by: Kelle Marie
How did you get started as a dj? What were your influences?
I would have to say that my influences came along before I had the desire to dj. I was mostly rock influenced before the electronic days. I grew up listening to everything from Genesis to Marilyn Manson. I listened to bands like the Distillers, Bad Religion, The Beatles, David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead. The first dance music cd I ever owned was trance, it was 'George Acosta - Awake'. My first encounters with dance music and the concept of djing were from going to small parties in east Texas. I went to parties in Longview, which were thrown by Luminary Productions, as well as parties in Tyler, thrown by Deep South. I first heard drum and bass at these parties, although most of the parties were house and trance influenced. At first, I was just listening to the dj, and then I started watching what they were doing. A friend, DJ Klinz also showed me mixing techniques. After that, I was on my own. I bought some cheap decks, a mixer and a bunch of old records to practice on. Being from a Lindale, I had limited exposure to dance music, I learned most things from drum and bass magazines, Knowledge and ATM. Eventually I started buying my own records and began developing my own taste for drum and bass. I have often bought other genres of electronic music, but spent most of my money on my drum and bass addiction.
What are your thoughts on the local dnb scene?
I'm from a small town, but even from Lindale, over a hundred miles away, I had heard how strong the Dallas drum and bass scene was. And from Lindale, I was intimidated by what I didn't know. After I moved here, I realized that I should have been scared. I moved here in 2004. After watching some of the local djs, I realized that djing was more than just playing songs. I then appreciated the performance aspect of djing much more. I'm telling you, the Dallas drum and bass scene has a lot of talented djs and they are all very critical of each other, but they show love and devotion like no other.
How did you feel coming to Dallas and playing your first gig here? Did the locals receive you well?
I, like most djs, will always remember my first gig. I played at Afterlife after giving another local dj a cd. My second gig had to have been my favorite. It was in a small room upstairs at Club one and was the first time I played with an MC. Even after all the shows I have played thus far, I know I can't recapture the energy I had that night. The people were accepting, but I, like most of the djs in the drum and bass scene, felt like I had to earn my respect. Even with that being said, I had a good enough response that I was asked to join a crew, Municipal Audio, within a few months of playing. These people gave me a foot in the door and a chance to play my music for others quite frequently.
You also sing as well as dj. How often do you do this and what can we expect from you? Do you sing and dj at the same time?
I've always loved to sing since I was a little girl. There is no better feeling than using your body as itŐs own instrument. Writing is the best form of therapy I think anyone can have, and is the best way to relate to listeners . I've been involved in the production of trip-hop, house, drum and bass and everything in between.
Every now and then I will pick a mic and sing over another dj's set. As far as singing over my own sets, in the past the style of drum and bass that I play was not conducive to live vocals. However, lately, I have been playing more on the liquid funk tip which is more compatible with live vocals.
