Juno Daily – In The Mix & interview: Decoder
An hour of techno/electro thrills from the rising star from Texas

Fixed Rhythms has just released Ghanaprajna, a masterful double LP by Texas techno young star, Decoder aka Gautham Garg, who is following releases on Axis Records, Float Records, Amotik, Molecular, Science Cult, Subsist and more and also runs the fabulous new imprint Toca alongside Jay York.
The label released a 12” EP entitled ‘Boulder’ under his Cratan alias in 2021, and copies are said to have zipped on out of the door and this eight track package of hypnotic, bendy techno with a touch of electro switch-up if not expected to be any different.
To celebrate the album’s release, Garg has whipped up a fantastic mix session featuring Ricardo Villalobos, Donato Dozzy, Carl Finlow and many, many more – and answered a few questions from us too…
TRACKLISTING
Tadeo – Logic Process
Edit Select – After Effect
FLAWS – Unreleased
Hitam – Sinking Sun
Lara Sarkissian – In The Form of a Sphinx
Desroi – Naive
Skjold – Unknown Witchcraft
Ricardo Garduno – I Was There
Decoder – 7th Ritual
Luigi Tozzi – Obsidian
Leiras – Hands Gestuality
PWCCA – Nigromancia
Ilayruni – Movement
Distant Echoes – Tuttaltro Dub
Feral – Dimension D
Mod21 – You Were The Good One Qerndu
Architectural – Poisionous Cocktail
Museum – Silo
Bjarki – Planet Earth Q94 (Live Edit)
Giri – XX 16 A1
Psyk – Decoder
Jay York – Unreleased
Casual Treatment – Unreleased
Dino Sabatini – Modulation A
Donato Dozzy – A.Ritmica
FLAWS – XX 10 B2
Translate – Radium
Orbe – Device’s Generation
Ricardo Villalobos – Matsu
Myles Serge – Reflective Subjects
Carl Finlow – Equillibrium
HI – THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS. WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW AND HAVE YOU HAD A GOOD DAY SO FAR? BEEN UP TO ANYTHING NICE OR GOT ANYTHING INTERESTING PLANNED FOR LATER
Thanks for having me! I’m currently in Berlin, having a great day! I’ve been on the road for the past few months, and just recently played the Mala Junta party here last weekend. I’ve got one more show in Madrid next week before finally getting to go home and rest for a little bit.
YOU’VE VERY KINDLY DONE US A MIX – WAS THERE AN AGENDA YOU HAD IN MIND FOR IT?
I never like to plan my mixes in advance, so no agendas here! I’m a big believer in going with that first emotion and keeping things spontaneous, so the mix definitely is just something that I jump into headfirst without any plans or agendas.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR EARLIEST MUSICAL MEMORIES – MUSIC YOU HEARD GROWING UP, FIRST RECORDS ETC, AND YOUR FIRST EXPERIMENTS IN MUSIC MAKING TOO…
My earliest musical memories were filled with lots of 70s/80s dance and pop music, like Kraftwerk, Modern Talking, Michael Jackson to name a few. It was very simple stuff but had a strong emphasis on good beats and basslines, which I think has left a lasting impact on me to this day. A lot of my early music experiments were more into video game style music and EDM, as I was 10 when I started dabbling with music software and that was the type of music I was consuming a lot of at the time.
GIVE US A BRIEF RUNDOWN OF WHAT YOU’VE RELEASED TO DATE…
It’s almost too much to count! I’ve done lots of techno focused EPs for labels like Molecular, Float, AMTK+, among many others. I’ve also done two full length albums for the Spanish label Subsist, as well as another full length for Axis Records. And most recently, I’ve put out my latest album on Oklahoma based label Fixed Rhythms, which is probably one of my biggest projects to date!
YOU’VE RELEASED ON AXIS – WHAT’S JEFF MILLS LIKE TO DEAL WITH?
It was honestly one of the most straightforward and smoothest experiences I’ve ever had! I emailed him the demo of my album, and two days later he responded saying we should put it out! I can tell he’s very dedicated to the craft and intentional with how he thinks and works. It was very inspiring for me to be able to witness that firsthand.

YOU’VE ALSO STARTED THE TOCA LABEL WITH JAY YORK – WHAT WAS THE IDEA BEHIND IT AND WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM IT IN THE FUTURE?
Toca is a new imprint I started with Jay that’s focused on bringing back that timeless quality that we both feel that techno has been missing for a while. We put out our first EP last year and are currently working on curating the next release. But between the two of us we make a lot of music so it’s a lot of back and forth in the curation process, and we want to prioritize the quality and cohesiveness of the releases over quantity. But you can definitely expect some new music from us there very soon!
YOU’RE BASED IN TEXAS, IS THERE MUCH TECHNO ACTION GOING ON THERE?
On the global scale, I’d say Texas’ scene is relatively small but there’s many amazing DJs and producers holding it down there for sure! Austin has a great DIY nightlife scene going on that I think is definitely going to blossom into something big soon. Dallas has always had a steady stream of really talented and influential producers, so I think slowly but surely there will inevitably be an overall resurgence of techno culture in Texas.
YOU’VE JUST RELEASED A NEW ALBUM CALLED GHANAPRAJNA FOR FIXED RYHYTHMS… WHERE DOES THE NAME FROM AND WHAT WAS THE IDEA BEHIND THE LP AS A WHOLE?
The name Ghanaprajna, according to the Sanskrit glossary translates to “massive and undifferentiated consciousness”, which is a theme in eastern philosophy that has really stood out to me lately. It basically suggests the idea that everything we perceive in reality is all made up of the same thing at the base level, and it’s merely our senses and our egos that separate this consciousness into all these things. I wanted to base the album around this idea as I consider all the tracks I write to be like audio diary entries from certain points in my life, and all the tracks on the record were all written around a time when I was really diving deep into this concept. So it felt fitting to give the album a title that went hand in hand with this theme.
WHAT MUSIC – OLD, NEW, DANCEFLOOR OR OTHERWISE – IS FLOATING YOUR BOAT AT THE MOMENT?
I’ve really been enjoying a lot of electro lately, as it still has those sci-fi elements that I love but it takes a more funky and sometimes melodic approach that I feel that techno can sometimes lack. It’s been really fun to throw the occasional electro track into a DJ set as well and just keep things fresh. Aside from that I’ve also been listening to a lot of vaporwave lately. Whether people want to make fun of it for being a meme, I really think it captures a beautiful aesthetic, and for me if you can capture a vibe like that really clearly, I’m all ears haha.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU IN THE SHORT/MEDIUM/LONG TERM?
After this little tour I have a few weeks off and then it’s back to gigs in the states. I have some shows coming up in Chicago, Detroit, and NYC to name a few. I’ve also got a few collab tracks with Jay York that will be out on this amazing double vinyl compilation soon, as well as my next album getting ready for later this year. Lots more planned for the end of the year too, so definitely keeping busy to say the least!
Buy Decoder’s Ghanaprajna album on double vinyl by clicking here