Charles Dickerson, better known as MONO/POLY, has spent the better part of lockdown in Brighton, a popular seaside city on the United Kingdom’s south coast. It’s a long way from Los Angeles, his West Coast home where he’s cemented himself as a leading name in the city’s pool of instrumental hip-hop producers with his face-melting beats through labels like Faces Records and Brainfeeder. In September, Dickerson released Monotomic, his third album, based on a trippy lucid dream and featuring contributions from Kaytranda, Kimbra, and Thundercat. It’s available now on Hit+Run and Naymlis.

Born in Bakersfield, California, Dickerson began composing music at the young age of 14, and later attended Fullerton University to study computer engineering. Adopting his name from the 1980s Korg keyboard, a symbol of his multi-faceted productions, he began sharing his music in 2006, before dropping Paramatma, his first full-length solo album, stemming from experimentation in astral projection. In 2011, he debuted on Brainfeeder, opening the door to his second album, Golden Skies, underpinned by a dreamier and more melodic aesthetic.

Dickerson’s podcast, recorded in the midst of lockdown, will get you off your seat from the opening beat. It’s dense and dynamic, and laden with crazy, manic sounds, many of them MONO/POLY exclusives. Striking instrumentals are intertwined with slick, punchy vocal chops and immersive soundscapes. It’s not short of groove or melody, but menacing, abrasive beats rule the day, making for a podcast that keeps you moving until the very end.

01. What have you been up to recently?

Luckily, I left the United States right before the riots happened and finished up some tracks for a release. At the moment I’m in England with my girlfriend, Alice (a.k.a Alyss), making music and other forms of art.

02. How has the lockdown period been for you?

The lockdown doesn’t feel like much since I’m used to being locked down in my apartment most of the time creating music, but it’s been strange to see the world go through this. It’s all unbelievable, and I don’t think we’re being told the truth.

03. What music have you been listening to recently?

Kaytranada’s Bubba, and Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush.

04. Where and when did you record the mix?

I recorded this mix in Brighton, United Kingdom on June 12, 2020.

05. How did you choose the tracks that you’ve included?

I just picked music that makes me want to get up, no concept or deeper message to this, just pure fun.

06. What’s next on your horizon?

An audio/visual instrumental album and a lyrical album, that’s if the world doesn’t completely collapse.

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XLR8R has now joined Mixcloud Select, meaning that to download the podcast you will need to subscribe to our Select channel. The move to Mixcloud Select will ensure that all the producers with music featured in our mixes get paid. You can read more about it here.

Tracklisting

01. Mono/Poly “5.23.19” (Unreleased)
02. JID “151 Rum” (Dreamville/Interscope)
03. Joyner Lucas “10 Bands” (feat. Timbaland) (Twenty Nine Music Group Distributed by Tully)
04. Skrillex & TroyBoi vs. MC Lan “Malokera” (feat. Ludmilla & Ty Dolla $ign) (Warner Music Brasil)
05. Mono/Poly “8.30.19” (Unreleased)
06. Mono/Poly “Techgnosis” (Unreleased)
07. Tommy Genesis “Tommy” (Downtown Records)
08. Mono/Poly & Alyss “Syrius B” (Hit+Run)
09. Doja Cat “Rules” (Kemosabe Records/RCA Records)
10. Mono/Poly “11.17.19” (Unreleased)
11. Mono/Poly “Crew” (Hit+Run)
12. Mono/Poly “B Adams” (Unreleased)
13. Mono/Poly “Audio Dope” [Naymlis]
14. Mono/Poly “Ras G” (Unreleased)
15. Cesco “Drones” (1985 Music)
16. Mono/Poly “Situation Systemic” (Mono/Poly Media)
17. Ivy Lab x Onoe Capone x L-Zee Roselli “Space War 169” (2020LDN)
18. Mono/Poly “Teach You All A Lesson” (2020LDN)
19. Noisia & Mono/Poly “The Nomad” (Division)
20. Mefjus & Noisia “Foundations” (Vision)
21. Ivy Lab x Two Fingers “Orange” (2020LDN)
22. Mono/Poly “Promise It’ll Never Be The Same” (Unreleased)
23. Ivy Lab “Astral Pirate Theme” (2020LDN)
24. Tsuruda “Dragon Of The Darkness Flame” (Alpha Pup)
25. Mono/Poly “The Realest The Illest” (Unreleased)
26. Mono/Poly “Test” (Unreleased)
27. Volume 10 “Pistol Grip Pump” [RCA Records]
28. Thundercat “Black Qualls” (feat. Steve Lacy & Steve Arrington) [Single Version] (Brainfeeder)
29. Flying Lotus “More” (feat. Anderson .Paak) (Warp Records)
30. Jaylib “Survival Test” (Stones Throw Records)
31. BJ The Chicago Kid “Man Down” (feat. Buddy, Constantine & PJ Morton) (Motown)
32. Tame Impala “Breathe Deeper” (Modular Recordings)
33. Mono/Poly “Needs Deodorant” (Brainfeeder)
34. Thundercat “Friend Zone” (Brainfeeder)
35. Mono/Poly “When I’m Comin For Ya” (Naymlis)
36. Mono/Poly “Stackin Ones” (2020LDN)
37. Kaytranada “Gray Area” (feat. Mick Jenkins) (RCA Records)
38. Mono/Poly “Vision Quest” (feat. Alyss) (Naymlis)
39. Mono/Poly “Demiurge” (Unreleased)
40. Mono/Poly “Keepin’ It 100” (Unreleased)