Last month, some of the planet’s finest DJs relished in tradition, looking toward highly particular histories and finding all sorts of joys stuffed in their crates. The best DJ sets of October 2026 showcased a remarkable range of sonic exploration, proving that the art of the mix remains as vital as ever.
Finn raced between ghettotech and grime until the wheels fell off, while Ghost Phone’s exploration of R&B and amapiano was comparatively smooth. Octo Octa and Eris Drew show up one and a half times here: first in a solo drum-and-bass set from the former, and then in a riotous and retro-leaning session from the pair. Shi Shi, mixing from Brooklyn, assembled a heartrending and riotous tribute to Prince, while Barcelona’s David Balasch eschewed anything so specific, instead looking at folk musics the world over.
Elsewhere, a number of DJs went wider still, leaning into all sorts of dancefloor dazzlers. The ever-reliable deep creep turned in a head-spinning set of techno-et-cetera wigglers, while F-On went deep on gravitational-pull four-fours. Garcon and Marius Bø, two critical names in contemporary sub-bass, to…