Sharp FM 026: Julian Duron for Residence

For our second mix of 2026, the stars finally aligned, good fortune smiled, and destiny opened a door. We’d been talking intermittently with our friend Julian Duron about making a mix for a while, and thankfully we finally convinced him to take some time out of his busy schedule to make us something special.

For the cover and tracklist, we used Residence, our latest typeface release designed by Kia Tasbihgou. Here, the stylistic differences of Residence’s Nouveau and Grotesque subfamilies are both highlighted and harmonized in a positively joyous riot of typography in loving homage to Julian’s unique graphic sense and sensibility.

“The theme of this mix is ‘Songs that always get stuck in my head every time I hear them,’ or ‘Those tracks that give you chills when you hear the first notes.’ I wanted to make a mix that works well in any design or creative environment—mostly chill, but also upbeat enough to not put you to sleep,” says Julian. After 19 years in New York, Julian moved to LA, where he currently resides, to expand his freelance creative practice and continue making records.

Our goal with Sharp FM in 2026 is to highlight creatives who have a specific musical and visual point of view, and there aren’t many designers who can do it all like Julian. As a multidisciplinary creative and musician whose work spans brand design, video, photo, sound design, and music production, he has worked with global brands such as Nike, Jordan, Apple and Levis among many others over the years. He is best known, however, for his iconic poster designs which feature dynamic typography and graphic design that communicate with a distinctive panache. We love seeing Sharp Type’s fonts featured regularly in his work.

Julian is also a founding member of Earth Boys, whose catalogue includes four full length LPs and a dozen EPs. “With my Earth Boys, we're usually spinning classic house music or Balearic jams, so this mix for Sharp Type was an opportunity to do something different, something special for Sharp Type. It’s in line with what I'm normally listening to while working — it's either music like this or 88.1 KJAZZ.”

Tracklist:

Max - Elle Et Moi 2003
El Shab Arab - Sabbar 1993
Googoosh - Hejrat 1978
Jump Source - Close (Feat. Poison Girlfriend) 2026
Tisakorean - Legs in the Air 2024
Jump Source - A Dull Knife (Ft. Harmony Index) 2026
Yo La Tengo - Saturday 2000 (Pitched +1)
George Oban - Basshoven 1981
Fit of Body - Sniper (Interlude) 2018
Jackie Mittoo - Wall Street 1980
Fit of Body - The Screamers Ft. Negashi Armada 2018
Audrey Hall - 8 Little Notes 1985
Sleaford Mods - Force 10 From Navarone 2023
Michael Shrieve - Transfer Station Blue
Sade - Love Is Stronger Than Pride 1988
Joe Locke - Empty Chalice 1999
Project Pablo (Patrick Holland) - About to Leave 2016
Children of Zeus - I Want You 2017
Angelo Badalamenti - The Pink Room 1992
Violet Eves - Listen Over The Ocean 1985
Frankie Paul - Don’t Tease Me 1990
Boogaloo Joe Jones - Don’t Deceive Me (Don’t Go) 1969
Space Ghost - Twilight Swim 2019
Chico Hamilton - Autumn in New York 2008
(Epilogue) Sun Ra - Nuclear War 1984