What is the role of white DJ playing the music born from black people? That’s a question that has been sitting with me in the days since the passing of George Floyd and the conversations I’m listening to and taking part of as dance music wrestles with it’s existential future. 

It’s an uncomfortable question but a vital conversation and one I’m going to strive to stay open within and contribute to. For any white DJ who steps up to play this music it’s critical that we do so in an ethical, educated and conscious way.

I was recently asked to record a mix for the online edition of the Celtronic festival, which was celebrating it’s 20th year. I decided to make a mix from music from the black artists whose music I collected and cherished over the years. Celtronic is based in Derry, Ireland where I was born and grew up. It’s an almost exclusively white community and the audience at the festival is fervent and young, so I hope this mix serves to lead a few curious listeners towards a deeper exploration of the roots of dance music. It features excerpts from a talk by Robin DiAngelo on White Fragility at the beginning and end.

Reflect & Seek To Do Something Different - A Mix For Celtronic 2020

Mister Sunday, Mister Saturday Night, Planetarium & Nowadays. NYC.

Reflect & Seek To Do Something Different - A Mix For Celtronic 2020

Eamon Harkin