Interview with Female DJ Beth Yen

After a blitzing four hour set at Pure Ivy; in which Beth Yen could not pee once, BBMLive.com’s Alexandra McIntyre managed to catch upwith the DJ for a midnight chat about music, the industry and bouncing nipples…of course.

Jack McCord (of Hed Kandi) found you at the Columbian; it must have been the most drunken debaucherous night…

It was pretty disgusting actually, it happened randomly I was at home one night I got a phone call saying ‘so and so is sick’, I turned up and I think the set was from midnight till three and we just stayed up drinking and we bonded. I actually didn’t know he was from Hed Kandi the whole time we were chatting I had no idea, he was just a top bloke.

We are about ten years behind everyone else in Australia, we’ve just figured out chicks can DJ, and apparently it’s a new phenomenon, how do you find it? Is it a challenge? Good PR? Do you get booked because of it?

One thing I would like to say is yes, Ok there are certain gigs that I have been booked for because they wanted a female DJ but I’m one of the female DJs who wants to be known for just DJing like let’s say Pete Tong, you don’t say “hey Pete Tong is a great male DJ” do you, he’s just ‘a great DJ’. It’s not a new phenomenon anymore though you do see a lot of females DJing I’ve seen quite a few of them. It’s a shame though I’d say 90% is male but it’s worked in my favour to a point, then there are times I feel I have to work a lot harder to get gigs because we’re still not credible, unfortunately. I think I am credible.

Same thing then with you pulling out of the gay DJ world do you think that the commercial industry and the gay industry don’t consider each other? Do you think you got a better start up playing the massive Mardi Gras parties and things like that as a commercial thing in terms of people and what you could do or would you have preferred to start small in the commercial scene and then built up?

I don’t know how it would have been if I didn’t start it that way. All I can say is it’s worked for me. Obviously when you go out to the gay clubs, because you’re gay I guess, and you love clubbing, I think the Sydney gay community received me really well and then I moved…

I love DJing so I became a little bit more commercial but the exposure was playing at a lot of gay venues like the Columbian, a lot of people go there for the music or the Phoenix for the music I mean that’s how Jack ended up there, he was at the Columbian because he loves soulful and commercial house.

What is the selfish thing you get a kick out of with your job?

I feel like it’s all about me on stage but it really isn’t, it’s about them, the audience. It feels really good when people go “Oh my God I love your music”, and I think “Really, I didn’t write any of that”.

Dream set; if you could play with anyone who would it be?

It would have to be sandwiched between Martin Solveig and Bob Sinclar. They’re both French, maybe I’ve got a French thing?

Do you think you have a consistent sound that ties everything you do together?

Yeah, I think I get booked because I play a certain vibe or sound I love vocals, dance music with vocals in it. Generally I play for chicks, I get chicks dancing and it makes me feel good. See I like watching nipples bounce.

When you’re not at work, what do you do?

When I’m not working I’m actually a bit of a hermit. A bit of a geek, at home playing on my computer, going through music. Maybe one day I’ll write me a track.

Beth Yen has an EP coming out at the end of the year and you can check her out at www.bethyen.com