Delayed with... Aksamit
I first crossed paths with Aksamit during the magical weekend at Springkell Castle last year. Tucked somewhere in the misty Scottish countryside, it was a place where time seemed to loosen its grip. Her set was one of the highlights. What stayed with me was not simply track selection or atmosphere. It was the feeling of hearing a DJ who had something to say and knew exactly how to say it. There was intention in the broadest and best sense - a real command of pacing, tension, and surprise.
Aksamit, a name derived from the Greek heksámitos, meaning “made of six threads,” feels fitting for an artist whose work is defined by texture, movement, and a certain resistance to the obvious. She is the founder and curator of Velvet Vortex, part of Tresor Academy and the Art Bei Ton collective, and a co-creator of projects centered on knowledge sharing, community, high-quality sound, conscious listening, movement, and mindfulness. Her musical world leans toward deep and hypnotic zones, but never in a static way. It shifts with mood, setting, and instinct.
by Planatia
Her mix for the Delayed with series stretches across 226 minutes and uses every one of them well. It has range, but more importantly, it has nerve. It opens in a beautifully skewed zone of IDM, bass, breaks, and moody electronica, warm enough to draw you in but strange enough to keep you alert. From there, it keeps mutating. She slips into deeper, trippier techno territories with a light touch, gradually feeding more tension into the system until the whole thing starts humming differently. A touch of acid here, a flash of rides there, reverb used like architecture. Nothing feels forced.
The real strength of this mix lies in how comfortably it holds two possible roles. You can get completely lost in it as a listening experience and follow its detours through odd corners of electronic music. Or you can let it do its other job and carry your body through nearly four hours of movement. It never chooses one at the expense of the other. That balance is difficult to pull off without sounding either academic or functional. Aksamit avoids both traps. The set feels confident, curious, and properly lived-in, full of decisions made by someone who trusts her instincts and has the technique to back them up.
We feel lucky when artists bring this level of care and imagination to the series. This one is a serious trip, and we are very happy to share it with listeners who will understand exactly what makes it special.