It was a cold winter. The horrific events of 9/11 happened a little more than a year ago and America was in a major transitional phase in terms of politics, identity and the future. I was personally having my own ups and downs having just been on an amazing trip to Paris just a couple months prior (actually flew out on Sept. 11, 2002) and then coming back to my reality in Philly of work & hardship barely making ends meet. The DJ & nightlife scene at the time was more open at the time though and I was fortunate to have a steady stream of gigs to have some creative release and to share good music with great people.

Anyway, at the time I only had a couple thousand records and had to be very, very meticulous with my selections. Keep in mind that this was long before I had the collection I have now and years before Final Scratch or Scratch Live. It took me about 3 weeks of periodically piecing together the songs and then playing around with order until finally I had all the strands to weave a lush fabric of sonic emotions that would fit well for a lot of people.

Most of the songs chosen were over 30 years old at that time to prove a point that history repeats itself and that some music transcends time and always stays relevant to the human condition. It was a time for reflection and celebration. The result is an orchestrated journey of melodies and lyrics that capture some of my feelings but also that of the mass consciousness in America. Where are we at? Where are we going? Why is this happening?

This mix is amongst my personal favorites and it's hard for me to believe it was 8 years ago!! Thanks for listening and I hope you like it as much as I do.

Peace, Matt Braun a.k.a. The Record Player