Zora DeShea

Spaces & places I'm bringing my records to this month...maybe a city near you? 🐚 5.1 @thecowriechi / CHI podlasie club 5.8 @_errancy_ / CHI Secret location 5.9 @postcard / CHI 5.17 @extendedplaydc / D.C Mess Hall then my favorite time of the year, the detroit movement circuit... 5.23 @undergroundandblack / DET Spotlite 5.24 @soulclapofficial EFUNK/ DET TV Lounge 5.24 @housepartyxmusic /DET Northern Lights Lounge

March is upon us, and in just under week, Love From The Sun returns with a very special edition. This Sunday, in honor of International Women’s Day, we celebrate black femmes making an impact in the world of American underground dance music culture. Our first revered guest DJ is none other than Chicago’s @ctrlzora . Blending deep house, classic detroit techno, Afro-diasporic rhythms, funk, and soul with jazz-laced experimentation that makes the soul stir, CTRLZORA crafts a raw and soulful sound that bridges ancestral pulse with future-facing energy. Mentored by the very architects, legends, and contributors of the genres from the southside of Chicago, their raw sound spans from Midwestern dance music to the diaspora and beyond, reclaiming music as a liberatory birthright for black and queer communities. Raised on jazz and dance music from the 313 to 312 by their father, who was a dancer as the genre started to take form, alongside gospel and RnB by their mother who had roots in Louisiana, Zora had always had a deep passion for music starting from singing in church choir to the piano. Zora is currently a board member and performer of the Chicago House Music Fest, and has campaigned to preserve their city’s legacy through landmarks such as The Warehouse, and insisting recognition and equity within their communities. Zora has shared the stage with the revered likes of Ron Trent, Juan Atkins, Marcellus Pittman, Ge-ology, Timmy Regisford, Karizma, Jenifa Mayanja, Celeste Alexander, Kai Alce, Honey Dijon, Trinidadian Deep, and many more. With a reoccurring Chicago based party, archival mix series, and radio show highlighting some of the best dance music DJs and producers throughout the midwest, The Cowrie Chi, and a limited edition vinyl release on Kai Alce’s NDATL label, Zora frequently tours across the country presenting their sonic love letters to every crowd. @ctrlzora brings their soulful prowess to Love From The Sun this Sunday, March 8. The party is free before 7pm with RSVP. Tickets are linked in our bio.

some blends n tunes for an early afternoon @thecowriechi @thelotradio set 🎧🐚✨ in new york this weekend, @bodyrock.party today with @deonjamar , chi to det all nighter 📍 @no9nyc before @djaltonmiller friday, 10-12 see ya there!

Every year Underground & Black during Movement weekend feels like a family reunion! Volume 6. returns to @spotlitedetroit next weekend for an afternoon celebrating the roots of Black dance music culture. Honoring the pioneers, the present, and new generation keeping the sound alive. Get familiar with the DJ’s who’ll be whipping up soulful tunes in the gallery on May 23rd! 👀 We are officially down to the last 10 pre-sales! Secure your spot now and see you soon. Link in bio. ❤️🖤💚 @jadalareign @ctrlzora @indigosevyn @blkboyshine @ash_lauryn_

CTRLZORA taught themselves to DJ at the start of their freshman year of college after a friend roped them into playing a Black Student Union assembly with no idea how. Music was the only thing that felt right, so they kept going. But the relationship started long before the decks. They grew up singing in the church then transitioned to singing and playing piano secularly, years of music curation and music blogs. Production followed naturally, then DJing. Each one another way of working with the same source material. Their father came up in Chicago as House was being built, ran with a dance crew, and raised them on Jazz, Blues, Funk, Soul, and the records Chicago and Detroit were trading back and forth. They came up the South Side way: the Post (RIP), basement functions, late-night mentorship from OGs like Ron Trent, learning vinyl by hand and by ear. They’ve worked with the city to help preserve sites like the Warehouse and guest-taught classes on Black social and cultural dance. They carry the legacy with the seriousness that only comes from knowing the people who built it. With a reoccurring Chicago based party, archival mix series, and radio show highlighting some of the best dance music DJs and producers throughout the midwest with a strong connection to the diaspora, The Cowrie Chi (@thecowriechi ), and a limited edition vinyl release on Kai Alce's NDATL label, Zora frequently tours across the country presenting their sonic loveletters to every crowd. Their philosophy: the DJ is a conduit, never the idol. A good party is everyone — DJ, dancers, the room — consensually relinquishing control to whatever source is dictating the music in the first place. What they’re bringing to the party: reverence for the past, eyes on a new Renaissance, and no interest in compromising the music to make it palatable. CTRLZORA is on the decks next Friday at @_errancy_ & @durtytruthsoundsystem . 📸 @zacharyrhuff

bringin some rekkadz opening for @genagenagenaaaaaaa @karriemriggins1 @pronouncedliv.e tonight, one of the most potent new acts out rn, at @sl33pingvillag3 8:30 doors till show 🔊 🐚 remember when i heard the album unreleased at the first detroit stop and felt how special it was, excited to enjoy it with ya'll all over again <3

rekkads faces & food

This next @thecowriechi offering will be myself all night, 9-2AM, May 1st. It'll be just shy of 7 months since I did my last all nighter at @podlasieclub and still think about the utter joy and creative freedom I felt for that last set, and sharing it with you all. So excited to bring influences of my travels and inspiration beyond, on and off the decks, internal and external, to stretch out and circle back home. This set is for the queers, the diasporic baddies, those weathering transitions with optimism for the renewal, and open minded listeners disgusted by the state of the world and with an insatiable need to expel some kinetic energy. A sonic collage in homage to blackness, honing on the midwest, always. Come early, stay late; I'm about to take us on a journey 🔊🐚🌀✨

On May 8th, Errancy is honoured to host @dj.darryn__disco_or_die for a vinyl night, joined by his Durty Truth co-founder @material_________ and Chicago’s rising @ctrlzora . Doors at 8. Darryn Jones, revered among the ears-to-the-ground crowd worldwide, headlines with 2 hours of TUNEZ pulled from a crate he’s been building since 1983. Durty Truth has been a true inspiration for Errancy. Having interned with them before starting Errancy, we’re thrilled to bring their sound (including their Martin Audio system!) to our home. Material opens the night with a 3-hour set from their deep, wide-ranging crate, and CTRLZORA — curator of The Cowrie and student of the genre’s founders — rooted in the midwest's black dance music's lineage with a forward facing sound.” Our usual staff will be running the party: @carriedst & @ritmolechon (hosts), @ellifiona (food), @tokage__kaeru & @grinchcard (bar), @911_emergency_hotel (installations), @jontypaul (lights) and @yannaalynette (door). Not one to be missed, DM @_errancy_ or @durtytruthsoundsystem for more info! Flyer by @chonleriano & @eleace.ilustracion

it's national @shayadaeze day ♈️🌞 who can only match an aries energy? anotha one! 👯‍♀️ (& boa we can eat! 😫)

Underground & Black returns to Detroit for Movement Weekend 26! Honoring the roots while showcasing the artists pushing it forward. 👊🏾 Join us May 23rd day into night at @spotlitedetroit for volume 6 of our beloved affair. Tickets available now via RA in bio. Don’t sleep!!! ❤️🖤💚 Lineup: ⚡️⚡️⚡️ @ash_lauryn_ @i.am.amx @jadalareign @ctrlzora @indigosevyn @blkboyshine @daiyahcore @aidelpicture @james bangura 🖼️: @nolan.dj 💫

all the days of my life