Music Selections by Maria's Resident DJ:

LGA | aka Luis Gabriel Aguilera | Full Spectrum | Chicago

Drawing from a collection of electronic dance music mixtapes from 1984 and on, Full Spectrum's LGA transmits for the evening his favorite sets from some of the best local, national and international DJs he's come across over the years. Musical genres and subgenres include the following: HI-NRG, Italo Disco, early 80s House, 90s Industrial, Freestyle, Early Breaks, 90s New Wave, House, Techno, Tech House, Drum ‘n Bass, Trance, Hardcore, Happy Hardcore, Breakbeat, Goa, West Coast House, Speedcore, and more! (And though not exactly EDM, don’t be surprised to hear an authentic 80s reggae “mixtape” from the “Island” itself.)

Luis on the mixtape series:

“People have asked what the mixtape series is all about and I just give a few bits and pieces without getting into the nitty-gritty and overall big picture of the thing. So I’m glad to be able to use this space here to put down a few things on the mixtape series, not just for myself, but perhaps for others too.

Is the mixtape series one with a nostalgic hook? Sure it is. But that only fit well into what I wanted to do last year and wasn’t the basis for the series. I didn’t think, ‘How can I make a nostalgic series to grab the attention of people.’ What really happened is that one day I looked around and noticed just how many electronic dance music mixtapes I had in my collection that I hadn’t even unwrapped. From previous mixtapes of the same DJ artists I had in my collection, I knew that these were probably pretty good sets. But l had assumed this, and in a way had thus taken these artists and their works for granted – caught up with whatever I was doing at the time. (And how many times do we accumulate things without knowing what we are actually receiving?)

So I thought to myself, ‘wouldn’t it be cool to just go over these tapes and showcase them for others who probably never heard of these DJ artists, much less these sets – plus, finally get to here them myself?’

As I thought about how to make this work, it so happened that sitting next to that box of mixtapes was also a box of letters I had received from a high school sweetheart. While picking at them, I realized that I hadn’t read them all either. (So I was twice humbled that day knowing that the mixtapes weren’t the first time I had missed the conveying messages - again, being caught up in whatever was going on in life at that time.)

It was in that way, in the quiet solitude of a storage unit, where I realized how long it had been since I was really tuned in to how I originally got into playing all sorts of electronic dance music: by listening to someone else’s mix, their voice really. I thought of those thirty, sixty, or ninety-minute mixtape narratives that took me to meditative places. And I wondered about the indispensable art of listening that is performed with extreme, but graceful, care as well.

So, yes, the Hooray for the Mixtape series is one which is committed to exposure of various artists, musical genres, etc., but it is also about presenting someone else’s narrative (or theme), the art of telling a story or theme by using music and solidifying this art of listening to 30-60-90 minute increments. It is in part egotistical so much as I’m selecting what will be played. But it is selfless also, as I present the works of others, the sounds of others and I submit to hearing what others, including the artists these DJs have selected to represent their sentiments, stories, themes, what not, have to say.

If there is a touch of nostalgia in this series for me, it is more about being taken back to when I was roughly eleven or twelve and was first driven pleasantly happy to newfound mental soundscapes where the many become one.  And that’s it for me on the nostalgic aspect of this series.

Looking around Maria’s on a Hooray for the Mixtape night, I am pleased to find a lot of wonderful conversation taking place. But I am also pleased to see folks listening to those across or next to them. That’s a good place to be.”

Luis Gabriel Aguilera      02/09/12