Daisychain 329 – DØN

Afrofuturism.

Name: Brandon “B” Smith
Alias: DØN (@don_muzik)
Pronouns: They/Them
Location: Based in Detroit, Michigan, originally from Columbus, OH

Influences:
Dance music created, pioneered and/or perfected by black people. This includes (but is not limited to): techno, Jersey and Baltimore club, footwork, juke, kuduro, dubstep and electro. Not only this, but going to nightclubs in places all, especially Detroit and New York, and experiencing the aforementioned music live with amazing lights, overwhelmingly loud sound systems and my beautiful friends ❤

Affiliations/Residencies/Projects: Blessed Up Gang, Limit Break, Freezer Burn

Daisychain · Daisychain 329 – DØN

Favorite Quote:

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Advice for the DJs, producers and artists of our community:
Don’t just focus on music. Please. Live. Your. Life. Go for a hike, skateboard, bake some cookies, practice shibari (consensually), it doesn’t matter. The fastest way to burn out on producing and DJing is to solely focus on just that. In addition, inspiration comes from so many different places outside of just listening to other people’s music, or even your own. Don’t be afraid to be different, we’ve all heard enough “edits” to keep us satisfied going into the summer.

Also, please remember that community is everything. The whole “self-made” this, that, and whatever, is just not true. You need people and chances are those people probably need you too. Please don’t lose sight of that when trying to achieve your goals, especially at a time when it’s increasingly apparent that the governments/institutions we “trust” make it clear they don’t care (or probably know anything) about any letter or number in LGBTQQIP2SAA. Stay safe, drink water and Free Palestine, Congo, Sudan and all other colonized/exploited nations.

About the mix:
Transitions can be hard. I recently uprooted my life in one city, to move to another. As a result, I’ve been working through a lot of depression, anxiety and frustration, acclimating myself to this new environment.

In this time, I’ve been listening to a lot of music, in particular a lot of the tracks in this mix. That said, I feel like this mix encompasses a lot of what I have been feeling in this stretch of time, both consciously and unconsciously. Music, no matter how harsh and/or aggressive, can be therapeutic and help redirect a lot of potentially destructive energy into something positive like dancing, or even productive (like work *eyeroll*). Hope this mix finds you well and it makes your day and/or life better!

With this mix DØN asks for you to please learn more about and consider donating to:

❁ Black Queer & Intersectional Collective – BQIC (Ohio)