In the world of electronic music, the mixes that affect us most are those that carry a narrative quality, an unyielding commitment to progression, climax and resolution. DJs become storytellers, their campfire a sound system, their kindling a rhythm, their voice the music.

Over the past two decades, St. Louis based DJ and musician Ronin embodies this literary sentiment in totality. Self-taught in all aspects of music, he maintains a devotion to the complex soundscapes and driving beats that serve as sentences in his rhythmic tales. With a keen ear for mood and texture, Ronin’s mixes serve as an exodus from the narrow-minded persuasions that stifle many DJs.

Though he maintains a love for tracks that delve into the darker, grittier spectrum of dance music, he is able to drift freely into brighter auditory passageways. From Techno to House, Breakbeats to Trip-Hop, Ronin demonstrates childlike curiosity in his selections, an eclectic urge for divergence as well as unity.