Morning, ‘Noon, & Night: Behind the Mix Series 001
Coalesce’s New Years event has hosted a variety of ambitious talent willing to take the trek all the way to the Mojave Desert and play amazing sets for the crowd. From bedroom DJs to experienced veterans, all are welcomed and encouraged to showcase their music.
In this monthly blog series, we’ll be breaking down our collection of stunning mixes to shed light on the intention that goes into these performances. Highlighting three artists who played at different times of the day—morning, ‘noon, and night—we asked them about the content behind their craft, how their previous experience shape their style, and the strategies behind their sound. Keep reading to learn more about the perspective of a musician and how they keep the boogie going on the dance floor!
Etari has an ability to translate those mystifying hours of the early morning into wonderful beats and melodic jams that keeps anybody dancing into the sunrise. “With that late night aura starting around 4am & ending my set at 6am right before sunrise, I knew exactly what type of vibe I wanted to throw down for the Coalesce crowd,” she expresses. The set kicks off with jungle-like beats that transition to the breakbeat craze beloved by the artist. The variety of music doesn’t stop there! Etari draws from a diverse pool of inspirations that aid in her curation to synthesize a harmonious hodgepodge of rhythm and sound. “My genre of music is hard to pinpoint sometimes, like when it comes down to playing a set [she] often thrown down plenty of melodic and heavy breakbeats with a mixture of groovy feel good sounds,” she explains.
Her mix perfectly formulates this mixture by creating a concoction of well-transitioned tracks that capture her genre-less approach. Etari explains how she selects her tracks: “I created a playlist of about 100 tracks that I knew I’d be down to play in my set and knew what track I wanted to start my story with as well as end my story.” Her analogy of telling a story to mesmerize her audience fits well with her technique, with familiar but surprising themes that makes her storybook poppin’. Samples of Missy Elliot’s “Work It” and lofi-pop culture references highlight her narrative of funky and fresh melodies throughout her set.
She contemplates about her previous musical experiences and suggests, “as an artist my personal sound is always changing, it really has to do with my growth as an individual and switching up my aesthetic, but I’ve realized that it constantly evolves.” In comparison to starting off with focal mellow and deep melodies, she states that her most recent set had “a blend of melodic sounds through lofi & breakbeat rhythms.” Etari’s masterful ensemble of ever-changing beats will continue to spark excitement for her future grooves. And we’re here for it!
As Rhythm Control once famously exclaimed, “house music is a universal language, spoken and understood by all.” Mylow’s fluency in house music makes us feel right at home with his ensemble of swanky songs. Utilizing insatiable yet seamless grooves, vocals, and beats, he brings people’s attention to the surrounding Mojave desert and harmonizes them with the breathtaking landscape. “I wanted to bring in the beautiful scenery of the desert during the day and the mystery of the desert night together as one,” he described.
Mylow’s background as a sound technician brings an interesting element into his mixes, where his specialty in sound guides his track selections. “As a sound tech, what I look for in a track isn’t necessarily a musical aspect,” he elaborates, “I think of the space I’m going to be playing first and how I need to fill that entire space with beautiful noise for everyone to enjoy.” Throughout his mix, riveting vocals and cool basslines are projected into a spatial environment and produce an almost three-dimensional perception of sound. Halfway through, Douglas Greed’s “When A Man Sings On A Track” perfectly portrays this effect and has become one of his favorite hits to throw down. Whether it’s through awesome audio equipment at Coalesce or stereo headphones at home, anyone can appreciate Mylow’s dedication to playing the finest tunes.
Mylow’s track selection, consistent tempo, and elegant ambiance captures a warm and sunny desert afternoon vibe that compels anyone to get excited about their next journey to the Mojave. His mix keeps the party going up until the very end without any loss in energy. House music’s universal love and appreciation makes this mix the perfect jam for any occasion, whether chilling at home in quarantine or for the very first party among friends. Time to grab your drinks and hit the dancefloor!
Kieran Ishimaru goes dark with minimal sounds as he cultivates an atmosphere of tripped-out melodies, voracious rhythms, and energetic bangers that are excellent for a nighttime set. He begins with groovy house tracks that immediately uplifts the mood and sets the pace for the rest of his mix. “I always make sure the intensity of my set is constantly rising so I can keep my sets from getting stale,” he explains for his track curation strategy. “I feel like if you give them your most banger tracks at the beginning of the set it’s hard to keep people tuned.” While all the tracks are absolute bangers anyway, the sequence played makes more sense after listening to his reasoning.
One early surprise in his mix absolutely blew the crowd’s mind: RBL Posse’s “I Got My Nine”. The unexpected encounter brought back fond memories of Bay Area gangster rap to those familiar with his other hits like “Bammer Weed”, attesting to the skill and creativity Kieran wields. When prompted what drove him to include the song he responds, “I mixed the RBL Posse track because I knew it was a good switch up that resonated with me and all my freaks, since they are some west coast legends.” He continues to delve into his old-school influence and mentions that “[he] grew up on 90’s hip hop but most of it is too low fidelity to the mix into a house set, so it was one of the only tracks [he] could find with some chunky bass to keep people moving on the dancefloor.” Stellar move.
Kieran is fond of more ghastly tones in his mixes. “The music I create is dark techno and house but it’s all minimal so the drums usually mix nicely,” he explains. Later, tracks with whispering vocal samples supplement an almost alien-like state with fades and echoes creating an out-of-this-world vibrancy. Hard beats snap you back to Earth as Kieran employs what he describes as “a lot of range to keep people on their toes.” The murky bass-lines are maintained up until the very end, where melodic house tracks gradually bring listeners out of the intensive minimal magic and gently returns them to reality. It’s no wonder why Kieran Ishimaru has become a welcomed artist for the Coalesce crowd.