Sahyuri

Interview with a DJ: Sahyuri

Regular visitors of The Consensual will no doubt know Sahyuri, the little dragon, setting the room on fire with her music. She has built a reputation for intense, carefully crafted sets drawn from a massive personal library. No Spotify, just her own passion. If you like your music intense, brutal, and noisy then you need to go listen to one of her mixes! The Hidden Circle Gazette was fortunate to catch her for an interview in between her busy schedule.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into DJ-ing? Was it something you always wanted to do?

When I joined 3DX, I never imagined becoming a DJ, even though music is very important in my life. I have a lot of records.

I didn’t feel like I belonged in 3DX because of its “libertine” orientation, and when I went to clubs, the music didn’t suit me. Until I heard some more “edgy” DJs with music that I really liked. The day I heard SarianRavyn was a revelation. She was so close to me musically and there is a potential audience for this kind of music. So why not me? I also have things to offer.

How long did it take you to learn DJ-ing, and what was that process like? Did you pick things up on your own or have guidance along the way? 

I’m self-taught, hyperactive, and a compulsive worker. I started working on playlists, learning how to manage the DJ software Sam Broadcaster. It’s a question of feeling and work. When I had a “satisfying first set” I looked for where to play it, I was lucky enough to find a room to play it in front of 4 people and I had incredible fun, which reinforced my idea “it’s DJ-ing that I want to do, this will be my participation in the game”. Since then, every day, I learn. It’s a never-ending process. I have the feeling of still being a beginner. I didn’t ask for advice, nor watch a tutorial. I wanted to do things my way with my emotions. If it’s not perfect it doesn’t matter, the important thing is the conviction that we put into it.

What software and equipment do you use for your sets? Are there any tools or plugins you’d recommend for aspiring DJs?

My main equipment is my music collection. I’ve been DJ-ing on 3DX for three years, with over 180 sets, and I’ve never played a track from YouTube or Spotify. I’m quite proud of that; all my music is mine. I have just over 4,800 albums in my iTunes library, which I use to create my set lists. My favorite part of DJ-ing is researching new things.

It’s true that it’s expensive, but it’s a passion and it’s also necessary because the music market is going very badly. Spotify is a bad deal for 95% of artists, they don’t sell records anymore. Concert prices are exploding because it’s becoming the artists’ only source of income. I know I’m lucky to be able to afford all that. I was shocked when I found out that in 3DX 95% of DJs used Spotify. Everything becomes easier like that, but it doesn’t make them better.

I started mixing with Sam Broadcaster and a mouse, then I moved on to Mixx with a Hercules Starlight controller, the cheapest on the market and super efficient!

For four months, I’ve been using Virtual DJ with a Numark MixtrackProFx controller, and I’m already thinking about getting a new controller (I really want the Roland DJ505). I also use Audacity with the MuseFX plug-ins, mainly to remaster some old tracks that lack dynamics. I also have AKG K702 headphones with a Fosi preamp. I also treated myself to a super-powerful laptop with an RTX4060 card, which is necessary to take full advantage of VDJ’s real-time processing (Stems).

I’m also using AmpFreqq and an Akai midi controller for a DUB project I’m working on that I haven’t presented on 3DX yet.

How would you describe your music style, and what influences your track selection? Any genres or artists that particularly inspire you?

My musical education is primarily based on traditional “industrial” music and its post-punk derivatives such as industrial metal/rock, EBM, Darkwave, Electronic Rock, DarkSynth, Witchhouse, etc. I like my music intense, brutal, and noisy!

Since meeting Ellettra (from the SEXBEAT club), I’ve opened up to ElectroClash and something more techno-oriented, which I knew but didn’t exploit. She’s the only person who has had a real musical influence on me in the game.

I never stray from my roots. I’m incapable of performing pop, rock, EDM, or heavy metal sets, and I’m not interested in doing so. I stick to what I know and master.

When I compose a set, I start by creating a coherent bank of tracks lasting 3 or 4 hours, depending on the club I’m playing at and the tone I want to give to my set. From this bank, I then choose an opening track and then I build my set based on the sequencing capabilities and the creation of relief, high points, and “rest” points. My sets are “very worked on,” at least 6 hours of work for each one.

My main artists: Einsturzende Neubauten, SPK, Foetus (Industrial), The Young Gods, Ministry, Hate Dept, Killing Joke, Treponem Pal (Industrial Rock), Steve Albini bands “Shellac/bigBlack/Rapeman” Sonic Youth (Noisy). For the electronic side, Kraftwerk of course, Celldweller, KasProduct … and so many others !

I also try to support the French scene which is very dynamic with artists like SIERRA, Horskh, Moaan Exis.

Performing in a virtual space like 3DX must be unique—what’s been your most memorable gig so far, and how do you keep your audience engaged?

Even though I’ve already performed a few RL live sets, 3DX remains my platform for expression, and I love the feeling of a job well done, when, after playing, I’m in bed and thinking back to the evening, “Wow, that was awesome tonight, I did something great, it was awesome.”

Since I started, I’ve worked to be “recognized” as a DJ with a different musical flavor, and over the past three years, I’ve received so many messages and gifts of support and love that I’m moved when I read them back.

I have great memories of my debut at Consensual invited by Venita. There were almost 80 people, I was shaking, scared, lol… and I cried with emotion at the end of the set, omg lol. I have a great memory of an “Orgy of DOOM” night in January 2023. That night was huge, masterful, the day I truly became DJ Sahyuri the Little Dragon. I spit out my flames and burned everything down! It was awesome.

Other notable events include the rare openings of my club KOLLAPS, where I am the most free and radical in my expression. My first steps in US clubs like Matrix Club Hel (a dream come true to play there). I have a very special connection with the Abyss club, which recently reopened because of its history. It’s a great honor for me and a mark of recognition for my work.

Very recently, I celebrated my third anniversary as a DJ at Consensual in front of 150 people. I received so much love that talking about it makes my eyes red. The day before, I also played in front of 150 people at Matrix (Europe by Elayoe). It was also amazing.

I have so many wonderful memories.

Outside of DJing, what does music mean to you on a personal level? Has it played a significant role in your life beyond performing?

When I was a child, I was torn between sports with my father and music with my mother, who has always been very active in the underground music in France. She organized concerts and tours, and worked for labels, radio stations, and the press. So, I’ve always been immersed in it. I went to my first concerts while still in my mother’s womb! From time to time, artists would stay at our house to avoid paying for hotels. And then, in high school, I was part of the “punk goth” gang.

There isn’t a day in my life when I don’t listen to music, and I try to educate my son in this direction, even though his musical tastes are different. I’ve also taken him to concerts since he was little.

We even went to the Hellfest Festival with my mother and son. Music is a family disease in our family.

and finally becoming a DJ was something natural for me, depending on who I am, it just makes sense… the best way for me to contribute to the life of our addictive virtual world!

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring three tracks to listen to forever, which ones would you pick—and why?

I would never go to a desert island, I would go to my Pyrenees mountains and take my PC with my 500 gigabytes of MP3s,

But if I had to choose…

• Einsturzende Neubauten “Halber mensch”, This album is simply masterful. It gives me very strong, deep emotions, it overwhelms me. I love the singer Blixa Bargeld, his voice, his way of singing. It’s an album that’s probably very inaccessible to those uninitiated in this genre of music, but for me it’s an absolute reference.
• Foetus “Diabolus in Musica.” In my opinion, this track is the basis of what would become industrial EBM. I love it; it creates a trance-like feeling, difficult to explain.
• The Young Gods “Fais la mouette.” It’s difficult to choose just one track from this first album. fascinating. A charismatic singer, a drummer and a sampler, they really invent something new. This band is a major industrial rock band, pioneer, essential and still active for more than 30 years, probably the band I have seen the most in concert. Just before we spoke tonight, I listened to their new album, “Appear Disappear,” which came out today and is absolutely brilliant and I recommend it to everyone!

Do you have any parting words?

I’d like to add a few thanks to the people who have helped me and continue to help me in my career.

First, Kellia and Anniway, who listened to my first set and still support me.

Venita who discovered me and launched me as a DJ.

The Consensual team, without whom none of this would have been possible.

Presenza & MayaJaneGrace, Vikingsson, JesterPaul , Tatya, Ellettra, and my “family,” FemboyEllie, Alan, Mellowdy, and Tavr.

And of course, the Hidden Circle Gazette team for the honor of taking an interest in me!

With special thanks to Sahyuri.