Five on Friday with Ricky Meakz

Ricky Meakin is an international DJ, producer and events curator working in Balearic club culture and what he calls extraterrestrial beats. His sound moves through future music, subliminal slomo, electronic dub house and acid disco. He is known for the long set, weaving across dub reggae, Afrobeat and tropical grooves before settling into Italo disco and eighties new beat.

A child of the eighties raised on Technics 1210s and late-decade electro-pop and hip-house, Meakin started young. He was seventeen when he first played to crowds of more than 800 in Derbyshire, and his sound developed through the influence of Andrew Weatherall and Steve Lawler. He has since shared line-ups with Yousef, Darius Syrossian, Dave Beer and Rayko. His Lovebug parties were voted one of the UK’s Top 3 club nights by Mixmag in 2013, and Decoded Magazine named him one of electronic music’s Future Leaders the following year.

In 2016 he founded Till Death Do Us Disco at London’s Horse and Groom, a platform for cosmic, indie and slow-motion acid disco. The project has since grown beyond the dancefloor, taking in events, interviews, art and a streetwear label. TDDUD now reads less like a party and more like a working philosophy. Together We Move.

Since relocating to Ibiza, Meakin has held residencies across the island and launched its first Airbnb Vinyl DJ Experience. He has played Pikes and featured on British Airways inflight radio, and his Mission to Mars mix and interview series is approaching its twentieth edition, with guests including Mr. C, Ilya Santana and Tigerbalm. These days you will find him at WOM Radio Café in Santa Eulària, Jet in Playa d’en Bossa, Funky Room in the Old Town and Ocean Drive in Talamanca, alongside intimate TDDUD pop-ups at Paradise Lost showcasing the island’s local talent.

There is more in the pipeline. The debut TDDUD streetwear collection arrives by invitation at a creative art gallery in Ibiza, marking a decade of the project. In the studio, he has been working on a series of three-track EPs, the first due on BOIET Music in the coming months.

Here are Ricky Meakin‘s Five on Friday with The Red Telephone and catch him next at:

Daisy shake @ Pear Tree – Derby 25th July

Comica & Escucha @ Karma Santum – Soho, London 26th July

Happenin @ Jet Apartments – Playa Den Bossa, Ibiza 16th August 

Till Death Do Us Disco @ Paradise Lost – Vila, Ibiza 22nd August

Till Death Do Us Disco @ Belong Bar, Derby 25th Sept

Lovezoo @ Unit 13, Nottingham

Código y Marfil – Señora

Time to start the engines! A mysterious, Balearic spacey groove with organic percussion and a driving rhythm that sets the tone and pace for the perfect early warm-up set.

Greece 2000 

This is probably the greatest rework you will ever find… Martin Brodin recreates an absolute masterpiece. It just keeps on driving, building, chugging along with that beautiful euphoric melody and wrapping it in a warm, grungy nu-disco/indie dance groove. What a ride!

Ilya Santana – Hypo Disco

This does exactly what it says on the tin. Shimmering synths, a galloping off-beat groove, and a cosmic energy that feels like you’re boarding the next shuttle to outer space. Ilya Santana never fails. What a belter.

Parkwerks – Inheret Dub

Got to thank S/A/M for this one when she dropped it for its 10th anniversary! No gimmicks, no big drops—just pure nostalgic skipping bounce that lock you in from start to finish. A proper heads-down chugger.

Loco Mia (Red Axes Edita)

A playful, hypnotic rework with that Balearic funk, giving a nostalgic classic a fresh, bouncy twist and a catchy vocal hook. Fun, infectious, and just a little bit cheeky.

by Damo Red Telephone

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