Interview by: Juan izguerra Featuring Mishka.

Q1: Hola jess! Thank you so much for contributing to our mix series! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and where you’re from?

A: Hiiiii thanks for having me 🧸

 I'm born and raised in San Francisco but lived in LA from 2014-2020. I work in the Sync industry full time - collaborating with music supervisors and composers to create music for film, tv, trailers, ads, and anything else that blends music with moving pictures. And then most people know me for my other full time gig - DJing, hosting radio shows (NTS and HydeFM), curating, and promoting shows. 

Q2: I remember us meeting at Homage at the grand opening in 2021.. At the time I had learned that you used to live in Los Angeles but you had just moved back to the bay.. what originally brought you down to LA and what was your experience like? Anything you miss about living here in LA?

A: Ohhh how time flies... 

I originally came to LA to study marketing at Loyola Marymount University which led me to DJing at KXLU 88.9FM. Starting with the rookie 2-6am slot then graduating to rush hour times + being the Music Director for 2 years, KXLU really launched the whole DJ and music curator hussle for me. I met some of my best friends, future collaborators, created relationships with labels, started promoting my own shows (shoutout to Timewarp Records + Nonplus Ultra for the spaces)- it was the ultimate catalyst for my deep love of radio. 

Living in LA was amazing - I was lucky to have such a tight and talented community of friends and collaborators, experienced my first after hours (shoutout Cooper Saver x Far Away), got to be part of the first years of NTS LA, threw so many different kinds of shows, hosted my first DJ residency night, converted to being a taco girl after being a burrito girl in SF.... 

No dig on LA but I don't miss living in the city that much... I mostly just miss my best friends, taco stands and froyo shops (bring back froyo culture 2024), recording my NTS show live in a studio with other people around, and late night hangs (things in SF tend to close early). I also miss being in close proximity to swimming pools and Joshua Tree.

Q3: I’ve never lived outside of Southern California, how was it adjusting to LA and then readjusting when you moved back to San Francisco?

A: It was definitely a bit of a culture shock when I first got to LA ...But Cali is Cali baby! So I was soaking up the sun after 18 years of fog and considering 65 degrees as being "shorts weather". 

Moving back to SF was rough at first - I actually had a one way ticket to St. Petersburg, Russia. The whole plan was to drop my stuff off in SF and then live in Russia and Ukraine for a year - complete a whole music project, teach English, DJ.. That plan got botched by Covid of course. So I was left looking for a job again, didn't really have any friends or sense of community in SF, and had to live at home while I looked for new housing.. all while "social distancing". It was pretty shitty, not gonna lie.

But I gotta say HydeFM and NTS really kept me going and kept me inspired. Then I got my next job in the sync industry (Score a Score) and met some of the kindest and most inspiring people in SF. Glad to say the struggle was worth it - I'm really happy. The community is super strong. And I still get to come to LA fairly frequently. 

Q4: You spent years focusing on Eastern European music on your NTS show. Can you tell us about what you learned about your culture musically during that time?

A: That period of time was super educational. I tapped into my roots as a Russian & Ukrainian first genner and got to connect with my family's history on a whole new level. I visited Russia in 2019 and connected with many DJs and artists - many of whom I am still in constant contact with to this day. 

It really strengthened my relationship with my family - my grandpa started slipping me youtube links to songs (which is now mostly how we communicate), my dad and I could talk about various Eastern European artists (he himself is a Ukrainian musician - working in music his whole life) and I had a way of practicing reading and writing in Russian. I also became familiar with various Eastern European and ex-soviet sub cultures / underground movements and got to collaborate with and interview some legendary artists like Valery Alakhov (New Composers) and Ivan Dorn, and more. 

Again, gotta thank KXLU for starting this whole obsession after I found a random 7" post punk cover of Alla Pugacheva's "Million Alih Roz" in the station's library around 4am. 

Q5: You recently started hosting live shows under “Remind Me" with Jeremy Castillo (of Bar Part Time) can you tell us what inspired you two to start throwing shows?

A: Crazy... we threw our first event in 2021 with Loveshadow... we just never really made an Instagram or anything until this year. 

Jer and I are both super busy people (between him running the hottest club in SF and being a new dad and me having a demanding full time 9-5 + too many hobbies to count) but we had a thirst for seeing some of our favorite live acts play in SF - and unfortunately no one was focusing on bringing them out here. A lot of these artists we consider to be our friends so it all came from a place of love and passion for ~music!!!~. I used to throw shows in LA and kind of just missed that DIY ethos - but mostly I was just getting a bit restless only seeing DJs perform and wanted to watch someone riff a guitar, vocals, synths, etc. 

Both of us have a love-hate relationship with promoting/throwing shows - I think we find it pretty stressful and severely time consuming but we are just thrilled to bring these artists to a stage in SF. And if you've been to one of our events before you'll know it's mostly a party that also happens to have great live music. The live music starts late, we DJ before and after to keep people dancing, and there are always some funny decorations. So we might only do it once or twice a year but that's only so the nights feel special...and so we stay sane. 

Q6: What are some things you enjoy doing in the city when you’re not working? And what are some of your favorite places to eat?

A: I love a looooong walk - so whether that's enjoying the various parks my apartment is sandwiched between or just picking a random destination and walking for up to 3 hours, I'm down. 

And Juan, you know better than anyone that SF is THRIVING in the food department. A few of my faves: Mandalay, Yo Tambien Cantina, Chuy's Fiesta, Udon Mugizo, Lolo, Coffee Movement, Pop's, Bon Ne Ne, Beeps, Kantine, Cuisine of Nepal.. I can keep going. I also love clothes.. so i'm a big shopper. Shoutout to Relove, Body Philosophy, Afterlife and Fuzz & Sway for dressing me. 

Q7: Any people that keep you inspired with DJ’ing or just musically and creatively?

A: So many!! Emile Mosseri for score composition - will always be my favorite film composer and instigates a good cry, Jeremy Castillo for all his deep cut remixes/covers (and for being a great friend and collaborator),  Denis Makhlin - my brother & co-owner of HydeFM/ amazing graphic designer, Loveshadow (Anya & Izaak) for holding it down as the best current musical group out of SF, Bringo Reidel & Jenna Harkins for creating beautiful pictures, Josh Cheon of Dark Entries - one of my longtime favorite labels and we're so blessed to have him as a creative pillar in SF. In terms of DJs - Iguana Girl, Josh Da Costa, Simple Symmetry, DJ Patrick, Bogdan Ra, Bianca Lexis and Braden Wells. 

Q8: What can you tell us about this mix?

A: It's fun. It's silly. It's playful. 👍 Thanks for listening! 🩷