Midnight Drive
SMOOTHSTRANGER, your late night DJ, driving you through an audio landscape of electro, indie dance, synthwave, space disco and house sounds of future past. New episode drops the first Thursday (what is technically Friday) of every month at midnight.
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01/02/2026
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Wassup pitcrew, January’s mix doesn’t knock—it moves in and rearranges the furniture. Four hours deep, stretched wide enough to breathe, this one isn’t a moment so much as a passage. No rush, no shortcuts. Just time doing what it does best: dissolving edges. This set pulls from everything I gathered in 2025—late-night downloads, half-remembered IDs, tracks that survived the rinse and kept calling back. Music that lived in my headphones, in club corners, in hard drives glowing at ungodly hours. Different rooms, same frequency. Expect long arcs and patient pressure. Grooves that take their time locking in, synths that bloom instead of explode, bass that settles into your spine and refuses to leave. The mix stretches, folds back on itself, finds new paths. You might lose track of where you came in. That’s part of it. January’s ride is for the ones who don’t sprint into the new year—they drift, listen, let the sound recalibrate the compass. For anyone who knows four hours isn’t excessive if the music’s telling the truth. And to the pitcrew: every step, every late night, every floor we wore thin last year—you’re in this mix. Thanks for riding it out, holding the line, trusting the long turns. The road doesn’t exist without you. New year. Same motion. Strap in and let it run. Happy New Year 🖤 – your SMOOTHSTRANGER
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12/05/2025
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Wassup pitcrew, December’s mix crawls out of the longest night like something ancient that learned how to DJ. This set isn’t just a rave—it’s a cold-weather summoning, a bass-driven ritual carved into ice and lit by whatever’s still glowing under the frost. This month, we’re stepping into the solstice vortex: an abandoned warehouse that definitely wasn’t abandoned before we got there, condensation dripping from pipes that hummed in key, and a crowd moving like one creature with too many limbs. The air was freezing, but the floor burned—steam rising off bodies like a spell going slightly wrong but feeling absolutely right. The tracks twist and mutate: kicks that sound like they’re tunneling up from beneath the concrete, synths shimmering in impossible colors, acid lines wriggling like winter serpents waking up early. You’ll hear echoes—maybe from reverb, maybe from something responding in the dark. Hard to tell. Don’t think about it too long. December’s ride is for the ravers who treat 3AM like a sacred hour, who feel the veil thin when the strobes sync up, who swear the music starts mixing you if you stick around long enough. So pull your hood up, step into the circle, and don’t look over your shoulder when the temperature drops halfway through the build. We keep dancing– your SMOOTHSTRANGER
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11/07/2025
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Wassup pitcrew, November’s mix comes straight from the floorboards of a Halloween house party—sweat, sequins, and fog-machine haze still clinging to every beat. The decks were sticky, the lights low, and the crowd somewhere between a séance and a celebration. This month’s podcast features the first two hours of my opening set—a warm-up that caught fire fast!!! This one isn’t about precision—it’s about pulse. Costumes half-on, hearts wide open, bass rolling like a spell through the walls. Expect disco ghosts, haunted house grooves, and synths that shimmer like spilled candy under strobe lights. We traded the circuit for the living room, the stage for the kitchen floor, and found the kind of rhythm that only exists when nobody’s watching. It’s raw, loose, and a little possessed. November’s ride is for the ones who never left the party when the sun came up. Masks off—or maybe just one more song. Let’s keep it strange - your SMOOTHSTRANGER
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10/03/2025
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Wassup pitcrew, October’s mix pulls us deeper into the slipstream—where shadows lengthen, engines snarl, and the horizon burns with autumn fire. This ride isn’t about speed; it’s about control. Precision turns, razor edges, and the kind of tension that lingers like smoke in the rearview. We’re weaving through storm-lit skylines, underground circuits, and backroads where echoes haunt the asphalt. Expect basslines that crack like thunder, synths that glow like molten steel, and rhythms coiled tight as a serpent waiting to strike. This month’s lineup fuses dark elegance with raw ignition—tracks from Silicodisco, Eagles & Butterflies and Georgio Moroder that fuel the night with both menace and allure. It’s music for drifters, tacticians, and those who thrive in the quiet between lightning and impact. Buckle down. Lights low. Let’s ride the storm.
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09/05/2025
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Wassup pitcrew, Strap in and visor down—September’s mix is a sleek, stealthy cruiser built for after-dark drives and high-stakes horizons. We’ve left the speedway and hit the open grid: neon deserts, noir cities, and endless coastlines where danger hums in the distance and synths shimmer like heatwaves. This month’s ride is cooler, sharper, and a touch more cinematic. Think dusk-drenched missions and chrome-dipped dreams. Basslines pulse like covert signals, pads stretch like desert roads, and every drop feels like a switchblade unsheathed. You’ll hear shadowy grooves from Johannes Albert, Claus Casper, Nordfold, plus reworks from Zombies In Miami, Maori and Ben Gomori that twist the throttle on your expectations. It’s a playlist for lone riders and midnight mechanics—engineered for movement, wired for mood. Ignite the silence. Shift into stealth. Let’s disappear into the night.
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08/01/2025
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Hey pit crew, Fire up the engine—August has landed, and this month’s mix is a midnight machine built for speed, style, and synth-fueled escape. We’re shifting gears again on the sonic speedway, where every curve tells a story and every beat leaves rubber on the track. This episode isn’t just a mix—it’s a full-throttle journey through the neon-lit corners of underground electronic. We’re talking moonlit motorways and cyber-city skylines, where basslines beam like headlights and melodies trail like tail lights in the dark. Strap in for standout cuts from the deep-driving Whitesquare, the cosmic queen herself Shubostar, and the French god of synth-powered cool—Kavinsky, whose cinematic vibes return with a vengeance. And it doesn’t stop there—remixes from Space Food, Kris Menace, and the ever-elegant Musumeci twist the throttle even tighter, injecting each track with fresh torque and late-night tension. Expect throbbing low-end, retro-futuristic pulses, and rhythms engineered for precision. Whether you’re weaving through city lights or zoning out under distant stars, this mix keeps the RPMs high and the focus locked. The future is fast, and this soundtrack is your ticket. Lights out, and launch mode engaged— This is where the road melts into rhythm. Let’s drive!!!
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07/04/2025
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Hey pit crew, This is your driver speaking—revved up and coming in hot from the cockpit of another adrenaline-fueled month on the sonic midnight speedway. July’s playlist is all about that full-throttle feeling: the rush of the straightaway, the tight tension of a hairpin turn, and the roar of the crowd (or maybe just your speakers). Every track this month was handpicked like tuning gears before race day—nothing on here is idle. We’ve got basslines that hit harder than a turbo boost, vocals that scream like tires on tarmac, and rhythms tighter than a perfect apex. Whether you're cruising the freeway or chasing that checkered flag in your own life, this playlist keeps the engine humming. So buckle up, drop it into gear, and let’s burn some rubber. Music this good isn’t made for the rearview. Pedal down. Volume up - lets ride!!!!
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06/06/2025
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Hey there! Your favorite driver is back on his original schedule—first Friday at midnight EDT! Every month, I’m bringing you a fresh recording straight from the new SlyStudios here in Toronto. (Want to see my new soundroom? Check out my Instagram @smoothstranger!) This month, we’re diving deep into the tech and bass-heavy side of house music with a killer 2-hour mix. As always, I’ve blended it just for you, the one and only SMOOTHSTRANGER. So, pop this into your phone, media player, or car stereo, turn up the volume, and let’s cruise through some amazing tracks by Shubostar, Tiga, Marc DePulse, and Maceo Plex—plus some fantastic originals and remixes from Rigpolar, Priori, and Solomun. Sit back, press play, and let’s take this ride together!!! Like what you hear? You can always reach me on any of my socials.
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05/02/2025
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After a long break, I your host the SMOOTHSTRANGER is back with a NEW episode cruising through an audio landscape of Indie Dance, Italo, Synth, Electrofunk and House sounds from future past! No excuses and no long description - join me as I once again embark monthly with your late night dance floor mix - starting now!!!!
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08/02/2024
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The dead of summer is here - thick heatwaves and scattered thunderstorms wash over the GTA and the only things that cut the heat are cold drinks or night drives with the top down! Feeling that summer heat as you fly down a winding rural road is exhilarating and to amplify that feeling you must have the perfect soundtrack! Let’s drive into this months mix, starting things off with a fantastic remix of Space Food’s Cycle Twice by Kosmas and later in the mix a fabulous bootleg of The Cure and before the session is finished you will have heard tracks from Kendal, Idoru and Sacha Robotti amongst others and some fine remixes by Franz Matthews, Damon Jee and Chinaski. Thanks again for all your listens and support, it means a great deal to me to have each one of you tune in and join me for another episode of Midnight Drive!!!
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07/05/2024
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Hot days, cool kids, beautiful sunsets, and long breezy night drives (always with the top down) lasting from dusk until dawn. Yes, summer is finally here!!! The perfect season needs a soundtrack for those long winding roads and I’ve prepared the perfect mix. Tracks from Biesmans, The Lighting Kids, and New Order with remixes coming from fabulous artists such as Chinaski, Dubfire and Musumechi to name just a few. I invite you to climb in, buckle up as the top goes down and let’s hit the gas and ride!!!
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06/07/2024
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Every Month I like to write a few words but this month I'll keep it short. The reason behind it - a kitchen accident with a knife and my index finger. Needless to say typing is a challenge...a quick thank you to everyone who tried to guess last months mix origin song - the correct answer is Epikur by David August which I mix in around the 16 1/2 minute mark. Let's dive in to this months mix and ride!!!!!!
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05/03/2024
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First I'd like to take the time to thank everyone who came out last month in BC to the Electric Love Pre-Party & Crisco's 40th birthday! That party was lit! The dancefloor was fire and the rest of the lineup absolutely killed it!!! Can't wait to be back in Kamloops to do it again in the near future - stayed tuned on my socials for all my upcoming events. Onto this months mix - I took a slighly different approach than I normaly do, shaping my mix around a singular track rather than a certain sound or feeling. Typically, I find that I end up getting a lot of tracks arpund the same time with a very similar sound and build my mix from there. However, this month really was about just one song. This track is pretty special to me (and many others) and is considered a modern deep house or tech house classic at the tender age of ten. I first heard it played by Sven Väth who quite regulary (and rightfully so) drops this song, often ending marathon sets or closing dancefloors with it. Hermonically beautiful and filled with emotion I never tire hearing it let alone mixing it. I'll leave it to you listener to figure out which track I'm referring to. Think of it as a small easter egg from me to you! This track is accompanied with tracks by Midnight Magic, Nelly Furtado and DJ Godfather with remixes from Sebastian Leger, Âme and Perel. Climb in & let's ride!!!!!!
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04/05/2024
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As the nights slowly get shorter and the days grow warmer, my desire shifts to be behind the wheels of steel driving dancefloors instead of cars on lost highways. My thoughts meander to beach parties, lost parties and boutique festivals with dancefloors ususally under starlit skies. Its these shoulder seasons where the time can't seem to pass fast enough and when I scour my record library for tracks that I think will sound amazing on loud soundsystems! Still though nothing beats a dark basement or a dimly lit warehouse party, these to me always feel the most nostalgic and are always closest to the beat of my heart! This months mix features tracks by, Budakid, Sharem Jay and DJ T. with remixed classics from Joy Division, Madonna and Depeche Mode. Thanks for all the listens, shares and reposts! You my fellow riders are all the best!!! Catch me April 26th in Kamloops BC alongside some the the provinces finest for John Crisco's 40th & the Ultimate Electric Love Wormhole Stage Pre-Party.
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03/01/2024
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With March coming in a day later this year, we move away from what's been a seasonably mild winter and hopefully into an early Spring! The mild winters have been perfect for those late night cruises where the road is the destination! Clear and crisp nights, weaving down winding roads with the car stereo cranked to a deafening volume - the perfect way to spend your time! An early spring will only bring more of these kind of nights...This months mix has some solid house flavours from Claptone, Brothers Of Funk and Simon Adams with remixes coming in hot from artists such as The Juan MacLean, Giom and Claude VonStroke. This months mix is bumping - get out on a road and let's ride!!!
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02/02/2024
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Coming in strong this month at the chilliest time of the year, a new mix of the freshest electro and indie synth heavy tracks mixed by yours truly. This months mix has a defintite focus on the breaks with tracks from artists AFFKT, Renalto Cohen, Jimi Jules and Final Request with remixes by The Organism, Framewerk and Ivory IT. Thanks again for all your support and listens each month, its truly amazing to be able to share these with you and transport you into my ride for a late night cruze!!! For the entrire back catalogue of episodes please see my Mixcloud account - https://www.mixcloud.com/sascha_yama/
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01/05/2024
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Happy Year Passengers! Thanks for tuning back into Midnight Drive joining me, your host and driver SMOOTHSTRANGER on another epic cruise through sound! The first episode of 2024. This year sees a couple of minor changes - I moved hosting services so I apologize in advance for some back catalogue episodes not transferring over right away. It may also take a while before the show is fully back up on all Podcast hosting site. You can however listen to the entire back catalogue of episodes on my Mixcloud page at any time! Feel free to head over there at any time to listen! Now let's move onto this months episode - it weaves its way through mid-tempo tracks, keeping it slow but deep and groovy! It also follows a film - one of my personal favourites I might add. In my opinion it has one of the best scores in modern film, however I'll leave it to you, fellow passenger to figure out which film it is on your own. You'll hear tracks by VHS Dreams, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Doctor Dru & Adana Twins with remixes by Soulwax, LNTG amongst others. Feel free to hit me up via email for a full tracklist should you desire! Let's get buckled in and hit the road - let's ride!!!!
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