Dance with the darkness | Re/Set 01
Excited to share my first themed and techno mix: Dance with the darkness.
It kicks off a series I’ve been wanting to do for a while, called Re/Set, combining my love for music curation, energetics, and writing. I’ll be creating mixes with specific intentions to be experienced casually or as solo rituals, and offer context about the creation process. Lastly, each set will be reiki’d to amplify the vibe. If you choose, may these be a sonic portal to free you a little more from the nonsense within and without.
[Note: Reiki is always shared with permission. If that’s not your vibe, sweet - you’ll just enjoy the music.]
Why dance with the darkness?
Playing my first techno show recently (shout-out to Alignment Artists and F8 in SF) showed me the expansive, powerful feeling I can tap into behind the decks with four-on-the-floor. I’ve been collecting a long list of “healing bangers,” because peeling back your inner layers is easier, and frankly more fun, when the music is fire.
I made this techno mix to remember my own might and joy in these heavy times, while sitting with the slightly annoying wisdom that sometimes the only way out is through. It’s like the kind of descent you read about in old myths… journeys of stepping into the underworld to reclaim what’s lost. The imagery in my mind is similar to Dream’s trip into hell to retrieve a vital part of himself in The Sandman. [Side note: Thanks for ruining my favorite story, Neil Gaiman.]
This is how I’ve been feeling in 2025 - the Year of the Snake - and dare I say, much of the outer world is reflecting that to many of us. I’m learning to dance with my daemons and recognize the underworld as a place of transformation, not just fear. This mix is my soundtrack. It’s been reiki’d to grant safe passage and support to anyone brave enough to step into their own shadow dance.
About the track journey:
It begins with Ursula Rucker’s mystical vocals on Alone. She’s an interdisciplinary poet whose words inspire the pursuit of self-truth. You may recognize her iconic voice and powerful words from her collaborations with The Roots and Josh Wink. From there, it threads in tracks that expand techno’s conversation beyond sound into energy, consciousness, and self-belief.
▪️Will you free your Inhibitions?
▪️Do you remember that your Consciousness shapes your reality?
▪️When you boldly choose the One Pill to make you larger, get transported to another dimension to Restore Your Soul… and trust that you don’t walk alone into the unknown.
The mix also features music by SAMA and ANNA, two women of color techno artists dedicated to inner and outer liberation. VNSSA and Victor Ruiz offer insane remixes of classic tracks that I’ve loved since a young age. And of course, my first techno mix would be incomplete without honoring some early pioneers: Kevin Saunderson (Detroit; as E-Dancer with his son Dantiez) and DJ Rush (Chicago).
The middle of the mix is where the descent into hell gets deeper. Tracks like Believe and Imagination build a sense of urgency: that feeling of wrestling with lower levels of the self, battling shadows, hanging on for dear life even when the path gets darker. Here, my friend Reznor’s “trechno” (trance + techno) track Feeling My Soul will hit you right in the feels, too. You know that sensation you get when something’s scary yet right? That’s how soul retrieval feels to me.
Then… into the belly of the beast we go. Inferno is when you reach the boss level in the fieriest pits of hell… that last, searing confrontation where you throw everything into the fight. It’s chaotic, epic, and will leave you scorched yet standing. From there, we rise. The Cluster reminds that “truth brings light,” a breakthrough after your glorious battle. And finally, Serenity plays like the celebration at the gates: you’ve made it through the underworld, retrieved your missing piece, and are ready to return whole again.
It seems like the entire world is moving through different versions of this descent right now. May this mix help you to bravely dance with that darkness, and reclaim all parts of yourself. May the odds be ever in your favor.
Tracklist:1. Alone (Original Mix) - Ursula Rucker, 2pole2. Inhibitions (Original Mix) - Nox Vahn, Joseph Ray 3. Deep In The Glowing Heart (Night Version) - Jon Hopkins, ANNA4. Energy (Original Mix) - Victor Ruiz 5. Consciousness (Original Mix) - Victor Ruiz, Alex Stein 6. One Pill (Original Mix) - VNSSA7. Emotions (Extended Mix) - Kevin Saunderson, E-Dancer, Dantiez Saunderson8. Restore My Soul (HI-LO Remix) - Adam Beyer & DJ Rush9. Breathe (Victor Ruiz Bootleg) (Extended) - The Prodigy10. Feeling My Soul (Extended Mix) - Reznor 11. Imagination (Original Mix) - Kaspar 12. Believe (Original Mix) - Eli Brown13. Distorted Identity (Original Mix) - SAMA 14. Inferno (Original Mix) - Carl Cox, Reinier Zonneveld, Christopher Coe 15. The Cluster (Original Mix) - Alex Stein 16. Serenity (Vitalic Remix) - Popof