Packing all my songs for the summer
every USB is a cabin suitcase
As I listened to the fireworks sound off in the distance in a new city, I realized how easy it had been to just stuff my essentials in a suitcase and go be someone, somewhere else. There is nothing revolutionary to be said about the experience of moving, except for a girl like me who’s basically lived in the same neighborhood her whole life.
I filled my suitcase like I fill my USB before every set, trying to gather the tools to help me build a comprehensive understanding of the environment I was sailing towards. I was told I’d be allowed to officially say I have been living in a new place at the three-month mark, not before. You never really know a place until you’ve lived there long enough to feel lonely, or until you’ve played its people music for the first time. Although I have nothing to complain about professionally, I still am not at that point in my career where I have traveled the world and developed habits in places all over, so half of the time I am playing in cities I have never even visited before. It is an unusual exercise - curating sounds for an unfamiliar audience, in a place you’ve never been to before, as you have no way of knowing how the public is going to react to them or what kind of songs they want to hear playing in their clubs. It is their turf, after all. As a guest DJ, you (in my opinion) have to find the right balance between introducing yourself and your sound and offering something different, while also always minding the music taste and entertainment needs of the people who’ve spent time and money coming to that event
Packing all my things for the summer, I always think of Joan Didion’s tutorial.
To Pack and Wear :
2 skirts
2 jerseys or leotards
1 pullover sweater
2 pair shoes
Stockings
Bra
Nightgown, robe slippers
Cigarettes
Bourbon
Bag with : shampoo, toothbrush and past, Basis soap, razor, deodorant, aspirin, prescription, Tampax, face cream, powder, baby oil
If I had to write up such a list when getting ready for a set, it would go something like this :
To Sync and Play :
2 club classics playlists
2 new and already overplayed hardcore tracks
1 experimental break phase
2 nostalgic pop-adjacent hits
Brutalist techno
Hypnotic basslines
Chips
Ginger shots
Bag with : headphones, backup USBs, adapter, earplugs, ID card, keys, lipliner, aspirin, face wash, hair ties, hotel room key, a lot of feelings
(Numbers are just a serving size suggestion, not to be taken too literally)
There’s a scene in the Hairspray musical where Tracy sings she is « hungry for something that [she] can’t eat ». That is how I felt for the longest time, crippled by a devastating hunger for something I could neither eat nor identify, for that matter, and the feeling never really went away. In retrospect it must have been some kind of emotional void I’d been looking to fill for as long as I can remember, but along with it came a craving for art and media consumption, so it did actually seem like the type of organic hunger you can only satisfy with studying, reading, making. Now that I am possessed by a sense of direction again, the hunger has not disappeared but the dynamic has switched. I fear I haven’t got enough mouths to feed on all the spiritual and social food I am being served.
♬ Music report♭
I have been working on new music lately so not listening to too many other artists in order to stay focused, but I did put out a little song (and DIY music video) a few weeks ago, so feel free to check it out ! If my tree hits the ground will be a part of my next release - I’ll do another mix for the official release though, as I thought it would be interesting to have two versions, the one that’s currently out being like some sort of musical found footage, and then releasing a more polished one blending into the finished full project.
★Upcoming gigs ☆
19.07.24 - Larsene x Dubfrog Summer Party (Marseille, FR)
16.08.24 - Petit Bain (Paris, FR)
22.08.24 - TBA (Paris, FR)