Elevated Earth

Ivan Writes

When I moved to Budapest in 2016, I started listening to local radios. One in particular, “Tilos” (= forbidden in Hungarian), stands out for being alternative and independent, oftentimes defending cultural freedom and people’s rights as well.

Goes without saying: it has plenty of alternative and experimental music programs as well. On one of these, “Elevated Radio”, a Hungarian host curated a mesmerising mix. It was a masterful brew of global sounds intertwined with electronic beats: eclectic grooves mixing house, techno, latintronica, afrotronica, cumbia and so much more. It was so inspiring and opened for me a portal towards the exploration of those sounds.

Fast forward to 2023, I hesitantly approached The Hoof to build upon this sound idea.  I was struck by the sheer size and quality of his library, the playlist he curated and more generally his musical tastes. I thought it would be an interesting match, although I was still hesitant and maybe a bit intimidated by his huge knowledge. But what better way to enrich mine by starting a direct collaboration with him?

The playlist takes its initial cue from a track in that original set: NU – Endup – a piece I had held onto for many years. We grooved on those rhythms way ahead, sharing in synchronicity cross-continental and cross-genre tracks, expanding the latin blend with additional influences from Africa and Asia. At some point and to my big surprise, I noticed that Chillum Trio – quite possibly the author of the original Elevated Radio set – had recently produced a full album, after being silent for all these years. One track, Fantasma en la Maquina represents perfectly and all at once the essence of my original concept and the evolution of the same, with The Hoof immediately backing the track with another amazingly groovy track (Obame – Dub mix)

The result is a highly danceable, virtuous, diverse and eclectic set that carried us for about half of the playlist. But our thirst for exploration didn’t stop there. In the second part of the playlist we took a departure towards more experimental sounds.  We pulled in some old favorites, yet maintaining the underlying thread – a fusion of world music and electronic influences blending together and producing something distinctive for discerning listeners.

Track Listing

• Endup – Nu
• Danza de Vision – Nicola Cruz
• Atewo-Lara Ka Tepa Mo’se – Ben Gomori’s Jùish Edit – Segun Adewale
• Fantasma en la Máquina – Chillum Trio
• Obame – Dub Mix – Afrobuddh
• Mopedbart – Mystic Jungle & Whodamanny Rework – Hubbabubbaklubb
• Soweto – Parbleu
• Je Vulesse – Nu Genea
• Ti Chuong – Auntie Flo Remix – Emmanuel Jal
• Star Sitar – Akkan
• Dis kô Dis kô – Yin Yin
• A ka Titine – Dam Swindle Remix – Edit – Gaoulé Mizik
• Finder – Ninetoes
• Rock The Drum – Masaki Morii
• Pobre e Rico – Batida
• So Many Things (To Feel Guilty About) – Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp
• Junun – Shye Ben Tzur
• Kashmir – Speedometer
• Serpents – Nitin Sawhney
• Brown Paper Bag – TOSHIO MATSUURA GROUP
• 19 Rebellions – Asian Dub Foundation
• Was Dog a Doughnut? – Yusuf / Cat Stevens
• Hawaiian Caravan – Original Mix – Ryo Kawasaki
• Friends…we’ll be(Crosstime Traffic mix) – United Future Organization
• The History of LSD – The Heliocentrics
• Heart Math – The Gaslamp Killer
• Pagina Dos – Prefuse 73

Playlist Image Midjourney prompt