Mix Series #1 - John Barera

When did you start DJ'ing and what inspired you to keep at it?

In 2002 I was a 19 year old art student, focusing largely on sound production and music. At that time I started to DJ at house parties in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. I really started doing it because I wanted to share underground music with people, and make them dance their asses off. I only had one crappy Gemini at home, but I had records. I worked in this giant second hand shop in Cambridge, and they had a huge record room, where I loved to hang. We were always listening to Sly Stone, and vintage boogie records. One day the owner decided selling records was no longer profitable, and decided he would let me take whatever I wanted before he ditched them all - a record collector was born. Soon I found myself at a house party where they had TWO turntables and a mixer. That was how I started to learn mixing, right at the party with the people dancing, hoping i didn't mess up their groove. I was going down to New York sometimes and browsing around all these shops and flea markets, bringing back Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa twelve inches. I was also playing in the house band as a bass player, twice a month at the Milky Way club for Courtney Grey and Dj Nomadiks' open mic/soul/poetry/hip-hop night - this was where I heard house music for the first time. When we were done playing, DJs would come on and spin house, and these guys would come breakdance. Bob Deisel was always there and all these house heads, and soon I went to check out one of Courtney's other parties - Soul Revival at the Villa Victoria - and there I saw the nasty deep house DJ KC playing.

Finally, I had my groundbreaking moment. I had gone to Europe a few times because I was curious, checking out Berlin and Barelona, and finally I made the move to Rotterdam, Holland to do a semester at the Willem De Kooning Academie when I was 21. There I made friends with my neighbors Côme de Bouchony from Paris and Lidia Bonetti, from the Milan area. These two really knew what was up with house and techno and they started showing me tunes - Roule, Crydmoure, Trentmoller, Vitalic and stuff. I started picking up dance music vinyls, and hanging around the record shops in town, there were a bunch of great ones like Clone Records. Soon, we started going clubbing for real - we would hit club 11 in Amsterdam but most of the time we would go to this place called the Maassilo. It was in the rough and tumble area of south Rotterdam, a former grain silo. This place is huge, and I mean huge, it made clubs back home look like the bathroom at Wendy's. They had three giant rooms, and extras like, rope swings, giant props, lighting, world class sound & lights. It was like our weekend ritual, we looked forward to going like nothing else. We would show up at 1 or 2 in the morning, arriving on bicycles, twenty people from ten different countries, and would never leave until the sun had come up. Benny Rodriguez and Laidback Luke were the resident Djs, and we would lose our minds on the dance floor to their sets. Looking back it's ironic I had to go to Europe to really experience a proper club and all this music that was invented in the American Midwest.

While I was in the Netherlands I spent a lot of time in my room practicing a set of this great new music and recording my own tracks. I remember one night my neighbor Camille came over with the Claro Intelecto track "Peace of Mind," she was like, "John you've got to hear this!!" Soon my big moment finally came, I had somehow come in contact with people who were actually throwing a party in the Maassilo, and I told them "You guys have to book me for that gig!" I locked myself in my room until I had the perfect mixtape to send to them, and I submitted it. They were having a meeting to decide what artists to book for the night, but they had lost my CD. Very luckily, a friend called me that afternoon and she was like "Get over here right now, bring your mix!" I sat down around a table with tall of the promoters and they put it on. One of them looked at the other and said in Dutch, "Hey this is pretty good." None of my friends could believe it, but the next day they called and offered a 3-4 am slot in the main room of the Maassilo. 

I'll never forget how I felt when I got home from the club that night. It was about 8 in the morning, the sun was fully up, and it was a damp Dutch morning. I had this feeling racing throughout my body, it was the highest I had ever felt and I was not on drugs. The sound, the lights, the dancers - I could barely even sit down. That was when I knew that this was my thing and I was going to keep at it - this would not be my last set in an underground European club. I spent the summer in Barcelona and around Catalonia. I was going to the Macarena Club, La Palolma, and Moog. Techno music was the thing, I stuffed my bag with more records from La Ruta Natural, which is still there and is a great shop. When I finally got back to the states I had a carry on bag full of these great new records, Holger Zilske, Tiny Sticks, all kinds of stuff, but nowhere to play them except my bedroom. I was fed up with my hometown and the lack of good clubs and parties. I went down to South America and they had it going on down there. I was living in Bunoes Aires for a while, but still keeping in touch with people at home, looking at the US scene from a distance, thinking to myself, you know what? I could do this way better, I have got to start gigging out more and showing people what raw underground music sounds like and what it does to them on the dance floor. And so I did, I came home more determined then ever and started coming out of my shell. I'm way down with psych rock, reggae, r&b, hip hop, and all of that stuff, but my favorite clubs and promoters to play for are still the ones that are down with underground house music and techno.

How was the mix put together?

I chose some tracks that I thought represented where I was at right now as a DJ. As always, I have some older tracks in there that still sound fresh as hell, alongside new tracks that just came out. I wanted to do a mix that would sound just like a set I would play in a club. I have my home studio here in Chinatown, with my 1200s set up by the windows on the fourth floor, looking out over the city a bit. I grabbed a couple beers, went into the studio, and did it in one take, so it would be authentic.

What are some tracks or albums that you've been really into lately? Any artists or DJs to keep an eye out for (either locally or national/international)?

I think Motor City Drum Ensemble has been doing a lot of great things, he is putting out a full length soon with all his Raw Cuts tracks. If you want some proper mind-blowing techno go for Sandwell District, they have these guys Function and Silent Servant that are great. Levon Vincent is turning everything he touches to gold right now. Can't forget about the Ostgut Ton and Underground Quality labels. Arnaud Rebotini from Blackstrobe is great. Omar-S and Carl Craig keep doing great work. Floating Points and Joy Orbison are solid newcomers from the UK. I love what Dixon does with his edits, and his label is great. Pepe Bradock is solid & Robert Hood has always been for real. There are so many great labels coming up now it seems, you can head to Halcyon or Dope jams in Brooklyn for the a great selection, or A1 in Manhattan for older club records. The Rush hour label keeps getting better and better, putting out excellent reissues alongside new gems. Here in Boston you have Tanner Ross, the guy is a production machine, all his tracks sound great. Be on the lookout for Mikey Lee, Brenden Wesley, and Michael Potvin, they have serious chops as well. In general, If you are looking for any kind of underground music check out Forced Exposure, the distributor I work for now. We distribute a lot of quality records and are a major player in underground music in the US. Those guys fill my ears with a variety of far out sounds every day. 

Favorite thing about Boston?

International launching pad. Great home base. So close and easy to get to NY and Europe. Cheap enough, and not brutal like SF or NY but its easy to get to either, or save up and leave the country. We are also close to Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, and Toronto. It's my home and its where I was born so you have to represent. 

Least favorite thing about Boston?

The winters are rough, but its a good excuse to get things done in the studio. Mayor for life Menino is the worst thing about Boston, perpetuating the good old boys mentality. The metro shuts at 1230, some clubs shut at 1, which is just absurd, and by 2 everything is shut. People work hard all week, let them have fun, you know? Real parties start at 2, and some of the realest ones get going at 8 am. Boston needs to open up all these restrictions the licensing board imposes on liquor licenses and new venues trying to open up, so we can become the world class city we should be.

Download the mix here:

John Barera - OnAFriday Mix Jan122010.mp3

Tracklist (1:01:53):

01. 69 - Sub Seducer [Planet E]

02. Tom Trago - Passion (Motor City Drum Ensemble Remix) [Rush Hour Recordings]

03. Anton Zap - Lovin U [Quintessentials]

04. Keith Worthy - Moon Dance [Third Ear Recordings]

05. Levon Vincent - Late Night Jam [Ostgut Tonträger]

06. Omar S - Flying Gorgars / Set Me Up [FXHE Records]

07. Langenberg - Times (Manuel Tur's Ground Glass Reflex) [Mild Pitch]

08. Kasper - Hooked On You [Quintessentials]

09. Sebo K - Spirits [Mobilee]

10. Hunee - Standin' High [Permanent Vacation]

11. The Mole Presents Guilty Pleasures - Family [Internasjonal]

12. Greg Gow - The Bridge (Late Night Grand River Mix) [Transmat]

13. Château Flight - Discobole (Pépé 75cl Remix) [Versatile Records]

14. Massimo Di Lena - Gypsytown [Cadenza]

15. Todd Terry - Jumpin' [UMM]