Worldwide Dance - Betty

Where does your love of music and nightlife come from? What inspired you to take this path in life?

I started throwing nights in 2012 in a collective called 'Girls Girls Girls' and that is also when I started DJing. I feel like there were way less women involved in nightlife at the time in Paris and we really needed this space to express ourselves. I then started my own party called 'Bonus Stage' in 2014 which was a way for me to showcase a certain scene that I am passionate about and to book genuinely awesome DJs like Kode9, DJ Lycox, Teki Latex or Madam X just to name a few. This party, and also my Rinse France show that I also started 5 years ago, have really helped me build a small community of people in Paris that I can share stuff with that actually goes beyond just music and that's what I was looking for in the first place when I started going out in clubs.

How does your music adapt from time to time, reflecting your current state of mind?

I'd say I definitely want my djs sets in clubs to have a sens of euphoria, while my radio shows allows me to play experimental stuff and to express a nostalgic, reflective or melancholic side too maybe! I'm just trying to be good at playing other people's music and trying to educate myself on the history and the genealogy of these sounds I'm playing and that I am passionate about.

What is it like to be part of the Parisian ballroom scene? What have you learnt from some people in the house, like Stephie Mizrahi and Kiddy Smile?

The Paris Ballroom Scene is a beautiful community and I am honored to serve it. Mother Stephie approached me a few years ago and asked me to be the DJ for the House of Mizrahi. She taught me how to properly DJ a ball and learning about her story and the way she and Lasseindra Ninja built the whole scene in Paris is fascinating. The House of Mizrahi is a proper family and I'm trying to be there for them the best way I can.

Tell us a about the inspiration behind your new mixtape 'Science-Heavy'?

These days it feels like an artist or DJ is expected to constantly put out content that presents him/her in a positive or ambitious light. You have to be that person hustling all the time in order to always have a new story to tell, and you can't afford to doubt yourself even a little bit by fear of letting even the shortest gap in this constant flow of gig announcements and goal checks be interpreted as a step towards irrelevance. But sometimes life decides otherwise and all of these rules and expectations instantly get thrown out of the window. About a year ago due to family issues which affected me greatly as well as a general despondency with the DJ game, I just had to take a break and slow down. I was still playing gigs, which was a great way to take my mind of the sadness and stress, but coming home I just wasn't able to get in the mood to make new mixes and work on new projects.

Since last september I've progressively gotten back to work, starting with putting more attention and rigour into my monthly Rinse France show, letting myself evolve sonically and aesthetically in the process, while keeping the idea of working on a new mixtape in the back of my head. It has now been 20 months since my last standalone mix. When I finally felt ready to start working on this new one I wanted to take the time to make it right and pay extra attention to the selection and the fluidity of the mix in order for it to convey my state of mind in the most accurate way possible. For all those reasons, making this mixtape felt like a cathartic experience but even more importantly it feels like a new chapter for me and I cannot wait to share it with you.

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