Name: Jamie Ige aka JAMIIE
Occupation: DJ, producer
Nationality: German-Nigerian
Recent release: JAMIIE's Voices EP is out via Watergate.
Recommendations: Book: The Water Dancer by Ta-Nahesi Coats; Music: Aphex Twin - T69 Collapse

If you enjoyed this interview with JAMIIE and would like to stay up to date with her activities, visit her on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.



Can you talk a bit about your interest in or fascination for DJing? Which DJs, clubs or experiences captured your imagination in the beginning?

I am a sucker for electronic music, the parties, the crowd, the energy. I am fascinated by how music can be used to influence the mood and to bring all kinds of people together. It is a cross-cultural language.

I loved "The Steve Mason Experience' on BFBS radio. He was literally the first DJ in electronic music that I stumbled across. I was immediately hooked on these new and vast soundscapes.

At 16, I attended my first rave and danced all night long. That was in the 1990s. At that party, The Prodigy played live in Hanover, Germany, and I danced so hard that my neck hurt the next day. I will never forget that night.

What made it appealing to you to DJ yourself? What was it that you wanted to express and what, did you feel, did you have to add artistically?

I started DJing just for fun when some girlfriends and I threw a party for friends. I never thought about where this would take me. We just played our favourite songs.

It did not matter that I did not know how to mix at all at the time, it was all about the music and a good time with friends The energy of the crowd was so exuberant that it made me want to do more. That was the starting point.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to DJing? Do you see yourself as part of a certain tradition or lineage?

Music is the cement that can hold individuals together, it connects them to share moments of pure joy, away from the daily life.

My approach is actually very simple. I want people to have a great time. I want to provide the soundtrack to that. Ideally, I want to create magical moments.

Of course, I soak up that energy, too. It fires me up and makes me happy. And Djing is a hell of a lot of fun.

Clubs are still the natural home for DJing. What makes the club experience unique? Which clubs you've played or danced at are perfect for realising your vision – and why?

In my opinion, the music is crucial. If the music is good, the audience has fun, and the vibe and atmosphere is wonderful! And mindful, fun-loving people are also important. A plus is a great venue, but I already have had great parties at quite seedy places.

Sisyphos in Berlin is a great club, preferably in the summer when the outdoor area is open. I had a magical set on the "beach dance floor" a few years ago .

There is a long tradition of cross-pollination between DJing and producing. Can you talk a bit about how this manifests itself in your own work?

For many DJs, getting into production and making their own music is a natural step. Vice versa, it might be interesting for producers to step behind the decks.

Sometimes I can't stop listening to a track without dissecting it in my head, without thinking about how the track is structured and produced. And conversely, when I produce my own tracks, I imagine the crowd dancing to them. I guess it's an occupational disease.

What role does digging for music still play for your work as a DJ? Tell me a bit about what kind of music you will look for and the balance between picking material which a) excites you, b) which will please the audience and c) fulfill certain functions within your DJ set.   

If you do not dig for music, you have no music to play. When I look for new pieces, I do not have in mind to please people. I think that's the wrong approach.

I am looking for music that excites me and that speaks to me, tracks that I am excited to share with the audience. However, I am looking for tracks that could be openers, closers, or peak time tracks, or that are from certain genres, labels, or artists.

I've always wondered: How is it possible for DJs to memorise so many tracks? How do you store tracks in your mind – traditionally as grooves + melodies + harmonies or as colours, energy levels, shapes?

I am a synesthete and see music in colours. Each genre has a certain colour for me. E.g. Afro house is yellow, indie dance is orange, techno is black, melodic house & techno is purple and so on. These are my virtual boxes where I store the music in my head.

But to be honest, I cannot remember each and every track I have. There are just too many. I know my favourite tracks by heart, and I know which tracks I put in certain folders / playlists when I am preparing music for a gig.

When DJing, I find a track either by knowing the contents of my folders, by scrolling through the various folders and recognising the titles and / or album artwork, going by feel, or using the search function to look for a specific track or artist.

Using your very latest DJ set as an example, what does your approach look like, from selecting the material and preparing for and opening a set? What were some of the transitions that really worked looking back?

No two performances are the same. At the very beginning of my career, I meticulously prepared a set for my gig track by track, key by key, because it made me feel confident. I was always super nervous before a gig. I still am, but not to the point of fainting, to exaggerate it a little bit.

These days I do not prepare a set that way because it takes away the flexibility to adapt to the circumstances of the event, the atmosphere, the audience and even the technicalities. Exceptions are streams, DJ mixes and certain gigs. However, I prepare folders and playlists of the music I want to play, considering what type of event it is and what slot I am playing.

I draw inspiration from artists I admire, parties I have attended, radio shows and DJ mixes I have listened to, to name a few sources. Also, after some time of DJing, you know which tracks go well together, which tracks are suitable to open or end a set.

I have a roster of tracks that I love to play often. I also keep adding new tracks because it's exciting to hear and play something new.

In terms of the overall architecture of a DJ set, how do you work with energy levels, peaks and troughs and the experience of time?


Depending on how long a DJ set is, time usually passes far too quickly. You are barely in it before it is over again. Sometimes I completely forget the time around me, totally in my zone, which is beautiful. Usually I keep somewhat track of time to see how much time I have left to get it in line with the flow.

As far as energy levels, it depends on what kind of set you are playing. At prime time, the tracks are more energetic than, say, an opening. For me, a DJ set always has to be a journey. Not too monotonous. With valleys and highs. And I love tracks with vocals in between.

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

I start with a basic idea of what I would like to play, but then let the vibe and my inspirations carry me. I prefer to play with 3 - 4 CDJS. That way I can queue up multiple tracks, play parts of tracks at the same time to create something new, and mix in a capelle. One track leads to the next and I also draw from my experiences.

My goal is to create a journey with my track selection. With peak moments and moments so that the crowd can catch it breath. All this peppered with fun, emotions and a certain edginess.

As a DJ, you can compose a set of many short tracks or play them out in full, get involved with mixing or keep the tunes as the producer intended them, create fluent seagues or tension. Tell me about your personal preferences in this regard, please.

I love a mix of all the mentioned above. It depends on the night, my mood, the crowd, the party and what type of music I am playing.

Pieces can sound entirely different as part of a DJ set compared to playing them on their own. How do you explain this? Which tracks from your collection don't seem like much outside of a DJ set but are incredible effective and versatile on a gig?

Like everything in life, it depends on the circumstances, but also on the counteraction.

Tracks in a DJ set can nudge and catch each other, build on each other and complement each other. They transition seamlessly into an eternal track. A track that may be slower and lack sharp peaks can be charged with great energy in a DJ set and sound amazing compared to be played solo.

And, of course, the sound system plays a huge role. Even the best track cannot unfold its potential if the technical requirements are not given.

Online DJ mixes, created in the studio as a solitary event, have become ubiquitous. From your experience with the format, what changes when it comes to the way you DJ – and to the experience as a whole - when you subtract the audience?

Playing a DJ set without the audience is certainly not the same. It lacks the energy and the feedback. At the beginning of the pandemic, I played a lot of live streams and pre-recorded streams. I was happy to play at all to bring music to the people and to give them a piece of normality.

DJ mixes, mixed and recorded or created with a DAW, are another thing entirely. The process can take days, created at home, in the studio or even on on a flight. Since online mixes are usually just a listening experience, transitions must be smooth. Not as forgivable as a botched transition on the dance floor.

Advances in AI-supported DJing look set to transform the trade. For the future, where do you see the role of humans in DJing versus that of technology?

AI is already changing the way music is created. AI-supported DJing might make it easier but it can never replace human DJing as this is “a spiritual thing, a body thing, a soul thing.” (Eddie Amador).

A DJ reads the crowd, connects with the emotions, feels the response. AI can't do that, at least not yet.

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 freak out, I think. Not so much about losing my music, because I have backups on hard drives. It's more that I do not play with vinyl!

If there's no other DJ in sight to borrow the USB sticks from, I'd jump in at the deep end and go with it. So that would definitely make for a very interesting night.