---

Allston Pudding: What is the story behind your DJ alias?

Mizeyesis: Mizeyesis is a play on words and Egyptology, and I feel it’s unique to my personality. As DJs we all choose our own names in an effort to not take away from others. It’s a code of respect we all abide by.

AP: What’s the best setting/way to enjoy this mix?

M: In the car, relaxing at home, at the gym, wherever.

AP: Is there any sort of concept to this mix?

M: The experimental. The Amen break. I want to show you the psychedelic and soulful side of jungle and drum and bass. 

AP: Do you have a favorite moment in this mix?

M: All of it LOL!

AP: If you could describe this mix with one adjective or emotion what would it be? Why?

M: Subliminal smoothness. I’m taking you on a ride. I like to bring people through multiple moods in my sets. 

AP: Is there a particular genre or label or tempo that you especially gravitate towards when mixing? Why or why not?

M: No, I’m old school when we didn’t have reliable beat counters to mix. So I just kind of bass the tempo off how I feel rather than seeing the bpm beforehand. Still applies even now. 

AP: What makes a successful DJ mix for home listening to you? What makes one successful in a club type setting?

M: Well a proper DJ mix has two things: great programming and great transitions. For a club setting, one might want to get more hype from the music versus an at home listening session.

I play both. 

AP: Do you have a favorite and/or formative dancefloor memory? What made it so memorable?

M: So many but one that sits in my mind is when I played Rupture the second time in London UK in November of 2018. 

Rupture is a night formed by Double O and Mantra back in 2006. It’s also become a label and collective of folks passionate about jungle, Drum and Bass, bass music, dub and reggae. 

Jungle is British, it’s also heavily Black British, and for years it was labeled as Black music. In 1996 when Drum and Bass– its sister that used more synth and less sampling in its production– started bubbling up it was labeled urban music. I would check out the book called “All Crews” and documentaries like “A London Sumting Dis” on YouTube for a deeper dive. 

Also this music has HEAVY soundsystem influences, I’m talking Jamaican sound system influences, and so that’s why it needs to be played on the right bass heavy system, because of the sub-bass. It can have those, punk, jazz, soul, funk, R&B, and hip-hop influences. Especially in its sample usage and production elements. Of course, this music is beyond race at this point, but we can’t deny its roots, which is something I’m pretty passionate about. 

In any case, I’m an American ambassador and to be asked or respected by UK peers for something they inherently created means a lot. Also, to be accepted by them enough to DJ one of the best jungle nights in the world, is an enormous privilege as well. 

When I DJ’d in 2018, MC Sofi Mari was with me along with Chris Inperspective to my right dancing the hardest I’ve ever seen him move, and that night I received 3 rewind calls. If you don’t know what getting a request to rewind a track means, in jungle and Drum and Bass it’s the ultimate sign of respect. Chris runs Inperspective, a huge underground label out of London and also formed the Black Junglist Alliance earlier this year to help advocate the fair treatment of black people in jungle and Drum and Bass. 

You gotta understand, it’s sort of like when we first had British MCs come into US hip-hop. Slick Rock was accepted, Dizzee Rascal kind of was, but Stormzy and Wiley fully are. With someone like me, they will be a bit harder on me as I’ve lived in the UK, and go over quite a lot. Plus I’m an American with Caribbean roots and tons of family in the UK. But that night my homies over there showed up, getting rewind calls on tracks. I had friends lose their ish, all to my set, it was unbelievable.

AP: How would you describe Boston’s dance music scene? What changes would you make (if any)?

M: Boston has two levels, the mainstream and then the underground. The mainstream is what everyone knows and due to that, at times, it feels as though that’s all folks want to know. We have so much going on within our scene, it’s hard to connect with one that sort of pushes us to the side. So we’re out here connecting with like minds. I guess when folks only get into one sound, or one story they get into their niche, but before you dismiss it, try it. Dig deeper, explore the history. I suppose the same can be said for us too, don’t be afraid to explore other sounds.

I can only hope as people connect with DJs, and local dance music communities, they’ll dig deeper and see the levels to it. Just because an artist isn’t connected to Live Nation doesn’t mean they are washed up, irrelevant, or unsuccessful. With dance music you have a network of independent/DIY agents, managers, clubs, and a bigger worldwide scene. Plus right here at home many miss out on some great music.

Elements for instance is a staple not just in Boston but also the international community as well. Lenore started the night with Fox and Kedar back in 1999. Unless there’s major unforeseeable circumstances, the night happens. During the pandemic, Elements has reopened at The Phoenix Landing for a lighter affair headed by Residents, Lenore and Furious weekly. You essentially have one of the premier jungle and Drum and Bass weeklies in this city providing no frills entertainment. 

I DJ’d it last month and regularly attend if I can. Of course right now it’s extremely restricted due to regulations but the night has gone on with headliners from around the world. All the major players in jungle and Drum and Bass come here and I get why: It feels like home. We don’t come out to show off outfits, and dress up like normal clubs. It’s come as you are, and stay for the music. Listen to it and vibe out to it. And as a DJ, That’s what we love. 

Elements wasn’t the first or only jungle and Drum and Bass presence in Boston. There was the Rinse, 4front Records, Terravita, DJ Static, Mista Lex, Bennie B, Trixie and others in the ‘90s and early 2000s that also pushed the sounds. There was even a UK Garage crew Soul Champion that had a weekly. This city, much like NYC where I’m originally from, has a huge Caribbean and UK ancestral influence so it’s natural that ideas get passed through here that are imported. 

You have other MANY DJs and music crews doing extraordinary things weekly in Boston that can use more homegrown support and love. Also, because more money is put into the bigger clubs, people are extremely unaware of the vast talent that make Boston their home unless connected. This city is FULL of major underground djs and producers connected to local, national and international communities which are outstanding. I guess another thing this city could use more of are more unexpected scene collaborations, bigger clubs truly allowing underground crews to throw nights with their brand of talent, so that the creativity, music, interest and support can grow. Also, the interconnections and cross collaborations between music scenes isn’t ever a bad look. 

AP: What inspires you as a DJ? And what do other DJs do that inspires you? 

M: I’m a DJ and I produce music, meaning I also write my own tracks. With my latest release I started last November after a rough breakup while I was living in Chinatown. I wanted the track to pull the emotion out, and I wanted it to deeply reflect the anguish that I felt, and I almost meant it as a release. I guess that’s why it resonates, I’m fighting myself on that track. To me, the sword-like snares emphasize this. 

It’s one of my favorite tracks to date. 

With DJing I’m influenced by the concept of the night and if the crowd contains deep heads, or folks that don’t know this music. I guess it can be similar, lately I’ve been DJing a mix of heavy and soulful feeling music that’s extremely abstract. 

AP: Are you someone that frequent(ed) clubs? Either way, how does that influence the way you DJ?

M: I started going out in the mid ‘90s. Mostly NYC, Connecticut, Springfield, Providence and Boston. Was able to experience the mega clubs of the late ‘90s in NYC and the massive raves that Connecticut, Massachusetts and the rest of New England had to offer in the ’90s.

I started DJing in 2002 and playing out in 2004, mostly at raves in the beginning. I also started a crew and night, Threshold Sound that went from 2004 – 2010 in Hartford. I moved to New Haven in 2014 then came up here to Boston two years ago. While they weren’t as excessive as the late ‘90s raves, they were still there. Mid 2000s club nights blew up and I had residencies. Now I’m in music production, lots of international connections with the UK and music communities In Boston and worldwide.

So I DJ clubs quite a bit, I guess it depends on the theme of the night set by the promoter. Or the vibe I get watching the crowd. It’s made me a more versatile DJ having had many years of experience. Plus I’ve DJ’d on so many formats, so I’ve been around watching the evolution of all of this. 

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? 

M: Really depends. I might be inspired by love, or by current life, or just a vibe. Whatever I feel in the moment, I simply translate through sound. 

AP: How does DJing inform the music you produce? Dance music or otherwise.

M: Well I suppose that it’s allowed me to understand beat structure differently than those who don’t DJ. So when I produce a track it’s not so troublesome to find inspiring rhythms. 

I took my first music class with piano lessons at age nine, bass guitar in middle school, and then followed that with a career as a professional dancer when I was in my twenties. Now I’m a DJ and music producer. I would like to think that all of that allows me to understand how people move and maybe also how people chill out.

TRACKLIST

Shiken Hanzo – Kali Ma

Killaklan – The Assasinator

Voytek – Despot

Everything Changes – Snowy Eyes

Dubmonger – Varmits

Overlook – Misty (Law & Wheeler rmx)

Dillinja – Another Dimension

Sully – Checkmate

Foul Play – Cutting Loose

Sully – Run

Doc Scott – Far Away

Dillinja – Sovereign Melody (VIP)

Asend – This Time

Beta 2 & Zero Tolerance – New Dawn