An artist’s biggest success often lies on the other side of the greatest challenges they will face. It is so easy for someone to give up on their dreams so you have to respect the ones that don’t.
When did you start DJing – and what or who were your early passions and influences?
I started DJing in 2002 using my personal CD collection, so it was mostly old school hip hop back then; Tribe Called Quest, Biggie, Missy, Nas, Beastie Boys, Refugees, Pharcyde, the list could go on. I originally got into DJing as a party motivator/dancer. I had been performing with dance teams since I was a kid. So, music I could dance to has always been important. I guess one passion led to the other.
What do you consider to be the incisive moment in your career?
There have been a few defining moments throughout my career, but I would say the pinnacle was my trip to Ibiza last summer. Technically, it was supposed to be my last hurrah. I wanted to have another baby, which at the time meant retiring the headphones. I had convinced myself I could forget about my first true love – music. The magic of the island brought me back and I knew I could never walk away from something so deeply rooted in the very fibers of my being.
When I got home, I started the long and painful process of finally choosing me. I had to cut certain ties and find out who I am and what I want to do with my life. This process threw me right into some intense studio sessions. I couldn’t stop recording. I was singing again for the first time in years. The music was what brought me through. Most artists will tell you that pain is some of the best creative inspiration and that was definitely true for me. A few collaboration projects emerged as a result of those sessions that are now coming to fruition, as I prepare to return to Ibiza one year later…Needless to say, last year’s trip to Ibiza was a major turning point for me. Not only did it save my DJ career, it got me thinking like an artist. It changed everything for me.
What are currently your main challenges as a DJ? What is it about DJing, compared to, say, producing your own music, that makes it interesting for you?
DJing has always been a fun outlet for my creativity, but recently I have been focusing a lot on practice and technique, trying to really step up my game. As a female in the industry, it is important to me to rely on my skills and not my looks. Sexuality can be a great marketing tool, but it can also be a deadly crutch, not to mention a personal danger. I want to create a career that will last, not one based purely on sexuality and marketability.
The live aspect and crowd connection – that’s where the magic is. Songwriting and production has a magic of its own, but it’s more of a personal, private moment. When I look out into the crowd and see people smiling and dancing, I sometimes get emotional. In a world of produced reality and disconnect, to be able to provide an escape where people feel so free in the music they forget to check their cell phones – there is just nothing else that compares to that.
How important is building a real relationship with the music you’re playing for your own approach? There’s so much music out there, is it even possible to build meaningful long-term relationships with a particular track or album?
The relationship with the music is everything. Really. At a certain point in my career, I had fallen out of love with the whole thing. I was just going through the motions. I was always trying to please everyone. I was playing music I didn’t feel. It wore me down. I was miserable and about to quit. Finally I said “fuck it.” I started only playing music that made me want to dance. I always feared that was a selfish way to play, but quite the opposite. It gave me the opportunity to share my ear and my rhythm and the joy that it makes me feel – that’s real. It creates an energy in the room and a magnetism to the dance floor.
What makes you decide to play a particular record during one of your sets? Is there a criteria other than pure subjectivity, for selecting what to play at a gig?
In my current transformation/rebrand, I’ve thought a lot about my format and what songs and artists to include in my sets. If you pay attention, you can sometimes hear a story in my mixes. Of course the music has to make me want to move, but there are a lot of things I take into consideration: location, crowd size, age, current and historical events, etc… Music can evoke feelings and send messages in a way the receiver not only hears it, but feels it.
When there’s more music than one can possibly take in, it is becoming increasingly hard to know what constitutes an original and a remake anymore. What’s your opinion on the importance of roots, traditions, respecting originals and sources?
As a former student and educator, I believe citing your sources is important. But as we know, that is rarely the case in the music industry. People try to sample, redo, rip-off whatever they can without acknowledging or paying for it. It still amazes me when I hear old songs and realize that’s where a popular hook came from, yet the original artist is never mentioned in the credits.
I love the idea of breathing new life into old songs or using a small piece of a song to create a whole new sound. It is a huge part of my format and what I feel is the responsibility of all DJs. We are the historians. It is our duty to educate the next generation, keep the good shit alive and pass it on – in its original form or with a new twist. However, if your track is not at least as good as the original, I think that’s disrespectful. Like, why bother? If you aren’t adding anything to it, leave it alone.
Thanks to developments in software, DJing, playing live and producing have moved closer together than ever before, allowing DJs to Do you feel a crowd is actually able to appreciate the intricacies of complex change a track down the tiniest detail. How do you make use of these options and is there a benefit?
Even though a majority of the audience has no clue what you are doing they can tell the difference. Using the tools available you can create a mix so tight, even the most discerning ear has difficulty telling where one song begins and the other ends. Looping and blending tracks so smoothly that they ride out for a minute or two as one live remix. Teasing the crowd with a classic sample, but adding effects so they aren’t sure where they know it from, building their anticipation until the track finally drops and they just lose it. With all the new hardware and software available, there is room for infinite growth. I am constantly learning new things and working them into my sets.
The relationship with the audience is crucial for a DJ, and yet it seems to be a fragile one. How do you see the balance between giving the crowd what they want and treating them to something new?
If you want to be a DJ in a bar; make friends, take shots and play all the requests, even the ones you hate. If you want to be an artist, you have to find your own sound and stay the course. It is terrifying, but it must be done with conviction. You have to own your sound. The people who hate you will be the first ones to speak up and sometimes the loudest, but once those assholes get out of the way your people will emerge. They are the ones who don’t have requests because they are too busy dancing. Be consistent. Define who you are and bring it every single time. Your people will find you.
You come across on social media as a person that stands strong in her own convictions and is unapologetically herself, what is the source of this strength? And what advice would you give to aspiring djs and artists?
Well, I guess I’ve made a lot of mistakes, spent a lot of time doubting myself and comparing myself to others. I couldn’t see the work that needed to be done to create the life I wanted, so I always felt like a failure. I was ashamed. For a long time I was letting life make decisions for me, convincing myself I had no power to change it.
This year has been one of great transformation. I refuse to ever feel ashamed again. If I have made a mistake I can fix it and move on. If there is something I don’t like about myself or is not serving me and my goals, I can change it. With change comes pain and with pain comes growth, which allows the opportunity for us to thrive. I want to share any wisdom that has come from my pain and maybe spare someone else that pain or just let them know they are not alone.
Regardless of your career, my advice is to focus on setting goals for yourself and compare your progress to no one but yourself. Every day make small, consistent steps towards your goals. Don’t waste your time and energy pining over what someone else has. You have no idea what they have sacrificed or gone through to get it. We get lost in these online caricatures people create, but the truth is, you never know what is really going on behind the screen.
What is your next move? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I see travel and production becoming a bigger part of my career. I’m excited to finally be creating music again and not just playing it. So much has changed for me in one year, it’s hard to say where I could be in five! To be honest, I’m just along for the ride. The universe seems to have a plan and as long as I keep listening, she points me in the right direction.
Dakari Eli
