Mykaell Riley has worn a number of hats in the music business. Starting off as a vocalist and founding member of Grammy-winning roots reggae band Steel Pulse, he's since dabbled in marketing, consulting, artist management and composing for the big screen. As director of a University of Westminster research project that examines the legacy of Jamaican music in the UK, he currently explores how ska, reggae, dub and lovers rock, among other genres, impacts British pop culture. Speaking to Vanessa Maria as part of Resident Advisor's ongoing partnership with Black Minds Matter, Riley discusses the historical positioning of Black music in the UK through the lens of his own experiences. From working with EMI and Island Records to becoming an educator, he explains how infrastructure and accessibility has changed the playing field for artists. He also pinpoints current injustices around Black British music, noting the need for more Black professionals in behind-the-scenes jobs. "Rave comes out of Black British music and even bands that you might not associate like Massive Attack or Prodigy are a component of the presence of Black British music," he describes. Yet, the cultural and creative value of Black British artistry has mainly benefitted non-Black communities, he warns. "It's the business end that we should be looking at as to why and how that continues to happen." To hear more about Riley's distinguished career and his thoughts on the current state of the industry, listen to the full conversation.

This past August, a panel of artists, creatives and various members of club communities gathered in Berlin to discuss the threats weighing on global nightlife. Part of Jägermeister's #SAVETHENIGHT initiative to rejuvenate the after-dark economy as well as Tresor's 31st anniversary celebrations, the discussion touched on a variety of social, economic and community issues such as gentrification, inclusion and safety that Resident Advisor later unpacked in a digital feature. The latest instalment of Reflections, a new series on the Exchange that explores content on RA's site, goes deeper on some of these topics. Discussing the sustainability of club culture, Bernard Koomson from Berlin-based creative studio DeadHype notes how more collaboration has helped build critical infrastructure while knowledge sharing can help a younger generation learn from their predecessors. Manchester promoter Alice Woods, who co-runs the Meat Free club nights as well as her own event for people with disabilities called All Under One Roof, emphasises the importance of parties as a welcoming arena for all individuals. "People with disabilities are still quite left behind," she describes. "That's a wider societal issue but I think as a nightlife industry as, as a clubbing sector, I think we can be ones to lead the way on that." For more details, listen to the conversation in full. https://save-the-night.com

In a way, every Critics' Roundtable episode feels like a time capsule. Each month, the show documents the tracks and talents on the personal playlists of RA staffers, serving as a snapshot of the musical zeitgeist at the time. On this edition, staff writer Kiana Mickles, software engineer Alex Wanyoike and senior writer Nyshka Chandran outline their most listened to records from the past three months and noteworthy artists in their respective cities. Discussing Kelela's long-awaited return from a long hiatus, the trio note how her new single marks a departure from her earlier club-oriented cuts. Moving onto the production duo of Abdul Raeva, whose heavy-hitting style brought back memories of the '90s UK label Orbital Records, the conversation gets into the ever-evolving palette of rave music. Djoser in Washington, DC, is more percussive techno than pure rave but he's a key US name who's leading the way for innovative club music and his dextrous drum work on his latest EP, Expand, gets a mention here. Shifting gears, the trio go on to describe some of their favourite local acts such as Damo B, a Manchester veteran with an extensive radio career. River Moon in New York also wins praise for breaking the mould of "techno stoicism," a term that describes when artists take themselves far too seriously. For more details on artists to watch and the trio's favourite RA's mixes of the year, listen to the conversation.

Patrice Rushen is the type of musician whose skill set can't be neatly summed up in a few sentences. After studying to become a classically trained pianist—work that began while she was barely a toddler—she arranged, performed and composed three albums of jazz fusion for Prestige records in the mid-'70s, all while landing sessions playing with the likes of Donald Byrd and Jean-Luc Ponty. She was already a highly respected arranger, writer and instrumentalist in her scene and one of the few women at the time to lead their own band and control the creative process. But it was her five album stint for Elektra Records that really brought her virtuosic musicianship, songwriting and her voice to disco and R&B. If you haven't heard her music yourself, you've almost definitely heard it sampled by the likes of Mary J. Blige, George Michael and the Men In Black theme song (calling it a sample is generous—the producers more or less added Will Smith's vocals to a modernised version of her 1982 composition "Forget Me Nots."). Apart from her career as a performing and recording artist, she's also a veteran music director, calling the shots for big budget tours, awards ceremonies and TV shows. She even composes symphonic pieces for orchestras and has a growing portfolio of film soundtracks. Listen back to Zakia Sewell's 2019 conversation with the veteran artist to learn more about her multifaceted career.

Shanti Celeste is one of those artists whose personality matches her DJ style. Her fun-loving nature and breezy demeanour always light up a room, as do her vibrant sets that span sunny house music, slow-burning disco and emotive techno. Fresh off her Hessle Audio debut, the London-based artist sat down with RA's Martha Pazienti-Caidan for an honest chat about track selection, bad gigs and her approach to production. During DJ sets, the Peach Discs co-founder doesn’t like to focus on genres. Instead, "I think about, like, building and releasing tension and making sure that I stay in a specific energy level," she explained. "Whereas before, I think I knew the energy I wanted to bring, but I didn't know how to do that cause I was just thinking about everything in terms of genre." Reaching this holistic stage, however, took time. It was a process of acquiring knowledge and experience but also confidence, she described, adding how she previously had "really bad imposter syndrome." Learning to deal with bad gigs and recognising that certain factors might be outside an artist’s control are essential to self-realisation, she continued. Going on to discuss her experience of playing big festival stages, she noted the importance of "learning what side of yourself to channel" rather than compromise on music. For more details on her experience playing with fellow women DJs, her lockdown romance and recording her vocals, listen to the chat in full.

What did your summer sound like? For the RA staffers featured on this month's episode of the Critics' Roundtable, the answer ranges from dubby jungle to cheeky UKG to hazy krautrock. Looking back on their favourite records from recent months, managing editor Chloe Lula, Mexico City manager Valeria Martin del Campo and senior writer Nyshka Chandran highlight Dax J's Soul Enforcer,Prelude by Barbie Bertisch and Lichi's latest fruit-inspired compilation. The conversation then shifts to special live performances. Aquarian's dextrous mixing at Dekmantel gets a mention, as does SCHNITT and Gianluca Sibaldi's captivating AV performance at MUTEK Montreal, where they scanned audiences in real-time. Moving onto industry trends and significant news stories, the trio discuss the significance of Mexico City online radio station Aire Libre shutting down, the impact of algorithmic populism on artists and the massive labour crunch in event production jobs. For more details on each of these topics, listen to the full conversation.

Bahar is an avid collector of rare vinyl, possessing one of the world's biggest vinyl collections. The artist has embodied the vinyl-only ethos since growing up in Chicago in the '70s—the heyday of gospel, funk, and jazz soul in the US. He started the party Soul In The Hole with Lee Collins, which embodied and celebrated his passion for what he calls "real" music—music made by "real" musicians playing "real" instruments—and is still actively touring and spreading the spirit of Chicago house at sets around the world. He and Lula discuss kinship among collectors, the origins of Black funk and the instrumentation that brings this singular genre to life. Listen to their conversation in full.

In many ways, Eli Escobar represents the soul of New York nightlife. He can literally play any genre, often jumping from Afrobeats to garage to disco in a single session—a wide-ranging style that's unique to the city and tangible on his recent RA podcast. First emerging on the scene in the late '90s, he's built a reputation for consistently drawing loyal crowds without ever compromising on his personal style and his long-running parties are every promoter's dream. Live from Nowadays, the native New Yorker speaks to staff writers Kiana Mickles and Nyshka Chandran about his decades-long career. From growing up in the city during the '80s and '90s to holding down weekly residencies, Escobar reflects over his time in the industry while sharing valuable lessons for up-and-coming acts, including why it's ok to take one's time as a producer. For details on his hip-hop background and why he thinks Brooklyn will remain New York's nightlife capital, listen to the conversation.

Like countless others, Steve Goodman played a lot of video games during lockdown. At the time, the artist known as Kode9 and founder of the iconic Hyperdub label found himself imagining a game about Scotland and the country's plan to set up a colony in Panama back in the 1690s. Those thoughts later crystallised into Astro-Darien, an AV installation, "sonic fiction" and album that explores Scotland's space program and its past colonial ambitions through the lens of a video game. Speaking to RA on this week's episode of the Exchange, Goodman delves into the various facets of this project, including Escapology, his score to Astro-Darien. The album, released in July, is "like a film trailer that's giving you a little taste of various bits of story and strands of a kind of palette of sounds and a world," he explains. "So if you want, there's places to go deeper on it but if you are not interested in that, just treat it as a slightly weird dance music record." Science fiction aside, the Hyperdub founder also discusses the cyclical nature of music and why jungle is currently experiencing what many have called a revival. "Music doesn't move forward, it doesn't progress in a linear fashion," he describes, attributing that to "generational relationships." For more deep thoughts and Goodman's guide on hiking in the Scottish Highlands, listen to the conversation in full.

This volume of the Critics Roundtable, Resident Advisor's monthly podcast that showcases staff selections, looks back at the summer's important moments and releases in electronic music. Over the course of 40 minutes, podcasts chief Martha Pazienti Caidan, events writer Katie Thomas and content intern Fahad Akinsanya each recap a memorable news story, record and live performance from the past two months. Offering insights, opinions and most importantly, discussion, the trio praise the reopening of London venue The Cross and analyse The Jaguar Foundation's latest report on gender diversity in UK dance music. Also on the agenda is the public backlash against RA's critical review of Beyonce's new album. In terms of new releases, the new EP by Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal gets a mention, as does Sierra and CalvoMusic's "Fast Lingo." Finally, the trio highlight their favourite festival gigs, which include Vanyfox and Tame Impala at Primavera Sound. Listen to the episode for all the details.