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Strife

Strife is a DJ based in Long Island, New York and her first mix CD entitled Sweet 16! A Drum & Bass Mix has just been released. We grabbed a quick word to find out more about this talented DJ.

Having played electronic music of all genres, what was it about drum & bass that drew you in?
Drum & bass was the first real electronic genre that made me really want to listen to it all the time; not just at a rave or party. It intrigued me profoundly, and had a lasting and staying power over me.

How do you put a performance together? CDs, vinyl or a laptop?
Mostly CDs. I honestly love using CDJs, love the feel of them and the precise decibel point that I can match beats to, while cutting and EQing simultaneously. I'll also still bring out the vinyl collection for some "old skool" sets when necessary.

With such a wide selection of tracks in your sets, how do you choose the tunes you play, and what kind of vibe do you like to create?
I'm really on the liquid, soulful, Brazilian tip of all things drum & bass, with a splash of hardness thrown in. My vibe is all about making people dance and especially growing the market towards women in particular. It's so important to keep women interested in such a male dominated genre!

What makes your sets the right addition to an event?
I'm going to make people dance, I'm going to make people party and keep smiles on their faces by bringing soul and vibe into their step. I'm also going to probably be dancing behind the decks myself! I hate looking at a DJ that just stands up there like a statue. It's all about getting involved.

What was your first "big break?"
I wouldn't say that I had a first "big break", per se, but I would say that going over to England in 2003 had a deep impact through the people that I would meet, relationships that I would maintain and starting my international DJ career. As it happened, Danny Breaks cancelled last minute at Dylan & Robyn Chaos's Therapy Sessions event in London at Herbal and they asked if I wanted to open the night. I jumped at the chance to play, even though I remember playing some Soul:ution Records at their hard, dark drum & bass night!

With such a big list of accomplishments as a DJ working all over the world, what drives you to pursue it all, and how does it affect your life outside of the club?
I love meeting new people, going new places and experiencing new cultures out there. Music is my life. I always knew I wanted to work in the music business since I was about 14 years old. I wouldn't want to be a DJ full time though because as much as I love travelling, I love being home in NY and I see what a hard toll it's taken on some other people out there. I'm lucky though because I work in music for my day job as well.

Tell us your favourite story from the road...
I would say one of the best gigs I got to play was at Skol Tropical Beats in Bahia, Brazil. It was a huge festival with 20K people in attendance. I played in this huge electronic tent with amazing sound, lights and lasers. People kept coming up to me from the crowd to try to speak to me, but since I don't speak any Portuguese it ended up being a huge game of sign language! I also was wearing an "I heart NY" shirt, so I would just point to my shirt and smile to say, "sorry I don't understand, I'm from NY". The people there are so wonderful and appreciative though.

Do you prefer playing in smaller intimate venues, or large festival style events?
I prefer to play wherever there's a good vibe going on. Sometimes you can connect more directly in a smaller venue because you are more face to face, and sometimes you can feed off the energy of a huge crowd. All about creating a mood and giving those good soulful vibes back!

Are you working on production?
I dabble here and there in production. I'm mostly just keeping it in the bedroom at the moment. I'm a very impatient person, so I get annoyed with myself when the sounds aren't coming out the way I want them to, but I want to keep trying and working on it. I know it's an important part of progressing in creating music. There is just so much wonderful music out there, I sometimes get intimidated in thinking, "well how can I make something that good?!" At the moment I have a lot of great producer friends around me that I'm trying to learn as much as I can from and take that with me into the studio.