atish - [100] - Atish All Night (Live in SF, 5 hours)

Hello Hot Dogs! I've waited for this day for over 14 years: mix #100 is live. When I released my first mix in 2010, I titled it [001] instead of [01]. Using three digits was aspirational, a quiet promise to myself that I might one day reach triple digits. These mixes trace the narrative of my adult life. They've been the thread connecting me with so many of you—some I'll never meet, others who've become close friends (and even roommates—hi Dan, hi James). Back when I released my first mix in 2010, we were still buying mix CDs for our cars. Soundcloud was just emerging, and I committed to monthly releases to this new platform. I may be overreaching here, but I can’t remember any other DJs presenting conceptual mixes, monthly, as packaged works of art: a conceptual title, description, and artwork. That consistency and novelty helped build a following outside of my local scene, and when my 2012 Robot Heart recording came out, things really took off internationally. By 2015, the momentum led me to leave my software engineering job for full-time DJing—largely thanks to these Soundcloud mixes. I was purely a DJ then with a nascent Manjumasi label formed with Mark Slee, not releasing my first original track “Peculiar Colors” until 2017. The landscape in 2024 looks different. As Soundcloud rotted to hell and Spotify rose, the value of mixes has sharply declined. With thousands released daily, they've become ubiquitous. The career path for electronic artists now revolves around original productions and social media presence. This industry evolution pushed me toward producing my own music, opening up new creative paths I'm grateful for. The social media aspect has felt natural, as it's been an integral part of my project from the start. These last few years, the touring schedule, studio time, and home life as a husband and father slowed me down from my monthly cadence, but each mix still feels like a deep-rooted part of my message to the world, (mostly) through other people's music. Mix [100] was recorded September 7, 2024, at Public Works in San Francisco, the city that "raised me" as a club kid, where I first learned to DJ. This 5-hour set marked my last show in North America before taking an indefinite mental health break from touring. Playing this set was emotional, to the point of tears in the DJ booth, with support pouring in from both new listeners and those who've been there since the beginning. I couldn’t think of a better way to reach 100. I've also created http://www.atish100.com to house all my mixes and their 1,400+ tracklists in one place, which I'll keep updating as new mixes go up on Soundcloud and YouTube. This mix marks a meaningful milestone for me. Thank you for making this journey possible. You, and the 1400+ artists and labels I referenced helped create a life I never imagined.