DJ Maaxa & Serene

DJ Maaxa is a music anthropologist, radio host, writer, and 25-year veteran behind the decks with roots in the Bay Area funk scene. Her work has been featured in SPIN, the SF Bay Guardian, shows on KMHD and KUSF, grants with the Mellon and Peacock Foundations, and field studies in Senegal, Mississippi, Jamaica, the Carolinas, Mali and Spain. She has published books and documentaries on Sufi ritual sound, global hip-hop undergrounds, and women tradition-bearers. Serene, her 11-year-old son (and the heir to her vinyl collection), is a musician by his own right, studying turntablism, percussion and dance since he was a toddler. This is their second year DJing Pickathon together, mixing rare groove, Afro-funk, rocksteady, spiritual jazz, global house, and underground hip-hop into a seamless set, tag team style. Together, they advocate for intergenerational music making and learning.