Music
For The Love Of It returns for a sophomore run, a joint venture between Clash and Pioneer DJ. Where series one largely distilled the journeys and origin stories of homegrown electronic DJs, Series 2 expands its reach by probing deeper into international club culture and cross-cultural connections, honing in on the ways these external influences impact personal development and production style.
For The Love Of It: Series 2 captures in-demand electronic acts crafting and performing sets in self-styled dominions. We document how their creativity has been informed by their foundations in different cultural settings, and how these artists reconcile and blend local sounds with around-the-globe influences. Ultimately, Series 2 is about the hybridity of music today, and the communal ties that tether artists to diverse subcultures. This fluidity in expression comes through in an exclusive mix created by each artist for the series.
The focus artist for Episode 1 is London-based hyphenate Jossy Mitsu.
Born and bred in Birmingham, Jossy began her journey at 18 working the turntables. A one-person army, Jossy emerged as a club mainstay with sets capturing the pent-up, unbridled energy of rave culture. Enthused by the cross-pollination of London’s nightlife scene, Jossy moved to the capital and now has affiliations with the pioneering community-minded label Astral Black, Fabric and Rinse FM, where she has a residency.
Coming into her own as a producer, Jossy has released two EPs – the pandemic-era ‘Planet J’ and ‘Planet J II’, released in May this year. Loose companion projects, these works reconcile Jossy’s love of bass, breaks and mutable techno with sci-fi, dystopic abstractions and futuristic synth work. These “emotion-led” projects were birthed from feelings of inertia, of apocalyptic dread, of nostalgia for dancefloor communion.
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In conversation, Jossy details her origin story, growing up on a palette of Ghanaian highlife and noughties dance compilations. She charts her transition from DJ to producer, exploring the interplay between both disciplines; breaking down the evolution of her sound across EPs that evoke the zeitgeist of our times and the Pan-African palette she’s embracing with her future output. Finally, Jossy shares the piece of hard-won wisdom she’d impart to anyone wanting to venture into music production.
Working the CDJ3000’s and new A9 mixer, Jossy Mitsu’s exclusive mix is a soul-rendering excursion along the electronic continuum retaining a sense of dynamic rhythm throughout. Expect hazed-out breaks recalling gospel house glory, and dark, globular techno animated by glitches and Gameboy effects. A kinetic mix to move the body and soothe the soul.
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