By The shortest month of the year will also have the shortest roundup of the year, as for whatever reason, almost every mix I tried this month didn’t resonate. However, these two selections are well worth your time; I’ve found myself returning to both sets a few times in the past couple weeks. On this installment: another Juanita’s Mix, courtesy of the indelible quest?onmarc, and a fantastic Fact Mag mix from Oakland-based artist Bored Lord.
quest?onmarc – Juanita’s Mix 063
“How would you describe yourself?”
“a question mark”
Emblematic of what makes the New York dance scene so eclectic and exciting, there is nothing off limits when quest?onmarc gets on the decks. Be it jungle, ballroom, drill, techno, etc, quest?onmarc can make anything sound like their specialty. This time, it’s a 30 year mini history of jungle, a genre that was integral to their childhood. Much of the mix is sourced from 90s UK tunes from the likes of LTJ Bukem, Source Direct, and DJ Phantasy, with some current stuff peppered in like Jacques Greene, Tim Reaper, and a couple quest?onmarc productions to boot. The ease with which they bounce around from different eras and places breathes fresh life into the old stuff and makes the new tunes feel like classics. Yet another excellent set from quest?onmarc and further proof that the Juanita’s mix series has established itself as a bonafide institution.
Bored Lord – Fact Mix 848
Bored Lord (aka Daria Lourd) first came to my attention when I heard her astounding track “Acid Fire” on Juke Bounce Werk’s JDUBZ Vol. 9 compilation (without a doubt one of the best compilations in recent memory). Acidic footwork will always grab my attention and I was thrilled to find THE LAST ILLUSION, a bassy EP that came out last year on Octo Octa and Eris Drew’s T4T LUV NRG label. Others took notice too, leading to her turn on Fact Magazine’s long running mix series. Lourd wastes no time, kicking things off with “Eternal #2” from Zone before spinning into more current selections from some of my favorite artists like AceMo and James Bangura with a just-released OSSX track, “Big Yawn,” that’s been stuck in my head since they teased it in one of last year’s best mixes. She also mixes in six of her own tracks, a vote of confidence that even the most established DJs are too shy to try. This won’t be the last time Bored Lord shows up on this list.
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