“I’m constantly in search of something new, hyper-real and weird,” says Katerina Blahutova—nicknamed Katla—a multidisciplinary designer and DJ/VJ from Prague that currently resides in Reykjavík. “I consider this a sort of life attitude of mine.”
Listen up
In the past year, Katla has been busy collaborating with Reykjavík musicians like SiGRÚN and MSEA, as well as debuting her own event series, ‘Heyrðu’—the Icelandic word for “listen.” These cool parties focus on musicians who evade easy categorisation. “These open-minded projects somehow attract me naturally,” says Katla. “This applies also to my DJ sets [performed under the name DVDJ NNS], where I prefer staying genre-free.”
Katla first started DJing in 2010. “Later I added live visuals via VJing and then moved on to light and set design,” she explains. “My interests lie in making multisensory experiences.” The striking visuals help her audience to better immerse themselves into the performance. “They can make people focus or take them out of their immediate context,” she explains. “Visuals can also be fun or political and spark interaction.”
Importance of clubbing
According to Katla, clubbing is important. “It can be a spiritual experience and a physical ritual—a sort of body celebration,” she explains. “And then there is the political aspect, for example creating safe spaces and promoting diversity and sustainability.”
Currently, most of Katla’s gigs take place in Czech Republic and Slovakia. “Underground club culture there has strong roots and is on a constant rise,” she says. “Compared to Iceland’s clubbing, it’s more diverse, political, globalised—it’s simply a larger community.”
Aside from making new sets and videos and planning an upcoming tour in her home country, Katla is planning to make the next Heyrðu party a reality in 2019. “I already have a long list of artists willing to come,” she says. “I’m now looking for a venue with the right vibe—and funding possibilities.”
Go to katerinablahutova.com for a look at what Katla is all about. Visit instagram.com/katlanns to follow her daily creativity and upcoming events.
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