A series where music lovers share some of their hidden gems.

Number 87 is by Olya Smok , a Belarusian selector based in Berlin.

Find the record she shared here!

Tell me about your musical roots

Although I’ve always loved and listened to a lot of music, electronic music has never really been a part of my life until I got into records. I’d never gone to any parties until I went to volunteer at a music festival in 2016. It was the first time I experienced a night party and saw DJs playing records. It was more like disco stuff, and naturally, this was the music with which I started my record-digging and playing journey in 2018  disco, funk, soul, electro, boogie, hip-house, etc. This phase wasn’t long, though, maybe 1.5 years or so, until I became friends with some of the actors of a very small and moderately proud Minsk electronic underground.

Are there any artists, cultures, or places that particularly influence you?

Definitely, throughout the years, I’ve been influenced by certain artists. My friend was doing parties in Minsk, where I used to live, and one of the guests in 2019 was Carl H  his set became a turning point for me to switch to electronic music completely and also instilled a love for psychedelic and druggy sounds. Later, in August 2020, Vlada released her RA mix, which became another big inspiration, an example of elegance and a darker soul. My friends in Kyiv, Maksym Tkachenko and Dima Sokolovskyi, opened the horizons of quirky minimal techno for me. In recent years, of course, it’s the infamous group of friends from Offenbach - Hitekjaz, Marius, Aaron, and others  who showed me that the music and the ways to present it are really endless. After some years of processing and searching, today I feel like I manage to be shaping something of my own and no longer look for any influences only for inspiration. Everything I need is inside me by now. I know how I want to sound right now. More or less.

What speaks to you when you’re searching for new music?

I’m looking for music with strong character. Or, if not strong, then at least some character. I consider myself a storyteller type of DJ, and good stories should be written well and in style. It takes a lot of time to get a hold of playing such music coherently while letting all the tracks shine, building up meaningfully, finding the courage and space for the unexpected combinations and turns, and balancing the mind/body ratio well so as not to get overly, in my case, heady and complex on the dancefloor (I like complex but, over time, had to learn that all in good measure and at the right moment hehe). I think it’s only in the past year that I’ve finally felt I know how to do it a little bit. I’m excited to be mastering that more and more in the future.

What helps you to take care of your well-being?

First and foremost, it’s the lifestyle that allows me not to wake up to the alarm in the mornings and have enough sleep. Slow mornings. Also, yoga – I have more and less active phases, but after a week of not doing it, I start feeling stiff and disconnected from my body, getting too much into my head, and it’s always a sign to do some exercise. Therapy, of course. I probably wouldn’t be answering these questions if it wasn’t for it. And nature. Although not happening very often right now, mountains, forests, and the water, especially the ocean, help me breathe deeper, refill the energy reserves, and restart the system when needed. And last but probably most important, listening to myself in everything I do.

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