Sydney based Beth Yen is coming to Connections Nightclub this month. Since arriving in Sydney in 1998 the English born DJ has been building up a reputation of one of the best house DJs around.
Growing up in the north of England what kind of music surrounded you?
Artist such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays and Northside massively influenced the music scene at the time, also acid house by the likes of 808 State and A Guy Called Gerald, as well as indie artists such as Lamb and Mr Scruff.
I was also influenced by the music my parents listened to which was a lot of soul, disco and funk.
How did you get into DJing, what was your first gig?
I was always the kid that took over the CD player at parties and played tracks from all the CDs I would bring with me. I would make my friends and family mix tapes. It was only a matter a time before I got my hands on a pair of decks and it wasn’t long until I started spinning at after parties and warehouse gigs. I loved the idea of being able to communicate and control a room purely through music.
Where do you go to find great tunes? The Internet…there is so much music out there and I spend on average 20hrs a week just searching for new music.
Your profile notes that you were DJing back before the CDJ revolution, now it seems anyone thinks they can be a DJ – what does it really take to be a great DJ?
Hard work, a great ear for music and the ability to read any crowd and give them what they want before they know it, also a cool hair cut helps.
Is it a level playing field for women who DJ – what barriers still need to broken?
I feel females now have the same opportunities as males do in the industry. There are way more “Female DJ’s” now then when I started out. In fact sometimes being a female DJ can work in your favour.
Which gigs stand out for you as highlights in your career so far? I’ve had a few but the one that stands out the most was when I opened for Avicii at the Sunset Music Festival in 2011 in Colombo, Sri Lanka 4000 people turned out. The crowd was just insane!
What are you looking forward to about playing at Connections – one of the longest running gay clubs in the world?
I hear the crowd are amazing and they love their house music!
Beth Yen plays at Connections Nightclub on Saturday March 16
Graeme Watson
