Sydney
DJ, DESIGNER
HOUSE, TECHNO, OTHER
Tell us about yourself!
I’ve always been a music collector - I went from burning monthly CD mixtapes as a teen to becoming an avid crate digger. It wasn’t until I started hosting house parties that I felt the need to get up on the decks. Mostly because I was sick of curating all boy lineups (my only DJ friends at the time) and (selfishly) wanted my friends to dance to the songs I wanted to dance to. I was hooked from this point onwards.
My sound is all about feel good, groovy, minimal beats full of squelchy bleeps and bloops. Lately I find my self going for weird, spacey, stripped back sounds as my mixing becomes less club focused and more of a solitary journey. My guilty pleasures are killer fem vocals, and a healthy smattering of UKG.
Describe your past year in one sentence...
A year of contradictions, 6 months of constant movement to 6 months of being a total couch potato!
Do you have any new work coming out that you'd like to tell us about?
I started this year full of excitement as part of this year’s FBi Dance Class, a female DJ/ radio mentorship. This was sadly been put on hold half way due to Covid, so I needed a new music project to pour all this energy into. I started Douglas Street with my five housemates and have been running weekly livestreams since the first week of restrictions. This has become a platform to hero local talent with weekly guest mixes & has evolved into a newsletter curated by different guests with the purpose of expressing diverse voices within the local music scene. You can sign up to our mailing list here.
Our newsletter includes a podcast series which I kicked off with a mix that’s joyful and bloopy. I imagine you listening to it while you potter around in your slippers, grooving out in the winter sun, tending to your iso veggie patch.
How do you practice self care?
Growing things!! Every morning I’m checking out my veggie garden, saying hello to my seedlings, feeling a sense of pride at how tall my peas have climbed. Self care to me is having the luxury to practice slow and rewarding tasks. I’ve become obsessed with the nü-peasant trends of preserving, pickling, fermenting. The joy of fresh sourdough with pickled garden produce is second only to finally ID-ing that track from Sunwaves last year.
"Self care to me is having the luxury to practice slow and rewarding tasks."
What’s your favourite record at the moment and why?
CAESURA001 - a brand new record label run by Noah Skelton with four driving, boppy minimal cuts by Jos Lok. When I listen to Water Drupples I’m transported to a late afternoon, midsummer set in a leafy outdoor paradise like Heideglühen (obviously what I’m craving right now).
What's the best part about being in the music industry?
Playing music is like having a conversation with the people around you, but it transcends language and breaks through social barriers. All of my most beautiful friendships have been formed through music. Especially in Sydney where we have had to fight to keep our night life alive, it’s created a really caring and supportive community.
"Playing music is like having a conversation with the people around you, but it transcends language and breaks through social barriers."
What are your predictions for the future of dance music and the industry?
Great music is often born out of times of political and social uncertainty as it provides hope. It’s beautiful to see so many groups pop up during covid with their own vision, using music as expression to bring joy to others. I’m hoping to see a really positive shift in the industry as more emerging grass roots groups gain traction. This has also been a time for reflection as our lives slow down. There is a growing awareness of the need for more diverse voices within the industry and I really hope this is a catalyst for that change.
Check out Tangela's WIP Profile Page for more!
