Nicolas Jaar‘s essential mix never gets old. It’s been over two years since its release and it still gives me the chills. To me it still completely reeks of Autumn 2012, one of the most intense seasons I’ve yet to endure— Hurricane Sandy and the End of the World all in the span of a couple months, say what? I was living in downtown Manhattan at the time, surrounded by constant stimulation and sleeping hardly at all finishing up my last semester of undergrad. Needless to say, it was already set and setting super conducive to the cray, but Sandy took the intensity to a whole new level…
This Feist track from the mix specifically conjures up memories of my hurricane tribe and the vibe we had going in our makeshift refugee camp (my apartment). There were 7 or 8 of us, mostly my Ave C homies who rolled by last minute to escape their flood zone-age. None of us realized the impending zombie apocalyptic doom we were to face in the aftermath of dear Sandy. We were in the dark. Literally and metaphorically.
Caught me a long wind
Where will we go?
Keep ourselves afloat
Venturing outside after the storm was a trip and a half. Everything was dark, much more dark than I could have ever imagined. The city that never sleeps, knocked out and unconscious for days. Blacked out beyond belief. I couldn’t be more grateful for the group I was with at the time, all creative artsy weird types. We totally thrived on the lack of electricity. I remember my friends drawing by candle light while I played my sax. Writing poetry on my typewriter, Exquisite Corpse style was something I’ll never forget. Highly recommended. In short, it was fucking cold and the most real of times. Waking up to that which endures beyond the scurf of daily existence– whether in the form of values or things, is a fucking invaluable experience. Being stripped to the bare bones of existence, you’ve no choice but to channel that inner strength in all its inexhaustible glory; survival mode does wonders for eliminating the distractions.
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