When I first learned that Paul Oakenfold was coming to Meow Wolf on February 25th, I knew I was going to write about it, but I had no idea where to start. His Global Underground in New York Cd not only inspired my love for the road, but it was also the first gift my wife ever gave me. Our love started with Paul Oakenfold, and it’s safe to say, his music changed our lives. Saying he is a legend and favorite of ours will always be an understatement. Paul Oakenfold will always be the first and only Superstar Dj to me. He was and is the one. I mean, I saw him on MTV once. Back when they still played music, at least.
But that’s been said, though, hasn’t it? Just in his bio for the event alone they covered far more than I ever could, and as much as I love the idea of covering a Paul Oakenfold show, I also know he’s used to that. It wasn’t until I was told of the two Djs that were playing with Paul, though, That I began to finally have inspiration on what and who to write about. Playing alongside the Perfecto legend are two New Mexico legends as Well, Dj Badcat and Reverend Mitton. Let’s talk about them for bit. Oakenfold has enough publicity on his side. Let’s focus on the co-headliners for a change.
First, there’s Dj Badcat. The first time I heard Badcat’s music and her voice were over the sound waves of the radio and I was hooked immediately by her song choice and style. Electronic music on the radio was unheard of when I was a teenager, and now we don’t just get that but we get it from perhaps the best House dj in New Mexico with Badcat. Her sound is real, and personal, and unique, and hearing it is as much a representation of her own evolution as of house music’s as well.
I have found in my moments speaking to her she is a traveler of this world who chooses to be in New Mexico. A beautiful feeling to have, since with her presence we get a sound that can only be called proper house music. Every time she’s in control of the sound I know the dancefloor is in good hands, and I look forward to seeing where she goes next.
Next, is Reverend Mitton, yet another local legend, but in a way it’s deeper than using such a word. To many of us in our thirties and forties now, the house music of Reverend Mitton has been the soundtrack to our weekends for our entire lives, and he influenced our tastes in music perhaps as much as anybody. He was the radio to us before we had a spot on the radio.
With Reverend Mitton we’ve grown and evolved and so has he. Now, not just a producer, but also a catalyst in this city on how to do it right. Combine that with the fact that he can still rock the dancefloor as well as anybody, and everytime he plays you get as true a representation of New Mexico house Music has anyone alive. It’s a bit of a sermon and a bit of a history lesson, which I suppose is the point of house music in the first place. Isn’t it?
I should admit to you, In closing, That part of why I wish to show my admiration for these Djs is because they have given so much to me In their belief In my art as well. They were two of the first Djs to ever let me interview them, and I am now in the process of writing a book that includes their interviews. Paul Oakenfold won’t be the only dj playing that night that had a book written about him, and my moments with them inspire me still to this day.
Interviewing the rev on a Sunday afternoon, or Badcat while we ate charcuterie and drank wine, are moments that will live in my heart forever and with these words I wish to say thank you. Thank you for being strong enough to be you, and for dropping that beat, but most of all, for teaching me that being a local is something to be proud of. Something to celebrate. Local means home. And home is where I found these three Djs. Or maybe they found me.
Go early, and stay late. Everybody playing on February 25, is a legend. Don’t take these moments for granted ever again. See you on the dancefloor.
In 2001 I was 17 years old and in love with a raver. If you had asked me if I was in love, I would’ve denied it but looking back I know I was already there. We already took that leap together, and her connection to raving and house music played a huge part in why I found myself so suddenly obsessed with this one person. And why shouldn’t I have been? Even then she was cooler than me, more aware of who she was, and there’s no denying she had far more style than I ever will. The rave will always be the perfect example.
When we first met, it was before a rave. Her first one. Sparks flew from the minute our eyes met, and I spent the entire night showing her around and introducing her to this new world. Everybody has that person that shows them the magic of their first rave, and for her that person was me.
A detail about this night, though, that I see so clearly now, all these years later, is that her first rave was the last time I was more committed to the rave than she was. It was natural to her immediately. She found music I never heard of, and shows I never noticed, and people I did not have the guts to talk to. She was the cool raver, and I was the goofy blonde-haired dude tagging along. It’s been like that for a long time, and I don’t think it will ever change. That’s our dynamic, and it works.
But lately, I’ve been wondering where did that dynamic officially start? When did she really pass me by in the music department? Slowly, I narrowed it down to one moment and one DJ that she introduced me to that showed how things had really changed. It was the day she got into the passenger side of my dad’s little Toyota truck and looked at me with excitement and delight.
“I got a new CD.” She said as she smiled.
“Okay, put it on.” I replied as I shifted the clutch into first gear.
That was the way it went for us both. If one of us loved it the other would give it a listen, and then we’d go from there. Even then we respected each other’s musical taste immensely. She is my musical soul mate. I have no doubt about it.
“It’s called Our Day, by Colette.”
“Th DJ?”
“Yeah, but she’s not just a DJ. She sings.”
“Like, she makes her own songs?”
“Yeah, but when she DJ’s she sings too.”
Up to that point I’ll admit I had heard OF Colette, but I personally had not heard her actual music yet. Times were different back then. We didn’t have Soundcloud or YouTube. If you liked a DJ, it’s either because you heard them live and decided to like them, or because you saw they were coming, so you bought a CD and listened to them.
Or maybe your friend had a CD that you’d listen to together. But even with that, electronic music CDs were hard to find in New Mexico, and I still to this day am not really sure where she actually found this one. Part of the joy in this memory is the mystery of it. Which is also why I enjoyed Colette’s music so immediately. It was different. And unique.
Flyer for event @ Millennium 5/2/2001 The back
She had come to town a year before, but I didn’t go, and I still had no idea what she actually played. I can remember the flyer, and us being mad we didn’t make it, but also knowing there’d be a next time. There’s always a next time with house music. It’s so funny to say that now because now I know her as a Chicago House Music Legend.
And not just that, but she seems to encompass and represent not just the sound of Chicago, but also the sounds of San Francisco and Los Angeles as well. I’ve found there to be a bit of a triangle of house music between the three cities and based on that, New Mexico is strangely right in the middle of it. We hear the sounds of the Midwest in one ear and the sounds of the West Coast in the other. DJ Colette was the very first DJ to introduce me to that, and possibly still the best at representing it.
It’s disco, but it also has a fresh pop to it. Like, the sound of the ocean. Or maybe just the way we like to remember it in our heads. I didn’t know that, though, when the cd started. I just knew the girl I loved wanted me to hear some new house music. Which was a surprise, cause she was always the techno one.
By then she had already seen Joey Beltram and Juan Atkins, and I suspect she only liked hanging at my house at first because I had a bunch of Frankie Bones CDs in my collection. I didn’t mind, though. I liked that she was techno. I wasn’t quite all the way into it yet so I would let her borrow my techno cd’s all the time, the very few I had. House was my thing. I was already her counter. The yin to her yang. The idea of being introduced to a new House DJ by a girl was perhaps the teenage dream for me, and I was now suddenly living it.
It started so smooth and powerful. The best part about disco house is that you never mistake it for anything else and you recognize it immediately. And once you recognize it you can do nothing but respond with dance and joy. This time was different, though. This time the DJ added her voice. What you’ve got to understand is that everybody does a remix in their own way and with their own style.
The whole point of house music, and all of life for that matter, is having your own style, and Colette’s style is impossible to duplicate because it is constantly different and forever connected to her voice. It jumped out of the speakers immediately and by the time the disc ended, I was changed. House music had shown me another side to it. But hearing the cd is nothing compared to when we finally went and heard her in person.
That’s what’s happening on Saturday, June 11th at Meow Wolf for the Summer Serenade Masquerade Ball. Colette is playing in New Mexico. I can remember that first time seeing her live, at a show that also took place in Santa Fe. Hearing her sing those notes in person, over those groovy house beats is a must have moment, and in an environment like Meow Wolf it just can’t be beat.
I’m forever grateful to the Techno Raver girl that introduced me to the House Music of DJ Colette, and I look forward to the chance of hearing Colette in person once again. She is Chicago, She is California, She is House Music. Please go and show your appreciation for this sound that we all love so much. The sound that has always been there. The sound that will always be excited to show you something new, but only if you’re willing to go for a drive.
There was a moment during my most recent trip, when the music was over and we were sitting with a friend who had attended with us, and we were talking about how we thought the night went. I eventually brought up the obvious question.
“Did you like it? What did you think?”
My friend then paused, and after a moment said,
“Yeah,” and squinted her eyes a little and did a little shrug, as if to say It was good, but not great.
And I could tell what she was saying without her even completely saying it.
She was saying it was good enough to dance to, but not life changing, and although, she didn’t say all of that I could tell she was hesitant to admit it, since she knew the music was life changing to me at one point. She didn’t want to offend but she also wanted to be honest. Then she began to say something that stood out to me more than any song I heard all weekend.
“It’s sort of like in the Midwest every town has a different sound. Like with punk rock. Everywhere you go, it’s gonna sound different. For me it’s happy hardcore. For you it’s this.”
Sometimes, over the course of these long nights and wild times, in the thick of the madness, a person will say something, and you will know it’s true, and that it’s been said before, but never had it been so obviously applied to real life, like it was doing right now.
In one statement, this person revealed two things to me immediately. First, they didn’t like it as much as I did, but then again, they just didn’t have to. We put so much pressure on ourselves and each other to make a perfect night and a perfect moment that we forget the possibility that sometimes these moments aren’t special because we’re all fucked up and falling all over the music, sometimes they’re special because we are there for each other.
I could tell this friend was there for us, and she could have been anywhere else, and still she chose to go and hear music we wanted. I know there were other reasons for her being there, but us being there at least helped her decision one way or the other, and we knew that.
Second, was that she wanted to be honest. She was more committed to telling me the truth than she was in being my friend, and yet she didn’t want to offend or insult. There was a balance at play and I could see it, even if just with her words.
Which is a huge lesson on friendship I’ve learned this year. A balance of honesty and respect. I suppose I knew it before, but never did I see it so strongly as I do now. Their honest opinion is why they are my friends. Regardless of style or sound.
We’d stay there talking in her basement for a bit, then we’d go upstairs and watch cartoons till the sunrise, and then we’d agree to finally give in and go to sleep. Kind of the standard with our friends. Just hang out until we can’t hang out anymore. That’s all you’ll ever need sometimes. Both from the music and each other.
My personal opinion was that I loved the music. It was deep, and it built up, and covered many sounds, and styles, and even generations. A top of the line night musically for me, but then again, the important phrase in that was, ‘for me.’
It was impactful for me because it was music I found. I don’t believe I know anybody else who loves this type of music or these djs as much as I do, and yet the older I get I realize it’s more of a choice than a skill. We at times seem to measure our music tastes against each others, as if it’s a competition, and yet by doing so we remove the most humane aspect of music itself. No one sound is better, just different, and each has evolved because of the commitment and care of those involved. Their love for their sound is what makes it their sound. Who am I to say it isn’t?
I feel this lesson our friend taught me early that Sunday morning in Denver Colorado was perhaps the final lesson I was meant to learn in this crazy year where we traveled more than ever in our lives. 12 trips for 12 months and each one changed us the same way a dj changes their setlist with every stop they make on their tour. Why else would we be seeing them again after all these years if they aren’t showing their growth as well? What would be the point? I suppose the same goes for my friends too.
For every trip we’ve taken we’ve equally had just as many honest moments with people out there that we’ve met. It’s always been like that, but normally it used to be with strangers. Now in 2021 it was with friends this time . People we connected with before the quarantine, who we’re now meeting again as different people with varying paths. Who knows where each of our paths leads next, and yet here we still are. We may never see people we spent this year with ever again, and yet we know deep down that what we had was enough for that moment and that place.
That’s why their willingness to hear my sound has become so valuable these days, and also why I’d love to give the favor back. Because of that I’d love to start asking people to share their musical taste with me In the way you would sit with a friend and reveal these mysteries of your past. What makes you You? Musically, at least.
My commitment in 2022 will be to combine my ability to interview with my love for hearing the musical side of those I cherish. I wish for it to be my way of giving back to the people who allowed 2021 to happen for my Panda and I, by giving them a chance to share the music they love most. Their moment to control our dancefloor.
I would very much like to have this in a comfortable environment with others involved to share their opinions on what is played and to make sure it is still a party, but the one person selected will be in charge of the music all night, and the focus should not be as a dj, although, I would love for djs to take part too.
In a way, it’s time for us all to show the ability to control the sound ourselves, while also being allowed the chance to lend a voice to the stories it has made for you.
This is a chance for us all to return to the source of where the music made us fall in love, both with the sounds, and with each other. As a respected dj told me earlier this year when we were listening to Doc Martin,
“Give people 20 songs and they’re all gonna mix them different. Everybody has their own touch. It’s like Jackson Pollock and painting. Everybody’s gonna do it different.”
I value every moment a person has shared with me this year, not only when they were willing to come hear my sound, and my story, but also when they were willing to share theirs. Are you ready to share?
If you are interested in taking part please message us or send an email to Sandoproject20@gmail.com.
When I was younger, maybe 11 or 12, I began to dream of the open road. And not as much the destinations the road would lead me too, but rather the road itself. It was a constant never ending place I found to be real the more I closed my eyes and became a part of it. It even got to the point where I didn’t even have to be asleep to see it anymore. Id usually just lay there in my bed, the top bunk, always the top bunk, as my brother, the cool one, snored just like all Gallegos men do, and I’d just space out laying there for hours that felt like minutes.
Always white noise first. No sounds. No birds. No prairie dogs. No trees. No cars. No weird gas stations by the side of the road. Nothing. Just dead empty air, but with a subtle little after taste. Like a root bear float. I should probably get one of those after this.
Anyways, after the dead white empty noise, it’s just a road. For miles and miles and miles. Sort of like a siren, but with the sirens you’d get there and they’d eat you. This didn’t have that feel of enchantment. It felt real. Almost like a portal to that moment in time I wasn’t at yet. A connection between me then and me now. I truly believed that then, and I know it to be true now, as crazy as that sounds.There are even times when we’re somewhere on the road now, and I am not the one driving cause sometimes I like to give that power up, but not very often, and the music will be slow, or maybe we’ll just have no sound at all. And I’ll look out the window and I’ll see the sky, and for a second, there’s a flicker of light. A moment in time where I witnessed the atmosphere around me change. Sort of like a snapshot. Just pop. Pop pop.
“There’s something up there.” I’d think.
But really, I knew right away I couldn’t describe it. I just knew it happened, and I was the only one to see it. I suppose it could’ve all been in my head, and it could still be there, but I don’t think it works like that.
The more it happens the more I see clearly that it is a portal from my younger self to me now, and he’s seeing where I am, and the beautiful woman I’m with, and he’s seeing that I’m okay. That, for the most part, I got to where I needed to. And although it only happens when I’m on the road and not here, at home, I can feel that moment from my past when the connection was made. I can feel when it was real. But only on the road. And I don’t think it’s ever going to change.
But as each time happens, and I have trouble finding a way to explain this occurrence to my love, who is always the one driving when this happens, I realize one day I won’t be the old man on the road anymore. And when that happens what will my younger self see? Will he see anything at all. I suppose I remember a moment where that dream stopped happening, although, I always assumed it was because I started out on the road. So it wasn’t a dream anymore.
But now I look back and I realize that maybe I wasn’t the only one looking for a sign. And maybe I’m not the only one sending them. Maybe I wasn’t seeing flickers in the sky from myself, but rather from those old ones who came before me. The ones who knew the road before I ever could. The fools of the highway. For all this time I’ve been thinking it was only me, I forgot that there’s an entire world out there of people who see the road when they close their eyes too.
So, because of that, I’ve learned that my job isn’t to send the signals to myself anymore, clearly he got the message, but rather now, it’s to send it out to others, so one day they can say they saw the signs too. And if they’re smart, they’ll hear my words, and believe them to be true.
When you’re the old man, tired from the road, more tired than you look, you’re gonna wanna send a word, or an image, or even a melody, depending on your choice. and when you do, make sure its the right one. the one that says its okay to be kind, or generous, or honest, or even grateful. in fact, be grateful a lot. share that idea with others. and trust it because one day somebody shared it with you. ill see you out there some time, but maybe as just a flicker in the sky.
When it comes to house music there’s one thing you can always count on; it means many things to many people. Well, I suppose there are quite a few things you can count on, but this reason is always what seems to stand out to me when finally discussing the subject with others. Sure, we love the beat, and the soul, and the way it makes us move, but can that be all that unites us? Is it all that simple?
Yes. . . and no. Yes, we are connected by these basic aspects of house. Yes, we are driven to it by the things we cannot describe, but no, it isn’t just that. Life will never be so simple as saying,
‘I love the music; it makes me feel good.’
It’s very much the same as how you found your friends, at least the ones you get close to enough to call friends. Is it such a shock that they are in your life? Do you believe the universe is just one big coincidence? I don’t, and that’s exactly what I would want you to know about me and the story that is to follow. None of this was a coincidence. Not the friends I made, not the music I found, not the lessons I learned, and most of all, not the trips I took.
Every single one was meant to happen, and every single moment lead to the next one, and the next one, and the one after that. All leading to the big one; the one I am taking at the end of this story, and the end of this summer. The entire reason I decided to write this one in the first place. I’m going to Chicago. It’s time to go to the birthplace of house music.
Chicago.
But then again, it’s not always just about Chicago, and it never was. House didn’t just start there just like it didn’t start for me at my first function. In fact, they didn’t even play house music at my first function. They played Drum and Bass, and because of that for quite a while I assumed Drum and Bass was the first sound, since it was the first sound for me. Everybody starts with the same sound, right? Everybody has the same path, right? Of course not. This wouldn’t be a story worth writing or even reading if it were the same as everybody else’s. What would be the point in that?
This will have the stories of others, though. Many stories. Over the course of my writing of this one I have found myself deep in conversations not just with my fellow lovers of house, but also with artists and Dj’s who have experienced it from the other side of the dancefloor than I have. Each one has given me a new perspective and understanding of just what house music really is, and each time I have learned something I did not know before. Each person has taught me something by showing me a side of them I did not know was there. And it always revolved around House music. House is what caused us to find each other. It’s the reason we still find each other.
And, oh, what a reason indeed. House has inspired me, it has saved me, it has carried me through. There really may be nothing better in the world. Plus, every corner of the world makes it. We all have our own version of house, and as I’ve been shown, our own way it has saved us. There is a reason it’s our dancefloor and not just simply mine or yours. It conspires to carry us all through until the end. The end for us, at least. But not the end for our story, though. Not the end for House.
Littered amongst our interviews and conversations that are to follow I will also share stories from my own experiences with House. The moment I knew it was house I was listening to, the moment I knew It saved my life, and finally the moment I am to finally go to Chicago. And why am I going to Chicago? House music. I’m going for House music, of course.
House music has been my life since I was sixteen years old, and now that I am thirty six years old I see how completely it has changed everything. This isn’t just a sound, or a feeling; it’s a religion. House is my religion, and my church is the dancefloor. It has given me so much, and it has asked for so little in return. But I, a thankful and devoted house head, would finally like to give something back to it. Something that will be here long after I am. Something that will show the world what House really means.
A history lesson that ends with a pilgrimage. From New Mexico, the place I found it, the place I still feel it the most, all the way to Chicago where I always dreamed to hear it. I started by wanting to know more about Chicago, but by doing so, I stumbled across something I always felt but never knew for sure. New Mexico and Chicago are connected by more than just this one function kid’s love for the dancefloor. There’s so much more going on, so much more than I could have ever expected. So much that deserves to be told. All that’s left is somebody willing to tell it. So, lets tell it. And for me, this story can only start with one place.
It’s time to go back. Back to the music. Back to the house Back to the techno, And to everything else we find Along the way. Back to dancing all night And into the morning. And sometimes during the day, But not all the time. Back to that life we Had to let go of Before it was taken away. Back to those heavy beats And the high hats And the massive drops And the unexpected breaks. Back to the friends We hug with both arms Back to the ones who refuse to let go, So, we hang on too. Back to our family. Back to the warehouse, Back to not getting the address Until an hour before. Back to ending up in neighborhoods our parents begged us to stay away from. Back to squeezing into one car And hoping the police don’t notice. Back to the security check, And the anticipation Of trying to get to the other side. Back to the festival grounds And walking all night long But not even thinking Twice because the music We’re going to find at the end Is just so good. Back to the overpriced drinks, But what difference does it make once you’re already buzzed? Back to the merch that I don’t really want, Until I get home and then I wish I had gotten something to show I was there. Back to pictures And videos And soundbites that are just too good To not have a piece of. Back to all those other moments where nothing was recorded at all. Back to the hotel rooms Stuffed full of ravers All together, Laughing and enjoying every second; As the whip-it canister gets passed back and forth until they’re all gone sometime early the next morning. Back to talking about who was our favorite, Or who didn’t live up, Or who was just a hot mess, Although, It all kind of is when you really start to think about it. Back to the drugs Cause of course they’re still there. They’re always there. Back to spending too much, And more than we had, But also sometimes just enough. Back to having one more, Or splitting another, Cause the night’s just not Over yet. Back to sharing a bump From a spoon that you Bought with a friend Sometime before the quarantine began Who you’re not friends with, Anymore. But back to that some other time, though. Back to closing your eyes Back to letting go. Back to responding to the beat at the same time as everyone else. Back to forgetting where you are. Back to remembering everything. Back to saying I’m sorry. And thank you. And I love you. And meaning it every time. Back to starting over. Back to true love gets another chance. Back from the love I’ll never have. Back to forever. Back to a healthier weight And a clear mind And not so many cigarettes anymore. Back to realizing just how old I really am. But also, Back to saying “Fuck it,’ And deciding I’m going to be young forever. Back to feeling like myself again. Back to wanting to never let it go. Back to realizing we’re the lucky ones. Back from a trip And ready to plan another. Back to sleeping on the plane, With you. Back to you. And those eyes, And your smile, And the way you remind Me that you’re still mine. Back to stealing kisses, And sleeping in the car together, And having sex in the shower, Of some hotel room we’ll never see again. And going into the porta potty Together so we can share drugs Without people watching. Back to Us Back to what we took so for granted. Back to Mine And, of course, back to the dancefloor. It’s time to go back Let’s go back . . .
The Neon Garden this year was different. First, it wasn’t a tent. But it also wasn’t an open-air downtown district type building, like with the version we saw at the Neon Garden in 2018. This year it was a megastructure. A pretty big one too. I’m still not even sure how many people could fit into it, but Patrick Topping mentioned there being 20,000 people at his set, and that was the very last set of the very last day, and I was there. It didn’t feel like it was that filled up, but does it ever?
I still don’t know how many people were in there during the peak of each night. Which I can tell you, felt way more crowded than when I saw Patrick topping. Although, again, that was still 20,000 people. It just doesn’t feel that way when you’re in the middle of it. When you’re in the middle of it you’re just one small part. Sort of like an ant just following his own path, and still realizing it’s all a part of the overall goal of the group. That’s how small it really makes you feel once you look back at it.
That first night for us started with Michael Bibi, and right off the bat he played the house-iest set we heard all weekend in the Garden, and he had everybody bumping in rhythm right from the get-go. Even ending with a song by the late great Paul Johnson that still sounded so fresh and clean after all these years.
Michael Bibi
Next came Loco Dice and true to form, he made things fuzzy for the rest of the weekend. It’s very hard to explain the impact Loco Dice has on a dancer because if I played a set on soundcloud or I showed you something on Youtube it would never duplicate how it feels to be right there on the dancefloor surrounded by massive speakers as the bass drops for the first time. It just hits different. And after that you’re different too.
I’ve often argued that what makes Loco Dice so unique is his ability to use the feedback from his bassline to create a second bassline to counter that. Most times you won’t even know which bassline to follow because he has found a way to form a completely different set by just changing the frequency of his sound.
What’s more is that most people just don’t realize that sound waves are real. Even if you can’t see them, they are floating through the air, and when they reach you, they enter and flow through you, changing both your physical and spiritual state as well. Loco Dice is as clear an example of that as any DJ I’ve ever experienced in person. After you’re done hearing him you can feel the aches and creaks in your body. His music changed you.
What stood out about Loco Dice that first night was not just what he played, but also what he wore, which I never say for a DJ, but this time, it was because it brought up a memory, I always hold so dear. Night one of EDC 2021 was not my first time seeing Loco Dice. Or my second. Or possibly even my third. The first time I remember seeing Loco Dice was in Detroit at the Leland City Club. It was an afterparty for Movement Music festival and it included Loco Dice doing a b2b with Stacey Pullen followed by the Martinez Brothers doing a b2b with Seth Troxler. My date and I arrived there around midnight, and we left sometime around 8 am in a complete and utter daze.
For eight hours I remember little more than loving every single fucking minute of it, and it’s still to this day one of the best nights I ever had on the dancefloor. If you ask me what songs were played, I probably won’t remember. I probably wouldn’t recognize anybody else there either, outside of my love and I, but I can remember one other thing I know I will never forget.
I remember Loco Dice wearing a fuzzy red kangol hat. Smooth and subtle. Like it was still 1992. Like time had stood still and walking into a function in Detroit to a DJ bumping house music in his kangol hat still happened everyday for us techno kids just brave enough to see it. I’ll never forget that red kangol hat, and how it looked in my mind. Which is why I was so amazed, when I finally made it to the center of the dancefloor, to see Loco Dice at EDC 2021 rocking that same Kangol hat. Red and Fluffy, and impossible to ignore. I could feel the universe telling me, ‘Welcome back to the party.’
Loco Dice
After Loco came the Martinez Brothers, and for two more hours the garden just bumped. Loud and heavy and full of life. No tent this time. No plants. Or Flowers. Even at a daisy carnival. But the sounds went long and deep into the night. And so did we. By the end of that first night, we spent somewhere around seven hours in the Neon Garden, only taking small breaks to get water or maybe even use the restroom. It was clear from that first day, we all were there for a reason, and for us, that reason was House and Techno. Night two would prove that to us again, once and for all.
If night one was about a return to House Music, then night two was about techno, and how much it really had taken over the garden. When we first went to the Neon Garden it was a real mix of House and Techno, and it still very much is, but the difference now is that when Techno takes over it spreads, and spreads and I don’t think the spreading stops. Night two for us started with Enrico Sangiuliano, perhaps the Dj I wanted to see most after the quarantine. The sounds of the Italian Techno Titan sounded so clean and heavy in the heart of the neon garden, and he made me feel like we had finally returned to the life of techno we loved so much. He just kept building and building and building, and before we knew it, it was time for Charlotte de Witte.
Enrico Sangiuliano
Charlotte is known all around the world as the next generation of Techno, and to me she showed it even more with her headlining set at the Neon Garden. She powered through with more acid techno than I had heard her play before, and she wiped away any memory of anybody who played before her. Enrico built a powerful techno fortress and she armed it with the acid power I love so much. Nothing melts my heart faster than acid techno. Charlotte gave me that on a sound system that again, made you feel it in your body as well as your soul. That still didn’t prepare me for what came next with Reinier Zonneveld, who was picked to play the final set of Night two at EDC.
What made Reinier’s set, perhaps the best of the entire weekend, so good was that it was unique, and spontaneous and filled with emotion. You could feel him pushing the dancers to keep going, and you could see his smile up on stage as he dropped and then pulled every single beat he had in his arsenal of techno sounds. For him it was an attempt to make a connection with us, and by the final song you could feel how connected we all were for just that one moment.
He played harder and harder, even going so far as to almost play some European Hardcore towards the end of his set, finally pulling us all out to play the classic Underworld song Born Slippy as the lights reflected off his jacket. I stood in stunned silence wearing my black kitty onesie I bought specifically for this night. Even after the music stopped you could still feel the power of the night that Techno brought to us for Night two in the Neon Garden. We were exhausted and happy, with just barely enough energy to fall asleep and get ready for one last night at EDCLV deep within the Neon Garden. I even heard the music in my sleep that morning.
Reinier Zonneveld
The third night of any festival is unique because in most cases it revolves around most of the people attending just trying to survive. Even the toughest of the toughest get a little worn down after three days and three nights of partying, and EDC and Las Vegas do nothing to help make that fact easier. Just getting to the festival that last night is an amazing feet all by itself, leaving everybody in attendance with a euphoric sense of joy and a full commitment to enjoying every single second like its our last, because after this night it would be for us and EDC, at least for one more year.
Night three at the Neon Garden was about one set and only one set. The B3B. Dubfire b2b Nicole Moudaber b2b Paco Osuna. An epic and powerful combination of sounds that we were dying to see again ever since we got a taste of it at Escape, in Southern California before the world shut down and things changed forever. That weekend was devoted to wandering and enjoying the festival, so we didn’t see the entire performance by the three the first time, but for this one we knew we wouldn’t miss a second. First, though, we had the chance to enjoy the powerful sounds of Nina Kraviz.
Nina Kraviz
With Nina you never know what you’re gonna get, and tonight she chose powerful and heavy techno that sent me spinning and rolling around in the grass outside the garden. Again, the physical change Techno causes is impossible to ignore. Nina subtly and confidently made sure her two hours would be just as memorable and just as heavy as any other DJ who played that weekend. Nobody in the crowd could deny it. And then the b3b started.
As the music started up, and we walked quickly into the thick faceless crowd that stood ready to dance at every chance they gave us, you could already feel the power building. From their first song, it was more like they were building a skyscraper deep within the city. Every song a new level, and addition to the power they started on the ground floor. Each working with great intent and such focus that there was never any way of knowing who was playing what.
B3B= Dubfire, Nicole Moudaber, Paco Osuna
Dubfire stood at the end, headphones on, absolutely obsessed with each sound being made. Moudaber, stood in the center, her hair, and her sunglasses, and that look she gives that lets you know she’s just as in it as you are. And Paco just zoning out to the sounds he seems to forget are his. His subtle control over such power combined with Moudaber’s confidence and Dubfire’s patience created something I know I will never witness again.
The lights flashed above and behind them and the fog oozed out into the crowd as we all simply lost our minds in a dance and celebration of how far Techno has come. What was two hours felt only like minutes of absolute joy and bliss over the beats and sounds we loved so much. At this moment the Neon Garden was the loudest stage on the Speedway grounds and there’s nothing you can say or do to ever make me feel otherwise. The B3B was the loudest most powerful moment Techno has ever had at EDC, and we were all there together to have it. When their two hours were up and we all celebrated and hugged and wept with joy, we slowly came to realize what had slowly crept up on us. We had reached the end of EDC, and our return to the Garden.
Patrick Topping played the closing set, and we danced one more time in merriment and absolute bliss to the sounds of his heavy, jacking, jumping house music. And sometimes some techno, but always Patrick Topping. He plays in a way, and with a style, and with such enthusiasm that you will always know who’s playing when he’s playing. I couldn’t have asked for a better DJ to end the weekend and this night for us. He gave us one more chance to enjoy our garden. A garden we thought we’d never see again.
Patrick Topping
Not every moment we spent at EDC was at the Neon Garden, but then again, I don’t want to talk about those other stages right now. I didn’t seek them out with wonder and commitment like I did with the Garden. I enjoyed them all, and I loved them all, and I’m so glad and thankful for the moments I had out there over that one weekend in October. At the Speedway I felt a renewed commitment to the idea EDC is trying so hard to keep alive. Enjoy the moment, the experience, and most of all those you are there with.
Of the three EDC’s I went to this one was far and away the one filled with the most love. We who went, knew we wanted to be there, and because of that we let go of all the expectations we once had before. We weren’t as careless, or naïve to the world, and still, at the same time, we weren’t as jaded or arrogant in the comfort of this life we once had.
We were starting over, but then again, so was everybody else. So was EDC. Getting back to this one wasn’t just about getting back to the Speedway or even getting back to the Neon Garden. Getting back to this one was about getting back to each other, and reminding one another, that the journey we take to get to this moment is just as important as the moment itself. There will be another EDC. But there will never be another one just like this. And that’s all any of us can ask for ever again. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Sasha is coming to New Mexico. For a long time, we used to wonder when this day would happen and now that it is one day away, I can’t help but be happy for how far we’ve come as a dance community to get a dj like Sasha to play here. It’s no short of an amazing accomplishment that’s taken decades for this city to make happen, although I don’t think you’d believe me If I’d tell you the whole story.
This isn’t Sasha’s first time coming to New Mexico, so don’t let anybody make you think otherwise, and I was there last time as well. It was for the Delta Heavy Tour when he was traveling America with fellow top-level DJ John Digweed. I can remember I had just turned eighteen and I found myself finally eligible to attend the eighteen and up events that used to seem so much cooler than the underage raves we used to go to every weekend. It’s so funny to think like that now. There was once a time where the club and the music hall were more interesting to us than the rave. It was something new to us, and that’s where we were when we found the tour was coming to the Sunshine Theatre in 2002.
The night itself when it finally arrived, was memorable, to say the least. The show was opened by Jimmy Van M, followed by Sasha and Digweed each taking turns on the decks before finishing with a b2b, which was something that was still very rare at the time. Now, it’s as if every festival or afterparty has to have some special one of a kind b2b, and don’t get me wrong, I love them, but it’s still fun to remember a time when Sasha and John Digweed were the only ones playing like this. Topping that of, they still only played Vinyl, making it a night full of sonic uniqueness at its peak.
To this day, I cannot remember one song they played, and still I stood there on the dancefloor for over four hours absolutely amazed by what I was hearing and seeing. So subtle. So precise. So aware of every single sound they conveyed. I am still altered by that night, and not just because of the DJ’s. I have seen them together again since then, and I have seen them separate as well, but never has it felt quite as good as it did that first time in Albuquerque. I see so clearly now, though, it wasn’t just Sasha and John Digweed that made it special. It was the city as well.
When I’m on the road, and I’m talking to people, and I tell them where I’m from – New Mexico- their usual response is never to label it as a dance music mega city, and I don’t blame them. That’s not something New Mexico is ever going to be, and that is our advantage. New Mexico does not have the size, but it does have the commitment, and the quality. Intimate and connected. So devoted to staying exactly who it is, who it’s always been. When a DJ plays here, they aren’t playing for a crowd, but rather becoming a part of the experience.
We offer them a knowledgeable dancefloor filled with people who will look the DJ in the eye, and still allow them the freedom and space to play in a way I’ve seen them never play in the bigger cities or even at festivals. They’re coming to New Mexico is as much a treat for them as it is for the people lucky enough to get a ticket to a show that should sell out and pack the dancefloor.
This is a chance to hear one of the gods of electronic music in a setting so unique and exclusive that you will never be able to match it again. This isn’t just Sasha DJing for a couple of hours. This is Sasha in the desert wasteland we call home. Sasha in and abandoned old Staples next to the Family Dollar. Sasha in a place more committed to being a rave than club.
What I hope for New Mexico moving forward is a commitment to a safe environment for its dancers and a return to our roots. A reminder of who we really are, and if we’re smart that will start with Friday, October 1st at the Electric Playhouse.
Electronic music belongs in a setting worthy of its creative spirit, and with New Mexico we have that. If you have the chance go and witness the rebirth of a city that deserves it with a DJ that can make you live, and cry, and die on the dancefloor. Get there a little early too so you can catch House Legend, Eldon, play as well. No other DJ could help set the mood right.
Sasha is coming to New Mexico. A night that has taken decades to make happen, and all you have to do is show up, look him in the eye, nod your head as the beat slowly creeps in, and without even thinking twice, let go.
I will be with you in spirit, but not in body, and as someone who knows how long it took and how hard it was to book a musical mastermind like Sasha, I wish to say thank you for this. And good job. And keep going. Don’t let this be just one thing. Let it be the start. The start of what New Mexico is meant to be. A place DJs are already talking about. A place the rave world deserves to know is special.
Rebuild in a warehouse. Rebuild with Sasha. Rebuild the way New Mexico knows how. Pay your twenty bucks and go show respect to a DJ that has seen the world and has helped change it, and now, wants to play for you, and only you.
This night isn’t about Sasha, or the Electric Playhouse, it’s about New Mexico, and the future of raves in our wasteland paradise. Tell me if he plays Xpander, I’ve always loved that one.
There was excitement, anticipation, and a touch of anxiousness in the air for everybody with a ticket to Arc Music Festival, in Chicago, IL last weekend. The first-year festival was held at Union Park over two days during Labor Day weekend, and it offered an impressive list of quality DJs in both house and techno from all around the world. Top that off with Elrow hosting its own stage in Chicago for the first time and multiple afterparties to choose from and what they offered was something we knew we could not say no to. Even the chance at seeing Eric Prydz in all his three forms was as much a reason as any to take this trip. It was our first festival since after the quarantine, and possibly our most challenging. Chicago would ask more of us.
Day One was devoted to techno, and you could tell immediately arriving at the festival that everybody dressed accordingly. We started our day at the expansion stage, which was an open-air stage that seemed almost medieval in its theme. There were lanterns in the trees and the stage was designed out of wood and lights, something so subtle, and yet when supported by good music and good lasers, always enough to start the party right. The mix of natural and artificial fog was a nice touch as well.
First, we saw DJ Pierre b2b Idriss D, and right off the bat they gave me one of my favorite moments of the weekend. DJ Pierre is nothing short of an absolute acid house legend and hearing him play the sound he invented in the city he made it in was as legendary a welcome to the city a person could dream of. His heavy bass and sweet vocals had me feeling Chicago immediately, and from there we never let each other go. All weekend long Chicago offered something with Arc that we knew we could not get anywhere else in the world.
After that we wandered over to the Elrow stage and prepared ourselves to be blown away by the unmatchable commitment that is always expected from them, no matter what continent you’re on. As we arrived, we were amazed by the colors, shapes, costumes, and sounds coming from deep within the Elrow tent. We found ourselves suddenly in the middle of a psychedelic portal right there in the middle of that park. I was expecting Elrow to be open air and found the tent packed all weekend long, but then again this was Elrow. What did we expect other than colorful madness everywhere? They lived up to their name and our expectations immediately, but for next year if they return, I hope they go bigger.
On that first day we found ourselves bouncing around from Layton Gioradani representing Drumcode, Rodriguez Jr. playing his smoothness at the grid, Deborah de Luca throwing bangers one after the other, and over to Eli & Fur controlling the Elrow stage. It was a buffet of good sounds that we never seemed to know where to settle on. By the time we ended up at Nicole Moudaber our heads were spinning with musical bliss. Nicole was set to play the Drumcode after party that night, so it was no surprise to us that she chose to play a more mellow and progressive set than the techno a lot of people are used to. We have both always been huge progressive fans, so we found this a very nice and emotional surprise, with the rainfall that followed as a sign that even Chicago felt the same. That would be the only time all weekend we’d dance in the rain and Nicole made it a dance we would always remember.
Next, we were back at the expansion stage to hear Cirez D belt out his own style of techno that has always left the techno world having playful arguments over, constantly. Everybody has an opinion about Eric Prydz. I enjoyed his Cirez D set, but then again, I spoke to multiple friends who didn’t. Although, they did also mention how much they loved Eric Prydz that next day at The Grid, so again, he is just that guy that polarizes no matter where or when you see or hear him.
We showed our age during his set by finding a seat in the back of the VIP and relaxing to the music for a bit. Admittedly, not the most techno moment of my life, but I am not a young raver anymore, and having the chance to hear such quality music while still being able to relax is something us older ravers appreciate far more than we ever want to admit. We bought VIP tickets by accident months before the festival but found ourselves happy with the mistake it allowed us to take advantage of.
We finished day one listening to every moment of one of my all-time favorites Luciano, making his Chicago debut and playing that smooth Latin percussion sound I love so much. It was a beautiful moment matched with beautiful sounds in a beautiful environment, with a beautiful date. By the time the music was over we had just enough energy to catch the Green Line home to our hotel to rest after a very eventful first day back.
We had plans for an afterparty but chose to sit it out realizing we’d probably benefit more from a good night’s rest than we would from yet another afterparty. Another sign of our age, no doubt, but also one I feel no raver should ever have any shame in admitting. If you can’t make it, you can’t make it. Save you energy for the next day. I’m glad we had the foresight to see that one. Cause day 2 would take the insanity of Arc and Chicago to the next level. Day 2 was dedicated to house.
We got to Day 2, and right away you could feel the energy was different than from day one. Day one had a bit of a business techno feel, and you could feel the anxiety from a lot of people being at their first festival since the end of the quarantine. Everybody wanted it just to go well so bad that we didn’t completely let go until day 2, when we knew, it was going to happen no matter what.
We started with Chicago house Legend DJ Heather, a favorite of ours since we were teenagers, and a great way to get the day going. From there we went to see another Chicago legend, Gene Ferris, who I had never seen but always loved. The energy at the Elrow stage was much more high energy from the get-go on day 2 and you could tell Ferris was a huge reason for that. As he played a track from recently deceased legend Paul Johnson, you could feel the raw energy of the city starting to take over. Day 2 was about the city more than it was about any one DJ.
After the confetti went everywhere in the multicolored madness of Elrow, we wandered back over to our favorite stage of the weekend, the expansion stage, and we found ourselves lost in the crowd as the Martinez Brothers started right as the sun began to set on that Sunday in Chicago. They brought that funky passionate sound that only they can play, and it went wonderfully with the falling of the sun behind the trees that surrounded us. We danced and enjoyed that moment together. It was perhaps one of my favorites of the whole weekend.
Somewhere towards the end of our fun with the Martinez Brothers we agreed on doing a half and half of Lee Foss and Hot Since 82 at the Elrow stage. We caught the last half of Lee Foss, where he was playing a sound so amazing, I can say I had never heard him play so well up to that point. We have always been huge Lee Foss fans, seeing him multiple times in multiple cities, but seeing him again in such a unique environment playing such a different sound was out of this world, and another great moment for us and everybody there.
Next, we caught the first half of Hot Since 82, and he gave me my most emotional moment of the weekend by starting his set with a track a Chicago legend and favorite of mine, Mark Farina, used to play during his Mushroom Jazz sets we loved so much. Hot Since 82 found a way to connect with me that showed we both found a love for this city and its music even though we both came from such distant places from one another. House music is a language we speak to each other without actually even saying a word. I know what Hot Since 82 was saying because it was the exact reason why I was there too.
Finally, we ended with a once in a lifetime set with Seth Troxler doing a b2b with the one and only Derrick Carter to close out the festival. Seeing Derrick Carter play in Chicago was the reason I was there that weekend. Everybody seemed secondary to seeing him, and now having the chance to see him play with Seth was simply a bonus. I would compare walking to that stage to seeing Kevin Saunderson in Detroit my first time going to Movement Music Festival. It takes on the feeling of a spiritual or even religious journey. A pilgrimage. House music is my religion, and I was now hearing it from one of its creators. There are very few moments in music or even life that can match the feeling I had that night. It felt like I won the game of life.
“Can you dance to my beat?” The song echoed out of the speakers, and it appeared for a bit a blue haired mermaid with a beard was Dj’ing, although, I couldn’t get anybody to believe me. There was even a moment where a friend turned to me and said, “I don’t even know what they’re playing. It’s like hip hop, and house, but something else. I love it.” “Yeah, and r & b. I think I’ll call it hip house.” We laughed. They invented a new style of music just for us right there. By the time they finished we found ourselves sitting under a tree waiting for our friends to find us.
The day had come and gone in a flash, and we found ourselves covered in layers and layers of dirt. Happy but dirty. There was even a moment where we all stood at the station and all danced and sang to ‘Billie Jean’, playing on a car passing us by. So content, so satisfied, so alive. Arc gave us a full experience and it happened in such a mad rush that it’s still hard to believe it was all real.
That night we chose the after party at radius where not only did we get more of Hot since 82, but also a very impressive closing set from Anthony Parasole, and since they had the doors to the bigger room open, we even got a chance to see Pryda for a bit, something we had no plans for, and yet, I’m glad we at least got a chance see that other side of him.
We finished with a final after party at PRYSM that Monday with Lee Foss doing a b2b with Gorgon City to close it all out for us. It was a beautiful final dance in the city we dreamed of for so long, and now we knew we’d love forever. We even found a spot where my partner could watch him and admire his mixing skills. When we first discovered house music and dreamed of Chicago as teenagers, I was the DJ. But now that we are adults it’s the other way around. She is the DJ and student of music now. It was a moment where I could feel how much both House music and we as people, had really grown up over all these years. “He’s playing two songs at once again.” She smiled from behind her mask.
There are things I know Arc could improve on. High drink prices, only one water station, a bit of sound bleed between the stages, Adam Beyer and Christoph having to cancel, but even with saying that, I can’t help but admit the festival was a complete success. Most of the issues were out of their hands and the other ones weren’t so bad. All of which, can be improved with a second year. Next year.
It was Business techno, it was Chicago house, and it was everything else in between. We even managed to sneak in a Friday night at North Coast Music festival, but this isn’t about that, this is about Arc, and house and techno. Good music with friends in settings we used to only dream of. Chicago pushed us passed our limit, and in return it gave us so much more. If they have arc again next year, I say go. Just bring extra money, study the subway lines, and be ready to dance, a lot. See you next year.
Perfecto Presents: Sandra Collins Cd 1 Release date: September 23, 2003
The first mix or song that I’m going to talk about is actually a Cd we bought together before we started our life on the road. It was when we were still teenagers and still dreaming of the things we’re doing now. Back then we didn’t have the internet to help us find our dreams, though. Now things are so different. Any Dj, any event, any city is reachable as long as you can find it somewhere online.
But it’s more than that. You don’t just find the events, you also find people, and those people are searching for the music just like you are. But again, this was before all this happened. In 2003 the internet was there, but we just didn’t see it as that. We were still in that period of time where if you wanted to find new music you had to go physically find it. Whether it be a new band playing in town, or even a new dj.
Sandra Collins, to me, will always be the best example of going and finding something that was already looking for you. I discovered Sandra Collins in 2000, when I was 15 years old. It was my third electronic music event ever and it would prove to be far more monumental than I ever could have imagined when I arrived at the sunshine theatre on that Tuesday evening. Part of why I call it an event instead of a rave is because of the day and place it happened. I knew she was a dj, but why was it being held at a concert venue on a school night? How was this different than the couple warehouse functions I found myself in before this moment?
The answer was simple. It was because of the Dj. I didn’t know Sandra Collins at all other then the fact that my friends said we should go. I wish I was cool enough to know more, but that was just about it. I was young, and new to the scene, and completely willing to trust my friends when they said I shouldn’t miss this one. I remember I didn’t even ask my father if I could go. I just bought the ticket and went. Knowing very well the show would end well after midnight and I had school the next day, I simply didn’t care. all that mattered was that I was there.
Sandra Collins was on tour that year for her edition of the tranceport cd series that had previous versions from Paul Oakenfold and Dave Ralph. I didn’t know any of this stuff, though. I was simply just there. Now, these words are not meant to describe that night, so I won’t say much, other than she changed me in such a profound way that im still in awe of that night now 22 years later.
I remember she came out barefoot and wearing sunglasses. Idk why that’s the first thing I remember. I remember her plugging her headphones into the mixer and throwing on her first records to be played, but after that, I’ll admit it was sonic and audio bliss surrounded by a blur. And I can’t say it was alcohol, I was only fifteen. And I can’t say it was drugs, cause again, I was only fifteen, so I know without thinking twice what Sandra Collins did that night was completely natural and completely real. She set the bar for every dj I would ever see for the rest of my life. I am always comparing every single one of them to that first moment with Sandra Collins. And not out of disrespect, but rather as a challenge. Show me what she did all those years ago.
It didn’t end with Sandra Collins after that, though. After that I met a girl, and she became my girlfriend, and she loved going to the rave too. She loved dancing, and smoking weed, and watching the sunrise, and she loved Sandra Collins. Sandra Collins was actually the first dj we each loved separately and then we loved together. She was that first bridge through music for us. I can still remember the first time my girl came over to my house and I showed her the autograph I got from Sandra Collins that first night I saw her. I could tell it impressed her. I owe Sandra for that one.
Anyways, after that we sort of just became lost in the rave for a while, although, twenty two years later not much has changed. You just keep going. First this one, and then the next one, and the next one, and the next one. In 2003 we were nineteen and very much ready to be done with our teen years.
Well most kids spent that stretch going to the prom and to football games we spent it traveling around New Mexico. Warehouses, deserts, mountains. Wherever there was a beat we went after it. Again, not much has changed. Because of our travels there started to be a real need and commitment to what was played in the car on the drive to and from the rave. It’s almost as if that choice became more important than the rave itself. The rave was gonna happen one way or the other, and whether it was busted or it went all night, that was beyond us. We just had to get there. But the music in the car, became a major deal. We all suddenly became the dj.
By the time this cd came out we had already owned at least three Sandra Collins cds, so this wasn’t our first or our last purchase of her cds, but what seems to stand out to me, all these years later, was just how excited we were for it to come out in the first place. Sandra Collins, our favorite dj, releasing a mix on the record label of our second favorite dj, Paul oakenfold’s Perfecto Records, just sounded like it was made just for us. They were already connected through tranceport, and now this was a double cd, something that was still rare, even for electronic music.
We were excited to see what she could do. It started right away, with a Junkie XL track. I had always heard of Junkie XL as legends before my time, but I’ll admit, I don’t remember hearing one of their songs until she started her mix with it. Part of a dj’s job is to educate us with music we may not have found on our own. Sandra Collins always provided that for us. This cd showed that as much as any we heard.
From there the education continued. In This world (slacker’s rain before carnival remix) by Moby moved me so completely that I would spend years searching out that song on vinyl, which I accomplished almost four years later. A record I still own to this day. It was epic and moody progressive house before the next generation would speed up the tempo and bpm to what it is now. But it was also progressive trance.
Progressive trance is a style that most people don’t want to touch nowadays, and part of that is because it’s so hard to describe. It’s easier to just call it all progressive house and let the listener decide for themselves. Sandra Collins has always been the best at being able to walk the line between both.
Another great track was No other Man (The Greek Remix) by Gpal Presents Ghos. I would also spend years trying to find this song on vinyl, which I believe is another good sign of how great of a dj Sandra Collins really is. She doesnt just play songs you like, she plays songs you love and become obsessed with. I’d try to find these songs just like I’d try to find the next dancefloor, or even the next highway. What amazes me even more now, looking back, is how this track was released on the Yoshitoshi label, a label started by two of my other all time favorite djs, Deep dish. Deep dish deserves an explanation all on their own, but again, it still stands out to me that even before I knew who any of these people were, this dj introduced me to them. I’d spend the rest of my life loving the tracks made by deep dish and their labels, and the very first one I loved was played by Sandra Collins.
Finally, the last track of the cd, Traveling On (Gabriel & Dresden Campfire mix) by Beber & Tamra. Everybody has their style of music that they love the most, and for me that style will always be emotional but subtle vocals over a heavy and melodic beat. Gabriel & Dresden are still two of my favorite producer/dj duos and this the first of many of their songs I’d love all my life.
I love the emotional stuff, and this song is as perfect an example of what I love as maybe any song I’ll ever play for you. If I want you to remember me, I’d probably play this song for you. I can remember the first moment we heard it together, in our car, holding hands as we drove around the city. Feeling like we had everything even though we had nothing. This song will always take me back to that moment. The moment where we were young enough to believe this music would save us. And now we know it did.
By the time the song ends you just don’t want it to, and you realize you just spent over an hour completely immersed and connected with the music you just heard and the person playing it. I can remember wanting to hear it again. I can remember being so happy that we found it. Feeling lucky that we were chosen to be a part of this world.
Now, so many years later, I’ll listen to this mix, with my girl that’s now a woman who is now my wife, and maybe our kids will be there too, and I’ll think of how far we’ve traveled, how much we’ve seen and have been allowed to experience. And I’ll always remember that dj that helped us on our way. Helped give us a beginning. These words are for Sandra Collins. They’re to say thank you. Thanks for giving us that moment, and so many after. And this mix. A cd we found somewhere hidden in this desert. A cd that changed our lives.
Take a listen if you have the time. See you on the dancefloor.
Ourdancefloor.net 