Introduce yourself? Pronouns? Where do you currently reside?
Hello! I’m Richard Akingbehin, he/him. Happy to be part of the pi pi pi series! I’m British-Nigerian and have been living in Berlin for the last 11 years. At the moment my main focus is on the radio station I co-founded, Refuge Worldwide, as well as my label Kynant Records and my DJing.
What is the last city sound you heard that sounded nice in detail?
I live next door to a school so everyday starts by hearing the kids playing outside our window. It used to annoy me but at some point I started to like it. They sound carefree and joyful.
Listen to the moment at 55:55 min mark in your PI mix… describe how it makes you feel?
That track is a remix by Another Channel. I would associate it with feeling like I’m underwater. I always write comments in Rekordbox when I add new tracks to my USB, to remind me quickly what kind of mood or vibe the track is. One of my most used words to describe the feeling of a track is “underwater”.
Best trip of your life so far (Psychedelic or Travel)
I was so lucky to visit some amazing places to DJ last year, and I’m grateful to all the people who brought me out. Probably the trip that impacted me most was visiting Uzbekistan in September for the wonderful Sublimation Festival. I knew very little about the country beforehand, so it was a really fascinating experience. The organisers were great hosts and did an amazing job with the festival in quite difficult conditions. It was very inspiring to be part of an event in such a young electronic music scene.
Favorite track off the first CD you got as a teen?
What is the last recipe you made?
Last weekend I made Mafé, a West African peanut stew. It wasn’t great but I have learned for next time.
Let’s play a pi pi pi game… I give you a situation & you give me a track…
Endless sand drifting away during a sunset
Bouncy house with trick mirrors
23rd year anniversary with your best friend
What is your favorite mix to date?
Scion - Arrange And Process Basic Channel Tracks. I remember when I first discovered this mix, soon after moving to Berlin, I literally listened to it every day for weeks. I know it inside-out and love every second of it.
Best DJ experience so far?
If you would allow me to mention two…
One would be Waking Life 2023. I have played at Waking Life every year since they started as it’s run by some very close friends. The first few years I was playing ambient under the name Ö, and it was usually my only gig each year. My set there in 2023 was the moment I finally worked out what I wanted to say as a DJ. Before that I had been adjusting my sound all the time to fit whatever line up we had at the Refuge parties. But that Waking Life 2023 set was the first time I went so purely into the very specific sound that I play now. You can listen to it here.
I also have to mention MNMT festival in August 2024. Playing with Tikiman is such an honour as I’ve been a huge fan for so long. It’s still surreal to me that we play together and I release his records! We have done a lot of sets together but that day at MNMT, a beautiful setting in the Norwegian forest, everything came together perfectly. The festival was very deep techno orientated and you could just feel that the dub vibes gave people exactly what they needed, even if they didn’t know they needed it. I still regularly get people coming up to me now saying that set was special for them too.
Ideal liquid to drink while DJing?
Right now, I am one month off alcohol for the first time and I’m feeling smug about it, so for now it’s a non-alcoholic beer.
Advice to DJs who play on the radio?
I always encourage people to embrace the radio show element with some chill, home-listening music and storytelling, rather than showing off their DJ skills.
What would you like to see in the future musically?
I wish more house and techno fans acknowledged the Caribbean and soundsystem culture as a founding influence of this music, rather than only giving props to Detroit, Chicago and New York. Not taking away from the pioneers of those places at all, but without dub there would be none of this stuff.
Tell me about this mix
I recorded this mix at a beautiful listening space in Melbourne called Tender. I was sitting on the floor while recording it and felt in the mood to create something deep and meditative