Introduce yourself? Pronouns? Where do you currently reside? 1 fact about yourself?
My name is Taya (she/her), I live in Berlin. I am Belarus born and raised, and World shaped and formed
How did you get your DJ name?
I was messing around with a friend, and we were laughing at how absurd this name would sound on a lineup.
Said in a serious deep male voice
Yogic
Teleself
DJ LENTIL
After some backs and forths I came to terms with being the ridiculousness I want to see in the world
Favorite bpm and why?
140 is the bpm I am truly comfortable in. If I go higher I am ramping it up. Slower than 140bpm is basically downtempo
Favorite thing to cook currently?
I have perfected the sushi rice and I have a suspicion that it’s all I will ever truly need
Who do you think is the most underrated artist of our time?
Akiko Kiyama and COH
What is the theme song of your life?
Let’s play a pipipi game… I give you a situation & you give me a track…
An endless staircase that leads to another realm
A lucid dream that won’t end
6am track to end 5 hr set
If you had to describe yourself as liquid, what would it be and why?
The only thing that comes to mind is a Liquid Dancer. A person who loses their sh*t on the dancefloor without touching or elbowing a single soul throughout the whole night. Very high ranking super-power available to so very few of us.
What is your favorite party/collective where you reside and why?
Climax – these women are making their own space and crafting their own vibe in the current techno paradigm. Their mission and ethics are on point, while their music tastes reside outside of time.
3 X L – the existence of ambient influencers has been confirmed
D.U.M.P. – most importantly, a party. Bring what you’ve got and you are welcome here for who you are, but not for who you think you are 😉
Astral VIP – bend your mind with the music and bend your music with the mind.
What do you think future generations will think about the 2022 sound?
“What a strange loop”
What was your best moment on the dance floor?
Sustain-Release 2016. After being pushed around and slightly aggressed at the Bossa stage I made my way to see DJ Sprinkles who was starting to play. I stood at the very back of the dancefloor where I could see the whole thing. Every human slowed down and moved like they were underwater. Suddenly there was enough space for everyone without robbing anyone else. I couldn’t understand what type/kind/style of music was playing. Was it even a Dj set? Were there pedals? Was there someone playing at all?! I started crying and I cried through the whole set. Paradoxically none of my friends could find me, and I couldn’t waste a single moment of that set on looking for friends. When strangers locked eyes with me they nodded in understanding that the experience we were sharing was special.
What is your most recent favorite DJ mix and why?
If you listen till 59:29 you will certainly cry
Any advice to upcoming DJs?
In my humble opinion, if you would like to showcase yourself and your work, bring your ego into it and prove something to the crowd – choose a different medium, like theater, performance arts, choreography etc.
If you would like to Dj – open a dialog with the audience and the environment, listen to them and respond, create a common understanding of the happening and then surprise them, let them surprise you. It doesn’t always work flawlessly, but when it does – it’s the best feeling in the world.
Party is an alive organism and you are its vital organ, but not the most important one.
What would you like to see in the future for the dance community?
- Post capitalism. Humans gathered all the gun supply on Earth, loaded it on a big spaceship and sent it off into the cosmos. The rich are abolished. Reparations have been paid. Therapy has been mandatory for yt men for a few decades now. There is no such thing anymore as a “bedroom producer”, we record our music directly from our brains. Rave Etiquette and Rave History are the subjects studied in middle-school. There is no talk at the raves in the front of the dancefloor – we have telepathy for that. Dj-ing as a craft remains the same because it has always been ahead of its time.
