Oily Rag: The April 2026 Edition
Welcome to April - not quite beginning, not yet culmination, just the quiet, undeniable turning of the world.
In the Northern Hemisphere winter loosens its grip; in the South, light recedes a little earlier and the air begins to cool. This month’s Oily Rag sits inside that threshold space - where legacy meets reinterpretation, where atmosphere shapes meaning, and where influence moves quietly between past and present. It’s a study in creative exchange and cultural weight, in the rituals that slow things down and the energy that pushes them forward. Across music, image, and storytelling, April holds its own tempo: unforced, unfolding, and always becoming. Right where we like to play.
Until May,
The team at Deus
DEUS X AGTZ: A new chapter in modern coachbuilding.
Born from the partnership between Zagato and La Squadra, a singular interpretation of the AGTZ Twin Tail is about to surface. To complete the commission, Deus Ex Machina was invited to apply a final creative layer.
Reading, Watching, Listening — With Luke Ebert
These are the unhurried practices and small rituals that slow the world down. These are the stubbornly open-ended, resistant to quick consumption rituals of Luke Ebert — Deus visual architect, aesthetic cartographer, and High Priest of Pantone — that keep him porous to influence.
Fishing With John: Jazz man John Lurie simply goes fishing with some of his pals, featuring Jim Jarmusch, Tom Waits, Matt Dillon, Willem Dafoe, and Dennis Hopper. My second favorite fishing show to Rex Hunt’s Fishing Adventures.
Painting With John: I can’t mention one without the other. Another strangely charming creation by professional weirdo John Lurie.
Martijn Doolaard: A YouTube series about a Dutchman rebuilding a cabin in the Italian Alps. A weekly antidote to my domesticated yuppie condition. Perfectly slow.
Some of the albums I’ve been thrashing to death lately, in no particular order:
The Hard Quartet — Self Titled
Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band — New Threats from the Soul
UGK — Ridin’ Dirty
SUNN O))) — Self Titled
Eric Dolphy — In Europe Vol. 1
Lou Reed — Take No Prisoners Live
J.J. Cale — Naturally
A few books I’ve enjoyed over the last year or two:
Nina Simone’s Gum — Warren Ellis
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men — David Foster Wallace
Junky — William S. Burroughs
Waterlog — Roger Deakin
Between Then & Now — In Rotation Vol. 13 with KENNY L
Between eras and energies. Soul-baring confessions. Equal parts nostalgia and now. There’s romance in here. We chat to Deus Records regular KENNY L about a room tuned toward intention rather than excess.
What changes when it’s a Deus Records night?
When it’s a Deus Records night, the energy feels more curated and intentional. The crowd comes for the music, not just the party. It allows me to be more exploratory with my selection of deeper cuts, more storytelling, and less predictable moments. It feels less like a typical club night and more like a shared musical experience.
When you’re playing, is it a genre or an atmosphere?
Always the atmosphere. Genre is just a framework and a tool. What really matters is reading the room and understanding the emotional temperature of the space. I build my set around how the crowd feels in that moment, whether they need something groovy, euphoric, stripped back, or intense.
Nostalgia in your sets — is it about connection, or is it your way of pulling the crowd somewhere new?
It’s both. Nostalgia creates instant connection and gives people something familiar to hold onto. But I use it as a bridge. I’ll start with something recognizable, then twist it or layer it into something unexpected.
From Bali to Jakarta and beyond, how does the energy shift across Indonesia and how do you shift with it?
Each city carries a different rhythm. Bali tends to be more laid-back and open to experimental sounds with a very international crowd. Jakarta is faster, more high-energy, and reacts strongly to momentum. Other cities can feel more intimate and personal.
For me, adaptability is everything. I never approach a set with a rigid template. I observe, feel the room, and adjust in real time. Being a DJ is as much about reading people as it is about playing music.
DEUS X LINKIN PARK
Deus partnered with Linkin Park to create a limited-edition merch range for their Australian tour — designed to reflect the weight of a band that has shaped the global sound of modern rock.
For over two decades, Linkin Park have stood as titans of the industry: defining a generation, pushing sonic boundaries, and maintaining a presence that spans stadiums, subculture, and mainstream in equal measure. Each piece was grounded in tour energy and archival influence, reinterpreted through a Deus lens — merchandise that sits at the intersection of cultural artifact and moshpit uniform.