The conversation around safe club spaces, particularly for womxn, non-binary and queer people, has progressed in leaps and bounds over the past few years, but many large cities, not to mention smaller hubs, still don’t consistently offer comfortable, accessible venues and nights for those communities. The consolidation of venues under corporate umbrellas, gentrification and unhelpful local municipalities has led to a severe lack of smaller, community-oriented spaces and raised tensions between venue owners and promoters. Whereas similar issues have led to widespread anhedonia in adjacent cultural spheres though, a range of nights, spaces and artists have worked tirelessly to build club culture in their image.

London’s New Scenery has been a key player in that fight since launching in 2018, pairing international talent (think coucou chloe, MikeQ, Toxe, Ziúr) with an array of UK offerings while drawing on the experimental fringe without losing sight of what moves the floor. DJ, producer and video artist Jasper Jarvis is one of New Scenery’s organizers and residents and the first artist to debut on the platform’s label arm. Released last week, Finty is an amalgam of hardcore motifs, soundtrack-ready arrangements and re-contextualized pop moments, functioning as a stark debut for an artist finding their production legs. Tracks like “~” and “Trauma” in particular build out a madcap energy, showing that Jarvis is more than willing to push the intensity to uncomfortable levels and test dancers’ resolve.

Jarvis’ mix work, previously heard in New Scenery’s native series and the excellent SISTER series, is similarly wide ranging and holistic, matching their own edits with hits from the club sphere, tracks from contemporaries and soundtrack excerpts. The result is hectic and functions on a mood level more than a rhythmic one, grafting affective bonds through a maze of drum patterns. Their Astral Plane Mix covers a lot of ground, even by the standards established by the type of artists New Scenery books, touching on Jersey Club classics from DJ Sliink and DJ Tiga, Hans Zimmer, Slipknot and a slick Merzbow edit from Emma Lee. Excerpts from Finty put a personal touch on the processions, providing emotional high points to the up and down selections. Hit the jump for a full track list and grab a download of Astral Plane Mix 184 here.

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