Resident Advisor have been on fire with their recent podcasts, but if you want the cream of the crop, here are three absolutely essential downloads:

RA.317 Benoit and Sergio features a blend of summery songs mixed by one of the biggest acts in the post-LCD Soundsystem pop-house scene, Benoit and Sergio. The New York based duo have created a laid-back mix with selections ranging from New Order to Seth Troxler to Air. It’s the perfect soundtrack to a hot and dreamy summer house party.

RA.319 James Zabiela is an absolute gem of a mix from my favourite DJ at the moment, James Zabiela. Zabiela spent about three months crafting this podcast, and the dedication shows. RA.319 is a beautifully crafted, cohesive mix, which in typical Zabiela style ranges from ambient electronica, through to house, electro and party-ready techno without skipping a beat.

RA.320 Shlohmo is the most recent podcast in RA’s bag of tricks, and features a bit under an hour worth of chopped and screwed beats from one of the brightest stars of the electronica world, Shlohmo. In describing the mix, Shlohmo says “Basically me and my Wedidit brethren have been fucking around recently slowing down big room house tunes and old d&b and ’90s vocal house shit real, real slow. Like taking 160 BPM d&b tunes and screwing them down half speed to 80. Then we realized you could mash that shit with double time footwork stuff and it sounds real 2 us”. If you only listen to one mix this month, make it this one.

RA.296 Nina Kraviz →

Russian producer and vocalist Nina Kraviz’s star has been steadily on the rise for the last few years, and with the impending release of her debut album on Rekids in a few weeks you will likely be hearing alot more from her soon.

She is the latest artist to provide an entry in Resident Advisor’s podcast series, and had this to say about her mix:

The main idea is to present myself as a DJ. I was a DJ long before I started producing my own music. I hosted my Friday nights at Propaganda Club and played there every week. Since I’ve got the most recognition for songs like “I’m Gonna Get You” people often expect me to play this song or something similar. And I truly appreciate that people like my music. And I would love to make them happy but as a DJ I’ve always been more into playing acid house, for example, occasionally leaving some space in the end of my set to play my well-known songs. I always wanted people to appreciate my wish to separate me as DJ from my productions.

So I decided to record a mix which will be more or less about what I’ve been playing in clubs recently…simple as that. Of course I can play much harder (totally love playing techno sets) or indeed much softer—it all depends on the vibe in the club. But ideally I like spinning for three to five hours, to play anything that inspires me at that particular moment. To follow my dancing instinct rather than a genre. My instinct would probably guide me to the right place where I can finally get to drop a Dance Mania record. Sometimes I think that my only purpose of DJing is to play Dance Mania records! I love it so much. This mix contains some of my all-time favorites like “Blackholes” or Baby Pop’s “You Know What I’m Saying,” “Egotrip” or Pink Floyd’s “On the Run.” I shared some truly beautiful moments on the dance floor with these songs. By the way: I wanna use this chance to say “thank you” to people for sharing these moments with me.

It’s an hour of grooving house that progresses to dance floor-ready acid, a great mix that is definitely worth a listen. And if you like what you hear, check out Kraviz’s awesome recent single Ghetto Kraviz here.

Fact mix 313: Azari & III →

Fact Mag have to be one of the best music websites around at the moment, and their Fact mixes are some of the most consistently fantastic podcasts you’ll find; just check out ones from Air France and Jamie xx for a couple of examples.

They continue this trend of quality into 2012 with an excellent mix from the Canadian quartet Azari & III. Comprised of two producers and two vocalists, Azari & III released their debut self-titled LP last year to great acclaim, presenting a perfect blend of acid-tinged house and futuristic disco. This mix sees them bring to the fore the darker shades already apparent on their album, resulting in an engrossing journey through dark, club-ready house and acid.

Airport Bass Mix 26/12/2011

My first proper return to the decks after a hectic few months with Uni and work. As such, I’m a little rusty on the mixing in places, but the songs are all awesome so it’s okay.

I think as a mix it features heavily three artists I’ve been really into this year: Jamie xx, Thom Yorke and Disclosure; but it’s really just meant to cover a range of ‘bass’/’post-dubstep’/garage music or whatever you want to call it, from the housey bass at the start, to a much more dubstep influenced finish.

1. Bloom (Jamie xx Rework, Pt. 3) - Radiohead
2. Fiber Optic (Jon Convex’s Love Transmission Remix) - Echo Park
3. Work It Out (Disclosure Booty Call Edit) - Q-Tip
4. Stifle - Pearson Sound
5. Wildfire (Objekt Remix) - SBTRKT
6. Ur Soul And Mine - Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx
7. Blue You - Disclosure
8. Carbonated - Mount Kimbie
9. Video Games (Jamie Woon Remix) - Lana Del Rey
10. Shutter Light Girl (FaltyDL Play Remix) - Kuedo
11. Godzilla - Zomby
12. NY Is Killing Me - Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx
13. Pencil Pimp - Sepalcure
14. This (Feat. Thom Yorke) - Modeselektor

Richie Hawtin @ Bermuda (Plastikman's Bermuda Triangle interpretation) →

One of the most common questions over the years has been what is the difference between Richie Hawtin and Plastikman. My most common answer is that Richie Hawtin is, or has become, the extrovert on stage, playing, performing, and partying with/for the audience, while Plastikman has remained connected to my more introverted side. A side that feels more comfortable locked away with my machine or hiding behind a curtain of technology, creating my own unique and personal take on electronic music. For this podcast, I decided to experiment with the idea of how one of my personas would interpret the other: What would happen if Hawtin met Plastikman, or visa versa. So here, you will find a reinterpretation of a live Hawtin DJ set recorded at the Bermuda festival on November 6, 2010. Cut up, slowed down, shifted, and time-displaced to take the feel and experience of Hawtin into the realm of Plastikman.

The kick-ass mixes just keep coming this week. For their 200th podcast, XLR8R have got techno giant Richie Hawtin on side, dropping a concept mix like only he knows how. This one’s a free download, so head on over and grab it now.

RA Podcast: RA.259 Skream →

Even if claiming that Skream is “dubstep’s biggest DJ” may be going a bit far, there’s no denying he’s one of the biggest names in dubstep, and has been right from the scene’s inception, having released the first major dubstep album in 2006.

Skream has never been one to be confined to a stylistic box, with his recent productions ranging from minimalist experimental drum ‘n’ bass (as featured on Exit Records’ Mosaic Vol 1) all the way to pop-dubstep as part of the trio Magnetic Man. But you won’t find any of his minimalist autonomic singles here; this is a tight, energetic mix of grime and high-octane dubstep. In his own words, this bangin’ podcast is “definitely a club/dance floor-orientated mix with a lot of tunes I’m playing out at the moment.” Head over to Resident Advisor and check it out.

My Name is Tiga debuts on BBC 6 →

I’ve mentioned the My Name is Tiga podcast a few times by now. I’d even go as far to say it’s my favourite podcast, ever. The combination of Tiga’s excellent song choices and his hilarious tongue-in-cheek presenting style really made the podcast something special. Sadly, it disappeared for a long time; the releases were always somewhat sporadic, but this time it was gone for more than a year and a half.

Then, out of the blue, a new episode dropped at the beginning of this year. As well as being as awesome as ever, Tiga also cryptically announced that he had big plans for My Name is Tiga this year. Turns out he wasn’t wrong, the show made it’s radio debut on BBC6 not two days ago. And if anything, he’s taken it to a new level for the radio show.

Tiga’s witty tongue-in-cheek presenting is this time taken up a notch, by now approaching razor sharp, but still incorporating just the right amount of meandering. He throws in a bunch of new segments, complete with their own homemade bumpers. On top of that, he manages to squeeze in almost double the tracks of a podcast episode, but somehow they’re all still awesome picks, not to mention about half are world-exclusives.

I’ll put it simply, just download it.

New My Name Is Tiga podcast episode →

Back in the day this used to be my favourite podcast. Not only does Tiga showcase some awesome music, and have a weird knack for predicting really big hits, but he’s an absolutely hilarious and very interesting host. However, he hadn’t produced a proper podcast since April 2009. That was up until today! Hooray! So y’all better head over and pick this up, you won’t be disappointed. Unless you only like country music or something…