STORE MIX 127: MOBILEGIRL

What was your first ever DJ set like?

My first halfway proper set was a b2b with Mechatok. I honestly don’t remember much of it but there’s a photo of us smiling big at the bottom of my IG feed.

How would you say you’ve developed as a DJ since then?

When I started out I was really just trying things out, unapologetically so. I want to believe that’s what made me interesting then. It took a second to get technically decent and I didn’t have a private means to practice, so every public gig was public practice but somehow I really didn’t care and I had all the right ideas. Now I care a lot more, am hopefully technically better and still have silly ideas. Since the ambient bar Kwia opened in Berlin a few years ago, I’ve also started playing a lot of music that is not dancefloor-oriented. It was challenging at first because ultimately I have the patience of a club DJ but It really grew on me. I feel like I can play any type of event now.

How has your sense of taste in music changed over the years?

What were you listening to growing up? Music was not really a topic in my household growing up. My cousin was the only one whose taste had an influence on me. She mainly got me into R&B and then later as a teen the internet (tumblr) did its thing and opened me up to more experimental electronic music.

You’re known for really blending genres together. What does your selection process look like?

Often hearing tracks in sequence make me think of another track. It might be the lyrics or the overall mood, a synth line that has the same rhythm or similar sound or something like that. It’s also about where I want to steer it next or what direction feels right in the moment, but also what could be really funny right now. Sometimes I try to prepare more beforehand but it honestly makes me stiffen and enjoy the process less, it’s a lot less exciting to prepare a good blend rather than feeling it out it live. With mixes that I record from home I’m a lot more anal though. For my radio show on NTS I have folders for each episode with each episode being a different room in a house. I will add music to those throughout the year. Whenever I hear something that might fit I just drag it in there. The selection here is a lot less reactive because it’s themed.

Your mixes feel almost emotion-led and quite personal. Do you think that’s a fair assessment of your DJ style?

I believe all DJing is personal to some extent. Taste is so personal, what you’re exposed to in the first place, your environment, your influences. But I do think I get what you mean. You must be thinking this girl is just doing whatever lmao. There’s something very blurring once you decide every genre and every type of track is fair play. The only thing that gives it some cohesion is then how you decide to mix it and you’re right a lot of time I decide based on what mood or emotion the music conveys to me and sometimes I will sculpt the set to fit an emotion I want to set. I try to let my intuition guide me rather than overthink it.

What drew you to Berlin, and when did you know it was the place you could call home?

It’s a very non-unique story lol I used to come here to party when Janus did their parties at Chester’s 100 years ago. The music and the experience was very formative and instilled a sense of belonging in me. A lot of people I have met around that time feel like extended family now, regardless of how close we really are. Sometimes I would take a Flixbus to come just for a night or two and then go back home the next day and then eventually I moved because around that time Berlin felt particularly liberating. There was less emphasis on social status and norms than in other cities. The city’s department of culture was governed by the left party until rather recently. All of that meant I could leave my job, be gay in peace and pursue music. I would always travel so much though that it took 2020 for me to be stuck in the city and learn to feel rooted in Berlin.

People from outside the city might say it’s techno-centric, but how would you describe it?

It’s indeed quite techno centric but there is A LOT going on otherwise as well. It’s a city that by circumstance has always encouraged experimentation but it’s just a few years away from struggling the way London does.

You soundtracked Chromat’s runway in 2019. How was that process different to a usual mix?

I love soundtracking runways. After Chromat I worked on the shows for GANNI for a few years. They’re always themed and I really enjoy finding music for a specific idea and create dramaturgy. That’s why I also wanted my radio show to be conceptual. It’s super different from a regular club set. You think about the sound in relation to the lighting, the space, the collection. A runway show takes so much work and precision and a bunch of people with their opinions and expertise and all of that is condensed into 15 minutes. It’s intense, I love it.

Were you always creating your own music, or did that evolve from your DJing?

I started making music quite alongside of DJing which I’m really glad about. It’s already hard listening to so much good music and somehow finding space for your own. If I had started producing later it would probably take me ages to be happy with any of the outcome. This way I could progressively get better at both in parallel.

Thanks for being our latest Store Mix contributor — what can we expect when we hit play?

Lots of throwbacks and some tracks I listened to maybe twice. I would shop to this.