Dekmantel Podcast 458 - Mia Koden

Dekmantel Podcast Series

Mia Koden (@miakoden) first emerged as half of Sicaria Sound but since breaking out alone has established her own musical identity. It draws on her South Sudanese heritage and music from across the African continent and beyond, not least her current surroundings in South London and the city's rich sound system culture. Often operating around the 140BPM mark, she dropped two head-turning tracks ‘Hot Take' and 'I Did’ early last year then debuted on Ilian Tape with a dark and irresistible EP that traverses multiple bass-heavy genres. Mia does the same with her mix for us this week with, in her words, "bass, percussive, 2step, 140BPM, dubstep, dub, dub techno and breaks" all coming thick and fast at up to 150 beats per minute. It's a breathless 90-minute selection of global body music packed with lively percussion, big on low ends and not afraid to get rhythmically inventive while also dropping in the odd playful vocal from the worlds of grime and r&b. Both technically sound and tastefully assembled, it's a thrilling statement from the vital Koden.