Photo Courtesy of DJ Poke Smot
A long-running veteran of the New England dance music scene, DJ Poke Smot (under various aliases) has played at nearly every club you’ve ever stepped foot into. As a longtime resident at famed weekly and monthly parties in Boston, DJ Poke Smot (as Coralcola) opened for dance music royalty like Ron Morelli, Derrick Carter, and Andrew Weatherall, often taking punters through journeys drastically unlike the rolling club thump typified by most nightlife in this city. A voracious listener (and wrestling fanatic) capable of talking shop about virtually any genre of music, he’s graciously given us a review of virtually everything that was in his headphones in 2020. That’s right, this mix isn’t just one hour, but four (!) and goes from indie rock to ambient to hip hop to hyperpop to techno to…you get it. Strap into Now That’s What I Call Pandemix 2020 at the SoundCloud links below and read on about what DJ Poke Smot learned warming up for all those legends over the years.
Allston Pudding: How would you title this mix?
DJ Poke Smot: Now That’s What I Call Pandemix 2020
AP: What’s the best setting/way to enjoy this mix?
PS: Quarantined?
AP: Is there any sort of concept to this mix?
PS: Well it’s almost every song I loved in 2020 and a few homemade edits thrown in for good measure. Side A is a lot of guitar stuff. It started getting kinda sad/mopey towards the end, but I’ve been getting better at not wallowing in that shit lately, so I attempted to pull myself out of it. Side B leans more towards the rap side. Side C leans more towards the pop side. Side D is the afterparty. The club shit. I definitely didn’t cry during making this at all. I definitely don’t miss DJing at all.
TLDR: This is MY “Best of 2020”, not yours. Also, this mix is dedicated to Cloris Leachman.
AP: Do you have a favorite moment in it?
PS: There’s a lot of songs on here that instantly remind me of a few particular days with a few particular people.
AP: If you could describe this mix with one adjective or emotion what would it be? Why?
PS: “Yikes.” It’s a lot to absorb. A big ol’ mess. Just like 2020. Just like me.
AP: Is there a particular genre or label or tempo that you especially gravitate towards when mixing? Why or why not?
PS: Well, obviously not a particular genre. I do have an affinity for 100 beats per minute thanks to years of building warm up sets in empty rooms.
AP: What makes a successful DJ mix for home listening to you? What makes one successful in a club type setting?
PS: I rarely listen to DJ mixes at home, especially club type stuff. Without the loudness, the bass hitting your chest, the darkness, the warmth from the bodies… it’s like listening to a movie without watching it. I always knew I had a successful mix in a club type setting when Karen would come up and yell at me to “play something we can dance to!”
AP: Do you have a favorite and/or formative dancefloor memory? What made it so memorable?
PS: Andrew Weatherall in Brooklyn at Resolute, October 2016. Got there right when he started at 11:11 with some good friends and some good pills. Last time I took one actually… I don’t think he hit 110 bpm until 6 A.M. I remember wearing an nWo shirt that must have been soaked with at least a pound of sweat.
AP: How would you describe Boston’s dance music scene? What changes would you make (if any)?
PS: Can I use “yikes” again? It’s a great place… to relocate to New York from when you wanna “make it”. Have the headliners start when doors open and have locals play till close? Have the club owners pay DJ’s even if they don’t sell $2000 worth of booze? Elect a Night Mayor? Make Allston basement parties cool again? Call out creepy promoters?
AP: What inspires you as a DJ? And what do other DJs do that inspires you?
PS: Playing music that means something to me and not playing music I don’t give a shit about. Learned this all from Mr. Weatherall.
AP: When you play/create sets do you play with an idea in mind or do you cater to the audience’s energy? How so?
PS: I used to spend the entire night before a gig planning and prepping and playing through what I thought/hoped would “the perfect set”. But the instant people walk onto a dancefloor that’s all out the window.
AP: How does DJing inform the music you produce? Dance music or otherwise.
PS: I only ever really produced music for myself. I never made it for the purpose of playing it in a club. The only reason I started taking DJ gigs is because I wasn’t getting booked as a live electronic act, and when I did, I put an obscene amount of work into a set that nobody but the venue staff heard. People actually wanted to book DJs and it wasn’t as difficult as a live set. At this point I almost wish I never uploaded that damn song to Myspace.
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TRACKLIST
side a
dogleg – hotlines
gulch – impenetrable cerebral fortress
code orange – you and you alone
hidden mothers – my own worth
illuminati hotties – superiority complex (big noise)
bartees strange – mustang
pup – a.m. 180
jam city – sweetjoy
shamir – on my own
george clanton & nick hexum – aurora summer
beabadoobee – dye it red
laura jane grace – why kant i be you
st panther – these days
wendy eisenberg – no such lack
lyra pramuk – witness
hoodie – slipsilver
klara lewis – ingrid
dj poke smot – (shecky) alex g (edit)
juice wrld & marshmello – come & go
side b
pitfall – fatal
chloe x halle – do it
pop smoke – what you know bout love
dababy – rockstar
the kid laroi – fuck you, goodbye (feat. machine gun kelly)
khotin – groove 32
galcher lustwerk – i had to slow it down
machinedrum – inner eye
andrew weatherall – the moton 5
bad bunny & jhay cortez – dakiti
roddy ricch – the box
blood orange & park hye jin – call me freestyle
cousin stizz – perfect (remix feat doja cat & bia)
sada baby – whole lotta choppas
ariana grande – just like magic
chromatics – faded now
dj poke smot – wet arcangel pussy (edit)
com truise – i dream (for you)
wicca phase springs eternal – i want to go out tonight
gunna – dollaz on my head
ericdoa – 2008
d0llywood1 – ihonestlymightjustgiveup
the weeknd – hardest to love
machine gun kelly – bloody valentine
side c
lewis grant – big break
alice longyu gao – rich bitch juice (laura les remix)
100 gecs – hand crushed by a mallet (remix feat. fall out boy, craig owens, nicole dollanganger)
charli xcx – forever
silver sphere – football game
24kgoldn & iann dior – mood
070 shake – guilty conscience
curtis waters ft harm franklin – stunnin
8485 – so dark
ela minus – dominique
tame impala – breathe deeper
dj poke smot – promiscuous gec (edit)
347aidan – dancing in my room
joji – your man
westerman – confirmation
the 1975 – if youre too shy
bladee – rainbow
blackpink – lovesick
oneohtrix point never – i dont love me anymore
tama gucci – i let you
8485 – 4real
charli xcx – claws
nocow – never leave me
toshioki matsumura – human life
firetoolz – screamographic memory
side d
shinichi atobe – yes
daniel avery – lone swordsman
axel boman – eyes of my mind
kev sheridan – it’s gonna be perfect
yaeji – waking up down
haider – why so blue
vril – free world order
30303 – cosmos
annie hall – d’un altre planeta
stanislav tolkachev – be careful and nobody dies
wav – regex
jaymie silk – freeze (the whistle song)
loefah – natural charge
ikonika – bodied (dj poke smot death bed edit)
matt karmil – still not french
pedrodollar – gazzoo
lorenzo senni – move in silence
beatrice dillon – workaround three