A trip through electroclash, techno and acid from the founder of LA’s Xtended Release collective.
In early 2020, just after the world was put into lockdown, LA-based DJ and producer Christiane Øyen aka séverine uploaded a track to SoundCloud that would become a minor viral hit. ‘Look How Hard I’m Into You’ combines the vocal from Ariana Grande’s ‘Into You’ with Barker’s ‘Look How Hard I’ve Tried’ to create a work of simple but effective mashup genius that has since appeared in two Radio 1 Essential Mixes.
‘Look How Hard I’m Into You’ is reflective of the wide range of influences that make up séverine’s approach to music. As a young music fan growing up in Long Beach, séverine was immersed in trance and electroclash, which gave way to techno and rave as the LA scene evolved. A self-described “poptimist”, séverine draws on all of these experiences to create music and DJ sets that cross stylistic boundaries and prioritise euphoria over all else.
Since 2018, séverine has headed up DIY rave collective Xtended Release, an LA-based party that has paired local talent alongside international artists including Dis Fig, Jasmine Infiniti and Ariel Zetina. In her Fact Mix, séverine offers a taste of the LA scene while staying true to the music that formed her unique style, starting with the classic Jacques Lu Cont remix of Felix Da Housecat’s ‘Silver Screen Shower Scene’ and moving through tracks from M.E.S.H., Coucou Chloe, False Witness, Nkisi, Privacy and Portishead.
“I wanted this mix to incorporate as many past and present selves as possible, blended together sometimes seamlessly, sometimes not, to invoke euphoria and tension in quick waves,” séverine says. “It starts out with some of my favorite electro house bangers from my childhood before mixing in some staple tracks of my live sets over the years. From there it switches to a mainly 4/4-driven sound mashing together all the different strains of techno that make my brain go brrrrrr—industrial, hardgroove, schranz, acid, some shit that sounds like raving in a bounce house on the moon. In two words, it’s a sexy spiral.”
“This mix was definitely made with LA dancefloors in mind; it’s been beautiful seeing increasingly younger and queerer crowds here go so hard for increasingly weirder and deeper sets, supporting the locals and learning about the history. I dedicate this to the girls and gays first and foremost, especially the ones at the rave to find community and themselves, open to hearing something new and a little challenging. I also dedicate this to all the awe-inspiring transfem DJs who have been my role models and whose sets have left me fundamentally changed.”
Follow séverine on Instagram and SoundCloud. séverine’s latest release, a blend pack titled Dawn of the Coastal DJ, is available now on Club Paradiso.
Tracklist:
Felix Da Housecat – ‘Silver Screen Shower Scene’ (Jacques Lu Cont ‘Thin White Duke’ Mix)
Tiga – ‘Move My Body’ (Only 4 Erol Mix)
M.E.S.H. – ‘Inspired By True Story’
Coucou Chloe – ‘2000’
Privacy – ‘Apex Predator’
djsex – ‘Neo-Generator’
Female – ‘Serve’ (Re-Group Edit)
Metrakit – ‘Out of Control’
séverine – ‘FUCK HIM ALL NIGHT IN THE SUDAN SEDAN’ (AZEALIA X D.DAN)
DJ Powerout – ‘Slime’
Panteros666 – ‘Planet TER’
Ryan James Ford – ‘Snake Biter (1999 Mix)’
Nkisi – ‘Justice’
LUNÁTICA – ‘Ouroboros’
Mehen – ‘Silver Parade’
Gaël – ‘Mess’
Glenn Wilson & Mike Humphries – ‘At the Post’
Vitalic – ‘La Rock 01’ (Tommy Zero Bootleg)
False Witness feat. Ledef – ‘Arm the Dolls (San Antonio Original Mix)’
The Sprawl – ‘X System’
DJ Chip – ‘Bang Ski’ (Woture Edit)
Nebuchadnezzar – ‘Edit 2’
dj diphenhydramine – ‘patience is a vice’
Portishead – ‘S.O.S.’ (ABBA Cover)
Listen next: Fact Mix 864: Bloomfeld
