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FORMAT.HQ Presents. Asian Archive MixISSUE 0002   chuan  










chuan
/ˌʧuˈɑn/
(BAIHUI, Shanghai)

Chuan is a Shanghai-based DJ whose builds sleek, high-impact sets that blend the swing of African-American club lineages with the pressure of Jamaican soundsystem culture. Years at All and Elevator shaped a precise feel for rooms and rigs; he aims for honesty in sound and immaculate execution, even as he jokes about how hard DJing can be. A recent collaboration with 3ASiC dropped on 3024, and unreleased cuts are already drawing co-signs from Jacques Greene, object blue, and Akanbi.


Words: Jace Liao  |  20 September, 2025


INSPIRATION
OF THIS MIX



I picked some long time fav and some recent releases by my dear friends, then recorded this when I'm not playing Silksong.

Q&A



As a core member of BAIHUI—hands-on with hardware and programming—what are the essential qualities of an excellent radio? Any you particularly admire?



I personally find a lot of those basic things are often overlooked when recording a mix, like the sound quality of tracks, the volume balance between sections, sort of stuff. Other than that it's more of a taste thing.

I really love what CloudCore crew did with their Nectar mix series, each episode showcases a member of their community on a different radio station, sort of like doing a tour on the Internet, I think that fit their label's concept very well too. Another radioshow I enjoy lately is gyrofield's NTS residency, I love how melodic their blends are.


Many in the industry say club culture is in a global downturn. In the cities you follow or tour, do your observations align—and what stands out most if things have changed?


There are a few clubs closing down in Shanghai in the past few years, but I I don't think the dataset of clubs I've been to could represent the big picture well. I really like how a lot of clubs switched the way they operate in the scene after they closed down, namely Heim and System, I played Heim's residency at Celia and System's pop-up events often, pretty enjoyable experiences for me, and I'm quite happy they could keep doing cool things without the pressure of actually running a venue.





You and 3ASiC released “Well Functional Percussive Track Designated for Club & Festival Use” on 3024—a title with a wink. What was the inspiration behind the track?



I think I was just fooling around Ableton's built-in percussion samples, after I got the percussion groove and melodies done, 3ASiC then took the project and made everything I've done sound better with his engineer mind and added that pretty epic sounding Reese line, and the track is basically done.

it originally had a sillier name but it didn't really fit the compilation context so we changed it to a slightly less silly one.





Any new releases or collaborations on the way this year?



No plan for release yet, but there should be some other cool stuff dropping soon!



What’s the ideal setting for this AAMiX? If it had one headline, what would it be?


The mix isn't built around any certain theme so I can't really give it a title, I recommend listening on a system with proper bass though since most of those tunes are bass heavy.


Any advice for DJs/producers/crew in Asia? A guiding rule—or hard-won lesson—you still follow?


I got into the weirder side of dance music pretty early, years before I can go out and play. I think the time I spent in my bedroom nerding out is really critical to what I'm doing now. 

If anyone is starting out, maybe spend some time honing your craft before playing out.






MIX IS OUT
ON OUR SOUNDCLOUD







TRACKLIST

Corin - Mnemosyne
Impérieux - Kala
unknown artist - CC4_008
Bonebrokk - Forsaken
Kendu Bari - Mindbreaker
Morphology - Active Inclusion
Martini - Fixative
Kryptic Minds & Sleeper - Axis Shift
Jamaszka FT - Tajemnicza statuetka
Yraki - Percolate
Deena Abdelwahed - Tawa (M.E.S.H Remix)
Deapmash - Halcyon (VIP mix)
Mercy System - If I Were You (Coralie’s Face In The Furnace)
Sepbtt - Rimtto
DJG - Time Is The Fire - Original Mix
Slimy Ape - Onstera
Azu Tiwaline & Tim Karbon - Gloom Valley
Cocktail Party Effect - Egg
canary yellow & Kelbin - Indigo
Heylaran - Squeeze
ANOHNI - Drone Bomb Me








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