Atta boy, get it!  Was so fun live, great set to relive the set and fun magic night!

Like the how your set is unfolding. 
Hope to see you you soon brother. 
With Love, Jesse aka Reverend 🙏

Gavin Hardkiss DJ mix of favorite recent tunes from the Hardkiss Music and Do Not Sit labels.

Hardkiss Music XOXO Do Not Sit

Had an amazing time playing some of my favorite tracks at the absolute best time and place. Much love to our amazing community!

Diffusion. 4:30am. Underground. Seattle. 5.21.2022

Recorded live at Temple Rooftop on 10:14:22

Live @ Tropical Rooftop SF presents How Weird Happy Hour

Here's to new beginnings!  This mix - titled 'Strength" is part 1 of a 12-part monthly themed studio mix series that I've committed to releasing this year. 

I mixed this set in October 2022, when I began feeling my strength again, in my amazing DJ Lounge in Eugene, Oregon.
The picture was taken on January 1st, 2023 at Bucerias beach near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

2022 was a huge challenge for me.  The best things about it were my DJ career thriving post-pandemic, my daughter of course, and other than those, just getting through it.

The hardest things were that it was the first year devoid of hope for my marriage yet still living in the same apartment together the entire year, and that it was the year my mother passed - and those things were HEAVY.  

Hence the need for strength.  Dating for the first time after 15 years was a shitshow, and by summer what I already knew started to sink in hard - focusing on my daughter was a way better idea.  When my mom became very ill, it drove this point home further.

Just as I was starting to feel some strength, my mom lost the last bit she had left.  At first I relapsed badly into bad habits. She passed suddenly while I was preparing to come out to Connecticut, and I felt tremendous guilt when I didn't make it out to be with her at the end.

Although I took my mom's passing really hard, it was the catalyst for change I needed. 

I went from mid-September through the end of the year alcohol-free. I've had a few drinks in January but don't think I'll ever have a drinking habit like I did before.  I gave up herb early November and haven't looked back.  

I gave up these 'vices' without judgement but in the name of health, clarity, and productivity.  I wanted to stop getting in the way of myself and achieve my true potential.  I wanted to feel my strength again.

2023 will be a crazy year for me.  It's the 25th year of my party, Tropical, and the last one.  No one wants me to end it, and so this also takes strength.  I've given a lot through this event - in many ways too much.  

Of course I'm going a little nuts with it to the finale but I'm also showing restraint.  I want to respect the party and give it the finish it deserves, but I have much else to do and know all too well it gets it the way of really being able to focus on other things.

My DJ career is a constant hustle, and is back to being my main source of income.  That's not actually my vision but you also have to respect what's working. My venue booking business is growing slowly, largely because I'm limited by the other things. but I know it's my most sustainable future.

This is the last year I will work this hard.  It's the end of a decade I knew I would work really hard, and I want to respect the deadline I set to take a chill pill and be focused on other things including self-care, and my daughter. I'm still going to work real hard after 2023, but more efficiently and with more help.  And without the burden and risk of organizing events.

I started a bit early last Fall with increased self-care, sleep, and focus on Cerise - but with the onset of 2023 I'm also feeling the crunch of so many projects and goals.  Still I feel more balance than I used to. And that is also strength.

Well I can go on forever but I'm going to cut myself off.  I haven't said a word about the music on this mix this time, but that's ok, it speaks for itself.

I hope you enjoy the mix, and find strength in yourself this year and beyond!

Track list coming soon <3

Ben Annand 2023 Studio Mix 1 - January - Strength

Industry Interviews

Jon Lee - Exclusive mix for Seattle House Mafia

Live DJ set

Recess Live at Sun Worship Fest June 17th 2023

Excited to release my set from LIB 20-Year Anniversary!  Every LIB experience for me seems to top the last.  

This year was special as I hosted Camp Tropical for the first time and had my daughter, Cerise, there for the first time since 2019.  And it was LIB's 20th year, and a brilliant one!

Huge thank you to the Flemming Brothers - Jesse, Dede and Josh and team for producing the Fest, to Patricio Motta for producing the Junkyard Stage I played on, and to Todd Anisman for the ChinoSound!

I always put a lot of effort into my LIB sets, and this year no exception but with the extra challenge of extra responsibility x 2 - organizing a Tropical group camp, and caring for my daughter, who made a few visits to the DJ booth during this set as well.

Honestly I did feel a little less focused that normal up there and wasn't sure how I was going to feel about my set when I got the recording.  I'm a harsh self-critic but I actually love this mix as much as any of the 6 others I've played at this lovely fest :)

Many thanks to the brilliantly talented producers whose tracks I mixed - here is the complete listing, tagged, so you can check their work <3

1. @Undo	 - Aliens Go Home
	
2. @Matthias-tanzmann, @francisco-allendes - Disco Mike
	
3. @Ddigglerofficial - Sunset

4. @Le_bigz (Big Al) - Smiling in the Sand (@tim-barnett-5 [Tim Tonal] Remix)
	
5  @A_los_martires (Cienfuegos) - Around You (@col-lawton-d90 Dub Remix)

6. @Okain - Locked

7. @Mihai-popoviciu-1 - Emotion

8. @Dinyadalonzo - Can't You See (@jameshopkinsuk Remix)

9. @kevinmckay, Notelle, Eppers - On My Own (@Joe-vanditti & Kevin McKay Extended Remix)

10  @Tuccillo - It's Not Over
 
11. @Francisdesimone - Efdies (@Kevinmckay Extended Remix)

12. @Djqmusic, @Finnmccorry - Speedy Gs

13  @Ralphsession  - Rize (@homeroespinosa Remix)

14. @Petebandit-f2f - Computer's Creativity

15. @Milos-pesovic - Pam Pam (@Juan-dragster-viveros Remix)

16. @Format-b-2, @Royrosenfeld - Human Dynamo 

17. @Paulcpaolomartini (Paul C, Paolo Martini) - Modulator

I definitely play with a certain aesthetic at LIB, which is to honor the crossing of the underground and mainstream in my own way.  I describe this set as banging and uplifting, with carefully chosen vocals.  I mean a festival is a celebration, and this just year 2 out of the pandemic I'm definitely favoring uplifting over dark.  

Ok, I do favor that generally, but same time I am processing some darkness over the past 2 years as I've experienced huge losses.  Last year's LIB I was processing the recent demise of my marriage, while this year I was processing the loss of my mom last September.

Recently in our West Coast underground music community we have lost some very special people and there's been a lot of sadness over that, especially this past week.  

One of the very best tools for processing loss is of course music and dance - I hope this set brings you light and joy in these challenging times <3

Please give this set a listen, a like, and a repost if the spirit moves you. Your comments are always welcomed, and usually answered <3

Ben Annand Live at LIB Festival 20-Year - May 26, 2023

Live recording from the November 2023 Cabin Fever party. Join us at cabinfeverboulder.com

Silva Sound hour 1
Fubari hour 2
data.source hour3 +
B2B last half hour

23-24 Season - November

data.source - Cabin Fever Nov 2023 hour 3

Download / Stream: https://plt.polyptychmusic.com/PLTL440W?hypesource=sc

Distributed by "Forward"
https://fwdmusic.com

Feel Free to Check All of Our Tunes, Free DLs, the Radio Show, and more - https://polyptychmusic.com


Want to track your music’s success worldwide?
With the Songstats app, you can monitor streaming playlists, chart rankings, DJ support, store features, and more - all in one place.
A must-have for artists and labels, keeping you in the loop 24/7.

Get a lifetime 10% discount through our link: 
https://songstats.com/?ref=POLYPTYCH

Just Before the End

Download / Stream

Marc MG - Just Before the End

Meyah

Buy on bandcamp

Sonam & Goye - Meyah (Long Play)

spacey eyes

I hope you enjoy my music and how I mix it.
For bookings contact benannand@gmail.com // gunita@listedbookings.com

2025 Confirmed dates

Jan 1 Los Angeles - Moontribe NYD
Jan 17 Los Angeles - Tropikroma LA Fire Benefit
Jan 31 Los Angeles - The Livehouse Presents
Feb 1 Orange County - True Ent LA Fire Benefit
Feb 13 Portland, OR - Silk and Sound at Secret Grove
Feb 21 Los Angeles - the Livehouse Presents
Feb 22 Los Angeles - Be My Tropical Valentinew
Feb 28 Pahoa, Big Island, HI - Bee Dance
Mar 1 Honolulu, HI - Centered at Bevy
Mar 2 Honolulu, HI - Anuras Afterhours
Mar 14 Guadalupe Canyon, BC Norte,. Mexico - Leyenda de Eterna
Mar 20 San Jose Del Cabo, BC Sur, Mexico - Afterhours
Mar 21 San Jose Del Cabo, BC Sur, Mexico
Mar 22 Cerritos Beach - Spring Fling at Big Fun Beach Club
Mar 28 Boise, ID - Treefort Music Fest
Apr 4 Eugene, OR - Soul Sessions at Play
Apr 5 Portland, OR - Lit at Capacity Social Club
Apr 18-20 Anza, CA - Tropical Hot Tub Oasis Retreat
May 2 Vancouver BC - Gorgomish Afterhours
May 3 Vancouver BC - The World Afterhours
May 21-25 Bakersfield, CA - Lightning in A Bottle Festival
more soon...

Biography:

In his zone from deep house to techno, Ben Annand pairs impeccably smooth mixing skills with a dynamic style that keeps the music moving, artfully playing with breakdowns and spending most of his time in the mix.

“For me, a great mix is the interplay of 2 unique pieces of music, creating something greater than the sum of the parts - and a great set weaves those mixes into a musical flow you can’t help but lose yourself in on the dance floor.”

Ben fell in love with dancing and rave culture in 1995, and learned to mix in 1996. Just 2 years later he became resident dj at the famed Moontribe Gathering, and started his own production company, Tropical. The first half of his career was mostly focused on DJing abroad, with 13 trips to Moscow’s Propaganda club, travel across Russia, Spain, and Mexico, an appearance at Wiggle at Fabric in London and two at the Labyrinth Festival in Japan.  

In more recent years, Ben Annand became a top West Coast festival DJ, and recently played a standout set at his 5th consecutive Lightning in a Bottle (CA). He has also appeared at Sunset Campout and Desert Hearts (CA), Oregon Eclipse (OR), Photosynthesis and Cascadia (WA), Shambhala and Motion Notion (BC, Canada).

As organizer of Tropical, he's donated over $32,000 to charity, hosted zero-waste events in Hawaii, and presented gender-balanced dj lineups.

Whatever his project,, Ben Annand is always contributing, and always thinking outside the box.

Ben Annand Live at LIB Festival 20-Year - May 26, 2023

Ben Annand

Recent comments

User 340917419

User 340917419

MANYNAMES - KEYFRAME - SEHU

msladybugy

Related tracks