DJ ID: Meet Baby Loci

« I try to produce a narrative that’s fast-paced and easy to focus on for folks of short attention span just like me. »

In Chorareii’s ‘DJ ID’ series, both established and emerging DJs from the Japanese clubbing & raving universe share some information about themselves, for us to know the vision behind the bangers. 

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Baby Loci’s (@yyiqpi) DJ ID Card. Design: sudden star (@5udden5)

Chorareii: First of all, introduce yourself!   

Yiqing (@yyiqpi), 22. From Beijing, China. Living in Tokyo, Japan for 7 years now. 

What kind of music do you play when you DJ?                                                    

A blend of ghetto techno/ghetto house, bootleg/edit, and trap music. 

In what venues do you often DJ?          

Last year, I DJed many times at Spread, in Shimokitazawa, when it was the only cool venue that was encouraging new projects, and once in a while at Forestlimit, where I feel at home. 

What made you start DJing?                  

I made lots of DJ friends when I started going out when I was around 19 years old. Then, a friend asked me to play music at his party. I remember I did an experimental deconstructed EBM set: non-beat-matching-simply-harsh-noise for a rock band event opening [laughs].

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Baby Loci b2b sudden star at PURE2000 rave in Kawasaki. Photo: Yui Nogiwa (@yuinogiwa_).

Explain to me your DJ name. Your previous alias was Babyiqing. Who was she and who is Baby Loci?             

I always felt weird about using my real name as a performance persona. I also wanted to eliminate the expression of one’s ego in whatever I do, so instead, I chose ‘loci,’ Latin word for ‘location.’ The word seems to be neutral, but it only gets meaning when people gather and make an effort to nurture. Later, a friend told me it sounds identical to ‘boss’ in Cantonese!

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Baby Loci’s dancing crowd at Waifu 2020 Countdown party, at Contact, Tokyo. Photo: Toshimura (@toshimu_rar on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)

What do you feel when you’re DJing? And what do you want the audience to feel?

I’m too nervous to feel when DJing [laughs]! Well, I actually enjoy the hyped-up vibe on the dance floor, when people can be tirelessly dancing either consciously or not. I try to produce a narrative that’s fast-paced and easy to focus on for folks of short attention span just like me.

What do you think makes you different as a DJ? How do you try to make a difference?

I love to blend bangers with nerdy tracks, mostly from up and coming and Soundcloud producers. Like mixing tracks that are made for the dance floor with the ones got popular via internet. The loop of online and IRL is the basis and very personality of my set. 

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Baby Loci b2b sudden star at Forestlimit, Tokyo, getting curled by Jackson Kaki. Photo: Noa.

What musicians, DJs, artists, places … inspire you as a DJ?                                

Creative people and friends around me are a big inspiration. That’s also why I love to spend more time outside the club to get to know people in a more real way. For some inspiring artists who I know through Instagram, I’m presenting them on our Adults Play Radio space on HKCR on a monthly basis.

You often DJ b2b with sudden star. How did this connection happen?                              

Last June I was trying to figure out my relationship with DJing by not playing alone but as a B2B unit. I invited Kai to join me. He has been my perfect music partner since then! 

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Adults Play Radio promo picture, Baby Loci and sudden star’s monthly show on HKCR. Artwork: sudden star (@5udden5)

You are a part of the Ether collective, can you tell me about it? 

I started Ether with a few friends, whom are all local DJs, up and coming yet underrated in a sense that we all didn’t have a regular place to play or haven’t tried organizing collectively our own. Then, under the corona situation, our interests and style of music grew apart quite a bit. sudden star, Speedy Lee Genesis and myself are running Ether Party together at the moment.

You have a connection with the underground hip hop scene, as you often Dj at Tohji’s parties. Could you tell me about this?                                         

I definitely had the most fun at Tohji’s party last year. I mean, club music scene in Tokyo has this serious vibe, whereas in the hip pop scene, people are more easygoing and down to the earth sometimes. Although you still get this ‘bro’ vibe which is quite common in Tokyo …

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Baby Loci b2b sudden star at Tohji’s party. Photo: Noa.

Are there any particular tracks you would like to play in all of your sessions if you could?                            

Anything from DJ G2G could work well, or club edit disco tracks. I like to drop disco tracks in the middle of ‘unts unts’.

One party where you DJ that you’ll never forget.                                             

The SLICK rave was my first time DJing outdoors, and the best party in 2020. Kai and me set out the mood which later developed into our DJing style.

This photo of Baby Loci and sudden star was taken at Slick rave’s first edition, which was Baby Loci’s favorite party. Photo: Toshimura (@toshimu_rar on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)

In what party, place, festival, rave, venue… would you love to play as a DJ? 

Any 500-people maximum, fanatic, weird music festival out in the woods could work [laughs]!

What is your vision of the role of the DJ in our generation?                                   

Show new possibilities of the way things can be done, educate, and rave.

Follow Baby Loci on Instagram (@yyiqpi) and Twitter (@dj_drunkonspot) 

Follow Adults Play Radio on Soundcloud

Follow Ether Collective on Instagram (@ether.tokio)

Proofreading: Jasmina Mitrovic (@negi_hime).

(ノ ˘_˘)ノ ζ|||ζ ζ|||ζ ζ|||ζ

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