The DJ Takeover sponsored by Level Up is a program for listeners to discover their favorite artist's favorite artists, working to foster connection to the music and makers inside and outside our city. For the entire hour, we go down the rabbit hole of stories from their past, experiences of the present and goals for the future.
Classical piano, punk music and rave culture have all been part of Tori Drake’s origin story. While these three genres are wildly different, they all find a home in Drake’s music — the latest example of which (new single “Eulogy”) combines sweeping chamber melodies with layered distorted vocal harmonies that clash with dissonant electronic pulsing.
Drake got their start DJ’ing and saw firsthand how the industry was male-dominated. “It didn’t feel like a place where I could fully be myself and the person I wanna be,” they noted. Today, Drake finds inspiration in the musicians they feel both represented by and allowed the space to feel.
“My favorite albums, the albums that really stick with me, are the albums that you can listen to when you're sad, when you're upset, when you're happy, when you need to feel at peace,” they said.
Experimental ambient music lends itself to reflection arguably more than other genres, simply because of the room left for interpretation. It’s something Drake has found comfort in as far back as their middle-school days, when they would eat lunch with their science teacher (Miss Shirley, for the record) and listen to Enya in relative silence.
Sitting with Drake while listening to Björk, Arca, Eartheater and ML Buch reminded me that the magic of music can be the space it gives you to let go. Drake’s story proves that what brought us back to ourselves when we were young — be it Mozart, Black Flag, LustSickPuppy or Enya — continues to move through us later in life.
For the kids today sitting with their science teacher over lunch, this is your sign to turn on Tori Drake.
DJ Takeover: Tori Drake playlist
- Tori Drake, “Eulogy”
- Björk, “The Gate”
- ML Buch, “High speed calm air tonight”
- Malibu, “So Sweet & Willing”
- Ichiko Aoba, “Dawn in the Adan”
- Arca, “Time”
- Eartheater, “8”
- Massive Attack, “The Spoils (ft. Hope Sandoval)”
- ena, “Regarding”
