Yaeji transformed what an at-home DJ set can look like
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Image via YouTube
By Joe McCarthy
If you muted most live-streamed house music sets, you'd fall asleep. Even with the most dazzling background, a dj standing over a mixing board, languidly messing with knobs and buttons, isn't that exciting.
The point, of course, is to appreciate the beats, the layering, the transitions, the exquisite taste, to start your own dance party.
But the atmosphere you'd find at a pre-COVID club — pulsing lights floating through suspended smoke, bodies moving to drums and bass — is absent from these sets.
And the lack of ambience can be a demoralizing reminder of the doomed state of nightlife as the pandemic rages on with no clear sign of when safe partying will return.
It could be months. It could be years.
In the meantime, not all Youtube and Twitch sets have to be half-hearted attempts to placate restless fans.
The Flushing-born house DJ and pop star Yaeji recently transformed what an at-home show can look and feel like during an hour-long Boiler Room set.
In a lime-green animated room, while perched on a hunter green couch, Yaeji created an immersive visual experience with her team of multidisciplinary collaborators to accompany a set that featured her latest album "What We Drew."
Over the course of the hour, the interpretative dancers Gianna Theodore and Hamly Tavarez were superimposed above Yaeji, an animated cartoon unfolded across the screen, a video game version of Yaeji walked through a strange Pokemon world, and lush views of rainforest appeared as a dynamic backdrop.
These visual elements, edited by Zanzie Addington-White, Enayet Kabir, and Yaeji, were seamlessly woven into the set and elevated what would be, by itself, a brilliant house set.
Yaeji sang, chanted, chopped up her voice, and layered various songs, including a mesmerizing remix of Dua Lipa's "Don't Start Now," proving why she earned Pitchfork's praise as house music's most exciting new voice.
Yaeji is known for her lavish and thoughtful raves, where she serves bowls of curry, hosts spoken word artists, and embraces a DIY aesthetic.
Transferred to a livestream, it was unclear if these graceful vibes would survive. By all measures, Yaeji's set was hopeful. It showed how a vibrant mind can uplift others and craft a spell that soothes existential dread, all the while staying focused on the broader battles that make the dance floor possible.
That's part of Yaeji's appeal — her commitment to building, supporting, and relying upon community. Her set has raised nearly $2,000 for The Bail Project.
As Yaeji bopped and sang along to Clazziquai's "Fill this Night" early in the set, it seemed like we would soon make it past the darkening crises that surround us, that COVID-19 could be overcome, that we would once again fill the night.
