Turn It Up! There’s a New Crop of BMIR Playlists for Your Dusty Ears

Your BMIR DJs are at it again, curating one-of-a-kind playlists for the Burning Man community. Each DJ puts his/her whole self into each mix, resulting in a string of songs that makes a statement about something they are feeling or want you to feel. They fly the flag high for their beloved BMIR, even in the offseason. Here’s a bit more about this month’s crop of DJs and their musical offerings, in their own words.

Conway Jennings

I’ve been with BMIR since 2017. While I’ve been a day manager for a few years, last year was my first year as Program Director, meaning that I schedule all the radio shows and content for the live broadcast on the playa. BMIR is my home away from home. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else in Black Rock City.

Living in Richmond, VA, I’m also heavily involved in the local Burn community. I’m in my fourth year as a member of the Board of Directors for Transformus, the Southeast regional burn. I am also a co-founder and organizer for the Party Liberation Front, an East Coast theme camp and year round community. Recently we started a 501c3 non-profit called the Party Liberation Foundation. We are raising funds through Burn-style events and parties to facilitate art grants and free workshops and events for the community. We are taking our first baby steps as a non-profit and are super excited to see what the future holds for us.

As Mr Jennings, I write, produce, and DJ bass music. I love hip-hop and am heavily influenced by all the amazing new music being written now. I played piano and trombone for years growing up, so I also love to work in elements of swing, blues, and music from all over the globe. As always, I’m stoked to play some sets this year at the Burn, and I hope you enjoy my playlist here.

Sacha Dubvirus

From the first moment I began attending Burning Man in 2010, I have found constant awe and inspiration in every moment at the Burn. As a music producer and a DJ, I never feel more tapped into the muse than when being blasted by subwoofers deep in the desert. Ever since that first year, whenever I sit down to write music, I can’t help but but be transported back to that desert, underneath the stars.

As a new recruit to the BMIR family, I am deeply honored to be included among the eclectic and passionate freaks that make this radio station the bastion of underground sound in Black Rock City. After years of listening to the waves, I am now afforded the privilege of witnessing the magic behind the curtain. In return I can simply offer my time, my service, and some music.

This playlist attempts to capture a sense of a night out in BRC. From all the mischief and mystery that comes with the setting of the sun, into the deep dark hours of the night, and through into the bliss of sunrise, drift along with the pulse of the playa.

Adi WALA

As WALA, I’ve had the profound honor and opportunity to travel the globe studying frequencies, cultures, and dance floors, and incorporating that influence into my music, resulting in a style that blends sounds like spices into a sexy, worldly sonic experience which I affectionately refer to as “Gypsy Crunk.” I aspire to take listeners on an acoustic journey and introduce them to new sounds — sometimes music I’ve created myself, other times not. It’s like a pursuit of an alchemy of frequency.

I heard about Burning Man in the ‘90s but didn’t make it to the playa until 2005. Ever since my first Burn, from the moment I arrived on playa for the first time, we listened to BMIR in the car in the ride I had found on Craigslist (after I bought a ticket at a store on Haight St in San Francisco for around $200, three days before the event). I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had a two-person tent with a hole in it and no shade, but I did have a battery powered radio! BMIR has always played a central role in framing my window to the weird, bizarre, and hilariously wacky world of Burning Man, will always hold a place in my heart, and has inspired so much of my own music over the years.

I met up with the BMIR crew in 2012 and have had my own show since 2013. Rather than exclusively play only music I’ve produced, instead I prefer to follow in the footsteps of my BMIR predecessors and play music, sounds, producers, and genres listeners may not have heard before along a musical journey.

And with all of that in mind, I made the following playlist of tunes I’ve dug around for or encountered in various ways, including many friends whose work inspires my own but whom listeners may not have heard. This is “feel good music” to me, at a time when I feel like we could all use a little more “cozy” in our lives. This playlist gives me all the good feels. Please enjoy with tea and a pinch of playa, if possible.