ID & IDs

a new mix, some thoughts on identity and track IDs

I’m eternally pondering identity. Where do I fit in? When I was growing up, it was always a race, religion and socioeconomic thing. My hometown was somewhat diverse but I wasn’t surrounded by many other Arab or Muslim people. That combined with the wave of anti-Muslim sentiment following 9/11 made me want to recede into a racially ambiguous bucket.

I’m slightly ashamed of that now, but I’ve also forgiven myself— recognizing the external pressures that led to it. I’ve ultimately come to view this in-between status as a blessing, making me feel comfortable with different kinds of people.

More recently, the identity question has been about where I fit within music. Am I a music person? a hip-hop head? an underground dance person? a shoegaze enthusiast? a DJ? a “music business” person? a tech bro (plz never call me this!!)? How do I integrate different aspects of my career and passion(s)?

This is what I’ve always struggled with on social media. How do I present all of myself? This is, of course, not some unique burden. We all contain multitudes that can never be fully expressed in one fell swoop. Lately, though, I’ve felt this tension slowing me down.

Last month, my friend Jahanzeb, founder of Karachi Community Radio, invited me to close out his party at Silo in Bushwick (my second NY DJ gig of the year!). The gig happened to line up perfectly with a work trip and the premiere of a film I worked on (my first music supervision credit!). The KCR show in particular invoked many of these questions of identity simultaneously.

First off, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a club filled with primarily brown (and Muslim) people — on Eid of all days! Although a mostly South Asian crowd and lineup, it still created an unfamiliar sense of belonging.

Naturally, it also brought me to thinking about where I fit as a DJ. As the closer, I had the pleasure of watching the DJs before me smash it (their sets are up on KCR now) and was once again questioning if I really fit. My set wasn’t perfect but it was affirming to see people (and some family/friends!) still dancing right up until I wrapped at 4am.

I knew KCR would be posting the set and that triggered my social media-aversion and general imposter syndrome. When the first reel went up, I got some very nice feedback and a tiny taste of the notification high I’ve been missing all these years. As with everything on social media, it came and went, and I’m still alive.

Perhaps it is possible to be all the things, or put more simply, myself.

paths of discovery

You can find most of the music from the set here. As usual, sharing a few of my favorite tracks from the set along with how I found em…

Anthony Naples - “Night”

I’ve been following NYC-based DJ/producer Anthony Naples’s music a bit too long to pinpoint exactly where I first came across it but his new album Scanners is excellent— striking a perfect balance between the club and at-home listening. This acidy adventure is another favorite:

Doctor Jeep - “Pika 2” [via TraTraTrax]

Columbian label TraTraTrax is on the cutting edge of leftfield latin club music. I first came across NY-based, Brazilian-American producer Doctor Jeep via “QTE” off TraTraTrax’s excellent no pare, sigue sigue compilation series. Doctor Jeep is an absolute master of flipping Brazilian samples into bangers from across the dance music spectrum, from Techno to Dubstep.

While on the subject of TraTraTrax, I have to shout out Nick León’s incredible new album A Tropical Entropy, which is in the running for my album of the year…

pq - “Iggle Wiggle” [via Swordman Kitala]

At least for me, dubstep was a bad word for a few years after Skrillex opened the floodgate to the American, bro-ed out take on the genre. I’ve been enjoying digging back into the more heady strain of dubstep lately. This one comes by way of UK producer pq, a founding member of the pioneering Ugandan techno band Nihiloxica and the Nyege Nyege Tapes label.

As many great paths of discovery, this one all started with Shazam-ing an incredible song during an Objekt DJ set a few months back, which led me to the Blip Discs label that put out pq’s wiggle room EP.

The latest track from Swordman Kitala, also out now on Blip Discs, is an incredible fusion of genres…

Farsight - “Flash Flood” [via Baalti]

SF producer Farsight’s “Flash Flood” served as the centerpiece of my favorite part of the set sitting perfectly between two tracks from Egyptian producer Hassan Abou Alam. The hollowed-out bass and layered percussion sound so damn good on a club sound system.

I first came across Farsight’s music via this excellent Baalti remix and have followed everything they’ve put out since.

RITCHRD - “Shake” [via Bastienthegoat]

It’s nice to know this The Pack sample remains alive and well in the Bay. Oakland’s Bastienthegoat is probably my favorite emerging producer in dance music right now. “Shake” comes off a collaborative EP with fellow Oakland-based producer RITCHRD and mixed perfectly with this one from Japanese producer Seimei...