I first heard the name Dylan Rhymes when I discovered Whole9Yards – the UK record label that would forever change my taste in electronic music. It started with Dark Globe, then I discovered Meat Katie and Elite Force. I knew Lee Coombs from Fingerlickin’… but this was the beginning of my love-affair with all things tech-funk.

The record store I frequented the most in LA at the time was on Melrose Avenue… one of the shop DJs knew I was into breaks and ordered me all kinds of great stuff from the UK. After moving from LA to Chicago and Gramophone Records being my new home for music – it didn’t take long for the shop to know all Lot49 music would be purchased (at $12 per 12″) by yours truly.

Almost as quickly as I had discovered this music, I made my first visit to San Francisco – where a talented young DJ named shOOey was playing Salty at a small bar in the Mission. I knew at that moment that this town “got it”… not less than 4 hours later I would hear Melyss play my all-time favorite Rhymes track Party People at an underground Opel event. This was May of 2005. It was decided: we had to move to San Francisco.

It is fitting that we feature Dylan Rhymes this week – the 8th anniversary of Opel is this weekend. I know SF has become as special of a place to Marvin as it has to me, so I decided to ask him a little about his experiences in the city on the bay:

JR: When did you first hear about breaks being popular in San Francisco?
DR: Before my first trip, which seems an age ago now, I had heard there was a big party scene in SF. For such a relatively small city I was amazed at how many people were in to the whole underground culture. Luckily having always worked with Opel promotions there I wasn’t DJing to a one genre crowd. They were very accepting of all styles of dance music which was great for me as I play a lot of different music.

JR: What is the most special about visiting and/or playing in San Francisco for you?
DR: I love going to SF because it is one of the most welcoming places I have ever been to. There is a great spirit amongst the people that live there and I have made some amazing friends. The shows are always fantastic but you gotta prepare for the after party onslaught

JR: Can you share with us a memorable moment from your gigs at Opel over the past several years?
DR: One of many special moments I can remember was playing @ Mezzanine with my Label partner Meat Katie. Prior to the party there was a fashion show of all local talented designers and manufacturers. It blew my mind the work and effort that went in to this production and how well it went. It was only my 2nd or 3rd time in SF and this experience cemented the fact that it would be my number 1 destination to play.

JR: What is it like playing at Opulent Temple at Burning Man?
DR: It is an experience which I find hard to describe as every time I think about it I conjure up different moods and memories. You have to go to Burning Man to fully comprehend and appreciate the hedonism of it all. I guess the easiest way I can describe playing there is to imagine thousands of people in front of you that are having the best time of their life and you are responsible. At the risk of sounding like a Trance DJ, I would say EUPHORIC…if that’s allowed?

JR: What is different about playing in SF compared to other cities around the world?
DR: The main differences are the crowd is very open to different styles and they are out to party. It’s a very simple process for the Bay Area people……they go out…..they get down……they enjoy themselves! SIMPLE!

I would like to thank Marvin for participating in this years “Take Five” (we did a five question interview with Syd Gris last year prior to the Opel 7 year anniversary). His music has been an inspiration to me and I am thrilled we could feature an amazing mix of his this week on Jungo Road.

A little more about our friend Marvin…

Dance music has been the biggest part of Rhyme’s life from a young age. Inspired by early hip hop and electro a la Kraftwerk and Doug E. Fresh, Marvin purchased his first set of decks at 15 and caught the bug in a bad way. Rhythm Design Studios in Uxbridge became the birthplace of Outsiders, Drake and Beaver’s much-lauded project for Junior Boy’s Own Chicago influenced Jus Trax label. Friend, DJ and London mainstay Clive Henry then joined the team and the trio became Peace Division, a project that gained props from every corner of dance music without exception.

Since then he has cemented his reputation as one of the leaders of the breakbeat and tech house scenes through his output through Kingsize Records, Meat Katie’s Whole9Yards and Lot49 labels and his own Blue Black imprint. Besides original work, Beaver has also remixed the likes of Deep Dish, Infusion, Dave Gahan, BT, Overseer, Unkle and Puretone while he has collaborated with Meat Katie, Christian J, Force Mass Motion (as Silencer) and Anthony J Gorry (on his 2004 album, Dead Famous).

Catch Dylan Rhymes in the US over the next month or so starting this Saturday February 27th at Mighty (SF) for the Opel 8 Year Anniversary, March 6th in Tucson, AZ at The Rock, and then March 16th & 18th at SXSW as part of Lot49’s Texas invasion!

More about Dylan Rhymes on his site, Lot49, MySpace, SoundCloud, and Twitter.

Booking: Click to reveal email

Stream the mix and support the musicians by purchasing the tracks and hearing them played live! You can also download this full podcast mix above.

1. Dylan Rhymes + Meat Katie – ONLY YOU (Haggstrom remix)
2. Etienne De Crecy – Move
3. Zoo Brazil – FANCY (Popof remix)
4. Andreas Henneberg, Simon2 – BOLINGO GRINGO
5. Dylan Rhymes + Meat Katie – ONLY YOU (Echo Vacio Remix)
6. Reset Robot – v3
7. Thomas Schumacher – HEAT IT UP
8. G.e.R.M. – GLITTERBALL (Dylan Rhymes re-shift)
9. Odissi – DIRTY SECRETS
10. Cirez D – On Off + Depeche Mode – PEACE (Accapella)