“Instead of smashing all the hits in, you actually get an opportunity to play songs you rarely get to play, that can more often than not turn into the special moments of the night.”
A four-and-a-half hour (Extended Mix) from Edmonton, Canada based Dane Macdonald, DJ producer and Common Edit captain. Built to resemble an all-night set, his mix traverses ambient (reserved for “a couple of besties and the hardworking staff”), through boogie, into deeper introspection and wide-eyed euphoria. Convivial and ruminative in equal measure, from one of the nicest in the game.
(Extended Mix) is a new charitable series that celebrates all-night specialists and more simple, carbon-friendly lineups. Instead of paying on the door for this extended experience, we invite listeners to donate to the DJ directly while their gigs are cancelled, or to a chosen charity. For this one Dane has opted for Unist’ot’en, protectors of indigenous Canadian communities and environment.
We now premiere all our mixes a week early on Mixcloud Select. Subscribe to our channel to listen first, download all mixes, and ensure that the artists included in each one gets paid. Read more about our decision here.
First off, how have you been finding lockdown? What has been the biggest challenge and more positive outcome you’ve experienced through extended time at home?
Hi, hello! I’ve been finding it to be much needed, really. It would be nice to go out and grab a meal or see some friends but it’s been a lovely time for me. I’ve been writing more music than ever before, repositioning my heart and mind since a big move back to Canada and really just learning more about myself. I’ve been lucky enough to share it with my beloveds, so it’s just been wholesome and an extra creative period of time for me. I’ve been taking lots of photos with a camera that I purchased over the winter and I’ve really gotten into pencil crayons.
Thanks for recording an extended mix for us. How did you find the recording process?
Super fun! I found it nice and easy to include all of the music I wanted to, plus having the time to stretch out makes for a relaxed journey.
How did you approach the mix? Did you have an idea in mind beforehand? Was there much pre-planning or did you just trust your instincts?
I did have something in mind; I wanted to mimic what I would be doing if I were playing all night long and, after everything that’s been happening, take into consideration my new state of mind. As it goes, during the beginning of a party nobody is even really there! Ha. It’s typically just you, a couple of besties and the hardworking staff of the venue. That being said, I like to start off with some ambient music to have a meditative moment, a calm before all the excitement. I try to create a couple of spiritual moments, time for reflection and thought while steadily moving forward to celebrate life and love with a dance. To me it’s all about trying to connect, creating this wonderful evening or day of togetherness. The music is our common ground to relate and connect everyone to one another, allowing it all to take place. It should be special and meaningful. It’s time to take better care of our physical and mental states at events, giving purpose and intention to each night out.
Could you talk us through a couple standouts from set?
The first tune is a big one for me, it’s something else. The Mole did it with Dauwd, but it’s never been released or heard before and I think it’s gorgeous. There’s some forthcoming Khotin music on here as well that I’m really excited to see hit the shelves. For most of the dance tunes, I really just tried to pick music that was special to me – kind of the idea in an all night scenario. Instead of smashing all the hits in, you actually get an opportunity to play songs you rarely get to play, that can more often than not turn into the special moments of the night. I actually put something in that I wrote recently as well, which is something I’ve never done before. Fun, fun, fun.
Where’s been your favourite place to play an all-night set, and why?
Honestly, at home (or close to it!) is my favourite. I played one in Vancouver last fall and being in familiar territory, with all your friends makes for a special evening. Playing all night, you’re in it for the long haul, so it’s lovely to be surrounded by humans that you love and have fun with. That’s really what it’s all about.
Who are some of your favourite all-night specialists, and why?
Sadar Bahar I love; him and Lee Collins played an all nighter at Ohm in Berlin a couple of years ago for an Altered Soul Experiment party, which I was lucky enough to be in attendance for. The room was full of unrelenting positive energy, tune after tune, it was a blast. Smiles all around. They just knew what they were doing. I’m a big fan of hearing Volcov, Lovefingers and Powder having the opportunity to go for it as well. They all have the ability to take you to places you wouldn’t have expected to find yourself in.
By celebrating DJs with a penchant for all-night sets, the (Extended Mix) series hopes to encourage a more stripped back, carbon-friendly approach to lineup curation. Reducing our footprint as a globalised underground community is a massive challenge as we try to rebuild the scene after Covid-19 lockdown, and we hope progression can be forged through sharing our challenges and experiences. Are there any thoughts you’d like to add to the discussion?
I think everything going on in the world, despite the discomfort of it, will have a positive impact on life going forward. It’s going to be a while before travelling comes back into play, and I’ve found that in most cities, events of more recent years have had to have some sort of known headliner or out-of-town guest to get folks excited and through the doors. That being said, I hope and believe it’s going to have a very neat impact on promoting more local acts and taking some of the appeal out of international guests. It’s far more sustainable for the environment, world and local scenes to focus on celebrating with your friends and exploring what treasures there are to offer in your own city. It’s quite exciting, really, and it will give more opportunities to cultivate our local arts communities and connect with one another.
Tell us a bit more about your chosen charity – what work do they do and why is it so important to you?
As a settler in Canada, I feel it is important to recognize the Indigenous community here and support them in any way we are able to. I’ve chosen the Unist’ot’en community in particular for this project. They have always been excellent protectors of the land that we reside on; emphasizing that healing the earth will lead to the beginning of healing the relationship between the Indigenous community and the settlers on this land.
I understand that this might not hit home for those who are not living in Canada, but the preservation of the environment is a global conversation. We are all in this together. So, please donate if you are able!
We now premiere all our mixes a week early on Mixcloud Select. Subscribe to our channel to listen first, download all mixes, and ensure that the artists included in each one gets paid. Read more about our decision here.
