The EDWIN Music Channel tap Belgian DJ Mankiyan for their revolving guest mix series.
Part of a community-minded enclave in Brussels, Mankiyan has established herself as an underground force with a residency at Kiosk Radio, and on the festival circuit; from Antwerp’s esteemed Het Bos to Funke in Ghent and Fuse in Brussels.
Mankiyan’s EDWIN mix is a time capsule for her saturnine sets, which glide across the bass continuum. Integrating Edinburgh producer Dave Tarrida’s molten track ‘Hot Leather Seats’, the trip-hop undulations of Kontext’s ‘Refracted Men’, and of course fellow compatriot Xenomorph Jazz Enzemble and their bass-inflected, submerged take on jazz fusion, Mankiyan’s mix harnesses a feeling that is kinetic, clandestine and nebulous.
Of the mix, Mankiyan says it’s a “darker, suspenseful, slower-paced vibe; almost the perfect soundtrack for a dystopian detective story.”
Tune in to the mix now and read DJ Mankiyan’s interview with The EDWIN Music Channel below…
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Can you remember where you first started DJing and the kind of music you were playing?
My first gigs were in Ghent, at small parties invited by friends who appreciated my sound, when I was mainly into deconstructed club but with my common thread of bass and rhythms already present.
In your bi-monthly show on Kiosk Radio, Brussels you play lots of different styles from electro to dubstep, breaks, drum and bass to techno and broken beat. How would you define your DJ style in your own words?
This is obviously a question I get asked a lot and I still haven’t found a way of answering it without completely blocking. Usually I start with ‘bass’ and then sum up the genres mentioned in the question.
It’s said you have the desire to fill a void in nightlife. How would you specify this void?
It’s funny ’cause this is what initially got me into DJing, but it was meant merely sound-wise in the Ghent scene from back then. Today this goes so much broader. Nightlife is great but anyone who is even the slightest (bit) involved in it will recognise and try to fight the many issues it can have or sustain.
Together with a group of friends, we are contributing our small part to the solution by organising “fundraves” where we try to put that one thing we are all so good at, raving, to a good cause – literally dancing towards a better world – in a space where everyone is free to come and move and exist as they are. Logically, all revenue goes to causes that are putting in hard and real work towards shaping this better world, with the common theme of right to housing, whilst we put our focus on community and connection within our group and the artists as well as with our audience.
Where do you buy your music? Online or in record stores? And can you recommend us some platforms you regularly visit for new music?
I love browsing record stores but as I prefer to play digitally, I buy my music online. I discover most of it through Bandcamp and Discogs – endless rabbit-hole-clicking gives me life!
What are some tracks that currently get the most plays?
My friends and I can’t get enough of Focus Channel by DJ Gonz.
Do you have any plans for producing your own music? If so: what is in the pipeline?
I am trying to learn it at the moment but right now mainly navigating how not to get overwhelmed by the number of skills I still need to master to bring the tunes in my head to life.
What is the driving force of creativity?
Having to make do with what you’ve got.
Do you see yourself as part of any scene?
I believe Kiosk Radio has played a major role in gluing together a kind of Brussels scene which I do happily feel a small part of.
How did you select the tracks for your EDWIN Music channel mix?
I went for a darker, suspenseful, slower-paced vibe; almost the perfect soundtrack for a dystopian detective story.
How important is social media for your success as an artist and do you think that social media corrupts your image as music should speak first?
Second part of the question: yes, definitely. Currently, Instagram is a convenient way of informing my network about what is happening and reaching people who are not near me. However, Instagram profiles have turned into some kind of artist CVs for promoters to browse. I regret it is becoming the platform of choice since there are so many things wrong with it, from its messed up algorithm to the toxic socio-psychological patterns it sustains.
I think a louder presence on social media would probably help me reach a wider audience but this would simply not fit my morals nor my personality, so I see no point in forcing it for the mere sake of ‘business’. I like to believe that appreciation by an individual who lives a few thousand km’s away is not necessarily worth more than the heartfelt support of someone coming up to me after a gig in Belgium, and that (my) music can keep surfing on this wave of real-life connections.
Can you finish this sentence: ‘The world would be a better place if only…?
I don’t think there is enough space for the already endless list arranged in my head. Empathy and nuance would probably form a common thread.
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TRACKLIST
Xenomorph Jazz Ensemble – Aphrodite’s Navel
NVST – It Only Cost Ya Nest (Clown2Clown)
LL321 – Bullet
c mantle – Dancehall Pin-Up
Dave Tarrida – Hot Leather Seats feat. Big Bully
SMPL SMPL – Clumsy Juggler
Limbertimbre – One Big Bit
PGMV – Sinistre
RXEX – Shadow Place
Kl.ne – Rewind the Century
Slow83 – Protraction
Avbvrn – Avitus
Kontext – Refracted Man
RXEX – Don’t Look Back Just Breathe (Homelander Remix)
Alien Pimp & DJ Shiva – Persona Non Grata
Headhunter – Lost Prophet
Carrier – Product of Environment
Dissident – Blind Viewer
Sub – Halleluja
Si Begg meets Neil Landstrumm – The Animal Among Us
DJ NEPHIL – SCIENZ OF LIFE
Manonmars & Bogues x Ishan Sound & Neek – Burning Paper
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Raid EDWIN Music Channel’s previous mixes here.
