HEADS KNOW TAPE 003: Niamh
An interview and DJ mix with the Leeds-based journalist, DJ, and presenter.
Photo: SimmyKanda
HEADS KNOW TAPES is our mix and interview series, curated to introduce you to the most exciting innovators, selectors, and artists from New York City and beyond.
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For the first HEADS KNOW TAPE of 2024, I wanted to invite someone who I think is one of the coolest people I’ve never met.
Niamh is a Leeds-based music journalist, DJ and presenter. You might know her as a resident of London’s Subtle Radio, Mixmag’s weekend editor or the host of Belta—the podcast where she speaks candidly to fellow northerners who are part of the electronic music scene.
As a newer music journalist who essentially got my start by contributing regularly to Mixmag, Niamh's unforgiving drive and ability to be good at whatever she does was apparent from the beginning—and it was inspiring to me. She quickly became an example of what I could achieve by putting myself out there, regardless of how scary other people's perceptions seemed. She probably didn't even know this, but now she does and I'm so hyped to have her as a guest for this series.
For our third installment, I talked to Niamh about balance, being a DJing journalist and her upcoming Boiler Room set. Read our conversation and listen to her mix below.
Happy New Year! Do you believe in New Year's resolutions?
Happy New Year to you too! Honestly, it depends what day you’re asking me. I’m not a resolution fan, per se, but I’m treating 2024 as a bit of a clean slate to try and truly nail the work/life balance. Whether that is achieved, watch this space. ha.
I feel like I have a new goal every day anyway, so I totally get that. For research, I stalked you on LinkedIn and saw that you were a music writer before being a DJ/presenter. Now you do both. Which love came first?
Honestly, they kinda came together. As cliché as it sounds, I was always writing growing up—I used to write little stories in hoards of notebooks, make my own magazines, scribe my little heart out on a typewriter and wrote many a (now defunct) blog post…!
Simultaneously, I was always going to live music gigs of all genres, as my parents were very into going to them so I wasn’t really given much choice. Naturally, I started writing about music, and I played too (I’m classically trained, thanks to the local council for the lessons back in the day), so the two mutually grew together. I’ve been DJing for a while playing out, but until I got the push from people around me I was too nervous to share it (as with the writing, I could at least hide behind a screen!).
You and I really are the same because my writing path began that way, too. Did you always know you wanted to work in music?
It was a dream… but I never thought it would go further than that. It all materialised as I decided to try making some money from it when I was poorly and couldn’t leave the house. It snowballed, and here we are!
Realer words have never been spoken. What's a skill that both music journalists and DJs need to be good at what they do that people wouldn't expect?
Admin!!!! All of the self-employed admin. Chasing for invoices. The real sexy, fun stuff.
Tell me about a time an interviewee really surprised you—good or bad.
Ooooh, great question. I think bad, I won’t name names, but someone pretty established was meant to come on Belta back in the day, but they were just crazy unprofessional and rude so it never happened…… but for good, I instantly think of Anfisa Letyago. I’m lucky that I build a lovely rapport with pretty much everyone I speak to as I like to build a sense of trust before delving into any sort of interview, but Anfisa was my first Mixmag cover so I was quite nervous before going into it. She was just so lovely and regardless of a slight language barrier, she was so willing to be open, really engaged and such an interesting person. Her manager, who sat in on the interview too, was equally lovely and willing to just let things flow regardless of time—the whole thing felt so natural.
You're going to postgrad to get a master's in digital media. Where do you hope your degree takes you?
I did my undergrad in digital media too, and started that because I knew I wanted to do something in the music media space, but wasn’t sure what. The postgrad came about because I really enjoyed my undergrad research, where I wrote my thesis on the role of algorithms in disrupting club culture. A lot of questions came from that after speaking to a heap of people, so my postgrad is allowing me to answer those questions and I’m now focusing on the relationships between the notion of aesthetics, social media and club culture. I’m always so hungry to learn, and the postgrad is certainly facilitating that.
I'm interested to see where that research takes you! Funnily enough, I pitched a feature idea with a similar concept, but it never came about, so please share your findings! With all we've already talked about, plus running your Belta podcast, how the fuck will you balance everything?
I have raging OCD and for better or for worse, that makes me the most organised human on the planet. Any poor soul takes a look at my diary and will probably run away once they see how scheduled I am as a human... Spontaneity? Don’t know her x
You need to teach me. In more exciting news, you're playing Boiler Room next month. That's a bucket list opportunity for so many people in our scene. How do you feel?
Every emotion under the sun! I’m nervous because I get mad imposter syndrome. I’m equally so excited though, because it’ll be a real family affair—it’s in Leeds, the city I love, the lineup is a real mix and there’s a heap of local names and dear friends on there. Plus lots of my close friends are coming to support. I’m really looking forward to a night filled with love and good music.
How are you going to prep for it?
I’ve already started thinking about it! I always want my DJ sets to take people on a journey, so with the 90 minutes I have, I want to do exactly that. I want to bring to the table some of the tracks I just can't get enough of, that provoke emotion from introspective to euphoric. There are already some tracks that I know I want to play.
One of my favorite tracks of last year was Sam Girling's "Ankerklause" and it's because I saw a clip of you spinning it. What's the most surprising way you find new music?
Ah, Sam is an angel! I feel like this isn't surprising, but I am bad for Instagram and YouTube. I’ll fall down holes of track ID comments, or YouTube I’ll stumble across threads of recommended videos of old-school records. I also love a bit of Bandcamp digging, and you can’t beat a good old record store either. I’m such a nerd with music, I try to find bits whenever the opportunity strikes.
How much time do you actually need before knowing if you like a song or not? Do you approach it differently when choosing something to cover versus something to add to your USB?
Typically, if I don’t instantly click with a track, I know it won’t be for me. On rare occasions, there might be a grower, but I’ll know pretty swiftly if it’s for me.
In terms of writing, I like to cover all corners of genre and love interviewing people from all of these different soundscapes too. Ultimately, music is so rich and varied, and that needs to be reflected. In terms of DJing, I go more for my personal tastes, as I feel quite vulnerable for some reason when I play. It’s like when you make a playlist for someone, except you’re creating a whole vibe for the party. So, for my USB, I opt for deeper bits - typically gravitating to techno and electro. I’ve always been drawn to heavier stuff (something I put down to growing up on rock and punk music thanks to my dad!). If I hear a record and can imagine myself playing it in the club, I’m having it.
Say a US dance music purist (it's me) needs to be won over by the UK's scene. Which three venues or festivals—and it doesn't have to be in London—should I go to?
So I’m from the North East of England, and currently based in Leeds, so I’m gonna rep Leeds HARD here. You need to visit Wire; I virtually live in that basement. Wharf Chambers is amazing too, and I’ll also shout out Old Red Bus Station. You’d LOVE Old Red Arielle!
Working in dance music also means you're a nightlife veteran. In your experience, what makes a great party?
Great people—you need to feel safe and truly free to be yourself—great tunes, and a great sound system :)
With your expertise in the field—both behind the scenes as a writer as well as a forward-facing figure with presenting—truthfully, what do you think is missing in the scene that you'd like to see more of?
We need representation and perspectives from people from all corners of the world. On a local level, I get so frustrated about the class divide that exists in the UK music industry, and that’s entirely why I launched Belta—I wanted to show that you don’t have to be based in the "hub" of London to pursue a career in the industry and that talent exists even in the most unassuming corners of the country.
Give us a feel for what we're going to hear in this mix.
I’ve really leaned into the style of techno I’ve had on repeat, drawing upon a heap of European influence. It’s hypnotic and rather than giving into the ‘hard and fast’ trend we’re seeing kicking about, it focuses on layering tracks and pulling out the intricacies of each record. It was very cathartic putting this together and I had to end on one of my favourite records from Silent Servant, a real legend of techno. RIP Juan <3
Is there anything you want to promote?
I started a new series this year on Soundcloud called "Into The Deep," where I share a mix that is going to soundtrack my forthcoming month. It’s a really fun little auditory portfolio. You can pretty much catch up with everything I’m up to on my linktree—you can find the link to my podcast, my radio show on Subtle Radio and dive into some of my journalism too.
Thanks so much for having me — it’s a real pleasure and I am very grateful! xo
Support Niamh on Instagram, SoundCloud, and Substack, plus keep up with her podcast, Belta.
TRACKLIST
Wata Igarashi - ID
Ignez - ID
Bjarki - ID (Chris Liebing remix)
POST PARANOIA - After Paranoia
Lifka - occult XXI
Stefano Memia - ID
Conntex, SloMo - HAVOC
Neoma - Rebound
Ferdinger - A Sense Of Urgency
Clotur - South Massif
ona:v - RttTC Three
Lars Huismann - Cope
Mark Broom - W.W.W.W.W.W.W.WORK
JACKLYN - Remember the time
Kaiser and Matrixxman - Nanofactory
Chlär - Internet Soulmate
Silent Servant - M-00
