DJ Of The Week: DJ Katla

When did you start DJ’ing?

As soon as I got my first two deck cassette player/radio, which was around the age of seven. I’d do experiments and record mixes. I didn’t touch a DJ mixer until I was well over twenty, though.

What styles do you play?

I’ve played everything from Britpop to techno. It’s just a matter of mood and venue. I mostly play deep house and electro though.

What’s your favourite Reykjavík venue to play?

I’d say Paloma and Kaffibarinn. Kaffibarinn just feels like home, there’s always a friendly face at the bar and on the dance floor. They serve the best ginger beer in town and usually keep cookies in the cupboard so if you’re starving at 4:30 in the morning at least you have that, a cookie.

What kind of gear do you use when playing?

A few years back I had a regular gig at a bar in Reykjavík where I played vinyls. I’d bring two SL-1210, a DJ mixer and loads of records with me. One night I was driving, listening to T-Rex and approaching the bar when I saw the street was closed. I ended up having to carry everything a couple of hundred metres, going back and forth from my car to the bar. When I found out they were about to close the street permanently, I swore I’d never play vinyls at a bar/club that didn’t have their own record player ever again.

My regular setup consists of a laptop, audio card, controller and DJ mixer. It’s compact and fits into my backpack while still offering the luxury of containing my whole music catalogue. I’ve used USB sticks with CD players as well, but I prefer having access to my whole library, you never know what kind of crowd you are going to get.

If you were an audio effect, which one would you be?

That’s easy, I’m a Flanger even if most of my friends like to think of me as a Crush.

What kind of crowd is the best crowd in your opinion?

The IT Crowd… hands down.

What are your five essential tracks of the moment?

The first five favorite tracks that come to mind are “Time” by Pachanga Boys, “Paradise Circus (Gui Boratto Remix)” by Massive Attack, “Les Djinns (Trentemoller Remix)” by Djuma Soundsystem, “Papua New Guinea” by The Future Sound Of London and “Right Here, Right Now” by Fatboy Slim.

My current essential Icelandic albums, however are ‘Vulnicura’ by Björk, ‘Silkidrangar’ by Samaris, ‘Komdu til mín svarta systir’ by Mammút, “Mr. Silla” by Mr. Silla and ‘CIRCE’, a collection of music composed for the show of shows by Georg Holm, Orri Páll Dýrason, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and Kjartan Holm Circe