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Mi-El Mix

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Stepping up for Tapes #53 is London-based emerging DJ and talent mi-el. She has showcased her skills on a plethora of esteemed platforms such as Keep Hush, NTS and HÖR Berlin, catching the attention of labels and promoters both across the country and overseas. Notorious for taking bold risks that never fail to pay off, her unique genre-hopping, speed-bending style is sure to keep your brain ticking and your body moving. 

Mi-el has become well-immersed in the underground scene in the short time since her return to her home in London. As co-booker and designer for the legendary Bermondsey club Venue M.O.T, and an integral figure behind the breakthrough streaming platform Late Night Shopper (the brains behind their unforgettable branding imagery), mi-el has been at the centre of some of the most exciting moments in the underground music all the way through the pandemic and out the other side. With all this under her belt within her first few years on the scene, it's no wonder that mi-el is already considered a force to be reckoned with.

Tracklist

Ritchrd - Rave
Slikback - Rue
Nora drum - Lungfish
S.murk - Careful
Amor Satyr & Siu Mata - Nah
Flore - sigui so
Nov - Strak 
Diessa - So Long As We Believe
Boys Noize & Virgil Abloh -  ??
Blastto - Alarms
Kaval - Troop Tool 
Ovid - Steel Push
MM - Shape in the Glass
Høst - Survive
Laksa - Sen On One
4str0 - Aerial Quest
Cozen - Big Thighs


Thanks for contributing to our Tapes Series! It’s so lovely to have you involved. Why don't you start by introducing yourself. Where are you currently residing?

Ah what no way, thanks for inviting me! Well, my name is mi-el and I'm an artist and DJ based in East London. I spent the past few years in Leipzig and Leeds so it's been really grounding getting settled back home. 


Tell us a bit about this Tapes . When and where did you record it?

So I recorded this in the last few days of 2021, which was actually when I was meant to send it over to you but of course, it took me another three months to get round to it... I'd like to think that it's very on-brand: something of a drum symphony calling from the depths of the underworld with a sprinkle of something to bruk to. The initial idea behind the mix was to play all the neglected B-sides from the year and then I just threw in some well-played 2021 favourites. I have to admit that I am spoiled when it comes to recording; I get to use the insane set-up at Venue MOT whenever I need, so I'm really able to get in the zone and fuck about in an empty club for hours at a time. 


How did you land into DJing? Top tips for anyone just starting out?

Music and dance are like love languages in my family, they have always been a way for me to strengthen my connection to myself and with people around me. I have been playing music and performing since I was six and I guess DJing is a new space where I'm able to nurture that part of myself. 

When I first started going out I remember the discomfort I felt entering club spaces and encountering countless white performers relentlessly appropriating elements of black culture for white audiences in a way that was frustratingly unnuanced and tasteless. I think I got bored of feeling annoyed and just went for it. I had my first radio shows on Sable in Leeds and was then taken under the wing of the Music of Colour collective in Leipzig when I moved there - we played on Radio Blau, at the iconic IFZ and worked with various BIPOC and queer squat collectives. Over lockdown, I joined Late Night Shopper, which was an integral part of how I cut my teeth in the London scene. I think there was something really magical about having the means to create space for people to share and enjoy music in a time when it was pretty much illegal, it really propelled our presence in a city that can seem super impenetrable when you're just starting out.

I think that being diligent with practising is key for me, and also listening! Never stop listening to new music and other people's mixes, input for me is just as vital as your output. 


Standout gigs planned for 2022 so far?

This year has already been pretty insane for me. Highlights so far would be Oblig inviting me to play Keep Hush, opening for Juliana Huxtable at Venue MOT and playing the Origins x Livity Sound party at Corsica. 

I have some really fun bits coming up too! Next month I'll be joining Silvia Kastel on NTS and playing on the all-woman lineup for Risen festival. Then in May I'm headlining a Dancing for Money party at The Glove that Fits and will be back at MOT for Kyso Sound with LCY, Two Shell and Ship Sket. 

Lastly, I’ve gotta say Mi-El b2b Allecto is one of the best butts to butts out there - where did you two meet?

Thank you, we do have a laugh together! We actually went to the same sixth form and have had loads of mutual friends for a while, but only tried playing together when we started seeing each other.  Sharing the performance experience with someone is an indescribable feeling, I don't think either of us expected much from it when we started but I guess the way people have reacted to it speaks for itself.

**Quick Fire** Favourite Festival?

On Kilter! They had an incredible first run last year and they're back for more this summer - ticket registration just opened, I promise it'll be more than worth your while.

Favourite time of day?

I find the early hours of the morning between 5am and 8am the most magical. It's like the air is charged with the energy of everything that could possibly happen that day, and it's all there for the taking. 

Dream lineup?

Space Afrika, JK Flesh, Silvia Kastel, Diessa, Locked Club, Giant Swan, K Means, Renata.

One thing you’d like to see more of in the future of clubbing?

More DIY spaces! It's really difficult in London for venues to avoid being too commercialised and taking on all the baggage that comes with it i.e. extortionate prices, limited licenced hours, super heteronormative crowds, aggressive door staff. I find that I have always had my best experiences in spaces that don't have to conform to a standardised version of clubbing, where people feel free to be themselves and (mis)behave as they please. I think that's why squat parties are so important, they're constantly in that process of being built and rebuilt which enables them to escape the confines of the hyper-commercialised clubbing experience.

Thanks so much for joining us!


Interview by: Alicia Steanson

Follow Mi-El —

instagram.com/melifund
soundcloud.com/melissa-fund