TEED’s contribution to !K7’s long-running DJ-Kicks series brings together the different strands that have shaped his relationship with electronic music over the years. Raised between classical training, church music and an early immersion in jungle and drum & bass, his perspective has always moved between discipline and instinct, structure and release. Rather than focusing on peak-time club energy, the mix is built around a more subtle emotional register: the build-up, the shift in mood, and the sense of expectation that frames a night out before it fully begins.
Having spent over a decade living in Los Angeles, he also reflects a city where nightlife operates with a particular openness — defined less by genre than by attitude, community and atmosphere. From formative experiences at parties like A Club Called Rhonda to the wider club landscape, LA runs through the selection without ever fixing it in place. The result is a set that moves between intensity and restraint, clarity and blur, where transitions carry as much weight as destination, shaped by memory, environment and instinct. We caught up with TEED to discuss the release.
Your DJ-Kicks feels rooted in a very specific feeling: the anticipation of a night out rather than the night itself. What was it about that idea of “pre-gaming” that made it the right starting point for this mix?
I was thinking about when people listen to mixes in this era we are in, and which of those times is most exciting for me to work towards. I don’t like the phrase “pre-gaming” so much, but I do really like what it is. The few hours before going out for a big night is such a big part of the whole thing (if you want it to be), and I sort of romanticised it in my head for this mix
You mentioned revisiting classic DJ-Kicks from artists like Tiga, Erlend Øye and Honey Dijon while preparing the mix. What does joining that lineage mean to you, and did it change how you approached the project?
It’s an honour to be a part of it. I’ve been listening since the beginning and some of the albums were formative, introducing me to new music that changed my life. I remember sharing headphones with my sister on a bus while she showed me the Erlend Øye album. Hearing the Kemistry and Storm album coming from another sister’s bedroom. And everyone I knew seemed to have the Kruder & Dorfmeister DJ Kicks album. I listened back to some of my favourites and the recent releases as the first phase of working on my own one, looking for what to lean into and what I wanted to avoid. I was drawn to the Dj-Kicks with the most amount of ideas!
You have now spent more than a decade living in Los Angeles, and the mix feels infused with the city’s energy. In what ways did LA shape the sound and atmosphere of this DJ-Kicks?
It’s so hard to answer that directly. Places and scenes contain attitudes and values, atmosphere and unspoken histories. There are always people who’ve been there way longer than you have, and there are people arriving today who could change everything. LA nightlife always seemed like an adventure you could write for yourself. It wasn’t so concerned with genre, more about how you liked to party, what people and places you wanted to be around, and the music followed that. That’s how I always experienced it anyway. I can’t understate the impact of A Club Called Rhonda, I think I first played for them in 2013 and have been playing or just going to party with that crew ever since. I think this mix is indebted to that specific party. I have to add that in my experience pre and post pandemic LA nightlife are two very different things, and like so many places it was better before.
There is a real sense of optimism running through the mix, even as it moves into deeper and more introspective territory. What draws you to that balance between euphoria and reflection?
I’m so glad you hear that. Optimism is the only choice! I’m always drawn to music that has those qualities. Thinking about it now that you mention it, it’s how you might describe a lot of my favourite dance music. At the risk of stating the obvious here, there is a very popular and clearly credible layer of dance music that is just aesthetics and style, and I’ve always been more interested in the intentionally expressive stuff.
Several of your own tracks were completely reworked for this release. When revisiting older music, do you hear the artist you were at the time, or are you more interested in what those songs can become in the present?
Returning to old session files is like time travel. I can see what was going on in my head from the music and I immediately remember what was going on in my life. It’s fascinating but it’s dangerous, for example I’m very cautious about going back and listening to unreleased sessions – those can really make me feel dizzy and sad. It’s very fun to revise an old song though, I recommend it.
The mix gradually shifts from vocal-led house into something more hypnotic, psychedelic and dreamlike. Do you think the most memorable nights out are defined by those subtle transformations rather than the obvious peak moments?
I have found that the nights people remember are the ones where I talk the biggest risks. It sounds overblown but I’ve been stopped in the street to talk about an ambient record I played at the wrong time fifteen years ago. People appreciate musical statements, but the gravitational pull of keeping the dancefloor going discourages djs from going there. I find it always pays off though, I’ve never regretted it.
The closing moments of the mix feel almost spiritual, particularly with Malibu’s “Spicy City” and its choir-like textures. Did putting together this mix reveal any new connections between your childhood experiences in church music and the music you make today?
Malibu is so good, perfectly extracted lines of renaissance choral music, removed with a scalpel. It’s both clinical and romantic. Jacques Greene generously provided an exclusive track for the album that also had a floating etherial vocal and I love that I got to end the mix like this. To answer your question though; I have fortunately always felt the presence of classical and choral music when I work. I imagine the script would be that as a teenager I turned my back on my traditional and academic music education, but I just stayed in love with it the whole time. The divide between genres shouldn’t be taken seriously.
Growing up between classical training, church music and jungle records feels like an unusual combination of influences. Looking back now, can you trace a thread that connects those seemingly different worlds?
I’m certain that most people enjoy both things, I don’t think its unusual. When I was a kid I thought a lot of classical music was beautiful and sophisticated, and when I got into jungle music I had the same reaction. It was so clever, imaginative and powerful. I recognised it was serious music made by dedicated artists.
You have spoken about electronic music in terms of love, obsession and even addiction. Looking back on the years you spent skipping school to buy records and chasing new sounds, what do you think you were really searching for through music at that age?
Good question! Magic.
TEED began almost accidentally, as a project that was never really intended to become a career. At what point did the joke become something more serious, and how has your relationship with the project changed as you have grown older?
The project kept surprising me, opportunities would come and I had to take them. In a way, the sillier aspects of it kept me safe from some of the pressures and insanity of the industry. I often think that if I had taken myself entirely seriously I would not have survived some of the harder moments. I’m grateful for the whole thing, and really the fans and other musicians who made me feel part of the whole thing.
Throughout the mix there is a tension between experience and memory, movement and stillness, the dance floor and something more personal. When you listen back to it now, does it feel more like a portrait of Los Angeles, or a portrait of yourself at this particular moment in time? –
I recognise my style in it. And I think the DJs and dancers in my corner of the LA scene will recognise the city in it. When I occasionally listen to old mixes of mine I’m often struck by the thought that I like it and would make the same choices now. But when I listen to my original music from years ago, I mostly think about how I would do it differently. I do think this mix speaks of my time in LA, I hope I did it some justice.
