BUDDHA BEATS 60
ABOUT THE MIX:
This mix, is a special one. I mixed it while on quarantine due to the COVID-19 outbreak in March of 2020. What makes this special is not only the music, but what is going on in the world at this current moment. June is a month that holds new meaning to many this year. Many learned what "Juneteenth” means, and as the Black Lives Matter movement still making their points known, many known June for another reason: PRIDE.
A Little History:
The LBGTQ+ community has had a hell of a time, dating back to before the 60s. With events like The Stonewall Riots (which really wasn’t a “riot” based on the people who were actually there) where the LBGTQ+ community decided enough was enough. Disco emerged in the 1970s (the decade I was born in), and people were getting their groove on. However for the LBGTQ+ community, the establishments they frequented were raided, shut down, liquor licenses revoked, all because two people of the same sex were seen dancing together. Let that sink in for a moment, I’ll wait. In fact, read that again. The FBI, U.S. Postal Service have been tracking people of the LBGTQ+ communities since the 1950s. Then, on July 12th, 1979, Steve Dahl, a Chicago Rock & Roll radio DJ who was let go from his job because the station was changing to a disco format, and he hated disco. He hated disco so much, that he organized “Disco Demolition Night”. During the break between The White Sox, and the Detroit Tigers double-header, the patrons who brought disco records to Comiskey Park could get reduced entry, and add to the bin of disco records to be blown up in center field. Once they did blow them up, the attendees poured onto the field, and proceeded to start bonfires, and to shred the place. This was known as: “The Night Disco Died”. Record labels, bars, and clubs that normally had disco music changed to Rock & Roll, or Country/Western literally the next day.
Thankfully for us, it didn’t die. What it actually did, was it forced disco to go back underground only to become one of the most unstoppable genres: House Music. DJs like Larry Lavan, Frankie Knuckles, and Ron Hardy were the DJs who kept crowds of both straight and LBGTQ+ communities on the dance floor. Attendees began to seek out the music they heard from Frankie, who played at a club called The Warehouse. Kids would ask the record shop owners for “House Music” because The Warehouse was where they first heard it.
I say all of this to make a point. If you love going to raves, club nights, festivals, dancing until the wee hours of the morning, and parties that last an entire weekend, before you think of something nasty to say to someone of color, or someone from the LBGTQ+ community, I want you to think about what I’ve said here. It is because of those afore mentioned, often marginalized, beaten, chastised, and even murdered people that the music you love to dance to, DJ, and call your own, that you even have a “scene” in the first place. Think about that. I mean really think about that.
This mix has remixes of disco classics as well as some seminal classics, and tracks from those who are up and coming, like Jess Bays’ “Devotion”. Songs with messages for all like “Finally Ready” by The Shapeshifters, featuring the amazing Billy Porter whose voice is legendary. This is a mix for everyone, but especially the LBGTQ+ community. I see you, and know you have an ally here. I found a quote that I think sums it up nicely: “The worst secret you keep, is one based on love.”
Okay, enough with the history lessons, Time to get your groove on!
TRACK LISTING:
Intro by Alan Braxe & Fred Falke
Late Night Dreaming by Benno Wohl
A Special Night by Pablo Bolivar & John Vermont
Menagé A Trois (Fabian Argomedo Bass Remix) by Ananda Project
Devotion (Extended Mix) by Jess Bays & Sammy Porter
Rock The Discotec by Block & Crown
Queen Of The Disco (Jerome Robbins & Hazzaro Remix) by DJ PP
Fall Once Again by Block & Crown
Feel This Love Inside by Hoxton Whores, James Hurr, HXTN
Soiree Disco by Luca Debonaire & Leandro Da Silva
On You by Alex Kenji
Way Back 2017 (2017 Update) by Jay Vegas
The Diary Of A Studio 54 DJ by Mark Knight, Discoworker, Robbie Leslie
Sunday Shoutin’ by Johnny Corporate
Reach (Little More Mix) by Lil’ Mo Yin Yang
Finally Ready feat. Billy Porter by The Shapeshifters & Billy Porter
Walk 4 Me by Robbie Tronco
Flawless (Go To The City) feat. George Michael by The Ones, & George Michael
Guitarra G by G-Club Presents Banda Sonora G
Treat Treat Treat by James Curd
