You should know by now our fandom for not only Brock’s mixes, but also his Earth House Hold project. We’re a happy home for his ‘House-ier’ vein as EH, but rarely do you get full DJ mixes from Brock that push into this world. Brock’s latest isolatedmix certainly went darker, and dirtier, but didn’t quite nudge into full House mode - the fledgling roots of the bvdub and EHH sound.
It’s genuinely one of the best ‘DJ’ mixes I’ve heard in quite some time. Brock dug hard for the music contained, presented it in one coherent concept; seamlessly and like any true DJ set, with a solid vibe continued from beginning to end. I say that like im surprised, but every one of Brock’s mixes is approached in this way - this one just a hit a note, as it’s a little different from the bvdub norm.
The mix comes from a new channel on a platform called Currents.fm. This platform looks like it takes some explaining to fully grasp at first, but essentially, you’re paying/tipping (or in Brock’s case, you don’t have to pay) for a curator. I am a firm believer in curation, and its need in culture and pushing music forward, so it’s an interesting aspect that at first might seem weird (“why aren’t I paying the artists/ for the music here?”) Let’s take stock on a couple of points which I think, make this an interesting approach to curation.
One, DJ’s, are (or should be) paid. They spend their life digging to expose music to an audience (good ones, anyway). This could be seen as the virtual equivalent. Sure, not all curators might have “purchased” the music they present like a DJ might have in a record store, but is this better than you going and creating your own Spotify playlist? Times are changing and music is democratized. We need some new innovative ways to funnel $ out of the hands of corporations and back into the creators. With the links to buy and ease of integrations, it certainly makes it easier to support music that watching a live stream or ploughing through Spotify playlists.
Two, on the topic of Spotify, we need authenticity and trust. That ‘Piano Chill’ playlist you might (not)love? Who curated it? Do you trust them as music curators? Or wait, is it just a bot updating a playlist based on popularity and deals with record labels (not to mention the fake artist saga). Blogs are on the decline, and information is on the rise - who’s helping weed out the good from the bad? We need human curators now more than ever.
So while the idea of paying a curator (or in Brock’s instance, the actual artist who doubles as a DJ) might seem detached at first, I’d argue it could also be seen as an interesting new avenue. Just because the music industry hasn’t worked out a model to drip this $ down to an artist yet, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try and explore new ways of building community, DJs, music sharing and support. This might just be the first step of many.
Sorry for the tangent from such a great mix, but I thought it was worth divulging on how it’s being presented as well, given its different approach.
You can listen to the mix and ‘support’ Brock (or download for free) on Currents.fm here.
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