Gābi Detroit

Because even techno-playing space aliens have something to say. 👽💚🎵

[gabidetroit]

#Repost @camera_jesus - the love I am feeling right now from my hometown is absolutely amazing. I love you #Detroit, thank you the for fostering my dream every day ❤️🌇🔊🎶💕 @movementdetroit #grateful #Techno #GabiDetroit #MovementDetroit #listentodetroittechno (at Movement Electronic Music Festival (OFFICIAL))

[gabidetroit]

Hart Plaza, I'm coming for you... 🔜🌇🔊🎶💕✨ #3days #Detroit #techno #MovementDetroit #GabiDetroit #Paxahau #ModifiedArtists #HartPlaza #detroittechno #listentodetroittechno #gonnamakeyousweat #gonnamakeyougroove (at Hart Plaza)

[gabidetroit]

Having #fun shooting an #interview at Hart Plaza for the #French #documentary "Detroit Renaissance." It's hard to believe that I'll be playing #techno here in only 2 weeks! 🎥🇫🇷🎶🌇❤️ #Ilovemyjob #GabiDetroit #techno #dj #Detroit #excited #HartPlaza #filming #DetroitRenaissance #rebirth #twoweeksaway #frenchaccents #listentodetroittechno (at Hart Plaza)

[gabidetroit]

Just announced! I'm so honored to be playing on the #MainStage at @movementdetroit 2015!!! See you on Sunday May 24 at 2pm! 😁🙌🎶🌇💗💯 #Detroit #techno #MovementDetroit #stagelineup #schedule #amazing #happy #Paxahau #soexcited #yay #listentodetroittechno (at Hart Plaza)

[gabidetroit]

Back To The Womb: My First Dip In The Sensory Deprivation Tank

Last week I visited NeuroFitness Center in Southfield, MI to experience my first float in a sensory deprivation tank. I had read about these soundproof, lightproof, salt water chambers in some of my first psychology textbooks; the therapeutic theories and neuroscience behind them made me always want to try one, but I never knew where to go to find such a thing. A friend of mine posted that he had gone for a float session at NeuroFitness, and I was so excited to try floating that I booked a session right away. The experience was something I will never forget!

Also called isolation or float tanks, these giant pods are built to cut off all sensory perception of the person inside. The chamber is filled with about 12 inches of body-temperature water containing over 1,000 lbs of epsom salts and magnesium, which makes the water dense enough to hold up a human head so that the nose and mouth are out of the water enough to breathe naturally. With this concentration of salt water, you are able to float on your back without effort, which contributes to feelings of weightlessness. 

I arrived at the center, a small office in the back of a bottom-level shopping center in a random high-rise apartment building. Filled with himalayan salt lamps and crystals, I knew immediately that this place was right up my alley. I signed their waiver (don’t sue us if you drown, don’t pee in the tank etc.), and got a run down from the float technician on how to use the tank’s controls for light and sound. I was then given a towel and some special earplugs to prevent the salt from going into my ear canal. The therapy room was small and reminded me of a hotel room with the massive tank where the bed would have been. I stripped, showered (you are required to shower before and after the session), and stepped into the lukewarm water. I closed the lid, laid down in the water, and floated to the middle of the tank.

My first thought? Terror.

I closed my eyes and it was black. I opened my eyes, and it was still black! I couldn’t see, couldn’t feel, and couldn’t hear. I had this overwhelming feeling of disorientation and panic. What was I doing? Was this really a good idea? Could I really handle this for an entire hour? I quickly tried to relax and reassure myself that I was totally safe; although the rational part of my brain knew that I had done this willingly and wasn’t all of a sudden deaf and blind, there seemed to still be a part of my brain that registered the sudden lack of sensory input as dangerous. I shook off the fight-or-flight response and began to focus on slowing my breathing and quieting my mind for meditation.

I try to keep up with a regular meditation schedule (10-15 minutes, twice a day), but at the time I went floating I had fallen out of the habit pretty badly. My first recommendation if you are considering floating is to establish a solid foundation with meditation before you go, so it is easier for you to clear your mind and get the most out of your time in the tank. At nearly $70 for a 60 minute session, you’ll want to get your money’s worth (although first-time floats at NeuroFitness are $40).

My thoughts buzzed around in my head as I concentrated on making my breath rhythmic: “Do I have any ice cream left at home? Did I forget to wash my favorite yoga pants? Shit, I need to record that promo mix this week. I can’t wait to post about this on my new blog. I wonder how many likes my Instagram picture got?” With those last thoughts about social media, I began to think about how silly it was that I was wasting so much of my energy on the internet, when I could just as easily not exist at all. “Wait, DO I even exist right now?” There was a good chance that I very well didn’t at that moment. If a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, does it make a noise? If you cut off all sensory stimuli to the body, do you still have one? The thought of being nonexistent for awhile was intriguing and somewhat refreshing. I decided that not existing was something I wanted to continue doing in that moment.

As my thoughts calmed and my body relaxed, I eased into a meditative state. The darkness changed from frightening to comforting, and I began to feel quite safe. There was something primordial about it - like being in the womb again, waiting to be reborn. I thought that all life’s possibilities just might be waiting for me on the other side of the tank: a great reminder that our reality is fluid, and every day that we wake up we have endless opportunities to experience our life in any way we choose.

I was so relaxed that I ended up falling asleep. I don’t know how long I slept but I jolted awake with a splash and was mildly ticked-off at myself for missing some of the session (this is why I encourage you to build up your meditation stamina before floating). I was quite tired from a long day at work, but next time I float I may try doing it first thing in the morning on a weekend so I don’t have to worry about nodding off like that. Anyway, my session was over shortly after my nap. The tank sprang to life with the same purple glow and music, which before I had found peaceful and calming but after my hour in the tank was actually quite intense. I opened up the hatch and was momentarily blinded by the light in the therapy room. Once I was oriented again, I showered, dressed, and had a nice chat with the owner about my experience before leaving: he told me some crazy stories about some of the realizations he has had in the tank over years of floating. 

Leaving the facility, I noticed that how genuinely relaxed I was. Floatation therapy is extremely relaxing for both mind and body. My muscles were no longer tense (I generally carry a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders) and my anxiety level was down. It was definitely a good rest for both my physical and mental selves, and I can see how regular floating would benefit someone suffering from generalized anxiety, such as myself. I have a huge gig coming up in the next month (Movement Electronic Music Festival in Detroit, holla!), so I do plan on returning to NeuroFitness a few times before my performance, as I am already feeling nervous about it and I believe the tank will be able to help with my pre-gig jitters. After a little more preparation on my part, I think my next float will be even more insightful. I’m already excited to get back in the tank again and experience more effects of this unique type of therapy. If you are interested in floating, or want to know more about it’s benefits, check out NeuroFitness Center. Happy floating!

<3 Gabi

[gabidetroit]

#SaturdayMorning #session with the #city in view.. wouldn't give this up for all the world 🙏🏻❤️🎶🌇 #home #Detroit #mycity #motorcity #GMbuilding #mixingrecords #practicing #vinyl #records #xone62 #technics #turntables #dj #lifestyle #highriseliving #lafayette #imwayupifeelblessed (at techno sunrise)

[gabidetroit]

There’s A Light Show In My Head: Inside my Chromesthesia

Oliver Sacks (British neurologist and author of one of my favorite books, “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat”) posted this article the other day - an artist’s renditions of what it’s like to experience Chromesthesia, or sound-to-color Synesthesia. I had to re-post because I also experience this. Since I have re-posted the article I’ve been asked a lot of questions about what it’s like to experience this interesting phenomenon.

What’s most interesting to me is that I never knew that this was an abnormal experience until I took a class on music psychology during my junior year of college. After more research on the subject I found that it is quite common that people with synesthesia (synesthetes) don’t realize that they are experiencing something different from everyone else until they are told about the phenomena. This is because synesthesia is automatic/spontaneous - it occurs without effort, so those who experience it accept it as normal within their conscious realm. I remember when I learned about it I called my mother right after class. She had a similar reaction: “I thought everyone could do that?” It is postulated that synesthesia is genetic, so I guess I have my mother to thank for the musical light show in my head!

When I hear music I “see” colors on my mental screen. Each sound of the song I’m listening to has a different color; for example, a moody/dubby bassline would probably be a dark color (and a fatter-image), while snappy hi-hats/snares are short little stabs of brighter colors. Each individual sound/color twists and dances and intertwines with the music, morphing shape as the track goes on. The only thing I can compare this to is the visuals from old 90s screensavers. This is what it kind of looks like to me:

Windows Media Player got it kind of right with their visualizations, but I would always get annoyed when watching those because the colors being displayed were often not the “right” ones to me... another interesting thing about synesthetes, we assign our own associations. No two chromesthetes are going to always agree on which tone is what color - the colors are truly unique to the experiencer, but do stay consistent over time. For me, slower/moodier tracks incorporate darker, richer colors, and fast, hype tracks have sounds that are brighter and more vivid.

I also associate an overall color to tracks. Usually whatever sound stands out to me the most in the piece is what I will associate the overall color “catalog” with. As a dj, this is something that helps me a lot during my sets; a “green” song will most likely be playable with another “green” song, or even with a blue one or yellow one, depending on the mood/vibe I want to bring to the party I’m playing at. Much like mixing colors of paint, there are some that work better together and some that don’t mix at all! A great representation of this was in Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille, when Remy experiences synesthesia when eating different foods together.

My Chromesthesia is happening constantly and applies to all sounds, not just music. To me, most sounds will spark a color in my mind, even people’s voices (which interestingly enough will change with the mood of the person). Car alarms, construction, birds chirping - I experience it all, it’s not just something I can turn off and on when I want, it sort of just randomly happens. However, it does become more intense if I am under the influence of substances or if I am sleep deprived, and sometimes my mood can even affect it: when I went through a bad bout of depression, I couldn’t see the colors anymore, and it was devastating.

I wish I could say that being able to experience Chromesthesia is super awesome - I mean it is - but I don’t really have anything else to compare it to. It’s completely normal to me, just something that I have been living with for my entire life. I am grateful that I am able to experience music, color, and sound the way that I do. It’s just a thing that makes me unique; I’m happy to have a gift that correlates to my passion of playing music for you all. I hope that when I play, you will find my sets just as stimulating as I do!

<3 Gabi