Nymph

Throughout a lot of my sets, I focus on building intensity over time. I sometimes think about the boiling frog analogy and the idea that gradual changes often go unnoticed until they have become impossible to ignore. While the analogy itself is pretty negative, I like applying that concept to the dance floor, gradually building energy and getting people moving in a way that feels natural and fun.

DJing is all about song selection and timing. Song selection receives the majority of my attention. Sometimes I’ll pick songs based on the emotion they evoke and structure my set based on that. Other times I’ll pick a motif, like “beeps” or dub elements to focus my song selection around.

I would consider myself to be a little shy, so being in front of people is already a little nerve inducing. On top of that, you are sharing songs you love and hoping that people are receptive to it. With people's attention on you and sharing songs you are excited about, it's easy to want everything to go perfectly every time, but that isn't realistic. The biggest lesson I’ve had to learn, and continue to work on, is accepting that mistakes are going to happen and that it's possible to play an imperfect set that people still enjoy.

When I was first starting, I was too embarrassed to ask anyone for help. Instead, I relied on quick YouTube tutorials, which were great for learning the basics but left a lot out. Going to techno centered parties and clubs ended up being where I learned the most. Watching and listening to sets weekend after weekend helped shape my taste and taught me about pacing, energy, and crowd reading in ways that would have been difficult to learn from a short video. Now, in addition to listening to other sets, I'm focused on refining my own style, expanding my library, and finding new ways to keep my sets feeling exciting.