mochilero

03/11/2024

Two events tomorrow. Dance Portal, 10:30-12:30 at North Shore Hall. Dia de los Mu***os Cross Cultural Celebration, 2-6:00. Hope to see you there. :)

20/10/2024

Sharing some tunes at thie Magical Halloween Party hosted by the Blewett Community Society. It'll be an awesome family friendly event. Thanks to the Blewett Community Society for having me. Hope you can come for a boogie. :)

20/10/2024

05/10/2024

I'm stoked to be back at Dance Wave next Wednesday, October 9th. :)

13/09/2024

💫NEW MIX UP!💫https://soundcloud.com/mochileromusic/never-stop-dancing-9-elastikman

Never Stop Dancing is a mix series dedicated to all those who get locked in a groove and find themselves first or last on the dance floor. To those who say "one more song" more than once. To those who live for the collective joy and community of the dance floor, and to those who close their eyes and get lost in the music. This mix series is focused on amplifying the sounds of artists and DJs in the Kootenays and British Columbia who play house, disco, and techno.

Never Stop Dancing 8 is an eclectic mix of rare tracks by music and dance floor enthusiast, Elastikman. I met Alex and his partner Yamini at Boom roughly 10 years ago. We immediately connected and ran into each other multiple times throughout the festival. Years later, I happened to be in India while they were getting married in India and they kindly invited me to their wedding and subsequent wedding rave. The whole time was impeccable and their vibrant spirit was illuminated by their families and friends they brought together. Ali's crew is known to bring the energy to kick off and maintain a healthy dance floor throughout the night. They believe that the dance floor is the beating heart and soul of a party, and aggressively encourage all participants to spend all their time there.

Ali writes, " I started making mixes whilst living in Tokyo, and found it to be the most captivating, creative and rewarding hobby. It's one of the only things in my life that I completely zone into. For every mix I make I have a clear intention of the journey and emotions that I want to represent. The title of this mix comes from a pseudo-science documentary about quantum physics ;)"

"Life is full of moments of clarity contrasted by uncertainty. You think you figured something out, or had a realization about an aspect of your life. And then it all comes crashing down and you’re filled with doubts. The only thing I know for sure is that I don’t know. That’s what this mix is. Beautiful reassuring realizations contrasted with creeping doubts. Cuz let’s be honest; What The Bleep Do We Know?!"

I hope you enjoy this entrancing mix that weaves various genres, sounds, and vibes into one captivating sonic tale.

You can check out Elastikman's other mixes here: www.mixcloud.com/abrsoc/

13/09/2024

Uffff, and this one. Such a lovely evening with lovely people.

13/09/2024

Woooops. Forgot to post these but I'm doing it now for the records because this was a real special day. Thanks for all your support folks.

19/07/2024

🪩New Mix Up!🪩 Never Stop Dancing is a mix series dedicated to all those who get locked in a groove and often find themselves first or last on the dance floor. To those who say "one more song" more than once. To those who live for the collective joy and community of the dance floor, and to those who truly get lost in the music. This mix series is focused on amplifying the sounds of artists and DJs in the Kootenays and British Columbia who play house, disco, and techno.

Never Stop Dancing 8 is a groovy mix by none other than house music aficionado Jay Douglas. I met Jay a couple years ago at a friends birthday party. Over the years, we've occasionally run into each other at events, but I only recently found out about his passion and extensive history as a DJ. He shared that he took a break from DJing for a few years and was ready to venture back into his craft. Naturally, I pounced on the opportunity to have him make a mix for me, and I'm so glad he did. His mix is an ode to classic house, the q***r roots of dance music, and hypnotic basslines that will keep you 2 steppin'.

Bio: Jay Douglas (aka: Eddy Toonflash) is originally from Edmonton, Alberta. It all started for him when raving and underground club music started to spread in the early 90's. Jay got hooked by what little he could find in those pre-internet times. If you didn't live in a big city, you had to really search, and in Leduc honey... there wasn't much to find. Eventually he found The Dance Factory in Edmonton (if you know, you know), and while he didn't find the rave/techno sound he was looking for, he found House.

The house they played at the Factory was that New York Vocal Church style House. You know, those 14 minute tracks that just send you. It wasn't what he wanted at the time so much, but it turns out it was what he NEEDED. That definitely left a mark and to this day Jay still nods to those divas and that soul in his mixes.

Jay started mixing in his bedroom around 1997 and then in the clubs maybe a year later. After a coincidental run in with legendary Vancouver DJ Dickey Doo, he passed him a mix. Surprisingly, Dickey ended up reaching out shortly after and said he liked what he heard. Jay then moved to Vancouver in 1999 after being offered a residency at The World (8:16 Granville St), eventually becoming a fixture in the gay club scene there playing pretty much everywhere. In the mid 2010's he ended up being brought into the BLOWPONY fold (PDX) and played up and down the west coast for a few years.

Just as Covid was about to happen, Jay hung up his headphones and decided it was time to take a serious break from DJing. Being stuck in the boring Vancouver clubs having to play a certain style of music eventually got to him and he lost his spark.

Jay moved to Nelson with his Husband a few years ago and recently the creative spirit to DJ has come back. Now he's free to play only what he wants to play, his way. This is the first mix he's recorded in at least 5 years. On another tip, Jay has been making Ambient/IDM/Experimental music as dropTable for the past couple of years. You can check dropTable out here: open.spotify.com/artist/2WMMHnO5Cqn8Q9KfxFzcHi

Please have a listen on some good speakers, comment/like on SC to help the algorithm catch it and send it to others beyond my immediate community, and share it if you feel it. 🙂

Link: https://soundcloud.com/mochileromusic/never-stop-dancing-8-jay-douglas

Much love
-m

15/06/2024

I'm playing a short lil' set for the Castlegar Q***r Fest on June 21st. Looks like it'll be a super fun evening and you should definitely come. Happy Pride!

Event details here: https://fb.me/e/4vkQzteWx

13/06/2024

I’m providing the soundtrack for Nelson’s Jusdance this Friday from 8-9:30. It’s an honor to be given this opportunity as this is Nelson’s longest standing ecstatic dance and the vibe is truly incredible in there every time I go. I’ve got a more eclectic mix of tunes so I hope you enjoy my departure from the usual 4 to the floor beats my heart is enamores with. The location is dance fusion. Hope you can make it. 🙂

More details jusdance~ Nelson, BC, Canada

❤️m

30/05/2024

This weekend. Come get into the weeds with me (in a good way). :) Event details: https://www.facebook.com/share/KFcjdF3Y77RpisVW/

23/05/2024

Thank you all for your kind birthday wishes. I’m feeling so much love this spring, and now I just want to give it back to y’all. I’m playing some tunes at Red Light Ramen on May 31st. Come join me for a warm bowl of ramen and a boogie. Its my dad’s birthday so we gotta turn it up for him with some groovy feel good house music. I love this resto not only because they support the local arts scene by booking djs, instrumentalists, and visual artists, annnndddddd they also support local farms and have an ethically sourced menu. If you haven’t been, come check it out. Big thanks to Red Light Ramen Bar for having me out. 😘🌸🍜

12/05/2024

I'm excited to be collabing with the exquisite and fabulous Avery Florence on a dance journey this coming Wednesday. If you haven't seen Avery live before, just know that she is a talented musician who has the voice of angel. What's more, she's an awesome human with a big heart for people and the planet. We'll be bringing you some soulful grooves that'll get your body dancin' n prancin'. A big thank you to the Dance Wave crew for having us out. I truly love playing ecstatic dances, and this weekly dance is something special. Hope to see you lovely folks on the dance floor. :)

02/05/2024

Heyoo, taking a moment today to celebrate one thousand plays on this ode to love. If you haven't checked it out, here you go. :)
https://soundcloud.com/mochileromusic/we-are-love-march-2024

Love. What does it mean to you? There is a vast spectrum of how we experience love, perceive it, feel it, express it, and create it. During the month of February, I played two sets right around Valent

20/04/2024

Later today. We gettin' down with the earth. Come join us.

09/04/2024

Some lovely friends are hosting an ecstatic dance fundraiser for people participating in the A15 Economic Blockade all around the world on April 15th. I’m grateful for those who can put themselves on the line for justice, and I’m glad I am able to contribute and support them in some way. I’ll be playing a very different style of music than what I’m planning to play at the 909 event the night before, so come to both! 🍉🍉🍉

30/03/2024

Stoked to share some tunes at the next party in Nelson, alongside some lovely pals .e.livingood .skydog & .909 who have impeccable taste. I really appreciate these events because folks are innit for the house and techno. I’m keen on playing some of the more minimal/deep house and breaks that I’ve been getting into lately due to some inspiration by , , , and the crew. I’m also stoked to play on sound, which is pure quality and sounds crisp on the highs and lows. Love being able to hear all parts of the music being played 🙂 Big thanks to .909 for having me out. Get ur tix at https://facebook.com/events/s/room-909-04-13-24-nelson-house/25181268401520486/ 💥😘

11/03/2024

Just posted a new mix up. The theme is Love. I spent some time reflecting on love in February. You can read those reflections below. Here is the link to the mix. Any and all love for it is appreciated as the more love means more chance the Soundcloud algorithm will catch it and send the love out into the universe. Thanks y'all. I love ya.

https://soundcloud.com/mochileromusic/we-are-love-march-2024

Love. What does it mean to you? There is a vast spectrum of how we experience love, perceive it, feel it, express it, and create it. During the month of February, I played two sets right around Valentine’s Day that had me organizing all my “love music.” I started to think about all that love means to me. I noticed that in recent years, I’ve found myself searching for love in the form of a romantic relationship. Searching for a person who wants to receive my love and travel with me on this journey of life. With all that has passed, I’ve often thought, what can I do differently, what can I do better, what is it about me that is too much or not enough? In the midst of my reflections, I happened to come across the following quote by feminist writer, teacher, activist, and scholar Bell Hooks. She says, “I think that part of what a culture of domination has done is raise that romantic relationship up as the single most important bond, when of course the single most important bond is that of community.” It resonated with me so profoundly that I read it out while introducing myself before one of my sets. It made me more cognizant of the fact that the unending support of my community is what has carried me through the empty valleys of the lows. All that I am, all that I have, all that I can be, is rooted in community. I’m so grateful for all of you who are part of my life and continue to invest your time and energy into our relationship. It has been a hard last 6 months. With work causing me to retreat from my usual relationships, I have felt like an absent friend to many. A friend who hasn’t shown up isn’t who I want to be, and it hasn’t felt good. Nevertheless, I feel you. I get your messages of support. I know you are there for me even when I’m not able to be there for you, and that is so appreciated. While my community has carried me through my lows, you’ve also lifted me up to my highest highs. The collective joy we create on the dance floor is absolutely incredible. Bell Hook writes in All About Love: New Visions, “whether we learn how to love ourselves and others will depend on the presence of a loving environment. Self-love cannot flourish in isolation,” and in a separate passage, “rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.” I wouldn't know how to love all parts of myself and others if it wasn’t for the loving environment that I am supported by. This community propels me to love more, to be love, and to embody it in my everyday interactions. I heal when I am with you. This last quote by Hooks is a reminder of how I can continue to grow my practice of love in my life and expand my notion of community. “We can begin the process of making community wherever we are. We can begin by sharing a smile, a warm greeting, a bit of conversation; by doing a kind deed or by acknowledging kindness offered to us. Doing this, we engage in love practice [... and] we lay the foundation for the building of community with strangers. The love we make in community stays with us wherever we go. With this knowledge as our guide, we make any place we go, a place where we return to love.” This mix is a dedication to you, my community. My best friends. My family. My loves. The Moonflower Collective. The Greater Groove. To all the strangers who I invite into community through love. You are love. I am love. We are love.