It’s 2am. The middle of February. In the city you call home. The warehouse temperature rises as bodies pack the floor, seeking relief from the noise of the outside world. Red and blue lights blend together to form a beautiful yet hauntingly familiar combination. The rhythm of your heart climbs to 128 beats per minute. As the music begins to drown your thoughts, a single question cuts through the air. This is not an escape. It’s an acknowledgment.
To tell you the truth, we can’t dance our way around reality; we gotta dance through it. Black queer pioneers in the underground music scenes of Detroit and Chicago filled spaces with sounds of confrontation and freedom. House and Techno were birthed to serve as an unapologetic symbol of defiance and revolution through innovation and joy. This is a tribute to the originators. A blend of two cities. Two sounds. One lineage. This is Tech House - mixed through my lens.
We start our journey on the first day of the Year of the Fire Horse. That question? Now it’s accompanied by a declaration - delivered by two familiar voices. Then the flame is ignited, quickly and bluntly. There’s a rapid urgency; a horse racing through a fire. It builds toward a climax that earns the deep, soft, sensual valley that follows. But softness can be an illusion. The heat beneath it erupts in truth like a volcano. Stick to the path. Tighten the reins. Embrace the eruption. Feel the release.
This is for all of us. A cathartic acknowledgement of our collective experience, meant to help us rise to meet the future we were promised. A future we refuse to surrender for temporary escape. It’s our time. Press play. Don’t look back. REI(G)N.
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TRACK LISTING
:: What's Going On (Paul Oakenfold x Kilanova Remix) // Marvin Gaye
:: Rhythm Nation (Butter Factory Remix) // Janet Jackson
:: My My My (Salvatore Mancuso Remix) // Armand Van Helden, Tara McDonald
:: Pray (MK Remix) // Sam Smith
:: Good Life (Dantiez & Hugo Cantarra Remix) // Inner City, Kevin Saunderson
:: U.N.I.T.Y. (Chico Edit) // Queen Latifah
:: Blessings // Calvin Harris, Clementine Douglas
:: In The Air Tonight (Vintage Culture Remix) (Syntheticsax Edit) // Phil Collins
:: They Don't Care About Us (Borgeous Remix) // Michael Jackson
:: Get By (Cardio Remix) // Talib Kweli
:: Brighter Days (Marco Lys Remix) // Cajmere, Dajae
:: Something Going On (2022) // Todd Terry, Jocelyn Brown, Martha Wash, Fancy Inc
:: Freedom (Shadowfigure's "Not Going Back" Remix) // Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Kamala Harris
