Over recent years, Iuly.B—Iulian Bivolaru—a DJ-producer based in Iasi, a major city in the north-eastern part of Romania, has released music on Rora, Visionquest, Mui en, Subtil, and Fuse London, while opening for DJs including such as Priku, Cezar, Praslea, SIT, Ion Ludwig, Christopher Ledger, Alci. Like all of those artists, he keeps private details to a minimum—but, also like them, his music is loaded with percussive details, crafting deep, hypnotic energies into merciless basslines. Nowhere is this more evident than on Dimensions, his debut album, released last month on Swiss label Adam’s Bite. Across 11 tracks, Bivolaru embraces the long-player format to deliver a range of psychedelic material in his signature, raw and subtly nuanced style. For this week’s XLR8R podcast, Bivolaru has delivered a mixed version of the album—tune in for one hour of raw minimal grooves from a rising talent.

01. What have you been up to recently?
I’ve been working a lot together with the Adam’s Bite team to finalize my debut album. It’s an immense pleasure to finally see it released.

02. What have you been listening to?
I am listening mostly to electronic music but from different sub-genres. Besides minimal house and techno, I am enjoying a lot some downtempo and sometimes I go to drum & bass. Listening to various genres is contributing a lot to my inspiration and to the process of learning by listening.

03. What is it that appeals to you about electronic music?
The drive that keeps me going comes from how I feel when listening to tracks which I really like, especially new music. The journey of discovering new music through digging or simply receiving it from producer friends or new artists brings joy and the desire to look for more.

04. When and where did you record this mix?
I have recorded this mix in my home studio in Iasi, Romania.

05. What setup did you use?
A simple DJ setup was needed: Allen & Heath Xone:92 as a mixer and two Pioneer DJ CDJ 2000 NXS2s. Because the tracks are already planned to flow one from another.

06. How did you choose the tracks you’ve included?
The presented tracks are from the debut album, Dimensions. They are in the same order as presented on the album and I have planned to offer a smooth experience from the beginning to the end.

07. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
Playing a set depends on lots of factors such as venue, people, and feeling. The difference that you may notice is that I can bring a high level of energy when playing live, but the alteration with some dreamy sounds will be the same. I always like to offer contrast.

08. What’s next on your horizon?
I’ll probably have a new EP out by the end of this year, but until then I will focus on my current dates and enjoying the outcome of the debut album.

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

Tracklisting

01. IULY.B “Seagulls Passing By” (Adam’s Bite)
02. IULY.B”Altered Memories” (Adam’s Bite)
03. IULY.B “Bump” (Adam’s Bite)
04. IULY.B “Aurora” (Adam’s Bite)
05. IULY.B “Ronnie’s Squat” (Adam’s Bite)
06. IULY.B “Dark Safari” (Adam’s Bite)
07. IULY.B “Variations” (Adam’s Bite)
08. IULY.B “Between Worlds” (Adam’s Bite)
09. IULY.B “Atlantis” (Adam’s Bite)
10. IULY.B “Nothing Lasts Forever” (Adam’s Bite)
11. IULY.B “Leaving Out” (Adam’s Bite)