music moments

hi, my name is b! just b. I DJ as usbbb!

from left to right: L’Amours Toujours by Gigi D’Agostino music video, Madeon at the Roxy DJ set (above), Around the World by Daft Punk music video (below), Porter Robinson Secret Sky DJ Set (above), Better Off Alone by Alice Deejay music video (below), donatachi.com cover art by Donatachi (middle), Paul McCartney at Outside Lands (above), random album title cover art by Deadmau5 (middle), Get Your Wish by Porter Robinson music video (middle)

Background is Porter Robinson at Outside Lands… f*ck you G*tty *mages :*

some music moments that changed everything for me:

I was raised on The Beatles and Christian music... until I discovered Daft Punk and deadmau5 one summer around my early adolescence on YouTube. 

I wanted to see twenty one pilots really badly and found out they were playing Outside Lands. I convinced my dad to take us because Paul McCartney was playing. I went every year after that despite growing up in the LA area. 

Going to Outside Lands each year led me to discovering a LOT of new music. A year or two after Paul McCartney performed, I found Porter Robinson on a Reddit Outside Lands playlist. I fell in love. When asked to go to my happy place I still return to that euphoric set.

Not long before lockdown, my brother asked me to visit him. He showed me some deadmau5 songs, asking if I remembered them. I showed him Porter's latest single before Nurture had been announced. That night remains a favorite memory.

During lockdown, Porter hosted Secret Sky in place of his Second Sky festival. He DJ’d right before I went to bed and I decided to make it my Artist Date and spend that time alone in my room with him on the computer. Porter’s Secret Sky 2020 set will forever be legendary…

I was in a long term relationship through my teens and early 20s. I first heard Better Off Alone while on a break with that ex. I didn't think the song was posing a question, I thought she said "You are better off alone". I broke up with her days later.

The same summer I broke up with that ex, I was determined to get my zine, Worlds Version 1.0 to Porter Robinson. I brought 3 copies to Madeon’s DJ set at the Roxy. I went alone with a mission. I was sure Porter could be there. I stayed at the barricade the whole set, tossing two zines on stage… One at the beginning, one after Porter appeared to play Shelter. At the end of Madeon’s set I knew I had one last chance. I rushed to the opposite side of the stage where I realized hew would exit only moments before. I personally handed Hugo a copy of the zine and said this is for Porter. Soon after I bugged Porter every day on Twitter until finally he said he received the zine. I cried for hours.

porter robinson confirming receipt of my zine!

I lost my brother to his addiction on March 28th, 2022. I was driving home from an Insomniac festival, my friend asleep in the passenger seat. I had been thinking of a song Wavedash played every set. I knew it wasn't a Wavedash song, and they hadn't even played that festival, it was just stuck in my brain. I finally found L'Amour Toujours and played it on repeat. 3:33 AM came and went while I cried thinking of my brother. 

The morning I’m writing this, Donatachi and I had a great chat over Instagram DMs. I listened to all their albums and mixes on Apple Music as a result, hours of gooooood music. They’ll be in San Francisco for Portola, and though I plan to skip the festival, I can’t miss my first Donatachi DJ set.