Also in the DJ booth. When the monitors in the booth are not that good your ideas are limited somehow. You don't get the full frequency range. You need to be able to hear all of a track's elements in order to connect one record to another. I don't get as many ideas when the sound in the booth is bad. I usually play well when there is good sound in the DJ booth.I wish I knew []. EQing takes time. When I start mixing in, I take the bass of the new track out—but not completely—and go in with the mids and highs at around 9 or 10 o'clock. I bring the fader for the new track up until I can hear it in the monitors, then I gradually start working with the EQ. I EQ the old track away, sometimes while the fader of the new track is still not fully up. I go gradually. I'll move the fader for the old track down a bit if it's getting too loud, as I'm moving the new one up. As you can see, this all takes time. It's notfast mixing. I'm not sure how to make it faster. People like Zip and Binh are doing quite short, nice mixes sometimes. I've never really watched closely how they do it, but it sounds like they would be relying more on the faders, and only EQing a little bit.This is about choosing the right record. You need to know the connection between two pieces of music. You listen for a certain sound in a track—maybe the percussion—that another track also has. There's always a line connecting one record to the other. The smooth mixing is important, and the EQing, but it's more about connecting certain elements from one record to the next. Maybe the harmonies synchronise together or the two basslines make a nice unit, which makes the transition smoother. But it's not always happening so smoothly. Connecting the different genres, energy levels and beats can be tricky. It's not always working.It's a little bit about experience. But I think where I learnt most is being a dancer on the dance floor and listening to a lot of DJ sets. I started going out in the beginning of the '90s, and I would always be the first one on the dance floor and be the last one to leave, dancing all night long. I would always go to Frankfurt to listen to Sven Väth. He's a master of taking you on a journey over hours and hours. I think this is something that influenced me a lot.I go through and pull out the records I know I definitely want to play soon. Then I go back through the bag to see what goes with them. The only thing I know is that I want my sets to go in waves. But which wave is coming next? Is it going to be dramatic, crazy, deep, melancholic, or something else? Each wave is always three or four records. So when I'm pulling records out, I know where I want to go next but I still need to find more records to match this wave.I usually just put them in randomly. Then when I get to the club I go through them and assess how the situation is and how I want to start. Then I put the records I would like to play first at the front, or separate them somehow. If I bring a lot of records, maybe I separate them into those that I will play later and those I will play in the first two hours or something.I think this is very subjective. Some people think it's a good sign if people are screaming all the time. For me, I feel comfortable when people are dancing with closed eyes and have a smile on their face. Then I can tell I'm doing it right. Some DJs are aiming and hoping for more of this outward expression. I like to take the people on a journey inside of themselves, and put everyone on the same level.It takes a few records to adjust to the sound conditions and how you have to mix. I usually start by taking a step back and building it back up myself slowly and quietly—sometimes with a more minimal approach. You can create a bit of space and tension, and then build up according to how the situation is.It depends on the place. If it's a full party, for example, people probably won't leave simply because the new DJ's first few tracks were more chilled. Maybe it would clear the dance floor a little bit, but you need to trust that you can bring the people back. This is the good thing about having been a resident DJ somewhere. When you've been doing all these warm-ups, you get a feeling for the dance floor, how far you can tease people. Then you know, "OK, now I'll play this record," and they're going to come back.Exactly. You need to give people time to go to the bar, chat a little bit, get a drink, refresh or go outside and have a cigarette. Still, it's not like I actuallyfor this to happen []. It's just not necessarily bad when the dance floor is emptying a bit. And if people do leave because they don't like your music, it's OK—not everybody's going to like it.There were situations where I might get insecure and try to adapt quickly, but you have to try and continue with your flow. If you make an abrupt change and try to do something completely different, this might have a worse effect. Just try to relax and slowly change it. There are always situations where you're going to clear the dance floor a bit. If you panic and get insecure, this is going to affect people too.Well, it's also OK if it's flat for a moment. But, generally, there should be some kind of dynamic at play. If you play two loopy tracks that are on the same energy level, the set stays on a flat line for a moment. It's the same if you play one peak-time track after another. It's always good to play with different dynamics—maybe build it up a bit or take it down a bit. You could introduce another melody or another rhythmic element, or some different bassline. But, as I said, sometimes it's good to have this flat line for a while, as it creates a kind of hypnosis. This can also be good, but it depends on where you want to go or what you want to do.It happened more often in the past. I had a phase where I started to get more gigs and became more popular—when Oslo was big. I would be playing at bigger parties and places where I didn't fit. I tried to play music that would work there, but I really wouldn't feel it. There were times I felt that I couldn't give the people what they wanted. It was also not satisfying for me. So there came a point where I just stepped back a bit, and realised that I didn't have to go in this direction and try and please everyone. This is not me. I'm not the type of person who plays this functional, totally energetic music. I'd rather play for smaller crowds and be able to express myself. It took a while, but now I get the feeling that I mostly get bookings from people who invite me because of what I play, not because of a name.Maybe we just took the risk? In a way, we stayed true to ourselves and just did what we feel. I think music is so personal. Playing for smaller crowds doesn't necessarily mean you're less successful than somebody who is playing for huge crowds. The amount of people that relate to this music is smaller—it's obvious that not everyone can relate to it.My friends would probably say never []. I don't know. I know when it went well, I guess. Most of the time I'm OK with it, but there are also times where I'm not really satisfied.When I interrupt the flow—this is what's bothering me most. The mixes I don't find so dramatic, because people forget about it on the dance floor. It's not like they look back, like, "Oh, she had this one really bad mix!" Well, maybe they remember, but it doesn't affect the overall feel of the set.With this kind of music, which is not so easy to get into for some people, it's really important that you tell your story right. If you play more simple music, it's not a big problem if you interrupt the flow, because people can easily connect one track to the next. But with this subtle stuff, it really affects the dance floor if there are disruptions all the time. But then again, it could just be my perception. Maybe other people are not taking it that seriously, or the people on the dance floor are more forgiving than I think.Maybe when the situation is sensitive. The party might not be so full anymore, or people are not so into it—it can happen. I would also not play anything too edgy or complicated in a situation like this because it could go down very badly. But I like breakdowns. I'm usually not avoiding them, but sometimes you also get a feeling that the track is taking too long to get to it and you don't want to wait. It's a decision that you make in the moment.When you listen to a track in the store, it helps to be able to imagine a situation it's going to fit to. You might listen to a track and think, "This could be good for an afterhour," "This would be nice for a warm-up," or "This is really warm and it's going to give a hug to someone." But sometimes—in Robert Johnson this was often the case—you would have a track that sounded really deep and mellow at the store or at home, but would completely take over the club and be like this massive intense thing during the warm up. I'd be there thinking, "Oh my God."I think the best thing is to try and mix out. If you try to fix it, it might get worse. I've observed that it's usually better to try to just go out as quickly and smoothly as possible—just take the fader down. In my experience, when a DJ tries to fix a track for a really long time and it doesn't work you remember it. But if something goes wrong for a bit and then it's dealt with smoothly, it's a short moment of shock but then you just continue and maybe forget about it. But you would probably remember a really long bad mix. So yeah, I guess just try to bring it out as smooth and as fast as possible.It's quite a classic record store system. To have it organized by countries, artists and labels works quite well, actually. It helps me to find things quickly. There are also a few boxes where I keep the records I'm playing at the moment. Those are all mixed up. After a while they go back in the main collection, and I pull out new ones that go in that section.The perfect mix is the one you don't hear. If you have the feeling two tracks are melting into one, and you actually couldn't tell when one started and when the other ended—this is perfect. All of a sudden you're on the dance floor listening to a new track and you don't know how it happened. This is probably the perfect transition.If I play the last track of a party, I usually like playing something warm and emotional. I want to send people home with a good feeling. Something happy that makes them smile and touches them somehow. If another DJ is taking over, I would take it down a bit. I'd try to make it smooth for them to start, or maybe play a longer track so they have time to get into it more easily.My first piece of advice is to be patient. If you're passionate about what you are doing, and put a lot of time and effort in, it will pay off eventually. Be true to yourself and try not to just be like someone else. Inspiration is important, but don't copy anyone. Finding yourself or getting attention by just being yourself might be the longer way but it's more enduring. Thoroughly consider what steps you take in order to move forward as a DJ, and do what feels right—not what others may expect from you.Secondly, enjoy. Don't take yourself and this business too seriously. It will give you the freedom that is necessary to express yourself in the best way. Put your worries, thoughts and judgements aside and just have fun.Lastly, keep your good friends close. Unfortunately there are plenty of fake people in this scene, especially around people who are successful. They might have different values to you, and listening to them could push you in the wrong direction. Your good friends will help you keep your feet on the ground and remind you of what's important.