The hypnotic sounds of Tara Brooks are unlike any other you’ll hear. Her eclectic selections are known to captivate dancefloors with a journey through soundscapes that will peak any listener’s ears. She seamlessly intermixes genres ranging from electro, acid, and soulful and trippy beats to emotional, edgy and sexy house, uplifting grooves, breakbeats, and electronica – and even some indie disco.
Photo Credit: Tara Brooks – Official
From intimate settings at legendary clubs like TV Lounge & Marble Bar (Detroit), Kater Blau, Watergate and Sisyphos (Berlin), Output (NYC), Public Works (SF), Stereo (Montreal), Space (Miami), and Flash Club (DC) to major festivals including The BPM Festival, EDC Las Vegas, Lightning In A Bottle, SXM, Rakastella, Coachella, Desert Hearts, Return to Rio and Rainbow Serpent Festival – Tara has taken the world by storm. Deep in the dust of Black Rock City at Burning Man, you can find her performing at Robot Heart, Disco Knights, & Carl Cox’s Playground, as well as at DISTRIKT & Pink Mammoth. She has established herself as an always-evolving experimental artist with an out-of-the-box track selection that never fails to leave her audience with an incessant lust for more.
EG caught up with Tara Brooks ahead of her performance at this year’s edition of the ARC Music Festival to learn about how she prepares for the occasion, her take on the image in the music industry and much more.
EG: Hi, Tara! Welcome back to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us, as always. How have you been? Where are you right now?
Tara Brooks: Hi everyone! I’m currently touring in Berlin, nice and jet-lagged – but so grateful to be back to play again at some of my favorite clubs! This time around in Europe, I’m playing at Kater Blau and making my debut at the legendary Kitkat Club!
EG: First of all, congratulations on being a part of ARC Music Festival’s return to Chicago’s Union Park this Labor Day Weekend! You must be very excited about this one! Is this your first one?
Tara Brooks: Thank you! Yes! 2023 will be my first time playing ARC and I’m so excited! ARC Festival has been on my list and I’m so happy to join my Gray Area/Elrow/Aurispresents fam on this one!
EG: So, what can fans expect from this particular performance? In which ways do you prepare differently for a festival when compared to a club night?
Tara Brooks: Great question. We go way back and you’ve all experienced my evolution through sounds and styles. Every set is a journey through genres – a story created and collaborated between my lovely audience and me. For either a festival or club, I always have a vision based on environmental factors – indoor, outdoor, capacity, set time, musical programming, and musical experience of the crowd. My goal is to open their minds and deliver high vibes and energy that also pushes the boundaries through new sounds. Basically, my goal is to make the crowd happy! Which to me means feeling connected to the crowd and everyone sharing the experience. I want to make attendees feel something special, unique, and outside the box. This is their time to let go, so getting everyone in sync and in the same energetic space, contributes to a beautiful and memorable experience for all. So be ready for house, techno, acid, breakbeats, electro, melodic tech, and maybe even indie dance. It’s always going to be a trip with me. Even when I go edgier or dark, it’s still uplifting, balanced with something risky, new, and fun for everyone.
EG: Are you a big festival person yourself? Do you try to make time and catch other acts?
Tara Brooks: 100%. I love catching rare acts that we don’t get to see very often… Supporting other artists and friends is also important to me. Love seeing so many on the lineup!
“I want to make attendees feel something special, unique, and outside the box. This is their time to let go, so getting everyone in sync and in the same energetic space, contributes to a beautiful and memorable experience for all”
EG: Are there any acts on the ARC Music Festival roster that you’re looking forwards to?
Tara Brooks: Fatboy Slim, Kettama, Hiroko Yamamura, Moodymann, DJ Minx, Henry Brooks, Mall Grab, Phuture, and the Eric Prydz Holo Experience should be insane!
EG: You’ve recently held your first AMA on Reddit, right? What was that experience like? Will you be doing any others in the future?
Tara Brooks: Yes! I had a blast! Was trying to keep up with the questions & answer thoroughly and thoughtfully. I got some great and creative questions, a lot of love, and I could’ve flowed for hours if I had the time! Definitely down for another AMA sometime soon! Big thanks and shout to Reddit and JSloane Creative for having me!
EG: Right now, social media seems to play a completely prominent role in the development of an artist’s career. What’s your stance on this? Is this bringing us closer than ever, or is it drawing our attention away from the actual music?
Tara Brooks: This is a tough one. I’ve felt and experienced a shift from the industry changes, new standards, and expectations through social media. I had mixed emotions at first. I struggled to accept that it’s now a requirement to focus the most energy on strategizing how to market myself, stay relevant, and be in the spotlight, rather than putting my music obligations first. It’s all about timing and I was fortunate enough to get this far based on music and community. I understand how the new game works now, and have chosen to evolve with it, embrace it, rebrand, rebuild, and invest in it 100% so I can continue to be seen, valued, and keep doing what I love, which I’ve dedicated my whole life to. On that note, I’m pleased to share that I’ve hired the most wonderful team, Indigo Disco, so stay tuned for many exciting upgrades to my socials, branding, marketing, and more.
EG: How do you keep entertained when not in the studio? Have you recently found any good movies, books, or albums you’d recommend? How’s the surfing going?
Tara Brooks: Surfing has become such a passion and is so healing, that between touring and producing, surfing is a priority to my physical and mental state. I also love boxing, infrared yoga, hiking, comedy shows, live music, and reading – health, wellness, and mind-motivating books. I’m currently reading, ‘The Resistance Training Revolution’ by Sal Di Stefano and just ordered Rick Rubin’s ‘The Creative Act: A Way of Being’.
“Every set is a journey through genres – a story created and collaborated between my lovely audience and me”
EG: What’s next for Tara Brooks? Where can your fans catch you next? What new milestones are you looking forward to in 2023?
Tara Brooks: Highlights coming up – Kater Blau & Kitkat Club Berlin, my Brussels debut, I’ll be playing all over Burning Man, Gray Area at Superior Ingredients, ARC Festival, Cascade Equinox, and many others I can share soon. I also have an album worth of new original music, music videos, an exclusive remix of the classic tune, ‘As The Rush Comes’ by Motorcycle, a beautiful EP collab with the wonderful Hannes Bieger featuring Cari Golden, and I’m about to start my remix for Ardalan, for Desert Hearts Black. I can’t wait to share that soon!
EG: Thank you for your time, Tara! We’re excited to see what’s in store for you. Take care!
Tara Brooks: Thanks for having me and for always keeping it real!
Tara Brooks is set to perform at this year’s edition of ARC Music Festival this Labor Day Weekend on September 1st-3rd, 2023. Purchase your tickets here.
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