Fresh Kicks 130: Jasmín

Jasmín is at the vanguard of Amsterdam’s new wave. With connections to hallowed club, De School, and as a former writer for sorely missed music platform Strange Sounds From Beyond, she’s spent the past few years championing alternative and adventurous electronic music in the Dutch capital, from international guests and rising local stars alike. 

As a DJ, Jasmín pulls from the same arrow quiver as modern underground titans like Batu, Lena Willikens and Laurel Halo. Favouring psychedelic sounds, warped bass plumes and jolting rhythms, she traverses tempos and genres fluidly, and with a refreshing sense of exuberance and fun.

Her skills behind the decks have landed her some landmark gigs in last 12 months, including appearances at Dekmantel and its sister festivals Lente Kabinet and Selectors, South African’s Smalltown Beat Festival, New York’s Bossa Nova Civic Club, Berlin’s Tresor and ​Griessmuehle, and De School. 

“It’s still a bit surreal when I get to play at a club, party, or festival I’ve often visited, or when I get to share the line up with my favourite artists,” Jasmín admits. “For example, I got to play before and after one of my heroes, DJ Stingray."

In November 2019, Jasmín co-curated ‘place : the netherlands’, a compilation of music by emerging artists based in The Netherlands with all proceeds raised being donated to Open Closet LGBT Netherlands, a charity aimed at providing aid and advice to LGBTQIA+ refugees. The compilation is part of a series from Air Texture and Kompakt, where each release focuses on a city or country with a view to raising money for local causes as well as championing local music. Curated in collaboration with Axmed Maxamed, ‘place : the netherlands’ features 15 tracks of inventive electronics and club sounds from the likes of DJ Bone, blusher, Pasiphae and more.  

“James Healy, Air Texture’s label owner, got in touch with me through Soundcloud and then we started chatting about the compilation Steffi and Martyn had just put out on his label,” Jasmín explains. “A couple of months later he asked me if I would be interested in being involved in a new project he was starting, which was Place :. We talked over Skype, and then I asked Axmed to join me in setting this up. Axmed knows a lot more about charities, how they work, and where the money goes to. Besides, we have a similar taste in music, and I always liked the suggestions of tracks, sets, or artists to check out he sent me. He came up with the idea to raise funds for Open Closet LGBT Netherlands, who support LGBTQIA+ refugees and undocumented LGBTQIA+ people and focus on creating a community. The work they do really deserves more exposure and financial support.”

“We had similar ideas about which artists we wanted to focus on,” she adds. “So decided to do it all together. First we just reached out to a lot of people, even people we weren’t sure if they were just DJing or also making music. Then made a selection from those tracks, based on what we liked, but also wanted it to feature a range of styles and intensities. Some of the artists had never shared any of their music and ended up really surprising us. In the end, even though all the tracks are quite different, they do fit together in a way. Seeing these tracks get played on radio shows or in mixes or in clubs by artists the artists on Place : really like, is very exciting to us, and to them.”

Jasmín is eager to continue using her platform in music to help with social causes. “I try to help where I can, but of course there’s always much more to learn and do,” she says. “I think it’s really important to push each other, and to use the opportunities you have to support each other. In the past two years, I did some DJ workshops for Womxn and Queer people, in which I also think it’s important to be open about money things and stuff as (mental) health. I try to be open about what I know, share experiences and help anyone out with technical stuff where I can - sharing information and knowledge is important to keep the scene accessible and open.”

Looking into 2020, Jasmín has a big year ahead. With a debut gig in Russia at St. Petersburg’s Blank, a support slot for Modeselektor in Utrecht’s TivoliVredenburg and a set at De School for Batu’s 5 years of Timedance party, things are shaping up to be very exciting for the DJ. With a plan to start working on her own music soon, expect to be hearing a lot from Jasmín in the coming year. 

Jasmín’s Fresh Kicks mix is full of rippling rhythms, warped bass and lush, rolling club sounds. “It starts and ends with a track from Place : as well as DutchAfro’s track in between,” she explains. “The tunes in between are by old and new favourites. Some of them actually blew my mind this year playing live or DJing, Djrum, dBridge, upsammy, Batu, OKO DJ and Laurel Halo. This mix might sound a tiny bit more emotional and moody than what you might hear me play in a club.“

Check it out below. 

Last track that blew your mind?
“‘Vowel // consonant by Loraine James, and the rest of this album”

Last film you watched? 
“Parasite”

Last DJ that blew your mind? 
“Kode9 and Sherelle”

Favourite album to relax to? 
“Grace Jones’ dub version of her album ‘Hurricane’”

Favourite producer? 
“Upsammy”

What record is top of your wishlist? 
“L U C Y on SZNS7N”

What's the best club you've played at? 
“De School”

Tracklist:
raj ‘Kas’
Laurel Halo ‘Sunlight On The Faded Dub (Dub)’
Women In The Royal Court ‘Confusing Belly Dance’
upsammy ‘Extra Warm’
Super Grupo Colombia ‘Cumbia Estereo (El Búho Remix)’
Missy Elliott ‘Get Your Freak On (Lone - Jungle Mix)’
A.Fruit ‘Be Careful With The Clouds’
Burial ‘Prayer’
dBridge ‘Volitile Level’
Djrum ‘Dam (Felix K Reinterpretation)’
Katatonic Silentio ‘Infrastructure Disintegrating’
Smith & Mighty ‘Higher Than Tempo’
CUCUMB45 ‘Shark Fuck’
Yoong ‘Safeguard’
DJ NinOo ‘Ambientes Leves’
DutchAfro ‘Time to Trip’
Leonce ‘Tripwires’
Eva Schlegel ‘Phaeton’
Batu ‘Eraser’
Jarlentji ‘Fool For You’