DJ Paulette gets the biscuits out for one of the coolest DJs on the planet
From Brazil to Vienna and from DJ booths to vocal booths, Joyce Muniz is globally recognised and respected as a DJ’s DJ…and a producer’s producer. She has the Holy Grail of A-list fans and supporters including Gilles Peterson, Richie Hawtin, Maya Jane Coles, Crookers, Magda, Lawler and Tiga. DJ Paulette grabs a twenty minute tea break with the lady on everyobdy’s lips right now…
HI Joyce, thank you for taking a break from your busy schedule to sit down and have tea with me? Would you prefer a cup of English Tea or Brazilian or Austrian coffee? Do you take this with a biscuit or a chocolate?
Of course, Brazilian coffee thanks. Never chocolate, I haven’t eaten chocolate since I am 14. But I’d love to have biscuit, please Paulette.
Now please kick off your shoes, make yourself comfortable and imagine this scene for me…
…You and your old friend Exploited main man Shir Khan are eating at your favourite Korean barbecue spot – what do you order? Who finishes first? Who drinks the most? Who talks the most? Who pays the bill?
A Korean grill-plate for two and I finish first because I mainly entertain, while the other one eats, so I only get the left overs. Get it? And we both are pretty same when it comes to drinking, but only during the dinner. It is varying but I paid the last time.
You go on to a bar, the Chardonnay is flowing freely and you are having a great night off. The DJ is playing one of your recent Saturday night jams – ‘Come Inside’ – a piston pumping, wonky bass and pitched effects synth tech house surge par excellence. What’s your reaction to this? Do you jump up, grab your handbag and head straight for the dancefloor or do you nod your head whilst talking or flirting at the bar?
Probably I nod my head and keep flirting with a smiling face.
In a club environment which genre of music says ‘sexy time’ the most to you? Is it hip hop or deep / tech house or both and why? Is it the same at home?
I prefer deep/tech house in a club whereas at home I like jazzy, electronica stuff.
Speaking of clubs, you mention ‘Hive’ in Zurich as one of your favourite clubs. That is the biggest compliment from a DJ – so what is ‘Hive’ to you?
I really like the boys who run the club and quite simply, I have loved coming here for years. Also the crowd is very cool. The club itself is always refreshing and up to date, the size is simply perfect – not too big not too small, the sound system is great and of course…the line up is dope.
Your label credentials are enviable – from Ralph Lawson’s 2020 to Off to Riva Starr’s Snatch! To Defected and now Sneak’s ‘I’m A House Gangster’, but your first family was Shir Khan’s razor sharp Exploited Records. Can you tell me how this connection came about.
Well, to sum it up for you, it basically came all very naturally a long time ago. I know Ralph through Maya Janes Coles, I met Riva Starr many years ago and one day he asked me to work with him. When I played at Off-Sonar, Sneak and me where getting along very well and through that we collaborated, I am very excited for our upcoming release. I have known Shir Khan for more than ten years when he invited me to his radio-show and I think we immediately got a long very well…as friends and musicians. And it remains the same, I think that’s beautiful.
Correct me if I am wrong, but you are the only woman in the Exploited artists’ team. Are you one of the boys when you are working with them in studio? Or are you a ‘bow down bitches’ fierce warrior woman who makes the boys do what they are told?
It’s totally smooth, we’ve all known each other for a while now and there are also friendships alongside work. Although we all do different styles of music, the respect for each other is big. In the end it is all about quality music, no matter what gender.
There is a song with a Dusty Springfield sample on your Youtube page and on your Twitter stream you tweeted about watching a Billie Holiday documentary? Which other strong women influence and inspire you? And are there any male artists who have influenced your style or career?
Billie Holiday is someone I look up to, she was impressively talented and strong at the same time, especially in hard times for African Americans. And you have to know Rita Lee, she was the coolest lady making Brazilian punkrock. She impressed more then one generation! There are so many talented people in every kind of art out there, it would take hours to name all of them. But I can tell you that I love urban art.
About the Exploited Records family. How do all the different artists’ styles merge and fit together sonically especially when you play Exploited parties? With Claptone, Adana Twins, you, Shir Khan amongst others all being at the top of your fields – who decides who goes where on the bill / set times / posters?
Shir Khan, the label-boss makes the decisions, of course.
It’s the Joyce Muniz fantasy weekend off again. You move on from the first bar to another where there is a TV. The football is on – the game is Austria versus Brazil. Who do you support?
I grew up in Vienna but my heart beats Brazilian, if it comes to football.
Brazil win – do you celebrate with a secret Samba, a costumed up Carnivalesque happy dance or do you raise a friendly glass of sparkling Schlumberger and say ‘next time’??
All of it! I dance costumed all samba, raising a bottle of sparkling champagne.
Are you a face painting, shouting at the referee kind of football fan or a passive, calm observer?
I am a pain in the ass for others, I think I am louder than a samba group, I totally love going to stadiums.
What are your three favourite things about Sao Paolo and Vienna?
Sao Paolo: Creative Chaos, on every corner there is a Padaria and they offer the best fresh juices and snack 24 hours. And I love the humor of the Paulistas.
Vienna: I enjoy the historical culture, the life quality and it’s well situated in Europe so it is easy for me to travel quickly everywhere.
You’re a formidable force in a petite frame but has your size ever complicated playing in festival, radio or club set?
In my technical rider there is a stage-raiser listed so that I am taller, but I was standing many times on an improvised beer crate.
You moved from Sao Paolo to Vienna when you were 12 where you became known as one of Vienna’s youngest DJs. You are also originally known as a singer – you sang in Portuguese for the your first release in 2003…but which language do you prefer singing in and why?
I prefer Portuguese, it is mother-tongue and it feels real to me…
The voice is considered as the first instrument: were you academically taught to use it or did it just come naturally to you? Vienna has a classical music tradition so did you learn to play the violin or any classical instruments at school?
In the beginning I was an MC, I was doing D&B and DopeBeats but after my first studio sessions I decided to attend a Jazz-Singer-Course. I don’t see myself as a singer, more as an MC. During school I had to learn piano but I was so bored, I missed the action of drums and percussions heaps, so I mostly did percussions outside of school.
Is the ‘Blue Danube’ a favourite place or a piece of music to you?
The ‘Blue Danube’ is more a piece of music to me. Only in Austria they play ‘Blue Danube’ at New Year’s Eve midnight, this is so special! Every time I am playing abroad I miss it. And I even made a house-bootleg years ago, only for friends!
Fast forward to today and the successful career and path you have forged for yourself through productions, hard work and constant touring – do you believe in chance and destiny or making your own luck? Do you have any personal message for Maya Jane Coles, Richie Hawtin, Ralph Lawson and Louie Austen?
Well I think there is still a long road in front of me, and I doubt it’s only luck, there has been a lot of work and there is still a lot of work to do. But I am so happy that people understand my music, this gives me a lot power. Thank you so much to you guys: getting support of artists I admire myself, is simply the best acknowledgement.
Your new Joyce Muniz website is now online, do you take care of your socials personally or do you have a team behind you? Is this something you enjoy doing, is it just part of the job now or do you find it a necessary evil?
I do socials personally, through that I get to know many young artists and I think it is important to hand over the support I get to others who deserve it.
Musically, you have a wicked way with instrumentals blending room filling sounds with Brazilian rhythms and super sexy bassline / vocal sleaze. I can also hear elements of 80s synths washes and 90’s acid surges too – are you a fan of Kraftwerk and 80s electro pop? Have you seen Kraftwerk live? And do you rave when you are on the other side of the decks.
You have to feel music in order to play music. So yes, I am a “raver” – if you want to call it that. And the 80s music influenced me of course, I was grown up by that time. I saw Kraftwerk once, it was good to see that their sound is timeless. Was working back then and is still loved today!
Was it easy clearing the sample for Kraftwerk’s ‘It’s More Fun To Compute’ after Richie Hawtin played ‘Back in The Days featuring Bam’ on his Boilerroom Ibiza Villa Takeover?
It was not easy but it was easier than I thought. In the end, we got the permission because Kraftwerk simply liked the tune!
Your new single for Exploited Records ‘You Always Get Me High’ blazes your funky, percolating, warped bassline and is so full of the joy of life that its easy to feel how much you love your work through your music. But tell me, is it easier making your own tracks or remixing others? And do you prefer working with vocals or instrumentals?
It might sound crazy but I prefer my remixes to my own productions. I love good vocals, I can connect better working on vocals.
Where can we hear Joyce Muniz over the summer months and what Joyce Muniz releases are going to fire up our DJ booth big guns?
I am looking forward to Off-Sonar Week and there is a North America tour being planned. I am working on new tracks for 2020 Vision and I am working on a remix for Paul C & Paolo Martini. There is a lot of stuff happening, but I can’t tell precise dates right now.
If there was a law that we had to wake up as an insect or animal tomorrow what would you be?
A Butterfly
Could this animal be included somehow in your next tattoo?
I already have a butterfly on my skin.
What five words would you use to describe yourself in life?
Straight forward, happy, tough, full of spirit, workaholic…
What five words would you use to describe yourself now you have finished this interview?
Hungry (the biscuits weren’t enough), ready to go back to studio, relaxed, self-confident (thanks to you), lust to travel…
Thank you Joyce for bringing so much joy, positivity and dynamic energy to the pages of DMCWORLD. We salute you and wish you a sizzling hot and successful summer…
