Rhythm Nation

The latest echo garden mix covers a range of downtempo flavors conveying both the optimism of spring and the melancholy of persisting winter. Includes new tracks that came out this year as well as several from 25+ years ago (that sound like they could have been released this year).

1,000% positive vibe house heaters. Inspired by seeing my teenage hero @djsashaofficial play a quality warehouse party this weekend, I threw in some late 90s progressive house tracks that got me into this music 20+ years ago. It’s an energy changeup from the chill previous two installments. Listen to it in the gym, not watering your plants :)

I set out to make this mix series positive and consistent, which is pretty much the opposite of the environment I find myself in. DC is a strange place to be an optimist, especially now as my civil servant colleagues in government are being laid off left and right with little explanation.

So what keeps me positive aside from surrounding myself with great music? Well, I had a conversation on Friday with someone I greatly respect who laid out a case for why this country is irreparably f-ed. While there weren’t exactly holes in her argument, I would argue that similar cases could have been made at pretty much any point in history. Yet most would choose to live in this moment over almost any other.

No one knows the future and we as individuals have limited control over it. But we can choose to believe that a better tomorrow, a better next week, a better next year and a better next generation could possible. We can choose to do what we can to make it so, in our own lives and for others. That’s always seemed like a more attractive approach to me than assuming the worst.

The moral arc of a great DJ mix is long, but it bends towards justice.

Thank you for listening to my DJ promotion spam. Peace and love from tranquil Washington DC :)

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I'm starting 2025 with a simple goal: post one @_echogarden DJ mix a month!

Similar to the Echo Garden event series, which aims to bring complimentary sounds to DC's public spaces, the Echo Garden mix series aims to bring complimentary sounds to your daily day life. Expect relatively chill "balearic" mixes, i.e. a cross-genre journey of positive and trippy vibes.

While I enjoy a lot of different kinds of music, I feel compelled to make these mixes because I'm craving these chill and steady sounds in my own life. It helps me stay steady and focused through uncertainty by reminding me of the beauty that I'm always surrounded by, whether that's the music I hear, the environment I find myself in or the people in my life.

Those who have been listening to my questionable music taste for a while may remember I did a monthly mix series 10+ years ago that became @occasionvibration. You never know where these projects aimed to make music more a part of your routine will take you!

To new beginnings and where they might lead :)

Reyna Lopez is the Executive director of PCUN, who’s mission is to empower farmworkers and working Latinx families in Oregon by building community, increasing Latinx representation in elections, and policy advocacy on both the national and state levels. On the show, we talk about the balance of power she’s seeing shift between farmworkers and their employers, then discuss a playlist of some of music that’s inspired her work.

This November, Oregon voters get to vote on the Right to Healthcare Amendment to the state constitution, which establishes a state obligation to ensure every Oregon resident has access to cost-effective, clinically appropriate, and affordable health care. Norman Sylvester is a long-time health care activist, a member of Health Care for All Oregon as well as a legendary boogie musician who was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2011. On the show, we talk about the experiences as a musician trying to afford and access healthcare. Later in the show, Daniel Molkte and I talk about the measure’s specifics with State Representative Rob Nosse, who was a champion of the measure in the legislature, and is currently chairing the House Health Care Committee.

Two years ago, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize all drug possession with the passage of Measure 110. How is it going? On the show today we have Ron Williams with Health Justice Recovery, a statewide advocacy organization fully focused on implementing Measure 110. Ron is a community organizer who has resided in Portland, Oregon for nearly 40 years. On the show we get an update on Measure 110 and also hear about the role music played in Ron’s social justice work.

Andrew Yang is an entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, non-profit leader, and former 2020 presidential candidate. Yang’s New York Times bestselling book The War on Normal People helped introduce the idea of universal basic income into the political mainstream. He supports Oregon People’s Rebate, an initiative petition that would rebate about $750 to every Oregonian, every year and is paid for by raising taxes on corporations making over $25 million a year. On the show we talk about how Oregon People’s Rebate relates to universal basic income and discuss a playlist of Andrew’s favorite music, including Prince deep cuts.

On today's show, I share my own experience of some recent travels I had to South Africa and then playing a mix of South African house music, including some new records I picked up. The week I spent in South Africa exceeded my expectations in almost every respect. It’s more naturally beautiful than the photos make it out to be and I was moved by the history in ways I didn’t anticipate. However, what shocked me the most was “deep house” music being bigger in South Africa than I could have ever imagined. The more I learned about the history of the place, the better I felt I understood the phenomenon.

House music is bigger than ever in America, yet the story of its origins are widely unknown outside of the heads who follow the records. We have a member of our organization who saw it unfold first hand. Cee White was coming of age in Chicago in the late 1980s right as house music was taking shape and came on the program to talk about it. We’ll hear stories of going to the music’s namesake venue “The Warehouse”, listen to the records that moved the floors in the early days, and hear what has stuck with him to this day.

In our third interview with candidates for Portland City Council Position #3, we chat with Vadim Mozyrsky about his vision for Portland. Vadim works as an Administrative Law Judge in the field of disability law and has spent his life advocating on behalf of underserved communities with a focus on immigrant and refugee populations and issues of disability rights. Mozyrsky, a Jewish refugee from Kiev, Ukraine, fled anti-Semitism arriving in the United States in 1979.