Today, we had the pleasure to catch up with California based DJ, event producer and man of many other talents,
Zach Walker! Zach has been on our radar for quite some time, from his core involvement in the famous Pink Mammoth Burning Camp to his steady gig flow in places such as New York, San Francisco and LA to name a few. He’s delivered an exquisite, breezy and exclusive mix for our platform that we’re incredibly excited to share with you, featuring tracks from Abracadabra, Saisons, Tale & Tone and more.
HS: Can you tell us a little bit more on the podcast you made for us? The selection of tracks, and what are your most recent inspirations that led you to making this kind of mix for us?
ZW: It has been a while since I have released any mixes and so I wanted this one to incorporate all the music that I have been playing over the past year, as well as the music from many artists and labels that I love and support. The majority of the tracks I am most drawn too currently have almost cinematic undertones with an always consistent progression and groove – slowing down at times but keeping momentum and propelling the listener forward while being deeply emotive at the same time. I’d have to say acoustic strings are my absolute favourite in any composition – guitar, violin, harps and all harp variety’s like the kora, etcetera. I played violin in an orchestra when I was young and have owned an acoustic guitar for as long as I can remember which I believe definitely influences my current tastes.
Tracklist:
1) Lazarusman, Urmet K – The Meeting (Original Mix) [Magician On Duty]
2) Lee Jones – Wiedersehen (Original Mix) [Bar 25 Music]
3) Tim Green – Sowa (Original Mix) [All Day I Dream]
4) Oluhle, Kapibara, West & Hill – Mina (BLOND:ISH Poolside Mix) [Abracadabra Music]
5) DSF – Fraoula (Original Mix) [When We Dip XYZ]
6) Dan Buri – Baan Nohk (Los Cabra Thrill Remix) [Akbal Music]
7) Fulltone – Cricket Groove (Original Mix) [Kindisch]
8) Mom, jPattersson, ANuT – Viva la Vida (El Mundo Remix) [LNDKHN]
9) Zone+ – Lette (Original Mix) [Tale & Tone]
10) Travertia – Turiya (Original Mix) [Forestrip Music]
11) Evren Furtuna – Enceladus (Original Mix) [Saisons]
HS: You have been involved for quite some time now, can you tell us a little bit about California music scene?
ZW: The music scene in California, like anywhere, is ever evolving and changing. I began my musical journey in the Bay Area, frequently attending and DJ’ing at many of the iconic clubs of San Francisco. I have now lived in LA for almost 8 years and have seen the scene here blossom from a few house music events a month to many every single night across the city. I genuinely feel that this type of music and community becoming so popular over the last decade is an incredible thing as it has the potential to bring people together and create community in a beautiful way. I’m anticipating the next turn for this industry with a lot of excitement.
HS: In this day and age, more and more people see the value in having a more health & wellness oriented event. You are starting a sans-alcohol event focused solely on the music & the experience. Can you tell us a bit more about this?
ZW: I’ve been producing events for a long time and I have talked to many people who love underground electronic music but not the environments that they must frequent to catch their favourite artists.
First, I find that often the reason many go out is to find connection and enjoy spending time with friends and community. I believe we can facilitate this in a much better way with how we produce and host events – bringing in more healing elements of nature, creating a container that allows for stimulating conversation and free expression, and uplifting everyone with vibration geared towards emotive feeling and gradual progression rather than just energy and big drops for the party.
Secondly, I find that the recreational intoxicants that have become the norm are not necessarily the most beneficial for meaningful connection, physical vitality, and feeling good long term. Alcohol being the main culprit. Running a bar at an event is a big money maker and many event producers / promoters are averse to taking risks in creating something better that opposes that which we’ve become so used to.
This all being said, I’m working with three other talented experiential and wellness oriented event producers at the moment to launch a new pop-up series that is along these lines.
More to come on this soon. I will send an email to my list when I announce the first one which you can subscribe to here: Subscribe
HS: You’ve been going to Burning Man for how many years now? What can you tell us about your involvement with Pink Mammoth camp?
ZW: I have been attending Burning Man since I was 16 (my first year was 2006) and I can contribute much of who I am today to the fact that I have been attending for so long. It has been a real pleasure to see it grow and evolve into the international community it is now.
I have camped with Pink Mammoth since 2008 and been involved as a fundraising event lead, resident artist, and community builder among many other things. I’m also on the board of our 501(c)(3) which we use to support the music arts and community in every way we can. We are celebrating our 16-year anniversary as a theme camp this year and we are one of the most consistent and longest running sound camps in attendance at Burning Man.
HS: This year is the 10 year anniversary of Envision Festival in Costa Rica, and you’ve been on the roster almost yearly, can you tell us a bit more on this experience?
ZW: Costa Rica holds a very special place in my heart for the blossoming music scene and community it holds. I played the LAPA Stage at Envision Festival for my first time in 2016 and it was like nothing I could have ever dreamed. The entire festival is based around sustainability, organic food, music, and rich Costa Rican culture. Every stage is hand built with bamboo in a lush jungle landscape that neighbors the beautiful Puntarenas coastline.
This year’s house and techno line up includes YokoO, Be Svendsen, Monolink, Kora, Gab Rhome, Driss Skali, Amine K and many others, including some of my favorite CR locals like Melissa O, Faceblind, and Javier Portilla.
HS: Anything we can expect from you for the upcoming months?
ZW: Yes! I have a lot coming up this summer. A couple new festivals I’m very much looking forward to as well. First, I am playing a Pink Mammoth showcase at
Altus Festival in South Lake Tahoe with WhoMadeWho, Atish, and more. Secondly,
SBCLTR FSTVL in Mexico over 4th of July weekend which made its debut north of LA last year and yielded an unforgettable experience for everyone that attended. I’m excited to see what this talented team will deliver for year two.
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