Listen to "Make Space 01" on Spotify
Back in the day, I wrote a monthly column for XLR8R magazine’s print issue called “Make Space.” My charge was to highlight the best “nu-disco” releases, a tag that included spacey stuff and chuggy stuff, tracks that could be considered more-or-less house and tracks that could be considered more-or-less post-punk. It ruled. Promos flooded my in-box every day. I emailed with the Feedelity guys in Oslo. I heard LCD Soundsystem tracks months before their public release. Danny Wang invited me to see him DJ in Berlin at “atotal trash disco party at Schwuz…where i can realyl let loose ! ha!” [sic, sic].
Most importantly, the project gave shape and form to my listening habits. It created boundaries and context. I organized my music into weekly and monthly playlists in iTunes. I bought a hard drive—and then another one. When I rode the subway to work, I listened with purpose and intention. I listened closely. Who else might enjoy this track? How would it sound to a DJ? A dancer? A teenager lying in bed? My solitary listening experiences exploded into a billion little bits and bobs, each one full of the hope that others might have the same experience as me.
I miss it. Not the promos or the deadlines or the derivative disco tunes. (I can’t even remember the last time I went to a “trash disco party” after all.) I miss the shape and the form, the boundaries and the context. And I miss the audience. I’ve also been inspired by Matthew Schnipper’s “Deep Voices” newsletter. He’s a writer I’ve long admired and it’s such a joy to open his playlist each week, to discover new beautiful sounds. I’m sure some of those tracks will pop up here, too.
So I’m going to start sending out some playlists with this newsletter. Maybe it’ll be once a month, maybe more often.
All genres. All moods. Meant to be played in order. About an hour-long each time…I think.
Here’s the first one—it’s a wee bit melancholy, probably because it’s been a cold, wet spring in Denver. In the future, I’ll add some stray observations about the tunes. This time, I’ll let them speak for themselves.
If you’ve read this far, thanks! Enjoy the music.
Your bud,
Ross
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