Tag: Graduate School

Drum n Bass · Mixes

Guess Who?

KikiLeave a comment

Hi! I’m alive. I graduated! 🥳🥳🥳
It was definitely touch and go there for a minute. That last month was brutal, but I’m officially a member of the 2 masters club.

I missed my blog anniversary.

I was having a conversation with my students the other day about how weird it is to have a digital log of your life for extended periods of time. I started blogging in 2001. My first blog makes me cringe! I wrote in it every day and it was verbal diarrhea of an early 20s raver who was obsessed with jungle and couldn’t shut up. It’s still floating around in the internet ether. 😂 I am going to delete it, I am just downloading each entry first and making a mini book.

As cringy as it is, it’s still kinda cool to have my musings from back then. That’s why I don’t delete this one. In 2008, I was over my nonstop blabbing in my first blog, so I decided to start a new one. I vowed to only speak about dnb and keep the oversharing word vomit to a minimum. No more page long entries. Just a few sentences here and there and some good tunes. I have pretty much stuck to that. After my dad passed, I wanted to discuss grief and allowed myself to write a few longer posts.

For years, each blog anniversary arrived and I contemplated deleting. And then some lovely soul sends me a nice message about how much they appreciate my blog. 🥰🥰🥰

Anyway, I’m still here. I still listening to loads of dnb and I’m still rubbish at posting.

Current playlist:
I love listening to Sam Bank’s Bankbeats. He never disappoints. It’s always a great showcase of old and new. 💕

Tracklist
Drone, Nah Eeto – Ski Mask
Deft, Hyroglifics – Two For Two
Zero T, Minor Forms – Second Guess
Break, Fox – Code Red
Break – Bury A Sound
Covert Garden – Say Anything
Calibre – Thrubbin
DuoScience – Perennial
TZ, Tatora – Circles
Cybin – Back to the Streets
Armando, Roy Green & Protone – Borrowed Chords
Break – Don’t You Ever Stop
Calibre – I Don’t Care Wot U Say
Doktor, Sudley, Qyor – Love
Kind Fiction – Elmswood
Break, Liam Bailey – Gotta Believe
Bop, Diagram, Abstract Elements – Stickjaw
Break, sp:mc – Box Clever
Cybin – Rotate
Calibre – I Can’t Change You
Calibre – Breather
Roygreen, Protone – Wiggle
Zero T – On The Mic
Calibre – Chantilly
Minor Forms, Kublai – Lift Music
Sp:mc – Flow State
Tone Walsh – About Time
Friction, A Little Sound – Weed & Wine
Archangel – Call To Prayer
Decon – Silly Billy
Lynx, Jamm:n – Drone 5
Cybin – Dollars
Saikon – Something New
Tatora – Booty Call
DJ Marky, Solah – Poetry
Unknown Artist – Take Me As I Am (bootleg)
Archangel – Ipanema
Tatora – It’s Over
Tatora – Oko Łąkę
Bop, Diagram, Abstract Elements – 667
Kind Fiction – Your Descent
Trail, Visages – Misty Blue
Archangel – Heartstrings
Faction – Souls Held Close
MC Fats, L-Side – High Times (Break rmx)
Monika, Askel, Critical Event – U & Me
Nu:Tone – Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop
Random Movement – The Student
Tokyo Prose – Everybody’s Fool
Uncreate – You Can’t
Visages, Laville – About You (Alix Perez rex)
Waeys – Mist
Impish – Changing Colors
Halogenix – Don’t You Know
Gerra & Stone – Sprung
Esc & Askel – Time
Echo Brown – Deep Thinker
Bou – Cat Women
Benny Page – Turn Down The Lights
Big Bud – Rice N Beans
Bachelors of Science – Song For Lovers (Lynx Rmx)
Monika, Askel, Critical Event – Heaven
Sci-Clone – Time for a Change

Drum n Bass · Tracks

4am Bizness Kiki

KikiLeave a comment

Thesis, thesis, thesis. It’s due this week, so I’ll stop talking about it in 6 days. 😂

Zero T, Onj and Aaliyah Esprit are my only solace at 4am. I’ve had this on repeat for a couple of months now. I can’t get enough of Aaliyah Esprit’s voice. 🥰

Drum n Bass · Mixes

Kiki’s Drafts

KikiLeave a comment

Someone upstairs must know that I’ve got loads of drafts and rewrites in my future, cuz the barrage of nonstop mixes is the only thing keep me afloat. I can zone out and write as long as I have dnb to keep me company.

I still have my list of tracks I’m digging to share. No time to write a long post tho.

Listen to some Alix with me instead.

Halogenix – Let Me Explain

Trail – Lucid

Halogenix – No More

Trail & Visages – Untitled

Visages & Monty – Ace Of Spades

Brent Faiyaz – Loose Change (Alix Perez Bootleg)

Alix Perez – Untitled Dub

Visages – Yalda VIP

Trail – NJS

Venna – Avenue B (Halogenix Edit)

Azifm – Say Enough (feat. Tusekah)

Drum n Bass · Events · Shows

Locus & Kiki

KikiLeave a comment

Hi hi hi hi hi! I’ve been trying to update for a month. I hate it when people make being busy their personality trait, but for realz I’ve been swamped!

This is my last semester of this second masters. I’ll be done in May. Even though it’s been running me ragged, I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve learned so much and the program really has been wonderful. Great instructors and excellent guidance throughout. I’m working on my thesis and final instructional product. I complain about this often, but I really would love an extra 3 hours in the day. It would make my life so much easier!

A lot happening with my dad’s estate… still. That’s all I’ll say for now. There are so many good tunes to discuss, I don’t want to make this post too depressing.💕

The best news to report – I’m going to Tulum for the Locus event!! I can’t remember if I posted about it before or not.

A little backstory. I’ve been trying to go to Sun and Bass forever, and I do mean forever. I met Stefano back in like 2006 or so when he was in Illinois for a work training. He was stuck out in the middle of nowhere, so A-Sides hit me up and was like – Yo rescue him! LOL. Me and Stunna showed him a good time over that weekend and he was like “Come to this event I do in Sardinia!” and I was like “I’m coming!!!” — I never went. 😂

Stunna went though, and like everyone who goes, talked about how amazing it is and how I have to go. I’ve enviously streamed the mixes and scrolled through everyone’s pics every year. As much of a dnb fan as I am, I just can’t drop that much money on a dnb holiday. From this side of the pond, it’s pretty pricey and I travel enough to know how the dollars start racking up. With flight, accommodations and spending money, it’s just never been feasible for me.

The idea of enjoying my fave music in a beautiful location and having a proper hols at the same time gets more and more enticing as I age. I loved deejaying when I did it, but it honestly was never a huge aspiration of mine. I fell into it, enjoyed it while I did it and kept it moving. Through and through, I’ve always just been a massive fan of the music and just want to listen, dance and feel the bass in my chest.

Anyway, last year Submorphics told me about some event they were doing in Tulum. He was playing. It sounded like fun, but was too short notice for me to sort myself out. I’ve been to Tulum before and really loved it. So I promised myself, if they did it again the next year, I would most def go.

I made this plan for myself. It wasn’t a secret or anything, I just didn’t advertise it since I didn’t care if anyone I knew was going or not. It’s a graduation present from me to me. Then everything started to unfold serendipitously. My friend Alley Cat is playing. My old dnb homies from Chicago, Dan and Lisa, are going. A bunch of other people I know are going too. I’m excited!

It’s going to be an enjoyable event. I am so burnt out from work and school. The break can’t come soon enough!

This post is entirely too long. I’ll write a couple more.

Drum n Bass · Mixes

Hols Kiki 🦃

KikiLeave a comment

Yikes! Everything is coming up so quickly!

Finally got a much needed reprieve from all the grad school work. Going to my bro’s in New Jersey for Thanksgiving.

Looking forward to just stuffing my face and spending time with the fam.

Have a great Thanksgiving! 🍗🍗🍗

This Artificial Intelligence mix is so good.

Drum n Bass · Mixes · Tracks

Thesis & Kiki

KikiLeave a comment

Dang! This semester is kicking my behind.

I’m hanging in there…. barely. Very much looking forward to Thanksgiving so I can have a break.

Received some bad news about my father’s estate. Can’t believe we’re coming up on 2 years and this person is still causing all this trouble. I can’t even imagine what it will be like when I get to grieve my dad properly.

I am happy I am going to Sierra Leone for Christmas. I know we say our loved ones are always with us, and I do believe he is, to some extent. I just feel like his energy will be stronger in his resting place. That’s his home. I have a hard time with him not being buried in a place I can go visit regularly.

It’s crazy that there’s only 6 more until the end of the year. 😐

Lenzman and Submorphics played this Calibre on the most recent Echobox Radio show and I forgot how much I love this tune. Gonna have to put it in rotation for a bit. 🥰

Currently listening to some Redeyes and reading research articles.

Toodles for now.

Drum n Bass · Tracks

Welp Kiki

KikiLeave a comment

It only took 4 semesters, but I’m finally overwhelmed. Same old story — too much to do; not enough time. It probably has to do with the fact that I had to start writing my thesis this semester. 😭

Anyway, Doing homework and listening to some tunes.

Drum n Bass · Mixes

Fall into Kiki

KikiLeave a comment

Boo. Summer is over. Fall semester starts tomorrow. Not having a proper summer holiday made these past 3 months just speed by!

Fall is my favourite season. I didn’t get a summer holiday, but I do have 2 weddings coming up. I will be travelling for them and they are the weddings of 2 of my favourite people, so that should be fun.

Listening to this Disrupta mix from a couple of months ago and trying to get myself organized for the new semester.

Toodles.

Drum n Bass · Tracks

100m-Dash Kiki

Kiki2 Comments

I’m 45 and still constantly surprised by how fast time flies. You would think I’d be used to it by now.

August starts on Monday. My dad’s birthday is on the 8th. It’s already been a year and 8 months since he passed. I think about him daily. There are still so many annoyances affecting the closure of his estate, which sucks, but I’ve unlocked a new level of processing those feelings with the help of therapy, so that’s good. Having him buried in another country is difficult for me. I would like to be able to visit him whenever I want, so I’m very much looking forward to going to Sierra Leone this December and getting to do that.

This summer has just been busy. Loads of work ish and summer semester of grad school. I’m finishing up my 3rd semester of a 5 semester program. I’m enjoying it. It’s definitely a different experience when it’s your 2nd master’s.

So much good dnb this summer! 🥰🥰🥰 Here’s some tunes I’ve been loving:

Submorphics. He’s not only my friend, but I’m also a massive fan. We’ve been friends for about 18 years now and I still listen to his tunes on the regular.

More North Quarter selections. What can I say, their catalogue is just my vibe. 😊 Love this FD EP.

I’ve also been listening to a lot of Tyrone. I’m late to the Tyrone party. Totally wasn’t familiar with him. His tunes just always show up in my Spotify daily mix. I stan. Good stuff. 😍

Drum n Bass · Mixes · Tracks

Now & Forever Kiki

KikiLeave a comment

Summer is just speeding on. I saw Lenzman a couple of weeks ago and it was so so dope. I love being able to go out and see dnb again. I had such a good time.

I was listening to Calibre’s remix of Klute’s Now, Always, Forever on the walk home from the bar, and man, that Calibre era had such a chokehold on me. Such a great remix.

My school moved, so I’ve been busy with that. Still kicking it. Still missing my dad. Still slaving over grad school homework. Still listening to a ridiculous amount of dnb. 😊

Hope you all are well.

I really enjoyed this month’s BankBeats. 🥰

Enjoy!

Total Science – Squash (Break Rmx)
Command Stranbe – Krusty Fingers
FD – Double Dribble
Halftone – Camouflage
Lens – Feels Like
nCamargo – Cherished
Pandora – Let Me See
High Contrast – Passon (BOP Rmx)
DuoScience – Dawns
Phaction, Stormae – What you Need
Mountain, Kojo – I’m Free (Hugh Hardie Rmx)
Mino Forms – Late Funk
Shodan – Infused
MELONYX – Energy (Zero T Rmx)
Motiv – Jupiter
FD – Sails
Berth, Hiraeth – Loved and Lost
Duoscience – Lucidity
Random Movement – Get the Funk Otta This Room
Phaction – Revelation Sequence
Bungle – Segment
Bredren – Grim Reaper
Dave Owen, Terraform – Sweet Love
High Contrast – Return of Forever (Camo and Crooked Rmx)
Syncline – The Big Easy
Random Movement – Still Aint Changed (Ben Soundscape Rmx)
Centrik – Beloved (Phaction Rmx)
Halftone – Maneuvers
Bungle- Tunnels
Command Strange, Cnof – Blossom
Dash – Dopamine Drums
In:Most – Domino Effect
NC:17 – Out of Sight
High Contrast – Make It Tonight (VIP)
Dave Owen, Terraform – Nautlilus
Monument Banks – An Evening With
Motiv – Out of Air
Fishy, Viewer – Around the Globe
Viewer – How It Feels
Tatora – PR8LMZ
High Contrast – Expose (AI Rmx)
Rizzle – Run To You
Pyxis, Melinki, Oktae – Your Sunshine
TZ – Native
Viewer – Thank You
TZ, Edlan – Blue Water
Dave Owen, Terraform – CrossRhodes
High Contrast – Music is Everything (Pola & Bryson Rmx)
Audioholic – Bottlerockets
Acen – Trip to the Moon (Danny Byrd Rmx)
hyroglifics – Bay City Ballers
Ivy Lab – 20 Questions
Marcus Intalex – Temperance
Nu:Tone – Beatnik
Satl – Turn Me On (Feat. Command Strange)
Break – Love So True
Hugh Hardie, Silence Groove – City Soul
Machinedrum – Backseat Ho