From Left to Right: Enaen, ona:v, iluna, Kairogen
Photo Credit Throughout: Danielle Bakkes
Hi everyone! Firstly, thank you very much for putting together such a wicked collection of mixes for our series, it has been an awesome few weeks. How has it been for yourselves?
ona:v: Hello, thank you again for having us, it has been a bit busy on our front as we have just hosted Brighton-based Yiota in June, and have three nights coming up this summer, with the first one at Edinburgh’s infamous Sneaky Pete’s at the end of July. We’ve also been busy individually, with Leah Kyveli touring Colombia (which is why she didn’t have time to respond!), and the rest of us gigging across the UK.
What first got you into the vast world of dance music?
iluna: I grew up surrounded by a lot of musical influences. I grew up learning how to play violin and guitar, but amongst that I remember growing up listening to various trance and techno. When I passed my driving test I needed cds for my car so I dug through my mum’s collection and came across Ben Sims – Smoke & Mirrors among others like, although, this one has stayed with me and feel this is an absolutely timeless album and still play it out in sets today.
Kairogen: A pivotal time in sound for me was when I’d get sent electronic music CD’s from my two uncle’s, by the likes of Justice and Soulwax. They were big into Optimo nights, Sub Club and The Art School etc, and I had this romanticised, excited view of the scene and sound, particularly as I was too young to go to these events at the time. I was more into bands at first, but the influence always stayed. When i went to Uni and my friend group got really into their tunes, it had a big influence on me again and I got completely sucked in.
Enaen: Growing up in Chicago, I was constantly surrounded by house music. One of my earliest memories of it was when I was 10 and my parents took me to this huge Frankie Knuckles tribute party near the bean just after his death. There were thousands of people and I saw how the music could bring so many people together. When I moved to Scotland I met a lot of people who introduced me to techno, and I really fell in love with it.
How did you become part of the EPiKA family?
iluna: It was a lovely morning as I woke up at Eden festival where I met some near by campers who we shared a coffee with. I was playing some of my favourite techno and our new friend suggested I get in touch with ona:v at EPiKA in Edinburgh. I went along to one of the nights to check it out, met ona:v and became part of the family shortly after. Connection are important, and Scotland is a very small place!
Enaen: I was looking for a night in Edinburgh that had the type of sound Epika does— more deep and underground techno. There aren’t any other nights like it, usually here we only have house or hard techno, so I was really happy to find it. I got to know Vera through helping with social media and promoting and now I am a resident.
Kairogen: I’d been looking to play EPiKA for a good while due to enjoying the vibe and guests that had came previously. ona:v asked me to DJ one day for an event – I really enjoyed the night as it was busy right from the start. Instead of a warm-up type set I dived into lots of my favourite techno-ish things in a variety of sub-genres – from melodic to electro and had a great time playing what I didn’t expect to. I think I got asked to become a resident after that one gig which I was really pleased about and I’ve been happy to be involved since.
How has being part of a multicultural crew broadened your musical experiences? Have you managed to meet up on many occasions?
iluna: yes we meet up and play together a lot. It’s nice to be part of the crew and hear everyone’s different music tastes and styles of mixing. Getting out and meeting new people always broadens your musical experiences and general experiences in life. Club hours need to be extended to allow freedom to do this in Scotland and to support the collectives already working on this as the nighttime economy is currently really struggling.
Kairogen: It’s always good to see what folks are doing outside of yourself isn’t it. Less competition more collaboration. Anyone I’ve met through EPiKA has been lovely, and girls have such a connection with each other often anyway. I don’t actually mention or reflect often enough how inspiring I find the creativity and sensitivity of women.
What values do you want to share and promote as a collective to the wider scene?
iluna: Only play music you 100% love, practice everyday and work on your mixing…use your ears, not your eyes 👀
Enaen: I think for me music is so much about the community that is built around it. Epika is really important because not only does it allow for more female/femme DJs to play but also everyone who shows up to the nights is really there for the music, you can always feel it in the crowd. This is such an important value as dance music continues to become more commercialized and also dominated by white cis men. As smaller nights, I think it is important to push against that instead of conforming just for the sake of making money.
I think it’s important to not become cliquey in a sense. Sure we’re friends but the music has came first in forming this collective. Often, I see people only booking their best mates. There might be someone who would fit so well with your sound outside of your social circle or location – it’s important to network online and in real life for these reasons, but I like to approach this in a very casual way.
What are your goals for EPiKA over the next couple of years?
iluna: Have fun, make new friends, always improving my mixing and sounds to share to the EPiKA family. I look forward to all our future gigs together and love travelling through to Edinburgh as a Glasweigian…it’s like a mini holiday!
I hope we can travel further afield with EPiKA and keep forming connections with similarly minded folks. Everyone is quite busy with their own things – but there is a whole range of potential and directions we could tap into.
Interview By: James Acquaye Nortey-Glover
P.S. Special shout-out to Malissa for helping organise such a wicked takeover!