Midweek Mantra Mix 042: DEKAI shares grounded, inspiring, and intentional would-be mix from Dejavoom’s Open Decks

Wednesday is humpday, which not only marks the halfway point between the work week and the coveted weekend, but also Conscious Electronic’s Midweek Mantra Mix (M3). We’ve been scouring the web’s most enlightening bass music mixes that align with our vision, to provide “a conscious way to consume dance music.” M3 spotlights both veteran and up-and-coming bass music artists whose music seeks to raise the vibrations of their collective listener base.

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In the tight-knit circle of the Bassnectar family is a group of talented bass newcomers who are committed to spreading Lorin Ashton’s signature amorphous sound. DEKAI is one of those producers, who we’ve featured consistently since first hearing his track, “Call of the Ancients.” The record even made apart of CE‘s Rising Bass Spotlight one year ago, which has traversed a collective of up-and-coming bass producers that any aspiring artist would want to be named alongside. Since then, the Salt Lake City-based producer (real name Derek Page) has been releasing a series of singles and short-form EPs much to our enjoyment.

In the company of rising bass stars like Ravenscoon, MIZE, Dorfex Bos, Wreckno, Drop Doc, Cyber G, illantropy, and more, Page’s beats are as beautifully heavy as the rest of the pack. At the same time, his is a sound that is still very much comfortably and uniquely his own. Recently, DEKAI was selected to participate in Dejavoom‘s open decks set at the second annual Bassnectar-curated destination festival in Mexico. However, when the Dejavoom was called off because of the growing Coronavirus epidemic, DEKAI’s set did not come to pass.

Still, DEKAI felt compelled to release his mix despite the disappointing outcome of the event, which was slated to go off last weekend from March 25 through 28. The 30-minute set is highly intentional and meant to put listeners “into a flow state,” says DEKAI. With remix treatments of Pink Floyd, Zeds Dead, TOOL, Squnto, Zebbler Encanti Experience and more, plus plenty of DEKAI originals, the Open Decks mix is a perfectly-building journey through heavy bass, beautiful melodies, worldly sounds, and different moods and tempos.

Being my first time playing for the gang, I wanted to take the journey as deep as 30 mins would let me as a way to introduce myself and my sound. I tried to fit in a wide variety of my tracks from old to new, remixes, edits, and brand new unreleased stuff I made just for Voom. You’ll hear a lot of my biggest musical inspirations besides Lorin himself.”

DEKAI points out a very special part of the set him, which comes in around the 6-minute mark. The clip is actually audio of DEKAI’s Chichén Itzá tour guide, a fellow named Alex, from Deja Voom 2019. “I accidentally left my phone recording video in my pocket, and the audio ended up being perfect,” says DEKAI. “He left a huge impression on me, and spent most of the tour talking to us about Mayans, ancient cultures, his shamanistic experiences, and more.”

In these uncertain times, it’s always nice to have music that feels grounded, inspiring, and intentional. DEKAI certainly channels these energies on his latest mix, and it’s the reason he’s our next Midweek Mantra Mix feature. Listen to DEKAI’s Dejavoom Open Decks mix below and also be sure to check out the setlist.

Full setlist:
Pink Floyd – Breath (DEKAI Remix)
Orenda – Numinus (DEKAI Edit)
DEKAI – Visions
DEKAI – ID feat. Alex from Chichen Itza @ Deja Voom 2019****
Tool – Parabola (DEKAI “This Reality” Remix)
NastyNasty – Fundamentals (DEKAI Remix)
DEKAI – ID
DEKAI – Mantra
DEKAI – Of Ancients
DEKAI – Call of the Ancients
DEKAI – Hiraeth
DEKAI – ID (Gorillaz Clint Eastwood Mashup)
Zeds Dead – Collapse (DEKAI Remix)
SQUNTO – Sirens (DEKAI Remix)
ID – ID
Fractal – Avare (RoboRob & DEKAI Remix)
DEKAI – ID + (Deadmau5 & Grabbitz – Let Go)
DEKAI – Castles and Kingdoms (2019 VIP)
Zebbler Encanti Experience – Inner G (DEKAI + ID Remix WIP)