Published
Sat, Dec 31, 2022, 13:20
- Róisín Mitchell helped run Aberdeen-based collective Fierce and was a regular on online radio hub Fnoob Techno.
UK techno artist DJ Altered State, AKA Minimal Widget, died earlier this month.
The DJ, producer and promoter, real name Róisín Mitchell, was laid to rest on December 16th, according to a post on UK DJ Thought Criminal's Instagram. She was 34.
"DJ Altered State was a phenomenal DJ and producer," Thought Criminal continued. "But she was much, much more than that. She was my beautiful friend Róisín—one of the kindest, most gentle souls I have ever had the privilege to know."
Born in Hampshire, England, in 1988, Mitchell cut her teeth on Internet radio hub Fnoob Techno, hosting a monthly show from 2013 and quickly becoming part of its devoted community. In 2019, she began managing the station's Wednesday programme, with a particular focus on pushing underrepresented women and non-binary talent.
This work extended to Aberdeen-based collective Fierce, which Mitchell helped run alongside cofounder Thought Criminal and others. Its aim was to platform women and non-binary DJs and producers, particularly from Scotland. Mitchell ran and performed at the Fierce parties, which took place at local club D2, and co-hosted Fierce's monthly show on Fnoob Techno.
As a DJ, Mitchell loved vinyl and played across the UK, including regular slots at the Fnoob Futurist and Butterfly Effect events. On Valentine's Day 2016, she opened Jerome Hill's party, Don't, at 512 in London, before returning to the same venue later that year for the Christmas edition.
"She was a really sweet person who was super into the music," Hill told Resident Advisor. "I remember at one of my parties she opened and played for three hours. The crowd absolutely loved her. Everyone was like, "who's this? She's fucking brilliant!"
Mitchell also made techno as Minimal Widget and M. Widget. In 2016, she released the Ensoulment E.P. via Hyper Freq, and in 2018 her track "Eliminate The Light" featured on a compilation on German label Complex Textures. These tunes and more are available via her SoundCloud .
Listen to a selection of Mitchell's sets, and read tributes from Thought Criminal and Hill.