Fact Mix 866: Pariah

For his long-overdue Fact mix Pariah chases a jaw-swinging, grin-inducing, eyelid-fluttering vibe that fluctuates between sparseness and intensity, depth and release.

Arthur Cayzer has been appearing in the pages of Fact for over decade. We were there way back in 2010 when “promising UK producer Pariah” first began turning heads with ‘Detroit Falls’ and Safehouses, picking the then 22-year-old producer’s brains about his love of Burial, following him as he and Blawan joined forces as Karenn a year later and onwards to collaborations with The Analogue Cops and Midland. In more recent history, following the 2018 release of Cayzer’s beautiful debut album, Here From Where We Are, he co-founded the inimitable Voam, which went on to house Karenn’s debut album, Grapefruit Regret, as well essential records from some of the best and brightest, both established and rising, including Peder Mannerfelt, Regina Leather, Piska Power and SSTROM. Consistently operating in sonic spaces both visceral and experimental, throughout his career Pariah has served as a welcome bridge between the weirder and the more fist-pump friendly sides of the dancefloor, all the while finding time to make stranger excursions into more reflective territory. It should therefore make total sense that Cayzer’s long-overdue Fact mix, which moves through club detonators past and present, chases a jaw-swinging, grin-inducing, eyelid-fluttering vibe that fluctuates between sparseness and intensity, depth and release.

It picks up where Caterpillar, his first solo EP in a decade, leaves off, a three-track barrage of throbbing techno, skittering electro and shuffling breaks with a title track boasting the most anthemic bass borborygmus of recent memory, or, in the words of fellow summer anthem maker and recent Fact mixer Gramrcy, “the track that sounds how pingers feel.” Jumping straight into the deep and deadly with heady twists and turns from Burnt Friedman, Barker and K Wata, Cayzer wastes no time locking in step with nervous skip from Cari Lekebusch, proggy squelch from Etienne and recent heat from Pangea, delving deeper still with a high pressure drum trip from Sam Goku, Drexciyan mischief from Kanyon and iridescent burbles from Wata Igarashi. Skream lets one loose from the vaults, sending up the signal for a hell for leather charge through frazzled nuclear meltdown buzz from Enayet, a sneak peek at Rhyw’s new one for Voam, the wigged out braindance gymnastics of Lurka and Bruce’s inaugural transmission as XRA and the ambient spiral of Ko-Ta. It’s a mix for the heads in the thick of festival season, serving as a timely reminder of all the promises Pariah has kept.

Caterpillar is out now, on Voam. You can find Pariah on Instagram.

Tracklist:

Burnt Friedman – ‘Monsun’
Planetary Assault Systems – ‘Eden Tide (Barker Remix)’
K Wata – ‘Bone Tags’
Cari Lekebusch – ‘Flip A Lid’
Etienne – ‘02042019’
Pangaea – ‘Fuzzy Logic’
Sam Goku – ‘Paradise Drum V2’
Lory D – ‘Acid Prastix’
Kanyon – ‘Number One’
Fixate – ‘Ruminate’
Wata Igarashi – ‘Warp’
Drexell – ‘PIK up Back up’
Skream – ‘Konga’
Enayet – ‘Chokkor’
Cari Lekebusch – ‘Minimalism 2’
Rhyw – ‘Honey Badger’
DJ GIRL – ‘And The Crowd Howls’
XRA – ‘Bee Track’
Mr Ho – ‘Perfect Round’
Ko-Ta – ‘Shiza’
Bitstream – ‘Stream One’

Listen next: Fact Mix 865 – séverine