After a long hiatus from DJing during the pandemic, I’ve finally poked my head back outside and started playing some gigs again, which has been a little scary but mostly amazing. I’ve really missed playing music in front of people — to the point where I wrote an entire album about the physical spaces and in-person parties I’ve been missing — it’s called Physical Release, and it’s out now on Hooversound Recordings. 

I recently played at Adonis in London (one of my fave parties on earth) and was really revitalized by the opportunity to pick tunes and dance with a packed room of sweaty ravers. So here’s a little list of tunes that I’ve been getting a lot of mileage out of lately — some new, some old, but all of them great for the IRL dance floors I’ve missed so much.

Start mixing Chrissy’s playlist on Beatport LINK, or on LINK’s DJ web app.

Chrissy – Fantasy Pt. 2 (Bolt Cutters & A Jenny) [Hooversound Recordings]

Here’s the first single off my new album — throwback rave vibes with big stabs, big bass, and a couple of big breakdowns. It’s heavily inspired by old Belgian and Dutch rave classics like this next one.

Fierce Ruling Diva – Rubb It In [Lower East Side Records]

This is a total classic from 1991 with big ravey keys and a 303 acid line. Sounds like the Belgian rave anthems of that era, but Fierce Ruling Diva is actually from Amsterdam. The vocal sample is from Loleatta Holloway’s legendary “My Loleatta” bootleg and absolutely does not say “rub it in,” but I guess that’s the power of suggestion for you.

Bruise – Joy [Foundation Music]

“Joy” is a really good set-opener, with some lovely, epic pianos right out the gate, and nice swingy garage house percussion once the beat kicks in. It would also be a really good set-closer, now that I think of it.

Logic1000 – I Won’t Forget [Therapy]

This one is on the deep, introspective side of the rave revival sound, with moody piano chords, a driving breakbeat, and a melancholy vocal sample. Great for resetting the energy in a room without kicking everybody off the floor.

Chrissy – So Electrifying [Pets Recordings]

Here’s a disco house pumper inspired by Chicago house legends like DJ Nehpets, DJ Slugo, DJ Deeon, and Paul Johnson. I was really honored when Pets Recordings signed this one (and they even invited me to do a livestream for Beatport Live!) It’s basically just a big, filtered disco sample over lots of overdriven 909 drums, but it works really well on a system.

Ali Berger – Secrets [Fatcat Records]

Dark, chuggy, acid house from one of my fave US producers. Halloween’s right around the corner, and this one would be amazing at a spooky haunted house rave…

Leon Love – Once Is Not Enough (Radio House Version) [Cutting Records]

A slept-on, old-school classic that I’ve had stuck in my head for a while. There’s a great freestyle mix of this tune as well, but this jackin’ house version has been the one getting a lot of play in my sets.

Vernessa Mitchell – Higher (Steve Silk Hurley Journey to Heaven) [S&S Records]

Another big vocal pumper, this one produced by Chicago legend Steve Silk Hurley. Big pianos, crazy filter-work, and an absolutely face-melting gospel vocal performance make this a surefire floor-filler.  There are several really good mixes of it on the release, and I can never decide which one to play, so I even went and made a little edit for myself that incorporates the best bits of all of them. 

DJ Spen & DJ Technic – Gabryelle (D Malice Re-fix) [4 To The Floor Records]

It’s always great to see an absolutely iconic UK funky bootleg like this one finally getting the proper re-release it deserves. Huge bass and characteristic UK funky percussion over a never-changing series of chopped samples from the classic original. This is an absolute floor-smasher that gets ID requests every time I play it.

DJ K-1 – K-1 Agenda featuring Blak Tony (Instrumental) [Detroit Bass Classics]

Speaking of reissues, here’s another must-have: one of the all-time best Detroit electro cuts, from one of the all-time best Detroit electro producers (Keith Tucker of Aux88), originally released on one of the all-time best Detroit electro labels (Direct Beat), finally available digitally. Absolutely essential!

Diplomat – Check It (Beagle Remix) [Amen Brother]

Classic 1992 hardcore rave vibes from a new label that’s been releasing a lot of great new material in that older vein. The tempo of this one, and the breakbeat-plus-four-on-the-floor drum programming, make it a really handy tune for transitioning between house, techno, and jungle.

nthng – Galaxy [Lobster Theremin]

A friend recently played this deep, housey-techno cut for me at his house, only his turntable was on the wrong speed, and I actually liked it a lot better on 45 than on 33. I recently played it at +35% in a mix, and it works great up against juke, ghettotech, or hard dance.

Essence of Aura – Let Love Shine Through [Moving Shadow]

A gorgeous, shimmery, piano-driven jungle tune with a classic vocal sample. This should have been a massive anthem a la “Inner City Life”, but for some reason it never took off, so now it’s a bit of a secret weapon. The piano intro is really useful for resetting a room, or shifting from slower genres into jungle or drum & bass. I recently played it at Fabric around 8 am on a Sunday and it went over really well.

Robert Lee – Come Now Sound Boy (Coco Bryce Remix) [Rhythm Discs!]

Rounding things out with a couple more jungle tunes, here’s a HUGE ragga jungle remix of an ’80s digi-dancehall tune, from one of the biggest new names in the genre over the last few years. Chopped up amens and big bass over a dancehall vocal aren’t a new formula by any means, but it’s a tricky one to get right, and this tune is a great take on that classic 1994 sound.

Chrissy – All The True Ravers [Hooversound Recordings]

And to close, here’s another tune from my new album Physical Release, also on a 1994 jungle tip (and dedicated to all the rave kids I’ve missed during lockdown). I was really excited when Sherelle and Naina from Hooversound offered to release the album, but I was a little worried because there weren’t any parties for me to test out the material before release. I finally got to play this one (and a few others) on big systems in front of audiences over the last month, and was really pleased with the reactions. After all, you never really know until you can play it for a room of sweaty ravers.

Chrissy’s album Physical Release is out now via Hooversound Recordings. Find it on Beatport.