“Alien Radio Transmission” by aanka
AANKA takes on our new Storytelling Challenge, picking the theme of “Alien Radio Transmission." Each DJ who participates in this challenge is asked to create a narrative or storytelling mix in their own unique style to match a theme from our list. The DJ is allowed freedom to experiment, explore and be as creative as possible.
AANKA is a London-based dj and aspiring producer with a passion for more experimental bass music. She doesn’t restrict herself to any one genre. Inspired by the likes of Phace and gyrofield, her sets and productions are a mix of deep dubstep, glitchy garage and breaks, heavy jungle and neuro/tek DnB. She also tries to incorporate Slavic folk samples, reaching into her Polish roots. She's always on the lookout for the most outrageous sounds, both in her sets and her original work. You’ll really feel those inspirations in her mix today, too.
Q: What was your creative vision or inspiration behind the mix?
I absolutely love everything alien-related, especially the Ridley Scott's movie - Alien. It's been my favorite film since I was a child (yeah, thanks to my parents for letting me watch that, I know!). This, and a lot of the other alien-themed movies!
In the mix, I wanted to convey my fascination with everything extra-terrestrial by telling a story that begins with a strange radio transmission caught by a spaceship crew. The crew decides to investigate the origins of the signal as they have never heard anything like it.
The mix begins with playful, curious, light-hearted, and intriguing tracks. They meant to build a picture of a fascinating adventure that lays ahead, or so they thought...
The crew encounters a strange creature shortly after landing on an unknown planet. They marvel at its built, strength and otherworldly appearance. After realizing it's injured, they decide to take it back to their colony. The story slowly shifts into a nightmare, when the crew realizes the alien was just pretending to be injured. The hunt for their lives begins. The mix becomes uneasy, with increasingly unhinged, faster tracks and sounds, as the crew tries to escape the creature and fights back. They witness the alien race almost completely take over the colony. They take their bodies, voices, thoughts, and everything they know to be human.
After years of this war of the worlds, neither side has anything left to give. Nobody is even sure of the reasons that caused the war, as it's been so long. Slowly, they must learn to live together. To rebuild their world piece by piece.
The end of the mix is a portrayal of hope. Of new beginnings, of new realities that have not been manifested yet. It's about coming together because there is nothing else left.
Q: Tell us about some of the tracks or samples that you selected.
I sampled multiple alien movies and shows: Mars Attacks!, The X-files, Signs, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The War of the Worlds, and obviously, all the Ridley Scott's Alien movies, as well as Dune.
I also found some creepy radio transmissions from all over the world and combined them with other samples and tracks.
In terms of music, it's a wild selection of every possible genre, including some dubstep, dnb and techno tracks, my own productions and productions of my friends and the people from our community. You can check out the whole track list under the mix!
Q: What does this mix reveal about you as an artist?
Interesting question! Maybe that I'm actually an alien?
I think a part of me really wants to live in a reality where we coexist with some otherworldly creatures. On the other hand, aren't we technically THE aliens? We live in space and we invade other planets (or try to!)
Another way of looking at it, aren't we so different yet so similar in all our features as humans of various backgrounds and upbringings?
I think the mix perfectly portrays my love for paradoxes and contradictions. Especially in art. One of my favorite poems that relates to this is Charles' Baudelaire's "Une Charogne"("A Rotting Carcass"). Go read it and you'll understand what I'm about!
You can listen to the full mix on our Soundcloud here.
