How did you first start Djing?

My friends and I would go to the same club every weekend - I fell in love with the music and the scene there. I was so drawn to the DJ’s and wanted to play so I bought decks and practiced every night for a couple months until I got a gig in the side room. That was about 5 years ago now!

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Tell us a bit about your mix?

Letters from Suburbia is my gift to you from lockdown. I wanted to keep in theme with the “Suburbs” and “House" idea so I started the mix off with an acapella of one of the biggest house samples of all time. Roland Clark - When House Was Young. The mix explores the deeper side of 90’s house, minimal & breaks.

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You’re also in a band, Apricot Ink, how do your experiences in your music career with the band influence your DJ style / taste?

I started DJ’ing and producing electronic music before we formed the band - but I did have lot's of lofi hiphop tracks sitting on my computer. I don’t always feel like making house music, sometimes there are slow days where you just want to sit down and whip out a guitar and make something feelsy. Being in the band really helps this. It keeps me creative when I toggle between the two genres. I think it's important to listen to as many genre’s as possible! There’s so much great stuff out there. For producing, I sometimes take techniques from one genre and use it for another so it’s definitely influenced me in that regard. We just released our new track Make Believe and it has an underlying electronic feel, there’s a rolling synth bass that opens up throughout the song, something I’d do in a house or techno track.

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In these crazy pandemic times when no gig booking is ever a certainty, how do you adapt to the constant changes to your schedule?

The constant cancellations and uncertainty is now the norm so it’s allowed me to be a bit more flexible and present. It’s tough not being able to play but I’ve invested the time into production. I’ve got a couple tracks in the pipeline that I’m going to be releasing this year too & I’m super excited!

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What do you do for self care?

Exercising daily, walking my Dog (Archie) and getting out in nature is really important for me. Making sure my space is tidy, functional and comfy is integral for my mental health. My ultimate self-care routine would be putting on my diffuser (preferably cinnamon bark) and a soothing playlist while scrolling astrology memes. That's my type of self care.

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What are your predictions for your local music scene going forward?

I think promoters are going to draw on local talent, embracing Melbourne’s model. We’ve already seen this implemented in the couple weeks before this recent lockdown with brands like Poof Doof & Lost Sunday's at Ivy - having a rotating roster of quality local artists. Sash is another great example. So I predict there’s going to be more venues that will adapt this and focus on consistency and residencies. Hopefully more venues open up too! But the local music scene is much deeper than just the music. It’s about feeling accepted, having diversity and creating a safe space for people to be authentic and express themselves. There are so many great collectives and brands that value this and are paving the way.

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One track you can’t wait to rinse on a big system when dance floors open up again?

I’m surprised it’s not in the mix! But it would have to be

Maypole Theme (Piano Roll Mix) - Roza Terenzi, D. Tiffany, Tapestry of Sound

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