Whether she’s playing Burning Man sunrises, international festivals, or clubs around the world, DJ and producer Tara Brooks knows a thing or two about helping a dancefloor catch a groove. The California-based artist has been shaking up the underground world of electronic music for the past 12 years, bringing her unique flavor for deep, intricate and melodic, house and techno to parties on just about every continent. With heavy roots in the Southern California rave scene, Brooks’ out-of-the-box sound is ripe for eclectic
Lounging backstage in the middle of the woods before
It’s safe to say that Brooks’ was born to play music. Born to a mother who sings and plays piano and a father who dabbled in guitar, Brooks says she always had a feeling she would pursue musical interests.
“My whole family is super musical, and I’ve always known that I’m kind of a weirdo and super different and I was going to do something with my life that wasn’t in the office,” Brooks explained. “And you know my mom was a psychotherapist, my dads a lawyer, so a job that was helping people and interacting, not in a cubicle, was something I wanted.”
Out on the Elements dance floor, there’s no debating that Brooks’ music is indeed helping people. Smiles erupted on faces throughout the crowd as she stepped behind the decks of the Air Stage, but as she explains, it took some time to find her exact flavor of electronica.
“The first electronic music I got into was always progressive, so whether it was San Francisco or Chicago-style house music, or more psychedelic trance and techno, I definitely experienced a large mix of the genres,” Brooks said. “It’s all about loving it all, experiencing it all, and then just kind of diving and experimenting. That’ what’s most important to me.”
But how exactly did Brooks go from waiting tables to making a living off of playing and producing music? She says it all started with long afternoons in record stores, a pair of turntables, and a spark of curiosity.
“So my ex-boyfriend had turntables at his home just for fun, so we would go out together and enjoy parties, nightlife stuff and he would DJ at home sometimes,” Brooks explained. “We’d go to the record stores together and I’d be so inspired, I’d start picking up records and getting lost in them for hours and hours and time would go by. And I’d just graduated from college and realized ‘wait, what am I doing – like why aren’t I playing? Because this looks fun.’”
But Brooks would soon learn that playing records was more than just fun, it was a deeply healing practice.
“So I started to think to myself ‘I’ve bought all these records – why don’t I play them? So I just started playing and teaching myself how to play and I realized how healing it was to play music,” she explains.
“I was going through such an up and down time in my life and was just like ‘holy shit – who would have known that this can take away
pain ?’ And I realized it could heal me and I could heal other people.”
Already brimming with energy before her set, Brooks’ eyes light up as she points to a tattoo on her arm with the word ‘dreams.’
“This is the name of a record that I first mixed properly into another record,” Brooks says pointing at her tattoo. “And I beat matched for the first time on
And I think everyone who loves music has that feeling of ‘Oh my gosh this
feel so good,’ and then that’s when you make a decision like ‘Ok this feels good,’ so am I going to do with it?”
Already working in the service industry, Brooks convinced people to start letting her bring her records and turntables and play during dinner service. Soon, friends started inviting her to play their events.
That was in 2007.
Flash forward 12 years, and Brooks is being tapped for releases on record labels around the world, and, at Elements, taking over the Air Stage prior to one of the most sought after names in techno music; Berlin-based artist Seth Troxler.
“You can always go back to what you’re doing,” Tara says, explaining how she took the leap into making music. “But I thought let’s try this out on the side. At this
point I don’t even believe in fucking failing because if you didn’t try – then you can’t fail.”
When asked to list some of her favorite artists, Brooks began racking off names at light speed.
“Some of my friends are the best DJs and producers in the world and I’m not just saying that,” she says with her only serious tone of the night. “If I threw my own festival it would hands down for sure have DJ Tennis, Dance Spirit, I love the Desert Hearts
When asked to reflect on her favorite dance floor memories, Brooks says she can’t identify a ‘specific moment,’ but there is undoubtedly a specific feeling.
“The feeling on the dancefloor that it doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, where you’re from, your sex… Nothing matters except for music, and
its like if we can all come here from all around the world and just be on the same page, why can’t that be an understanding in the outside world?”
For East Coasters looking for a chance to experience what Brooks’ is all about, catch her at CityFox Arise at the Brooklyn Mirage on July 6 alongside Maceo Plex, Nastia, Dusky, ANNA, and more.
And if you’re interested in what the Elements Lakewood dancefloor is all about, grab Early Bird tickets to Lakewood 2020. As Brooks said herself, there’s no feeling quite like the freedom of a festival.
Connect with Tara Brooks:
https://www.facebook.com/tarabrooksofficial
https://twitter.com/tarabrooksmusic
https://soundcloud.com/tarabrooksmusic https://www.instagram.com/tarabrooksmusic
Connect with Elements Music and Arts Festival:
https://www.facebook.com/ElementsFestNYC
https://www.twitter.com/ElementsFestNYC
https://www.instagram.com/ElementsFestNYC
Connect with BangOn!NYC:
https://www.facebook.com/ItsBangOnNYC
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