- A journey into UK dance music history.
- This past February, Tesfa Williams released his debut album—over 20 years into his career. Raves Of Future Past distilled decades of experience on London dance floors into a potent blend of grime, house, rave and techno. Made with an Elektron Digitakt to imitate the rough textures of early '00s UK dance music, the LP is an anachronistic history lesson that throws everything in a blender, imagining what gqom might sound like as an Eski track and giving new life to the short-lived "sublow" sound Williams helped invent with classic tracks like "Invasion," released under his earlier alias DJ Dread D.
Since the sublow days, however, Williams has become a torchbearer for UK house music and African diasporic sounds like Afro house and gqom in London. He's put out soulful hits like "Heartbeat"—recently reissued by Local Action—and released a steady stream of dance records for PMR and Strictly Rhythm. He's what you might call a jack of all trades, except he's actually a master of them all.
His RA Podcast charts his musical journey in reverse chronological order, starting with smooth, African-influenced sounds and winding through grime and dubstep, eventually landing at jungle. He threads a needle through diverse genres (and eras), and posits that the traditional UK hardcore continuum is a bigger spectrum than you might think, with gqom's heave and amapiano's log drum equally important in the musical equation. It's nearly two hours of UK dance music past and present, from a DJ who has lived it all.
What have you been up to recently?
I've been recently working on finishing a new EP that I'm releasing on Defected/The Remedy Project. I've also been doing a record store tour for my album Raves Of Future Past, which has been so fun—playing at Phonica, Nothing Ventured, Sound By The Sea, Planet Wax and NEXTDOOR Records.
How and where was the mix recorded? And can you tell us the idea behind it?
I recorded this mix at home. The idea behind the mix is to showcase all the music and styles I'm currently creating. At each BPM and genre there are original tracks by me and collaborations. So ultimately the mix showcases the breadth of music and styles I create within UK dance music while presenting my debut album, Raves Of Future Past.
What's one club or party that had a major impact on you as an artist?
Plastic People is a club that has always had a major influence on me as an artist. One party in particular at this club that will forever be a massive influence is Co-Op, the longstanding broken beat night by the originators Bugz in the Attic.
What drove you to go in a more old-school direction with this new album/project?
During the pandemic I had time to sit with my record collection, which spans 20-plus years of UK dance music. So it was only natural when I started to talk to Matt Bayfield of Purple City Records about my album that I keep it all about the music that has shaped me as an artist and DJ.
What else are you working on in the near future? Are you sticking with this direction?
I've got a number of more house and soulful-focused albums coming. Starting with a vocal lead EP on The Remedy Project / Defected in June. Now that everyone knows what to expect, I'll continue to make whatever I feel at the time, including music within the same direction as Raves Of Future Past.
What's one social or political cause you want the world to pay more attention to?
I'll continue to support people from marginalised communities within dance music.
What are you looking forward to in the near future?
I'm looking forward to being back on the road and playing some more club shows that are exactly like this mix. Full of energy and genreless.
TracklistIon Ludwig - Dwell to the Gate (Tenth Circle)
Jackson Brainwave - Voiced (Original Mix) (Jackson Brainwave Records)
Afriqua - Afriqua (Dream Diary)
Daniell Spencer ft. Downtown - Deep Freak (Daniell's Herbal Beatdown) (Brique Rouge)
T. Williams - Dont Stop ft OBI (Unreleased)
T.Williams - Playtimes (Unreleased)
Primitive Trust - Fallen Down (AUS Music)
T. Williams - Hold On (Unreleased)
Ojerime - Give It Up 2 Me (Lo5ive Edit) (Free DL)
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Kaba & Hyas - Mood 4 A Classic - OMAAR Remix (H3 Records)
T.Williams - Sensitive (New Machine Remix) (Unreleased)
Yak - Guevenne Groove (Phonica Records)
ID
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Ivy Lab - Kik Bak (Sneaker Social Club)
Karizma - Drippn' (Karizma Baltimore Drip) (Yoruba Records)
T.Williams - Jammy (Purple City)
Was A Be - Hallucination (Noroi Remix) (Reveries)
ID
The Maghreban - M25 (ft King Kashmere) (Zoot Records)
V.I.V.E.K - U DUB (System Music)
Benga - Pleasure (Tempa)
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Lioness - AllBlackWinterNess (Self Release)
Jammin (DJ Zinc) - ISH (Bingo Beats Music)
Joker - Marching Orders ft. Footsie (Kapsize)
T.Williams - Love All You Squares! (Purple City)
Arcane & Jon1st - Escape Plan (Defrostatica)
Netsky - Everybody Loves The Sunshine (Hospital Records)
Roni Size_Brown Paper Bag (Roni Size Sound Is The Music Remix) ([PIAS] Recordings)
T.Williams - Set Trends (Purple City)
Dj Hype - And Remember Folks (True Playaz)
Splash - Babylon (Original Mix) (Juice Records)
T.Williams - Aggy (Purple City)
Tailor Jae - The Wheel (Self Release)