Can you tell us a bit about the mix we are about to hear?

My mix is a journey from 100 to 155 BPM, showcasing my idea of rave - one which is filled with lots of breaks, rapping, and lush piano and vocal melodies. It also features one of my favourite things to do when djing live which is to mix an acapella track over an instrumental track.

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You've been producing music for a while, first as Microwave and now as AHJU, how has your sound developed over the years?

I actually started off producing to accompany my guitar. I think I’ve got a lot of musical styles that I’ve really liked over the years which I’ve tried to make including post-punk, new wave, synth pop and indie. Under Microwave, I was really influenced by disco, lo-fi house and deep house, which can be heard in my releases: two of which are out through Clipp.art and my debut single was self-released. As AHJU, I’ve been more so interested in UK hardcore, DnB, jungle, UK garage, electro and breakbeat. I think my single ‘Cause I’, which was released through GODDEZZ, reflects the transition between my sounds as Microwave and AHJU.

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When producing music, what's one piece of equipment you can't live without?

I’d say my computer, which has always been apart of my process although I used to use hardware including synths, a sampler and drum machines. It was great learning certain things on hardware, especially drum programming but for the past two years I’ve come to really like doing most things in the box using software as I find it a lot smoother for my workflow.

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For people looking to enter the world of music production, do you have any tips for getting started?

I’d encourage people to make use what they have first, even if it’s to just try things out. I actually used Garageband before making the jump to Ableton. For me, I started learning through troubleshooting on online forums and Youtube but lately I’ve really come to value asking others for their help and opinions. So I’d suggest people to utilise every avenue they have that’s available to them first.

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You recently started producing Saturday Sunset with Deepa on FBi radio and have your own monthly show on Area 3000 radio. What draws you towards community radio and what have you learnt through your experiences?

I think it’s been really nice to make musical connections and friends. I used to try to achieve everything solo but it’s been really great to get the opinions and support of others and be able to bounce off ideas with them. Community radio has also been really helpful during lockdown and assisted me (somewhat) stick to a schedule, and also have an avenue for Djing whilst venues were closed.

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What change would you like to see in our local scene?

I want to see meaningful changes in the creation on actual safe spaces and equal and fairer opportunities for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and women in an intersectional way. I find it very saddening that genres created by POC and queer communities are now being utilised to exclude our communities. I want everyone, especially CIS white men to hold people accountable, have conversations, take a look at lineups, and think about how we can make these changes a reality together through our actions.

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Any projects you're working on?

I’m working on releasing another single via GODDEZZ next year. It’s a track I’ve kept tucked away for almost a year so I’m very much eager to finish mixing it and finally have it out there. It was inspired by the energy of Sonz of the Loop Era - Far Out, which I was pretty much listening to on repeat earlier in the year. With this track I tried to push myself to try a bunch of new things out including its song structure.

I’m also working on a collaborative track with Stullett, a producer and DJ from the UK who just released his debut EP this year. We’re planning to release the track on his new label Kabayan Records, which focuses on releasing music made by Filipino producers.

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Also I'm playing Lost Sundays on Dec 12!