Really excited to have the mighty Heidi Lawden turn in a killer mix for us. We had her kill our LA FMB party alongside ESP’s Lovefingers and Omar S! Some of you might also recognise Heidi’s name as not only a dj but also Dj Harvey’s manager and A&R as well as being involved in the brilliant ESP Institute label which is soon dropping a new ep from another friend and podcast contributor Ian Blevins. We caught up with her to see what she’s been up to recently:
“I’m wrapping up the end of my year which sounds silly considering it’s only October – there’s so much future planning involved in my day job that I’m already looking towards about this time 2016. It’s been a busy year I’ve crammed a lot in since I played at The Bicep party for you guys in LA early this year – I just returned from A Day In The Desert the micro festival in Joshua Tree everyone needs to get out to CA for. I played again on Mayan Warrior at Burning Man which is the ultimate DJ toy, It’s my hope they tour that thing so everyone can experience it. I’ve been opening for some my heroes at Sound in L.A, and playing at and going to great underground warehouse parties – next up is Halloween for A Club Called Rhonda which I think we also both DJ’d at a few years ago too. I’m constantly inspired, if I have a weekend off I’m out seeing whoever is in town with the same enthusiasm I had at 19.
I don’t practice which is completely stupid I know but I have a weekly radio show on dublab (every Weds) which is my testing ground for all the new music I pick up or am sent, I have music playing all day as I work and I would just pull things as the deadline drew closer. This mix I recorded in the studio/office we’re putting together in Laurel Canyon in one take, I figured there are years of Canyon musical vibes here I could tap into.
I decided not to get too noodly on it but rather just play some tracks I love, selecting from stuff I’ve been hammering this year or that’s been making me feel especially warm and fuzzy – I recorded three and had to tell myself to stop – it’s hard to fit everything you like into an hour to I tried to make it like a slice of me if that makes sense, without going too banging. I had a couple of hairs standing up on the back of my neck moments while I was doing it – hope I’m not the only one.”
Up next..
“I’m increasingly being invited to play Europe and beyond – I think 2016 might be the year for that, Berghain got in touch earlier this year and honestly although I’d probably be in tears of joy and fear the entire time I played, I think it’s time to get on a plane, I haven’t DJ’d in London for years either. I have this thing of wanting to actually go party for a night at the clubs I’m asked to play before I play them – which doesn’t help really either. I’ve also been producing/writing and remixing friends tracks for the experience of it and some of those will be coming out in the near future too – a few people know I sang on Locussolus under a pseudonym but I’m not a singer, I much prefer to write and play music for other peoples voices and do lot’s of pointing and bad synth noise impressions to my studio partner – I guess I’m never gonna stop being the gal that asks what a track is or nerding out on how certain effects are achieved, and dancing, I plan to do lot’s more of that.”
