dj g2g bends the rules

To set the tone, here's a poem by Feyd,

They wear the stars on their fingers, dusk is dawn

In their audacious world, reality falls

Blinking flashes echo from the holes to the sky

A bunny's laugh that never dies

Hi g2g! Tell me a bit about yourself. What’s your age? Pronouns? Where are you from? Where are you based and what do you do?

I recently turned 25. My pronouns are they/them/she/her/elle/ella. I am from Uruguay and Denmark, based in Copenhagen. I’m an artist, producer & DJ.

I have always been extremely aware of the sounds around me. Ever since I was very small, sound has really interested me and when I was playing around, I was always investigating what sounds I could make with different objects. When I got a little older I started playing the drums, but I kept having this extreme sensitivity to sounds. When I discovered at some point that I could use the sounds to make music with, it was as if some things fell into place for me. I felt like I had found a language that was mine and a way of expressing myself that felt right and fun and easy. As opposed to having to express myself through writing and speaking, which has always been — and still is — difficult and exhausting for me.

In 2020 I graduated from The Danish Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Electronic Composition. The last two years I’ve been DJ’ing around the world.

Can you introduce our readers to the fabulous world of dj g2g? 

The world of dj g2g is genre-bending, pop culture referential, experimental and queer! Sonically I move between genres like hardstyle, deconstructed bubblegum, guaracha, nightcore, jersey, dubstep and more, with long cunty nails. It’s a world of hybrids of many origins, as opposed to being bound by the rules/traditions of one.

It’s a crucial challenge for me to make songs inspired by many different types of dance music, that can both interrupt and co-exist in the same track within seconds. I want to be surprised by the possibilities of blending and bending genres, where it makes sense but is also nonsense. There’s something about hybrid-music that makes me listen closer. When you bend the rules, it feels like anything is possible. Like when you hear 2 things together that you’ve never imagined could be in a world with each other; fx. I just started working on a song with my friend 3DMA, containing a huge amount of samples from Vine and Tiktok, but also the songs: Robert Miles' "Children”, Rihanna & Calvin Harris' "We Found Love”, Sexyy Red's "SkeeYee”, SMF's "Hahaha” and “Look At Me Now”, The Chainsmokers' "#SELFIE”, and Knife Party's "Internet Friends”. At the same time it's a blend of different genres like guaracha, donk, jersey, edm & more.

What’s the story about how u got into producing and djing?

When I was around 6 years old I remember discovering this cartoon game with different characters that would each play an instrument. The characters would be able to play a few different loops on their instrument, and then you could select and combine them to make your own little composition. When I was around 10 years old, I remember my older brother introduced me to the DAW “Reason”, where I started playing around, trying to make beats. I started DJ’ing around that age too, by making dubstep mashups in virtual dj. I had my first dj performance with my bestie at a nightclub, when I was 15. It was a bit strange because everyone was over 21.

I discovered that I love DJ’ing. And I discovered that the party can have the potential to create something expansive, and when it works, it can feel very playful and liberating.

I have expanded my practice by making soundtracks for documentaries and fashion shows, I just shared my work in a Dion Lee SS23 campaign film, and an extensive soundscape for Alectra Rothschild FW23 Runway film both during Copenhagen Fashion Week AW23. This year I also made the music in collaboration with Barbro for “Trans Hero”, a Danish documentary that explores gender and identity seen through the eyes of trans children and children of gender diverse parents. Trans Hero is directed by trans and non-binary directors Sol A. Wendel and Evo Smilla Sidney.

You have released music under various names like, dj gossip & dj g2g — are there any previous and/or upcoming reiterations/names/identities?

I was working in Logic for a few years, but quickly switched to working in Ableton, after starting to collaborate with my friend who worked in that software. I became really curious about all the different tools it has. In 2019, I released my first and so far only album “Árbol Bajo Tormenta” on the Copenhagen based label Anyines. I don’t really make time for working on this kind of music anymore, only rarely every now and then, but experimenting with making soundscapes is a process that is very meditative to me. I have a lot of finished projects laying around, which I might release sometime, maybe under a new alias.

“dj gossip”, is a silly project I started in a time where I was releasing less fun music as dj g2g than now. I created dj gossip to share those few silly funny edits that I didn’t feel would match my other releases as dj g2g. Now, I would say that dj gossip has merged into what dj g2g is.

I just started a nu-metal, k-pop, trip hop, dark ambient band under the name CRYSCREAM, but we are rarely in the same country at the same time, so we are collaborating by sending recordings back and forth, and will finish the album soonly. I can’t wait to share this with you.

I constantly have a lot of very different projects going on, in all sorts of genres. So much stuff that I don’t know if it will ever see the light.

How did you start working as g2g?

When I studied at RMC, many of my school-mates were older and already touring and releasing great music. It put some pressure on me as everybody around me was already doing the most, which made me feel insecure. One day I made an edit of Erika de Casier, who was my schoolmate. I uploaded the track and came up with a random alias, which has now become known as dj g2g. 

I was very surprised by the positive attention that this silly edit received. It gave me some confidence to keep working in that direction, following my intuition and playfulness. 

Also, g2g means “got to go”, but you can say whatever you want. I like that it can have many different meanings.

How does your different heritage affect your sound?

My father is a composer and musician — he mainly plays music with roots in the Uruguayan folk tradition. I was introduced to South American music in all sorts of genres from a very young age and it has made a deep impact on me. 

Living in Denmark, so far away from Uruguay where most of my family is from and are based, makes it difficult to keep a strong connection with that part of my heritage. The last few years I’ve discovered that I can actually find ways to connect with my South American heritage by the music I am making. 

How does fantasy play into your world? 

I’ve spent so many hours of my life playing fantasy videogames, like World of Warcraft, which I was extremely addicted to. The social aspect of online games has always been very important for me. It was literally my second life, meeting with my guild every day, clearing raids together. I love playing games that are visually appealing to me, though World of Warcraft in my opinion is not as beautiful as many other games, like Final Fantasy, Elden Ring, Dark Souls, BioShock, Genshin Impact, Vindictus, Scarlet Nexus, Bayonetta and more. I also love weird indie horror games that are kinda ugly looking, but extremely creepy, like Aka Manto, Fears To Fathom, The Bathhouse, Night At The Gates Of Hell, & more.

I love sampling sounds from video games in my songs. When you play WoW, you walk around in this open world and collect all kinds of strange little things. Mining ore, stones and gems and like a wizard you mix potions and elixirs, you dye thread and clothes, you cook, forge, etc. In the same way I do that irl with sounds to create songs. It can be from a Tik Tok, stepping on something, sneezing in a specific way, pouring up something in a glass, talking in their sleep, a cat meowing, a conversation I overheard on the subway, the specific way a bass is sounding in a song, rain and thunder, but it’s not necessarily only sounds, it can also be something I experience, something I see in real life or inside a screen, anything really.

For me fantasy and transness are inseparable — how has your transness affected the way you create music?

In a way, my music has gone hand in hand with my exploration of my own identity - the beauty of it is that it can always change, that nothing is fixed. I’m against all binary systems, in the classical approaches to music, DJ’ing and how gender is traditionally performed. Gender is made up, so everything is made up! You can be your wildest fantasy.

Who do you have in mind when creating dj sets, producing — are there things you return to again and again — if so why?

When producing and DJ’ing, I want to explore the tension between meeting the crowd's expectation and the element of astonishment, when something totally unexpected happens. I want it to be fun and playful.

Who and what inspires you?

I get super inspired by traveling around the world, being invited to meet cultures, people, and seeing artists perform. Working with you, Alectra, inspired me and gave me an opportunity to revisit many sound-pieces that I have created previously. To give them a new perspective through the lens of a fashion show. It is exciting to bring in new types of music that fits your universe, and sonically create the same textures as your collection.

That’s really cute to hear, I feel the same about you. I wat to know — what’s on your bucket list?

To sing!

Do more live streams of gaming and music-production (& other fun things!)

Playing at Tomorrowland festival. It would be fun to listen to my music on their soundsystem and watch a huge crowd that dance like little ants

Compose the next Silent Hill OST

Create a song with Skrillex

Feed a dragon!

Is there any specific party you are dying to perform at?

Not really a specific party, but it’s important for me that organizers and guests are aware that work has to be done to make the party a safe space, before you can have fun. I mostly enjoy playing smaller intimate parties where the crowd is close to me so you get to feel the magical synergy between the music, the crowd and myself! 

What have you been listening to lately? Whats ur fave trax at the moment?

Here’s a quick mixtape I made with my favorite trax a the moment, just from the top of my head. These are songs that make me cry, songs that make me dance all night, songs that give me confidence, songs that make me wanna ride my bike really fast, songs that make me calm, songs that just hit the right spots, songs that i can listen to forever without getting tired.

What music or artist changed your perspective on music and creating sound?

When I was a child, my best friend’s older brother was the biggest Slipknot fan. I started listening to Slipknot and wore all their merch. Everytime I visited him, his dad was always listening to The Prodigy, Arca & Aphex Twin, while cooking. In hindsight, that obviously made an impact on my music. 

In Seoul, I became obsessed with playing this Japanese arcade rhythm game called Wacca, on which I discovered the artist Laur. At that moment I was already experimenting with genre bending and blending, but Laur definitely gave me the courage to go even more chaotic.

Otherwise, from top of my head, Sophie changed everything for me. And Ryiuchi Sakamoto too.

What makes you the nerdiest about music?

I can work on music indefinitely. I can sit and hyperfocus without stopping forever. So I guess everything about music makes me the nerdiest? But yeah, finding the balance between giving people what they want and fucking them up with my music ... like how far can I take it? How many vibes/genres can I blend without losing it? How many references can exist in one track? Trying to answer these questions makes me extremely nerdy about producing and dj’ing. 

Being neurodivergent, music is one of the only places I can actually focus my attention to one thing only.

I want to talk about collaboration a bit. We have worked together now numerous times, But i want to ask how you approach collaborations with different artists? How do you connect with them and how does a collaboration work for you?

For me, entering collaborations is a way to get fresh ideas and input. And a way not to get stuck in a certain shape. I often feel much more inspired when I work with someone because the creative process becomes a living dialogue. If one has stalled a bit or gotten a bit stuck, the other might suddenly come up with a good idea that solves the problem, and in that way you keep each other going. The fact that there is another person involved, makes it possible to take the project into more unexpected directions. 

I get quite curious when I hear some music that catches my attention — and I often connect with artists who I have never met before. Sometimes I only know their music from the internet, but nothing about their real identity. And it can be very inspiring to just sit with their stems and see the process unravel technically contra my own! Some of them I have known for years online before I actually meet them in real life. Some have developed into close friendships.

You have worked with Ryong, Smerz, Erika de Casier, Zutzut, Estoc amongst many more — what makes for a successful collaboration for you? And are there any collaborations you would like to highlight as an example of a great collaboration?

A successful collaboration is when you experience a good and fertile process! When you have a feeling that the collaboration has produced something that is bigger than what we could produce individually — then you know it has been successful!

Ryong is my bestie, and my favorite b2b dj partner. We have also made songs together, and it has been extremely fun. We will release something we made together a while ago, and we are definitely going to collaborate soon again.

It’s great to collaborate — specifically with friends! For this editorial we collaborated with Feyd Angeles who both art directed, shot and edited this fab editorial starring you wearing only Masculina with glam by our friend Salem Dye — how was it to work with Feyd?

It was very free and playful and very nice to work with someone who really has a fire for what they do. They have many ideas and they are very attentive to how I was feeling throughout the shoot which I appreciated!

It was cute to work in such a lowkey way between friends, which also made it a very long shot because we had a cickle for a cackle! 

One of the inspirations behind this editorial is Final Fantasy 12: Zodiac Age’s Pirate bunny/humanoid; Fran. Tell me what inspires you when you get dressed?

I take inspiration from many different things, often just from things on the internet. Sometimes I like to look like game characters. Sometimes I like to look like a scary victorian goth princess, other times skater girl vibes, and at some occasions, just a big suit with a tie. Also many other styles that I don’t know the labels of. I like to mix everything together.

What do you fantasize about?

I fantasize about having superpowers like extreme jumping skills, and run really fast.

I also fantasize about being capable of instantly realizing songs that I create in my head. I often create songs in my head — I kind of visualize the ableton interface while riding my bike, or doing something else, and visually I work with it and I imagine what it would sound like, but I imagine being able to immediately output this music physically.

Since the New Year is approaching fast, I wanted to hear your “IN & OUT list” for 2024?

OUT

This world is very passé.

Humanity is out apparently.

Being called Bro/Sir/Dude

Cringing

Perfection

AI-generated images

NFTs

Hyperpop

IN

Boycotting Israel!

Bayonetta glasses because being a nerdy librarian is so in. 

Cozy silly-looking slippers with eyes and ears, maybe fluffy.

Being at home playing video games and drinking tea.

Vinahouse is very in!

Miao’ing is in!

Noise-canceling headphones with no music playing paying artists is very in!

To finish off, would you let our readers know what you have going on — what can we look forward to from dj g2g? 

I am currently working on the soundscape for your runway debut show for the upcoming CPHFW FW24 season on Jan 29th, and while I'm known for my edits, I am right now working on an originals only album release, which I am super excited about. The idea of creating a full album motivates me a lot, because it lets me tell a much wider, longer and more detailed story. Also I got an EP “Candyx World of Luv”, with Lila Sky coming up in a few days, containing 5 songs that I produced for her! (I also sing on one of the songs). I am working on new collaborations with many super exciting artists, can’t tell you names right now, but I cannot wait to show you everything.