Introduce yourself? Pronouns? Where do you currently reside?
Baby Leo (he/him) residing in Bedstuy, Brooklyn. Soon I’ll be relocating to San Francisco, where I grew up.
Describe your walk around where you live?
Consistently stunningly beautiful. I spend the majority of my time in Bedstuy and am always so grateful to be here. Big trees, beautiful buildings, many friends.
Favorite DJ mixing trick?
Playing a great song, letting it finish and then playing a different great song. No blend.
How do you make a mix? Any key tips?
I have three decks at home and record on a little zoom thingy. I may have to do it a few times because I don’t do any post-editing and the first attempt is usually clipping pretty hard despite my best efforts. To prepare, I get fairly stoned and just mix for a while and go back in my rekordbox history and pull the good parts into a playlist.
What smell would you pick to represent the way you DJ?
Thai Fish Sauce. Pungent, a bit off putting, but exceeding expectations in terms of flavor and feeling.
NDE soundtrack?
Best moment of your life so far?
Quitting my job 3 years ago. It stands out as one of the most instantly cathartic feelings I have ever experienced. My life has also just gotten better all the time since then.
What is the theme song of your mind on ashwagandha?
I don’t think I have ever eaten ashwagandha and if I have, it didn’t do much. I’ll go with Love Inc – Life’s a gas.
Earliest musical childhood memory?
At home, in school, and in my personal life music was omnipresent. First music purchase was at age 5, MC Hammer – Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em on cassette. I used to dress like MC Hammer and try to do his dances. I remember dubbing a cassette of The Chronic when it came out. My neighbors were older and had a copy. I was 6 and my brother was 8 and we would hide it from my parents under the mattress. The first concert I attended was Cypress Hill and The Pharcyde at the Fillmore in SF for my 8th birthday. Later that year I saw Geroge Clinton and the P Funk Allstars. Both concerts are very vivid for me.
Write a haiku about Dripping…
spirit communion
endless possibilities
gonna fuck you up
Muy qKrk oat butter laqee red mango
What da fuq is this?
Let’s play a pi pi pi game… I give you a situation & you give me a track…
Wormhole but instead its a snail-hole
SPCA rave
Liquid room, liquid you
Describe the most dream you had in detail…
I almost never dream, but last week had a pretty strange and memorable one. I was involved with some pretty sketchy drug users who were into eating ancient dead people’s big toes. The high was extremely addictive and terrible, but once it started there was basically no way out. The toe that was presented to me was very gray and moldy and flaking apart except the toenail was still pretty solid. I woke up before eating it.
What is your favorite party/collective where you reside and why?
Groovy Groovy. 100%. As a dancer or DJ, you get complete rave catharsis every time, with a courageous, loving and boundless DIY energy guiding the ship. The attendees are open and adventurous listeners. Everything – sound, lights, artwork, curation is life affirming. It makes me want to live this life fully. I played it twice last year which were the two most gratifying DJ sets of my life.
If you could transfer all your knowledge from what you do now into something completely different, what would it be and why?
When I find out, I will just do it. I have made many life changes before and plan to keep transforming. I don’t know what comes next for me, but I know it’s coming and it will certainly be different. I am excited about kitesurfing and eventually hang gliding, but it certainly won’t require a transfer of any knowledge.
Where do you see yourself musically in 2069?
Hopefully somewhere that doesn’t currently exist. Probably mostly deaf. Perhaps just enjoying the feeling of sonic vibration.
What is your most recent favorite DJ mix and why?
The Large w/ 100 % Dancehall Cover Versions
I’ve been a long time fan of dancehall cover versions. The large rules.
Track that makes you think about melting..
Any advice to anyone who would want to throw a festival?
Start as soon as possible. Meet all the neighbors face to face. Don’t surprise anyone who is not attending. Curate a musical experience that is unique and unrepentantly sick. Focus on building community.
Favorite plant and why?
Wow. So many. I actually studied botany and am a licensed Landscape Architect. I have spent a lot of time thinking about pants and there is certainly no favorite. A few non-consumables that I admire:
Gunnera manicata – Massive foliage with a pretty savage pre-historic look. Also called “dinosaur food”. The scale and texture of the leaves is undeniably sick. I don’t know this man in the photo, but you get it.
Fatsia japonica – I first saw this plant in a botanical garden in japan and was really attracted to the large cool leaf shape and fractal pompom flowers. I plan to use it on a project in California I am working on.
Cotinus coggygria aka “Smokebush” or “Smoke Tree” – The foliage and flowers have this super deep pinky purple color and beautiful greens, oranges, and yellows in the fall. It’s a pretty common garden plant but always a dramatic feature that really does look like clouds of purple smoke. There is a big one planted in a tree pit near my house that is flopping over into the street and always makes me really excited.
What would you like to see in the future for the dance community?
My vision for this community is articulated and realized through Dripping. You will have to come and find out. Dripping is June 30-July 2 2023. Dripping.fyi