Emerge is the first DJ mix I ever made! I put this mix together and recorded it back in the Spring of 2012, before I ever had any DJ equipment. I made this mix using Virtual DJ on my laptop. I was experimenting with different ways I could put tracks together without necessarily beat-matching. As such, about a third of this mix I put together as a mixtape where the tracks just flow seamlessly into one another.

The music I listen to changes with the seasons, so I had the idea that I would teach myself how to DJ by making a series of seasonal mixes that would reflect how my taste in music evolves over the course of the year to coincide with the weather.

Spring to me sounds hopeful. It's full of life, and energy. I picked tracks that sound bright, colorful, and bursting with energy; like seeds exploding and growing into flowers. I wanted this mix to capture the feeling of fresh renewal; new life, new energy, cells multiplying, organisms growing, flowers opening into the sun... 🌷💐🌼🌸

The mixing here is definitely rough around the edges, but I still love it, and am very proud of it. I look back at the track list, and some of the tracks I put side by side and think of how fearless I was as a baby DJ mashing up wildly different styles, tempos, genres and just putting together a mix purely based on a vibe and concept I had in my head. I had just read a book called How To DJ Right, so I new the 'rules' on how (and how not) to put tracks together. I followed some, others I threw out the window. hope you enjoy it. =)

Tracklist:

1. Ott – One Day I Wish To Have This Kind of Time
2. Aphex Twin – Girl/Boy Song
3. Tycho – Coastal Brake
4. Air France – It Feels Good To Be Around You
5. The Chemical Brothers – Dissolve
6. Burial & Four Tet – Nova
7. Gold Panda – Same Dream China
8. School Of Seven Bells – Half Asleep (Lusine Remix)
9. Jon Hopkins – Light Through The Veins (Ewan Pearson’s Downtown Lights Remix)
10. Justus Köhncke – So Weit Wie Noch Nie
11. Dusty Kid – America (The Director’s Cut)
12. Lemonade – Big Weekend (Delorean Remix)
13. Delphic – Acolyte
14. Shed – Slow Motion Replay
15. System7 – PositiveNoise
16. Wolfsheim – Once In A Lifetime
17. Scuba – NE1BUTU
18. Saint Etienne – Tonight (Extended)
19. Young Galaxy – We Have Everything
20. Orbital – Never
21. The Teenagers – Love No (Delorean Remix)
22. Move D – Untitled #3

"Tonight when the lights are going down I will surrender to the sound And look at all the kids around Tonight the sound is breaking like a wave Wish it could always feel this way And life will never be the same...

This could be my life This could save my life I can hardly wait..."

• Saint Etienne, "Tonight"

If I had only known back then, where this path would take me... 😍