I love vinyl and its deep seeded influence on Hip-Hop, Reggae, and EDM culture.

I got hooked on collecting and consuming records when I came across the underground electronic dance culture in the mid 90’s. Witnessing countless DJ’s curate amazing soundtracks was truly life changing. The DJ’s almost exclusively used turntables to construct distinctive auditory environments in some extraordinary, unusual and sometimes questionable locations. I have always been inspired by DJ’s who’s artistry unites genres, and who effortlessly move from one track to another. Those mixes offer guided tours of the DJ’s spirit through the musical landscape they create. Some of my favorite moments of a live mix are the time between tracks, the instances that layer stripped down ingredients from multiple compositions while blending the past and future to make something entirely unique: adding space, complexity, tension or anticipation to the overall experience.

This mix is a meaningful snapshot in time for me, where I tried new things with some of my favorites tracks. The journey touches on flowing Hip-Hop and uncompromising Dancehall selections; it incorporates Reggae Riddims with Dub, Rock and Soul influence. I put this mix together because this is the music I want to hear, it’s what I connect with, and it’s icing on the cake if others find enjoyment in the mix. My musical habits, like all things in life, come in waves; peaks and valleys of artists, genres, and creativity. This mix was something I put together in 2013, but I was just recently inspired to share this with the Rootfire crew after stumbling back on a copy and finding a lot to love all over again.

– Derek Emeson, Chicago

Bio:

Derek “D:Rock”  Emeson is inspired from a range of musical styles from Rock to Reggae and Hip-Hop to House Music. He fell in love with the music and the culture that is Chicago House Music, Influenced from an assortment of local and national talent which helped establish this city as the capital of House Music. He made the jump from the dance floor to the decks in 99’ and discovered a deep love for genres outside the EDM branding. Since then he has been expanding his reach and honing his craft almost exclusively using vinyl records even as the industry and fellow DJ’s started to shy away from the format. He is vinyl junkie at heart driven by the vast landscape of records produced over the years; digging and searching this world for physical pieces of music representing the artist that created it. You can feel that love and dedication in his live recordings which incorporate and blend flavors from countless sub-genres to create the jacking, funky, uplifting style you hear today.

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