Mixed Emotions by Brian Norwood
DJ Brian Norwood was born during the first seedlings of dance music as we know it today were sprouting. In the 1970s, the Tea Dance at Fire Island's Blue Whale was settling in as ritual and David Mancuso's infamous "The Loft" parties in NYC were just getting started. Being born in the music-rich environment of Nashville would be a harbinger of things to come. And being born in that era would greatly impact his career. In the 90's, Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, would open its arms to Brian. This move to a more urban environment and being within the twinkle of NYC skyscrapers, is an important transition not only in geography, but of musical awakening. After attending a seminal Saint-At-Large Party with all its intendant revelry, he felt an overwhelming drive to cultivate music and learn to mix. Vinyl was still the preferred medium for DJ's, which gives Brian the unique perspective of being among the younger DJ's still spinning today who teethed on vinyl. In the 90s Brian began to play live shows. His ability to feel the energy of a room and to zero in on what crowds want to hear quickly gained him major name recognition that spread from Philadelphia to the entire nation. Over the last 25 years the notable gigs he has played are too many to count, but include events in every major American city and as far away as Maui, Hawaii and Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2011 he began podcasting for the ability to reach even more listeners. His Mixed Emotions by Brian Norwood podcasts have been streamed hundreds of thousands of times and continue to be a major asset to his musical career. The sets that have been the most recognized of his work are Sophisticated Morning, Sophisticated Deep, and Sophisticated Chill. These sets are just as their name implies: percolating, hazy, gently rising to an alert state. However, to those unfamiliar with his breadth of music, it would be unfair to characterize him as a “chill” only DJ. It is unlikely that you would have heard music and music mixed like this anywhere else. Brian has a style of playing unique, obscure and ethereal songs that is unmistakably his. This is a true artist that isn't stuck in a genre, who can play for long sets and play to the most demanding crowds. It’s difficult to express with words something as nuanced as music by a sublime DJ. But to paraphrase an old saying, you know it when you hear it. He knows how important a crowd is to a DJ and how important a DJ is to a crowd and he chooses cautiously and carefully the live gigs that he plays. His podcasts can be found on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, PodOmatic and HearThis. Whether you hear him at a live performance or on his podcast you’re in for a rare and unique musical trip.
Episodes
It's so hard to pinpoint which genre is my favorite to mix and present because I love several different genres so much. But it is without question that the sound that I present on these Deep mixes resides right at the top of my list of favorites. Different DJs have different reasons and end-goals for why they DJ. I myself have always wanted to affect people on a higher level. It's more than just entertaining in the pursuit...
Several weeks ago I mentioned that this new edition of Sophisticated Morning was going to be deep and moody. At that time I noticed that a great deal of that type of deep house was sitting in my hold bin. Well, that didn't happen. Instead what you're going to hear here (ha!) is very much one of my traditional Morning sets. For those of you that were looking forward to a deeper sound from me, please accept my apologies (but...
I got back from Hawaii three weeks ago...and I swear I'm still glowing from the experience. The glow is so strong that I thought I'd share some of it with you. I played many of these songs at Epic Maui Journey...so if you were there you'll recognize most of them. I can't wait for you to hear them again. If you weren't, well, I can't wait for you to hear them the first time! These are masterpieces; a collection of song...
Have you ever heard me liken my mixes to musical arcs? Typically I mold my sets as though they form an imaginary musical arc, with a distinct beginning, peak and landing. With this mix, unintentionally, my arc is more like a straight line across (that's drenched in warm, deep, melodic and heart-soaring vibes). The feel at the end of this set is very much the same as the beginning. I always like to say that I'm not the only...
#/ARTIST/TITLE/REMIX
01. Haevn/Where Did You Go/Original Mix
02. Modera/Back Into Your Arms/Blonde Maze Extended
03. Donna Lewis/I Love You Always Forever/Nora En Pure Extended
04. Nicolas Soria/Together/Original Mix
05. Cari Golden/Missing/Extended Mix
06. Leo Stannard/Illuminate/Extended Mix
07. Fahlberg/Wytal/Original Mix
08. Max Milner/Hope/CamelPhat Mix
09. Lewyn/Beween The Line...
I've been planning this mix for months now and so excited about it...so it brings me huge joy to finally get it to you.
I'll tell you about the influences that helped me create it and then I'll tell you about why I envision it as "Fire Island" house music. First, the influences. I was lucky enough to live in Philly during the glory days of clubbing (the 90s). Because of my close proximity to NYC I was going to c...
#/Artist/Title/Remix
01. Chicane/Nevertheless/Extended Mix
02. Eloi El/Stick Together/Blonde Maze Remix
03. A R I Z O N A/Meet You There/Original Mix
04. Kaskade/pwdr Blu/Original Mix
05. OCULA/We Don't Need A Reason/Original
06. DJ Licious/Ibiza Sky/Extended Mix
07. Treetalk/The Good Life/Extended Mix
08. Shouse/Live Without Love/Extended Mix
09. Jack The Stripper/Pop Rock Jesus/Orue Mix
10. ...
As you know I have three DJ mix series that I produce: Sophisticated Deep, Morning and Chill. All three of the series are authentic labors of love of mine; artistic works that genuinely come from deep within.
As I sit and ponder I sometimes think that the Deep sets differ so strikingly from the Chill and Morning sets. But upon deeper thought...no, they actually don't. From the very beginning of my spinning ca...
Welcome to the start of one of the happiest days I have each and every year. The beginnings of my live gigs are always a big source of pride and joy for me. You've heard me mention numerous times before my belief that musical performances should form an unseen arc with a clear beginning that invites the listener in -- comforting and intriguing them all at once. I conceive all my musical performances with clearly defined...
Welcome to the segment of Epic Maui Journey where I was beginning to ramp the energy up into spine-tingling, foot-stomping anthems. I started this set off with Paloma Faith's most brilliant remake of "Make Your Own Kind Of Music" by Cass Elliot. From there I weaved through anthemic house and disco house masterpieces. My surprises during this set are of course the "Make Your Own Kind Of Music" but also include the remake of...
Several years ago I nearly renamed my Sophisticated Morning mix series to Little Journeys. I ended up not doing it because many of you talked me out of it. But if I had....it WOULD have been fitting. I have always looked at my mixes as, well, Little Journeys. The newest Sophisticated Morning is just that; a little journey.
The first three songs belong loosely to an indie genre. I start the set off with one of ...
This part of Epic Maui Journey 2023 was filled with melodic, uplifting and heart-tugging anthems. All of the songs during this stretch have vocals and vibes that were designed to send our souls flying. I can't wait for you to either relive the day (if you were there)...or hear the joy that we experienced (if you weren't).
From my heart...to your ears.....
#/Artist/Title/Remix
01. Olivia O'Brien/Caught...
I always approach the music for my gigs thinking of the event as though it were riding a musical arc. That being said...one could say that this segment is the "peak" of the day. I hesitate to say that though because during each segment of this day there was music that would send one's soul soaring high -- just in a different way. But it is true that this part of the day was the fastest (clocking in at around 124-125 bpm) a...
This segment of the day is always one of my very favorite parts of the Epic Maui Journey day. It's the Golden Hour when the beach is awash in that mystical golden light that is nearly impossible to describe. Because the natural beauty that surrounds us is so mighty and powerful....I believe that this is the hour that it's most important to nail the music selection. This is the hour where our emotions can be catapulted in...
Pulling this podcast together was both incredibly easy -- and hard, all at once. Easy...because of how much breathtaking music I had to choose from. And hard...because of, well, how much breathtaking music I had to choose from! You see the predicament. ;-)
If you're a follower of mine on one of the various streaming sites then you you've probably seen that it's been a good spell since I've been able to mix for you. ...
I'm always unsure of how my Chill sets will be received because it's pretty rare to hear this genre of music mixed into a DJ set. I wouldn't say the music is rare, per se. I'd just say that it being mixed as a DJ set is. But I was always attracted to the melodic and emotional side of music and I have always insisted on having my heart lead the way on my musical endeavors -- so here we are. From the very beginning I trie...
Heart. That's the word that comes to mind when I think about my newest musical journey. I guess when I think about it I can say that I'm blessed to have always been very in touch with my heart and not afraid to share it with others. And that's where you come in. This is a collaboration -- and I'm happy it's between you and me.
As far as this production goes...one would say it's a tale of two mixes. The first part is...
Hello my fellow music-lover. Good to be back with you again after a too-long absence. Life has had too much on my plate and I've not had lots of extra time to create a set...until now. Just in time, right? Spring is in the air. The sun is out. The air is warm. The birds are chirping. And here's new music to match the season.
I'm always excited about releasing a new music project. But I'm particularly excit...
Of all the music that I mix and present it's the heartfelt deep house music that I love the most. And it's been more than three months since I released a Sophisticated Morning set -- so I'm crazy excited to bring this new edition to you. This mix has music by the best and most current chill and deep house artists, producers and remixers including Forester, Shallou, GoldFish, Matoma, Zak Abel, Robin Schulz, Alle Farben, K...
Let me tell you an awesome story. I played Epic Maui Journey on the beach every year for 7 years (until 2021 of course) and we were hoping for its return in 2022. Unfortunately because of restrictions on Maui that were lifted too late to give most people time to plan we weren't able to pull together an official party again. But 2020 and 2021 being what they had been (especially to me personally) I decided to go ahead an...
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