Vertigo for Mannequin Pussy

If you missed Stanford Concert Network's first live concert in two years, listen here to Vertigo open for Ric Wilson on the Frost Rooftop!

Vertigo Live @ the Frost Rooftop

“DJing for me was kind of like coping with my perfectionism, because I understood that not everything’s gonna be perfect, but it’s gonna kind of work out, and at the end of the night people are just going to dance to your music and have a good time and that’s what you’re there for.”

Jayden Lim’s experiences with DJing amount to a lifetime’s worth of hard-earned lessons and fond memories. Even her first time on the decks was a classic story of being pushed outside of her comfort zone. “Oh, I didn’t want to DJ,” she says, referring to when her parents dropped her off at a DJ school at age 12. “But I didn’t want to babysit, either, so my parents just encouraged me to DJ instead.” While atypical, her parents’ encouragement for Jayden to spin makes sense considering that her father spent years on the managerial side of clubs on the West Coast. I think we all wish we could have a dad that cool.

After making the classic rotation of weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs, Jayden graduated at an early age to bars and clubs (supposedly if the kitchen is kept open, then it’s legal), and in so doing, she became steeped in the Bay Area’s DJ culture. During weekly “poker nights,” she would join other Bay Area DJs to spin a few records, take some heat from the experts, and refine her craft. Jayden credits those experiences and those people for helping to take her to the heights of DJing in bigger venues, for bigger crowds, for the likes of Playboy Carti and Lil Skies.

Despite DJing for A-list rappers, Jayden clings to her identity as a house music DJ first and foremost, which she links with her exposure to and fascination with rave culture through Bay Area DJs. In this mix, however, we hear a reflection of a diverse set of musical influences. She specifically points out DJ Z-Trip, the mentor of her mentor, who gets a shoutout in ‘Novacane’ by Frank Ocean.

For Jayden, DJing has been more than just a hobby or a job--it has been a way to grow. Lucky for us, we just get to enjoy the music.

SDJS SPOTLIGHT: Jayden Lim

Kitsch is all about context. Just ask Alex Lerner, who dons the pseudonym @kitsch_music; he will immediately describe to you the scenes, textures, and environments from his Miami upbringing that inspire his musical taste and direction. “Certain music you pick because it fits the vibe of a certain situation that you’re in,” he reflects. “I think it’s a cool way to listen to house music, and when you listen to it, you’re like, ‘this would sound so cool at a pool party,’ or ‘this song would sound so cool if it were sunset at a bar.’” 

It’s the challenge of combining audio and environment to create the perfect mix which draws Alex into the art of DJing, and which pushes him towards new sounds that fill the emotive qualities of an environment. “...If I go out somewhere, I want to hear music that I know, but also music that I’ve never heard before.” Alex recognizes that new music helps him to look at familiar spaces in a new way--and he wants us to do the same. Take this mix, for example. Inspired by the environment of a pool party, Alex builds context through popular songs and tones that we may associate with a “post-Covid,” sunny day, but he also surprises us: “If you’re playing for a live audience, I have always thought about what I’m going to play for the next song is not what they want to hear, but what they don’t know that they want to hear.” Also consider the definition of the word ‘kitsch’: “thought to be poor in taste, but appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.” In reality, the undiscerning listener judges music new to them as ‘poor in taste,’ while the attentive listener appreciates and understands the motion that the DJ creates in a musical set in the context of the space that the motion occupies.

Novelty in music was one of Alex’s main motivators for joining the Stanford DJ Society, and for becoming our Vice President. He looks forward to taking all of the music recommendations he can get. Looking even further ahead, he pines for our first “music-oriented social event, with great DJs.” Don’t we all, Alex...but for now, we can close our eyes, imagine the sun above and water at our feet, and be swept away by the colorful rhythms of @kitsch_music.

The Stanford DJ Society