Something remarkable has happened at the Eaton Workshop over the past few months. Every week, a group of musicians, singers, producers, and creatives come together to work. These sessions, led by conductor Dreamcastmoe, have brought newfound energy to the DC music scene.
Powered by Phlote, these sessions came about through a chance encounter between myself and AJ Washington, founder of Phlote. After meeting at one of their “Dance Service” parties held at The Pocket, we arranged a lunch meeting to discuss the state of the city. We hit many points during our conversation but agreed that DC needed more collaboration. We needed to find a way to get the right people in the room together, so we thought of the perfect idea, a series of compilation albums curated by a local artist featuring local artists.
The first person we tapped for this project was Dreamcastmoe. Fresh off touring Europe and Asia but with solid roots in the DC music scene, he had the exact perspective we needed for this project. Additional core team members include Ruqqiyah, a soulful young vocalist; IMKA, a sound engineer and multimedia artist; and Jake Abel, the resident documentarian.
Selecting a location for this project was intimidating. We needed to book a large block of time and space to have people coming in and out regularly without pushback. Thanks to Eaton Workshop, we found a home. The creator room is an unassuming room on the fourth floor of the Eaton Workshop. It was mainly used for visual art projects and podcast recordings.
Once a week, the room is converted into a full-fledged studio. MPCs, keyboards, controllers, and synths cover the large tables at the center of the room. Drum sets, violins, and guitars can often be seen along the walls, with the occasional microphone being passed around the room like a game of musical hot potatoes.
What started as a simple idea has grown into so much more. These sessions have become a hub for creativity and networking. Some artists that have come through the doors include Jenna Camille, Trae Drummer, NAPPYNAPPA, Auto Lola, Jelani Kwesi, Black Moses, Randy Ego, Hasani, Amal, Melani Badz, Kassim, and many more.
The DC music scene is in a great place right now, and as long as this type of collaboration continues, only better things will come! Keep up with Phlote on Instagram via @teamphlote and on their Youtube channel at youtube.com/@phlotetv.
