nostalgia by doris dana

“Not nostalgia, but memory.

Do the warped boleros on water-damaged tape sound the same in Saigon as they do in Havana? Is it the trait of memory or the Romance of dancing cheek to cheek that is the real undercurrent of boleros, or is it the sleeping warmth of memory being invented by the synesthesia of a true listener?

I believe these are some of the questions raised and cryptically answered by doris dana’s 𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒈𝒊𝒂 mixtape. Mónica Mesa, the Colombian sound artist who now works out of North Carolina, conjures up imagery so vibrant and familiar that to say it is “cinematic” would not do justice to the narrative the music produces. Through field recordings, indistinct chatter, and the bolero music itself, Mesa invents a new form of the genre, much like the permutation of boleros in Vietnam, which are slower in tempo.

Mesa recalls the sounds of their parents and grandparents and how she associates the ever-present musical style throughout their life. In this hour-long mixtape, we share in her imperfections to recall memory as we slog through the haze of what is remembered, what we are fed in culture as memory, and how we interact with others to clarify recollection. Where nostalgia seeks to implant memory in your mind and heart for the purpose of selling you a past that glosses over imperfection, true memory is foggy, left-handed, and rubbed dark with eraser marks of corrections made and made again.

A depiction of one’s own recollection is often brightened and polished for consumption, but this mixtape truly shows the cracks in our foundations. Not unlike a Frank O’Hara poem, in which trying to remember which day or month it is enters the lines of the poetry, or how in Calvino’s 𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑪𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, Marco Polo begins recalling billboards and discarded refrigerators in his tale of the Orient to Kublai Khan, showing that the narrator is faulty in further presenting memories of another’s memories. This complexity draws you in, and you are rewarded with a sonic envisioning that many have attempted but few have achieved so deftly as doris dana.”

- David Coccagna, September 2025

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doris dana is the sound project of Colombian-born artist Mónica Mesa, exploring the emotional tonalities of liminal spaces through field recordings, slow-moving drones, whispered vocals, and sparse, reverb-soaked electro-acoustic instruments. Named after Gabriela Mistral’s editor and confidante, doris dana gestures toward the study of quiet forms of intimacy and memory in sound.

Their latest album, 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 (Somewhere Press, 2024), offers a meditative, immersive listening experience. Mesa is also one half of the duo bad lsd trips, whose self-titled album and most recent release, 𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒕 (enmossed, 2025), expand on similarly experimental sonic territories.

In addition, she hosts No era sólida on Radio TNP—an hour-long mix series delving into the most introspective edges of sound, featuring experimental, cinematic, and free-form compositions that invite deep emotional engagement.

§ focused on contemporary sound and growth
✔ hand-constructed out of recycled materials as possible
♥ all proceeds to positive endeavors

*** demo submissions currently closed ***

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