Melbourne’s Mike Rish delivers a rare studio mix for Balance set to resonate far and wide…
Melbourne has never shied away from producing progressive artists exploring the sound’s darker side, and Mike Rish is the latest in a long line of esteemed talent to rise from the city. Yet, he’s slowly carving out a unique niche—an unmistakable rogue-ish frequency that’s both chugging and energetic, playful yet serious. In fact, it’s a whirlwind of emotions at any given moment, but it’s always there.
But don’t box him in as a merchant of the moody. When he’s not hiding in the shadows, he shimmers like glitter. Check his latest on Anjunadeep Explorations, ‘Tú Attair’, and his remix of fellow Melburnian Jamie Stevens’ ‘Rivers’—both delectable slices of euphoric prog that will send the blood rushing to your head. Yes, he has game, and it’s no stretch to say that Mike Rish is currently one of the globe’s most searing rising talents.
On this two-hour mix, the Australian delivers a set for the purists—starting with a slow, inviting build that eventually pulls you in like a vortex. Featuring tracks from Guy J, Pig&Dan, Argy, and a stellar chugging rework of the Hydrogen Rockers‘ classic ‘Musica’, this mix only reinforces the rumor that investing in Mike Rish stocks is a sure bet.
2. Rambadu – Visie
3. Birds ov Paradise – Anton
4. Feral – The Pine Forest 10m
5. Nocturnalism – Ambra (VØSNE Tesselation)
6. Artefakt – Terraforming
7. Wunderblock vs Arcuation – Lotto (Deepbass Remix)
8. Altinbass – Anaphora
9. Takaaki Itoh – Heighter
10. Mihai Popoviciu – Transitions (Bootleg Mix)
11. Guy Mantur & Sahar Z – The Greenwich Tunnel
12. Nick Stoynoff – Some Days Are Better Than Others
13. Jamie Stevens – Path of None (Analog Jungs Remix)
14. Hydrogen Rockers – Musica (Patch Park Remix)
15. Senate – Matter Of The Night
16. Andre Buljat & Cali Lanauze – Eclipse One
17. Mike Rish – ID
18. Pig & Dan – No Tomorrow
19. Guy J – Temperament
20. Argy – Thick And Thin
21. Acronym – Mu 1
Name: Mike Rish
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Alias/Producer name: Mike Rish
Labels affiliated with: Lost & Found, AnjunaDeep, Sudbeat, Meanwhile
I have an older brother and sister in their mid-late 50s. My brother went to the first Bush Doofs in the early 90s (Earthcore, Rainbow, etc.). He gave me a lot of music from that era when I was really young, maybe 9 or 10 years old. I was too young to fully understand what it was, but I know I liked it. 808 State is one I remember vividly.
He was also into hip-hop and gave me CDs from artists like The Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, etc. My sister was a clubber and used to work the door at many nightclubs in Melbourne in the 80s and early 90s, so she was probably into the more commercial stuff, but it’s considered timeless now—New Order, Depeche Mode, Mister Mister, etc.
I was very lucky to be exposed to this music by my older siblings. I wasn’t aware just how pivotal it would be in shaping my musical palette.
Super early, definitely my older siblings influence. I might have been 9 or 10.
I must have been 17 or 18. I knew what a DJ was, but I’d never seen someone DJ in a clubbing environment. I think it was around 2004/2005. I can’t remember who it was, but I think it was at Q Bar.
Being from Melbourne, I was spoilt for choice when it came to producers and DJs. Luke Chable was an influence, along with his and Phil K’s Lostep project. Infusion, Jamie Stevens, Kasey Taylor, Anthony Pappa, Sean Quinn, JaseFOS, etc. Lance Harrison, when he was at DMC Records, was a big one. Not so much as an act, but he used to man the counter at DMC when I was going in there as a kid, and he’d pick out records for me to listen to because I was too scared to touch anything. He also signed one of my first records to PinkSilver Records circa 2000 (I think).
But the biggest influence for me when I was learning my craft as a producer was definitely Eric Prydz and all his associated monikers. From a mix-down standpoint, his work is phenomenal, and it’s something I still reference today. The Eric Prydz Essential Mix from 2007 taught me a lot about how to build a set—the first hour of it is something special.
I’ve loved his music for years, I keep tabs on when new stuff is released.
The Core is my laptop. I have a 14-inch MacBook Pro, and it’s a beast—it does everything I need. I did have a good collection of hardware in the past: Korg MS2000B (the one with the vocoder), Korg MS20, Elektron Analog Keys, Access Virus TI2, and Prophet Rev2.
I only have the Rev2 and the Virus now, but most of the time, I use software simply for recall and ease of use. I have a pair of IK Multimedia MTM Precision monitors, and they’re phenomenal speakers.
Despite having a nice studio space, I write a lot of ideas while in airports, hotel rooms, or even sitting on the couch at home with a pair of headphones. The studio is great for mixing and doing technical things, but it isn’t the most inspirational space.
I don’t have a DJ setup these days—any spare time I have is spent in the studio creating new music for my gigs.
There’s a lot coming up. A remix for Jamie Stevens called “Rivers,” which is out soon on Late Night Music. There’s also an edit of a remix I did for Syncom Data – “Beyond The Stars” (Speedy J Remix – Mike Rish Edit) coming out on District Records. Another EP and a special Remix EP on Meanwhile are coming out in the first quarter of next year, an EP for Vapour, and a few other things I can’t say much about yet. Lots of music coming.
My next show is on the 14th of December at Selinas in Sydney with Tim Green. The there’s WE ARE LOST Festival in Sydney too in February, plus international shows in the first half of next year.
I very rarely do “Studio Mixes” these days, as I’m lucky enough to tour a bit now, but I’ve always wanted to do a Balance mix since I was a kid. I’ve listened to Balance mixes for a long time, and they helped me learn a lot about DJing—how to build a proper set and keep people engaged.
I remember listening to them, unable to determine where one track finished and where the next began, essentially creating a single piece of music. That’s something I love and something I’m very conscious of when DJing.
For me, I’ve always seen doing a Balance mix as an opportunity to present my musical taste and DJ vocabulary, rather than a platform to showcase the music I make in the studio. That’s what I’ve done here.
This is some of the music I love that I don’t often get the chance to play, and hopefully, I’ve created a bit of a journey over a couple of hours. Studio mixes can be a bit more intentional and prepared, while DJing in a club tends to be more instinctive and off the cuff.
I recorded it live because I find I can get into the groove and timing of things better that way. Ableton is great, but dragging and dropping tracks into a session and then automating EQ and fades is just annoying and boring to me.
Dave Gahan – Dirty, Sticky Floors (Junkie XL Vocal Mix – Patch Park Bootleg) (Unreleased)
Argy – Thick & Thin (from 2010, and still one of my favourite tracks).
Interstellar (I’ve watched more times than I can remember)
Youtube
ADE. 🙂
