When I told Roger 23 that I would be writing a piece to accompany his mix, he offered a single rule: “Keep it simple.” Often seen as a mysterious figure, my interactions with him revealed a generous and passionate artist, albeit with a distaste for self-promotion.
Operating from Saarbrücken, just a few kilometers from the French-German border, he has built a compact but impeccable discography over the past 20 years, with releases on Playhouse, Volt Musik (a label run by Swayzak, with whom he was long associated), and more recently Ilian Tape. His diverse sonic explorations as both musician and DJ defy categorization, which may explain why he isn’t as widely appreciated as he deserves.
From our very first conversations, he immediately asked if I had a guiding theme to propose for his mix. Knowing Roger 23’s versatility behind the decks, I saw an opportunity to challenge him by suggesting a slightly dystopian narrative framework, inspired by his strong affection for vinyl.
“In a near-future world ruled by an authoritarian technocracy, a campaign is launched to eradicate all physical music formats, forcing citizens to access only state-approved music through controlled online platforms. When a massive network collapse suddenly disrupts all streaming services, a group of rebellious misfits organizes a secret rave in an abandoned data center, playing records they’ve covertly preserved from their collections. As the warm-up DJ for the night, you decide to record your set, capturing the moment and preserving its memory for future generations.”
From the very first seconds, Roger 23 pulls us into this dark, futuristic world, tracing the evolution of electronic music over the last four decades. The cold concrete walls resonate with 80s German synth-pop, Psychic TV experiments, industrial oddities, and the sharp beats of Dopplereffekt, mesmerizing the sparse crowd of dancing bodies as if it were 2024. Be sure to save this mix on a USB drive and hide it away; you never know what the future may hold…