trance-tinged slow motion house music for the lockdown generation.

After delivering one of our first mixes back in 2018, Tom ‘TJ’ Johnstone returns to the Lazydaze series with a set of ‘90s inspired cosmic house.

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How did you decide to approach your Lazydaze mix? Was there a theme or concept or inspiration behind it? I don’t know how to describe the genre properly but I've been really getting to a lot of cosmic house vibes, there seems to be a bit of a resurgence lately. Listening to Aussies Roza Terenzi and Guy Contact inspired me to start digging around a bit more to find that similar vibe at a lower tempo.

I always have a big playlist of lower tempo tunes which I group into different styles and the tracks in this mix started to gravitate towards each other so it was a matter of getting a nice flow out of them.

Any favourite tracks or moments in there for you? The first track ‘Cafe Iguana’ by Research Club sets the mix off perfectly for me so I built around that.  I love the ominous chords that come in and sit on top of the quirky acid bassline.

How have you been keeping productive and sane during lockdown? Are there any daily non-negotiables that you make sure you stick to? At the moment the Olympics have been getting me through and taking up a lot of viewing time. Other than that I play a lot of backgammon online and recently have delved back into chess which for me is a love/hate relationship.

Have you read any good books that you’d recommend for lockdown reading? Two favourite books I’ve read recently are the classics ‘Perfume’ by Patrick Süskind and ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ by Oscar Wilde. Both are so beautifully written I’m always amazed by how someone can put words together so effortlessly. Especially Perfume, the way Patrick describes smell in so many different ways and brings it to life.

What’s your favourite album of 2021 so far and why? ALPHA by Charlotte Day Wilson, with the standout track being ‘If I Could’. The lyrics are beautiful and she has such a knack for hooky vocals without being sickly sweet. She reminds me of older Jessie Ware stuff who I’m a big fan of.

Favourite album for chilling out at home? I was lucky enough to recently pick up Tourist by St. Germain on vinyl at the Glebe Record Fair. It’s the perfect background to put on and lounge about the house.

You can check out the full tracklist for TJ’s mix over at SoundCloud.