First making a name for themselves through their sporadic parties in and around the capital, London-based duo Good Block subsequently turned their attentions to production, crafting a bunch of DJ friendly edits which were given away for free.
In 2019, on their new eponymous label, they dropped their first EP of original music in the form of 4 Corners, a globe-trotting journey through synth-pop, new age and Juno jams. Just over two years later, their sophomore EP Aquaculture followed, showcasing an evolution in their sound that sat somewhere between synthetic and organic, matching instrumentation with dreamy samples and synths.
Taking a free-flowing approach to their four hour mix, against the backdrop of the sunset Good Block spent a late afternoon selecting oddball gems from across the globe and playing B2B for the duration.
(Extended Mix) is a new charitable series that celebrates all-night specialists and more simple, carbon-friendly lineups. Instead of paying on the door for this extended experience, we invite listeners to donate to the DJ directly while their gigs are cancelled, or to a chosen charity. Good Block have chosen to pair their mix with Safe Passage, who campaign for and help child refugees to access legal routes to safety.
First off, how have you been finding lockdown? What has been the biggest challenge and more positive outcome you’ve experienced through extended time at home?
The initial lockdown stopped us from pressing our second EP and looking back we were glad to have the extra time to work further on it. We also enjoyed finding more ambient and dub music which wasn’t dancefloor focused.
Thanks for recording an extended mix for us. How did you find the recording process?
Thanks for having us! We love playing from start to finish in clubs, bars and venues as it gives us the opportunity to play across the board, so in a way we treated it like that and enjoyed the fact we didn’t need to be overly precious about it.
How did you approach the mix? Did you have an idea in mind beforehand? Was there much pre-planning or did you just trust your instincts?
Normally we like to have some sort of plan beforehand but as this was a longer recording we decided it was best to just hit record and go with our instincts. We each pulled out some records one afternoon and selected some music from our USBs, playing B2B for the duration.
Could you talk us through a couple standouts from set?
We wanted to play some new music as well as old and recent finds. A release from Ronan (Inner Totality) under his Silkies moniker and a couple of new ones from us – including a new track coming out on an amazing Planet Trip compilation with loads of great artists. Also a nice chunk of dub we found over the past few months.
Where’s been your favourite place to play an all-night set?
Brilliant Corners in London, Caracol in Sao Paulo, Faith In Strangers in Margate and Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh come to mind.
Who are some of your favourite all-night specialists?
We have not seen all of these play all night but we know they would be amazing: Hampus Time, Bahamian Moor, Bonnefooi, Ramzi, Orpheu The Wizard, Lauren Hansom, Niall Kirk, Mr Pedro, Mike Who, Yibing, Maybe Tonight, Esa, Sheitan Brothers, Craig Ouar, Bayete, Dar Disku, Millos Kaiser, Flo Dill, DJ Chance Da Silva, Mr Pedro, Dene La Casa Tropical, Kayne The Hermit, the Gop Tun crew, Ryan Spencer, Mike Spencer, Coolant Bowser, Invisible City, John Gomez, Richard Sen, Brian Not Brian, Apiento, Piers Harrison, Yucca Mu, DJ soFa, The Alter Disco crew, Mogwaa, Sam Donnison, Customs, Free Dots, Dino Soccio, Callum Duff, Alexis Le-Tan, Trepanado, Raw Silk, Jex Opolis, Bianca Lexis, Heels & Souls, 404 Eros, Dea Barandana, Hunee, Antal, Paula Tape, River Yarra, Kool TY, Mori Ra, J.A.Z, Eddie C, Jita Sensation, Spud Roots, George Kamm, Lipelis, Secretsundaze, Iggy P, GFH, Souvenir, Jon K, Phuk Hugh, Basso, Heap, Tom Bolas, Steele Bonus, Running Hot, Optimo, Hypnotic Tango, Henry Smiling C, Renata Do Valle, Mike Burns, Sacha Mambo, Sputnik Space bar, VIO Dj, DJ Vegetable, Trujillo, Lorem Ipsum, Archive Digital, Minus Kendal and Matt Shaw.
Tell us a bit more about your chosen charity – what work do they do and why is it so important to you?
We’d like to donate to Safe Passage as we hope everyone can have the best start to life as possible.
