FADER Mix: Beta Librae

As we get ready to slide into the extended weekend that is Thanksgiving, let Brooklyn-via-Kansas producer Beta Librae be your musical guide. If you've caught her DJ sets around the city, including Bushwick's Bossa Nova club, you'll know you're in for a treat. On her suberb FADER Mix—cooked up to celebrate the recent release of her acid-flecked debut album, Swope Park, on FADER fave label 1080p—Beta Librae journeys through a dozen permutations of the religion we call house music, repping everything from woozy grooves to punchy drums. Dive in below and scroll down to get to know one of N.Y.C.'s finest selectors below.

Where are you right now? Describe your surroundings.

I'm sitting at my desk on a large elevated shelf surrounded by cords, notepads, and musical gadgets. I have a shared music studio with DISCWOMAN and it smells like new paint from the letters that [spell their name] on the wall underneath me. I can hear construction sounds all around. A friend is turning this building into artist studios. It's annoying and loud so I'm going to put on my headphones and try to make something pleasant to hear.

Tell us a bit about the mix—what do you imagine people doing while listening to it?

This mix is special because I used a lot of my close friends' music. Artists I've known a while that consistently surprise and inspire me. Some of the more upbeat tracks are my recent classic house favorites, tracks that put me in a great mood on a drab day. I imagine someone getting aroused by a particular track in the mix and going off to find more from the artist.

What musical ideas do you explore on your debut album, Swope Park?

I didn't have any set ideas when I started working on Swope Park or music in general; it was something I realized I needed to do for myself in order to enjoy my surroundings again. I had a lot of misinterpreted creative energy that had been building up for a very long time and I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. I lived in three different neighborhoods in Brooklyn last year so it was hard feeling stable with everything in my life. Teaching myself little practices everyday helped me to stay aroused during those chaotic times and I think some special sounds were generated from that.

What's your favorite musical memory from 2015?

I'd have to say going to Sustain-Release again and getting to see Kassem Mosse play a live among many other great acts. I feel like a year's worth of inspiration followed me back after that weekend. Also getting to go to Montreal with the DISCWOMAN crew was amazing, the kids there are so wild, free, and loving! I was really happy to be there.

What's the last book you read that had a big impact on you and why?

I'm currently reading an ongoing comic book suspense series called Material by Ales Kot. It's not your typical comic book. It explores the ephemeral state of humanity by following four completely different main characters. The writer is interested in people and poetry and not interested in genre and false conflict which I really connect with. Also,the ongoing Wolf and Zero series I would suggest getting by the same writer if you like reality bending and mind expanding stories with sci-fi, fantasy, and crime noir themes.

1. Slava - Live @ Sick Magic
2. Beta Librae - Untitled
3. Exael - Dioxippe
4. Dialect - Coney Island Fog
5. DJ Meredith - Day
6. J. Albert - Hit The Gym
7. Mr. G - Rum Trip Up
8. Boo Williams & Glen Underwood - Flute Madness
9. Mood II Swing present the Club Kidds - During Peak Hours (Mood II Swing Dub)
10. Hanna - Time (Doza's Lawnchair Generals Mix)
11.STL - Silent State
12. Jaw Jam - You That Guy Who Tells
13. Mr. G - Blinky's Groove
14. Omar S. - Night
15. Maxine & Cleo - Mad Blanc
16. Royer - Window Sun