Ourdancefloor.net

It is a constant and immediate understanding that every city I end up in will have it’s own version of an underground. Whether it be House, or Techno, or DnB, or even Hip-Hop for that matter, that seems to be one common thread I keep finding no matter where I go.

A subculture, created as a response to the mainstream that consumes each and every part of our daily lives. Every city has it, regardless of size or interest, and once you learn the ability to find it in one place, you are eventually able to find it anywhere. Then after a while it just starts to find you.

That’s how I feel today, sitting at my desk, typing these words to you now. I didn’t find the underground, the underground FOUND me. And because of that it has taken me to many places in this great land, all of them for the music, with each one teaching me a lesson. The lessons I used to finally find the underground in the biggest city out there. New York City.

We had been to New York City before, but I see so clearly how different things were back then. It was just before the quarantine and we were going for a two day festival called Time Warp. I was as high on that one as any trip I had taken before, and now looking back I know I wasn’t ready for the Underground yet.

It’s so silly saying that now since by then we had been to Underground shows in Detroit, Los Angeles, El Paso, Denver and many other cities, but none of them are quite like New York.

Especially because, in this city, the Underground means something a little bit different than anywhere else.

First, there’s the obvious Underground. To us, at least, in the music scene. The underground you expect. The “metaphorical” underground.

But then there’s the other kind. The actual Underground. And I’m not saying this in metaphors or codes or anything like that. I’m saying this as in the literal Underground. Seen best in the never-ending tunnels, walking paths and darkened hallways of the fucking Subway System.

We didn’t ride the Subway at all the first time. Mainly staying in the Bronx next to where the festival was. But this time was different.

This time I estimate the majority of our time was spent underground in the Subways. Waiting for our train, or wandering the hallways that lead from one line to the other.

Going downstairs, deeper into the darkness.

There’s an entire population of the city that spends all their time below ground. Hustling back and forth as people play music, or dance for change, or stand at their news stand completely unaware that there’s a Sun above ground.

I wonder still how many of them actually go up sometimes just to see the sky again for a bit, although they won’t see much as the giant skyscrapers block almost all of it out anyways.

What an amazingly large city to feel so small in, which I suppose is why the underground is so easy to accept for so many people.

As above so below in New York City.

It’s not just the Subways either, as you’ll find nearly every building big enough has a lower level and a few uppers as well. So many people in a city that has been there so long, all they can do is build up and down as far as they can go. Where else do they have left?

There was even a moment where I found myself sitting at a bench outside the World Trade Center memorial, only to look down and find at my feet, nearly five stories below me an entire mall built below the streets of the city. Something I would’ve never believed if I had not seen it myself.

Everywhere I went. New York was above me and also below.

That was the state I was in, when I finally made it to the underground I’m used to in the big city, with us finally having a night at Basement NY, a techno club made out of a basement below the Knockdown Center in Queens, just next to Brooklyn, which is where we stayed this time.

The night before we had seen the amazing Charlotte De Witte play all night long at the Brooklyn Mirage with what can only be seen as a declaration of where techno and the DJ herself are going in the future.

Such a stage, such a production, such an overwhelming sound coming out of the speakers.

It felt like we were at Mt. Olympus and Charlotte was making her claim as the Goddess of Techno.

I even joked that she must be the reincarnation of Athena herself, choosing to conquer the world with Techno this time. I’m still convinced this one might be true.

By all accounts it was amazing and life changing, and yet even with saying that, there’s no way I could ever compare that night to what I found in that Basement. What I found was the true face of techno. What I found was the Promised Land.

It started like many other places we’ve been to that play techno in the underground. With three big men inspecting us to make sure we could get in. And they never ask for tickets, and they never say much, but you know what’s happening when you’re standing there.

They’re making sure you know where you are, that you know what you’re doing, that you can handle yourself inside. It’s such a simple moment and yet one that is so universal. They ask how you’re doing, making sure you’re not too fucked up already, and you look them in the eye, and they make sure you’re dressed properly, and they simply nod, and say have a good time.

They’re making sure you belong, and as silly as that sounds, you feel comforted in knowing that you do.

From there you walk down a path into the darkness, and that is the last moment of reality that you will remember from the night, because after that, its all just a dream. A beautiful and frightening dream. The one you’ve always had. If you’ve always loved techno, at least.

You can already hear the music getting closer and closer and yet, you can see next to nothing. So consumed by fog, and smoke, and darkness all you can do is slowly move forward. Closer and closer to the amazing sound that lies at the other end of the basement.

You can’t see the DJ, but you know they are there. I think for a moment in the night I saw a silhouette of someone wearing headphones, and yet I have no idea who they really were. All I could see was the one light in the corner where the music seemed to be vibrating out all around us.

It resembled a monster that jumped into the walls and quickly crawled towards you on the dancefloor. Consuming you and forcing you to dance nonstop like a zombie in the night. A zombie covered in sweat and smiling from ear to ear.

The DJ’s scheduled to play for the night were UMFANG, Beatrice and Luke Slater although I’ll admit I have no idea who was playing or when. I just know that we got there and we started to dance, and the DJ played, and we all had each other in the darkness.

Far too often people are so consumed by set times, and so afraid they’ll miss the headliner that they forget to just enjoy the night, and I’d see that first hand with a lot of people in Chicago for the Boris Brechja after party, but this wasn’t that night and this isn’t that story.

I know when Luke Slater was playing later in the night but that’s because I had seen him before and I recognized a song he played, but even with saying that, I’ve never heard Techno like that before. It was so raw, and real, and stripped of all the glamour that seems to be associated with this culture these days.

It was just a bunch of strangers in the basement of a warehouse dancing in the darkness together because we loved the music. And the DJ’s were just people in the darkness too. Isn’t that why they joined this culture as well? To get lost all the same? Don’t they deserve that too?

We must have been down in that basement for four to five hours and yet all we could do was dance and enjoy the moment we had. The moment we worked so hard and traveled so far to experience for ourselves.

There was even a moment in the night where the music got a bit low, and everybody could feel it, and we were upset the sound system wasn’t bumping, but still we danced because it was so good, and we remained committed to that dancefloor.

Then a bit later, as the music built, suddenly the sound system kicked back in as well, and the noise was so loud all it could do was shout into the underground, and we, it’s disciples, all shouted in unison back. We were so connected at that moment and so fucking alive.

I will never feel that again, and still I know I can’t ever let it go.

Then there was another moment when It started to become morning, where we went and sat outside to smoke on our weed that we snuck into the show, and we sat underneath this massive chimney that towered up into the sky over us, and my date made a joke,

“Geeze, are we in Brooklyn or Berlin?” and we laughed, because the statement could not be more true.

Which is when I looked out and saw all the people dancing with us all night now that they were out in the moonlight as well.

All wearing black. All with colorful hair, or piercings, or tattoos. All out to smoke a cigarette, or a joint, or just to enjoy the cool air for a moment. All here because we all love this music and in the end, this culture.

We could have been anywhere in the world, and still, we’d probably be doing this same exact thing.

Our culture is our calling no matter where we end up.

From there we went back inside and danced for a while more and we never could find the bathroom all night. But what we did find were all these hidden walkways and pockets to sneak into and kiss and do a bump of k together, and just enjoy the darkness and the fog.

To enjoy the New York underground one more time.

Then sometime after five we decided it was time to go, and even though the music was still going I wanted it that way. Sometimes I’m obsessed with staying until the last track, and sometimes I like leaving knowing the music is still going.

That way somehow in my heart, the basement never stopped, and the techno is still alive out there right now. I need to know that about this one.

After that we went back to our hotel and passed out under the slowly rising sun, before spending one more day wandering those Subways all around the city. Under the rivers, under the skyscrapers, under the monuments everybody travels so far to see.

And we spent a moment seeing Madison Square Garden and the Empire State building, but I’ll admit it felt a bit weird. We felt a bit off. It just wasn’t where we belonged. We belonged downstairs with all the rest of the people like us.

We belonged where we always end up. No matter the place, or the time, or the reason. We belonged in the Underground.

Especially in NYC.

Come find me on the dancefloor some time.

I think you’ll know where I’ll be.

Albums that Changed Me

In 2001, House Music was everywhere. And I, a seventeen-year-old fool, was completely obsessed with it. Immediately a connection deeper than perhaps the ones I’d make with the humans of this planet, although, I suppose a lot of us can say that, can’t we?
The music was and is the love of my life, and this is one of the moments that showed me that.

It started the same for my partner and I. Go to the bookstore, buy a new CD, listen to it on the way home as we smoke weed, make out for a little bit, and then talk about what we heard. It was a fun experiment, and one I suppose we still conduct now.

With Rooty it was a bit different, though. With Rooty you could tell things had changed. House had gone to the next level. I suppose there’s always another level, though. Always trying to get to the top floor, only to realize there isn’t one. Just the sky and the stars.

The album itself, released on June 21st, 2001, was the second album by Bassment Jaxx. Who I personally had no idea existed before that moment, and yet I suppose that’s why it was so much fun. Although, looking back, I think I first read about them in a music magazine, which I wish were still common those days.

DJ Mag, Mixmag, MIXER Magazine, I loved all of them. They spoke about electronic music from all around the world, and they showed me this planet was way bigger, and so was our house music scene. It’s like finding something you love, and thinking you’re the only one, then suddenly realizing, it’s everywhere, and everybody loves it. It’s an amazing feeling, and I’m so happy that Basement Jaxx helped me feel that.

Many people know the album from it’s first single, and I will discuss that in time, but to me the first song, ‘Romeo’, might still be my favorite, not just of this album, but of perhaps any song the duo has made since or before. Often times people think of the single first, and yet, when listening to an album, your first impression of an artist will be with that first track. Whether you hate them or love them, you will always connect your first memory with that song.

If that is the case ‘Romeo’, lives up to it’s name, as it’s funky, soulful, melodic, and a new style of house, that I didn’t even know was considered house. It has such inspirations in Rnb and that 90’s sound I grew up with like Lisa Lisa, but at the same time, as we continue on into a song like ‘Jus 1 Kiss’, you hear influences from Prince, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, and even bands like the SOS Band.

That isn’t to say they are trying to sound like any of them, but rather the opposite. This is a new sound made from the influence of the ones that inspired us, and it’s a sign of how the future of House Music would be a much more eclectic sound than just what’s heard on the dancefloor. House is something you can go home and listen to now, as well as something you hear at the club or the festival.

By the time you get to the middle of the album with songs like ‘I Want You’ and ‘Get Me Off’, you hear a bit of a punk 80’s synth vibe, and an adult oriented theme shows the dirty and sweaty side that House Music will always have. We’re always going to want that moment where things are hot and heavy to the sounds of funky beats, and Bassment Jaxx gives us a chance at that nearly nonstop.

This is also where I can see the influence this duo will have on fellow future U.K. acts like Gorgon City, Disclosure and Rudimental. That funky bounce that you seem to feel in the streets. What I love so much about House music is it can start at home with places like Chicago and New YORK City, and you can take it all around the world, and when it gets back it will be so different, but still it will have that soul that makes it what it is.

That is why House Music is eternal. It will always change and it will never die.

After that comes the hit of the track, ‘Where’s Your Head At.’ It’s so hard to explain how big this one got. I’d say it was on a daft punk level for a bit there. At the very least it changed my life, and that was long before I ever saw it on MTV, which I did. Back when MTV still played videos, at least.

Well, actually, I think this would only get played on MTV 2, but you get the idea.

No matter where I go, or what crowd I’m in, if this song comes on, there’s always a reaction, and it’s most definitely a good one. It’s catchy, and groovy, but it’s also a hot mess of a masterpiece. There’s so much going on that it just works, and I can remember thinking it was what the inside of my mind sounded like sometimes. Random backspins and all.

It’s the song that will forever represent the duo known as Bassment Jaxx for the rest of time, and I will jam it loud and clear until I’m 80 years old, living in a nursing home, and losing my hearing. It was not only better than any song on the radio from that year, but it was also as original a song as you’ll ever hear.

Plus, watch the video of you really want your head toyed with a little.

From there the album starts to slow down, and it eventually plays perhaps the most upbeat song of the album, ‘Do your thing’, which is such a mix of sounds that we know so well that I’m not even sure what to call it. Swing House? Soulful? Funky? Disco?

No, I don’t think its disco, but you get what I mean. It’s just one of those songs that represents where the sound has been and where it’s going, and that’s why it hits so good.

It’s a celebration that House is winning, and not as way of rubbing it in, but rather to say, that in this house there’s always room for more, but when you’re here, we’re all here, and I’m so happy that they know that in the U.K., like they know that in Chicago, like I hope we know that here in New Mexico.

House is a feeling because it’s meant to be shared, and I know without thinking twice that I was forever changed by this album and the music that came blasting out of the speakers that Summer when I was 17, and still naïve to the world.

I hadn’t seen yet what I have now, and still, looking back I suppose I felt the same way I do today. I knew I had house music and that was going to be enough to get me through.

The point of sharing this album was to show what house music has done to me in the hopes that one day it may save you too. But only if you let it.

Enjoy the ride you take to find the music that will change you.

See you on the dancefloor. Or not.

It isn’t always easy admitting you need a Do Over, both with music and with love, but that is exactly what’s on the horizon for Our Dancefloor in the next two weeks. A chance to try it again. But will it work this time? Do we still have the magic?

I have a million questions going into this stretch and I suppose even more doubts, but as I’ve learned over the years, doubt will only cause you trouble. The countless trips, and festivals, and warehouses, and nightclubs, and all the moments we can’t have back, they were all made possible mainly because in the moment of truth I had no doubt. I simply just acted, and in many ways I was rewarded for that.

Destiny rewarded my boldness.

And yet, as soon as I type that, I still must admit, it wasn’t always a smooth ride. Not every trip went exactly the way we wanted, and not everything was as rosy and pretty as you’d think from the pictures. There were a few shows we never made it to. In fact, a lot, and many of them I still regret now to this day. Juliet Fox at Incognito, Carl Lio on a boat, Sonny Fodera and Dom Dolla at Sound, Green Velvet and Disclosure in Las Vegas, Movement this year. Hell, Movement every year.

Plus, it’s not like every single trip or show I made it to went perfectly either. In fact, most of them had at least one thing go wrong, and it even got to the point that I began to expect it. We look back at these trips and we pretend they were just one big dream, and the reality is that many of them were just good moments mixed in around decent ones.

But that’s the deal with this life. You have to settle for the insignificant just like you have to be ready for the miraculous. As things go up, they’ll also come down. You can’t expect a magic weekend nonstop. Sometimes you’re just gonna have to be okay with the bad stuff too. It’s just the way it goes.

That’s what I think about with two trips we’ve taken over the years that just didn’t go the way we wanted. Sure, we had a blast, and made memories that will last forever, but deep down I think both my road mate and I know, we just didn’t have a full experience like we had at all the other places.

All the trips and in the end, there are two places I suppose we wish we had a do over with, and I guess that’s why we’re really going back to New York and Chicago. It’s time to try again.

First, is New York, which makes sense because it’s the first trip we took between the two the first time as well. November 2019, just before the pandemic and the quarantine. To say the world was a different place is a massive understatement, but I believe it must also be said that we were very different as well.

I guess in the grand scheme of things that trip was supposed to be the climax of our lives on the road, and in many ways it was.

Finally going to the Big Battery, as I like to call it. Finally seeing the melting pot. The epicenter. The place where all artists go to become something better. I can’t explain the excitement I had in getting there.

New York City was my dream. I was ready and prepared. My years of travel and evolution on the road had taken my fear of such a massive place away, and replaced it with the ability to survive no matter where I went. Within the realm of a raver’s life, of course.

With the love of my life by my side, I was ready for it all. There was only one problem, though. As soon as we got there, my partner got sick. Really really sick.

Now, we can’t officially prove it was Covid, because it was before people started freaking out, and honestly, I think it was before they even had Covid tests, but deep down we both know it was Covid. It started with a fever and the body aches the morning after our first night there.

I told her it was just because we were drunk and wandering the bowery and Manhattan like at 3 in the morning the night before, and she was just recovering, but after that she kinda just got worse. I tried to make it better. Tried to let her sleep as much as possible. Took care of her like we were at home even though we were really in some hotel room in the Bronx.

And she was a trooper beyond compare. Pulled it together. Went to Central Park with me. Made it to the festival we were there for. Did her very best, considering how sick she really was. We gave it the best we could, and we survived it. I can still remember the way she passed out on the airplane with her mask on, and two layers of jackets even though, she wouldn’t stop sweating. And her breathing got bad. It’s like she was suffocating slowly. It was awful. It really was.

I appreciated her strength and her commitment, but I knew then just like I know now, that we just didn’t have the trip we wanted. Didn’t see everything we wanted. Didn’t experience everything. Heck, even Central Park was in the middle of the night, and she could hardly walk by then. It was fun, but again, we both left feeling the same. We needed a do over.

So that’s what we’re doing on August 26th. We’re having our Do Over, and this time we’re finally going to Brooklyn. And not just Brooklyn, but also the Brooklyn Mirage. To see Charlotte De Witte play all night long.

Charlotte is a polarizing figure in the techno world and you’ll find nearly every techno lover has an opinion about her music and the new wave of techno she seems to represent. On one hand she’s commercializing something not meant to be commercialized; on the other, she isn’t the one who started this. Business Techno. It’s everywhere.

Now, I’m not the biggest fan of the business techno wave, and yet at the same time, I can’t deny I love Charlotte De Witte. She plays a lot of Acid Techno, and I love that so much. Plus, she’ll play anywhere at any time, and she lets her music do the talking. Whether you love her or hate her, you at least know who she is, and she’s earned that.

I’ve seen Charlotte live as much as any DJ I can think of, and still, I’m very excited to see her again, but not for the reason’s you’d think. This time it’s not for the music. It’s the excuse but not the reason. The reason this time, is love.

Our love needs a do over. All the years of life together, it starts to take a toll. You create these spaces between each other, and you ignore the fact that it’s happening, and before you know it, it’s like you’re so far away that it feels like you lost each other at a festival again. It’s not the easiest thing to admit, and yet that’s why we as humans start to turn on one other. I’d rather blame you than admit my own fault. It’s just the way we are.

But thinking about Charlotte, I think about the first time we went to San Diego together, my hometown. And how we heard her play at the city steps, the same city steps I used to sit at many times as a child. Such a circle it felt like.

I also think of Detroit, and how we saw her for the very first time at the underground stage, where she just amazed us from the jump. Although, I’ll admit that first time we didn’t see anything. It was so dark, and crowded that all you could do was dance and enjoy. I suppose that’s always how the underground stage is, though, isn’t it?

I can also remember that next year how she played the mainstage out in the sunlight, and how she captivated me so completely. Smoking her cigarette, playing that Techno to the masses. It was an outrageous moment surrounded by an outrageous weekend that showed me just how global this movement really was. She was an absolute punk rock star to me. I suppose she still is.

I also remember going back to EDC together in October and hearing her again. Seeing how big she had gotten and how she controlled the crowd and the music so well. Charlotte is as much a star of techno as there is, and to deny her power is to deny the truth I felt on that speedway as the floor rumbled with the heavy beats and acid sounds.

Charlotte always delivers, and I’m happy to see her all night long at such an amazing place as the Brooklyn Mirage. Especially because what this promises is a chance to experience the environment as much as the music.

We’ve seen her before, and she’s playing all night. We don’t have to be so obsessed with the dancefloor. We can go wander and have fun, and check out the cool food court, and just be in the moment again. I need the moment more than I need the dancefloor. I guess our love does too.

After that, the next night, we’re going to Basement NY and seeing a DJ who gave us one of the greatest nights of our lives. Luke Slater.

I won’t say much about that one, because frankly, some memories I like to keep to myself. For now, at least. But I will say that leaving the Eric Morillo shit show at the Avalon, and going to a warehouse to hear Luke Slater was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life and it changed the course of the next few years I’d spend on the road.

I went into that trip a House head, and I left it a disciple of Techno, which is what I still find myself to be now. With the Basement we are given the chance to have a full techno weekend as Umfang will be playing as well, and again the environment has as much of a reputation as any DJ could.

I’m not sure what I’m gonna find in Brooklyn, I just know I have to go first, and then I’ll know. We have to give the music and our love another shot. We owe it that, at least.

And this isn’t saying things can’t go wrong, or even that they wont. It’s not even saying that our love is saved, because I don’t think that’s how this works. Whatever we’re gonna be, we will know what we are when we get back on the plane after that weekend is over. Ready to return to our lives we have here.

But, I know I have to get there first. I have to go see the Brooklyn Bridge, and I have to go back to Central Park, but this time in the daytime. Finally get a pretzel and a hot dog. Go see all the art at the Met. Or maybe the Empire State Building. Be a tourist for just a little bit.

Be the person I once was and may be again. Be the person that doesn’t care about who’s playing, but about who I’m there with. Be the person I used to dream I’d be when I’d lay in my bed and dream about going to Brooklyn.

Be the person that lets himself have a do over. And please don’t let anybody get sick this time.

Plus, I want some pizza. NY Style Pizza. You can tell a lot about a city based on how they make their pizza. Don’t forget that one.

I’ll be back to talk about Chicago, but until then, big ups to Brooklyn, and to trying again.

See you on the dancefloor.

It is often not stated enough that rhythm may be just as important as the beat itself, and yet that is the first thing that must be said about this mix by Taylor Bratches. It has rhythm.

I started this review hoping to hear new sounds by a new DJ coming to town this weekend, and instead I found something so much deeper, but isn’t that how this story always goes?

They wouldn’t linger in memories if they weren’t, in fact, worthy of being remembered, and yet, it’s amazing to think it all started with a simple beat. Well, that and rhythm, of course.

Over the course of one hour, this mix, the 12th installment of a series named ‘As You Like it Ground Level’, takes you through the many different sounds that I assume populate Taylor’s mind the way House and Techno consumes mine all the time. I love the funkiness of the House, the High Hats and the power of Techno, and everything else in between.

With this mix it’s different, though. Bouncing from Breakbeats, to UK Garage, to Drum and Bass, to ending with some heavy, subtle dubstep. I think there was even a moment of synthy bliss that almost resembled old school trancy breaks, which were extremely popular in the old school kandy raver days.

Breakbeats are such a massive part of the foundation of rave Culture and yet listening to this, you are reminded of what a distinct art form the genre can still be.

MC’s rapping, spontaneous beats, and as I mentioned, always that rhythm. I am captivated by this mix not just by the music that is played, but also by the message it is sending.

In studying this specific DJ I also stumbled across the fact that Taylor Bratches isn’t just a DJ, but also a very accomplished and talented writer of the Underground, very much a goal I strive for myself. I am as interested in her series called ‘Dance Floor Epiphanies’ on Resident Advisor, as I am in any track she may play.

Moments like these are truly amazing, when you find someone further down on a path that you are starting on yourself, and yet seeing them, reading their words, and hearing their music is such a true inspiration to continue on.

I’m sure there is more to be said both by Taylor Bratches, and about Taylor Bratches as well, but until then, let this brief summary prove as recommendation enough of a unique sound played by an intelligent mind connected to this culture.

I am happy to know that this DJ will be playing here in New Mexico this weekend on Saturday, July 30th at Insideout, and I look forward to reading even more of her words.

Link to Event Page

As I have found with many writers, the first words you read are merely the start on a path that winds deep into the mind of whoever decided to put them down in the first place.

If you have the chance, please, go early, stay late, and just keep following that beat, but only if you’ve got the right rhythm.

See you on the dancefloor.

Here are some other links related to this DJ and this mix.

www.taylorbratches.com/

www.ayli-sf.com

In my travels through Festival and Rave Culture, I have found that there are usually two types of people you will find out there on the road, and I suppose that applies to back here at home too.

First there are the people focused on the main event, and for good reason. We buy the ticket, we pick an outfit, we listen to all the music we can find, we make plans with our friends. We take all the excitement and we prepare for the big show.

And when it’s over, we enjoy the peace and silence after the fact. Maybe go back to the hotel, get some snacks, and just lay around. This is about 90% of the people I interact with. The standard in our culture.

But then there’s another 10%, and I’ll admit to you now, these are my people. The people who are always focused on the afterparty. Now, that isn’t to say they don’t have fun at the show or festival or rave, it’s just simply that, they always have that other one on the mind. They’re always saving just that little bit for that late one. The one not everybody can make it to.

I personally change my stance on this exact situation over and over again, and I have no shame in admitting that. Sometimes I’ll go to the show, get some food and go back to bed. Only having enough energy for the few hours of music that the main event offers. It’s the old man in me.

Other times I stay at the festival all day, and then go straight to the after party, dancing until the sunrise, without hesitation. Enjoying both with all my heart, but still reserving that energy to let it all go when I finally get to that late night dancefloor. What’s worse is I have no idea which side of me will show up until I get there and then it just happens.

I wonder if I’m the only one like that.

Anyways, the reason why I say all this is because this Saturday, July 30th, you will get a little bit of both here in Albuquerque New Mexico, starting first with a 80s/90’s themed party at the Doubletree presented by House Work and Patio 201.

Coming all the way from Milwaukee, is Soul Fuel Recordings DJ, John Hawley, who has always delivered that groovy beat we love so much.

Having such a solid DJ in the building guarantees to be a great night of house music, but I’m also happy to see he will be playing alongside some of the best House DJ’s in New Mexico.

Included on the lineup are local favorites like Badcat, Chris Losack, and Beufie, who is making a return to our scene with the throwing of this show, and we are happy to welcome him back.

The show is 21+ and it goes from 6pm-10:30pm, creating a groovy start to what I know will be a fun and special night. You can get some drinks, maybe some food, and enjoy the groove.

But don’t waste too much energy because the night doesn’t end there. This one has an afterparty.

Starting at 10pm at Coat of Colors, the afterparty will be going early into the morning, with John Hawley himself playing another set, along with even more great Local House Dj’s.

On this lineup you have another chance to hear the Dope Feline DJ known as Badcat, as well as Vettaluv doing a b2b with Aimie Jane, Coco Medium, and lastly Swift Money, who will also be celebrating his birthday at the afters as well.

The show is expected to go till at least 5am, and if you are coming straight from Patio 201, the cover is only five more bucks, with it being ten if you’re just going to the afterparty. Which I know some people prefer.

What I like about this combination of events is it gives you a chance to hear great house music in two unique environments, by both a great out of state DJ who has shown his skill here before, and a long list of great New Mexico talent.

You can dance and lose your mind as the sun sets at the first show, and then chill, and maybe have some great conversations until the sunrise at the next one. A full night that leads into a full morning. Very much like the last time I saw this DJ.

The one and only time I saw John Hawley was at Sister Bar a few years ago, and it was a wonderful night of proper, funky, groovy house music, in an intimate environment surrounded by the people I grew up listening to House Music with.

It was different then. We were a bit more naïve, and innocent, I suppose. Time changes things, though. We get older. Friends grow apart. Life moves on. But House Music remains, and for that I will always be grateful and in debt to this city for the nights we had together.

No matter where you’re from, or how you got here, House Music is a family, and you could feel that on that night, as John gave us a taste of that Midwest House sound he represents so well. I’m excited for New Mexico to hear him again.

So, whichever event you choose. The main one, the afters, or even both, just make sure it’s exactly where you want to be, and show that on the dancefloor. For all the Dj’s I list, they are only half of the equation, as the dancefloor would be nothing without the people who populate it.

House music needs us to show up, just like we need House music to carry us through, and I hope you never forget that one.

Go late, stay till early, support the culture. House Culture. It will be everywhere this weekend, which is exactly the way it’s meant to be in New Mexico during the summer.

See at the Afters.

I feel I should be completely honest with you, and admit that I haven’t always been the biggest dubstep fan. In fact, I was absolutely a snob towards it for the longest time, and even now, I will always be upfront in saying it will never be my preferred sound.

I love House and Techno. That’s just who I am. But the reason why I’m writing this now is because that’s not who everybody else is, and at times, we have to stop and celebrate the different parts of this culture, and the people who introduced us to it all.

When I think of Zeds Dead I have quite a few memories, starting with the very first time I heard them at a Music Festival in San Bernardino called Escape.

Escape is a Halloween festival where everybody dresses up and the sounds are usually darker and scarier, sticking with a bit of techno, and maybe some hardstyle, and of course, dubstep.

I have always remained at the House and Techno stages at these events, but one year, I decided to go wander, and find something new. It’s really perhaps the best part of a festival when you think about it.

All the other stuff you plan for is kind of just part of it. You go for that reason so it’s almost as if when it happens you aren’t moved one way or the other.

It’s a side effect of going to festivals so much over the years. You get so used to seeing these big DJ’s playing on these massive stages, that you kind of forget about the spontaneity of it. The fun of the unknown. That’s what Zeds Dead was to me that night. The unknown.

I can remember hearing them play off in the distance. It was a remix of a Led Zeppelin song. Stairway to Heaven, I think.

“What is that?” I said aloud to myself. “Can we go over there?” I asked.

“Sure, who’s playing?” One said.

“Zeds Dead.” Said another.

“Oooo. Aren’t they a big deal?” I responded.

“Let’s go.”

It’s a beautiful feeling when a friend agrees to go hear new music with you, especially when you’re the one hearing it for the first time. They know what they’re about to hear and yet they willingly walk you into it, just to make sure you have the same feeling as well.

I’ve given that moment to others, and I was so happy to be the one being given the gift back this time. I even headbanged a little. Just a little.

After that I didn’t think about Zeds Dead much. I mean, I loved the moment, and they were dope, but you just get lost in it again. Moving on to the next one, and the next one, and the next one. I just put it to the side.

And then something happened that I never saw coming. I made friends with people who loved Dubstep. And they didn’t just love it. They love loved it.

They were obsessed with it right around the same time as I was obsessing over techno, so it was a very strange experience to feel that energy from others that you have, but over something completely different.

And that’s when I hung out with two friends that managed to bring Zeds Dead up again. It was one night when we were all hanging out together, and if I’m remembering it right, it’s the only time I hung out with these two friends at the same time.

Which is strange to say because over the course of years I had found myself very close with the two, and yet, never did all of us end up in the same room until just right at that moment.

And what did the three of us talk about? Dubstep. We talked about Dubstep, and of course, we talked about Zeds Dead.

I remember sitting in the middle and having one on each side, and asking them about Zeds Dead.

“Are they really that good?”

“Why is everybody so obsessed with them?”

“What’s the difference?”

I had so many questions, and yet, I seemed so naïve and inexperienced in the presence of these two, but I suppose that’s what I liked.

Being a raver for over twenty years, you find it hard to find people who can teach you about electronic music, and yet, it’s such a valuable moment when it happens.

I’m so used to teaching others that it just feels so amazing to be the student again, and that’s what I was with these two. I was merely just there to learn, and they, thankfully, were willing to teach.

They started by agreeing that old Zeds Dead is better because it was rawer and more original, but neither could deny that new Zeds Dead was good too. I believe they split on the decision, though.

“I like old Zed’s Dead.”

“Well, I do too, but I think I like new a bit better.”

“That’s cool. That’s what’s good about them. They have so much good music.

“I know. I’ve been listening to them for so long it’s like I don’t know life without them.”

I sat and kind of just watched them debate. Throwing in questions here and there to keep it going. I had no ability to say anything, and yet I wanted nothing more than for them to keep talking.

They seemed so alien and different to me, and still so interesting and unique. What’s better is they didn’t just talk to me about it, but they actually played music to support what they were telling me.

When someone shares the music they love with you they aren’t just sharing something they are interested in, they are showing you a part of their soul. They’re letting you in, and I value that above so many material things this world will try to force on us.

They both showed me that side of them right there, and I am grateful for that moment. Which doesn’t happen as often as you expect it to.

What’s cooler is that I understood what they were saying. Whatever they were teaching me, it was working.

Earlier Zeds Dead is like more soulful, and emotional and bassier. Like subtle bass. New Zeds Dead is like glitchy, and erratic, and uptempo. Which I’m told are both huge aspects of all forms of dubstep.

I will never forget this one night I spent with these two friends as they sat and taught me about Zeds Dead, and all of dubstep for that matter. I felt embarrassed realizing how I had acted before, and how I refused to give this new genre a chance simply because I didn’t know it.

How long had I been doing this? How bad had it gotten? Was I really one of those snobs I swore I’d never become?

“YES!” I can hear them both saying, and I suppose that’s enough to change. Isn’t it?

In closing, part of why say this is because those two friends who showed me Zed’s Dead, aren’t friends anymore, and in fact it’s been about two years since I have spoken to either of them. An anniversary I can feel getting closer and closer.

And I won’t say why we stopped being friends, because looking back, I don’t think about the way it ended, I think about how good our friendship was beforehand. How much fun I had learning from them. And how great it felt to be their student.

What’s worse is I’m just not sure if I’ll ever see or speak to either of them again, which breaks my heart just a little bit more every time I think or say that. And although, it will continue to hurt, I know it will help to have this music to carry me through.

You can’t stop people from leaving your life, but you can hang on to the music they left behind for you to remember them by. The music that keeps your love alive.

So, I just wish to say, thanks to those two friends for showing me the music of Zeds Dead, who I still listen to sometimes when up early and alone, writing about the people who inspire me.

If I could talk to them again I would want to tell them about how I finally went to Chicago. And in Chicago I went to this festival I know they’d love.

I’d tell one of them how I went to the Dirtybird stage, and we’d both roll our eyes like we always do, then I know we’d probably just laugh some more.

Then I’d tell the other that I also experienced a Wakaan stage and a bit of Liquid Stranger, which was crazy, and an amazing experience all on its own.

But I’d also want to tell them how we had to leave that early so we could go inside the soccer stadium and see Louis the Child, and then eventually Kaskade under the stars, together.

And even though I know they don’t think about me, I still think about them, and in that moment I’d want them to know they were there with me too. If only for just one moment.

I guess what I’m saying, is if you have friends that you love, and who are willing to share new music with you, music that matters to them, say thank you, and value them. Value the window they are opening to their soul just for you. It doesn’t happen very often, does it?

We only went to that festival one day, which sucks, because on the third day Zeds Dead was on the lineup. We were on the other side of the city listening to House and Techno at a different festival, and we ended that Sunday night in a warehouse at an after party with a DJ we love so much.

There was another show, though, that very same night, at the House of Blues that I really wanted to go to, but the people I was there with had no interest at all. They just weren’t there for that.

And it’s not that we didn’t have fun, because we did. It was a blast.

But I also can’t deny, It made me wish those two friends were right there, and not for any other reason, than the fact that I know they would’ve probably agreed to go with me. Mainly because they would’ve loved who was playing.

And who do you think was playing?

Zeds Dead, baby. Zeds Dead.

See you on the Dancefloor.

Or not.

On Friday, July 22nd, Destructo will be playing at the Electric Playhouse, and I feel it safe to say that when he arrives you won’t just be getting a DJ set, but also an audience with a vital part of our Culture’s evolution and history.

When I started Our Dancefloor a major aspect of it was trying to document and study Rave History, and I feel there are very few people that have helped Modern Rave Culture get to where it is more than Gary Richards aka Destructo.

Because of that I approached this like a historian, and I spent the last week casually scanning the internet- mainly Wikipedia, Facebook and Google- trying to piece together as many facts about this person’s contribution as possible.

And now, as a way of showing a different perspective than just supporting a DJ and a show, I’m going to share what I found here, for the most part.

Gary’s contributions to this specific culture started during the golden rave days of the early 90’s in Southern California. Throwing warehouse raves and even the first EDC, he did it the right way, the old fashioned way, the way that helped forge who he is and also who we as ravers are as well.

I even learned that during this period he was instrumental in signing and developing the group known as Lords of Acid, a major act when I was younger, even before I knew about raves. It’s awesome to know that even then there was that connection.

After that, he started Hard Events, with the first Hard Music Festival being held In Los Angeles in 2007. The Hard events helped evolve what we once used to call Massives.

We didn’t have Massives here in New Mexico, as they were only usually in the bigger cities, but they were very much a precursor to the many festivals we experience now.

Hard Summer and Hard Day of the Dead were always events that were known about even out here as something different, and there’s no denying their impact, both with the unique acts they still book, and also with the approach they always took as being an alternative to new school festivals.

Not a lot of people remember Massives because they have since been absorbed by Festivals now, but for a long period Massives were what pushed things forward not just with their size, but also with the experiences they offered. They were proof of how big this movement was really getting.

What they did is they gave people the chance to see acts they’d never get to see at smaller shows, and they’d create memories and friendships on a so much grander scaler than ever known before.

That concept would come up again, with another idea Gary had, called Holy Ship.

The first Holy Ship was in 2012 and it offered something never thought possible. A first class cruise experience to a tropical island and back, and all set to the sound of some of the best electronic music in the world played live just for the people who love it the most.

I can still remember the first time my friends told me about Holy Ship, and it was so hard to believe such a feat could be pulled off. Such an experience on such a scale in such an environment was unthinkable during the early rave days, and yet to them Holy Ship wasn’t just about fun, but also about family.

After Holy Ship, Gary went on to start another Cruise experience called The Friendship with his production company All My Friends.

Friendship is very similar to Holy Ship, and yet what I like about it is the inclusion of more techno and darker sounds, which suit someone like me much more than Holy Ship, although, again, what they offer is very similar to the Massives before that. A chance to see acts in an environment and setting never possible before. I’m very excited to see where the Friendship sails to next.

Along with the creation of the Friendship, they have also started having these smaller festivals as well, dedicated to House Music in a way that I feel is getting overlooked by other companies sometimes. House music is what started all of this, and I am happy to know that there is still a strong commitment to it, by this DJ and the shows he throws.

Aside from all the facts I just listed, what should be stated about this person is that everywhere he goes a feeling or vibe follows him, and although he is not the only one who can do this, you can’t deny that what you get is something more than just a guy spinning records for bit.

What you get is somebody who has devoted their life to this culture for around thirty years, and at every step of the way, they have helped improve it, while helping others share their music and their style. I’m happy he’s coming to town, and I’m happy for my friends, and the Ship Fam reunion I’m sure they will be having because of this.

As time goes on, and we experience this life more and more, there’s this thing that starts to happen that you just don’t notice. You’re there for the music, but you find yourself eventually being there for each other. Of course, your love for what led you there remains, but from that blooms a new love. A love for the culture we belong to.

This Friday a major part of where our culture is today is coming to Electric Playhouse in the form of Destructo, and I can’t recommend enough how much you should go enjoy the moment. Playing along with him will be DJ Glen, and local favorite Xblyssid, so please, go early, stay late, and this time, don’t just support the culture, give yourself a lesson on its history.

A history that will always make sure to include Gary Richards.

See you guys on the cruise ship dancefloor.

*I would like to state that none of the images from this story are mine, and all credit for them should be given to the compound photographers. My use of them is strictly as a way to help tell the story more and I claim no ownership over them.

Tonight, somewhere in a warehouse in or around Downtown Los Angeles, there will be a gathering of four crews to throw an event known to all the techno freaks in the area simply as Compound.

It’s become a bit of a tradition to those who know, and yet I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I only attended one Compound to this date.

Although, I shouldn’t say embarrassed because I feel strongly that what was given to me on that one night, was more than I asked for. It gave me a chance to see things that were about to change before they actually did.

And I suppose I should also add that I don’t say that as much for Compound itself, but rather for the people I was there with, the people I may never go to another Compound with again, but as I said before, that one time was more than enough. Im grateful to share my Compound story.

It was the first one after the Quarantine, and therefore, full of DJ’s from the area, with a b2b of Truncate and Drumcell being the centerpiece under their two headed alias Cell Injection. A chance to return to the dancefloor set to the sounds of the DJ’s that lured me out into the dark LA night so many times before.

Looking back, a year later, I see so clearly it was a turning point for me and the people around me. Life starts to change even before you notice, and the people you meet through it start to go their own way. But that’s what you want for each other. It’s just a part of the whole ride.

When I was younger I used to resent this occurrence. Why did we have to lose friends? And these moments? And the chance to have it again? Why is the end always so completely the end?

As I’ve grown older I wish I had an answer for all of these questions, and yet I know now more than ever that sometimes with the end you just don’t get an answer. Sometimes you are just forced to live with it, one way or the other.

And I don’t wish for you to think this was the end, not at all, but rather, a change. A new beginning. Time for something different. For me and the friends I was with, at least.

We had a good run, though, for the most part. As it is with all friends. We went all over the place together. Festivals. Warehouses. Afterparties. Nightclubs. We had our good times.

But we were also growing apart, and I don’t feel we even wanted to see that a year ago. Maybe it’s not so easy sometimes to tell people, ‘it’s okay to let go’. But of course, as with the saying, you’ll have to let go too.

Compound was the moment I let go, and it’s tough to admit that, because I was the only one who knew it. But what a chance it really was.

The music pounded heavy and loud in the darkest corner of that massive warehouse as the lights and lasers and smoke just consumed us all. On top of that, it just felt so good to be back to what we loved.

The quarantine took so much more out of us all than just time, and I could feel the weight of it on that night. We wanted it back. We resented what it had forced out of us. How could we be the same if we didn’t have the music and each other? And now that it was back would we be able to go back as well? Was it too late for us?

We spent that night like we spent so many nights together. Running around, listening to music, and just enjoying the moment, with each other.

The back room was just like the back room always is. Hidden away, consumed by heat and darkness and overwhelming pulsating sounds. A complete surrender to the basic nature of Techno, surrounded by people you can’t even see, and yet you know they are there.

A spiritiual experience, to say the least.

There was even a moment, as the night turned to morning, maybe around 2 or 3 am that we were all sitting outside together, just for a minute. I suppose if I had to count there had to be ten people or more. All friends I made over my time traveling to Southern California through the music.

It was a very powerful moment to have. To them these moments must happen all the time, and yet I have no way of telling them, that as soon as they have them, they are over. And as we danced nonstop until the warehouse finally went silent, I can remember walking away that one last time. My first time, and perhaps my only.

What was I expecting? What did I find? I had more questions than answers, and yet I felt so comforted by saying, I finally went to Compound. It was the experience I needed, but then again, everyone is different for every person.

This year’s lineup features two absolutely outstanding European Techno Dj’s in O Phase and Rebekah. O Phase tears the roof off where ever he goes, and he helps set the standard not just for quality Techno Dj’s, but also for the music they make as well. O Phase at Compound will be an absolutely powerful experience.

Rebekah still to this day played one of the best techno sets I’ve ever heard in my life when I saw her play at Crssd Music Festival in San Diego, just south of where she’s playing tonight.

I can remember so clearly the moment she stepped up to the decks there at the City Steps right against the Oceanside, and the way she changed both the people listening in the crowd and also the environment around her.

It’s a moment where I knew, again, Techno was for me, and seeing the way she altered everything her music came into contact with was as powerful an example of Techno’s true nature as any moment I’ve ever experienced.

Rebekah is that good and she’s that unique. I am beyond excited for the people of LA tonight to hear how she sounds in a dark warehouse supported by the production that only Compound does.

So if you’re in LA, go have an experience of your own, and just remember, everyone is not like the last. But it doesn’t have to be. It just has to be right for you, and the people you’re there with. Right now.

The music is the excuse but not the reason. Go to Compound tonight. It’ll help show you that.

See you on the Dancefloor.

There are very few times in a raver’s life when they are able to see just how far the scene they belong to has truly come. To see the progress made for the culture.

That’s how I feel when I think of two nights coming up in August, and I’m happy to be the one who gets to look back at how long it’s taken to get to them.

Each show represents a real moment not just for this city, but for the many house music lovers that have contributed to it for so long. All the years, and the shows, and the nights spent on the dancefloor all helped build towards moments like this, where we can see how much has really changed. That’s what’s about to happen on the Effex rooftop next month.

First, on August 5th, from Chicago, Illinois comes one of the best House Music DJ’s in the entire world. The one and only Gene Farris.

His history as both a DJ and a producer are just as impressive as how he actually sounds in person. The ultimate test of a true DJ is how they sound that first time, which for me and Gene was a moment I don’t think I will ever forget.

The only time I saw Gene Farris was last year in his hometown of Chicago at Arc Music Festival. It was the first time the festival was being held and it was filled with a long list of DJ’s from around the world matched with legends from Chicago itself.

It was an epic weekend in many ways that overwhelmed me more than perhaps I can ever explain, and yet a clear moment I remember so well, was being at the Elrow stage, which was under a giant metal canopy and decorated with psychedelic decorations everywhere.

The DJ set up itself was designed to look like it was along the side of a VW van from the sixties, and if you’ve ever heard of an Elrow show you know it comes with props, performers, and of course, world class DJ’s who fit the sound.

It was some time on the second day, I think, when I was dancing to myself, and I heard the voice of Gene himself welcoming us to Chicago, and saying how proud he was to be there. From there the confetti began to fall from the ceiling and you could hardly even see the person standing next to you. Then he played this.

It was an amazing moment on the dancefloor made perfect by the music of Gene Farris in the city that he made it in. I couldn’t believe it was happening, and yet I’m so happy to know that a small part of that will be here in Albuquerque for all my friends to hear for themselves.

Gene Farris is one of the best House DJ’s in the world and getting him to stop by for just one night is something I cannot support more. Of all the DJ’s who are coming to this city this year, this may very well the best one. Please go and support Chicago as this time, it’s coming to you.

The second night in August that I am excited for happens on August 12th, as one of my favorite DJ’s in the world is somehow magically coming to New Mexico to play under the desert sky just for us.

Carlo Lio is one of those DJ’s who needs no real introduction. Originally from Toronto, he has taken his unique Dirty Disco sound all around the world, and with every step of the way he appears to just be getting better.

I have seen Carlo Lio live twice, with the first time being at the now closed Denver nightclub forever known as Beta.

It was the day after we had seen a DJ from Germany named Chris Liebing, play Techno in this old Dental Supply Warehouse for like five hours without mercy.

The look on the DJ’s face as he unleashed a soundwave of power is something that I have never forgotten, and we were still left recovering well into the next day.

Combine that with the fact that we woke up to a Giant Snow storm, and our plans to leave that very morning were quickly changed. I can still recall the conversation we had over continental breakfast about whether we should stay or not.

Our friends who had originally wanted to leave were now considering staying since I had reminded them that I had already reserved us tickets for proper Sunday in the lounge, with Carlo Lio himself playing for nearly four hours on the always legendary soundsystem you’d only hear at Beta.

It was an amazing night of music up on the second floor of that club that I will never forget, and not just because I loved the DJ and the music he was playing, but it was also the one and only chance I’d get to spend time with this exact group of people.

Raving as an adult is different than when you were younger. You get maybe one chance to have fun together, and for that reason, you go for it. No matter the cost, or the distance, or the inconvenience it causes back home, we may never have this moment again. That’s what that night listening to Carlo Lio will always remind me of, and I feel that same idea applies when he plays the rooftop next month.

I don’t know when Carlo Lio is gonna come back to New Mexico, and I don’t know when I’ll see him again, just like I don’t know who will be there when I see him. Things change. Life changes. We change, but the music somehow remains the same, and for that, I feel it should be celebrated once again.

If there was any DJ in any city I’d want you to see, it might possibly be Carlo Lio, and for one night only he’s coming to us, here in New Mexico. Please go and show some love to a great DJ and a great moment made possible, again by Mr. Afterhours Presents.

I’m grateful that this night is happening, and along with Gene Farris playing the week before, what we are being given is two nights in August that we may never forget.

Please go early to both shows. Opening for Farris are two New Mexico legends in DJ Eldon and Reverend Mitton, with the Rev opening the night with a very special tribute set to the late great DJ OHM. A New Mexico favorite who was set to originally play the show himself, but passed away, and will be missed immensely both on August 5th, and also looking forward.

Playing alongside Carlo Lio are two other solid New Mexico DJ’s that are sure to welcome him here properly in Polyglot and Vettaluv.

Also, remember for both shows there are no presales, and the only way to get in is actually getting in, so please, go early, stay late, and enjoy this one.

There aren’t very many shows that give me that itch to return to the New Mexico dancefloor again, but I must admit I feel it now more than ever with these two nights coming up next month. I’m happy they are happening, and I’m happy for this culture, but most of all, I’m happy for the moments we are still meant to have, together.

Have fun at these two, and if you happen to look over, and see a short, blue haired freak with a heart on his face, dancing with delight, let him be. It took a long time to get back to this one.

See you on the dancefloor.

House music, like life, is as much about intent and purpose as it is about fate and destiny. If you believe in that kind of stuff, at least.

I do, and I suppose that’s what converged one day in the year 2000, when a young raver who had the idea to be a DJ walked into Lesmen’s Music here in Albuquerque, to buy her first turntables.

We’ve all had that dream, I suppose. Of being a DJ. If only for an instant. I was having a similar moment around that very same time when I walked into Grandma’s music and bought my first turntables, but that’s where intent and destiny start to come into play.

As I tried and tried and tried, I found I wasn’t a very good DJ. I just didn’t have it. And trust me, I tried. I really did. It just wasn’t for me. But as soon as I accepted that I started on my path towards being a writer. The one I’m on now.

But see while I went down that path, this other DJ was off somewhere practicing too, but unlike with me, this DJ had the sound, and the ability, and the drive, and that’s always going to be where destiny takes over. With the help of intent, of course.

That’s how I feel when l listen to two very different and unique mixes by one DJ known as Vettaluv. I hear many of the same inspirations and influences that I have also grown up with, and yet I admire her ability to show such distinct sides to House Music as a DJ.

First, is a deep house mix that catches me immediately, named Sweater Weather. I suppose it caught my eye with the memory of cooler times now that we are deep into the heat of the New Mexico desert summer, and yet that’s perhaps also why this mix affects me as well.

I have spent years and years and years lost in the wasteland oasis that is Albuquerque, and yet always with house music. Always with this subtle, jazzy, deliberate bounce that I know so well as home.

I just don’t know how to tell the world that the sound I hear in New Mexico, is one you can only hear here, and part of that is because this is still a place filled with people that have experience from all over the world, and they choose to be here.

They all contribute based on where they’ve been and where they’re from, and this first mix shows that with Vettaluv. This ability to catch that rhythm, and to keep it is not something to be taken for granted. This DJ has that.

It definitely reminds me of some of my Chicago House Music all-time favorites, Mark Farina and DJ Heather, who are both long time favorites of New Mexico, and the world.

I spent my teenage years listening to Chicago Deep House, and somehow, by listening to this one hour mix, I know DJ Vettaluv absolutely did the same. I love how soulful this one is.

The second mix is a bit of up-tempo jacking house, and it reminds me a lot of another DJ from my teenage years that still rocks the dancefloor, DJ Dan, who is a legend of California House Music. It also kind of reminds me of Gorgon city too. The sound and the bounce. I love Gorgon City, and I think maybe this DJ does too.

This one is called Late Night Sessions 002 and It shows this DJs uptempo and higer energy side. More like peak hour house music, but also still soulful again, and keeping that rhythm so well.

A sound I have no doubt she picked up from her time in San Diego, which is always a great place to hear all types of good house music in a beautiful environment. I love the beautiful vocals layered all throughout the mix.

DJ Vettaluv is playing two shows coming up that I am just so excited to write about it. First, is a collaboration she has been doing with the Rev, called House Proud.

With the next installment happening on Saturday August 27th, at Insideout with a full lineup of some great House DJs, including The Rev himself, Chris Losak, Aimie Jane, and Ali Romero.

The best part about this is that there is no cover, so all you have to do is show up and enjoy the music, which is meant to be a showcase of nothing but great New Mexico local DJs.

The idea of hearing locals is something I find myself supporting more and more as time goes on as I see so clearly they are the DJ’s keeping the music and our culture going.

That always necessary lifeline not just to where it began, but also to where we can still find it. House is our home because we chose for it to be, but also because we know deep down, it also chooses us. Isn’t that what love is? Choosing each other?

Before the House Proud show, though, Vettaluv is playing the Effex rooftop on August 12th with one of my absolute favorite DJ’s in the whole world, known as Carlo Lio, and I am very excited that this DJ was picked to represent New Mexico on such a night.

I will have more to say about that one, I’m sure, but after hearing both these mixes I am even more excited to see Vettaluv welcome him under the beautiful stars we always seem to take so for granted.

From there this DJ is just gonna keep going, as she has bookings all summer long. But that’s House Music isn’t it? No matter where we go, what we do, or who we meet, House Music carries us there, and I’m grateful that it brought me to this DJ and her music, which I enjoyed so much on this hot July afternoon, as I typed quickly at my computer.

I’m excited to see and hear where Vettaluv goes from here, and I ask you the same I always do. Don’t just read these words. Play this music, and most of all, go to the show.

Support the culture and be thankful intent got us through this life, but fate was what led us to this music, and to each other. That’s what happened for Vettaluv that day at Lesmen’s Music. Her purpose led her there, but she knew exactly what to do after that.

See you on the dancefloor.