The Cover Mix: Yaeji

Yaeji is on the cover of Mixmag issue 348 – read her cover feature here and listen to her exclusive mix below

It's Yaeji in the mix! The New York-based DJ has come through with a selection of forward-thinking tracks that are 100% ready for the dancefloor and put together in her signature inventive style.

Even if the dancefloor is just in your bedroom for now, this one's full of energy and cute vibes that'll have you dancing like no one is watching in no time.

How did you put together your cover mix?

I dug for new tracks (all but one track from Bandcamp) specifically for this mix. Queer/POC artists only. I made this mix with the same excitement as wanting to share good music I just found to a close friend.

Where and on what equipment did you record it?

I used Ableton to arrange the tracks. Me and my laptop.

How does what you play on affect your style of DJing?

Since social distancing has forced us to enjoy music in solitude, I’ve been putting together mixes on Ableton rather than recording it live on CDJs. the process of putting together a mix changes entirely when you’re working on a timeline. At first I tried mimicking my style of DJing with Ableton, but I’m way more relaxed now. it’s just me and the music with as much or as little time I want to spend. I have the flexibility to make more creative decisions for blends, but sometimes I just let the track play out and do its thing. It makes me look at the mix as a whole piece — one long audio collage.

What is your process for finding music?

The process of finding music is ever changing. It can really be anything, there’s no one way for me. These days I’ve been non-stop digging on Bandcamp. Bandcamp offers a lot of creative ways to find new scenes/artists/labels. Sometimes I stare at what’s being bought right now and click if I see any interesting album art. Sometimes I dig through fans of artists/labels I like, go through music they’ve bought, and find new music that way. Bandcamp waiving fees every first Friday and being artist (especially independent artist) friendly is a huge reason why I've been sourcing all my music from there.

Tracklist:

Arexibo - fin
DJ NIGGA FOX - Água Morna
Kush Jones - Ari Dub
Powder - LOST OF LIGHT
DJ Plead - Espresso
Moleskin - Turnt On
Anunaku & DJ Plead - Wheele
Lucy Liyou - I’m Going To Therapy
valknee + ANTIC（バルニー・プラス・アンティック） - 人生最高のSSS（2020 Mix）
OHYUNG - ga ga ee (ft. hye yun park)
Arexibo - sketch for un-coming image (intro)
NtsKi - Labyrinth of Summer
Omega Sapien - ‘Serenade for Mrs. Jeon’ (music video)
ZEBRA KATZ - LICK IT N SPLIT (ft. Shygirl) (Lenkemz Remix)
Juan Plus One - Infinite 4 U Edit (Slugabed VS Charli XCX)
PRINCI - things u chase
Scintii - Times New Roman (Mechatok Remix)