TSC Behind The Decks | Deer Jade
Hey Deer Jade, thank you for having me for this interview. Where am I catching you and what have you been up to lately?
Thank you for having me!! I’m currently in Berlin where I live and have my studio, recharging from the last tour and making fresh music. I just got a new synthesizer that I’m exploring at the moment and getting excited for his weekend’s shows.
Tell me more about yourself and how did you get into music?
I was born in Geneva, Switzerland and grew up right on the border with France. My parents are big music diggers so there was always good music playing in our house. I adopted that digging bug from an early age, but never imagined for one second I would actually DJ professionally. Travelling around the world and living on many different continents for months at a time I explored many kinds of music, new artists and fresh sounds. With each new discovery I found myself in awe of the magic and power of music. I started to learn DJing with some YouTube tutorials, and then played NYE in South Africa for my friends one year and completely fell in love with the craft. I went to Mexico City and started to learn how to play vinyls and practice as much as possible on the decks. Eventually I was booked to play my first few gigs there, it was the perfect playground to practice and get better. I came back to Europe in the spring, and everything escalated from there. What a wild ride it’s been, feeling very grateful for everything that has happened already.
Describe your sound in 3 words?
Groovy, Cosmic and Uplifting.
You used to be a model before you transitioned into Djing. What similarities do you see between Djing and modeling?
A little bit the lifestyle, with a lot of travelling, meeting lots of different people, but honestly it’s easier to tell you about all the differences, not to forget how much more freedom and self-expression there is with DJing and how much more I’m loving it.
You played at local Copenhagen festival last year “The Moment”, by founder Tomas Barfod from WhoMadeWho. What was your experience like playing the festival, and can we expect to see you again soon in Copenhagen?
That was one of my favourite festivals of the year for sure! Tomas and the boys are wonderful people, I fell in love with them! The energy was absolutely insane, the room was boiling all night long, the crowd was small yet incredible. Âme, WhoMadeWho and DJ Tennis played after me, I hadn’t danced that hard in forever! Definitely looking forward to be back to Copenhagen.
What do you love and hate about Djing and life on the road? + do you have any tips and healthy routines for making life on the road better?
I love the full freedom we have to express ourselves through the music, to create unique journeys every time, to feel united with everybody on the dance floor, our feet and hearts beating in sync, seeing all the smiles, living magical experiences together. When on the road I love to listen to music for hours in the airports and planes being totally disconnected from everything, the feeling of heading towards the unknown, of discovering new places and new cultures, being open to any surprise and discovery life wants to offer us. Tips for a healthy routine start always with as much sleep as possible, taking naps at every opportunity, drinking lots of water and being as mindful as possible with what we put in our body, choosing natural organic foods and products. Meditating every morning for about 20/30min and in the evening whenever possible also changed my life in beautiful ways. So I can highly recommend that too.
What is the best gig you’ve played? And what is the festival/club you still dream of playing?
Tough question when I can only choose one! I would have to say playing at Burning Man is amongst my most magical of memories. On Friday night at PlayAlchemist, playing to a packed pyramid of wild burners. All my friends came, and we danced till sunrise.
One festival I’ve always dreamt to play is Fusion in Germany and also Pacha in Ibiza, seems like both are lined-up for this summer… I couldn’t be any more excited!! Pinch me if I’m dreaming. Hope to see you there.
I would really love to play at Garbicz festival in Poland and for Circoloco in Ibiza. The energy is so incredibly high and fun there. It’s also one of the places where I’ve studied music the most, dancing for days, that would make it even more meaningful to one day end up behind the decks there.
What are 3 essentials without which you don’t DJ?
My Headphones, comfortable shoes if I’m not barefoot in the sand, and my smile!
What are some of the artists you look up to, and what is the best piece of advice an artist has given you?
So many to look up to, production wise Red Axes are an absolute reference and favourite. The quantity yet quality of their productions is outstanding, and something I totally aspire to do. I also really love the music of many young and extremely talent producers like Cioz, Mita Gami, Sam Shure, Coloray… For DJing of course headliners like Dixon, Solomun or Keinemusik are masters at their craft and always a pleasure to listen to. For live sets I love the sounds and vibe of WhoMadeWho, Monolink, Viken Arman… and Bora Uzer for the mind-blowing way he’s improvising and creating unique music live at each performance.
You’ve had a stellar rise in the Electronic music industry. What is next? Where do you want to go from here and what are your dreams/goals within Electronic music if we are talking – collaborations, making an LP, hosting your own club-night, etc., that you’d like to achieve?
The thing that I want to do most right now is to keep on developing my sound and production skills, spending hours, months and years in the studio tweaking knobs, to be able to make the music I’m dreaming of. I really want to get better at playing the piano, ukulele, hang drum and all instruments possible, including my voice! I would love to collaborate with all the artists mentioned earlier and many more. Making my own record label to support all the artists I love, organizing gatherings around it in unique beautiful venues in nature around the world, inviting all my friends to play would be a total dream as well. I would love to be able to support more young and emerging talent, especially female DJs and producers. I really wish for the music scene to become a leader in sustainability and carbon neutral events, spreading awareness and inspiring positive change globally. We’re just getting started here, there’s so much to do and get excited for.
Thank you for the interview Deer Jade!
Many thanks to you for having me! Hope to see you on the dance floor very soon.
Connect with Deer Jade on SoundCloud and Instagram.
