Ugandan born Jenifa Mayanja has been deeply entrenched in deep house music since the early ’90s, and in those 20-or-so years she has cemented her reputation as an innovative and fearless ambassador for the genre’s culture and a favorite of those who follow it. Her journey began in the midwest but flourished in New York where she worked as a buyer at the now defunct legendary record store Dance Tracks and held down residencies across the East Village’ thriving lounge scene. The majority of her releases, including two of her three albums, have come on Bumako Recordings—the label she started in 2007—but more recently she put out On The Edge Of The Horizon, an EP on Sole Aspect Records that fuses elegant harmonies and jazz melodies with pulsing rhythms. Her XLR8R podcast—in typical Mayanja fashion—is smoky, jazzy, and emotive. Across its 70-minute runtime, you’ll hear tracks from Roi Azulay, Larry Heard, and more, plus a few of Mayanja’s own. This is deep house for the mind, body, and soul.

01. What have you been up to recently?
I’ve been finishing up an English/creative writing degree, working on an album for my label Bumako Recordings, and designing courses for my coaching and mentoring program called The Music Life Mentor. Plus moving, DJing, and parenting. The list goes on.

02. What have you been listening to?
Some classical music, Sault, Georgia Anne Muldrow, a mish-mash of old house cuts, jazz, and soul.

03. Where and when did you record this mix?
I recorded this in my living room on Saturday night.

04. What setup did you use?
Two turntables, mixer, headphones, small Behringer audio mixer, laptop, and Audacity.

05. How did you choose the tracks you’ve included in it?
They chose me once I established that I wanted an exciting reflective mix.

06. Where do you imagine it being listened to?
In your house, car, with friends in a park, walking by yourself, or even writing. It lends itself to many kinds of settings.

07. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
How it compares is that the eclecticism you hear in this mix is something that I also express creatively when playing live. however my playing live is connected to the energy that comes from a crowd which brings out a different side of me. My live playing is much more spirited and the expression more extroverted.
Making mixes is a solitary exercise so the connection comes from the inside hence the introspective aspect of myself is more prominent in the creative expression.

08. What’s next on your horizon?
I’m playing in Portland at the end of August for the first time so I’m looking forward to playing and meeting all the folks out there. Also I’m working on executive producing an ambient album by my son for release on Bumako, plus I’m hoping to finish some music and publishing my self-help manual for music creatives.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Alice Coltrane with Strings “Galaxy” (Impulse)
02. Deodato “First Cuckoo” (MCA Records)
03. Gil Scott-Heron “Secrets” (Arista)
04. Larry Heard “Sceneries Not Songs” (Black Market International)
05. Outside “Sarvesham” (Dorado)
06. Son Dexter “Precious Love” (Alleviated Records)
07. Jenifa Mayanja “Leaning Into It” (Hardmatter)
08. Salsoul Orchestra “Magic Journey” (Salsoul Records)
09. Cloud One “Atmosphere Strut” (P&P Records)
10. Aural “Desire” (Creative Label)
11. Jenifa Mayanja “Rise To The Top” (Sole Aspect Records)
12. Alison Marks “Bird” (Jenifa Mayanja Recreation) (Bu-Mako Recordings)
13. Julion D’Angelo “Maybe Hill” (Maybe Hill Music)
14. Roi Azulay “Reflections” (Ron Trent Remix) (Atypical Dopeness)
15. Jenifa Mayanja “Like A Dream” (Sole Aspect Records)