I consider myself a very lucky individual to have been deeply involved with the rave scene over a period of years in the mid – late ‘90s. As soon as it became evident that a commotion was indeed happening on this side of the pond, my friends and I knew that this was going to be something to be involved with; this was undoubtedly due, in part, to our infatuation with those infamous acid tests of the ‘60s, only this was our chance to do our own thing---and with a splendid new substance: MDMA. So many cats from that period of the rave scene like to preach about how, “…back then, man, it was, like, all about the music, man…”; well, I’m here to tell ya, the beats might have opened the door, but me & every single one of those people harping on that shit were rolling our faces off also. Personally speaking, there was something about how ecstasy pummels your sense of ego, how suddenly all those ghastly things & dark secrets you hate about yourself seem okay; when it really kicks, and you’re surrounded by two or three thousand other people who are experiencing the same melting of ego boundaries, well, there’s just nothing in the world quite like it. I haven’t used E in nearly a decade now, but there were many blessings which came out of that time, perhaps greatest of all being my enduring passion for & about all things beats-related. Every couple of weeks, I will be posting long-form mixes by some of my favorite DJs, maybe even a mix of my own at some point. Those of you who know me could have probably predicted which DJ I would begin with---Mark Farina represents everything I love about house music, and though I also love techno, drum-n-bass, breaks, downtempo, et al, house music is what stirs me to my very core. Mr. Farina has been spinning since the early ‘90s, and is respected across the board in the world of beats; his faultless mixing abilities and sunny disposition make him the gold standard for DJs, in my opinion anyways. This mix dropped in the beginning of 2000, right as I was exiting the scene (NYE 2000 in Toronto was my last big rave); a phat slice of filtered, tracky, bangin’ Chicago house. P.L.U.R.
