DJRUM helms the next ‘DJ-Kicks’ mix, a 33-track all-vinyl set with exclusives from Skee Mask and Clark, out October 16 via !K7.
DJRUM is adding his name to one of electronic music’s most storied mix franchises. The British producer, born Felix Manuel, has been enlisted to helm the next installment of the long-running DJ-Kicks series, with the 33-track mix set for release on October 16 via the series’ longtime home, !K7. It is a fitting coronation for one of the most singular selectors of his generation, and he has marked the announcement by sharing a brand-new original, “Psychic Video.”
The mix is a showcase for exactly the qualities that made DJRUM’s reputation. Renowned for his all-vinyl, three-deck sets that fold together bass music, shoegaze, folk, blues, ambient, breakcore, acid, and classical into introspective sonic tapestries, he brings that genre-agnostic sensibility to the compilation. The tracklist embodies that breadth, running from a Chris Watson field recording and Venetian Snares to Susumu Yokota, Eli Keszler, and, as a genuine curveball, the Raincoats’ post-punk deep cut “Only Loved at Night.”
Live Vinyl, Chopped in Post
What sets this DJ-Kicks apart is the method behind it. Rather than assembling the mix digitally, DJRUM recorded it by mixing vinyl live before chopping, collaging, and overdubbing the recordings in post-production, according to a press release. The approach preserves the spontaneity and human feel of a real DJ set while allowing him to sculpt the result into a complete, composed listening experience, a bridge between the two halves of his artistic identity.
That duality is central to who he is. DJRUM has always existed as both the DJ of the lawless warehouse party and the meticulous studio composer who will labor over a single string arrangement until it matches his exact vision. His DJ-Kicks connects those two modes, and he has been candid about wanting the ride to feel unpredictable. “I like things to be a bit bumpy,” he said, “to have ups and downs and f–k with expectations.” That instinct for friction, for joining together things that should never work and then knocking you sideways with a ragged cut or a foolish sample, is the mix’s animating principle.
The physical release leans into collectibility, pressed on 2LP ecovinyl and packaged with a DJ-Kicks playing card, continuing the series’ tradition of tactile, design-conscious editions. Alongside the four new DJRUM originals, the mix features exclusive productions from Skee Mask (“Flip”) and Clark (“Clonk Dual”), plus tracks from Chris Watson of Cabaret Voltaire, emptyset, upsammy, and more.
Capping a Prolific Run
The DJ-Kicks lands at the end of an especially fertile stretch for DJRUM. He returned in spectacular fashion with the EP Meaning’s Edge in late 2024, and in the two years since has released the acclaimed album Under Tangled Silence, a raft of remixes, and, just last month, another EP in I Wander. The mix completes that cycle, gathering the threads of a hugely productive era into a single statement of taste.
His place in the DJ-Kicks lineage matters, too. The series has long functioned as a canonizing institution in electronic music, its entries from the likes of Four Tet serving as definitive documents of an artist’s ear. DJRUM’s addition to that roster is both a recognition of his standing and a chance to present his sprawling, boundary-dissolving vision to a wider audience in a fixed, archival form.
Fans can hear where his head is at right now before the mix arrives. New single “Psychic Video” is out now, and DJRUM is set to play London’s Waterworks Festival on September 13. DJ-Kicks: DJRUM arrives October 16 via !K7, and on the evidence of everything leading up to it, it promises to be one of the most distinctive entries the series has seen in years.
