As a new year is waiting on our doorstep, it’s time for our final mixtape of 2014. And seen as this is the very last one of the year, it needs to be a special one, a bit out of the ordinary perhaps. And, ideally, we try to look for somebody who is connected to Amsterdam and its dance music fabric. Fitting this profile perfectly is a man who has just celebrated his 30th year in the game. He has been at the forefront of Dutch techno, even helped introduce and consolidated its underground movement in the late eighties and early nineties, and has proven himself to be creative and foreseeing enough to still be incredibly relevant to this day. On new years eve, he’ll be one of the headlining artists at ‘Trouwens‘, Trouw’s goodbye to 2014 and the clubbing era they helped create, with three consecutive days of non-stop partying at the clubber’s temple.

We’re talking about Steve Rachmad (exclusive interview). Since his earliest productions, Amsterdam’s electronic music pioneer Steve Rachmad has created a legion of monikers for his various compositions. We’ve seen tracks from Black Scorpion, Tons of Tones, Rachmad Project, Scorp, Parallel 9, Ignacio, Dreg, Sterac Electronics and many more come out of his studio…

One of the main characters living on Planet Rachmad has always been STERAC: a side of Steve’s musical personality that’s not easily described. Let’s say that where other aliases were used for excursions to more dub-, disco-, or house- oriented records, STERAC’s focus has always been on the no-nonsense, darker, and deeper side of techno.

Steve’s dj performances constantly evolve. Set firmly in the best that techno and house have to offer at the moment, he’s always inspired by high quality disco, dub and electro from the early days. There are two personas in his dj life: as STERAC he plays techno with dark, deep, edgy atmospheres. When his birth name is on the bill, it can be anything from planet Rachmad; a realm best explored by listening to one of the extended sets recorded at Panoramabar and his own, Studio 80 based, kis. club night.

For this mix, Steve has incorporated solely his own tracks, remixes and edits, many of them still to be released. Expect a mix of house, dubs, disco and much more. There is even a very exclusive premiere of his rework of Doe Maar’s ‘Smoorverliefd’, which, until now, could only have been heard while attending one of his sets this year. We’re very excited to bring this jack of all trades to our mixtape catalog. Wherever you are, be it at a pre- or afterparty that needs a dose of killer music to set the mood, or just relaxing at home: Steve’s mix is going to blow your mind. Enjoy, and we wish you a very, very happy new year. Let it be filled with great music and new discoveries.