November 15, 2018

To some, the name Silverlining might invoke hazy scenes during the 1990s of rumbling bass lines, flickering high hats, and dubbed out vocals in cavernous underground spaces. For those hearing it for the first time, there is a freshness and authenticity that emerges from his trademark aesthetic. Clearly, the Silverlining sound has withstood the test of time.

For this mix, I decided to dig deep through my shelves and return to some music that I used to play when I first started out in the mid 90s that still sounds fresh to me, with some new releases thrown in. It is largely electronic and instrumental, starting off melodically and building up to some thumpers. It twists and turns and through a few moods and genres but I tried to keep a groove throughout. As well as a few timeless classics, there are some lesser-known gems that are still available for less than $10, and a couple of my own. It has been a real pleasure to put together! — Silverlining

Silverlining, aka Asad Rizvi, accidentally fell into DJing in 1993. A London pirate radio station had invited him to host an experimental techno show. At the time, he was the only person they know with records of that sort. He expected this to be a short-lived stint for fun upon first committing his early productions to vinyl in 1995. The intention was to have a go at making records that mixed the shuffle-heavy grooves of US house and the abstract energy of deep techno, using the mixing desk as an instrument in the way that the early dub technicians did in Jamaica. Before long, he was booked to play his first gigs from Brixton to Berlin to Buenos Aires.

Over twenty years later, the man-hours he has put into the studio and decks can be heard at every instance. With over 150 releases under different names, old titles recently have been fetching up to £75 in the Discogs marketplace. In response, he launched the Silverlining Dubs imprint to make the music accessible to ordinary vinyl buyers. The label has addressed the demand, whilst re-contextualizing the sought-after back catalogue with fresh tracks, re-edits, and lesser-known gems. All titles have hit the top 10 genre vinyl charts on Juno, with one number one. After years of using aliases, he has reinvented the Silverlining guise with the benefit of an additional 20 years experience.

All the while, his sophisticated, party-savvy DJ sets have been tickling feet and minds alike in over 40 countries. He’s played hundreds of venues, warehouses to festival main stages, with repeat bookings too numerous to count. He has remained a proponent of some of the world’s finest but lesser-discussed party scenes, such as those on the West Coast of USA and Canada, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Brazil and more. Straddling the lines between the new and the old school, Silverlining’s DJ sets encapsulate a broad spectrum of moods that can be communicated within the 4/4 and electro format.

Although he continues to create unique blend of house, techno, and electro, he insists that it is not ‘tech house’. Beyond the Silverlining name, his other work spans many other genres and influences. His breadth of taste is adjoined by a common groove that can be found in his extensive record collection. The Silverlining sound is unmistakeable yet uncontainable, and it just needs to be heard.

Silverlining Mix Tracklist:
1. Electrospy – Voice [0:00]
2. A1 People – Do It (Metamatics Mix) [3:04]
3. Silverlining- Nanoschnitzel[7:09]
4. Link & E621 – Antacid (Jedi Knights Remix) [11:53]
5. Spookin’ Tha House – Dissolve [15:43]
6. Stasis – Point of No Return [20:35]
7. Anthony Teasdale – Sensual Emotions [25:12]
8. DJ Profile – Reverberations [28:48]
9. Karnak – Ooh Baby [33:16]
10. A.J. Sound – Basemental [38:16]
11. Berkana Sowelu – Solid Fuel (Morph Remix) [44:02]
12. Billy Nightmare – Is This The Life For Me [46:52]
13. Unknown Artist – Untitled [50:04]
14. Schizophonic – The Treatment (DJ Buck’s Medicine Mix) [53:50]
15. Savas Pascalidis – My Definition Of A Track [56:41]
16. The Wyka Men – Basket [1:00:36]
17. Unknown Artist – Mal [1:04:01]
18. DJ Ali – Change (Secondo Remix) [1:05:37]
19. Yoshinori Sunahara – Journey Beyond The Stars [1:08:17]
20. The Signal Phantasm – Crackdown [1:13:03]