Introducing New York born and bred Dj KIMIKO
Where are you from?
Manhattan
When did you start DJing and why?
I started DJing around 6 months ago. I think initially it felt like a way for me to get my own music out there, and while I have played some sets with my own music, it's not the main motivation for me anymore. I think for now I’m still learning a lot about it and that’s what’s really exciting to me. It’s forcing me to think about and listen to music in a different way than I have in the past and making me fall in love with music that I’ve listened to for years all over again and for different reasons. It’s also an opportunity to play my music with the music of artists I really look up to and to create a conversation between them and that feels like an honor.
How would you describe the sound of your sets?
I don't know. I think I’m still figuring that out but I definitely am drawn to playing a lot of hard house
Who are your biggest musical influences?
My Bloody Valentine, AIR, Hiatus Kaiyote, Galcher Lustwerk, DJ МУДАК 2000, Saada Bonaire, 4Hero, Massive Attack, El Blanco Nino, Truby Trio
As a woman, what do you think is lacking in nowadays music industry and what positive progress have been made lately?
Representation. Especially in the production and engineering world. I work as an audio engineer and it was unnecessarily difficult for me to find studios to apply to where I wouldn’t be the only woman, and it’s honestly intimidating which perpetuates the problem. On the other hand, there are organizations like Gender Amplified ,working to get more women into these spaces with other women, and the EQL directory which is a database for women, trans, and non binary producers and engineers, so hopefully we start to see more visible change. Also, this doesn’t only apply to being a woman, but I think the main problem with the music industry is that it is an industry, or a business, and so much of the success we see in artists is dictated by the idea that this is a business, as opposed to basing it off of the quality of their art. This also contributes to that fact that musicians make an absurdly small fraction of the money that their music makes. Artists are seen as an object to sell and this takes away from the integrity and quality of what is being put out there and this also contributes to the way we are treated and often neglected.
Listen to Kimiko Mix here