Playlist Highlights: housey house

In honor of the 4th D.R.O.P. birthday celebration this week, I’m sharing my housey house playlist which has been lovingly filled with some of my favorite house tracks to help me get in the right space for this magical party. 

I discovered the D.R.O.P. 4 years ago thanks to a dear friend with excellent taste in music. After my first D.R.O.P., I was hooked. It’s hard to explain but they have truly created something uniquely magical in their spaces. According to their website, they “believe the key to creating unforgettable dance floor experiences is a sense of community, freedom and respect amongst partygoers” and they’ve successfully built a community that is aligned with this vision and the result is pure magic. The people that come to the D.R.O.P. are a special breed who understand that in life and on the dance floor we are all equal. 

I could easily write about each song in this playlist (house music is life) but I’ll spare you the novel and highlight my favorites.  

The first song on this playlist to recognize the magic that is created in the sacred halls of the D.R.O.P. is Something About This by D.R.O.P family member, Tete de la Course. It’s a little disco house trip with a nice piano riff opening the song and a sexy sax explosion that comes in at 4:10 but it’s the lyrics at the beginning that do an excellent job capturing the sentiment and magic of house music. 

Let me tell you something about house music 
It’s not just a groove
House is a feeling
And when you feel it
You will understand
That house music is freedom
Freedom to be who you want to be
It doesn’t matter who you are
It doesn’t matter where you come from
For in my house we are all free

Another Tete de la Course song with highlighting is True Devotion. I’m a sucker for a good piano riff and the piano solo that begins at 1:03 is a triumph that makes my body explode into movement. 

I’ll never forget discovering Do you feel Like I do by Another Chemical Love Story at the D.R.O.P. I desperately whipped out my shazam to find the name of the track with no luck. When I stumbled upon the song months later on Spotify, I could barely contain my delight and stuck it on repeat for two straight days. 

Ask Me by Duck Sauce, A-Trak, and Amrand Van Helden is a soulful house tune that’s guaranteed to get your body moving but the vocals give it a nice sultry spin.

Finally, one of my favorite recent discoveries is Fiesta Magica by Tensnake. The cowbell makes it FUN but once again it’s the lyrics that drive the song home for me. 

Cierra tus ojos 
Abre tu mente
Somo uno con la música
Y con el espacio

"Let Go" - Justin Jay & Friends Ft. Josh Taylor

2018 was a rough but transformational year full of many lessons, with letting go being chief among them. I was forced to let go of numerous ideas for myself, people, places, and things this year. While it was down-right terrifying and still remains uncomfortable, I’ve truly learned that in order to attract new things in your life, you need to let go of what you no longer serves you.

I discovered this song in April of 2018 but didn’t pay much attention to the lyrics and lesson until I rediscovered it on my Spotify Top Songs of 2018 playlist this December. The simple lyrics are remarkably powerful:

You gotta, let go, let go
Let go, or be dragged
And just, move on, move on
There's no need for looking back

[Bridge]
Holding on will hold you back
Holding on will hold you back

It’s funny how the lyrics have a much stronger resonance now that I’m on the other side of the lesson. I could have used this knowledge earlier in the year but I guess I wasn’t ready to learn until I was.

While the lyrics are simple and yet powerful, I find the drawn-out instrumental introduction to hold a lot of magic. The addition of each new instrument is absolute perfection. The young DJ/producer, Justin Jay, certainly knows how to make a groovy, and simultaneously wise track.

Let Go, a song by Justin Jay, Benny Bridges, Josh Taylor on Spotify

2018 fue un año bastante duro y llenísima de lecciones, con la más importante siendo la importancia de renunciar lo que no te sirve. Este año tuve que aprender a renunciar unas ideas, personas, lugares, y cosas que llevaba conmigo por mucho tiempo. Aunque me dio mucho miedo y todavía estoy incómoda, aprendí que tienes que dejar lo que no te sirve para atraer cosas nuevas.

Descubrí esta canción en Abril de 2018 pero no pensaba en la letra hasta que la descubrí de nuevo en mi playlist de Spotify de mis canciones favoritas del año. La letra es sencilla pero súper poderosa.

Aferrarte te detendrá
Aferrarte te detendrá

Es curioso como la letra tiene más resonancia ahora que he aprendido esta gran lección. Podría haber usado este conocimiento más temprano en el año pero creo que no estaba lista de aprenderlo.

La letra es sencilla y poderosa pero creo que el principio de la canción tiene una magia. La incorporación de cada instrumento es perfección total.