Karim Olen Ash, Olivia Seally and Louis Cremades for FRESHMEN FRIDAY/Hair and makeup: @crazygirlmur
Rapper and DJ Chippy Nonstop has been living in Canada ever since 2015, when she was deported from her lifelong home of the U.S. In her adopted home of Toronto, she's thrown herself into the local scene as a DJ, promoter, and as the co-founder of Intersessions: an initiative (founded with Rhi Blossom) that runs seminars and workshops to teach women, femme-identifying, and non-binary folks how to DJ. To showcase her own formidable style behind the decks, Chippy has crafted a relentless 30-minute mix for The FADER that bounces from one rubbery, smile-inducing club track to the next — with a little Daniel Bedingfield and classic Bollywood thrown in for good measure.
Listen and read a short interview with Chippy below, and follow Intersessions here to find out when you can attend a workshop near you.
Where are you right now? Please describe your surroundings.
Wow, I wish I was somewhere more interesting right now. I'm literally sitting in a high rise in Toronto next to my manager, in a cubicle in his office.
Tell us a bit about this mix — what do you imagine people doing while listening to it?
This mix features a lot of my IRL and URL friends. Although the Toronto club scene isn't really on the map right now, there are a lot amazing club DJs and producers in Toronto. It makes me sad that every time something like Boiler Room comes to Toronto they put a light on dancehalI, techno, and the R&B sound, but not on the club music. I imagine people pre-drinking to this before going out.
What's your earliest musical memory?
My mom was a dance teacher while I was growing up. When I was living in Zambia, she taught everyday at my school to the older kids. There was this one Bollywood song that she would teach them dance to and I memorized the entire dance, and my mom was shook. It's a really popular Bollywood song from one of the most iconic Bollywood movies ever, DDLJ . The song is called "Mehndi Laga ke Rakhna," which means "keep your henna on," because in Indian culture the darker your henna is, the healthier your relationship with your spouse is.
Why did you create Intersessions?
I was in Vancouver and the scene was literally so terrible, but since we started there have been so many more creative women, femmes, and non-binary folks starting their own nights and parties. Not to say there weren't amazing women, femmes, and non-binary folks doing this before, it is just really hard in Vancouver because there is a company in Vancouver that has a monopoly over bookings and venues, and they mostly don't care about the youth and queer culture. Shout out to parties in Vancouver now thriving with female/non-binary leads: Switch MP3 crew, Pep Talk Party, and artists like Prado, D. Tiff, and So_Loki_.
It's now been over a year that you've been teaching women and LGBTQ people how to DJ. What have you learned from the experience?
That it was needed. Women actually do want to help each other. People like Cindy Li, Bambii, Dre Ngozi, and Nino Brown come out to teach and donate their time, for pretty much free, to teach other women/queer folks/femmes because they know it is important. There are more good people in the world than bad people.
How did you first learn to DJ yourself?
I literally just downloaded a demo of Traktor and trained myself on it. Watched YouTube videos. Asked my ex-boyfriend for help, but you know how that goes.
What's your favorite thing about Toronto?
My friends, @Karim Olen Ash, @SEXTON, @CRAZYGIRLMUR, @Katie Lavoie, and Vaughn. We all have each other's backs and go to each other's shows, help each other create content, etc.
And your least favorite?
The fuccbois.
What’s your favorite dish to cook and how do you make it?
I'm literally a chef. I cook so many different things. But I really like cooking fresh mango salsa with vegan tacos and kale salad.
Tracklist:
"Chalka Chalka Re" from the movie Saathiya
DJ Svani, "Marimba Rija x Dance Danadinha"
Panteros666, "Hyper Reality"
Macabro, "130"
Unknown
Ase Manuel , "Bend Yo Byke"
DJ Mika, "Selfie"
Mara Mura, "E Grau" (Mura club edit)
Jayhood, Unreleased
DHS, "House Of God" (TSVI edit)
Unknown
Daniel Bedingfield, "Gotta Get Thru This"
Unlisted
Ghibli, "CRAZY"
DJ Cue Heat, "Jungle Terror"
DJ Marfox, "A Propira"
DJ Cue Heat, "Como Yo Le Doy"
Yungkiidd, "Check Up On It"
Akira Akira, "El Sonidito" (Akira Akira Flip)
D.R.A.M. f. Lil Yachty, "Broccoli" (DJ Flex remix)
Kilbourne, "Satisfaction" (Rizzla edit)
From The Collection:
FADER Mix
