I've been on an emotional streak these last few months. February, March, and April were all very sensitive mixes coming from a similar place. While I'm quite happy with all three of them, and I think they have helped focus+define what people say is my "signature sound," I'm getting a little bored with that artistic formula, so it's time to try something in a slightly different direction.... For May I pushed myself to put together a mix that lacks emotion by design, yet still is me (by definition...
May 07, 2012•51 min
For April, I reach for some very melodic and emotional sounds, reminding me a bit of where I went with February and December... This mix matches the ebbs and flows of a river...perhaps a bit bi-polar in its feeling from dark to bright and dark again. I'll admit, at first, I cringed listening through feeling shifts in the mix, especially near the end...but upon reflection, I kept it as is and found myself satisfied...these changes in feelings are human. We are all chaotic, unpredictable, emotiona...
Apr 10, 2012•57 min
Here's a mix I put together for my friends down at Electronic Groove. I'd consider this mix more my "classic" sound starting with a deep melodic beginning that slowly picks up intensity without getting too heavy. Hope you like it. Also, check out http://www.electronicgroove.com/ and subscribe to their podcast for more very fine mixes. 01. Rayon, Ripperton - Folkes & Flakes (Morning Mix) 02. Kiki Sasse - Belvedere (Till Von Sein Remix) 03. Bassik Groove - Dubfunk Groove (Sven Weisemann's Funk...
Mar 20, 2012•58 min
January was a month that started with several highs and ended with some lows. As I assembled this mix track by track over the month, my idea of what sounded good and felt right was unintentionally and unsurprisingly reflective of my overall mood at the time. We hear an opening with deep, nice, beautiful, slightly quirky sounds followed by an early mid section of more serious driving intense melody. What really makes this mix special is 33:00 until the end which is the darkest most haunting sound...
Jan 31, 2012•55 min
There are some tracks that just feel really good to me: the tracks that cause those tingle-type sensations that go up the back of my spine up through the top of the head...Cosmic Quivers, if you will. In this mix, the single unifying theme I went for is tracks that make me feel good. A few of the selections have been known to cause Cosmic Quivers from time to time such as the super synthy Random Factor - Second Principles (10:20) and the techy yet surprisingly beautiful Hoito - Modern Kush (36:4...
Jan 02, 2012•55 min
When approaching this mix, I started by looking back on my approach to previous ones. The November mix, like many others, had a trajectory with a progression of sounds. With this mix, I wanted to try something different and specifically Not have a grand vision for a musical journey. This mix is a simply a collection pretty, melodic, "floaters" that wander around and please the ears. It's a mix I envision for hanging out after a long night of partying or perhaps something to fall asleep to. The t...
Dec 04, 2011•56 min
Picking up where I left off in October's mix, the first half of this mix has a dark sexy bass-driven sound which seems to be the inescapable but lovable trend these days...Half way through, we transition in to a more beautiful emotional sound with my current obsession @ 32:00 with Akabu - Another World (Andre Lodeman Mix)...this one is incredibly powerful to me and can make my eyes well up if the mood is right...simply a brilliant work. From that point forward, we get violins, flutes, and singin...
Nov 01, 2011•59 min
The last two mixes (lemonade and snapshot of how I feel) were light, melodic, and easy on the ears. I took this mix in another direction to showcase other moods of music I like and play. In this case, I was inspired by the idea "night time" music, which I interpret as more serious, driving, and dancefloor-oriented than the last two daytime vibey ones. Overall, I think I caught a few different feels in this mix while still holding together a single sound...I took a risk later in the mix when I mi...
Sep 17, 2011•1 hr 2 min
When working on this mix the image of a girl in sunglasses and a big gaudy hat (like this: http://bit.ly/njcrSf) drinking lemonade kept popping in my head almost every time I worked on it...Perhaps the really nice San Francisco weather we're having (and our bizarre fashion sense) influenced my track selection and visual associations. The first few tracks of this mix open with a very very delicate, breezy, and sunny feel...the flute sounds at 11:34 [Marvin Zeyss - Hannah] are one of my favorite p...
Jul 28, 2011•51 min
In June, my friends and I rented a beautiful house near the water in Lake Tahoe. At the time, I had a lot stuff going through my head that I was trying to sort out and make sense of. So I ate some special treats, walked around the woods for a couple hours, hopped on the decks and recorded this set. I think this is the finest I've ever played live and the best mix I've released thus far. When I started DJing a little over a year ago, I originally thought this little hobby was a technical skill, n...
Jun 29, 2011•54 min
I struggled a fair amount with this mix as I tried to top what I put out in May (sounds like the same ol' story every month)...I must have cut, rearranged, and changed directions on this mix a half-dozen times. I'm moderately satisfied with this one, but slightly frustrated because it's not better than the last...Either way, there are still some nice tunes here. I describe the first section as a combination of seductive, dreary, hints of fluffy, and dreamy feelings...I imagine myself driving aro...
Jun 07, 2011•59 min
For my May installation, I start off feminine and sultry. About half-way into it, I get a little more challenging and spacey with some k-style tracks that I appreciate but rarely play (29:00+)...Then I depart from the heady stuff and heavily contrast it with a driving Romboy track (43:00+) before a melodic/sultry cooldown with a Guillame track followed by Marco Resmann. I'm pretty happy with this one as I can feel my sound maturing, although perhaps at risk of alienating some listeners, but that...
May 04, 2011•1 hr 3 min
This set was recorded from listed's Tyrant on the Tikki party during Miami Ultra Week. The Tikki boat parties are consistently the best parties in Miami. That combined with opening for DJ legends Tyrant (Lee Burridge + Craig Richards) made this gig really special for me. The first half of the mix is pretty chill as the boat was sitting around the dock as people were boarding...An hour into it, the boat set sail and I picked up the pace for the kids to start dancing... Tracklist: Ripperton - Leon...
Apr 04, 2011•2 hr 9 min
March is a big month for me. In addition to some big local SF gigs I have (including opening for Mr.C @ tutu tuesday), the highlight of this month is Ultra Week in Miami. I have a couple gigs lined up including an opening spot for Lee Burridge + Craig Richards on a tikki boat. I'll be distributing this mix as a promo mix during my travels, and I think did a good job of capturing my peak hour sound: deep, driving, melodic, and at times, pretty (@ 35 min, for instance). Tracklist coming soon.
Mar 01, 2011•1 hr
January has been a hectic month for me. With stuff busy at work, a DJ gig every week, me beginning production work, and a few other projects going on, it was hard finding time to put this one together...A majority of this mix was arranged on the bus ride to/from work. I don't think this mix achieved the same flow that Dec and Jan did, but it does make a decent buildup from 97bpm-123bpm in less than an hour. There's definitely a few great tracks in here though, especially Guy Gerber - Hate/Love @...
Jan 31, 2011•1 hr
I bought a great collection of tracks in December in preparation for BPM Festival in January, so I was really looking forward to putting this one together. The first 35 minutes of deep and groove flowed really easily for me, but I must have iterated over the 2nd half of the mix a half-dozen times…Eventually, I felt most comfortable making the 2nd half really techy and minimal, which I don’t usually do (and didn’t even touch @ BPM), but I’m pleased with the result. Tracklist: Babak Shayan - Azadi...
Jan 06, 2011•1 hr 3 min
This was a fun mix to put together. I'm pretty excited about the opening track "Dinosaurs"...It's a track that will probably never be appropriate play out, but I enjoy its playfulness and humor when listening at home. Beyond that, I pretty much stick to my deep and tech-house guns, with a gem @ 30:00 (Dapayk & Padberg - Close Up - Exercise One Remix).That track is multi-dimensional and incredibly well mixed.The track it mixes into @ 36:00 (Benoit & Sergio - Full Grown Man) is also a favo...
Nov 27, 2010•1 hr
A few of my friends rented a ranch/mansion for the weekend deep in the east bay. It was an amazing house with a spectacular view. Most importantly, they had a DJ setup where any of the dozen or so DJs at this party could hop on and spin...I jumped on decks for a bit before it became a shit show. Here's a mix of what I played..... Gorge - Erotic Soul Rhythm Place - Dirty Chelonis R. Jones - Pompadour - Gorge Dub Mix Alland Byallo - Eyes Closed, Looking in Seuil, Boris Horel - He.ven - Bijou edit ...
Nov 15, 2010•1 hr 9 min
My last two mixes were nudisco and hiphop, so I decided it was time to attack the other end of the spectrum and get back to my techy side. In the next hour or so, I tried to cover some deep/techy, heady, and peak hour tracks...Stick this one out until the end for some dance floor groovers...that popof - roxy track is heavy in my rotation right now. Haito Gopfrich - Disconnected - Sascha Funke Mix Buckley - Catch A Taste - Geddes Remix Milton Jackson - Breathe - Pezzner Remix Clara Moto - Sancy C...
Nov 06, 2010•1 hr 9 min
Last weekend was Love Weekend in San Francisco. Although the actual Lovefest parade was canceled, and I didn't get to play the listed float (which I was REALLY excited about), I got to spin some tunes at my friend's Lovefest breakfast house party. The mimosas were flowing and the party vibe with my best friends was perfect. Before jumping into the typical deep and tech-house jams, I started the day off spinning a couple hours of chill nu-disco warmup, which I tried to recapture in this mix. I su...
Oct 06, 2010•1 hr 9 min
Yesterday I got back from Burning Man, and the 7 mind-blasting days were incredibly valuable to me, for they inspired a lot of well-needed confidence in my DJ abilities. Every morning I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth and spun for 2-4 hours, eating breakfast while behind the decks. Most nights I would spin at least another 2-4 hours as well. It was a great experience playing for my camp and having random pedestrians stop in my camp for a dance. I'm looking forward to next year where I can ex...
Sep 07, 2010•1 hr 10 min
One of the things I heavily focused on this mix was harmonic mixing.If you compare this mix to my June 2010 mix, you'll notice that the tracks flow much better from a melodic perspective. I started this mix off with some spacey nu-disco tracks originally hoping to pull it around to some synth-funk and disco to close it out...The mix ended up taking a tech-house turn, most likely because I really wanted to include Pezzner's Chiuso Per Ferie (19:27)...After that track, the mix kind of took its own...
Jul 16, 2010•1 hr 9 min
Just a collection of some techy and deep tunes that I mixed together.The common thread running through this mix is that all but two tracks use vocals as an instrument.I am really attracted to the use of cut up, often indistinguishable vocal samples in dance music.I think it makes what some describe as the "robotic" feeling of techno/tech-house much more human, organic, and accessible. 1 Overdue Dachshund 07:52 1 Overwish EP 2 Addiction Prompt 06:14 1 Addiction Highgrade Records 3 Forget The Worl...
Jun 11, 2010•1 hr 10 min