Dimension Series is broadcasting mixes again from its Mexico City home base, in a tour around the world of every groove and ambiance. It’s mood elevation through music – for “Each Other.”
The mix comes from artist/curator Oscar Gonzalez, who positions its varied international lineup across genres and at a special intersection of design and sound.
That trip started early last month with an ideal sonic launch – rich, free-flowing rhythms through the diverse selections of Colombia’s AC of Perro Negro. So let’s put that on to set the mood straight away – definitely don’t read this in silence.
This is a mix in which I’ve put together various tracks that perhaps help you to find a little happiness in the current context that many of us are experiencing. I really miss parties and being with my friends, but in music I have found a kind of relief that has kept me calm.
These isolation days have made me see Latin American dance music in a different way, which is reconfiguring the way the clubs of the world sound, I think it’s stupid to think that guaracha and dembow would never fit in a club context. These days have given me the opportunity to appreciate many things, including these styles, they have made me remember freedom, dance steps, parties and friends. I hope you enjoy it and that somehow you find some kind of escape in the isolation you are in.
Oscar Gonzalez spoke with CDM about the impetus behind the series, and some of the musical territory it navigates – and the feelings tied to that:
This year the series is focused on different sounds: club music, kuduro, dancehall, reggaeton, but also ambient music.
“Sometimes we just need someone to listen to us,” said my dear friend Peter Kirn in an interview about my Dimension Series, and now more than ever, this thought all makes so much sense in the context of our circumstances. Many of us —in different parts of the world— are going through a collective feeling where our lives seem to be falling apart in front of our eyes.
I’ve been wanting to do one more Dimension Series edition for a while and I felt like now is the right time to do it. As with previous editions, I thought very carefully about the artists and the way this one was composed. I really want to lift everyone’s spirits, because music can be a torch to help us see out of the dark.
This edition is inspired by two incredible women: Ximena Rodríguez and Eunice Suárez. There are a lot of wonderful and incredible artists:
Alejandro Cardona || Perro Negro ?? // Mucha Onda & Esamipau || Perreo Millennial ?? // DLycox || Príncipe Records ???? // Ayeeemami ?? // Shiroi Kitsune ?? // SIM ?? // Flaco || Somos ?? // Oscar Nñ || Papi Juice ?? // SVANI ?? // ZUTZUT || NAAFI ?? // Ynfynyt Scroll || Putivuelta ????/ BClip || Paria ?? // Sines || Majia ??
A virtual chill-out room is on the way as well with other artists, including Elli Arakawa from Japan.
Artworks by the most lovely and talented people I know. For the first part of the series, the artworks are by two wonderful women, Denisse Mancera and Eunice Suárez.
And for the virtual chill-out room, [we have] our dear Ruben Alonso, but Denisse and Eunice are top designers, as well.
This edition is called Each Other, and it’s an apt description of where I and many of you are. Almost three months ago, my father left this land and I went through what I think has been the worst moment of my life until now. I started to make a lot of mistakes in the first four weeks of his absence; I walked away from the people I love, turned my back on myself, and tried to fill the void I felt with work and alcohol. There was a difference between what I felt was true and what was fact; [it was] a very dark period, full of much anxiety and frustration that I was living in silence, and where that talk I had with Peter was diluted along with my convictions. But also my friend John Osborn told me: “life goes on and no man stands in the same river twice, we need to be kind with ourselves.”
So this makes me think of many of you, of course, we are afraid and overwhelmed, and wondering how we can possibly go through so many waves of emotions all in the same day during the self-isolation. But please, be gentle to yourself, and don’t forget to be grateful. Have compassion for your process during this time and give yourself grace, because you’re good no matter how you’re managing this new way of life, but most importantly, be ready to be there for someone else, because sometimes we just need someone to listen to us.
This edition is dedicated to all those people who are going through a hard time, both physically and mentally, who are experiencing loneliness, depression, anxiety, anguish, frustration, and anger that many are enduring in silence. And yeah, I don’t believe this on its own can change the situation. First things first, as Chris SSG said: we need to get the societal responses to COVID right and need to support our medical workers and other people on the frontline, and of course, we need to protect our most vulnerable. We do this, music, the rest, will follow, but I still think in some way music is the best remedy for the broken heart, to inspire and give us hope where there seems to be none.”
Thanks, Oscar, for such a personal story; I know it resonates with me, and I hope for someone else, too.
In the intervening weeks, there are some fantastic mixes. Just to select a few – click through for track listings, and check the dedicated Dimension Series site for more details and the full lineup (plus previous editions).
Don’t miss the most recent two episodes, particularly, as Esamipau / Perreo Millennial from Mexico City and Svani in Oslo fire things up.
More:
http://staticdiscos.com/dimension/ac/
Bonus – here’s Alejandro Cardona, who started the series (co-founder of the legendary club Perro Negro) with over five hours recorded live “in the streets of medallo,” Medellín.
You know what? Even though that’s a five-hour mix, he still took the time to paste the full track listing. Now that shows some solidarity and respect.