Imagine selecting just ten of the (probably) hundreds of online mixes you listened to this year. Sounds tough, doesn't it? That's what we've tried to do below, hacking through the thicket to find the streams that stuck with our staff the most in 2022. From a triumphant year for fabric presents—the successor to the most iconic mix series of all time—to incredible live recordings, record digging bonanzas and mixes that cut across time (quest?onmarq's incredible jungle session) and genre (Juba's remarkable connect-the-dots of Afro-diasporic dance music), these are the mixes we rinsed day in and day out this year.

Mix of the Year

- Juba
  Fact Mix 878
  
  Zipline through a pastiche of Afro-electronic sounds, both domestic and diasporic. Juba, a British-Nigerian DJ who was recently featured in our newest episode of Soundtracking, cherrypicks from gqom, global club, techno and amapiano (the scene's consistent genre du jour) with an energetic panache more often reserved for dancers in front of the decks. The hour-and-a-half, which "ends on a rhythmic high," in the artist’s own words, boasts cameo tracks from the veritable who's-who of the Black underground: DJ Lag, Anz, DJ Swisha, Griffit Vigo and Juba's close friend and promising talent Gafacci.
  
  At a most unexpected apotheosis, she tucks in a tasteful Avicii bootleg by Dee Traits as well as the Pearson Sound remix of Nick León's "Xtasis (feat. Dj Babatr)", AKA RA's track of the year. Both inclusions mirror two ubiquitous trends of 2022: the Latin-infused techno and pop edit predilections of the underground—signifying the savviness of a selector in the know. All in all, the mix delivers an uppercut of infectious optimism in a new chapter defined by post-pandemic growing pains. —Whitney Wei

- Leon Vynehall
  fabric presents
  
  Creative pressure is a very real thing for artists. How does one constantly evolve and meet—even surpass—their best work? Leon Vynehall seems to know the answer. Since 2018's powerful conceptual album Nothing Is Still, the UK musician has matured from a talented club producer into a storyteller par excellence, weaving original and compelling narratives through sound. 2019's RA-recommended DJ-Kicks was one of the best mixes that year. Now, in 2022, he's charted again.
  
  Like DJ-Kicks, fabric presents Leon Vynehall is all about dynamics, except this time the focus is on the club. You'd think that might be restrictive, but Vynehall is a master at finding common threads and energies in disparate musical worlds. Here, work by Mala, A2, Or:la, Ehua, Lady Blacktronika, Commodo, Hagan, Skee Mask and textures from so many other producers hang together in a smoky, soulful soup. The stitching is sublime, the music consistently excellent. At points, it's enough to take your breath away. —Carlos Hawthorn
- Joe Delon
  Live At Dimensions 2021
  
  Hot take: Joe Delon likes dance music more than just about anyone. He tours all the time, but still finds time to write a regular newsletter about everything going on around him. As a DJ he exudes enthusiasm, playing groovy records that run the gamut from sleek contemporary tech house to old school Italo classics. This live recording from Dimensions captures his range perfectly: he starts low and slow, but just as things get a bit heady, he makes a U-turn with the outrageous vocal track "Adventure" by Eleanor and Shep Pettibone. From there, things dart between the cerebral and the cheesy. Vintage hip house gives way to G-funk-laced electro and acid before dissipating into celestial techno and old school rave. It's hard to imagine that even the security team wasn't losing it during this masterclass in Tisno. —Henry Ivy
- Yumi
  Accidental Meetings Podcast #72
  
  New York DJ Yumi was probably a new name to a lot of people when they first heard this mix for UK platform Accidental Meetings, but anyone who did listen was probably left hungry for more. This 66-minute journey is the kind of unassuming but carefully built mix that lays eggs in your brain and hatches weeks later. Eventually, before you know it, you'll memorize every transition. Speaking of transitions, they're all remarkably seamless as Yumi blends together odd tracks at various tempos, gradually pulling off a 30 BPM change so impeccably that you barely notice it. Maybe RA staffer livwutang put it best in one of the SoundCloud comments: "dude [this] is fucking wild… im glad im alive to hear this sound." —Andrew Ryce
- D Dan
  HÖR, January 13 2022
  
  Berlin-based DJ and Mala Junta resident D.Dan had a big year. Seemingly unknown during the recesses of the pandemic, he catapulted to international acclaim in the last 18 months, not only because of his unanticipated glut of speed-demon dance floor releases—all of which skirt the 150 BPM mark—but also because of his position at the helm of a refreshing new trend towards nimble, groovy techno. His HÖR Berlin mix from January this year perfectly encapsulates this style. Minimal yet replete with understated hooks, it layers psychedelic flurries of toms with tribal drums, house vocals and trancey melodic fills. Strategically moving from rhythmic tracks to deep peak-time riffs and back, he showcases here why he's become such a lauded underground tastemaker—and a name to watch. —Chloe Lula
- Quest?onmarq
  Juanita's 063
  
  "Spiraling" is a concept central to quest?onmarq's work. The New York-based DJ hosts a Lot Radio show of the same name, which sees them exploring a vast range of genres, from breaks to gqom, experimental and the harder regions of techno. They are not only technically skilled, but they have also been gifted with an insatiable curiosity about music, which allows them to play pretty much anything. For the 420-themed mix series, Juanita's—a platform on which DJs typically showcase the slower, sweet-tempered end of their collections—quest?onmarq turned to hazy breaks. The windswept mix breezes past early works like Equinox's rattling "Taking Over" to contemporary jungle like "For The Headstrong" by Tim Reaper & Response. It's a tutorial in considered pacing, showcasing how to play fast while maintaining a subdued energy. —Kiana Mickles
- Toumba
  Untitled 909 117
  
  Dubby, dark and loaded with gnarly bassweight, Toumba's Untitled 909 Podcast is a beastly mix that infuses halftime mutations with a sense of industrial-tinged dread. It's a perfect introduction to the Amman-based artist, whose style nods to Nervous Horizon, Hessle Audio (home to his latest EP) and Nyege Nyege Tapes. The up-and-coming producer shows off his love for tectonic basslines, footwork, hiphop, Middle East folk rhythms and hybrid club music from the developing world during this 80-minute session, which features South Korea's NET GALA gqom ensemble Phelimuncasi reworked into a glitchy bricolage, as well as Dua Saleh's delicate trap. Toumba plays for the dance floor, but he's not afraid to indulge in experimental atmospherics and distorted textures either. This sense of adventure makes this mix powerful—and a whole lot of fun. —Nyshka Chandran
- Kilopatrah Jones
  Honcho Podcast Series 108
  
  On September 15th, Haitian-born, Queens-based DJ Kilopatrah Jones wrote on Instagram: "When you think of house music, what do you think of? For me, it's house dancing, getting free on the beat with a friend [you] made on the dance floor." The 108th edition of the Honcho Podcast Series, delivered by Jones as a special Pride mix, encapsulates this feeling—the joy of dancing, moving your body in sync with the kindred spirit on the dance floor you met just moments ago. Full of piano riffs, sensual vocals and a whole lot of groove, Kilopatrah Jones's Honcho offering is an hour of brilliant, ecstatic house that will make you dance until you sweat. —Katie Thomas
- Truly Madly
  BSU 066
  
  It's possible that Michael Joyce, AKA Truly Madly, is jumping between two or three different tracks in the first six minutes of his Butter Side Up Mix. It's also entirely possible that Joyce owns a 12-inch that somehow overlays sweeping chords with gurning rave stabs, rolling hand drums and short-circuiting electrical currents. The fact that we'll likely never know the answer is part of the fun (plus, it's not like we'd be able to find any of the records he plays anyways). This two-hour treasure trove of all things '90s sees Joyce in particularly bouncy and jubilant form. There are Latin-flavored rhythms, vintage NY vocals, and little bits of proper late night garage. The mixing is seamless without being showy, and Joyce keeps us on the edge of our seats the whole time, wondering what Shazam-breaking gem he'll reach for next. —H.I.
- Jon K
  Live From Sugar Hill
  
  Striking twists and turns are what make Live From Sugar Hill such a sharp and dynamic mix worthy of the physical media it was released on. Taken from Jon Kraus's set for Club Night Club at Brooklyn’s Sugar Hill Disco in September 2021, the cassette (released this year) niftily winds through bouts of grime, baile funk, gqom, ballroom and Jersey club like an alpine skier through a mogul field. Moments of more atmospheric, experimental tunes tease respite here and there, but Kraus knows the attention span of a dance floor all too well. On Live From Sugar Hill, a volley of breaks or a wall of kick drums is always only just around the corner. —Joseph Francis