Rent-Free Rambles: Ep. 3 - She’s DutchBeams Now
17.09.23
words + images by Tasneem Jacobs
Hello, hi! Welcome back to another episode of Rent-Free Radio with me, Tasneem. If you’re wondering why you’re reading this introduction instead of hearing it: I’m now based in Tilburg, the Netherlands, pursuing my LLM in International Human Right’s Law.
Since I can’t be in studio in Johannesburg - each remotely-recorded show will be accompanied by a write-up encompassing my experiences so far, and how they relate to the show’s track selection. A sonic travel journal, if you will - so we can keep geeking out to music together!
Relocating to a country on another continent, with no family or partner by your side - just your one little self - is an experience akin to riding a bike for the first time. Unstable, unsteady, humming with anxiety in every move - but constantly exhilarating. I’ve been in Tilburg for exactly one month today.
This episode is a small glimpse of the music that has characterised this transition. Expect familiar favourites which have brought so much comfort interspersed with new gems I’ve discovered in my exploration this side. The music and festival landscape in the Netherlands is immersive. It has been - as I conveyed to my mom during one of our many video calls - like finding myself in music wonderland :)
The mix opens with ‘Enough for Love’ by Kelela, blended in large part with the most lush, ambient remix of Delirio by Bitter Babe & Nick León. I’ve been experimenting for some months now with trying to blend the latter track with a more vocal-forward track. The resultant mash-up sets a gentle yet cinematic tone for the rest of the mix. Quite fitting, I suppose. Life has been feeling like a movie lately.
I attended Draaimolen Festival in Tilburg last weekend. The festival is founded by two queer DJs, producers, partners and label owners Eris Drew and Octo Octa. I went alone which was slightly nerve-wracking, even for me. I had the BEST time! The execution and intentionality of the festival was just exquisite - and a true testament to the founders’ reverence of music and genuine desire to share it with people.
Of course, I had to include a track from each of them in the mix. Octo Octa’s ‘Find Your Way Home’ worked beautifully with ‘Stacey’s Pink Cadillac’, a Dutch house track that I’ve been absolutely rinsing for close to a year now. This is one of my favourite moments in the mix - fun, melodic, and a true blend of old-meets-new in my musical palate. Also, Octo Octa just released a new EP that’s bubbling over with joyous, dance-y vibes. I highly recommend giving it a listen!
While at Draaimolen, I discovered Azu Tiwaline and was instantly drawn to ‘Berbeka’, a precise, hypnotic track that slithers gracefully through dub, tribal soundscapes.
The last standout track which I had to find a way to work in at the end is 'Ordunun Dereleri’ by Altin Gün. A Dutch band that blends traditional Turkish folk music with slick, groovy psychedelic rock. This band has been one of my most unexpected and interesting discoveries of the year.
I closed out the show with ‘Hyphae’ by Gonubie (a dear friend of mine from Cape Town - I’m geeking over how beautiful her work is!!). This ambient track circles back to the mellow mood in the show’s beginning, and rounds out the episode on a serene note. A fitting closer; Gonubie’s new album is a gorgeous body of work that’s been keeping me company through many late nights (like right now, as I write this at 4:50am on a Sunday morning).
And there you have it! I wish I could talk about every single track in every mix at length but that would span pages and pages, and I already have a thesis to write. I hope you enjoyed this mix, it is as always, a very apt representation of what has been living in my mind rent-free. Hopefully something in it resonated with you. Thank you for listening. See you soon!
listen to Lightbeams’ third episode of Rent-Free Radio, and all the past shows here.