This is a dope monthly party started by Move Forward Music featuring DJ PQ, Rich Medina, and a rotating cast of guest DJs like J. Period. While Rich is overseas touring, the legendary Tony Touch will be holding things down and I’m this month’s special guest!

Come dressed and energized to dance! Don’t forget to RSVP for reduce admission!

Also, March was pretty busy for me. Alice’s Arbor Fridays, some private events, some post-DAF wrapup. In the midst of all this, something great happened. Live at the Loft returned for a special night with Oddisee! Such a great show. The vibe was just as amazing and didn’t feel like it had been 11 months since the last one! Looks like there will be more to come for which I am very excited. Live at the Loft is just what this city needs right now!

I got to sit down with Tone and talk a little bit about why I love Live at the Loft and why I volunteer. I’m just happy to contribute to something so great. Be sure to check all the episodes of Resync and learn about all that goes on behind the scenes of this great live music series!

RESYCN06 with Tara from LIVE AT THE LOFT on Vimeo.

I’ve been a busy bee lately. This is why. In addition to organizing, after taking a year off, I’m DJing this year’s Donuts are Forever!

The lineup is amazing. Our special guest DJ is JUST BLAZE!

I’m so excited. If you haven’t purchased your ticket yet, please do so. You’ll avoid a long wait trying to cop at the door.

Check the flyer above or peep the text below! See you there!

Sunday, February 17th, 2013
Presidents’ Day Weekend

Rare Form & Okayplayer present
DONUTS ARE FOREVER 7
an annual NYC tribute to a Detroit legend

SRB Brooklyn
177 2nd Avenue
(corner of 14th St)

http://srbbrooklyn.com/nweb/

sets provided by
JUST BLAZE (NYC)
DJ CENTER (Push the Fader – NYC)
DJ TARA (Rare Form – NYC)
DJ STYLUS (Soul Controllers – DC)
DJ PARLER (Up To Par – NYC)
DJ SHAWN DUB (I ? Vinyl – LA / NYC)

hosted by
FRESH DAILY (Brooklyn Good Guys – NYC)

Proceeds go to benefit the Donuts are Forever Scholarship Fund, an  
initiative in partnership with the Groundwork for Success Program (run  
by Good Shepherd Services) that sends high school kids in Brooklyn to  
Scratch Academy to learn how to DJ / produce. The DAF Scholarship was  
created in 2011 and by summer of 2013, we will have sent 40 kids to  
these classes thanks to your contributions.

The past few weeks have been incredibly busy! If you follow me on twitter or like my facebook page, or are on my mailinglist, you know exactly how busy I’ve been.

This past Wednesday, I was the first guest DJ for Pink Cookies…a 90s Joint! I great monthly after-work flow hosted by Lauren Santiago and Stephenie Stewart.
I had such a great time. I love all 90s jams so it was really hard to pick what I wanted to play and cram in all the songs I wanted to play that night! Fun times!

Thanks to DJ Shawn Dub for the photo above.

Then I resumed my Friday nights at Alice’s Arbor. So great to be back! Come check me out this Friday!

And finally, tonight! I’m DJing with Prince Paul and Cipha Sounds for Hannibal Buress’ 30th Birthday Party!!! Not only is the DJ lineup sick (these guys are legends!!!), it’s in Brooklyn, and it’s free. I’m also hearing there will be quite a few surprises throughout the night.

I’m so excited and honored to be a part. If you decide to slide through, I advise that you come early.

The Renaissance December 2012

Boooklyn Halloween 2012. I was a goth...

...and DJ Parler was a nerd!

Makossa BK July 2012

Makossa BK June 2012

Know This! Live Taping March 2012

I hope everyone was able to ring in 2013 in style! If you were home, I hope you were surrounded by loved ones and if you were in the club, I hope the DJ dropped a good one at midnight!

2012 was a really great year for me, thanks to you! From another successful season of Makossa BK to DJing some unconventional events and gigging in new cities! Paris was the first of what I hope to be many out-of-town gigs I’ll be doing!

Apparently another resolution I need to make is to take more photos! Here’s a small roundup of shots from this past year courtesy of Reginald Duvivier and John DeMato.

Also, thank you for checking out my site, listening to my mixes, peeping my tumblr page for new music, and of course, coming out to my gigs. I hope you’ll have more dates to choose from this year when it comes to checking me out live. In the meanwhile, I’m still at Alice’s Arbor (most) Fridays.

I hope your year is starting off right and check back here soon!

(DJ) Tara

 (Photo by Mike Baker)

The inaugural The Renaissance was a success!

Bringing a group of DJs together who can cross styles and genres is serious  business; You never know what to expect. Which is exactly what is intended with The Renaissance! Basement vibes, fog machines, full dancefloor, and thankfully, a great AC so we could still move and look fly without sweating profusely!

Major props to residents Getlive! and Stretch Armstrong, who pulled so many goodies out that I had never heard, in addition to long-forgotten jams. I felt like I was in very good company. It was a great honor to be one of the first guest DJs to this party which will definitely be bringing some greatnesss in 2013.

I’m looking forward to seeing who next month’s guests will be!

Follow the folks behind Forever Fresh and Rare Form on twitter or join the Rare Form Facebook page for updates for next month’s The Renaissance!

This week was no exception because not only did I keep the tunes going before, during, and after the show, I also became the live performance DJ to one of the newest, hottest rappers out whose new song is absolutely burning up the internets. Check out his jam!

Seeing this talent perform this song live for the first time was amazing. It was one of the best live performances I’ve ever been witness to, let alone be a part of! The background dancers were great! It was so amazing, we took it on tour the following night to Greenpoint for Broken Comedy.

(Photo by Jessiemae Peluso- a VERY funny comedian with a show coming on MTV in 2013!)

Can’t wait to see what heat this dude drops next.

Also, I hit a bit of a slow-down a few weeks ago with my tumblr page but fear not! I’m back to posting daily music from around the globe and around the corner. Lots of downloadables in there so check it out and make sure to follow!

Finally, we’re only 2 days away from The Renaissance! Gotta thank The Village Voice for listing our event on their site. NYC, I’ll see you on Friday!

When the blog is silent, it means I’m working! On mixes, on gigs, on new events…

I’m very excited to be a part of a new monthly event starting Friday, December 14th. This event is bringing together two amazing NYC DJs- DJ Stretch Armstrong (a personal idol of mine) and DJ Getlive- for an event that can’t be missed!

I’m honored to be one of their first guests! Stretch is a legend and Getlive has been tearing up the WORLD with his sets the past few years. This is a party that will bring you new music and classics we all enjoy; giving you what you want, and what you need from a party. See you there!

I should have a new mix before year’s end, but before then, you can catch me almost every weekend at Alice’s Arbor, rotating nights with DJ Shawn Dub, providing a chill soundtrack to your late-night food and drink movement .

Tomorrow night, I’m DJing the Oddisee & Tanya Morgan show at Public Assembly in Williamsburg. Tickets are going fast!

Oddisee & Tanya Morgan @ Public Assembly
70 N.6th Street
Doors @ 8pm | $10 in Advance/ $15 Day of sale

Then on Saturday, I’ll be DJing with DJ Parler at Brooklyn Tap House for our Halloween Party! It’s a tough wait until next summer for Makossa so we figured we’d spread some fall cheer at our favorite Brooklyn hang.

BOOOOKLYN Halloween Party @ Brooklyn Tap House
590 Myrtle Ave (at Classon)
9pm-3am | No Cover

Finally, if you’re in the Clinton Hill/Bed-Stuy area (and parts nearby), you can check me out at Alice’s Arbor. It’s a bar and restaurant that became my regular haunt this past spring. It’s also a favorite spot of DJ Shawn Dub. We’ll be taking care of the tunes on Fridays and Saturday nights! The kitchen is open late, the bartenders know how to make a drink, and the vibe is great. Come by some time! Shawn Dub and I will switch off on either day as we go along so either night, the music will be dope1

Weekends @ Alice’s Arbor (Fridays and Saturdays)
549 Classon (off Fulton)
10pm-2am | No Cover

This weekend, I’ll be spinning at one of my favorite venues in the city, Brooklyn Bowl! I’ll be doing a special edition of Hip Hop Karaoke!

I’ve known the Hip Hop Karaoke guys for a while and I was a pretty regular attendee before life started getting in the way. I’m a karaoke fiend so being able to spit my favorite MC’s verses instead of my usual 80s pop jams was a welcome change. One particular night of Hip Hop Karaoke had me doing ODB’s “Brooklyn Zoo” and jumping off the stage mid verse to rap in the crowd. What can I say? It was my birthday!

This time, I promise I’ll keep my presence on the stage as I spin a set and cue up the tunes for karaoke. I may also play hype-woman if you let me. See you there!

Fly at Night by Dj Tara on Mixcloud

(Feel free to stream above, or check out the mixcloud page for a download link.)

I can’t say I’m 100% devoted to the genre, but I do love dance music.

I’m a dancer (at heart. not professionally. or even adequately).  If I’m at a party and I’m not on the decks, I’m probably on the dance floor or two-stepping at the bar. While so many genres move me, there’s something so universal and organic about dance music that gets everyone: the rhythm. It’s undeniable; from the most metallic electronic rave track to a disco song, the pace of the rhythm compels you to move.

It’s quite clear Electronic Dance Music has made a huge surge back from the days of JNCOs and glow-sticks in the 90s. Today you have Grammy-Award winning producers traveling the world headlining their own shows, numerous international music festivals of just electronic producers and DJs, and venues rivaling those the size of soccer stadiums full of folks listening and dancing their butts off to electronic dance music.

While I can’t say I’m on that spectrum of things, I do know what a classic house tune does to me when I hear it, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same kind of emotion a kid checking out a Skrillex set feels even though they don’t sound the same. The truth is they all come from the same humble beginning. Some newer artists are taking things to new heights while others are making songs that are more reminiscent of the earlier beginnings of electronic dance music-the time when people flocked to underground clubs in Chicago to listen to tracks folks made in their homes using borrowed equipment; the days when Inner City’s “Good Life” and “Big Fun” introduced the world to new music out of Detroit called Techno (yes, that is Techno); the days when some MCs decided to experiment and fuse genres creating Hip House. That’s what I love, and it exists today-in the timeless classics made in the 80s and 90s, and the newer tracks of the past decade.

I just wanted to present a tiny amount of all this great music in a mix that you can listen to any time, but is especially fly at night. Enjoy.