d.J presents >> star.light_

It's been over two years since I've made an electronic mix, and now, finally, I'm happy to present 96 minutes of my best-curated, crafted, and designed electron pulses that I've titled, star.light_. This is a mix unlike what I've done before: it's gritty; it's dark. And yet, it's still blissful in spots, like finding a silver dollar half-buried in the refuse of a city curbside. These are mostly tracks I've accumulated throughout 2015, right up to a track I discovered just last week (the antepenultimate track, and perhaps the eponymous kingpin of a "beautiful grit" sound). I decided to neglect some of the more aged tracks I've found since my last mix in 2013, focusing mostly on what's newer and fresh.

With star.light_ I delved into producing the tracks (albeit modestly) in addition to mixing them. I wanted to try and blend salient elements, whether a bass line, a piano, or a particular sonic aesthetic in ways that accentuated a continuous story that was being told. In order to do this, I had to get more involved in the tracks and actually change them. Sometimes this was simply because I wanted specific tracks to be married together despite them being in vastly different keys, rhythms, or complex syncopations. Doing so required some sonic surgery to weld the pieces into one.

Worth noting, I often encounter surprise when revealing my love for electronic music given the acoustic roots sound of my dKOTA project. I will always have a dear place for the singer-songwriter sound that defines my core. This is who I am and I intend to continue crafting such music. But I revere electronic music because it's the only genre pushing the edges of sounds into the sphere of "music;" it's the only modern genre that captures an uninterrupted hypnosis for over an hour to tell a story; it's the only genre that I find capable of taking me on an intellectual and emotional ride; and it's the only genre that is created by artists for other artists (such as a lowly "DJ" playing around with Ableton Live in his spare time) to craft and reimagine in new ways. Indeed, these songs are actually produced and released with this purpose: to be recreated into the stories of other people's mixes. It's as though the visitors to an art gallery are given brushes and paint, and asked to reimagine the works on the walls into their own interpretation (something I've actually thought would be a great art show...). The final creation is something made by everyone, yet not made by any one; it is true kinship of collective artistry. Alas, electronic music is a whole greater than its sum.

Despite how all that comes across, I'm not to be taken too seriously with this. It's just a music mix I made for fun -- something I've done since I acquired my first tape deck in first grade. This is not a perfect, or even professional mix. But I'm also not a deejay or an electronic music producer. I'm simply a passionate person, and I write in passionate character. In the end, I get a great deal of satisfaction wielding the digital levers to commandeer sounds through my (fancy new!) computer, and I enjoy sharing the story I've created. And speaking of sharing, I should mention this mix was made on behalf of a beloved friend of mine, Christina. Her and I share a similar enthusiasm for this sort of music -- something that's rare (at least in America) -- and star.light_ was crafted with her in mind as she celebrates the inauguration of her 40th year of life. I hope this soundtrack captures the bliss among the textured grit we've all experienced over the years. Enjoy.

[stream and DOWNLOAD links are below // album artwork is above]

click here >> free DOWNLOAD [the file is large so GoogleDrive will probably ask twice before you download, but i assure you: it's just a long MP3 file // all is safe and clean from my end!]
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