A2SF DJ Mix - Dan Bain + FSQ
Poster for the June 10th event with DJs Dan Bain and Chuck Da Fonk (FSQ, Soul Clap Records)
From the desk of FSQ’s Chuck Da Fonk:
Recently I had the pleasure of joining Detroit DJ Dan Bain for an official after party for Ann Arbor’s Summer Fest - aka A2SF - which is a non-profit, joint entertainment venture and summer festival series from the City of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan.
Dan and I traded off sets that ranged from a focus on slo-mo trip hop to fast paced Detroit tech house, with of course a bunch of disco, funk, and FSQ originals and unreleased remixes / edits in this diverse mix. We played for over 5 hours. I recently was able to broadcast the June 10th recording from the venue, Rabbit Hole at Root, across two of the FSQ 📻 episodes on The Face Radio.
The two sets are embedded below via SoundCloud and please keep reading on for more about this wonderful venue, its founder Roger Ahn, and some photos of the venue and event.
Dan Bain and I went to the afterparty for A2SF the night before our own party, also at Rabbit Hole at Root. That night the affair had DJs Adia (Detroit) and Henry Chow (New York City).
I was already impressed before we even made it into the venue - you walk down a long corridor which adds to the mystery that lies ahead. Rabbit Hole at Root is located in an old wine cellar in historic venue.
DJ Dan Bain in the first of several rooms within Rabbit Hole at Root
There are so many areas to nestle up in and you can still hear the DJ sets from any area
I sat in these kush booths with some new found friends on my set break Saturday night. They had recently moved from Portland and New York City, and were happy to find real dance music in Ann Arbor.
This is MY FAVORITE ROOM ever found in a night club .. a little chill spot right in front of the DJ booth in it’s own cave with beautiful chairs. I took in quite a bit of Dan Bain’s set not from the dancefloor (sorry Dan), but kicked back with my Mai Tai beautifully made by bartender Alistair.
I really give it up to owner / director Roger Ahn who created this wonderful space and smartly teamed up with Dan Bain to work on dance music programming. Roger is the most affable, and wickedly sharp club owner I have met in quite a while. I’m beyond thankful for his and his girlfriend’s hospitality over the weekend.
The first night I arrived, I knew I was in for a good time when I saw this bar in the venue fully stocked with every spirit from across the spectrum of liquors. I am a rum guy so when I saw that Root has Haitian Clairin rums I had Alistair the bartender whip me up one of the best Mai Tai’s have had in a long time, replete with a house made pistachio orgeat syrup.
Could you be the most beautiful bar with the most extra on spirits I’ve seen in a long time
The Ann Arbor Observer has a nice write up of the venue’s opening and Roger and Dan’s joint missions which include “for people to have Detroit-style, Detroit-quality DJs without having to drive all the way to Detroit.” annarborobserver.com/roots-rabbit-hole/
Underneath this beautiful historic building lies Rabbit Hole at Root … and some more photos of the night follow in a slide show, keep scrolling
Charlie Fishman aka Chuck Da Fonk, Chez FSQ
There’s more than a healthy dose of mystery, cocktails, and supreme music + dancing under this building on weekend evenings
