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An Interview: Stoffy

Bringing us mix number 144 for us we have a long time friend of Mantissa and one of the key members of the Coop Audio collective – Stoffy! Chris also answered a few questions for us to accompany the mix talking about his approach to DJing, why record shop staff are the best people to talk to in a new city and the collectives plans for the year ahead

Firstly, why do you have the DJ alias ‘Stoffy’?

It is a family nickname I have had since I was tiny. In Denmark, where I was born, my name is pronounced ‘Chris-stof-pher’ rather than ‘Chris-to-pher’. Seemed like the natural and less contrived option for a DJ moniker.

What did you try and do with this mix?

This is my first public mix, so I had the familiar anxiety about how I should play it. Should I channel my inner perfectionist, craft a setlist down to the most minor detail and only settle for perfection?

Instead, I just picked some of my favourite records and recorded the set in one take on a Tuesday night in January, imagining I was in a club. I wanted the recording to be an honest reflection of where I am as a DJ. Listening to the recording now, there is still so much for me to learn and improve on as a DJ.

I encountered electronic music at parties and partying is still my starting point when I DJ. When picking records to record this mix, I asked myself the question – ‘what would I like to hear and dance to if I was in the club at about 2am next Saturday?

The DJs I enjoy seeing the most are those who have a passion for finding new or slept on music most people will be unfamiliar with, know these records deeply, and do there thing in the moment, playing in the moment.  This is the aim I have in my mind when learning how to DJ.

Why do you DJ with records?

One of the things I love the most about mixing with records is that you have to constantly wrangle them into shape. Mixing with records is very tactile and I find this really fun and engaging. You hear a lot of that going on in this mix, nudging records forwards and backwards to try and get everything back in line.

I also love going to record shops. The people who work their and curate the music they stock with inexhaustible knowledge and passion are irreplaceable gems of the scene. I am happy spending money supporting these spaces.

 Many of my favourite records have been found through interactions with people who work in record shops I visit. In this way, shopping for records has introduced me to music I otherwise would have never found. Also, if you are visiting a new city and looking for the best places to go, always worth asking people who work in record shops. Few people will have their finger on the pulse in the same way.

Having said all this, people that are elitist about the way in which people DJ is anathema to me. It is a debate that ignores socio-economic factors and in this way I think it is exclusionary and classist, which is so far from what music is about that it is almost funny.

What did you record this mix with?

I still have the exact set up I bought of Gumtree from a guy in Romford around 3 years ago, including his mixing desk…

2x Technics 1210s and a Reloop RMX33i mixer.

You are a member of the Coop Audio collective. What is the collective about for you?

For me, Coop Audio is an attempt to create a creative space that is as far removed as possible from capitalisms effect on social spaces and culture. The members of the collective are unified in the idea that by removing the commercial element from creative spaces as much as possible, it makes these spaces better. Amazing, transformative and life-affirming things happen in such spaces! We want these spaces to be accessible to anyone who wants to contribute,

The project continues to expand in interesting directions, but for me this idea is the collectives essence.

What has Coop Audio got planned for 2020?

We have a few parties in the planning for Spring, Summer and beyond. At the moment, we the difficult thing has been the search for intimate spaces that are dry hire in London that could become our regular home. If anyone has anything good, please get in touch.

We run a monthly Thursday event at Hand of Glory in Dalston, Henergy, which aims to be a non-intimidating space that allows people to reconnect with friends and get involved in the collective if they want to. It is turning into something really special, a sort of drumbeat event to maintain and grow our community.

Lastly, we run a Weekender every year, which we are expanding in exciting ways with our friends in another collective, Umbilical Chords. A real highlight of the year for me.

Any parties or events on your radar this year?

I really want to go to a Het Weekender at De School before the club closes at the end of the year.

Also want to try and go to a few spots in Germany that I have heard great things about – Objekt Klien A and Tresor West. Apologies in advance for being that ‘easyJet set’ guy coming to your club and can’t speak any German.