“As a kid I could never fall asleep without my headphones,” reveals Adam Dove aka Nexcyia, speaking to Rob Turner. “I remember falling asleep listening to Jay-Z and Kid Cudi: it became ambient to me.” London based artist Dove aims to create sonic experiences akin to an augmented reality through sound collages, installations and manipulated video work. In his interview in The Wire 461, Dove discusses Afro-surrealism, the sonification of race, his own introduction to ambient music whilst being hospitalised, and more.

Here, Dove shares a brand new mix featuring tracks by several of his musical acquaintances, and others. “This mix was inspired by a quote from the book Invisible Man (1952) by Ralph Ellison,” says Nexcyia over email, “I now can see the darkness of lightness. And I love light. Perhaps you'll think it strange that an invisible man should need light, desire light, love light. But maybe it is exactly because I am invisible. Light confirms my reality, gives birth to my form.”

“I wanted to sonify the idea that the darkness of lightness can confirm presence,” he continues, “some of the tracks by Racine evoke these feelings, as well as, feelings of otherness and loneliness – I wanted to compile tracks that evoke meditative temple-like atmospheres.”

Tracklist

Racine “Trois Cent Trente-Trois Lettres Imparfaites”
Racine “Ibiza”
Racine “Grosso”
Xphresh “One Kiss”
Ben Bondy “Spring”
Ben Bondy “Dream Bleed”
TIBSLC “Hypertranslucent”
Mistareez “Skate 2”
mu tate “Human Occupied Spaces”
mu tate “Allowing To Exist”
Nexcyia “Apex (Extended)”
Keru Not Ever “Mon Dos Contre Ta Mezzanine (Après Monk Feldman)”

Read The Wire's full interview with Nexcyia in The Wire 461. Subscribers can also read the article online via the digital archive. Nexcyia will perform as part of The Wire's 40th anniversary celebrations at The Wire 40 × Below The Radar alongside Venus Ex Machina and Malvern Brume at London Spanners on 9 July. Advanced tickets available here.