Music for healing with brooklyn’s Shira Dennis
Hey Shi Shi! How are you today?
I’m doing well! I’ve spent the past few months recovering from a brain injury. The doctor warned me of this but lately, I have chunks of good days and also chunks of usually 4-5 bad days where I feel symptomatic. I recently went back to work as a middle school teacher and going into work today felt like it helped me get back into a zone of good days and out of the bad days chunk I had been in.
What was the last song you listened to?
rRoxymore - Nightbite
Where’s your favourite place to listen to music?
I have two! A good spot where I have space to dance at the right club or at my old house in Portland. We used to have this great basement with studio space for all my housemates and I. I used to lay on the floor for hours listening to albums front to back. I think that is probably still my favorite place to listen to music.
What’s your favourite music discovery you’ve made recently?
My friend Marco Weibel has started doing this little series on instagram where he highlights a record he loves from his collection. He shares where he got the record and a little back story. I think it’s so fun! He just did one for “trickpony - Pillow Talk EP” and I’ve been listening to it non-stop. It’s so beautiful to me. Thanks Marco :)
Is there an artist or album you listen to a lot we might not expect based on your mixes?
I listen to a lot of Jazz but also my co-teacher and I listen to so much Ariana Grande in our classroom. It’s fine for the kids but great for us haha.
Can you tell us a little about your Theory Therapy mix? What inspired it? Where did you record it?
In early January, I was roofied at a club I have spent a lot of time at. In my subconscious I think I recognized that I had been drugged because I started feeling uncomfortable. I tried to leave once I felt this but unfortunately collapsed unconscious and hit my head. I suffered a skull fracture and hematoma that had me in the hospital for a week, followed by months of recovery where I had to re-learn how to engage in daily life. It has taken me away from DJing in the way I’ve been doing it for almost ten years, and also took me away from being a teacher until just two weeks ago when I went back to work. It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to go through in a really long time. Once I was home from the hospital and settled a bit into recovery mode, I really wanted to engage with DJing but didn’t know how. I’ve always loved Theory Therapy and also listened to a lot of the mixes in my hospital bed so I reached out to see if I could contribute. I never had made a mix of this nature, and had to do it as a studio mix via Abelton because I couldn’t DJ or even really stand up. My friend Karl, who is amazing, helped me learn Abelton in little chunks and we did a lot of this together. It was really emotionally healing for me to learn something new, have creative time with my friend, and also lean into the music I was listening to in the hospital, and create something that was different from my usual style and mixes.
Where would you recommend listening to it?
Abelton is so different from DJing! When I was working on this, I’d get super granular and tend to over-fix things and ruin the mix. Karl, and a few other producers I know, suggested I work in small chunks and then listen back and take notes about what I hear – what I liked and didn’t like. For about a month this became my morning practice. I grew to love this mix through listening in the morning. It very slowly gains energy so I think it’s nice for morning journaling or whatever your routine is.
Theory Therapy mixes are about sharing the music that you personally find therapeutic, cathartic or restorative. What does that mean for you?
That has changed meaning since my injury. In the case of this mix, I could barely listen to any music for so long. Most sounds were too grating and overstimulating. Sounds like wind chimes and other really mellow things were all I could tolerate so that’s what became therapeutic. Over time, I was able to tolerate more and my music taste slowly re-expanded. This was interesting for me to witness in myself. So I guess I’d say, music that is therapeutic is music that is needed or helpful in any moment or phase of life and allowing that need to change and evolve to what is true for you.
Is there a particular album or piece of music that you find yourself returning to for similar reasons?
Velvet Rope - Janet Jackson. That’s my forever favorite album and will always hold a special place in getting me closer to myself. Also, Talk To The Sea - Gigi Masin, and Moodymann’s DJ Kicks also are albums I come back to a lot. Ohhh also, Transmissions: The Music of Beverly Glenn Copeland and lastly, In A Silent Way by Miles Davis. Omg I’m sorry that was like five albums, I can’t help it.
Tell us something exciting that's coming up in your life, music or otherwise.
I’m excited and grateful to finally be back teaching. I felt one of the most painful parts of my injury was losing out on quality time with my seventh graders. They are the best. I also really am hoping to play in new spots that I haven’t played in as I am able to start DJing again. Depending on how I continue to heal, I’m trying to plan some shows on the West Coast and maybe even Europe this summer. I’m mostly just excited to keep getting to experience the joys of normal life and getting back to myself.