Detroit dance floor maven DJ Holographic has teamed up with Beatport to present a seasonal, year-long series of astrology playlists — one for each of the 12 zodiac signs.
The Spring Equinox has arrived and the stars have aligned for a unique new series of celestially charged playlists on Beatport, headed up by Detroit’s beloved selector DJ Holographic.
A core member of The Motor City’s underground scene and LGBQT+ community, DJ Holographic has been on a roll spreading her divine dance floor vibes to various corners of the globe. This year alone, she’s performed at Berlin’s Panorama Bar, Printworks in London, BPM Festival in Costa Rica, Luna Park in Sydney, and a handful of the best clubland destinations throughout North America.
As this one-woman funk machine prepares to head up another round of fresh singles and globetrotting adventures this Spring, DJ Holographic ushers in the start of the astrological new year with the first installment of her new Cosmic Vibrations playlist — a 12-part series where she will bring us into her sonic worldview with track selections based on each zodiac season.
Diving deep into the power and essence that make up each zodiac sign, DJ Holographic will look at the planets that correlate with each sign’s energy, the various houses that go with those signs, the chakras and vibrations that match with each season, and the artist’s whose birth charts match up with each sign to help inform her playlist crafting process.
We kick things off with Aries season, bringing us a new approach to life with new beginnings, new actions, different results, and tracks that will make you the star of your own show.
Read on to listen to the playlist, learn more about how DJ Holographic first dreamed up this idea, how she uses the seasons to inform her track selection process (both at home and on stage), how she first became interested in astrology, her journey of self-exploration, and more!
How did you first come up with the concept behind this series?
The concept is what I do naturally while on tour DJing. With every gig, I try and make a special playlist that relates to the vibe of that season. I feel the energy shift with each season so I meditate on that and explore what themes for that season really resonate with me, and I’ll tap into that. We’re never in the same place twice in the universe, so it’s constantly changing. Not every Aries season is the same. Not every Spring energy yield the same crop that you are providing. That same mentality applies to my playlists.
I’m a playful person, so I always give myself space to do random things during my sets. I’ll pack around 100 songs that I think are good for that season into a playlist and then go from there. I’ve created playlists in the past with titles like “Sassy Scorpio,” “Libra Gentle,” and “Virgo New Path” — this is something that I’ve been doing consistently for the past five years. I’m thrilled to be doing this with Beatport and make it even more special because I feel like I’m making a lot more friends in the production realm. I love zodiac stuff, I love music, and this is who I am.
Tell us about when you first started becoming interested in astrology.
I got into astrology as a kid when I was maybe five or six. And thinking about it immediately brings me back to my grandmother’s house at home in Detroit and the music playing on her radio while she was cooking. She’s a Sagittarius, I’m a Sagittarius, and my cousin is a Sagittarius as well. We used to make jokes like “this house is run by Sagittarius” and these playful concepts of “I do this because I do that” that first got me interested in it. I think it’s also important to note that Astrology is very big in the Black community. And as I got older, I took it in the same way I took music in, and got really into getting to know who I am and learning more about myself. A lot of it was born out of my desire to understand my behavioral patterns. I started reading self-help books and taught myself about emotional intelligence, just finding ways to become a better me. So in connecting my passion for music with astronomy, it is really about knowing who I am and understanding my voice in the world.
Would you say that Astrology has helped inform some of the ways you approach your artistry and way of life?
In knowing to get to know more about myself through the lens of astrology, I’ll begin to see my patterns and start to identify what it is I want to heal or change. And also learn how to elevate, like identifying superpowers that I have and boosting those more rather than shaming myself. It was during the height of the pandemic in 2020 that I really got deeper into knowing who I am. I learned my Moon sign (Taurus) which is who you present yourself as when you are on your own or with your closest friends — as opposed to a Sun sign (Sagittarius) which is who you present yourself as to the whole world. A Taurus is usually looked upon as someone who is really laid back, while a Sagittarius is known for being really fiery and passionate. When working with my peers, I’m always making sure I am constantly grinding, burning the midnight oil, and being as committed as possible to what’s in front of me. But I would totally bully myself for wanting to relax, kick back, and concentrate on my health the following week. So when I found out I had a Taurus moon, I was like, ‘oh, I have to balance that. I can’t fight fire with fire.’ It’s about burning the midnight oil — because I want to and enjoy doing that — but also realizing it’s important to take a spa day. It was hard for me to accept at first, but it helped me love myself more.
Are there any artists out there that you have shared a stage with / met who you believe you’ve connected with on an astrological level?
In conversations about seasonal stuff and talking about forms of energy — spiritually, mentally, or emotionally — people in Detroit talk about this stuff all the time. It’s totally normal. But the two artists I’ve probably talked to about this stuff the most would be Mad Mike Banks and Carl Craig. Mike can go deeper than anybody else I know. He’s really traveled the world and seen it all. I really like our conversations because it makes me come at the world with a changing mindset that’s focused on rebuilding a better community. We chat about being Sagittarius and all sorts of other things, but it’s more about using your persistence and the superpowers that you have to better the world by yourself.
Tell us about some of the criteria and selection processes that you’ve outlined for the creation of each chart.
My best filter will be my intuition and experiences of understanding astrology by picking 30 songs for each sign’s Beatport playlist with good vibrations for the season. I will also include some artists who have birthdays that land in that particular season in each playlist as well. We are not just one sign, we are all of our signs, and our birth charts are filled with different power and vibration. Signs make up our inner self, personality, energy, and spirit. So with this in mind, the song selections for each of these playlists will be an effort for me to heal my area’s house. In my research, I’ve also learned that there are chakras for each sign, and every chakra has its own frequency. So with those chakras, I wanted to play around with the various keys they represent as well.
In addition, I’m hoping that between Aries, Taurus, and Gemini, I will have a new track out for the season. For me, Springtime has always been the best time to work on music.
Listen to the DJ Holographic’s Cosmic Vibrations: Aries playlist below or check it out on Beatport.
Cameron Holbrook is Beatportal’s North American Editor. Find him on Twitter or Instagram.
