INTERVIEW: DJ and producer Ophelia

DJ and music producer Ophelia continues to prove why her name deserves to be at the top of the list of DJs to follow. Her unique style and sound that experiments and bends genres, is surely one not to miss, as she promises more hard-hitting tracks and impressive productions in the coming months.

With a classical training background, Ophelia blends her knowledge and skills with her clear and experimental vision and sound, evident in every powerful release and performance.

Now, we sat down with Ophelia to ask more about her background, her earliest memories involving music and what she believes are her greatest achievements so far. Check out our interview with Ophelia below.

What’s your earliest memory involving music?

I have a fond memory of playing a tiny Casio keyboard on the front porch of my trailer when I was 5 or 6 during a rain storm.

Who were your musical idols when you were young?

I was really into The Drifters and Motown artist, then I really got into reggae and Inner Circle was my favourite.

When did you know you wanted to make music?

I avoided it until I didn’t get accepted to the colleges I wanted to go to for engineering, so I went to Berklee College of Music and got accepted, which made me think maybe it was a good idea to make music since I got accepted.

How did you learn to produce music?

I definitely learned more composition at Berklee, but I taught myself and took some workshops when I moved to San Francisco and got into the music scene there.

For how long have you been making music?

I started writing songs officially when I was at Berklee, so since I was 18 or 19.

What’s the name of your first track and how was it?

My first electronic track was called “Basefly” and it was a DnB track with samples from “The Man Who Fell to Earth” by David Bowie.

What would you say is your greatest achievement so far?

I’ve played a lot of cool venues and opened up for some big acts. That to me, was a great level of success given how much I juggle in my life.

What did you want to do before starting your music production career?

I’ve always been into business and tech savvy, so I’ve always been a business consultant and software engineer. The money is good so it always seemed like a safe bet.

What piece of advice would you like to give to your younger self?

I don’t know I think I wouldn’t say anything.

If you could start your career all over again knowing what you know now, would you do it?

No, I’ve done an excellent job or just doing things my way which has been painful and exciting. It felt very procedural and kept my interest going, even when things got rough.

Listen to Ophelia’s latest release Tracen below