https://www.beaconcollective.us/ecstatic-dance

Please enjoy the goods from my live set at Ecstatic Dance Bozeman, hosted at Bodhi Farms in September 2021. Pure magic. An all time day under the warm afternoon sun, with grass beneath our feet, surrounded by golden aspens and cottonwoods. The spark of a collective movement in The Last Best Place.

Comment anywhere in the set for a track ID - I'll happily provide. All of my appreciation and gratitude goes to the incredible musicians, vocalists, producers, and bands for the tracks that form this dynamic journey... It was the highest joy to weave their talents together into a soundscape worthy of your sweat. 

Turn it up... free your body... blast off.

With love,
The Merchant

Ecstatic Dance Bozeman - TUKANTE

Please enjoy this recording of Vocalize. Singing is magical medicine and FUN... I hope you benefit from this practice. Peace with you.

Visit https://www.beaconcollective.us/experiences to see all upcoming live experiences - There's nothing quite like Vocalize in a room full of courageous friends.

Love,
The Merchant

Vocalize - Guided Practice

Please enjoy my live set from TEDx Big Sky, night one. I mixed the soundscape to accompany a series of stirring images + haiku poems that illustrate RESILIENCE across the mountain west. This was my musical interpretation of what it means to survive, adapt, and persevere.

Go well,
The Merchant

TEDx Big Sky - RESILIENCE

A space-softening mix of relaxing tracks to open a circle. Perfect vibe for Jesus dance ceremonies and other abiding environments.

Enjoy,
The Merchant

Circles - Opening JDC

To learn more about Jesus Dance Ceremonies: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjt5gIRU9vQ

Jesus Dance Ceremony - King of Glory

Wedding Mix For My Sweet Karlita

Dance mix for Kit and Maria's wedding 9.14.24

Kit & Maria Wedding Mix

Thrive V1 // Live DJ Set

Thrive Dance 4.0

TRACK LIST:

Selective Hearing - Audien
Restlessness (Extended) - Bastian Laval
I WON'T LET YOU DOWN - Emmitt Finn

IN THE MIX:

Damn, I was LIT UP creating this!! Layering two of my all time favorite tracks with a new BANGER to finish. I can see why DJ's would have little mini mix playlists in their libraries, to fall back on or merge into when the moment is just right for mixing MAGIC. Feeling electric and inspired.

Enjoyed a little practice before hitting record to see how the different elements of these tracks play together, and learned that while a drum line may jive perfectly with another track, it could be a totally different story for melody/vocals. Hard to pick this out on the fly but I trust my ear will refine at this skill.

With these longer tracks, there's so much opportunity to make call backs to previous tracks, that I know light up my ears and body when dancing. I'm so often oriented towards the next track and making single period clean hand-offs.

I also used looping more creatively here, particularly with the middle track (vocals), to bring in parts of the song that were all over it's wave form. So fun! Definitley seeing the value of prepping music well and what to be looking for in cue points and saved loops. 

One day maybe soon I'll transition this skill to the samples function of my deck for even easier and more playful layering. 

Thanks for listening,
The Merchant

PhDJ Mix #2 - "Restlessness"

TRACKLIST:

Raw (Tony Romera Extended Mix) - Julio Navas, Gustavo Bravetti, David Amo
Swing (Crush Club Remix) - Sofi Tukker
Guava - Night Mix - Tunnelvisions
OK! (Original Mix) - RBØR, Andor Gabriel, Paakman
Bad Man (Original Mix) - Kashovski

IN THE MIX:

Entered this feeling depleted.... I've been on my computer SO MUCH this week, doing many back-aching computer-y things. There was reluctance for more screen time. But I raised up the desk, stepped up to the decks, and felt a flood of fresh energy come from a new source. Time to create. Time to sharpen the tools and improve the craft. I got excited to paint instead of scroll, type, and click.

I picked a starting song and rolled from there on the fly. I selected songs that were all harmonious in their natural state. Didn't care as much about BPM as I usually do. Started at one spot and stayed there the whole time despite an almost 8 BPM difference from slowest to fastest track. This freed me up to be more engaged with the tracks. I liked it.

By far the most Beat jumping I've ever done. Most of these songs are 6+ minutes yet the 5 song mix is 15 total. Felt GREAT. Came naturally and I don't think the integrity/flow of the songs were compromised, super encouraged to lean into this more, especially with house/EDM tracks.

THE FEELS:
A bit disconnected from my body during this mix. I felt more aware of my neighbors, not wanting to disturb them with bumping bass and stomping dance feet. Plus, I'm tired AF after full week and the dance wouldn't flow freely even though the energy was there. If this had been a gig, I think I would've been able to play a "good set" but likely more distant to the crowd's energy than I'd like to be. This is my experience too often, especially when playing if I'm already pretty fried. Need to protect against this make spaciousness before sets. Remembering the wisdom that even just 30 seconds of centering, gratitude, awareness for how BRILLIANT this DJing stuff is can work wonders. Will tune into that before all future mixes.

Need a good sleep tonight...

Thanks for listening,
The Merchant

PhDJ Mix #3

10 songs, offered randomly, arranged collectively, into a cohesive sonic arc.

LMNT Retreat Mix - "The Wheels on The Bus"

LMNT Ambient Refelction

TRACK LIST:
1 You Are We Am i (blue mix) - 2:55
2 Song for Maltan (Klik & Frik Remix) - 7:00
3.1 Open Up the Channel (Original Mix) - 13.43
3.2 The Panther (Original Mix) - 19:06
4 Heat (Original Mix) - 24:32
5 Heaven Takes You Home (Moojo Remix) - 29:56
6 Sonder (Original Mix) - 32:50
7.1 Fiction - 34:29
7.2 Empowerment - End

IN THE MIX:

I'm on the road this week with my DDJ-400 and did this mix with ol' faithful. It felt good to get back to mixing basics, narrowing my technical focus on traditional EQ manipulation and timing. That said, there was some aspect of every mix that I would've liked to have more sonic control over (with FLX-10) 

Alas, a fun mix to make. The song list came together really quickly. It was clear on first pass of the crate that these ones are my sound, those ones are not. Assigning the score felt natural and I like the way these knitted together. I beat-matched some tracks I might not usually, brining tempo up 10-15 BPMs in a single song. This was a good practice for me and I like the way it aided with building energy in a short span of songs.

I focused on FEELING the sound. Hearing it with all my senses and shaping it accordingly. I have relied way too much on my eyes while DJing up to this point. I think this has robbed some of my true love for the MUSIC and being fully immersed in it. Tonal recognition is my superpower and it's time I wield it well.

I was sit-dancing throughout, VIBIN'. I felt the fire.... like it was almost criminal for me to be the only one listening to such juicy heat. It's a cold raining day in Greenville. I've been chilled all day. Halfway through I was shedding layers. Breath enlivened. The power was in my fingertips. I was in control and this was the journey I created and shaped. Great experience... and then I was angry at Souncloud when it was failing to upload my track right away becasue I wanted to move to it!! Hah.  

The score feels natrual, I love storytelling with my sets. It's much more my style than banger after banger, although that's what I often play live, from a place of "people won't keep dancing if I stop upping the ante". This set was a confidence boost and a clarity of direction. I play journeys for those who want to travel. 

Thanks for listening,
The Merchant

PhDJ Mix - Open Up the Channel

TRACKLIST & SCORE Numbers:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mdrlc0ldfmwrn2k80kag1/Screenshot-2025-11-12-at-3.23.32-PM.png?rlkey=y6tl20ksqlsi2t04lwy28xijj&dl=0

IN THE MIX:

Here were my goals coming into this mix... written on a piece of paper next to my controller:

1) Have fun
2) Stay embodied
3) Feel the sound
4) Use all 4 decks

Mission complete... for the most part at least. I got a little out of my body at times, and I still have a hard time not looking at the screen for timing (even though I totally don't need to!!). I can do this.... just need more deliberate practice.

I'm playing with a LOT of inputs these days. STEMS, EQ, mash-up Loops, Deck swaps, STEM based filters and FX, etc. It's pushing me to engage with my equipment and the sound on a whole new level. Definitley not a play it safe approach, but I sense that the payoffs of more exciting and seamless transitions is well worth it. Plus, DJing feels crazy rewarding when I nail one. 

I played with each transition for 5 or so minutes before jumping into the mix. I didn't have a cheat sheet, so this helped me not go into mad scientist mode. Was it as good of a mix as it could've been with polished and documented mix steps? Not quite... but I enjoyed mixing in creative flow. 

And did I get it perfect? Certainly not. There were a couple blatant mistakes, and a few more that I'll know I missed. Oh well, it's just practice. SHIP IT.

Technically speaking, a number of tracks gave me headaches with weird trim volume levels. I need to get that dialed and wonder why there was such variation. 

I tried giving each track a bit more space to breathe with longer transitions for titration/pendulation effect.

Body feels were mostly... "I'm breaking out of this effing cage." Big power, lots of heat and sweat. Sweetness at the end and this light joyful relief in the second to last track. It all warmed me up properly for one of my favorite ambient tracks at 7. Spacey, light, grateful, full.

CREATING THE SCORE:

I've made a ton of mixes for live and recorded purposes, so while my process was familiar, track selection felt easier for sure. Discerning if a song belonged here or there had more context, more rhyme to the reason. The set list came together smoothly and I love the track flow.

It was also helpful to have a theme to the mix... Mine was something along the lines of Angsty Power Rebellion. This shrank my library and made the right songs jump out of Rekordbox.

In retrospect, there are a lot of vocals in this mix, for a (mainly) house set, and I think another song or two without that element would have been nice. Especially since I mixed some vocals from other tracks over otherwise instrumental portions. 

Perhaps a more playful 3 would have been good to initiate the threshold, but I also wanted to create a clear shift in energy and think it worked OK with "Hate it or Love it"

Curious if "Let it Burn" would feel like too much to some people after the Good Lee track drops us off very softly. The effect I was going for was: feel the emotion first, the bit of melancholy mixed with hope, pause for a moment, breathe, and then let it all burn with a more joyful vibe. 

I hope you enjoyed my set. Shout out to the incredible artists who created these epic tracks! 

Thanks for listening,
The Merchant

PhDJ Module 2 Assignment 1

SET LIST: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/x5un7myu0t1zz72ivdgh8/Screenshot-2025-11-15-at-11.35.50-AM.png?rlkey=o1x9ukglwjm0b38cw3eb7zow2&dl=0

Thrive v4

Thrive v5

Leland's Labor Mix

Please enjoy this soundscape, mixed with care to take you on an embodiment journey. Lay back, close your eyes, feel your breath, let the music take you.

Important: Breathwork is a powerful practice and should not be approached casually. It is not uncommon to experience intense physical, emotional, and spiritual responses to connected breathing. By practicing on your own, without facilitation, you accept full responsibility of all elements of your experience, as your own guide. Please respect your body and come back to a relaxed breathing pattern through your nose if anything becomes too intense.

If you have health issues or medical conditions, especially involving the heart or lungs, I highly recommend that you seek a doctor's clearance BEFORE practicing dynamic breathwork. Safety first, so you can wholly release to the experience.

Be Well,
The Merchant

Breathe - SOAKURA

Breathe - MAKASTRA

Take a ride through the seasons with this dynamic Breathwork soundscape. Close your eyes and breathe deeply to the cycles of our planet, as the musical journey leads you through Release (fall), Stillness (winter), Renewal (spring), and Expansion(summer)... ultimately returning you to state of peace & surrender.

Important: Breathwork is a powerful practice and should not be approached casually. It is not uncommon to experience intense physical, emotional, and spiritual responses to connected breathing. By practicing on your own, without facilitation, you accept full responsibility of all elements of your experience, as your own guide. Please respect your body and come back to a relaxed breathing pattern through your nose if anything becomes too intense.

If you have health issues or medical conditions, especially involving the heart or lungs, we highly recommend that you seek a doctor's clearance BEFORE practicing dynamic Breathwork. Safety first, so you can wholly release to the experience.

Be Well,
The Merchant

The Merchant

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