Podcast 863: Assyouti

Juggling hypermodern bass mutations, warped dancefloor snaps, and percussive club experiments, Assyouti is among Egypt’s most distinct yet enigmatic DJs-producers. A year after arriving in Berlin from Cairo in 2021, he released his debut EP, Shakhrama, on High Digital. Noisy and at times aggressive, his productions meld snarling basslines with distorted vocal and drum samples, processed beyond recognition into buzzsaw post-punk sonics. In his DJ sets, he uses these sounds to create a sense of disorientation fueled by collective energy and emotion. (Nowhere is this more obvious than at his No_Stone event series.) His XLR8R podcast is no different. Recorded in December, shortly after the release of The Disintegration of Eric Omelette on Italian label Shepard Tone Recordings, it aims to capture the same energy: tune in for one hour of jungle and drum & bass that’s chaotic and frantic, just the way Assyouti likes it.

01. What have you been up to lately?
I’ve been working alot on music, mainly my debut album, but also another EP and some singles for compilations. I’ve been on a much needed holiday. Currently I’m with my family in the north of Egypt enjoying the Mediterranean sea and the laidback rhythm that comes with it.

02. What have you been listening to?
Well, since I’m near the sea I’v been naturally listening to a lot of beach-friendly music during the daytime. A lot of dub, trip-hop, jazz, etc. However at night I’m diving into more obscure territories digging for music to play out in my next shows.

03. Where and when did you record this mix?
I recorded it on a cold December day at my place in Berlin.

04. How did you go about choosing the tracks?
I was digging in my library for tracks that either inspired, influenced, or at least have a similar feeling to my EP The Disintegration of Eric Omelette which came out a month before I recorded this mix.

05. What can the listener expect?
Haunting jungle, drum & bass, and drumfunk with eerie atmospheres and rough amen chops.

06. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
I (almost) never go this hard with jungle, which is a shame because I really enjoy playing this sound, but it’s very rare that it would fit in the context I’m playing in. Of course I try to squeeze some of it in every now and again.

07. What’s next on your horizon?
First thing coming up is a b2b next week with my No_Stone co-curator Jehia for an event
we’re hosting in Cairo in collaboration with our friends from the MOSHTRQ crew. After that
I’m playing a DJ set at OHM with Berlin Atonal. Then I have some more shows lined up in Berlin, Portugal, and Poland, plus we’re throwing two more No_Stone events later on in Berlin and Barcelona.

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. Pixl + Bio-Kem “Shifting Sources” (Bio-Kem Remix) (Amen-tal)
02. Champa B “Eradicated” (Amen-tal)
03. Limewax “Face It Alone” (FREAK RECORDINGS)
04. Fanu “Garmonbozia” (Lightless Recordings)
05. Smyla “ZKITTLES” (Amen-tal)
06. Dr…um “The Drugs Began To Take Hold” (Amen-tal)
07. Equinox “Acid Rain VIP” (Breakage Final Chapter Mix) (Planet Mu)
08. Paradox “Curse of Coincidence” (Paradox Music)
09. dgoHn “Ninnyhammer” (Djrum Remix) (Love Love Records)
10. Nolige “Cold One” (Scientific Wax)
11. B-Key “Entity” (Scientific Wax)
12. Peshay “The Nocturnal” (Back On The Firm) (Metalheadz)
13. Christoph de Babalon “Trauerspiel” (Cross Fade Enter Tainment)
14. Double O “Number One Sound VIP” (Self-Released)
15. Phuture-T “A Staggering Amen” (Scientific Wax)

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