Dissident head honcho Carly Zeng is bringing the steeze with an absolutely exhilarating, housey mix that’s guaranteed to make you move.
Thank you so much for taking the time to put this mix together, can you tell us a little bit about the energy behind this mix, is there anything you would prescribe doing while listening?
Compared to my previous mixes, I cared a lot less about the obscurity or rarity of the records for this one but more about keeping a steady, unpretentious, fun energy (as a result, you hear almost constant kick drums throughout :p). I put in some classic 90s UK and US house/acid house records, blending some percussion, build-ups, and emotional vocals here and there. It's a mix perfect for exercising, doing chores at home, or anything that keeps your body moving!
Congratulations on Dissident, your own party with sick artwork and even sicker line-ups. How did Dissident come about and when can we expect the next one? Any clues as to who we can expect playing?
Thank you! Dissident started as a concept of presenting a fresh, wide range of electronic music that you normally don't hear at one party while maintaining some musical consistency throughout the night. In the ideal scenario of my head, people would come for one style of dance music but end up discovering another genre or DJ and falling in love with them. However, as the party progressed, we started to develop more as a community celebrating diversity, queerness and creativity with a positive narrative of "theme and DIY". The music part is still important, but we are putting a lot more care into making the event memorable and comfortable for everyone. The next one will be on CSD July 22nd at OXI :)
You’re a vinyl-head and absolute guru at it, how long have you been mixing/collecting vinyl and where/who or what got you started?
I joined Discogs and got my turntable setup in 2017 and since then I'm pretty much on there digging daily. Before that I was already partying a lot in NYC and friends around me all suggested that I start collecting music, so I was like might as well. Discogs changed my life!!! I discovered a whole world of music archives online, and every day I'm still amazed by how rich the electronic music history was in the 80s-00s (I still haven't even got to 2010s-20s yet haha). I also love going to record shops and warehouses of Discogs sellers to dig when I travel and have a chance.
Who (collective/s or individual/s) is inspiring you music-wise currently that we should also be checking out?
The music I play varies a lot every now and then, and is very much influenced by the parties I've been going to. Like when I started going to and playing at Cocktail d'Amore, I was digging a lot more 80s/synth sounds, or when I come back from a night of Sub glow, I will go through some bass music and dubstep stuff. I was blown away by some sets at Berghain this year too: Listening to how some OG residents like Boris and Marcel Dettman waived more colorful genres to their Berghain sets was extremely stimulating to me. Spending time upstairs also encouraged me to dig more percussion and vocal heavy tracks. Recently I was putting away my UK hardcore collections because I found them a bit cheesy and dated, but I was just in Detroit and heard how Octa Octa fit those sounds in her set and gave such an uplifting vibe, and when I came home I started buying hardcore records again haha.
What’s next for Carly?
We're planning some very exciting editions for Dissident in the summer and fall, and I've been spending a lot of time brainstorming the lineups. I was super busy with gigs and work in June, so I'm very much looking forward to a small break to dig properly and organize my music library in the next month.