Eamon Harkin, hailing from Derry in Northern Ireland, is a DJ-producer and label owner based in Brooklyn. Most of you’ll know him as the co-founder of the longstanding weekly Mister Saturday Night and Mister Sunday parties, which have become a pillar of the New York dance music community. Started in 2009 in DIY spaces and back yards, the parties have since moved to Nowadays, where as resident he DJs alongside Aurora Halal, DJ Voices, Physical Therapy, DJ Python, Anthony Naples, Justin Carter, Ayesha, Livwutang, Musclecars, Honcho and Shyboi. Alongside Carter, his business partner, he tours internationally as a DJ duo and runs Mister Saturday Night Records, where he releases his own house tunes plus those from Gunnar Haslam, Ciel, and Tygapaw. You’ll also find his music on Fixed Rhythms, Coastal Haze, and Sorry Records.

Harkin’s route into electronic music began in London, when he began buying records and playing small hip-hop parties. He’d regularly attend Trash in Glasgow, Scotland, before moving to New York, where he would play Motherfucker, a rock party, but over time he began to move towards more beat-driven stuff. House. Techno. Dub. Around 2009, he met Carter for a donut at Peter Pan up in Greenpoint and a friendship blossomed. After the pair’s latest season of parties, and an EP on Massimiliano Pagliara‘s Funnuvojere label, Harkin has taken some time to reflect. To cap off the year, he couldn’t think of a better way than to deliver a podcast, in this case a recording from the final Mister Saturday Night event of the year, on October 25, a Halloween special. In the week’s XLR8R podcast, you’ll hear some crisp house music, dubbed out bliss, and dark moody techno.

01. What have you been up to recently?
Taking a breather as the weather has become colder here in New York after a busy outdoor Mister Sunday season. I’ve been turning my attention to my own music, prepping this latest release on Massimiliano Pagliara‘s label and there’s also another release coming on Sorry Records. Then I’ve been firing up the machines in my studio and writing new material.

02. How was your 2022?
It was great but intense. Along with Justin Carter I operate a club and community space, Nowadays in Ridgewood, New York. Working each week with our team of bookers and managers, we oversee DJ bookings and all aspects of operations and marketing. It’s been a challenging year because the city has emerged from the pandemic and the community of dancers and artists has re-integrated the ecosystem we’re all a part of. Nowadays plays a big role in that ecosystem so there’s always plenty of important and challenging work on the team’s table each week.

03. What have you been listening to?
Not too much dance or electronic music these past few weeks in keeping with taking a bit of a break. The following LPs have been in rotation: This Mortal Coil Filigree & Shadow; Cluster Grosses Wasser; Jamie Branch Fly or Die; Maija Sofia Bath Time.

04. When and where did you record this mix?
The mix was recorded live at the last Mister Sunday of the season which also happened to be our Halloween party. The party runs from 3-9pm each Sunday and this recording was taken from the 5-7pm-ish part of the day so you’ll notice it gets headier later in the mix as we enter the peak time. Because it was Halloween I featured a few tracks to meet the mood of the day.

05. What setup did you use?
Two Technics turntables, four Pioneer CDJs, and a Condessa Carmen V mixer.

06. How did you go about choosing the tracks you’ve included?
All my DJ sets are freeform improvisations using a bag of records and a stacked USB utilized in response to how I’m reading the dancefloor at that time. With that said, I wanted to maintain a certain tone in keeping with the fact that it was Halloween.

07. Where do you imagine it being listened to?
In the car, in the gym, while taking a long run. It has energy to it and there are a few twists and turns so my hope is folks listen in an immersive way.

08. What’s next on your horizon?
As I mentioned earlier I have another EP coming out soon so we’re finishing the artwork on that right now.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.