Howdy Hive,
Uncomfortable truth: I probably spend too much time thinking about 'What will people remember about me, when I die?'. I don't question myself here due to some sort of penitence or feelings of conquests left incomplete - but more so in moments of reflection that feel completely 'healthy and natural' (if not genetically predisposed) as a thinking mind ages over the years.
Comfortable truth: One of the ways I know I've created a lasting record of my experience here is via these music projects I keep posting online. To the listener - its a compilation of DJ music. To the composer - its a timestamped time capsule of creative emotions, illuminating the darkness, via the soundtrack of my life (hence why I take the hobby so seriously compared to other pursuits in life).
When I look at that time capsule, I stand proud knowing that in the year 2021, I left a run of likely the best DJ mixes I've ever composed. These mixes tell a story that mirrors something I was experiencing in the time of creating them, and to be bluntly honest, the last few years have been exceptionally more difficult than usual (for everyone). In this model, I've noticed that sometimes 'overwhelming angst' creates the best music, and I released a lot of that energy within these recordings.
Que the final mix I recorded in 2021, simply titled: "Ten Tracks".
This mix was meant to be a proper send off to all the demons that plagued me last year. Instead of the normal model of 'pulling from the hottest newest music' folders, I decided to go deep within my library, and snag the songs that were speaking to me and what I was feeling, in that moment. These are the Ten Tracks selected that gave me the solace I was seeking. I always put a lot more thought into the title of the project, usually while still in the 'track selection' process - but this one was different. This one felt simple... these '10 tracks' were all that I had left to say to 2021.
For album art: I used a picture I snapped earlier in the year while traveling in the middle of nowhere, Montana USA. While passing through there - I discovered that being consumed by a huge mountain range holds the habit of making my problems on mind seem very small. The memory was the perfect pairing for this musical project.
I didn't really promote this mix when I released it, as it almost felt 'too personal' at the time, in some sense. I have been listening to it on rotation for the past 2 months, and in hindsight, I think its the proper 'send off' my 2021 needed and is worth sharing.
Stream or Download available, if you feel the flow.
Thanks for listening & Cheers!
~GG