release of STRGTHS, a debut album that etched their unpronounceable name onto audiences’ minds. In 2014, the duo unveiled their second full-length album, Linear S Decoded, that showed an entirely different side of SHXCXCHCXSH by perfecting the intricate balance between light and dark and further expanding the breadth and depth of their world with complexity and sensibility without compromising the powerful nature of their output.

Since then, two more albums have followed, namely SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs and, more recently, OUFOUFOF, the first on the duo’s Rösten imprint and more focused on the club—“…the main focus being our relationship with the dancers’ minds and how we do our best to fuck with them.” In support of the album, the duo compiled a beat-focused mix with one eye on the dancefloor, but slightly less driving and more experimental than formulaic. It’s heady and, at times, intense and deliciously dark; but in there you’ll find serene atmospheres and plenty of space for reflection. Download it now via the WeTransfer button below

What have you been up to recently? 

The past year has been the most productive time for us ever. We have a bunch of big records on our desk that will be coming out after this album. Our label Rösten will also have a busy 2019 starting with an EP from Sissel Wincent.

Your latest album marks the “beginning of a new turn for SHXCXCHCXSH, one born out of a fresh conceptual approach to rhythm.” Can you talk to me more about this? 

Our past few albums have been focused on a very free atmospherical idea of techno while this time we looked back on how we created beats before that, mostly on “LTTLWLF,” and we found a seed of something in that track that we never developed further. So the process of this album started with that track basically, how the beats are made, and how such form can generate new forms.

When and where was the album recorded, and how does it compare to your earlier work? 

It was recorded during two months last spring in Berlin. It was very conceptual from the beginning in a more concrete way because it had a form before it had a sound; usually, it’s the opposite.

You two have long kept your identity secret. What do you perceive to be the importance of anonymity?

It has always been a way to make it easier for the listener to take in what we do; what we do is not about us as persons, it’s all about the listeners’ subjective experience.

When and where was this mix recorded? 

A few days ago at home in Berlin.

Is there a theme or idea behind it and how did you choose the records that you included?

It’s all about beats really, plus some other noises that we like. We tried to find tracks that would reflect our approach to music making but we didn’t find it, but this selection is as close as we get to the strangeness we love. The tracks are all old favorites mixed with loads of new ones.

How do you feel it compares to your live sets?

It has a similar vibe as the live set we tour with at the moment, but where our live set is aimed completely to the people dancing this mix is also meant to be fun to listen to at home or headphones and does take some more experimental turns that we wouldn’t do on the floor.

What’s next on the horizon?

We are very excited about the live set we do now, it sounds more techno than ever. When it comes to releases, our next EP will be out on Mord in early 2019, all the rest is secret but we can say things will be reversed…

Due to issues regarding the GDPR, EU readers can download the podcast here.

Tracklisting

01. Klara Lewis & Simon Fisher Turner “Care 8”

02. P. Adrix “6.6.6”

03. Christian Morgenstern “Misellaneous pt. 6”

04. Acre “Switchblade”

05. Illum Sphere “An Old Escape” (Kill Them Kill)

06. Demdike Stare “Pile Up”

07. Ersatz Olfolkds “Compostelle”

08. Positive Center “Ancestor One” (Sleeparchive Remix 1)

09. Michael Wells “Three Fates” (SHXCXCHCXSH Remix)

10. Laurel Halo “Quietude”

11. ENA “1st Divided”

12. Mono Junk “Sirens”

13. SHXCXCHCXSH “UUOUUOUU”

14. Randomer “Slicing”

15. 51717 “3417”

16. Dopplereffekt “Talomere”

17. Sissel Wincent “Ponytails”

18. Arpanet “Axis Of Rotation”

19. T++ “Audio1995#8_2”

20. Sounders Department “Orchid”

21. Steve Bicknell “Lost Recordings 1 D1”

22. SHXCXCHCXSH “WOЯD”

23. Metasplice “Teleric”

24. Shackleton “Seven Present Tenses”

25. SD Laika “Meshes”

26. Ossia “Dub Hell”

27. Kaiunta “Outoutus” (Kxk)

28. Container “Vacancy”

29. The Soft Moon “Criminal” (SHXCXCHCXSH Remix)

30. 4 6 2 5 “Proles”

31. Zuli “Trigger Finger”