Moods 30: Dirty Daddy Don
Moods turns 30 with @dirtydaddydon, resident of @dumpparty and programmer at Boar in Berlin. Don takes us away from his typical full-throttle, one-two-knockout style of techno to a survey of 90s and 00s post-trip hop, grunge, and downtempo. It plays fantastic on these short autumn Sundays. Gather 'round the speakers, friends and family.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a small, redneck town north of Toronto. I went to a tiny Catholic school and a lot of my friends lived out in the sticks. I was the oldest of 3 with a single, working parent so a lot of my first influences of music came from the car radio, my mom’s CD collection as well as friend’s older siblings.
Who introduced you to these songs?
I fit into the millennial chunk that feels like they missed out on the grungy, druggy, moody era that really defined the 90s by being slightly too young. But my pre-teen self lived through my friend’s older goth sister whose tape and CD collection had a massive influence on my early music tastes. Saving enough money working in a movie store got me my own computer which led me into the pit of napster/limewire/torrenting and finding every dark, mysterious sub-genre that matched my teen angst.
Where did you first hear techno?
I had heard bits and pieces of techno throughout my teenage years without it having any sort of lasting effect on me. The first place was probably Ishkur’s Guide to Electronic Music but I feel like I didn’t actually experience techno until I moved to Berlin - that with a proper sound system, strobe, fog… being able to truly get lost in a trance on the dancefloor. I was hooked after that.
It sounds like it could be for anyone desiring to be in this similar trance-like state, but overtime that’s become less so. Techno has been commodified, and with that comes the expectation of looking or being a certain way to match this ‘idea’ of what techno is and who it’s for. It’s sad to see it move away from its roots, but I try to always believe in the underground.
Tracx
Perera Elsewhere - Tomorrow South
Portishead - Numb
Wagon Christ - Down Under
Tricky - Suffocated Love
Sneaker Pimps - Roll On
DJ Cam - No Competition
Boards of Canada - An Eagle In Your Mind
Gorillaz - Tomorrow Comes Today
Wagon Christ - Rexcist
The Bug - Those Tapes Are Dangerous
Sneaker Pimps - Blue Movie
Esthero - I Drive Alone
UNKLE - Unreal
Depth Charge - Bounty Killer II
Leila - Feeling
The Chemical Brothers - Lost In The K Hole
DJ Shadow - Organ Donor
Physical Therapy - Male Tears
Britney Spears - Breathe On Me