Favorite Mixes from January 2026

January listening stayed practical. Long durations. Few distractions. Mixes you can live inside without constantly checking what’s playing. Some are live recordings. Some come from the studio. All of them held our attention and helped us get through subzero temperatures.

Darris Hopper and F-on recorded six hours, moving patiently between ambient and techno. No dramatic pivots. No peaks designed for effect. Just steady listening. Aksamit and Planatia went further. Nine hours, uninterrupted. Possibly the longest mix we’ve ever featured. Meditative, but not weightless. Best left on for half a day, forgotten about, then noticed again.

Marco Shuttle’s New Year’s Day set from the Ratherlost party in Amsterdam works as a counterpoint to the previous two. Four hours, carrying that specific early-January energy. Tight, physical, and alert. Aerae’s mix leans hard into percussion. Tribal patterns and raw movement. Primal energy that keeps things moving. Sarah Wreath’s warm-up set from No Way Back at Tresor is Detroit-rooted, functional, and uncompromising, with no stylistic detours.

Menou’s live set slows everything down. Sustained tones, gradual shifts, minimal intervention. Stillness built from meditative drones. Notzing pushes modular improvisation with complex signal paths while maintaining a clear sense of direction.

GiGi FM’s ambient set at the Thomaskerk in Amsterdam sits naturally within the space where it was recorded. Emily Jeanne’s mix for Truants is dense and bass-driven, heady, and paced with care. softi closes the list for the Ute Mix Series with something warm and hypnotic. Deep and steady.

Darris Hopper & F-on @ Alpenglühen #76