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My first gig at SF's Public Works, March 2015. I had the honor of opening the upstairs Loft for @atish and @hoj, two DJs I really admire and whose music, mixing, and approach I respected even before I moved to the Bay Area. Hard to believe I've been here a little over a year...
Friday was special. Not every set I’ve played has had the amount of mental, physical, and emotional energy in it that was invested that night. Months of anticipation and preparation to dig tracks I felt appropriate, hours of practice, and weekends spent designing and developing the art installations in the room. Music was just one part - I wanted to create an organic and emotive physical environment for the dancers that transformed Public Works into someplace new and unique, and fit the kind of music that Atish, Hoj, and I play, a contrast and respite from some of the harsher, more intense sounds that Maceo Plex was playing downstairs. To that end, I coordinated and constructed an absurd ten foot tall, twelve foot wide tree out of wood, fabric, aluminum wire, and lots of LEDs and fiber optics. It was an insane effort. Add the nerves of playing my first ‘serious’ club gig in SF on a sold out night opening for artists I admire, and you get a sense of what was invested leading UP to the night of…
…which brings me to the night itself. Man. It was surreal, new, and simultaneously so familiar. Having friends packing the dance floor early on was a huge boost of energy and confidence to get things started on the right foot. I decided last minute to forgo any more ambitious three / four deck mixing, which i enjoy as a challenge, but felt my attention would be better served focusing on track selection and reading the crowd - so I switched to beatmatching long transitions on CDJs to keep my ear attuned. Six or seven tracks in, I settled into a flow state that lasted until I got off the decks at 1215. At times, I even felt the levity of absurdity up there, like…from a birds eye view, isn’t this kind of a hilarious thing to be doing? What a trip. The vibe in the packed loft was an almost tangible outpouring of love and support. The rest of the night was a blur of dancing and talking with good people.
There are many people who deserve gratitude and recognition for being a part of Friday...
Michelle, Trip, and Chris, who played a HUGE role in helping design, build, and install the Kodama Spirit Tree installation and the fiber optic accents in the room, dedicating time they really didnt have. Rob, for cranking out some amazing visuals (projection mapping and kodama clips from Princess Mononoke) in a very short time (he worked literally up until the event started.) Skyler, for his continued support and for taking some great shots that night. Many of the Monks of Funk for their help in building the Tree, and of course all of our friends who rocked up early, set the tone on the dance floor, and sent out love (I can hear you guys on the recording, it’s pretty great.) Mana and other dschoolers for coming all the way from Berlin. And last but not least, atish, Hoj, and Peter, for the gracious invite. Thank you all!
(Fun fact: I was also born on a Friday the 13th, so that was a good omen.)
Kollektiv Turmstrasse - Holunderbaum (Rumpel Mix)
Fiord - Interpretations from a Maze of Thought (Original Mix)
Locked Groove - Meditations in an Emergency (Clockwork Remix)
Nu - Abre (Original Mix)
Mark DePulse - Montag Moll (Boe’s Little Cure Edit)
Zezfeed, Nothim - Sans Titre (Arapu Edit)
Landmark, Einsauszwei - Wrap it Up
Shades of Gray - Illusions
Kiasmos - Looped
Skoork - Sector 78 (Original Mix)
Florian Meindl - Deeply Hooked (Oliver Schories Remix)
Sam K - Elido (Original Mix)
Florian Rietze - Forgive Me (Cosmic Cowboys Remix)
Lake People - Escape Velocity (Original Mix)
Aquarius Heaven, Hyenah - Tale From the Dirt (Rampa Remix)
Einsauszwei - Straight Rise (Original Mix)
Sammy, Rills - Is This It (Original Mix)
- Genre
- Deep House