Interview with Svani
Svani is a DJ and producer from Trondheim, Norway. She has been releasing dark, propulsive, incredibly danceable club music for about a year on Soundcloud. Her most recent mix for Triple J was a masterful array of tracks that ranged from grime to dancehall to dembow, and her song “Oscuro Azúcar Riddim,” featuring Christal Sarah, was just released on Los Angeles-based label Unspeakable Records. Svani is also part of the collective Tunesquad with fellow Trondheim DJ and producer Ballo.
Nina Posner: How would you describe the definitive ‘DJ Svani’ sound?
Svani: Mmm, that’s hard to say. I think it’s probably easier for a listener to describe it. Even though it’s a bit vague, I think I just have to say it fits into the big term called “club music.” Because I make and play a lot of different genres, but everything fits into what I see as a club vibe.
So what does “the club” or club music represent to you?
For me the aesthetic is often intense and a bit hard. But at the same time it can be fun and relaxed. So I guess it’s about the vibe I feel when I step into the space of a club. Often when I listen to tracks, or make tracks, I close my eyes and think about how it would be if I heard it in a club. So it’s hard to define in a sentence, it’s more of a feeling for me. But I guess the main focus that I get taken by is the rhythm. And to some degree, if I analyze my tracks and my mixes, I think I often focus on the rhythm and that it makes you move in some form or another.
What is the electronic music community like in Trondheim?
I’m not as much into the electronic music scene in Trondheim as I am the club scene, because I only started making music last Christmas. But I’ve been going out to clubs for years, and I know a lot more DJs than producers here in Trondheim. The clubs scene is good, and some of the earlier people, like Raw Juice, have contributed a lot to the club scene here in Trondheim. But the people I know very well, who also inspired me to make music, are Rytmeklubben. They’re four guys that all met through music school and started a group together. One thing that I think is really cool about them is that they function as solo artists as well as a group. So, in the mix, you can hear, ‘ah, that’s Henrik the Artist,’ or ‘ah, that’s DJ KARAOKE.’ But at the same time I think their sounds work well together. Their sound is really unique and as my mother pointed out “sounds like candy!” Haha. Candy club.
Could you talk a bit about your collective, Tunesquad, with DJ Ballo?
I met Solveig (Ballo) at a party through mutual friends, and I just started DJing, and she had started to DJ that same year. So I talked to her about rehearsing, because she had access to a club where there were CDJs, and I wanted to practice. We started practicing, and talked about getting into the club scene, to get a permanent spot. And then we started a DJ collab to try to get some more permanent gigs. But we didn’t quite succeed. It’s hard to to get something regular here because there aren’t that many places you can play at, and there are a lot of older DJs who have their own spots. But now we have two more girls with us, and it looks like we will get a permanent club concept over Christmas!
Did you always like to listen to and make electronic music? What was the path that led you to where you are now?
I have always listened to a lot of music. Since I was a kid. My father always played a lot of classical stuff, and listened to opera, and my mom listened to jazz. As a 90s child, I listened to a lot of pop music, but later on when I was like twelve I started listening to a lot of R&B and hip hop, like D’Angelo and Missy Elliot. And then I had a punk/rock phase that lasted a while. But I didn’t listen to electronic music until I was like 19 and Justice came out with their first album. Now in my twenties, I still listen to all of these things. I think it’s a good thing to listen to different stuff, because every genre and song has something to show you, or a feeling to give you. You just have to listen to your mood. DJ Mood always knows what’s up. But I think that since I had a lot of friends in the DJ community here in Trondheim, I started getting more into club music over the last four years or so, and of course, when I started DJing myself, I needed to focus on listening to more club music than other things.
When you produce, what is your creative process like? Did you start out more producing or DJing, and how do you find they differ from one another?
I downloaded Traktor like three years ago or something. But I only did it for my self. A year ago from now, I was talking to my boyfriend Martin (DJ KARAOKE from Rytmeklubben), and I said I had just recorded a mix. And he encouraged me to put it out on Soundcloud. And I was really afraid, but at the same time I was like, fuck it. What’s the worst that can happen? I only have like 10 followers anyway. Haha. So I did, and suddenly people heard I started and wanted me to play. I downloaded Ableton right before Christmas last year, and started pushing some buttons over the holiday. I started to do mashups that I had already figured matched well together by using Traktor, and then I started making edits, and then my own productions. I started to make tracks that I could play when I DJ, so that was my first main focus. Being a DJ and being a producer are both about selecting sounds, as I see it. You have to trust your ears and your taste. Try to make something whole out of small parts, put them together and see if its fits. Like a puzzle.
You’ve made some pretty great remixes, such as Christina Milian’s “Dip It Low” and Tommy Lee’s “Hot Like Fire.” What draws you to making a remix one day, rather than working on a set or producing your own track?
I never work on sets, I just take my USB with me, check the vibe and start playing a track. So I mostly focus on finding new tracks. And I only do mixes on requests. And since I’m not a musician full time, I only work when I feel inspired. And a lot of times inspiration to do a remix hits me more frequently than inspiration for a whole new song. Often I’m on the bus and listening to music, and will be like, ‘that’s a great song, but it would be so cool if I changed it a little.’ Like make a better beat or something like that. And usually it takes a lot more time doing your own productions then making a remix.
I found your Soundcloud through your remix of Tampa-based artist Thast’s song “Rep Ur County” and then you worked together on “Take A Pic.” One of your recent tracks, “Oscuro Azucar Riddim,” features Los Angeles-based artist Christal Sarah. How do these collaborations come about? How do you work against the issues of distance and time zones?
With the Internet you can do anything, it doesn’t matter where you are. The collabs with Thast and Christal Sarah just started out when I sent them a message on Soundcloud, and I was lucky that they both responded so positively. With both of them I sent a beat, and they sent me the vocals when they were finished. We didn’t have any deadlines, so we just finished it when we felt like it. Both processes were relaxed and really fun.
What would your dream collaboration look like?
Missy, Kelela, Nicki Minaj, GeMi-FlY <333 and a million other people.
You talked about this a little earlier, but who are some of your favorite DJs and artists right now? Who influences you?
I joined a group on Facebook called Sister, and I’m inspired by a lot of the women there. But I will give a shoutout to Mina, Mapalma, Lil Tantrum because I love their work <3 And through Classical Trax I have gotten to know a lot of talented people like Santa Muerte, GIL, Lorenzo Bitw, DreemsTran’s, Evil Streets ++++ I really love everything the whole Staycore crew does, Florentino is killing it, and of course my boys in Rytmeklubben <3
Electronic music has typically been thought of a boys’ club, but it finally, hopefully seems that women DJs are starting to get the recognition that they deserve. What has your experience been like as a female DJ, both in real life and online?
I’m a truly privileged person living in Norway, and I always had the opportunity to do whatever I wanted. But that doesn’t mean that it is that easy to just take what you want. The thing I have thought about a lot is the lack (or at least the lack of showing) women in the business. I never heard about production, or knew about any women doing it until I started researching it. They weren’t in the public eye. Even Missy didn’t get the public recognition I think she deserved. When I got into the club scene, there were more men than women that DJ. But there were a few women that were in the game. Sexism is real and I think everyone has experienced it one way or another. I think it really depends in the environment you are in. I can say that I been blessed and I have only gotten support from people, irl and url. Though I have been in rooms where a guy greets all the guys in the room and not me. As long as you get support from the people you appreciate: that is the most important factor for me. And I think when young girls and boys see more women in the business, it will become balanced and you won’t even have to think about gender. Just evaluate their skills. Visibility is everything. And through Sister I have gotten an insight into how many talented women there are, and I would imagine it is just a drop in the ocean. So it remains that everyone in the world gets to experience the same.
What are your plans for the future? Any chance of you touring around Europe or beyond anytime soon?
I have a masters in sociology and I work as a teacher in high school as well as in a clothing department. So I make music and DJ in my spare time (right now at least), but eventually I want to release an EP with two sides, one that’s more upbeat club, and the other side will be slower and colder. Like the party and the afterparty. Before that, I’m putting out a track on Classical Trax, and I’m giving a free download when I reach a thousand followers on Soundcloud <3 Soon! I’m planning on coming to the US in March and going to Austin and LA. But it depends if I get some financial support. And I want to go to Berlin as well!
