Fact Mix 825: DJ Bowlcut

South Korea’s DJ Bowlcut takes us hitchhiking in hyperspace.

Juhwan You, better known in his native South Korea as DJ Bowlcut, is one of the country’s most accomplished turntablists and co-founder of Seoul Community Radio, a focal point of the city’s vibrant electronic music scene. While he has recently gravitated towards house and techno, his dynamic blends and cuts carry over the same energy of his early days as a scratch DJ.

DJ Bowlcut’s own tracks combine the influence of hip-hop with house to create lush, mid-tempo bangers that draw on acid house, ambient and classic breakbeat: his track ‘Aurora Borealis’, released in 2018 on Phutureshock Musik, is a lo-fi gem that found fans in Josey Rebelle and Erol Alkan. His tracks have been released on a number of labels, including Seoul label Honey Badger Recordings and MoMa Ready and AceMo’s Haus of ALTR.

On this week’s Fact Mix, DJ Bowlcut delivers a masterclass in classic and contemporary house and techno, diving deep into his collection for a globetrotting mix that was inspired by David Choe, an American artist, musician and journalist born to Korean parents who hitchhiked across the USA, China and from Tijuana to the North Pole in a series of documentaries.

“One of the best Korean artists I admire is David Choe,” DJ Bowlcut says. “He is often portrayed as American but for me in a way he is the most Korean person I can choose – his personality and his work inspired me a lot as I’m a Korean who forces myself not to follow typical stereotypes.”

“Recently I watched all of his Hitchhiking series and I made a mix with his voice sampled over my set, recording a concept mix of hitchhiking in a hyperspace land. I chose tunes that I’ve been listening to recently, especially early Sheffield bleep house and some of amazing tech house tunes from the early 2000s, plus tunes of today from countries all over the world, including Japan, Korea, the UK, Israel and Brazil. You can imagine yourself hitchhiking around the world with this little mix.”

Find DJ Bowlcut on Instagram and SoundCloud, and find his music at Bandcamp. For more on Seoul Community Radio, explore its recent Fact Residency here.

Tracklist:

Aghnie – ‘Amazon’s Very Best’
Arcarsenal – Vees
Bernard – ‘Adjust and Proceed’ (Silverlining Remix) / 
Relative Progress – ‘Getting There’
Bubble Factory – ‘Mad Up’
Timmy S & JB – ‘I Got You’
Antoine Sy – ‘Carpet Paradise’
Local Dub – ‘Fur Coat’
Diego Krause – ‘Touchstone’
Baby Rollen – ‘Data Breach’
MYKI – ‘Gamma Closure’
Doildosi – ‘Until Dawn’
Claude Bachor – ‘Greencard’ (Extended Hypnofunk Mix)
Kino Moderno – ‘Acid Water’
DJ Fett Burger – ‘Edging on the Street’
???? – A girl with ukulele sings a song at Reno City from Hitchhiking from Tijuana to North Pole : Thumbs up season 2 

All voice samples of David Choe from The Joe Rogan Experience and Hitchhiking from Tijuana to the North Pole: Thumbs Up Season 2