Carlos Castaneda - A Separate Reality (Audiobook)

My first gig at SF's Public Works, March 2015. I had the honor of opening the upstairs Loft for @atish and @hoj, two DJs I really admire and whose music, mixing, and approach I respected even before I moved to the Bay Area. Hard to believe I've been here a little over a year...

Friday was special. Not every set I’ve played has had the amount of mental, physical, and emotional energy in it that was invested that night. Months of anticipation and preparation to dig tracks I felt appropriate, hours of practice, and weekends spent designing and developing the art installations in the room. Music was just one part - I wanted to create an organic and emotive physical environment for the dancers that transformed Public Works into someplace new and unique, and fit the kind of music that Atish, Hoj, and I play, a contrast and respite from some of the harsher, more intense sounds that Maceo Plex was playing downstairs. To that end, I coordinated and constructed an absurd ten foot tall, twelve foot wide tree out of wood, fabric, aluminum wire, and lots of LEDs and fiber optics. It was an insane effort. Add the nerves of playing my first ‘serious’ club gig in SF on a sold out night opening for artists I admire, and you get a sense of what was invested leading UP to the night of…

…which brings me to the night itself. Man. It was surreal, new, and simultaneously so familiar. Having friends packing the dance floor early on was a huge boost of energy and confidence to get things started on the right foot. I decided last minute to forgo any more ambitious three / four deck mixing, which i enjoy as a challenge, but felt my attention would be better served focusing on track selection and reading the crowd - so I switched to beatmatching long transitions on CDJs to keep my ear attuned. Six or seven tracks in, I settled into a flow state that lasted until I got off the decks at 1215. At times, I even felt the levity of absurdity up there, like…from a birds eye view, isn’t this kind of a hilarious thing to be doing? What a trip. The vibe in the packed loft was an almost tangible outpouring of love and support. The rest of the night was a blur of dancing and talking with good people.

There are many people who deserve gratitude and recognition for being a part of Friday...

Michelle, Trip, and Chris, who played a HUGE role in helping design, build, and install the Kodama Spirit Tree installation and the fiber optic accents in the room, dedicating time they really didnt have. Rob, for cranking out some amazing visuals (projection mapping and kodama clips from Princess Mononoke) in a very short time (he worked literally up until the event started.) Skyler, for his continued support and for taking some great shots that night. Many of the Monks of Funk for their help in building the Tree, and of course all of our friends who rocked up early, set the tone on the dance floor, and sent out love (I can hear you guys on the recording, it’s pretty great.) Mana and other dschoolers for coming all the way from Berlin. And last but not least, atish, Hoj, and Peter, for the gracious invite. Thank you all!

(Fun fact: I was also born on a Friday the 13th, so that was a good omen.)

Kollektiv Turmstrasse - Holunderbaum (Rumpel Mix)
Fiord - Interpretations from a Maze of Thought (Original Mix)
Locked Groove - Meditations in an Emergency (Clockwork Remix)
Nu - Abre (Original Mix)
Mark DePulse - Montag Moll (Boe’s Little Cure Edit)
Zezfeed, Nothim - Sans Titre (Arapu Edit)
Landmark, Einsauszwei - Wrap it Up
Shades of Gray - Illusions
Kiasmos - Looped
Skoork - Sector 78 (Original Mix)
Florian Meindl - Deeply Hooked (Oliver Schories Remix)
Sam K - Elido (Original Mix)
Florian Rietze - Forgive Me (Cosmic Cowboys Remix)
Lake People - Escape Velocity (Original Mix)
Aquarius Heaven, Hyenah - Tale From the Dirt (Rampa Remix)
Einsauszwei - Straight Rise (Original Mix)
Sammy, Rills - Is This It (Original Mix)

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James Fish - "Hello Kodama" - DJ set @ Public Works SF (with atish and Hoj) - March 2015

Intuition: the ability to know directly and instantaneously without rational or conscious thought. Intuition is different than instinct, which is something animalistic. Intuition is higher level, often linked with spirituality, sometimes described as a sixth sense or a taste of enlightenment. 

Intuition is also important artistically. Art is a creative form of communication, which requires outward thinking and analysis. But art is also a creative form of self-expression, which requires the creator to look within through self-awareness.

I fall somewhere in the middle of the artistic spectrum, likely leaning more on analytical side, but I'm always changing and my thought (or lack of thought) process depends on the context. In the case of this mix, which took measurably longer to complete, I hit a frustrating internal roadblock. To try overcome this roadblock, I did a lot of thinking, analysis, visualization of how people would perceive it, and the output was quite awful. I backtracked a bit, and tried another approach: to finish the mix without thinking, relying on intuition rather than analysis. 

This approach also changes my perspective on how I measure the output. Rather than concerning myself whether or not people will think this is great, I am content with the thought that I am releasing something that is simply an expression of self.

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Tracklist

atish - [055] - september 2015 - intuition

–DEEP DREAM–

Please enjoy a deep dreamy mix with the intention of inspiring growth, creativity, and harmony within yourself and your community.

Thank you to the ladies at Convergence (www.convergencepresents.com/) for hosting a wonderful event. What a truly restorative and transformational evening. Glad to have attended, and humbled to have been asked to share my curation of music. Bless.

This was my first time performing solo in a couple years. Most of my sound work is done through a project I co produce called SkyFish (soundcloud.com/weareskyfish/).

Warmly, Skyler



ARTWORK:
Original Photograph – Skyler Greene, Design – Michelle Cutler

TRACKLIST:
coming soon…

Deep Dream (Live @ Prophecy presented by Convergence 6/11/16)

Benjamin Franklin once said there are just three certainties in life: death, taxes, and a badass Tutu Tuesday right after Burning Man. I’m glad to say that 226 years after his passing, we have yet to let him down.

As such, I’m happy to share this recording with you of my set that night - pushing a little deeper and a little darker than in tutus past. After this came the oh so lanky, oh so lovely, Lonely Boy himself, who I hope posts his set online since it was a TON of fun :)

This is also a great time to announce the launch of Tutu Tuesday’s soundcloud channel (soundcloud.com/tututuesday). This has been a loooong time coming as an idea from Carla and me, and we hope it proves to be a fitting repository of funky tutu grooves for years to come. An authentic auditory-anthropological study of Tutu history!

Finally, please join us next week with Navid Izadi as we keep Tutu going strong into the fall. Incidentally, it’ll also be my birthday-eve…

soundcloud.com/jamesfish

James Fish @ Tutu Tuesday, September 2016 (with Lonely Boy)

Every year, our camp, “The Monks of Funk,” puts on it’s annual gathering: “Wednesday Night Worship.” This is a night when the various microcosms of Burning Man that comprise our community unite under an unspoken camaraderie. We look at it one of two main homecoming events (the other being Short Stack’s Tutu Tuesday.) 


This year, everything came together so perfectly that it felt like a showcase of every single Monk’s talents. The Dance Church was renovated this year by Trip, Chris, Thomas, and Marko with flaming flying buttresses creating space where people could interact without competing with the sound - a perfect balance between revelry and relaxation. Golden chandeliers, warm white lighting, and Rob’s psychedelic visual projection art completed the feeling. On the dancefloor, an upgraded soundsystem filled the entire church with a punchy, warm choons.


Behind the decks, Maryna made her first ever appearance DJ debut, opening up the night with a slow-motion techno and house set that had everyone moving - and asking who was playing. Next was an energetic, exuberant, uplifting house set from fellow Monk, Alex Lee, a new face this year who got everybody's hands up in the air and feet off the ground. SkyFish followed up by plunging into the deep and resolving with a melodic and dreamy bookend. Afterwards, Ben Gleitzman brought it home with a melange of house, disco, funk, R&B and hip hop - so good that the crowd wouldn’t let him leave before three encore tracks (and two sticks of Palo Santo).


What really stands out each year about Wednesday Night Worship is how beautifully present and alive the night is for us. Expectations are often so central to people’s burning man experience. You spend 358 days out of the year thinking of what you’re going to build, do, try, and experience at next year’s burn - and yet sometimes, letting go of expectations is what opens you up to the most unforgettably magical experiences.


Likewise, most of the year, our curated sonic journeys, gatherings, thematic storylines, and workshops really represent what we’re trying to do overall with the SkyFish project. We’re not ‘just DJs’ in the traditional sense - for every hour spent behind the decks, we spend 15-20 more hours planning everything that goes on during our gatherings. Yet on Wednesday Night Worship, we go into it with zero expectations and no advance planning of what or how we’re going to play. We perform as an open channel between the crowd's energy and our love of music, fully encompassing our three core principles: music, nature, human interaction. And every year, it’s better than the last.

Photo: Skyler Greene
Album Artwork Design: Rob Wadleigh

Monks of Funk - Wednesday Night Worship

SkyFish DJ Set • Burning Man 2016 Wednesday Night Worship

SkyFish : Skyler Greene & James Fish

Hi, we're SkyFish.
Our intent: to explore the intersection of nature, science, and the creativity of human expression through music. To create new experiences for people in natural environments. To make you think, feel, and dance. Come with us - there's so much we have to explore together.