Name: Anissa Stili aka Adassiya
Occupation: DJ, producer, singer, songwriter
Nationality: French
Recent Release: Adassiya's collaboration with Bakean, “Desert Heart,” is out  via Wannabe a Frog. Also out are “High” on Yulunga, and the La Recreation EP with Rogerio Lopez, and Alonso Perea via Cosmic Awakenings.

If you enjoyed this Adassiya interview and would like to stay up to date with her music and current live dates, visit her on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.  



Do you think that some of your earliest musical experiences planted a seed for your interest in DJing?

Absolutely. I started my professional music career as a singer, I was 17 and took part in a famous show in France called ‘Ten Commandments’. I would be on stage with a lot of other singers and dancers and one of the dancers was from a house / afro beat kind of vibe.

When we were touring with the show – like in Japan, Korea etc – I would go to a club after the show with my dancer friends and this helped me discover electronic music and the nightlife … I remember standing close to the DJ booth and being mesmerised. I fell in love with DJing and thought I really want to learn how to do this one day. I loved the music, the mood, the vibe. I knew this was something for me.  

Also, I grew up with the sounds of pop, classical Arabic music, soul, gospel, Stevie Wonder, Kim Burrel … these early experiences impact you today, of course. When I create music now I don’t necessarily think of these influences but for sure they inspire me and contribute to what I create.

I have always loved club music, but I was not initially a dancer very much. What was this like for you? How does being – or not being – a passionate dancer influence the way you deejay?

I really love dancing, since I was little. My body just moves to the music, any kind of music – pop, Arabic, I don’t care! With electronic music, I am not really a ‘dancer’ as such, I don’t think it’s a question of being or not being a big, passionate dancer myself but of course I see dancing as a way of feeling the music, the vibe, letting go and moving with the rhythm, sometimes in that really special, trance-like way.

It doesn’t matter if you are a good dancer or not, the only important thing is to be honest and respond to the way the music makes you feel.

For your own DJing, what were some of the most important things you learned from teachers/tutorials, other DJs, or personal experience?

For me, the most important thing I learned … is to make sure you hold the dancefloor ;)

How do you approach DJing, what are you looking for, and what were some of the best finds of the past few weeks for you?

DJing is like an instrument for me, it’s a channel between me and the crowd, a way to communicate in both directions. I am talking to the crowd and the crowd is talking to me.

I love listening to a lot of music, searching and discovering masterpieces hahaha. Especially someone that we’ve never heard before, to keep things fresh and interesting.

How do you experience "groove," and rhythm? What is the relationship between harmony, rhythm and melody?

I come from soul music and in soul music the groove is super important – this is why I am very sensitive to the groove of the track plus of course the bassline.

When I listen to a track, my first emotion is about whether my head is kind of moving along with it … is there a bit of magic here or is it nothing special? And this I feel from the groove and the harmony.

In general, I love the tracks in a minor key. I found them to be deeper and they touch my soul more.
 
How would you describe the experience of DJing, physically and mentally?

Haha, well first you need to know that I feel a lot of stress before every single gig! I love to arrive 45min before my set to feel the people, connect with the crowd and understand what they like. This gives me the beginning of my set.

I never really prepare my sets in advance, every time it's an improvisation. Feel the people and then decide for example do I start with some vocals or something else … and always just going with the flow.

Do you listen – and deejay - with your eyes open or closed?

When I DJ I don’t usually play with my eyes closed, I tend to be very aware that I am here to create a party, a certain mood, to share and enjoy the vibe with everyone.

I mean of course sometimes I do close my eyes, to go on my own little travel but not a lot. I prefer to see the dancefloor and how the people are doing.   

How does the decision making process work during a gig with regards to the inclusion of key records, the next transition and where you want the set to go? How far do you tend to plan ahead during a set?

Like I said, I never prepare my set in advance. But of course there are some tracks that I know I will play often because they are my favorites in that moment.

In general, at the beginning of a set I love to start slowly and then build up the energy step by step, introducing more groove and more intensity as I go.

When you're DJing, does it actually feel like you're inventing something on the spot – or are you inventively re-arranging patterns from preparations, practise or previous performances?

When I’m performing I just play music. I don’t think about inventing something or not. I really go with the flow. And I take a lot of risks every time, with the choice of music.

The same goes for the technical part haha. I don’t have equipment at home so sometime I’m trying some new techniques live! Nothing good happens without taking some risks haha.

Do you engage with audiences/dancers - and how? Taking one of your online DJ mixes as an example, how does the experience and the way you deejay change when you subtract the audience?

I’m lucky because I sing as part of my live sets and this gives me a really great way to connect with the audiences and people around me. For me, it’s the best way to share my feelings and vibe. And for this, the audience is of course essential.

Although I would say that if you take the audience away, I would still DJ in the same way … just a different feeling as I don’t get that energy feedback from the people on the dancefloor.

So my ‘journey’ through the set is more about my choices instead of using this feedback to guide me through the set.

Collaboration is a key part of almost every aspect of music making, but it is stil rare in DJing. Do you have an idea why this is? Tell me about your own views on back-to-back DJing, interactions with live musicians or other forms of turning DJing into a more collective process.

Honestly, doing back to back is not easy, that’s why people usually don’t like doing it. Is not about ego or being alone on the stage or some other reason like this. It is really about the feeling, compatibility, understanding and knowing each other.

DJing is storytelling, you tell your story and the other DJ playing with you needs to be connected to the same frequency and ‘channel’ otherwise the set will have no direction, no sense and it will kill the vibe.

That said, I have played with live musicians several times – this too can be a challenge but I enjoyed it!

How important is dancing for our wellbeing on a personal and even on a societal level?

Dancing is a fundamental, natural body expression. We’ve been dancing since the dawn of time across all cultures, whether its part of prayers or rituals, whether you are happy or sad, celebrating something or just relieving pressure and stress.

You can feel and understand many things when you look at someone dancing. I think its an essential part of our culture and a great way of communicating.

And there are both physical and mental, spiritual benefits of a big dancing session while being lost in some great music!
 
Especially in the light of advances in AI, where do you see the role of humans in DJing versus that of technology? Can AI act as a collaborator or creative stimulus?

To be honest, I don’t know what to think about AI. There are obviously some very good things about it but also a lot of things that don’t seem so good. I’m not super scared about it. I don’t think AI will ‘kill the artists’, there are still so many things that an artist can do that AI can’t. An AI DJ can’t give that energy and vibe to the dancefloor like a real DJ can.

But I am a little concerned that some of the AI features may limit the creativity of people because you end up not using or developing your own capacity to create, your inspiration, your creative skills.

Maybe in the future DJs and producers will not have the same ability to think on their own, independently, without this AI support. It may lead to the mind getting a bit lazy.    

Tinnitus and developing hyperacusis are very real risks for anyone working with sound. Do you take precautions in this regard and if you're suffering from these or similar issues – how do you cope with them?

Of course I take a lot of care with this, it is so important!

Especially for me actually because I have this problem – I only have hearing in one ear, since I was born … not many people know this! For me this is normal, to listen to music with just one ear. I don’t even know what’s it like to listen to music in stereo haha. This can really get in the way sometimes when I play but I use the frequency of the bass for example to help me do my mixing.

So as I only have this one ear that works, I take extra care about it. I use ear plugs, I use an ear monitor every time, to be able to hear and control the volume … if I want to continue DJing for a long time, I must be very careful with my hearing.  

Do you feel as though DJing is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Haha, well when I make my coffee normally it's just after I woke up so I am in an autopilot mode! I make it without soul or expression … just press the button and voila! But when I play music … I do it with all my soul, I share my mood and feelings with the people, it's my way of expressing what’s inside me. My music and my shows do my talking.

So yeah, totally different, impossible to compare.

Let's imagine you lost all your music for one night and all there is left at the venue is a crate of records containing a random selection of music. How would you approach this set?

I would still have my voice! So my approach would be, ok lets do this and go with the flow … and use my singing to hold things together. ;)