There's a lot to be excited about this year. For the first Critics' Roundtable of 2023, RA staffers sat down to discuss the events, DJs, producers and technological developments that are poised to shape the electronic music landscape over the next twelve months. Featuring senior staff writer Nyshka Chandran, Bogotá city manager Luisa Uribe and US account manager Natalie Papaeracleous, the conversation starts in Colombia where artists such as Julianna and Matías Aguayo are creating parties and platforms that spotlight local talents. The group then explores how nature influences festival programming, focusing on the likes of Terraforma in Italy, Vietnam's (Re)treat and Thailand's Karma Kastle. Buzzworthy artists Sansibar, Amantra (AKA HUMA) and Hessle Audio's Toumba also get a mention, as does Venezuela's euphoric raptor house genre. Finally, the trio share their concerns and predictions for the Instagram economy, AI-generated music and the ethics of sampling. Listen to the conversation in full for more details on these topics.

Since at least the 1970s, artists have composed music for plants. From Mort Garson’s Plantasia to dublab's Plant Music compilation, albums recorded with nature in mind often intend to stimulate growth or simply entertain leafy creatures. This episode of Source Material, a documentary-style series, explores the symbiotic links between electronic music and house plants. Diving into the world of frequencies and root systems, @martharadio speaks to various experts to learn how nature responds to ambient tunes and synthesisers. Among them are biotherapeutic musician Imka, Joe Patitucci of PlantWave, an app that translates plants' biorhythms into music, sound artist Karine Bonneval and composer Erland Cooper. To discover how bass frequencies mimic bees and why festivals are adopting sonic soil pollution, listen to the episode.

Slimzee is a legend in every sense of the word. He launched Rinse FM alongside Geeneus and Uncle Dugs in 1994, running the station for three years out of his bedroom. His shows, focused on garage and grime, paved the way for the genres' current architects. As a member of Pay As U Go Cartel alongside Wiley and Flowdan, he also helped lay the foundations for early grime. Speaking to @martharadio, the East London veteran discusses the specifics of the Rinse FM compressor, explaining how he learnt to fine-tune frequency levels through trial and error. Back then, it was normal to focus on a specific sound in mixes and DJ sets but now, genres are more fluid, he noted, describing how he currently plays hybrids of dubstep and grime. The duo then go onto discuss the dos and don'ts of DJing with an MC, Slimzee's favourite festivals as well as his mental health journey. Listen to the conversation in full for more details.

Dance music deepened its presence in pop culture this year, expanding into TikTok's nichest corners as well as Billboard Hot 100 charts. For the December edition of the Critics' Roundtable, staffers Chloë Cochran, Whitney Ajayi, Martha Pazienti Caidan and contributor Vanessa Maria reflect on the major milestones of 2022. Electronic music was part of global conversations on gender disparity and sexual violence, the group noted. Women's safety in clubs was a particularly concerning issue this year, they continued, highlighting incidents of needle spiking at clubs. On a more positive note, they applauded Butterz cofounder Elijah, RA's guest editor from earlier this year, whose efforts to educate on issues in the music industry led to a staff position at SOAS University of London. To hear more about these topics, as well as the popularity of higher BPMs and definitive tunes like "B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)," listen to the chat in full.

Byrell The Great is a name synonymous with New York's ballroom scene. The Harlem native is known for his story-telling prowess and cheeky edits that span hip-hop, pop and meme culture, all of which are on full display in his seamless production, spirited DJ style and his high-energy mix series, Vogue Workouts. Live from Resident Advisor's 21st birthday celebration at Nowadays, the ballroom don discusses his involvement in the Kiki scene and the genre's growing popularity in mainstream culture. Speaking to staff writer Kiana Mickles, Byrell describes how he attended his first ball thanks to Teyana Taylor. He then goes to elaborate on the nuances of ballroom music, what sets New York's Kiki landscape apart from the wider scene and DJ etiquette during a ball before venturing into his production techniques. Finally, Mickles and Byrell flesh out what it means for the culture when artists such as Beyoncé and Madonna incorporate ballroom references. For more details on each of these topics, listen to the conversation in full.

Faced with shrinking margins and higher rents, event organisers are finding new ways to keep the party going. As the cost of living crisis continues to eat into club land, promoters around the world are increasingly being forced to adapt to shrinking margins. This new episode of Source Material, our documentary-style podcast series, shines a spotlight on Glasgow, Taipei and Chicago, where local organisers are testing out unconventional forms of inclusive promotion in response to widespread economic uncertainty. In Glasgow, Han Read runs a monthly night called Events Research Programme that operates off a Patreon subscription model. Bonjour, meanwhile, is a queer venue in the Scottish city that runs as a co-op, sharing a minimum 50 percent of its profits among staff in an effort to acquire more financial freedom. In Taipei, venue 23 Music Room is using its non-traditional business model to bolster the next generation of promoters while RA contributor Steve Noah describes the state of DIY parties in Chicago. Listen to the full conversation for details on each of these scenes. Producer: Rose Manson Executive Producer: Martha Pazienti Caidan

"I hate being recorded," Mala says nine minutes into this interview. "I don't like my sets being recorded, I don't like being video recorded." The Deep Medi boss and DMZ cofounder is describing his fiercely independent nature to journalist Kieran Yates, explaining how bright lights and prompts leads to self-consciousness. That's why DMZ parties are held in dark rooms, as to encourage freedom, he continues. Authenticity is a defining theme of Mala's career. Speaking to Yates live at SOUP in Manchester as part of RA's 21st birthday celebrations, the Croyden-raised artist discusses how signing a record deal with EMI at the age of 20 led to misrepresentation. This early exposure to the industry's commercial backbone paved the way for DMZ's democratic, inclusive ethos, he tells Yates. "If I create something that's true to myself, and I can live an authentic existence, somehow by us all being ourselves, I think that makes the world better." For more on the dubstep pioneer's approach to sound design and growing a community, listen to the chat in full.

It's been a busy year for Jessica Cho, AKA Korea Town Acid. She's put out three records since 2021 and built close ties with neighbouring cities like Montreal and New York all the while finessing her live hardware shows. Speaking to Resident Advisor during MUTEK Montreal this past August, Cho unpacks her creative philosophy and the inspiration for her new album, Elephant in the Room. "There's always pressure to make a banger," she says on the topic of sonic identity. "Sometimes, I just want to do what I do and make art." An advocate of cross-genre styles, the Toronto-based talent relies on her instincts when it comes to production. "I just try to do my thing, even if it's not digestible for everybody." Elephant in the Room is more than just palatable. Weaving in rap, jungle and glitch, it features an all-Canadian roster of guests and serves as a time capsule of Cho's pandemic experience. "I felt like I was the elephant in the room, isolated and trying to record this album." A classically trained pianist, Cho has a wide range of influences that informs her craft. To hear more about her love for hip-hop, how she began building her modular set-up and what the Toronto scene is like, listen to the full conversation.

New York's dance music culture evolves every weekend. A constant wave of new collectives, promoters and artists, combined with a host of legacy names and an ever-growing batch of enthusiastic ravers, infuse the city with a vivacious energy that's hard to find elsewhere. This episode of Reflections, a series that digs deep into RA content, pays tribute to New York nightlife through three heartfelt anecdotes that capture the vibrancy of past and present communities. Taken from RA's new limited-edition book Sacred Spaces, each message focuses on special party moments. Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy describes her quest to seek spirituality and communal transcendence through music, focusing on her experiences at David Mancuso's seminal The Loft party. Sharon White, a veteran name in New York's clubbing history, recounts the night of her unexpected debut at The Saint, an East Village spot that operated during the 1980s. The impromptu set went until 2 PM in the afternoon, leading the way for White to become one of the top grossing DJs on The Saint's roster. Finally, RA's editor-in-chief Whitney Wei describes coming of age at Palisades, an intimate Bushwick venue that lasted only two years but considerably shaped her club experiences. Sacred Spaces, available for £29.99 via the RA Store, features 26 tributes to the dance by the likes of Kevin Saunderson, Róisín Murphy, Eris Drew and Octo Octa, among others.

"Everyone knows I'm a lively character, I like the party." Oliver 'Skream' Jones is attempting to explain his stamina over a near two decade-long career and true to his unpretentious personality, he makes it sound easy. The 36 year-old has been making music since the age of 15 and despite being a busy father, this hour-long, unfiltered conversation at RA's London headquarters confirms that his love for the dance is as strong as ever. Discussing his childhood, the seminal Dubstep Forum and and finding confidence through music, the dubstep legend reveals how his social skills, born from childhood visits to the pub with his father, gave him his first record store job. "My musical taste is all over the place, my range is broad," he says. That includes pop, a style that he likes for its collaboration with underground producers. Skream's endurance in an industry that's synonymous with burnout is remarkable but he simply attributes it to pure instinct. "When something feels right, I do it. I don't see it as change, I see it as a natural feeling." That's why he made the decision years ago to focus on house and techno instead of dubstep, a style that he transformed from dark and slow to ravey. "I play for myself but that's what my fanbase has grown to love." That intuition also applies to his productions. "I've got to a point where I know what I want to hear and make it happen. That comes from doing the same thing for a long time." In the studio, he says he regularly listens to tracks repeatedly "and if it ever gets boring" or doesn't bring "a certain feeling," then he knows it's not ready. To hear about his approach to remixes, his parenting style and what he has in the pipeline, listen to the conversation in full.