The third instalment of our Lounge Sounds series comes from one of Sydney and Australia’s most respected and revered heads: Mike Who. You might have come to know the DJ as the boss of Planet Trip Records, the maverick behind the 1800 triiip mix series, a Freedom Sounds party organiser or maybe as the hip-hop extraordinaire who co-hosted Stolen Records on FBI’s Wednesday Sunsets. Either way, it’s basically impossible to be involved in or care about music and fail to quickly see how much Mike does and has done for Sydney’s music scene.
This year in particular he’s brought some much needed feel-good jams to our radio waves and record stores. His Skylab show is the go-to spot for new and forthcoming releases on his label and always features a stellar guest mix from a local DJ. It’s also one of the few places we’re able to hear his signature hybrid of soul, lovers rock, Latin groove and dollar bin finds.
With a new release out December 9th on his label and some very exciting plans for 2021, we caught up with Mike to find out what music he’s had on repeat at home lately. Despite everything that 2020 has thrown at us, the Sydney giant remained upbeat, in good spirits and still absolutely capable of selecting some of the finest soul, reggae, boogie and house tunes around. In our humble opinion, music really doesn’t get much better than this. Dive into Mike Who’s Lounge Sounds below.
PLAYLIST
MIXES
Bill Spencer - Doing Time With Just Us Records
Peoples Potential Unlimited - PPV LUV V.4
Synths of World w/ Ty Abiodun (GDS. FM - 2019-06-29)
Séance Centre Radio - Episode 29 NTS feat: Tender Buttons (Nov 2020) No Banter
Planet Trip Records - 1800 Triiip - The Alaia - Mix 017
Firstly, how are you doing?
Doing all good, been a weird old year but trying to stay mellow and positive. We’re super lucky here in Sydney compared to how rough the year has been for friends overseas.
How much have your listening habits changed in isolation and lockdown?
Not really buying or listening to as much music for a dancefloor, which in a way has been nice. Still listening to a lot of mixes and I have dipped back into appreciating albums start to finish.
What music have you been gravitating towards?
Been a nice time to go back into my own collection and appreciate records I had forgotten about or not given time in a while. At home, I generally tend to gravitate towards reggae, lovers, soul, jazz, RnB, weird rap, Latin, MPB, downtempo biz etc.
How do you think club music and DJing will change in Sydney after the pandemic & lockdown restrictions?
No idea to be honest, pretty odd time for venue owners and I doubt anyone is rushing to start something new. I really hope a few new spaces open up with open-minded programming and good crew running them. I’m assuming a few more outdoor daytime dances to make everyone feel a bit comfier instead of straight back into crowded dance floors in tight spaces. I’m down for both but happy to ease into things also.
It's probably hard to plan things properly at the moment, but is there anything special you have in the pipeline that you would like to mention?
I have been spending some time with good mate Daniel Lupica to build out a little online store, small curated drops selling records from our own collections, we will aim to update it bi-monthly with new bits. Provided no major speed bumps we should have a drop ready for just before Christmas. Bunch of other records getting finished for early next year on Planet Trip. Other recent stuff would be “Gee Dee’s Key of Sea EP” which just dropped and should be landing in stores worldwide this week. Also hit record on a a mix for Sao Paulo based homies Gop Tun.