It goes without saying that 2021 is a particularly poignant year to count what we should be thankful for. Actually, maybe it does need to be spoken because being vocal about what you're grateful for is necessary. And after the dumpster fire of 2020, counting our blessings in 2021 should be required of everyone.

Dance music's return to festivals and clubs in many parts of the world was welcomed with open arms and shuffling feet. And the epic festival season that unfolded in the last half of the year was unlike any other. The house and techno community has much to be thankful for.

While we don't need a holiday to remind us to be grateful, it doesn't hurt to have the reminder. We asked a few Gray Area friends and family to share what they are most thankful for in 2021. As you read ahead, take a moment to reflect on the friends, family, events, tracks, and experiences that made 2021 an incredible year for you. We're thankful for the dance music community and you.

Will Clarke

"This year is a particularly meaningful time to reflect and be thankful. I'm both thankful for all of the time I have been able to spend back home in England and I'm also incredibly grateful to be back on the road doing what I love again."

Follow WIll Clarke on Spotify | Instagram 








Tara Brooks

"I'm grateful for the ocean & that I fully committed myself to surfing. Im grateful for everyone's who's believed in and supported me, even when things have felt empty and disconnected. Im grateful for my passion & drive to never give up. Im grateful for my friends, fam, music evolutions, & all of YOU!"

Follow Tara Brooks on Spotify | Instagram


Life On Planets

"I'm grateful for the team in 2021. It takes a village! I wanna say a big big thank you to my manager Jon McDonald for believing in me. His faith in my music lead to some AMAZING opportunities in 2021 including collaborating with Lubelski & Claude VonStroke, playing the Dirtybird main stage, becoming a Twitch partner, getting a ton of music signed to some very dope labels and so much more. 2022 is gonna be a movie. Much love to my teams at 2+2 Management and Liaison. Also a big shout to Moody Jones for taking our collabs sky high!" 

Follow Life On Planets on Spotify | Instagram




Jeremy Olander

"I'm grateful for being back on the road again, particularly being back in NYC, but also for the time I got to spend in the studio and with my family and friends. Living a 'regular' life has definitely had it's upsides but I'm more than ready to get back to business."

Follow Jeremy Olander on Spotify | Instagram








QRTR


"I'm grateful to be able to spend time with all the people I love again, dancing in clubs, grabbing drinks at our favorite dive bars, catching a movie at the theater. I've never been so grateful for the little things as I am now, and I'm looking forward to never taking anything for granted again!"

Follow QRTR on Instagram | Spotify







Dillon Nathaniel

"I’m thankful for my health and my family first and foremost. I am so happy that we have survived such a crazy time and we all get to spend the holidays together again!

“The second thing I am most thankful for is to be able to play shows again. Electronic music has stood it’s ground and we are back stronger than ever. I am so thankful I can hug my fans after my set and be able to continue my journey with music.”

Follow Dillon Nathaniel on Spotify | Instagram








Justin Jay

"Got so much to be thankful for this year. It's surreal to experience live music again. I love how music can bring people together and lift people's spirits even when times are tough. It's been surreal to experience that once again from both the stage and the dance floor. I teared up pretty intensely at my first DJ setback since COVID and have attended so many amazing shows as a fan since. 

"Enjoying live music in person has been such a big part of my life, and I'm insanely grateful to have it back. I'm also grateful to have discovered a newfound balance in my life between touring and staying at home. Leading up to COVID, I was on the cusp of being burnt out from non-stop traveling. It's quite hard to turn down gigs when they're so much fun. However, achieving a healthier balance that enables me to be productive in the studio, stay connected with friends & family and treat my body well has been a game-changer. 

"Above all, the thing I'm the most grateful for is all of the amazing people who are in my life. The isolation of COVID definitely put things into perspective for me about how important it is to not be alone. Real relationships take time and effort to cultivate and maintain, which is something I've been trying to improve on. Very very grateful to be surrounded by truly incredible friends, family, coworkers, fans, and humans. Feeling so much gratitude and hoping for all the PLUR going into the new year! <3"


Follow Justin Jay on Instagram | Spotify

We Asked These Artists What They Were Thankful For in 2021

United States

Tara Brooks

Daylight Sessions 06 w/ Morgan Page, Tara Brooks, Idriss D, Ky William b2b Jeff Sorkowitz

Tara Brooks is a trailblazer of sound and scene. Her desire for growth and evolution keeps her sound on the cutting edge, always favoring the challenge and freedom of new untapped sounds over the safe bet of the latest generic trends. Her tireless drive and resiliency have transformed her into an influential female artist in a male-dominated industry. Anyone who's had the distinct pleasure of attending one of Tara's live sets can attest to what she describes as "A collaboration with the energy in the room." She proudly allows her emotion and crowd connection to effortlessly ferry her eclectic sets from hypnotic, ethereal techno to deep, dark disco, and everywhere in between.
 

For Tara, this innate connection to music started in her earliest days.
 

"It kind of runs in our blood. My mom and my dad were both very musical. My mom sings, plays piano, my dad plays guitar… My sister and I grew up singing. My mom is from New York, so she was always going to Broadway shows and musicals. Stuff that I'm maybe not so much into today, but she used to have Beatles records, there was always some sort of record playing in the background."

Mikey Lion

Mikey Lion is a conduit of bright white light, a vibe conductor of the highest order, and a champion of positive energy and dusty funky beats. Positioned at the center of the West Coast house movement, he’s one of the founding members of the Desert Hearts crew. Alongside his brother Porkchop, childhood friend Marbs, Lee Reynolds, and Kristoff McKay, he’s created a loving community of wide-eyed dancers that believe house, techno, and love can change the world.

He embarked on his sonic journey at the age of 13. Young Mikey was a massive hip-hop head. When his parents offered to buy him any musical instrument, the DJ culture-obsessed teenager chose Technic 1200s. Undeterred by the fact that his parents didn’t think turntables were an instrument, he bought his own six months later. Mikey immersed himself in the world of turntablism and eventually proved to his parents that his decks were just as impactful and beautiful as any woodwind, piano, or stringed instrument.

“They saw how much I was obsessed with it and they saw how it could be a musical instrument. They ended up paying me back and just been my number one supporters ever since. My dad drove up to San Louis Obispo where I was going to college and surprised me for my first official gig at a bar. They were there the first time that I played Lightning In A Bottle. Now my mom does our accounting for Desert Hearts.”

When he was 17, he went to his first Coachella. His first festival was a life-changing day not just for him but for dance music culture. Coachella 2006 was a flashpoint. 

“I didn't have any idea what I was getting into," he remembers. "And the very first time that I took my very first ecstasy, which also happened to be the very first time I ever heard dance music at the debut of the Daft Punk pyramid.”

The steadfast hip-hop head was converted. “In that moment,” he explains “I'm just like, ‘Fuck hip hop this is what I want to do with my life from now on.’”

When he co-founded the Desert Hearts crew in 2012 he was several years into his journey in dance music. Attending Lightning In A Bottle and Burning Man inspired him and his crew to create something that could bring people together for the love of house and techno. The first renegade in the Mojave Desert was a near disaster. 200 attendees huddled around a campfire on the dancefloor with no sound until 6 am Saturday. And from then on things locked in. Desert Hearts has now grown to encompass a record label and a global community of thousands.

“It came from this really pure hearted place of just wanting to make the world a better place, wanting to build community wanting to show people, how they can be a part of community, how they can go back and create their own parties, their own communities themselves. And really, I think that that's, that's the stronghold foundation of our of our entire brand.”

Mikey has countless stories of Desert Hearts fam sharing how Desert Hearts has changed lives. “One of my favorite stories is this woman came up to me and Lee at Lightning In A Bottle a couple of years ago, pregnant woman, and she just grabs our hands and puts our hands on her belly. And she goes ‘this baby was conceived at Desert Hearts festival.’ I've heard about Desert Hearts changing lives countless times. But never heard of Desert Hearts, creating life.”

During the pandemic, Desert Hearts strengthened their community in an entirely unexpected way. The crew hopped on the streaming game early, and the nightly Desert Hearts streams welcomed tens of thousands of people. 

“I think the coolest thing about Twitch for us was just how amazing it was that we are able to provide this home for so many people online … It was such an unexplainable way of DJing. There's is a real deep connection that was made when I was playing music every Wednesday, It really was like, [we were] together alone. It was incredible.”

Mikey’s personal journey during the pandemic led him to reconfirm why he does what he does. After having a difficult time coping, he realigned his purpose and his place in the universe.

“I've noticed over the years that when I stray from the more spiritual path, which is trying to help people, trying to show people love, trying to just make the world a better place. When my purpose is misaligned, I think that things don't go nearly as well as they're supposed to. And so when I put out my album … I really wanted to make sure that I was completely realigning myself.”

His 2021 album For the Love is more than just a collection of psychedelic beats and basslines. It’s a declaration of love for the scene and his well-being. 

He recently released, “This Is The Beat,” a continuation of the inner work that he established with his album. Given his newfound focus and intention, writing music has become a more organic process. The song was written on a surfing trip in El Salvador. 

“The hotel that I was staying at had this million dollar studio…I ended up making that track, and basis for another track…It wasn't forced at all. I was going on vacation. And I had access to the studio, so I had some downtime in between the surf being blown out. I couldn't think of a better thing.”

Mikey’s newly aligned direction has been a source of clarity. He feels like he’s in the most comfortable space in his career. 

“I know that when I play music, I have a very positive impact on people. And I've learned how to harness my own energy to push this healing energy out. When I was first figuring this out, it was something that I was always thinking like, ‘Whoa, don't let your ego get too big there, dude.’ But then it was like, oh wait, no this is a real thing that is tangible. And I can see the effect that it's having on people. So, if you just lean into it and harness it, it's working. And oddly enough, once I've started moving myself in that newly aligned space, gigs have been better, parties been better. Everything's just been better. So that's my goal now.”

That home-grown musicality eventually pushed her towards dance music when the LA-native started exploring the West Coast rave scene. Tara soon fell in love with the experimental music, the community, and the judgment-free space for expression found at warehouses, clubs, and events like How Sweet It Is. When Brooks moved to San Diego for school, her exposure to the expansive culture of house and trance grew while working in the nightlife industry. Little by little, Tara's connection with dance music blossomed until she finally began the path from fan to contributor.
 

At that time, Tara connected with her now ex-husband over a mutual love of music.
           

"He actually had a DJ set-up at home, and he had vinyl, just for his passion… I would go with him to the record store, and we would dig for records for hours. I never actually mixed them, I was just playing them for fun, I was just falling in love with them. And I knew nothing. I didn't know all these artists, what was what, all I knew was what I liked and didn't like… It was all about digging through white labels or I liked the cover of this record to find all the sounds that I love… When things were tough, I just said, 'I think I need to start a hobby, I need to figure it out… I was going through confusion and feeling a little hurt and wondering, 'What am I gonna do next?' I just started playing all these records."
 

That dip of the toe into mixing turned into a full plunge when Brooks first mixed two of her favorite records, Mylo's "In My Arms" (Tocadisco remix) and Deep Dish's "Dreams."
 

"It was the first time in a long time I felt just pure joy and happiness," she recalls. "There was no stress or worry, I didn't give a fuck about anything… And that was the first time it actually mixed properly when I didn't really know what I was doing. And that feeling, having that third beautiful mix, that third record created that you might never even see again, that feeling was everything. I just had to keep going and I never wanted to turn back."
 

Tara Brooks - Insomniac After House

#InsomniacTV gets the Tara Brooks treatment. ⛓ Follow us deep underground for a fresh 3-hour installment of #AFTERHOURS. 🌑⚡️ Stay home and dance with #TaraBrooks

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Tara Brooks for After Hours (April 27, 2021)

From her first major gig in 2007, Tara was never one to shy away from navigating new territory sonically and professionally. A self-described weirdo, she relishes the opportunity to take listeners on a novel journey. The endless hours of crate-digging gifted her with a vast array of sounds and themes with which to connect to her audience in nearly limitless ways.
 

"It's one thing to have that sound, you're in this safe zone so people will book you. They always know what they're gonna get… With me I feel like I've gotten to the place where they don't exactly know what they're gonna get but they know it's gonna be me, they can always hear me in it… and I don't know how but somehow it all flows… the journey makes sense… Since I'm so emotional and sensitive I feel like especially when I'm playing live, I go off the crowd. So, they're the ones that really drive the direction I go, I don't really know where I'm going, without them, I'm just gonna' be doing my thing," she smiles.


Brooks' commitment to herself and her evolution is what draws those crowds. Her listeners know they are going to be a part of a uniquely personal experience. A deep-rooted appreciation for all music and the feelings it can convey sits at the core of Tara's willingness to explore. This same determination to blaze new paths fuels her navigation through the heavily male-dominated dance music industry.

Tara has experienced it all, from sound techs mansplaining how a mixer works before a headline set to general disbelief that a woman could land the performances she has. But rather than let the weight of doubt and preconceptions hold her back, she used it as a constant source of motivation. While it can improve further, female representation is currently at an all-time high in dance music, and Brooks forecasts a brighter future for female DJs and producers.
 

"I know when I'm listening to these badass women's production… most of my favorites are women today. They're incredible but they just haven't had that outlet, that opportunity, and they weren't getting the support in this male-dominated industry. When I'm discovering them today it sounds like they've been doing 10, 20 years, but we're not seeing them or hearing them. Now more than ever it's beautiful… that it's all about the music. Our music is quality, it's not a sex thing. It's like dude we have boobs, that doesn't change how the music sounds," she laughs.
 


Through it all, the triumphs, the trials, the lessons, the stories, Tara's humility, and recognition of her roots keep her grounded in gratitude. She recognizes the unique opportunity she now has to convey the same feelings of community, fun, and safe acceptance that she first fell in love with all those years ago. She even holds gratitude for the professional challenges she faces, approaching them as further opportunities for growth. Her embrace of the unknown and commitment to evolution have carried her sound and spirit to infectious heights. So it's impossible to hold back a smile and a nod in cathartic agreement when she spares this advice for new artists (and all humans):  
 

"Keep it real for yourself, play the music you love. Don't just play what everyone else is playing because that's what's popular. Because when you play the stuff you really love, that's where the happiness is. No matter where the money, where the future fame comes, if that's what you're into, at the end of the day what is that all gonna' mean if you're not doing exactly what you really love. It's ok to shift and to complement, and to be open-minded and respectful of your environment. Just keep it real."



Gray Area Spotlight: Tara Brooks

A Tara Brooks mix is not one that you soon forget. She effortlessly glides across genre lines with the same confidence and assuredness that has made her a dominant female force in a male-dominated industry.

Read the full Spotlight: https://grayarea.co/artists/tara-brooks

▪️Follow Tara Brooks▪️
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/peacemaker.music/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/PEACEMAKERtunes
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/peacemakertunes/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/5L0wOxjuK5GaS1T90yNmmg?si=9yAM0b3FRUqL_N_sO3NI2g
Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/peacemakermusicofficial
Beatport - https://www.beatport.com/artist/peace-maker!/632804

Connect with Gray Area:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/entergrayarea/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/enterGrayArea
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/entergrayarea
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@entergrayarea
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3nGJIfQ
Website - https://grayarea.co

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:36 - Growing up with music
3:17 - Intro to dance music
6:51 - Intro to mixing 
10:30 - Live sets
12:25 - Evolving her sound
20:52 - From fan to artist
22:00 - Balance of fun/seriousness
23:34 - Remembering where she started
25:37 - John Digweed/Bedrock Records
32:27 - Women in dance music
37:52 - Social media and the industry
48:02 - Advice for up-and-coming DJs
50:14 - Speed round

#grayarea #tarabrooks #housemusic

Gray Area Interview: Tara Brooks

Tara Brooks is a trailblazer of sound and scene. Her desire for growth and evolution keeps her sound on the cutting edge, always favoring the challenge and freedom of new untapped sounds over the safe bet of the latest generic trends. Her tireless drive and resiliency have transformed her into an influential female artist in a male-dominated industry. Anyone who's had the distinct pleasure of attending one of Tara's live sets can attest to what she describes as "A collaboration with the energy in the room." She proudly allows her emotion and crowd connection to effortlessly ferry her eclectic sets from hypnotic, ethereal techno to deep, dark disco, and everywhere in between.
 

For Tara, this innate connection to music started in her earliest days.
 



"It kind of runs in our blood. My mom and my dad were both very musical. My mom sings, plays piano, my dad plays guitar… My sister and I grew up singing. My mom is from New York, so she was always going to Broadway shows and musicals. Stuff that I'm maybe not so much into today, but she used to have Beatles records, there was always some sort of record playing in the background."







That home-grown musicality eventually pushed her towards dance music when the LA-native started exploring the West Coast rave scene. Tara soon fell in love with the experimental music, the community, and the judgment-free space for expression found at warehouses, clubs, and events like How Sweet It Is. When Brooks moved to San Diego for school, her exposure to the expansive culture of house and trance grew while working in the nightlife industry. Little by little, Tara's connection with dance music blossomed until she finally began the path from fan to contributor.
 

At that time, Tara connected with her now ex-husband over a mutual love of music.
           

"He actually had a DJ set-up at home, and he had vinyl, just for his passion… I would go with him to the record store, and we would dig for records for hours. I never actually mixed them, I was just playing them for fun, I was just falling in love with them. And I knew nothing. I didn't know all these artists, what was what, all I knew was what I liked and didn't like… It was all about digging through white labels or I liked the cover of this record to find all the sounds that I love… When things were tough, I just said, 'I think I need to start a hobby, I need to figure it out… I was going through confusion and feeling a little hurt and wondering, 'What am I gonna do next?' I just started playing all these records."
 

That dip of the toe into mixing turned into a full plunge when Brooks first mixed two of her favorite records, Mylo's "In My Arms" (Tocadisco remix) and Deep Dish's "Dreams."
 

"It was the first time in a long time I felt just pure joy and happiness," she recalls. "There was no stress or worry, I didn't give a fuck about anything… And that was the first time it actually mixed properly when I didn't really know what I was doing. And that feeling, having that third beautiful mix, that third record created that you might never even see again, that feeling was everything. I just had to keep going and I never wanted to turn back."
 

From her first major gig in 2007, Tara was never one to shy away from navigating new territory sonically and professionally. A self-described weirdo, she relishes the opportunity to take listeners on a novel journey. The endless hours of crate-digging gifted her with a vast array of sounds and themes with which to connect to her audience in nearly limitless ways.
 

"It's one thing to have that sound, you're in this safe zone so people will book you. They always know what they're gonna get… With me I feel like I've gotten to the place where they don't exactly know what they're gonna get but they know it's gonna be me, they can always hear me in it… and I don't know how but somehow it all flows… the journey makes sense… Since I'm so emotional and sensitive I feel like especially when I'm playing live, I go off the crowd. So, they're the ones that really drive the direction I go, I don't really know where I'm going, without them, I'm just gonna' be doing my thing," she smiles.


Brooks' commitment to herself and her evolution is what draws those crowds. Her listeners know they are going to be a part of a uniquely personal experience. A deep-rooted appreciation for all music and the feelings it can convey sits at the core of Tara's willingness to explore. This same determination to blaze new paths fuels her navigation through the heavily male-dominated dance music industry.

Tara has experienced it all, from sound techs mansplaining how a mixer works before a headline set to general disbelief that a woman could land the performances she has. But rather than let the weight of doubt and preconceptions hold her back, she used it as a constant source of motivation. While it can improve further, female representation is currently at an all-time high in dance music, and Brooks forecasts a brighter future for female DJs and producers.
 

"I know when I'm listening to these badass women's production… most of my favorites are women today. They're incredible but they just haven't had that outlet, that opportunity, and they weren't getting the support in this male-dominated industry. When I'm discovering them today it sounds like they've been doing 10, 20 years, but we're not seeing them or hearing them. Now more than ever it's beautiful… that it's all about the music. Our music is quality, it's not a sex thing. It's like dude we have boobs, that doesn't change how the music sounds," she laughs.
 


Through it all, the triumphs, the trials, the lessons, the stories, Tara's humility, and recognition of her roots keep her grounded in gratitude. She recognizes the unique opportunity she now has to convey the same feelings of community, fun, and safe acceptance that she first fell in love with all those years ago. She even holds gratitude for the professional challenges she faces, approaching them as further opportunities for growth. Her embrace of the unknown and commitment to evolution have carried her sound and spirit to infectious heights. So it's impossible to hold back a smile and a nod in cathartic agreement when she spares this advice for new artists (and all humans):  
 

"Keep it real for yourself, play the music you love. Don't just play what everyone else is playing because that's what's popular. Because when you play the stuff you really love, that's where the happiness is. No matter where the money, where the future fame comes, if that's what you're into, at the end of the day what is that all gonna' mean if you're not doing exactly what you really love. It's ok to shift and to complement, and to be open-minded and respectful of your environment. Just keep it real."

