“According to organizers, only mayoral candidates Whitney Smith and Ward 4 candidate Tyler Holmes have declined to attend the forum. Ward 2 Coun. Luke Leatherdale did not respond to organizers' requests to participate. All other candidates have confirmed.”
But hearing Whitney Smith saying something completely out of pocket was the only reason why I was planning on attending!
Pop Culture
Peace, love, unity and respect, idealistic concepts which could be said to be the basis of any utopian society. Idealistic concepts that have been toyed with in novels such as Brave New World and Lost Horizon but always seem to fall short when the nature of humans becomes a factor. The innateness of humankind always seems to add a dispelling hint of realism to any idealistic notion.
These concepts were promoted in the 1960s through free love and flower children. The 1970s partially carried the magic, but by the time the “Me Decade” was upon us these concepts were all but a faded dream. A slap in the face from greed and a boot filled with selfishness prepared to stomp out any remnants of hippie culture, or so the mass media would lead us to believe.
It serves the capitalist system if everyone is out for themselves. Peace, love, unity and respect do not work in a capitalist society. The reason why the 1980s were so “prosperous” was because the hippie-esque notions so prevalent two decades earlier were no longer promoted. Those who were the ones participating in the love-ins, protesting against the evils of society and thumbing their noses at the man were now the man.
Hippiedom did not make anyone rich and unfortunately monetary gain is an important factor governing the longevity of interest in a cause, no matter how important it is. So the hippies hung up their sandals, got into their suits, wrote up their résumés and threw out their bongs.
Did their ideals get left on the curb as well?
One of the important factors of the 1960s that continues to echo was the music. These revolutionary sounds spoke the messages which defined the culture and inspired many changes in society that are now often taken for granted.
The choruses became protest chants, the verses threatened the dominant power structures and the beauty was, anyone who could play a guitar could play the part of the messenger.
Unfortunately the vernacular is limited and does not transcend language barriers. Music is a universal language, vocals are not.
The messages spoken by the hippie movement in the 1960s were not universal. It was a culture that was North American centred and some might argue that even that is too broad of a base.
The Vietnam War protests, a central concern amongst the hippie populous, was an issue because of the United States’ involvement.
Thus…
Style: UK Bass | UK Garage | 2-Step Garage | Speed Garage | Bassline | Dubstep | Deep Dubstep | Breakbeat | UK Breaks | Grime | UK Funky | Jersey Club | Baile Funk | Club Rap | Bass House | Future Garage | Garage House | Leftfield Club | Bass Music | Global Club
Description:
I don’t know what the process is like for other DJs, but I imagine it’s similar.
I’m never not digging for music.
I’m constantly building crates. Every week I’m discovering records, reorganizing playlists, replacing tracks, throwing ideas away, and getting excited about the next party, even if it doesn’t exist yet.
This mix came from a crate called Skin on Skin Energy.
That’s how I work. I hear one or two records that completely grab me, start a crate named after that inspiration, and build outward. Hundreds of tracks get auditioned. Most don’t survive. The ones that do slowly begin to tell a story. Eventually, without any magic number, the crate simply feels… ready.
This particular crate has been growing since May 27, 2024.
I know the exact date because that was the day Skin on Skin made his Detroit debut at Movement on the Underground Stage.
The moment I saw his name on the lineup, I was excited. His collision of techno, UK bass, grime, and garage was exactly what I wanted to hear. Burn Dem Bridges had already become one of those records that made me stop whatever I was doing every time it came on.
His set completely delivered.
I only managed to identify one other track afterwards: oldyungmayn’s version of Chief Keef’s Love Sosa. The reaction from the crowd when he dropped it was exactly the same as mine — except they all knew the words.
That night I started the Skin on Skin Energy crate.
For the next two years, I chased that feeling.
Raw UK bass. Grime. Speed garage. Dubstep. Breaks. Heavy vocals. Heavy low end. Music that feels reckless without ever losing control.
Once the crate reached around a hundred tracks, the real work began. Tagging. Harmonic keys. Different running orders. Moving records around until conversations started happening between them.
Of course Flowdan had to be in there. With that voice, I’d probably buy a record of him reading his grocery list.
One thing you’ll notice throughout this mix is how often I ignore one of DJing’s so-called golden rules:
Never play vocals over vocals.
I’ve never understood that rule.
To me, vocals are another instrument. Another texture. Another sound made available by the producer. Sometimes two vocalists occupying the same space create something entirely new. Sometimes they sound like they’re answering each other. Those moments are some of my favourites.
I guess rules exist for people who need them.
I’d rather trust my ears.
I also love that this mix goes as hard as it does while still making room for proper deep dubstep. It reminds me of something Mat the Alien said to me back in 2007:
“Dubstep is too slow.”
Funny how things change.
Or maybe they don’t.
I’m feeling my roots again.
There are plenty more Bass Music mixes on the way.
🖤
On the questionnaire I ask, "Can you describe your vision of the music and entertainment for your wedding?"
To which they responded, "We would just like very good music."
While I was in Detroit recently for Movement, driving through streets that have felt familiar for more than twenty years now, I found myself talking about DJing, as I tend to do.
More specifically, I was talking about how I’ve been “playing a lot of electro” lately.
My Detroit friends are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. They’re also incredibly patient.
Aux Mind 2005 by Aux 88 was playing on the radio. I don’t remember the exact wording, but it became clear pretty quickly that there was a disconnect between what I meant by “electro” and what they meant by “electro.”
In my mind, electro meant cold, detached vocals. Retro-futurism. Leather. Fetish. Maybe something French. Sure, Detroit electro included Cybotron, but it also included Adult., right? Electronic punk. Electroclash. Darkwave-adjacent things.
Then we started talking about Stingray.
He was scheduled to close The Underground later that day, playing back-to-back with Ellen Allien. I was excited. The previous two times I’d intended to hear him, Detroit had happened — plans changed, adventures emerged, other DJs were heard in other places. Still fun, but I was overdue for a proper Stingray fix.
“Stingray plays electro.”
Right.
I was starting to understand that my personal definition of electro had probably been forged somewhere else entirely.
If I had to pinpoint it, I’d trace it back to Montreal and DJ Mini.
I don’t know if she knows this, but while I was living in Montreal — despite being a little junglist running around in camouflage with my junglist crew — Mini was always my favourite DJ. I loved hearing her play at Parking in the Village. She played what I thought of as electro.
A Montreal electro.
Not a Detroit electro.
Suddenly, everything started making sense.
I haven’t actually been playing much electro lately.
I’ve been playing darkwave. Coldwave. Industrial. Post-punk. EBM.
So when I was sending my Detroit friends links to Electro Vol. 01, Vol. 02, and Vol. 03 (with promises of more on the way), they were understandably confused.
What the hell was I talking about?
Then Stingray dropped Life Is A Nightmare by ATM & Philthtrax.
And it clicked.
Oh.
I get it now.
So I did what crate diggers do.
I dug.
This is the first volume of 100% Pure Electro.
This isn’t Montreal, folks.
This is Detroit.
Last weekend in Detroit, I found myself at Tangent for Return to the Source. One of the sets that stayed with me was Erika b2b Surgeon at The Bunker.
Not because it was loud. Not because it was flashy.
Because it was patient.
Tracks were allowed to breathe. Grooves were allowed to develop. The focus wasn’t on the next drop, it was on what was happening right now.
I came home inspired.
Last night, I went back into the booth and recorded this mix.
I love Movement. I had the best time. I enjoyed listening to the music. The visuals were amateur and a graphic design nightmare.
This one lives in the space between electro, darkwave, EBM, and post-punk — late-night music built on tension, repetition, and atmosphere instead of obvious release.
From Jeff Mills and Villalobos to Cobblestone Jazz, Robag Wruhme, and Aphex Twin, this mix moves through multiple corners of underground electronic music while staying rooted in one thing: immersion.
A 50-minute run through jungle, dub, and drum & bass, built on lineage and pressure. From dubwise foundations and ragga vocals to modern rollers, halftime weight, and jump-up energy, this mix moves through the full spectrum without losing focus.
A 38-minute run through dubstep, halftime, and drum & bass — focused, stripped back, and built around low-end pressure. No filler, no detours, just momentum from the first track to the last.