@justbeige

Introduce yourself? Hometown? Where do you currently reside? 1 fun fact about yourself

I’m originally from the SF Bay Area, CA (Silicon Valley--the worst part) but have been mostly nomadic since I was about 15. I’ve lived in New England, Texas and Australia but Detroit has been home for almost four years, and this is where I’m putting down roots. My fun fact is that I dropped out of high school/never got my diploma but finessed a college degree anyway. 

Favorite collective/scene at the moment?

GFX in Pittsburgh recently brought me out to play one of their events at Hot Mass and I had the absolute best time. For such a small city PGH has a super-thriving scene and heaps of homegrown Midwest talent--Davis Galvin, Tabasheer, Sis Girl, to name a few. Detroit recently lost Ali Berger to PGH, and I’m pretty sure the entire In Training crew just moved there too from Cleveland so it’s definitely a place to watch! Close second goes to Philadelphia and their radio-based warehouse rave scene: shoutout Chris B, WKDU and Terry Radio. 

Favorite mix series?

I’m biased because they commissioned the first mix I ever put out, but I think Daisychain has been doing incredible work elevating the profile of literally dozens (it’s weekly!!) of women/femme, and non-binary/non-conforming DJs since they launched not too long ago. It’s also a great resource to debunk the usual excuses promoters give for not booking gender-diverse lineups, when they supposedly “can’t find” anyone but cis dudes with talent, taste, and technical chops. 

Favorite late night snack? 

Flaming Hot Cheetos (even though it gives me heartburn) 

Advice to beginning dj’s?

Make sure you are really clear on *why* you want to play music for other people and what about it feels good or necessary to you about it regardless of external validation. If your motivations revolve at all around an arbitrary number of bookings or standard of success, you’re gonna have a bad time. Checking your own ego will help you retain your beginner’s joy, curiosity, and drive to improve while avoiding burnout. 

Secret weapon track? 

I don’t know if I would call it a secret but this track has never not killed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k30MSgY1brg

Where do you see your rave self in 30 years from now?  

I’ll probably be dead in a climate disaster but if not I’d like to be an Old Head showing the youngins how it’s done and cultivating joyful intergenerational spaces. I have lots of great role models for that in Detroit. 

What would you like to see in the future for the dance community?

I would really like to see more people (artists and dancers) understand the political *potential* of rave as well as its political past. Communal experiences of celebration aren’t frivolous, they’re actually a necessary part of any struggle to make the world better. Fighting for change without making room for fun is unsustainably exhausting, and pure hedonistic indulgence without a sense of purpose is super alienating. Understanding rave culture as a form of “pleasure activism” helps to bridge that gap. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that party spaces (in and outside of the DJ booth) are accessible to the most marginalized, who might need that relief to make it through the next day. On that note, when I say that dance music is “healing” I don’t mean it in an abstract way--I’ve had some of my most lasting, personally transformative epiphanies on the dance floor, and now as a DJ, playing music for other people is an important way for me to keep social anxiety and depression at bay. I want that for more people. With that said I also think we could all stand to take ourselves and the “techno game” a little less seriously in some ways!! This is supposed to be about having fun and connecting through music, not fighting to the death over clout!

Beige - 108˚

mix series and label by @deep_creep

label ~ https://pipipi.bandcamp.com/album/oscar-huang-slipstream

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