SkyFish DJ Set • Burning Man 2016 Wednesday Night Worship

Description

Every year, our camp, “The Monks of Funk,” puts on it’s annual gathering: “Wednesday Night Worship.” This is a night when the various microcosms of Burning Man that comprise our community unite under an unspoken camaraderie. We look at it one of two main homecoming events (the other being Short Stack’s Tutu Tuesday.) This year, everything came together so perfectly that it felt like a showcase of every single Monk’s talents. The Dance Church was renovated this year by Trip, Chris, Thomas, and Marko with flaming flying buttresses creating space where people could interact without competing with the sound - a perfect balance between revelry and relaxation. Golden chandeliers, warm white lighting, and Rob’s psychedelic visual projection art completed the feeling. On the dancefloor, an upgraded soundsystem filled the entire church with a punchy, warm choons. Behind the decks, Maryna made her first ever appearance DJ debut, opening up the night with a slow-motion techno and house set that had everyone moving - and asking who was playing. Next was an energetic, exuberant, uplifting house set from fellow Monk, Alex Lee, a new face this year who got everybody's hands up in the air and feet off the ground. SkyFish followed up by plunging into the deep and resolving with a melodic and dreamy bookend. Afterwards, Ben Gleitzman brought it home with a melange of house, disco, funk, R&B and hip hop - so good that the crowd wouldn’t let him leave before three encore tracks (and two sticks of Palo Santo). What really stands out each year about Wednesday Night Worship is how beautifully present and alive the night is for us. Expectations are often so central to people’s burning man experience. You spend 358 days out of the year thinking of what you’re going to build, do, try, and experience at next year’s burn - and yet sometimes, letting go of expectations is what opens you up to the most unforgettably magical experiences. Likewise, most of the year, our curated sonic journeys, gatherings, thematic storylines, and workshops really represent what we’re trying to do overall with the SkyFish project. We’re not ‘just DJs’ in the traditional sense - for every hour spent behind the decks, we spend 15-20 more hours planning everything that goes on during our gatherings. Yet on Wednesday Night Worship, we go into it with zero expectations and no advance planning of what or how we’re going to play. We perform as an open channel between the crowd's energy and our love of music, fully encompassing our three core principles: music, nature, human interaction. And every year, it’s better than the last. Photo: Skyler Greene Album Artwork Design: Rob Wadleigh