The 10 best edits, according to Braiden

Since rising to prominence with his three-deck mix, being thrown down on urban and underground radio stations like Sub FM and Rinse FM, Braiden’s mutated sets never lack diversity or cease to impress. The London artist has recently found a new home at the Dalston-based NTS Radio, hosting a bi-monthly afternoon show on every second Thursday.

The former RBMA participant has also dropped his second record – the much anticipated, chord and vocal-oriented ‘Belfry Tower/ Paganini’ – in November on Amsterdam’s Rush Hour. Since 2010’s ‘The Alps’ EP on Joy O’s now-defunct Doldrums – a single that marks the final release of the label – the London DJ/ producer has done a couple of remixes for SBTRKT and Jacques Greene, but apart from that, he’s gone pretty quiet on the production front. His recent return is most certainly welcome.

Braiden has also secured himself a longstanding status as a music artist photographer, taking press shots for artists like Lil Silva, Untold, Oneman, and Night Slugs runners Bok Bok and L-Vis 1990 – check out his work on his website. In celebrating the release of his second single and ahead of Louche 5th Birthday presents RBMA, where Braiden will play alongside Henrik Schwarz, DJ Sprinkles and Move D, he shares 10 of his favourite edits below.

1. Cottam – Untitled (from EP2)
   Braiden: Cottam brings in some Nigerian 70s jazz with Bola Johnson’s Lagos Sisi and lays it down with some chunky kicks and claps whilst keeping the original’s irresistable groove and dusty vibe. I seem to keep playing this on radio every few months, never gets boring.
   
2. Mark E – RnB Drunkie
   Braiden: This man is a nab hand at the edit. Here he takes Janet Jackson’s RnB Junkie (which in turn samples Evelyn King – I’m In Love), layers driving drums on it and stretches it out to a hypnotic low slung 9 minute groove. The arrangement of the track is spot on, the drops around 4 and 8 minutes get me every time.
   
3. I:Cube – HNT
   Braiden: I love this track too much. I started off my last studio mix with it and it never gets boring. The original is a 1981 synthpop track by Tony Mansfield’s band New Muzik. All I:Cube has done here is loop the meat of the track – a haunting piano and synth combination with a snappy rigid behind it – taken out out the vocal, and replaced it with a low pitched voice extolling the virtues of being black. And that’s all he needed to do.
   
4. Trus’me – At The Disco
   Braiden: This track is cool as hell. Trus’me takes McNeal & Niles – Summer Fun and speeds it up with some dusty off beat hi hats and little edits. Proper head nodder.
   
5. Nicolas Jaar – Come N Get It
   Braiden: NJ gets this Bailey & Bridges banger, tells it to slow down a bit, takes out the flowery verses and whacks in some warm and caressing chords before it has a chance to object.
   
6. DJ Nature – Billy C
   Braiden: The Billy C in question here is Mr. Billy Cobham, the track – Opelousas. DJ Nature takes the mid section of this quite schizophrenic track and packages it as a romantic, soulful groover.
   
7. Sound Stream – Dance With Me
   Braiden: Where would a list of edits be without an inclusion from this edit powerhouse? Sir Frank Timm makes a swirly, ecstatic jam from Two Tons O’Fun’s Do You Wanna Boogie, Hunh? with a kick drum to rattle your bones.
   
8. CZR – Chicago Southside
   Braiden: Mid 90s party banger by CZR. Cesar here puts Gene Chandler’s When You’re #1 through a banging beat and forces everyone in the room to dance and sweat for 9 minutes.
   
9. Henrik Schwarz – Chicago
   Braiden: There’s something beautifully tense and dark about Roy Ayers’ Chicago, but this intimidating rework by Schwarz would make it run home and cry indefinitely. Mr. Schwarz pitches down a looped section of the original with a slow burning beat running alongside for several minutes before chromatically pitching it up and down to quite haunting effect. This YouTube comment says it all: “if you played this to a 16th century man he’d think there was a demon in it, and start praying”.
   
10. Aphex Twin – Windowlicker (Run Jeremy’s edit)
    Braiden: Trentemoller reigns in this Aphex classic and makes it a little more linear and jacking for your dancing and mixing pleasure. Thanks Trente.