Name: Zack Decker

Hometown: Charlottesville, VA

Current city / place of residence: Just moved back to Charlottesville from Richmond!

Home away from home: tough question. I got to live in Scotland for a little bit last year with some family friends, and felt really at home there. I would probably be there right now if it wasn’t for COVID.

Favorite venue/club: My favorite venue would have to be First Avenue in Minneapolis. Favorite club is a pretty tough one to answer, but when Mister Sunday (a daytime party thrown by Mister Saturday Night in NYC) was at Gowanus Grove in Brooklyn, I don’t think there was a better vibe on Earth. Their now-permanent home, Nowadays, is a close second, and definitely not to be missed.

Last record purchase: https://youtu.be/BDH44SvdL2Y Justin Cudmore – “Forget It.” Paid too much for it on Discogs, but I’ve been listening to it like crazy and I had to have it! All of his records are serious heat.

Tell me about the mix: It’s a collection of tunes i had been consuming a few days before i was able to sit down for a few hours and record it. I had noticed that there were a few sets of tracks that I thought would sound good together so I just went from there. Most of them are new releases, and then I pulled from a couple older ones to get it all together. I think there are definitely parts of the mix that are sort of commentary to the state of our country right now; which I think is always on our minds these days, consciously or unconsciously.

Most of the music I am listening to and buying are dancefloor records, so it was nice to include a lot of things that I usually wouldn’t play “out”. Coincidentally, it does include artists and labels that I absolutely adore. I’ve been obsessed with all of the new Griselda output. The new Photay record is just mind blowing. Labels like Whities (now rebranded as AD 93) and Naive have been so incredibly prolific. The joint compilation from Physical Therapy and Discwoman on Bandcamp that came out a couple weeks ago has been on repeat. I am also a Jessy Lanza super fan, Hyperdub is one of those labels that I can pretty much assume I will probably love almost every release.

How have you been keeping busy during the pandemic? I’m immunocompromised, so I’ve been doing a lot of keeping to myself. I have a few friends that I try to see once a week just to stay sane, but otherwise just laying low. Cooking a lot, spent a lot of time outside before this insane summer heat, and just trying to limit screen time! I am obsessed with crosswords. Music-wise, I redownloaded Ableton after a couple years without it, and have been putting “reps” in for about an hour each day just to get my chops back. I have been doing a ton of record shopping on Discogs. I also play a lot of guitar. I’ve really been enjoying all of the streaming content from clubs, artists and promoters…if you know, you know!