Rhythm Nation with Peter Marks

Echo Garden - May 2025 Mix by Peter Marks

The latest echo garden mix covers a range of downtempo flavors conveying both the optimism of spring and the melancholy of persisting winter. Includes new tracks that came out this year as well as several from 25+ years ago (that sound like they could have been released this year).

1,000% positive vibe house heaters. Inspired by seeing my teenage hero @djsashaofficial play a quality warehouse party this weekend, I threw in some late 90s progressive house tracks that got me into this music 20+ years ago. It's an energy changeup from the chill previous two installments. Listen to it in the gym, not watering your plants :) I set out to make this mix series positive and consistent, which is pretty much the opposite of the environment I find myself in. DC is a strange place to be an optimist, especially now as my civil servant colleagues in government are being laid off left and right with little explanation. So what keeps me positive aside from surrounding myself with great music? Well, I had a conversation on Friday with someone I greatly respect who laid out a case for why this country is irreparably f-ed. While there weren't exactly holes in her argument, I would argue that similar cases could have been made at pretty much any point in history. Yet most would choose to live in this moment over almost any other. No one knows the future and we as individuals have limited control over it. But we can choose to believe that a better tomorrow, a better next week, a better next year and a better next generation could possible. We can choose to do what we can to make it so, in our own lives and for others. That's always seemed like a more attractive approach to me than assuming the worst. The moral arc of a great DJ mix is long, but it bends towards justice. Thank you for listening to my DJ promotion spam. Peace and love from tranquil Washington DC :) Comment for a track id.

I'm starting 2025 with a simple goal: post one @_echogarden DJ mix a month! Similar to the Echo Garden event series, which aims to bring complimentary sounds to DC's public spaces, the Echo Garden mix series aims to bring complimentary sounds to your daily day life. Expect relatively chill "balearic" mixes, i.e. a cross-genre journey of positive and trippy vibes. While I enjoy a lot of different kinds of music, I feel compelled to make these mixes because I'm craving these chill and steady sounds in my own life. It helps me stay steady and focused through uncertainty by reminding me of the beauty that I'm always surrounded by, whether that's the music I hear, the environment I find myself in or the people in my life. Those who have been listening to my questionable music taste for a while may remember I did a monthly mix series 10+ years ago that became @occasionvibration. You never know where these projects aimed to make music more a part of your routine will take you! To new beginnings and where they might lead :)

Reyna Lopez is the Executive director of PCUN, who's mission is to empower farmworkers and working Latinx families in Oregon by building community, increasing Latinx representation in elections, and policy advocacy on both the national and state levels. On the show, we talk about the balance of power she's seeing shift between farmworkers and their employers, then discuss a playlist of some of music that's inspired her work.

This November, Oregon voters get to vote on the Right to Healthcare Amendment to the state constitution, which establishes a state obligation to ensure every Oregon resident has access to cost-effective, clinically appropriate, and affordable health care. Norman Sylvester is a long-time health care activist, a member of Health Care for All Oregon as well as a legendary boogie musician who was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2011. On the show, we talk about the experiences as a musician trying to afford and access healthcare. Later in the show, Daniel Molkte and I talk about the measure's specifics with State Representative Rob Nosse, who was a champion of the measure in the legislature, and is currently chairing the House Health Care Committee.

Two years ago, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize all drug possession with the passage of Measure 110. How is it going? On the show today we have Ron Williams with Health Justice Recovery, a statewide advocacy organization fully focused on implementing Measure 110. Ron is a community organizer who has resided in Portland, Oregon for nearly 40 years. On the show we get an update on Measure 110 and also hear about the role music played in Ron's social justice work.

Andrew Yang is an entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, non-profit leader, and former 2020 presidential candidate. Yang's New York Times bestselling book The War on Normal People helped introduce the idea of universal basic income into the political mainstream. He supports Oregon People's Rebate, an initiative petition that would rebate about $750 to every Oregonian, every year and is paid for by raising taxes on corporations making over $25 million a year. On the show we talk about how Oregon People's Rebate relates to universal basic income and discuss a playlist of Andrew's favorite music, including Prince deep cuts.

On today's show, I share my own experience of some recent travels I had to South Africa and then playing a mix of South African house music, including some new records I picked up. The week I spent in South Africa exceeded my expectations in almost every respect. It's more naturally beautiful than the photos make it out to be and I was moved by the history in ways I didn't anticipate. However, what shocked me the most was “deep house” music being bigger in South Africa than I could have ever imagined.

House music is bigger than ever in America, yet the story of its origins are widely unknown outside of the heads who follow the records. We have a member of our organization who saw it unfold first hand. Cee White was coming of age in Chicago in the late 1980s right as house music was taking shape and came on the program to talk about it. We'll hear stories of going to the music's namesake venue “The Warehouse”, listen to the records that moved the floors in the early days, and hear what has stuck with him to this day.

In our third interview with candidates for Portland City Council Position #3, we chat with Vadim Mozyrsky about his vision for Portland. Vadim works as an Administrative Law Judge in the field of disability law and has spent his life advocating on behalf of underserved communities with a focus on immigrant and refugee populations and issues of disability rights. Mozyrsky, a Jewish refugee from Kiev, Ukraine, fled anti-Semitism arriving in the United States in 1979.

Oregon's Kurt Schrader has taken the most money from the fossil fuel and pharmaceutical industries as almost any Democrat in congress. Jamie McLeod-Skinner is challenging him in the primary in Oregon's 5th District on May 16th. From repairing schools in war torn countries to developing climate protection policies in Silicon Valley to wildfire recovery in Oregon, Jamie has a record of producing solutions and models for people-centered leadership. We're going to talk about her plans for the 5th district and also about the music stories that lead her there.

The Oregon People's Rebate is an initiative petition qualifying for the November 2022 election that will rebate about $750 to every Oregonian, every year. This would mean putting about $3,000 in the pockets of a family of four and is projected to significantly address childhood poverty if it passes. The revenue to fund the rebate comes from increasing the minimum tax rate for big Wall Street corporations after $25 million of Oregon revenue to 3%. Currently, their minimum tax rate is less than 1%, which is among the lowest rates in the country. The effort is being led by my guest and fellow Rhythm Nation member, Antonio Gisbert.

Rene Gonzalez is a Portland based lawyer, small business owner, and youth soccer organizer who's deep roots in Oregon have motivated him to stand up for change at this critical juncture. He's running against our last guest, Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, for her seat on the Portland City Council. Our hope with this interview is to better inform voters about their options for city governance and hear different perspectives on the most important issues facing our city. For more information on Rene and his campaign, visit his website at https://reneforportland.com/

Portland, Oregon will never be the same after the events of the past two years. To City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, that's a good thing in some ways. In our wide-ranging conversation that touched on music venues, police budgets and homelessness, Commissioner Hardesty outlined a vision for a more equitable Portland that she hopes will woo voters more than fear based messages when she runs for re-election in May of 2022. On the show, Commissioner Hardesty also told me the story of how music brought her and kept her in Portland and also how Marvin Gaye's 40-year-old classic “What's Going On” continues to inspire her to this day. https://www.rhythmnation.us/podcast/29

Manoj Mathew (@dj_manoj_pdx) is a Portland-based electronic music promoter and DJ who has been throwing raves in Portland since 1991. Manoj and I have been in touch a lot lately as we're planning a Rhythm Nation event together on November 20th at his venue Epicenter. As we've been talking through the event, it became clear that Manoj's approach to putting on events is deeply personal to the point that it borders on spiritual, so I wanted to get the full story on his views on dance music communities as I think it relates so strongly to the community organizing we do at Rhythm Nation. It happens to include some great stories and tracks of early west coast raves that I think you'll really enjoy.

Michelle DePass is the current chair of the Portland school board who is currently focused on the unenviable task of re-opening public schools during the onset of the delta variant. It's an incredibly tough job given that she has to weigh our constantly changing scientific understanding of delta against the varying opinions of thousands of concerned parents. In the episode, we talk through the thoughtful approach she and the board are taking to ensure our students and teachers are healthy. We also touch on lighter topics, such as the artistic path that led her to public office, the roller discos that are getting her through the pandemic, a playlist of her go-to jams and how we can get high school students dancing again.

Megan Andricos, also known as DJ Sappho, is a queer event producer and musical artist based out of Portland, Oregon. She's a founding member of Rhythm Nation and has been a huge inspiration for me. She's inspired me musically through our studio collaborations and from her blowing my mind many times listening to her DJ. But deeper than that, Megan has shown me through leading by example how to throw inclusive and welcoming events and how to do community engagement through music. We discussed this leading by example theme during this member spotlight episode of Rhythm Nation. We also discussed representation in electronic music, Megan's journey growing up as a queer woman in South Texas, her new record label Koritsi Komma Records and how our own missteps in the past inspire us to give back to the community. For a playlist and more information, check out https://www.rhythmnation.us/podcast/26

Deena Barnwell is a DJ and stalwart purveyor of great music in the ever-changing Portland music scene. She worked at local community radio station KBOO 90.7 as the station's Urban Music Director from 1998-2018. On the show, we talk about what brought her to hip hop, what's she's learned as a woman working in the music industry and the collective moments through music that have the power to transform. At the end of the show, we go through a playlist of top-shelf hip hop jams that inspired her. Find Deena's work at: https://soundcloud.com/thesoundbox https://www.mixcloud.com/deenab1/ https://www.instagram.com/soundboxpdx/

Eric Ward (@BulldogShadow) is the Executive Director of the Western States Center, a social change organization that works to strengthen inclusive democracy. He's also a former member of the band Sublime and has firsthand experience with racism and violence in the 1980's LA punk scene. On the show, we talk about how songwriting is a form of “courageous conversation”, which Eric firmly believes is how we move forward as a society. We end by going through a playlist of Eric's favorite “courageous conversation” songs that got him through the pandemic. For a playlist of Eric's music and links to his work, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/24

Sara Kenigsberg was the supervising producer on both the Biden-Harris campaign and the Bernie Sanders campaign for president. Before that she helped start up a video team at MoveOn in June 2016 and was an early producer at both NowThis and HuffPost. She continues to work as a producer and digital strategist for a number of media and advocacy groups. On the show, we talk about the craft of political storytelling and the healing power of stories and self-care. For a playlist of Sara's music, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/23

On Earth Day 2021, Rhythm Nation held a Green New Deal Party with a panel of climate experts and musical performances from @maarquii, @cay-horiuchi and Cee White (in that order) This is a recording of the entire event that was livestreamed from Holocene. The Green New Deal is both a specific piece of legislation, but also a framework for dealing with climate change through bold and equitable investment. It was introduced. by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2019 and re-introduced in a bill last month that calls for a decade-long mobilization to achieve a zero emissions economy, create good paying jobs, and invest in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods. It’s the first proposal to seriously confront climate change at the scale necessary to address it and it’s popular with the vast majority of voters. Perhaps most significantly, though, it's having a clear and beneficial influence on nearly every other Democrat-backed climate policy that's not called the Green New Deal. While the Biden administration does not endorse an explicit “Green New Deal”, per se, the stated goals of his administration would achieve many parts of a Green New Deal. The Biden Sanders Unity Task force, which included representative Ocasio-Cortez and Sunrise Movement co-founder Varshini Prakash, increased the ambition of the Biden Administration’s climate goals to achieve 100% clean energy by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2050. Pieces of a Green New Deal with these goals in mind are already making their way through congress in the form of the Biden infrastructure package and a number of other proposals. Just like the original New Deal, which was not one piece of policy but a collection of policies, a Green New Deal will be a number of pieces of legislation on a state level but also a local level. Unlike the original New Deal, which made no substantive effort to rebuild in an equitable manner and explicitly left Black people out of key pieces of legislation like the GI Bill, a Green New Deal must tackle equity head on. In this moment, there’s an appetite for bold change on climate justice and racial justice unlike anything we’ve seen in our lifetimes. You can be a part of that change. To show you how, listen to the event and hear from a panel of local and national Green New Deal leaders about the path forward. For more information, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/22

Eli Goldstein is one half of the DJ and production duo @soulclap, which has built an international reputation for their dance music over the past 20 years. Throughout his music career, Eli has played key roles on music activism projects, including DJs for Climate Action and more recently “Rave the Vote”. On the show, Eli and I talk about how his experience as a DJ, producer and record label owner brought him to activism. For links to Eli's music and events as well as a playlist of his jams, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/21

The 20th episode of Rhythm Nation drops today! This 60 minute party mix weaves together the best jams selected by my podcast guests so far along with jams that have been getting me through these strange last 12 months. Rhythm Nation has been a really gratifying project for me during these strange last six months. I’m so thankful for all the guests and other folks who have taken time to be involved in it. To the next 20 episodes! Tracklist: Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come (Episode 12 - Nina Turner) Meshell Ndegeocello - Hot Night (Episode 2 - Anne Marks) Skull Snaps - It's A New Day (Episode 4 - Mia Fermindoza) Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop Jay Prince - LINK UP Mura Masa, Octavian - Move Me (Episode 5 - Shabd Singh) Nas - If I Ruled the World (Episode 14 - Shasti Conrad) D.N.A. Feat. Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner The Freedom Riders - I'm On My Way (Episode 13 - Josh MacPhee) Reptaliens - Listening The Notorious B.I.G. - Notorious Thugs (Episode 15 - Teffanie Hale) Om Unit - Transformation The Internet - Girl (Episode 6 - Misty Rebik) Om Unit - Testimony Alicia Keys - We Gotta Pray (Episode 3 - Skipper Osborne) Amber Mark - Lose My Cool Change - Lets Go Together Fantasia - Lose to Win (Episode 12 - Nina Turner) Jex Opolis - Subsystem Bullion - Yawn Killer Mike - The Time Is Now Gil Scott-Heron - B Movie (Episode 1 - Bill Brewster) Toots & the Maytals - Revolution (Episode 16 - Tyler Evans)

On February 20th, Rhythm Nation hosted a “Medicare for All Rave” at Holocene featuring a panel of Medicare for All leaders from across the state to discuss the current strategy to make Oregon the first state to implement a single-payer system. Following that was live musical performances streamed from Holocene, including one from @theoryhazitofficial included in this podcast. Over 500 people joined the livestream and took collective action. Even if you missed it, you can learn and join the fight at https://www.oregonaction.net/healthcare-for-all

On January 20th, we celebrated the end of the Trump era, the end of the majority leader McConnell era and the passing of Oregon's landmark ballot measures by chatting with the leaders who made them happen. We talked about the importance of staying involved and how to do so, then celebrated with a dance party live streamed from Holocene. It was a truly special event that included a cameo from @berniesanders official and felt like the closest thing to an actual party in nearly a year. Expect more live events like this, starting next month! Panelists: Anthony Johnson, Devon Downeysmith, Sam Chapman, John Bethencourt DJs: @chantidarling, @sappho-presents-chingo, @lincolnup, Deena B's cut for copyright reasons. Sorry, had to have been there! More info at http://petermarks.us/podcast/18

Drake Hunt is a college activist and a rising leader of the Sunrise Movement, the nation’s leading youth activism organization centered around climate justice. On the episode, we talk about the Drake's upbringing in Georgia, the upcoming Senate runoff and Sunrise Movement's youth organizing taking place in the state. We also go through a playlist of jams that inspired Drake's activism. For links to Drake's work and a playlist of his music, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/17

Tyler Evans was the lead designer of the Bernie 2020 campaign and continues to play that role in the Friends of Bernie Sanders PAC. On the show we talk about how much of the work he’s produced for Bernie has been directly inspired by album art. We also dive through an eclectic playlist of mostly metal bands that inspired his activism journey. For links and images of tyler's work as well as playlist of the music playled in this episode, visit http://petermarks.us/podcast/16

Teffannie J. Hale is a strategic leader for the underserved and underrepresented. She’s the CEO of The Community And Parents (CAP) Projects, which examines and leads conversations and initiatives to eradicate implicit biases in underserved at-risk schools with predominantly African American students. On the episode, we discuss the interdependent relationship between activism and parenting as well as the jams that keep her going.

Shasti Conrad is a versatile strategist and thought leader with a broad range of political, policy and operations experience within government at all levels. On the show she tells several amazing stories about music that inspired her journey as an adopted kid growing up in rural Oregon, as a staffer in the Obama White House, to a leader on the Bernie campaigns, to Washington state politics where she just helped triple the number of women of color in the state legislature. For more on Shasti's work, visit http://www.shasticonrad.com/ or follow her on Twitter and IG at @ShastiConrad. For more information on her Opportunity PAC, visit https://www.opportunity-pac.com/ or follow them on on Twitter at @OpportUNITY4PAC.

Throughout history and across the globe, music has been used as a tool for activism. Josh MacPhe is a designer, artist, archivist and author of a wonderful book called An Encyclopedia of Political Record Labels, chronicling the vinyl produced by leftist organizations in America, South America, Europe and Africa. In the latest episode of Rhythm Nation, we talk about the motivation and crate-digging behind the book and discuss Josh’s favorite political record labels from the nearly 800 labels the book catalogues. For more info, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/13

Senator Nina Turner came into the national spotlight as one of the leading faces of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns, where she was a national surrogate and co-chair. She's established herself as a national leader in her own right through media appearances, her podcast Hello Somebody and her leadership of Our Revolution. However, she started her career in local politics as a state senator in her home state of Ohio. On this episode, we talk about how you don't need a fancy title or a lot of money to lead and make meaningful change. We also hear the jams that inspired her journey and keep her in the fight for justice.

The tech industry is perhaps the most polarizing aspect of American capitalism. It’s changed the world many times over, but the impacts of that change are grossly unequal. In her book Abolish Silicon Valley, former believer turned critic Wendy Liu challenges the myths of the tech industry, and offers a galvanizing argument for why and how we must reclaim technology’s potential for the public good. On the show, we discuss similarities in our stories as well as the political economy of music. In hour 2, I play a techno set and talk about the story behind the tracks in this playlist as it relates to the interview. Support the artists in the mix buy purchasing their tracks: https://buymusic.club/list/petermarks-rhythm-nation-abolish-silicon-valley

Oregon ranks nearly last of all states in access to basic drug addiction treatment. Measure 110 is an ambitious drug treatment and rehabilitation program that would be the first decriminalization initiative passed in America. I talk with longtime criminal justice law reform advocate Anthony Johnson, who’s a chief petitioner for the Measure 110 campaign to talk about how this could impact the state of Oregon. For more information, visit https://voteyeson110.org/. To support Measure 110 with the Portland Music community, join the Rhythm Nation Organizing Team at https://petermarks.us/action

Oregon has a mental health crisis that has only worsened with the pandemic. There are very few new options in the pipeline to treat depression, anxiety, addiction and other mental health challenges. Oregon Measure 109 directly addresses this challenge by establishing a regulated Psilocybin Therapy system. On this episode, I chat with campaign manager Sam Chapman about the legislation and how we on the Rhythm Nation Organizing Team can best support it. For more information on Measure 109, visit https://voteyeson109.org/ Music is my personal form on therapy. For the music portion of this show, I play a DJ mix of therapeutic ambient music in to help you find peace and rest in theses crazy times, which you’ll need to keep fighting to make change. For a playlist and for all things Rhythm Nation, visit my website at http://petermarks.us/.

Universal Preschool For All (Measure 26-214) provides free preschool to all 3 and 4 years olds in in Multnomah County with an income tax on the top 5% of earners while providing quality paying jobs to educators. I chat with one of the brains behind the program, Sahar Muranovic, about the details of this policy and the intersectional issues it confronts. Later in the show I bring on my longtime friend Dustin, who is a public school teacher in the Portland area, to talk about his work on the Rhythm Nation Organizing Team as well as a playlist on the importance of education. For a playlist of the episode and for more information on our organizing program, visit my website at https://petermarks.us.

They're not gonna do our town like this. We can't sit back and let Portland be the punching bag of the GOP. Not with vitally important measures on our ballots that can transform the way our community is policed, our kids are educated and the balance of corporate power in our state government. Join the Rhythm Nation Organizing Team to educate your friends and family members about this critical election and make sure they vote. Register to join a kickoff call at https://petermarks.us/action While there is no guest on this episode of Rhythm Nation, there is still music! Listen in to the playlist that put me on this activism journey. Stream it wherever podcasts are streamed. For a transcript and playlist, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/7

Misty Rebik is a lifelong organizer who led the Bernie Sanders campaign to a popular vote victory in this year’s Iowa caucus. She is now Executive Director of the Friends of Bernie Sanders PAC, the organization tasked with continuing the momentum of Bernie’s movement. We talk about her history of dance and why dance parties are essential for building movements for the long-haul. For a playlist of Misty's music, visit http://petermarks.us/podcast/6

Shabd Singh is a political organizer as well as the host and producer of The One, a podcast exploring Sikh history, philosophy and culture. Prior to this episode I really didn’t know much about Sikhism other than that they’re known for showing up and supporting fights for justice. On the show, I learned how Sikhism and a love of music put Shabd on a course to the Bernie Sanders campaign. We also chat candidly about our time together as staffers. For a playlist of Shabd's music, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/5

Mia Fermindoza is a media director with a passion for producing political content that stops your scroll. She'd come from producing original live shows for social platforms at NowThis before joining the Bernie 2020 campaign to lead and support its video operation. On this episode, we talk about Bernie’s vision for music on the campaign, particularly in the livestreamed events Mia continues to direct and produce. We also talk about “cinematic beat matching” and go through songs from films that Mia credits as having influenced her activism. For a playlist of Mia's songs, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/4

Skipper Osborne is a lifelong activist and former head of the local NAACP chapter in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. He also comes from a musical family and is known through the Portland underground dance music scene for his friendly demeanor. On the show, he and his brother Danny discuss the music that defined their activism and perform together for the first time in 50 years. For a playlist of Skipper's songs, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/3

Anne Marks is the Executive Director of Youth Alive, an Oakland-based non-profit that believes that urban youth have the capacity to stop the violence plaguing our communities. We talk about what it means to be an ally and discuss her recent op ed in The Guardian about the role of police before diving into music. Anne is my cousin and basically my big sister. She’s someone I’ve looked up to my entire life both politically and culturally. For a playlist of Anne's songs, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/2

Bill Brewster is a producer, promoter and DJ who was one of the original residents of London’s renowned Fabric club. He’s also one of the foremost historians on DJ’s and dance music and has written multiple books on the subject. We discuss why dance music’s origins in marginalized communities are so misunderstood and other inequalities in the dance music space. Later, Peter mixes a selection of early and influential house music tracks. For a playlist of songs, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/1

A brief word about my soon-to-be-launched podcast