An Ode to Electronic Music

Sterac - Steve Rachmad

Since his earliest days in the scene, Amsterdam’s electronic music pioneer Steve Rachmad has created a legion of monikers to cover the variety and broadness of his compositions. Black Scorpion, Tons of Tones, Rachmad Project, Scorp, Parallel 9, Ignacio, Dreg, Sterac Electronics; they all represent a different facet of Rachmad’s music.

One of the main creatures living on Planet Rachmad has always been STERAC, a side of Steve’s musical personality that’s not easily described. Let’s say that where other aliases are used for excursions to more dub-, disco-, or house- oriented records, STERAC’s focus has always been on the no-nonsense, darker, and deeper side of techno. The STERAC discography consists of signature cuts, spread out over genre-defining labels such as M-Plant, Tresor, Klockworks, Afterlife, Mote Evolver, Indigo Aera and Delsin. Over the years it’s been reinterpreted, remixed, and reworked by peers such as Ricardo Villalobos, Vince Watson and Marc Romboy.

The work rarely fits current trends or pushes through to the absolute top of subjective charts. Rather it simmers, always ready to spark the rise of new generations, parties, and artists’ careers within the musical biotope we all love.

His effort and independent attitude have made STERAC a regular on many a stage. From his hometown’s Awakenings, to Berghain in Berlin, Movement festival in Detroit, Fabric London, Loft Barcelona, D-Edge in Sao Paulo, and more.

BASSIANI · Bassiani invites Sterac / Podcast #190

Khadija al Hanafi

Since the 2020's, Khadija Al Hanafi has become one of footwork's most inventive contemporary voices. Reshaping the genre through her unique fusion of global soundscapes and digital collage techniques.

The Tunisian music producer impacted the electronic music scene with her "Slime Patrol" series on Fada Records. Rising as one of Footwork's new defining figures, she garnered a cult following while sparking interest amongst venues and labels worldwide.

Pitchfork writer Jude Noel describes her as: "One of footwork’s freshest, most unpredictable new voices. Whether she’s chopping it up over traditional 160-BPM drum patterns or bending club music’s conventions to her own will, she flips unexpected sounds and obscure samples into music that sounds like nothing else out there."