ATQPOD036 || Damion Pell

Updated: Nov 1, 2021

Damion Pell gifts us with the 36th Arteq podcast, and damn, this is fire. The world-recognised Decoded Magazine owner has amassed this set with top shelf electronic music from start to finish, and it is an honour to finally share this with you.

Damion has spent the last 8 years building the Decoded Magazine and you should check it out at www.decodedmagazine.com - there is some incredibly cool content & on their page, as well as an array of services they provide. Thank you for your commitment to the industry Damion, you are an Everyday Hero!

Electrifying, driving, moving dance music. Enjoy the beats Arteq family!

More from Arteq and Damion Pell below.

Who is Damion Pell?

Well, I've been called a few things over the years, but currently I am the Editor and Co-owner of Decoded Magazine, based in London.

What direction did you take on the podcast?

It's always difficult putting together mixes in general, most of the time, they can take a month to collate the sounds I want, I've even been known to take up to 3 months for a specific mix once. I am quite lucky to be given a ridiculous amount of new music each week, of course I can never get through them all, but once and awhile, I like to listen. These days I'm mostly on Bandcamp finding artists or finding new sounds on mixes. I love so many styles of electronic music, from dub techno to indie electronica. This mix I started out wanting to go a certain direction, but quickly found myself going another way. Expect it to be a bit break beat, melodic and a dash of techno. It would be something you find me playing at 5am in some sweaty basement club in London.

When and why did you start DJ'ing?

Hmmm, was so long ago now (1993) but I was always a perverse lover of music, it was a logical progression. I also fell quite early into the rave scene and hooked.

Tell us a little about 'Decoded Magazine' & 'Decoded Creative'?

It was started just over 7 years ago in its current name and format (8 if you include its previous name) we started off as a collective of DJs who were sick of the commercial EDM of the time and that no publication really truly supported the underground. Mixmag and DJ Mag paid it lip service, the money for them was in the commercial market, so we started Decoded. These days (well, the last 5 years) has been run by myself, Ian French and Daz Pearson, amazing mates and the best business partners you could ever want. The last 18 months has been a blood bath for the music media industry, sadly a lot of folded, but we saw it as a chance to reinvest and push more, we are too invested in the magazine personally and still find ourselves as a voice for a lot of up and coming artists and underground music.

We started Decoded Creative back in 2006 as a mixture of artists asking for our help and seeing a need at the time to create bespoke content for various labels, festivals etc. We've had everyone from Dave Seaman to Global Underground as past clients. We put it on hold for awhile whilst we had a lot in our personal lives and the magazine was just too busy, but lately we have decided to revive it with it being more tech focussed from creating bespoke websites, apps, marketing and video content. Stay tuned!

What are you most looking forward to in 2021?

My holiday in a few weeks to be honest. It has been quite a busy year for myself and the team. I'm looking forward to 2022 to get back to Australia and see my family and friends (plus proper beaches and sunshine).

Any upcoming gigs or anything exciting coming up for you?

I've deliberately kept away from clubs and gigs for the moment, even though the offer is always there. I'd rather wait for more vaccinations in the UK, plus, I can't afford to get Covid with my work schedule. That saying, Decoded is planning on an epic 2022 of events once again

There's 10 minutes left before the world self-destructs, what song do you put on?

I'd have to go with The Cure - Forest (extended mixed-up remix) can never go wrong with that, always takes me back to my young days and being around my best mates back in Australia.

- Tracklist -

Epice - Undertow

Marc Romboy & Oniris - Eternity

Kapibara - Kangal

8 Kays - Young Souls featuring Aquarius Heaven

Andreas Henneberg - Tretboot

Sasha Carassi featuring Kendah - Invain (SC Galvatron Dub)

Alter Ego - Gary (Extended Mix)

Sascha Beek - I'm No Regular

Ewan Rill - Glide

Madd Rod - Perfect landing

Thadius X - Toxic Heart