It’s only fitting that as we wake up sleepy-eyed from another Boston Music Awards party spotlighting all the various scenes and sounds from across the city, Nick Minieri comes correct with his annual DJ mega-mix to drop an inspired beat on the year that was. In what has become as much a tradition around here as our Year In ReView series, we’re excited to present HOMETOWN 2024 (Boston Artist Showcase Mix), the 10th installment of the Boston DJ and producer’s reflective two-hour party-starter that features nearly 100 different acts represented across 65 tracks.
Minieri’s efforts here are tireless, as the longtime figure in Boston’s electronic and dance scene sorted through thousands of tracks across a spectrum of sounds and styles to weave together a mix that stands as a soundtrack to the city’s always-evolving creativity. This year’s HOMETOWN mix segues from hip-hop to house and breakbeats, hyping everyone from fresh-faced college students to seasoned Boston veterans — and everyone in between.
HOMETOWN 2024 (Boston Artist Showcase Mix) hits Soundcloud today (December 12), and features tracks from Vanyaland faves like Jiles, Billy Dean Thomas, Ex-Hyena, Oompa, Latrell James, kei, Saucy Lady, SuperSmashBroz, Rilla Force, Hassan Barclay, and plenty more. Minieri’s wealth of knowledge and skill is once again on fine display, so we connected with him earlier this week to get his take on the mix, how it came together, and what made 2024 the year Boston got its swagger back.
Vanyaland: Congrats on another killer HOMETOWN mix. How much fun was putting together this year’s collection?
Nick Minieri: This was the funnest HOMETOWN mix I’ve ever done, bar none! I had over 500 tracks that I considered for it this time around. Wanted to really explore as many different niches as possible, from lo-fi beats to hip-hop, amapiano, techno, ambient, experimental tracks with amen breaks and so on. I love learning about artists with interesting music and their back catalogues in general, so it’s a nice bonus when they’re people who live right in your own backyard. I also really enjoy switching hats from “open format DJ” scratching and working doubles early on to “electronic DJ” towards the end working more with loops and super long blends.
In the early years, these mixes were mostly just unreleased and very recent promo tracks my friends would send me. However I feel like HOMETOWN has matured into an annual mix that celebrates released work of the year and better represents the wider music community of Boston in general.
Past HOMETOWN mixes usually come with killer artwork that pays homage to the city’s venues or past hot spots, like Great Scott and Good Life. What’s on the cover this year?
I always enjoy designing the cover art, which pays homage to a local club that is no longer with us. This year’s mix is dedicated to Wonderbar in Allston. It took a bit to figure out what font they used on their original logo, but if I can spend weeks digging for music surely what’s a few more hours looking for a font, right?
With such a healthy selection featured, what can listeners expect from this year’s HOMETOWN?
In addition to the mix opening with hip-hop and then climbing the higher tempos through house and breakbeat, HOMETOWN 2024 navigates around a variety of different moods and energy levels. It’s definitely “put it on in the car and go for a long drive” material. I really tried to keep things from being too predictable while also attempting to make many completely different sounding tracks still feel like they fit perfectly together. In the grand scheme of things Boston’s music scene is more tight knit than it may seem on the surface, so I try to mirror that spirit as best as I can with the way I program the set.
How did 2024 stand out from years past and what were some defining aspects of it?
I noticed a lot more collaborations coming out this year. Part of this is likely because this is required nowadays for artists to get picked up in the spotify algorithm, but in many cases I’ve seen it’s completely organic. This year’s HOMETOWN definitely includes more collabs than ever, and even in my own production work I’ve been finding myself working with other artists more than ever.
Another ongoing trend that has really ramped up this year is shorter tracks. As far as putting these mixes together I’m ok with that as it allows me to work more of them in to paint a more detailed picture of what our independent music scene looks like here.
What do you hope listeners take away from this mix?
If I can get anyone to discover and learn about the work of any artist in this mix, that’s an immediate “W”. The amount of music coming out these days is overwhelming and going against the algorithm can be a challenge, but I do these mixes to show people there’s loads of great stuff, often unsigned, coming out of New England. I really strive to present HOMETOWN in a way that is streamlined while still being a listening experience that is more quirky and fun than a static spotify playlist.
HOMETOWN 2024 Track List:
jiles, “live like this”
oompa, “up”
latrell james, “my granny was a gangster”
kei, “hello!”
rtb3000, “it’s jazz”
big dese + chairman chow, “walk home”
oak lonetree + chairman chow, “9th round draft pick”
gin d, “gin and jazz”
jenova 7, “the future 1995”
stu bangas + a-f-r-o, “hip hop tournament”
burn helm + gasoline monk, “phone line”
vvill, “angel attack”
nick shea, “buzzing guitar”
saucy lady, “watchin’ (kon rework)”
kwami-soul, “stress”
dj deadeye, method man, termanology + inspectah deck, “drug plots”
lewis m, jesse the tree + haasan barclay, “bang”
petruechio, “beetlejuice”
hillfigures, “pure magic”
esh and the isolations + peryle, “bad muse”
blak madeen + sadat x, “absence of confusion”
chace + najee janey, “i like that”
calvinkleincaterpillar, “confess”
super smash broz, “grace bay”
mercet, “field notes”
lee wilson, “do better”
ex-hyena, “a secret to protect (johannes klingebiel rmx)”
ascdi, “climb to spring”
limforty, “d1030”
col lawton + sex on decks, “timeless”
agents of vibe + matt carey, “blueberry usb”
barbwalters, “fantasy”
twism + b3rao, “don’t send me away”
milkshaw benedict, “the open (kelvin sylvester soulful mix)”
wiersma, “emerald necklace”
jonny fallout, “impulse”
alex slater, “dinner”
vanta, “roll up”
gmgn + dusty digital, “the morph”
steve darko + gina turner, “breaks you open”
zunzarren, “let’s fly”
hot pot + wolfstax, “hands down”
r4ns0m, “second room”
2xya, “waterslide (american dave club mix)”
radical one + nintus, “sak chat”
phibonacci + peachy: “on my mind”
atura, “enough”
chelita, “sazon”
avato, “choir in the void”
brianna paon, “sentient dub”
halbeezy, “myvoice”
glass arrowhead, “barrage”
beman + ag, “streets”
gin mason, “nostalgia usa”
amadeezy + rare gang, “sicko mobb fiesta (brian seacrest rmx)”
mere notilde, “if your heart stopped beating”
amadeezy + louie lanka, “da summa”
nyklonynth, “max flow min cut”
lil kevo 303, “marmaduke 165iv”
dev/null, “eternal”
rilla force + hassan barclay, “’04 tekken”
billy dean thomas, “valentine”
michael lawrence, “tenpo suno ala li kama”
mrph, “melt”
steppo, “benz (nm+ 2024 vip rmx)”