Needle Exchange: A DJ Questionnaire with Fritzwa

"By the end of the night, onlookers might’ve mistaken the party for a nudist rave."

IMAGE: Dan Ostergren.

Years DJing: I bought my first set of CDJs in 2011, though I've been a resident house-party music curator since the ascendance of CDs.

Genre: I love DJing hip-hop, Afrobeat and dancehall. Growing up in NYC, that's what I heard and danced to going out.  I'll play anything a function calls for, including Top 40, house and hits from the '70s and '80s.

Where you can catch me regularly: All over town. I usually post my gigs on Instagram. Church Bar is the first bar I played in Portland, and I make sure to hit the spot at least once a month.

Craziest gig: I DJed a private party in a very large home for some wealthy folks who were burnt out from work and family duties. By the end of the night, onlookers might've mistaken the party for a nudist rave. It was wild!

My go-to records: Missy and Kanye. They always get at least a rotation in most of my sets.

Don't ever ask me to play…: I don't rule out any music when it comes to gigs, because a lot of the time, the function is a celebration for people who may not have the same taste as me. Though if it's my party, or something that doesn't require curation, my rule of thumb for requests is, if you ask, the probability of me playing it probably diminishes.

See Related: On Her New Album, Fritzwa Conjures Lovely R&B Daydreams That Will Resonate With Anyone Who's Left a Part of Themselves Somewhere Else.

NEXT GIG: Fritzwa spins at Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., for Saint Valentine, with Reva Devito and Drama Duo, on Wednesday, Feb. 14. 8:30 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.

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