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Jayda G

Jayda G

Photo: Silvia Lopes

News
Jayda G Is The Scientist/Producer/DJ We Need jayda-g-environmental-scientist-house-music-djproducer-planet-needs-right-now

Jayda G Is The Environmental Scientist & House Music DJ/Producer The Planet Needs Right Now

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While working on a Master's in Resource and Environmental Management, the vinyl lover began DJing and learning production. With 'Significant Changes,' her 2019 debut album, she combines her two passions
GRAMMYs
Oct 10, 2019 - 12:15 pm

Berlin-based, Canada-born Jayda G does it all (typically with an ear-to-ear grin), and the world is starting to notice. While she was researching environmental toxicology (specifically on killer whales) for her Master's Degree, Jayda started to take her record collection and love of funky beats to the next level by learning how to spin vinyl and DJ.

Within the last few years, she not only completed her thesis, but she participated in a major 2017 Boiler Room x Dekmantel (the annual "electronic mecca" fest in Amsterdam) set and toured the world playing more international fests. Now, in 2019, she's continuing to bring her infectious energy and groovy jams around the world with more shows and mixes, including for Mixmag and BBC Radio 1.

An ambitious, dream-chasing individual, Jayda released her debut studio album, Significant Changes, this past March on London's Ninja Tune. With the upbeat-yet-real album and in her recently launched JMG science talks, she melds her two loves in a very powerful way, bringing environmental activism onto the dance floor.

Before you catch Jayda at Secret Project fest in Los Angeles this weekend (she's playing at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday), read on to dive deep into her album, her biggest hopes for the environment, her record collection and more.

Where in the world are you right now?

I'm in New York. I just landed last night. I have a show here on Friday and I also have a record store little party for my album on Thursday as well, so that will be nice.

I have not tapped into New York's nightlife scene too much but it always seems like there's a lot of fun little pockets in there.

Yeah. I feel when it comes to the real golden nuggets of nightlife, it's always about who you know, who can show you around and be like, "This is the spot." I like playing in New York. There's a lot of really nice venues here.

And then you'll be playing at Secret Project next weekend over here in L.A., which is really exciting.

Yes, I play New York on Friday, Chicago on Sunday, and then I'll be in L.A. all week next week and playing at Secret Project. I'm really pumped for it. It's such a dope lineup, it'll be fun for me as well.

I've got to imagine that getting booked to play a festival that you want to hang out at after must be an added bonus.

It is. A lot of times it's not, so when you actually are like, "Oh, yay. I have friends on the lineup and then we can hang and chill," it definitely adds to the whole experience. And then it's more memorable for you as a DJ as well.



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That's it for the summer, but we're pushing the good vibes into Autumn.Thanks to everyone that caught me play these past few months - from boat parties to forest raves, its been a blast! Photo: @sforshot

A post shared by Jayda G (@jaydagmusic) on Sep 25, 2019 at 9:53am PDT

Is there someone at Secret Project you're most excited to have a fan girl moment with?

Oh, that's funny. That's a good one. Well, it's funny because I wouldn't say fan girl moment necessarily, but my friend Daniel Avery, I've known him for a bit but I've never seen him play. So it's more just things like that where you're just kind of like, "Oh, I actually get to check out my friends."

That's really nice and then Ben [UFO]'s going to be there, so that's always fun. I'm not a huge fan of techno, but he makes me love techno. It's always really nice to see him.

That's exciting! You released your debut album, Significant Changes, earlier this year. How did that moment feel for you?

Oh, gosh. It was a bit surreal, because as an artist you spend so much time making the album and for me, this is my debut album, so I have no prior experiences in terms of releasing something like this body of work. I've done EPs and stuff, but it's a bit of a different thing.

You spend so much time making the album and making as close to your vision as possible, and that's the work. And then you're like, "Okay, it's done. Great." And you just move on, but then there's all this aftermath that I didn't really expect, that was really positive, obviously. It was overwhelming in a good way. I didn't expect people to respond so positively.

You just really never know because it's something that, for me anyways, the album was just a personal body of work that I wanted to put out and hopefully it would reach a few people. Yeah, it was really quite a real good moment in that sense and looking back, I'm really hyped about it. I was like, "Yeah, I did that and it worked out. Awesome."

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I would love to hear a little bit more about your specific vision for this album. I'm especially curious about the intersection of environmentalism and dance music because that's just so cool.

While I was making this album, I was also writing my thesis in environmental toxicology at the same time. When you're an artist, you pull from your experiences and that's kind of what I was pulling from. It was a compilation of my thesis and being a touring DJ and relating to the experiences I was having at that time.

Half of the album is about what I'm seeing on the dancefloor, like "Move To The Front," where you end up with a whole group of men at the front and women at the back. And me being like, "Wait, no. Come closer. I want to dance with you while I'm DJing." That kind of messaging that would happen in my head. I wanted to portray that in a song. Or the whole thing of seeing people on their phones all the time and not really engaging with the music. For me, usually you go to the club for two reasons, to meet people or to dance. And not to see either of those things happening, you really question it. That's "Stanley's Get Down."

And then the other thing, obviously, was my scientific background. It was just "can I use this whole life experience that I'm having?" because it's a lot to write a thesis. It's very personal. It really pushes you in terms of your abilities. It's really intense. Those are those more melancholy tunes that I wrote were relating to that specifically. "Orca's Reprise" because my thesis is on killer whales, on Orcas and it's very depressing work. A lot of scientific work is very depressing. It's a real thing where you're learning really negative things that are happening to these animals based on our own activities.

Same with "Missy Knows What's Up." The vocal clips that I sampled, from Misty McDuffee, and she is an advocate for the killer whales and what's happening to them. There was this court case in Canada, around 2010, where a group of environmental groups sued the Canadian government for not upholding their end of the Species at Risk Act. It's a federal act that holds the government accountable for helping endangered species and publicly acknowledging that they're endangered and showing how they're going to help them. And with the killer whales, they were not doing that, so these environmental groups sued the government and won.

The thesis I was working on, which was looking at the negative chemical effects on killer whales, really was a direct link. It was the direct outcome of that court case. I was having to write a whole chapter about this court case and so that song is related to that because Misty McDuffee was a big voice for the case. It was things like that, that were quite poignant in my work that bled into the album, and it's become this really nice link between my two worlds, which was the ultimate goal for me. It's like, how can I bring my two loves together in one?

Sorry, I could go on and on.

"As an artist who has a platform, it's your responsibility to speak about things that are important to you and be responsible. I'm trying in my own way."

No, it's really cool. I think music has the power to start important conversations.

Exactly. And also, in an artistic form, you know what I mean? I think that was the part that I just wanted as well. I wanted it to be something that was equally as much for me as for other people. People who know and people who are interested, they're going to look it up, they're going to tell other people and there's other forms that I'm trying to work with.

As an artist who has a platform, it's your responsibility to speak about things that are important to you and be responsible. I'm trying in my own way.

I love that. That's another thing that I wanted to hear a little bit more about, the JMG Talks you did this year.

It's something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Again, as an academic, how many times have I talked to so many fellow students and friends who are working on a master's or PhD and it can be quite an isolating experience. You don't get to talk about your work a lot to people who aren't nerdy scientists.

I know so many people who are doing such interesting, cool work that I feel like people should know about. There's a really big gap between what's happening in the academic world and what the public knows. Academia is such a dinosaur of a system that someone could be working on something for five years and no one knows about it for another five years. It takes such a long time for things to come into the public knowledge, and a lot of scientific research is also not easily accessible to the greater public.

So it's something that I really wanted to shift. And also just have young people talk about their scientific work. That's, I think, something that is not only just important for young people, but it's relatable. It's really the bridging of that gap between the scientific world and the rest of the world. That's what the talks are about, to talk about these new projects that young people are doing, giving them a platform, but also helping the audience build empathy to the natural world. The more that you know about the natural world, the more that you'll actually care about it. That's the real issue when it comes to the climate crisis, that we're all disconnected to what's happening to our environment. So if we are able to build some kind of connection, it'll help us make better decisions along the way.

For example, we did a talk in May, on wetlands, so swamps, bogs, and using wetlands as a treatment system for polluted water. You pump polluted water through a manmade wetland and it actually cleans the water to be reusable water, essentially. It was so interesting talking to everyone who came because they're like, "Wow. When I walk to work, there is a swamp near my house and now I know what it does. It's actually this amazing filtration system that Mother Nature created." It's been really, really cool to do the talks and see people come and engage and listen. It's been something that I wanted to do and I just did it. We'll see how it continues.



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The second instalment of JMG Talks will be held in London on February 19th. I’ll be hosting Dr. Lindsay Veazey, an oceanographic modeler whose work increases our understanding of how coastal development may impact marine life in Hawaii. Illustration by @laura_breiling. All proceeds will be donated to @free2bekids - a volunteer led charity that uses outdoor experiences to help disadvantaged children in London. Doors open at 6:30pm Ticket link in bio

A post shared by Jayda G (@jaydagmusic) on Jan 12, 2019 at 7:06am PST

What do you think has been your biggest takeaway from hosting the talks so far?

Gosh, so many takeaways. That science is really accessible. Everyone can understand it and all you have to do is have an open mind and an open heart. And that it's been a real gratifying thing for the scientists as well who are speaking. When you're an academic, like I said earlier, the only time you really get to speak about your project publicly is to other scientists, usually conferences, where you're really being challenged. When you're up there talking about your project to the scientific community, they're grilling you usually. So to give that safe space for scientists to talk about their work in a real chill way allows them to learn about their project in a different light. It gives them so much.

Creating that kind of openness in an environment like that, it's super important when you're learning. It's bridging the gap. It's learning in an open and safe environment and also giving a platform to people who wouldn't necessarily have this kind of audience to reach to.

Okay, this one's kind of hard, but I'm sure you have some good thoughts on it because you're actively thinking about it and talking about it. What do you think is the biggest societal change that needs to happen right now to get things moving in a better direction?

I could go on and on and on. I think it's a combination of things. On one hand, it's our own habits and our own things that we do day to day, like choosing not to use plastic bags or recycling or choosing to walk to work, all the little things that we've been told for years. But I think the biggest thing is it's really about what is offered to us as consumers. I did an interview with this woman, Severn Suzuki, she's a big environmental activist.

I'm a huge fan. But she put it really quite eloquently. She's a mother and here she is with her first kid and she's just like, "I'm trying to use the reusable diapers and not be super wasteful with my first child, but at the same time why is all that work put on me as the mother? It should also be that there should be products that are offered to me that make it easier for me to be an environmentally conscious mother." And that's really the biggest thing, is that there should be options for us to be able to live our comfortable lifestyle in a sustainable way. And the only way to do that is by holding our governments accountable to be giving us those options in terms of using renewable energies. These technologies are already out there, but they should be there for the greater public to use and choose.

It's a combination holding our governments accountable and voting in the people we want to see making change, as well as changing our own personal habits. It's a big social responsibility that everyone has. It's about asking and demanding for more, really.

I also wanted to talk about your DJing. I was watching some of your sets on YouTube; the Dekmantel one, which was really cool that you were there.

Yeah, the Boiler Room one.

Yeah, so cool! Was it fun? It seemed like it.

Was it fun? [Laughs.] I've never been so terrified. The two most terrifying moments in my life was doing that Dekmantel Boiler Room set and doing my thesis defense. I was super nervous. It's like going into the gladiators. You're really in this 360 degree situation where you're completely surrounded by people.

To be fair, the [Boiler Room] crowd is really great. They're really hyped. They're going to respond and engage with you. I was really lucky in that sense, but it's really nerve-wracking because you're on camera and it's live and then it's up on the internet forever. I was really, really nervous. I think if you watch the first 30 seconds, you see me walking on and doing a big breath. Even though it looks like I'm having the best time, I was really terrified.

I can only imagine. But it sounds great and, like you said, it looked like you were having fun.

Exactly. In the moment I was able to eventually let go and be there with everyone, so I feel very lucky that the audience definitely helped me to do that. It was pretty intense, but I feel very lucky for it because it registered with people. It really helped me to where I am in the end.

I noticed in that set and a few others I watched, is that you usually spin vinyl, correct?

It depends on the gig. When you're playing the big festivals, it's hard to play vinyl, from a technical standpoint. Feedback is a huge issue when you're spinning vinyl, so if the turntables aren't set up in a certain way, it can be quite difficult to play vinyl to a really big crowd where there's five, six, seven thousand people. But I do collect vinyl. I started DJing with vinyl. That was how I learned.

I still collect vinyl. I will definitely be going to go record digging tomorrow because that's the main thing I do when I'm in New York and in the States in general. So for the Boiler Room, yes, I played vinyl for that and it's a thing. I'm into it. It makes me really, really happy.

Does it feel different for you when you play a vinyl set versus using a USB?

Yes, it definitely does. The fun thing about having that physical item, it's like when you were a kid and you had CDs, to have an item that exudes this energy of music, it's special, and you look at the music differently too. It's a very different thing to pick tracks flipping through your record bag versus going on a dial through your USB stick. It's almost like the tracks call to you differently. I don't really plan my DJ sets, so it's really that you're in the moment and it's what calls to you. Playing with turntables is very different, it's more like an instrument. There's a balance to it and I find it very fun. It's just a very fun way to express music, really.

When did you first learn to spin vinyl or to start picking up DJing?

I think I was late to the game. I started in 2012 or so. That's when I bought my first pair of decks, because I'm the scientist, and that was my big goal. Being an internationally touring DJ was never part of the plan. When I learned to DJ, it was really just for myself. I collected records and was like, "Oh, it would just be nice to learn how to DJ just so I can share this." It was very small, humbling beginnings. It was just me playing at a restaurant/bar situation and sharing music that way.

I remember there was this cute Asian-fusion restaurant in Vancouver that every so often they'd have a pair of decks that you could play while people were eating. When I was DJing, it would start slow and then by the end everyone wasn't eating, they were all dancing. It was something that happened very naturally where you start getting booked. I also would throw my own parties in Vancouver and so it just blossomed through that, which I think is pretty common for most DJs. You're just a big music nerd so you just end up wanting to put that forward to a greater audience versus just in your bedroom.

And obviously your musical vibe is pretty funky. What are your top three or five disco/funk tracks? 

I'll pick two because those are just the ones I've been playing. Every summer, I find there's a handful of tracks that I just end up playing for most of my sets because A, they're what I like at that time and B, there's something that resonates during the summer.

One that I've been playing out a lot, it's a classic, is Loleatta Holloway's "Love Sensation." I love playing a combination of the well-known ones with the not-so-well-known ones, because ending with something like Loleatta Holloway's track, that's something that everyone can together on. I love those moments when everyone is singing along and they're with you. That's when I think magic really happens and it becomes something more than just a DJ set. Another one is Bonnie Oliver's "Come Inside My Love." It just has this amazing disco/funk beat that is very deep and satisfying and I love it. You guys will probably hear it at Secret Project.

Do you remember the first CD and or the first vinyl you ever bought?

My dad was a big vinyl collector. He loved collecting music, so I kind of inherited his vinyl collection. I remember one of my first favorites from going through his collection was an old Aretha Franklin album and that's probably one of my favorite albums of hers because it also has my dad's handwriting on it from when he bought it.

I love those little moments, same with when you're digging, when you see someone else's hand notes on the record. The album is called Hey Now Hey, it came out in 1973.

What about when you were a kid, were you into CDs?

Oh my gosh, yes. Well, I grew up in a really small town of 4,000 people and the closest music store was a two and a half hour drive away. So it was a big thing. There was obviously the added moment of you as a kid saving up your pennies to buy a CD, but it was also waiting to when your parents would go to the next town. We would go every maybe four months or so and that was my big moment where I buy all the music that I wanted. I have these memories of sitting with my dad and going through these mail-order catalogs for music and my dad making notes and ordering them.



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Another beautiful weekend Thank you to all who came, loved and danced You’re energy was fel‍t

A post shared by Jayda G (@jaydagmusic) on Sep 23, 2019 at 9:10am PDT

Who are your biggest inspirations?

I have so many. Musically, I really do look up to a lot of the old-school DJs who were really big in the '90s, like the Masters At Work guys or Larry Heard, people who were really big in specific scenes. Larry Heard for Chicago and Masters At Work for New York, those are really specific sounds that I draw from for my own personal music tastes as a DJ and as a music producer.

I'm trying to think of people I look up to in terms of on the environmental side. I don't have anyone really specific other than my scientific community of friends that I've made over the 10 years in academia that are really out there doing good work. Those are the people I really look up to as well. I'm really blessed with a wonderful community of people who care. They care about the world, they care about people. And same with my family, it's something that is very important in my family, to give back somehow. Kind of a big catchall kind of answer but yeah, my community and family and Masters At Work. [Laughs.]

I love it. I think it is really cool when your biggest inspirations are the people around you. That's next level.

I think that's really, really something important, as a person living this thing called life that's so strange and weird and amazing, that you surround yourself with people who you believe in and who inspire you, that lift you up in different ways and shapes and forms in the many facets of your life. So I think it's really important to build a community of those kind of people because it's going to carry you through life.

Behind The Board: TOKiMONSTA On Creativity And Finding Common Ground Through Music

Jayda G

Jayda G

Photo: Franz Freitag

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Jayda G On New EP, Promoting Diversity & Joy jayda-g-talks-new-ep-promoting-diversity-dance-music-sharing-joy

Jayda G Talks New EP, Promoting Diversity In Dance Music & Sharing Joy

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The Canadian environmentalist/producer/DJ released the follow-up to her 2019 debut album, the funk-filled EP 'Both Of Us / Are U Down,' on July 3
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jul 23, 2020 - 12:29 pm

With her ever-present grin and a vision of inclusivity and sustainability, Canadian-born, London-based environmental scientist/producer/DJ Jayda G is a much-needed positive force in dance music. While completing her graduate thesis in environmental toxicology, she was also working on her stellar debut album, Significant Changes (released in 2019 on Ninja Tune), bringing together her experiences with orcas and as a DJ impartial to old-school funk and house.

Jayda G · Both Of Us / Are U Down

Related: Jayda G Is The Environmental Scientist & House Music DJ/Producer The Planet Needs Right Now

Now, with her latest project, a four-track EP called Both Of Us / Are U Down (with co-writing and co-production from Fred again), Jayda returns at a time we need her most, bringing more joy, funkiness and hope for brighter days.

Listen to the EP above (and order it on Bandcamp here), which was released on July 3 on Ninja Tune, and read on to hear from the "Move to the Front" artist herself about it.

In a recent conversation with GRAMMY.com, she discusses why she chose to release the project during these difficult times and shares the meanings and inspiration behinds the two songs and their remixes. She also talks representing diversity and inclusion in dance music and how others in the industry can do more.

How are you feeling right now? How have you been coping with these difficult times?

Honestly, I've been actually doing pretty good, obviously ups and downs, as everyone, I think, has been feeling. I've been using this time to really get centered, and just be rested, and also work on a lot of projects and ideas that I haven't really had as much time to give to. So, it's actually been productive and fulfilling in a lot of ways.

Listen: Channel Tres Drops First New Music & Video Of 2020, The Groovy "Weedman"

Your new EP, Both Of Us / Are U Down, dropped on July 3—what does it mean to you to share this project at this time? What do you hope listeners will experience with it?

Honestly, to share it at this time, it was a bit difficult. I, at first, thought I shouldn't drop the EP just because things seemed so bleak at the beginning with COVID-19 and such, and that it just didn't seem the time to be releasing an uplifting dance song. But after contemplation and discussion, it seemed like this was maybe the best time, because people need it right now. People are stuck in their homes, and aren't able to go back to normal life. So what better time to really be releasing a song and an EP that is uplifting and makes you feel good? I hope that listeners experience exactly that.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBF_uFAgo2b

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A post shared by Jayda G (@jaydagmusic)

The contrast between the giddy jubilance of "Both Of Us" and the cautious-yet-excited anticipation on "Are U Down" is really fun and very real to the human experience. What does that contrast represent to you, and what did the moods of the tracks feel like for you while making them versus how you hear them now?

Well, in terms of the contrast of the songs, it's interesting. The lyrics of "Both Of Us" are rooted in a time in relationships where you want to just be with a person all the time. That feeling of "I just want to be with you!" that you get at the beginning of meeting someone—that's what "Both of Us" is speaking to.

Contrasting that to how things are now, it's still very similar. Right now, a lot of people are not able to be with each other. We're kind of isolated. And so, this is a great song that expresses exactly what I think a lot of people are feeling, whether that is a loved one or family, friends, colleagues, or however that speaks to you, right?

And with "Are U Down," is kind of a call and response with the sample that we used [that says] "Are you down," and then [Jayda says] "feeling super down." It can be taken as however you want. When we were making the song, "Are you down?" means, "yeah, I'm down to hang." I'm down to do whatever this is, be it relationship-wise or "taking the plunge," which is also part of the lyrics. And so in terms of how it is now, I think maybe it's not as relatable as "Both Of Us," but I think it definitely can be related to the feeling of "we are doing this." Where we are in this world even right now and having to get through it.

The "Both Of Us" music video is super fun and its funky Sunset Bliss Mix remix feels like a whole new track—what were the inspirations for both the video and the remix?

"Both of Us" is a very nostalgic song for me, personally. When we were writing it—this leads to the remix question as well—I was trying to pull some of my favorite house track productions. I really wanted to emulate that sound, especially in the remix. With the house claps, etcetera, that was really pulling from early '90s house references that I love and play out when I'm DJing a lot. And the same goes for the original as well, it's just stronger within the remix.

And for the music video, I really wanted to emulate that nostalgic feeling of a time passed, and I think we hit home with using an old video camera from the '90s, and using old footage from when we were DJing and such.

Read: How 1995 Became The Year Dance Music Albums Came Of Age

You hosted a handful of "Virtual Get Down" livestream sets for a few of the cities you were supposed to play in this spring—what did engaging with your global fans in this virtual way feel like for you?

Oh man, it gave me so much. It was really I did them when the whole lockdown things were still pretty fresh, I think. And to really see people engaging, dancing, and chatting on the group chat, it just like ... man, those group chats were so ... just looking back at them, were people just meeting each other for the first time, bringing together people who would've never met otherwise. And seeing people on Instagram dancing and engaging ... This one guy was like playing violin to the set, and stuff. It was crazy. It just gave me a way to engage with my fans that I never thought was possible during a time where you can't be with people. So, it made me so happy, and yeah, I was just so elated that we did it.

"It means exposing Black and queer people more within this music community that has become so White. For me personally, I'm doing the thing because I personally represent that just by existing."

 

Disco and dance music were created by Black and queer people, yet the modern dance music scene can feel far removed from its roots. What do you think the dance music community can do to create and promote more intentional, inclusive and diverse spaces?

Oh gosh, there's so many things. Look, it's the fact that Black and queer people made dance music, and then it was basically appropriated by White people, so it's also up to White people to take responsibility and accountability for what they have taken from this dance scene. And I think that comes from knowing your history, understanding where it comes from and really diving deeper into what that actually means to you personally. Are you taking something that really means something energetically when you're DJing? Or are you giving back? Are you trying to express or give space for Black and queer people?

In terms of what that actually looks like, I think it means, for artists who are White, maybe that's hiring a manager, a rep or a photographer that is BIPOC, or is queer; that represents the community that the music actually comes from. And then also in turn, it means exposing Black and queer people more within this music community that has become so White. For me personally, I'm doing the thing because I personally represent that just by existing.

And in terms of my actual team, when I hire photographers, or work with stylists or makeup artists, or anyone, I'm very conscious about who actually is in the room with me. Are they people who identify with me, see me for me and understand the things that I've gone through? It all makes a difference. And in terms of DJing within the scene, I try to uplift people who also identify with being Black and queer. That's always been important to me, but also, I think a bigger issue when [White artists are] speaking to other White people, it's their responsibility and their problem as well.

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This year has proven to already be one of major upheaval. What are your biggest hopes for changes we see coming out of 2020?

A [COVID-19] vaccine! [Chuckles.] That is my biggest hope for changes for 2020 is a vaccine. And also, kidding aside, look, we are during a time where we are having to stop and think and be reflective about how we are living our lives. And I just hope that people really take that to heart, and I think we are. I like to be hopeful in that way, that people are stopping and thinking and looking at how this world is conducted, how our system and economy is being run. And maybe it will help people to make better choices for themselves within the economy, within voting, and move forward to a bit of a brighter future in so many more ways than just one.

TRANScendent Sounds Fest To Feature MJ Rodriguez, Abigail Pereira, Ryan Cassata & More

The Knocks in 2020

The Knocks

Photo: Joe Perri

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Record Store Recs: The Knocks record-store-recs-knocks-brooklyn-online

Record Store Recs: The Knocks Reveal The Grooviest Shops In Brooklyn And Online

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The beloved New York electro duo The Knocks take us to their favorite vinyl stores in the Big Apple and on the World Wide Web
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Feb 11, 2021 - 1:36 pm

With the unprecedented global disruption of COVID-19, it's important to support the music community however we can. With Record Store Recs, GRAMMY.com checks in with vinyl-loving artists to learn more about their favorite record stores and the gems they've found there so you can find some new favorite artists and shops.

New York-based electro-pop duo The Knocks–consisting of Ben "B-Roc" Ruttner and James "JPatt" Patterson—have made a name for themselves with their upbeat bops and energetic live shows. Their last album, 2018's New York Narcotic, is a kinetic tribute to the city they love and that loves them back. On Feb. 5, after a year without concerts, Ruttner released his vibey debut solo album, Holiday87 (which is also his solo project's name).

While New York may have finally caught up on sleep in 2020, the pulse of the city—its music—never really stopped. For the latest Record Store Recs, Patterson shares the act's favorite vinyl hot spots and what's on their vinyl wishlist.

Holiday87 · Daybreak (feat. The Knocks)

What are three to five record stores you love?

Second Hand Records in Brooklyn, New York

Superior Elevation Records in Brooklyn

Human Head Records in Brooklyn

Discogs (online)

Juno Records (online)

The Last: Record Store Recs: Producer Bongo ByTheWay Shares The Music Of His Mind

The Knocks' Ben Ruttner at a record store

The Knocks' Ben Ruttner

Why do you love these shops? And what kind of goodies have you found there?

Second Hand, Superior and Human Head are all run by great DJs and have well-curated selections. They also happen to be good friends, and we love supporting the community. We have found some great older house records and rare disco cuts there.

For at least one of your favorite shops, share a recent record or two you bought there and what you love about the record/artist.

We haven't been doing as much analog digging due to COVID restrictions and basically quarantining for a year with no gigs. We have, however, purchased a few jams online, one of which we've been obsessed with by a relatively obscure artist named Jesse Henderson. It's called "I Did It Again" [1977, Lasso Records].

The Knocks go vinyl hunting

What's an upcoming/recent release or two you have your eyes on picking up and why?

There's an Al Kent release that's coming out [on March 8 on Million Dollar Disco] called "The Loneliest One" that sounds like an absolute melter. It's definitely on our Juno wish list. There's also a Dimitri from Paris edit pack on the way. We are always excited about his stuff because it's usually heat.

Another Record Store Recs: Salt Cathedral Talk Favorite Brooklyn Indie Shops & How To Support Artists Of Color

How would you describe your record collection in a few words?

Funky house, disco and edits mostly—for getting the party started.

In your opinion, what can music fans do to better support Black artists and businesses?

I think real fans are already good about showing support by purchasing/streaming/sharing our music, but I think the industry could do better about supporting Black artists and artists in general by giving us bigger cuts of money being made off the music we create.

Life On Planets Talks Astrology, Inclusivity On The Dancefloor & Why We Have To Be Like Martin Luther King Jr.

Damian Lazarus at Day Zero

Damian Lazarus at Day Zero Tulum 2019

Photo: Juliana Bernstein

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Damian Lazarus On Day Zero, Tiesto & '90s Raves damian-lazarus-discusses-day-zero-2020-spiritual-awakenings-meeting-tiesto-90s-london

Damian Lazarus Discusses Day Zero 2020, Spiritual Awakenings, Meeting Tiesto & '90s London Raves

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The globetrotting house music wizard dives deep into the beginnings of his magical Tulum event, cutting his teeth in the '90s underground U.K. club scene and his biggest hope for the new year
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 26, 2019 - 4:53 pm

British DJ/producer/mystical event wizard Damian Lazarus' well-loved sound is much more of a mood than genre. The music he favors is ethereal, emotive and takes the listener on a journey. His parties often take place in awe-inspiring locations, from the expansive dustiness of Burning Man to the jungles of Tulum, Mexico. His DJ sets tend to last for hours, often until the wee hours of the morning.

With his iconic house and techno label Crosstown Rebels, which he founded in 2003, Lazarus has helped catapult the careers of fellow underground game-changing DJ/producers, including Maceo Plex, Jamie Jones and Francesca Lombardo, to name a few.

In addition to throwing down at major electronic music events (Amsterdam Dance Event, Desert Hearts Fest, Lightning In A Bottle, Art Basel Miami) and legendary clubs around the world (Miami's Club Space, Ibiza's DC10, Berlin's Watergate), Lazarus has been carefully curating his own beloved events, namely the Day Zero and Get Lost series.

The Recording Academy caught up with the globetrotting wizard, who called in during a rare moment of downtime in Mexico City, in between debuting a new party to close out ADE and bringing the spooky vibes to Los Angeles' HARD Day of the Dead. He dove deep into the surreal beachside origin story of Day Zero (which returns to Tulum on Jan. 10, 2020), what makes a great DJ set and more. We also revisited his teen and young adult years in London, where he got a healthy dose of club life during the then-burgeoning rave scene.



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About last night... what a night!!! The inaugural “LAZARUS” party at @demarktkantine closing out ADE. This was around 7am this morning at the end of a 6 hour session, I think my face sums it all up. Thank you everyone in Amsterdam that came and helped us make this a night to remember and special thanks to @shishibabylon and all the guys at the club for helping us make something so special

A post shared by Damian Lazarus (@damian_lazarus) on Oct 21, 2019 at 8:56am PDT

You were just at ADE not long ago. How was that experience for you?

It was really good, actually. Funnily enough, I was just at lunch here in Mexico City and saw Tiësto. I had to tell him about what I did at ADE because it was because of him that I started something new there this year. Many years ago, I was in Chicago about to play a show and the promoters said, "Oh, do you want to come see Tiësto play? He's doing an early evening thing." I'd never seen him play before, so I was really intrigued.

So we went and they took me to the green room. When Tiësto arrived, he made a beeline directly to me and was like, "You're Damian Lazarus, right?" I had no idea that I'd be anywhere on his radar. And he said, "I've got to tell you that your name is the best name in dance music. You know what it means, Lazarus, in Dutch?" And I was like, "No, I have no idea." And he says, "Well, when we go out on the weekend and then your friends call you in the week and they're like, 'What did you get up to in the weekend,' you're like, 'I got really lazarus.' It means to get really wasted."

So this year, I decided to create my own event in ADE; of course I just called it "Lazarus." Because people in Amsterdam would totally get it, but anywhere in the rest of the world, it's just my second name. That was on Sunday, so it was an ADE closing party. It started at midnight and I played all night until 7:00 a.m. That was really special. I also played Circoloco as well, which was on a Saturday.

I tend to just go in for a couple of days. I don't really go for the business meetings and stuff. I know it's very worthwhile for promoters and management but I find if I need to talk to someone or have a meeting about something, I can just pick up a phone. I don't need someone to tell me where to go and have a meeting.

I was always curious about that; is it really like the electronic music mecca that it's made out to be, or is it just a cool space to be when everyone's there?

It really is. I mean, first of all, Amsterdam is a really cool city on so many levels. They have more clubs per capita than anywhere else—throughout the year, not just during ADE. While I was there, I was polling quite a few of my friends and people in the industry about how useful it's been for them that week at ADE and everyone loves it as a business opportunity and also as a good chance to go out. It's one of the best places to go and do business but have fun at the same time.

Read More: Damian Lazarus' Day Zero Tulum 2020: &Me, Audiofly, Black Coffee, Dubfire, Ellen Allien & More

Recently, you shared some details for your Day Zero 2020 event, which I think is the seventh iteration of it.

This will be the seventh, yeah, we took one year off.

What are you most looking forward to, especially as we plummet into this new decade?

That's a good point. I just look at it as 2020, I haven't really thought about making a big statement with the new decade. Well, Day Zero began at the end of the Mayan calendar, which I saw as the beginning of a new opportunity as opposed to the end of the world. This time in the world is very difficult, there's a lot of unrest. I think for people in our world to gather together as a community, to celebrate with a backdrop of this beautiful jungle and incredible music—Tulum is a really an incredible place to create a joyful experience for people.

Every year, my mission that I set before my team is to make the next event even more impressive than the last. So we're in the planning stages at the moment and we have a lot of fresh ideas. After every event, we're fine-tuning the minutia of the experience. There's so many things that we plan out at this event. Everywhere you look, everything you smell, everything you touch, everything you do, every place that you go has been well considered by us before you get there, because we want this event to be a full sensory overload. We take pride in it and work very hard on it. So, I'm looking forward to this year.

I would love to hear a little bit more about the origin story of Day Zero and what throwing the party each year means to you, to be able to share it with people.

I had a very spiritual awakening back in 2012 on the beach in Tulum. A medicine man I'd seen earlier that day suggested I stand beneath the moon and stars and raise my arms up towards the moon at a certain hour that night. He wouldn't give me any more information about what I should expect to happen. Fortunately, I remembered to do it later that night and I had the most incredible energy—force field—connection with the universe. It was like a physical being.

You know that feeling when you're young and you try poppers for the first time? Not saying that that's a good thing to do, but imagine that feeling for like 20 minutes; nonstop connecting to the universe. So I had this incredible experience and I took that as a signal to create something that I had rolling around in my head. I'd been going to Tulum for many years; I've been going there for well over 15 years now.

I was playing in Playa del Carmen two years before the BPM festival began there. I'm very connected to that area. But I'd always refrained from DJing in Tulum because it felt like a very beautiful, pristine, secret place that maybe shouldn't open its doors to parties. I knew that the first time I would play music there and bring electronic music to the natural beauty of the area, I wouldn't be able to stop. So I prevented myself from doing it.

And then a couple of people started to come see the area and ask me to play it. But then I had this experience and I could see that I was really fighting against the winds of change. More and more people were discovering Tulum and the hotels, the restaurants and bars were building up. I could feel there was something coming. So, the Armageddon was supposed to be coming on the 21st of Dec., 2012, so I started to plan Day Zero then as a way to reset and recharge, and, like I said, gather people to create a very special experience. 

Sharing the experience means the world to me. This has been by far the most thrilling ride that I've been on in my career creating parties and stuff. And now we just started to open it up outside of Tulum for the first time this year. We just created Day Zero Masada at the Holy Mountain in the Dead Sea area. We had 15,000 people there for an incredible first show, I was very happy with how that went.

So now we're looking up where to go in the future. The idea of Day Zero is to get the best electronic music, forward-thinking, future music with ancient civilization. So we like that juxtaposition of the two things going hand in hand. For seven years now, we've been connecting with the Mayans in the ancient area of the Mayan jungle, complete with the
Cenotes underground. We delve into the Popol Vuh, which is the creation story of the Mayans, and work out performances around these ancient Mayan stories and connect with Mayan spiritual leaders from that come and join us.

We really try to show the new young generation the differences in historical background to how people used to live and the stories and the influence that these people have had on the world. But the thing is to not do too many because each event takes about a year in advance to plan. So yeah, so we have two running now, Masada and Tulum, and we'll see where we go in the future. And the Get Lost events which are really big as well. So yeah, it's a little bit busy.

Damian Lazarus at Day Zero Masada

Damian Lazarus at Day Zero Masada | Photo: Karim Tabar

Your sets are known for having a journey element to them. When you're DJing, say at Day Zero or in other special places, do you feel like you're connecting to something?

Oh yeah, 100 percent. Well, at my events, when I start playing there's an extra buzz around the place because it's like, "What's he going to do? What's he going to bring?"

You've set the bar high for yourself.

Yeah, I do. Every year I try to make it better and I spend a lot of time trying to find some music that is really going to make people go bananas. Of course, over seven years, it's difficult to continue to find those records every time, but I work very hard at that. I never plan a set, I never know what I'm doing from one track to the next, whether it be at Day Zero or anywhere else. When I'm DJing, I kind of tell myself I'm playing Sudoku or chess, so I'm always thinking two, three or four moves in advance.

So, I'm telling a story but I'm thinking about them throughout the whole experience. Of course there's some records that work really well together and you want to throw them together a few times. I like to think that I save my best work live at Day Zero or Get Lost. Of course I love to play at sunsets or sunrises. And the beauty of throwing your own event is you get to choose when you play and work everybody else around you. [Laughs.]



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***thank you everyone. After the initial amount of tickets sold out in literally milliseconds, we added another bunch, which also sold out in record time. Please give us a day to regroup and we will announce the line up and put the remainder of tickets on sale on FRIDAY 18TH OCTOBER (5pm GMT)*** Tickets of Trust for DAY ZERO TULUM 2020 will go on sale this WEDNESDAY 16TH OCTOBER (5pm GMT) >> http://bit.ly/DayZero2020 General Admission tickets will be available shortly after following the announcement of the amazing line up. Tickets of Trust are limited to 500 and are first come first served. We can’t wait to share this Day Zero with you all. Ticket link in bio

A post shared by Damian Lazarus (@damian_lazarus) on Oct 14, 2019 at 11:36am PDT

What has been one of the most powerful moments from your Day Zero events?

Oh my god. There's so many. But you've got to remember that I'm the kind of person that can't just rock up an hour before my set. I've got these events that I run from beginning to end every year and I generally am playing at the end. So I'm spending 16 hours running around the festival site showing my friends around, having fun, experiencing it for myself and making sure everything's working properly. And then I have to start playing.

It all kind of blurs into one. I could tell you that the magical moments are many. But I actually take more pride and enjoyment in reading other people's comments and what people react after these events, especially after Day Zero events. People do find them quite life changing. I've had people meet on the dance floor there and they're married within 12 months. There's people that write to me and tell me that they literally had their life changed. They were going through some trauma, and the energy that they felt at Day Zero helped them kind of rearrange and reorganize their life and their thoughts.

You never know how much of this is actually true. But if someone's going to take the time to write to me and tell me a story like that, then I want to believe it. So I think that's really the best thing that comes out of it for me, the fact that I get to make so many other people happy and that's the main focus.

I love that. What do you think is essential to a great DJ set?

Well, obviously the ability to read the energy in the crowd. Many times I've walked into a room and I feel that there's no vibe, no energy. And I think to myself, it's not that difficult to change this, you just need to be aware of it. Really focus on what music is going to lift people's spirits in time. I think it's important to be innovative but not too overly technical. Of course, it's important to mix and blend your music perfectly, because no one likes to hear dodgy mixing.

And I think there's a very fine line between showboating and really being into what you're doing. I like to think sometimes I'm a performer, but only realize that afterwards, when I let myself go, because I was really feeling the music in the booth.

Last year, you released Heart of Sky with your Damian Lazarus & The Ancient Moons project. Can you talk a little bit about that album and creative group?

Basically what happened was when I first made the first Ancient Moons album back in 2015, Message From The Other Side, I worked with so many different musicians from all over the world. I'd been touring and finding amazing musicians from Egypt, Pakistan, New York. I somehow managed to record all of these amazing people and I was making the new Damian Lazarus album. But once I realized that I had all these incredible other voices and musicians on this record, and it felt very cinematic and it also felt like I could perform this live, I realized that I should create this fake band name, which was The Ancient Moons.

Once I decided to take the project live, I actually had to put The Ancient Moons together. So when it came around to making the second album, I started to work with the band that I found from the first time. So we actually then did become a band making music together. Whereas the first album, I made it with a producer and some guest musicians.

I think that The Ancient Moons project's some of the best creative work I've ever done. But it's not something that I could just knockout every time I'm in the studio. Right now, I'm not working on any new Ancient Moons material but I'm focusing on doing a little bit more kind of straight ahead Damian Lazarus club music right now.

In fact, I've just made this track with Diplo and the band Jungle, which we're still trying to decide what to do with. I've just done a couple of remixes. I just worked on a remix with Teddy Pendergrass. And I did a remix for Art Department. I just did this really killer remix of this Rosalía track. I'm just waiting for her to listen to it and see what she thinks.

But yeah, so that's where we're at. I mean, maybe next year I'm thinking about some Ancient Moons material probably towards the end of the year. I'm already kind of pretty hectic for 2020. I'm already a bit busy for the first half of the year. And I have family at home as well. I need to prioritize my kids right now. So yeah, quite a lot going on.

And then with Heart Of Sky—

Heart Of Sky is actually from the Popol Vuh story. Did you see the film that we made? It's called "Heart Of Sky," by Jessy Moussallem, an amazing film director from Beirut. It's a 15-minute film that we made in the fields of Lebanon where they make Lebanese hash. So it's all the families of the community of people that are making hash. They've never allowed themselves to be filmed before. Obviously, the soundtrack is music from the album.

That's super cool. Zooming out, when did you first start getting into music?

Music was always kind of around in the house. My mother, in the '60s was involved in the the [Rolling] Stones scene, and hanging out in Carnaby Street and stuff like that. And my dad was more kind of into Motown and soul, Isaac Hayes, James Brown. So I had a really good combination there, but my grandfather really was the most influential person for me because he was proper East Londoner, really into the show tunes and musicals. He and I used to have a lot of fun with music together.

But it wasn't really until I was about 11, 12, that I started to buy music and be obsessed with listening to the radio and finding new music that I liked. By the time I was 14, I'd persuaded my parents to let me buy some turntables and a mixer. And I got myself a Saturday job in a very cool record store called Groove Records in SoHo, Central London and then just went on from there.

I did a gig for Pirate Radio, and then went to college and started making parties there. It wasn't really until around 2001 when I had the City Rocker record label that people really started to take notice of me. I always knew I wanted to be a DJ but I wasn't very good at it. It took me ages to work out how to mix properly, but maybe that was because there were so many different styles of music that I was into. So by 2001, I managed to really hone in on and focus on it.

When we were running City Rockers, we started this party called 21st Century Body Rockers in London. We did it for 10 weeks, every month during 2001 or '02. We had DJs like Soulwax and I was the warmup DJ. It was there that my friends said to me, "You're actually getting quite good at this. You should think about it as a career." It wasn't until I got friends and loved ones telling me that that I really thought I could make a go of it. And within a couple of years, I was playing at Circoloco [at DC10 in Ibiza] for the first time, and the Sónar festival [in Barcelona]. I guess the rest is history. [Chuckles.]

I started Crosstown Rebels in 2003 and it was pretty much seen at the forefront of underground electronic music since then. So that always kept me at the front of people's minds, I think, because I was always working with a lot of cool people and discovering new talent and putting on great parties. I guess my DJing skills improved. Things started to get better and better.

Do you have any photos from these 2001 parties? That would be amazing.

I'm not sure they're really for GRAMMY.com. [Laughs.]

Did you have a favorite club or place that you went to when you were younger in London?

There was one club that was really influential for me and helped shape my wide range of appreciation for music. It was called That's How It Is. It was every Monday night at Bar Rumba in London and was run by James Lavelle and Giles Peterson. They were playing anything from all the early Mo Wax stuff to rare groove or funk to jazz to techno. And then they kind of started to discover the jazziest end of the drum and bass sound. It was just this melting pot of all these amazing new, fresh sounds, like Massive Attack, all that stuff coming out at that time. I was on the dancefloor every Monday for a good few years.

But then, you know, I also went to Rage, which was the primary kind of early jungle party in the U.K. There was a couple of things I went to New York as well when I was young. But yeah, so many places have influenced and inspired me. And they still do. I sometimes think back to various places I've been to and I think how I can create something like that.

"One positive thing is that in times of economic hardship, you tend to find that's a really good time for underground music to really come out of the cracks."

Read & Listen: Jayda G Is The Environmental Scientist & House Music DJ/Producer The Planet Needs Right Now

What is your biggest dream that you hope will come true in 2020?

Impeachment.

Which one?

A few. I don't know. The world's f**ked right now really. It's starting to really get people down. But one positive thing is that in times of economic hardship, you tend to find that's a really good time for underground music to really come out of the cracks. I think it's been getting a little stale, a little safe. I think we've lost that kind of punk and DIY attitude in electronic music right now.

As a label owner, I'm finding it really hard to find really unique, new voices in electronic music. I mean, I do have a few people that I've discovered recently that I'm really excited about, but I think that something needs to happen.

I think that maybe the current state of the world and the climate crisis and everything else hopefully will take music more underground because people are struggling, I think, mentally with figuring out how to deal with all the issues that we face. When keeping your eyes open and not walking around with your eyes closed, you can't escape the fact that the world is f**ked. So I'm looking forward to some exciting new musical trends to come through.

Lee Burridge Hopes His New Album With Lost Desert, 'Melt,' Helps You See Passion & Truth In Yourself

John Digweed

John Digweed

Photo: Dan Reid

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John Digweed's 'Last Night At Output' Lives On john-digweed-played-clubs-final-party-now-last-night-output-lives

John Digweed Played The Club's Final Party; Now The 'Last Night At Output' Lives On

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On Dec. 31, 2018, Brooklyn's famed Output held its final party after six years of reshaping the New York club scene. Now, with Digweed's new compilation album, fans can experience the beats he shared that night
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
May 3, 2019 - 6:54 pm

Fridays tend to feel extra special when that album you've been waiting ages for is finally here, or a surprise drop shifts the course of your day. Today, Fri. May 3, British DJ/producer and underground house hero John Digweed's new release Last Night at Output is a not only chock-full of house and techno bangers, but it is a memento of the iconic Brooklyn club where he first shared the set.

On Dec. 31, 2018, Digweed DJed at Output for his twelth and final time, only a few weeks after the club's owners sent a ripple through the house community by announcing its eminent shuttering. Digweed kept the dancefloor moving for 10 hours (yes, you read that right, he played a 10-hour set!), playing beats from fellow underground legends like Agoria, Dixon, Josh Wink, Acid Pauli and many more, as well as some deep cuts and unreleased tracks of his own.

"Output changed the clubbing landscape in N.Y. and in six short years became the destination venue for quality house and techno in North America," Digweed tells the Recording Academy over email.

"I was lucky enough to play there 12 times and had the privilege to be the last DJ to play that room. I wanted to mix the 10-hour set up with a selection of classics tracks from the likes of Âme, Dixon, James Holden and Laurent Garnier alongside my trademark new and unreleased tracks. Sometimes it's hard to achieve a mix of old and new without some tracks sounding out of place but when I first listened back I realized how well they worked together and I wanted this set to be released and serve as a lasting memento for fans of the club." 

So excited that this album is Out Today “Last Night at Output“
Available to buy / download and stream today check this link for full details: https://t.co/OfSF2mzPq7

Have you already got your copy? let us know what you think...pic.twitter.com/8gdOApIFxR

— John Digweed (@DJJohnDigweed) May 3, 2019

The vibe and music lives on with the new album, which you can get a taste of with the mini-mix above. Via Digweed's own Bedrock Records, Last Night at Output can now be enjoyed as a six-CD box set or vinyl four-pack, both with colorful packaging and limited signed editions. Beatport also offers digital download options, as well as Spotify and Apple offering a streaming version. With the album's description, the internationally-revered DJ/producer offers more context:

"Having been a regular behind the decks since it opened and having released a Live In Brooklyn album over two years ago, you could say I have a real love for this space. When it was announced that the club was closing and I would be playing the very last set there I had so many mixed emotions from sadness to joy and an overwhelming pressure to deliver a party that a club of that stature deserves. I really put my heart and soul into that party drawing from my favorite tracks over the years.

The set seemed to fly by and there was just a constant sea of smiling faces from the dance floor all night long as the crowd literally savored every record on that crystal clear sound system. After listening back to the set I knew this album had to come out and not just be another mix online. It deserved to be part of people's music collection and a memento for years to come. We have managed to license six CDs worth of music from the night. I hope you can immerse yourself in one of my favorite sets in N.Y. for years."

Jan Blomqvist Talks Playing Coachella, Berlin Techno & Covering The Rolling Stones

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