Jyoty
DJ | Rinse FM
If you went out regularly in London before the pandemic, you would have likely come across Jyoty. Perhaps you’d have met her when she was managing the guestlist of a Boiler Room party. Or maybe you would have heard her on the airwaves of Rinse FM where she has been at the helm of the station’s Saturday morning slot for the last five years.
Quarantune’s first encounter with Jyoty was during Bicep’s infamous Boiler Room in Oval Space in 2016, a chaotic occasion in more ways than one. Jyoty dealt with the guestlist that night, and despite the long queues and aggy atmosphere outside, she remained polite, calm and approachable as punters grew increasingly rowdy while waiting to get into the oversubscribed event. Simpler times.
With the days of combing through names on a clipboard behind her, the London-based, Amsterdam-born DJ has been sharing the sounds of hip hop, soul, RnB, breaks, house and themed shows like 90s one-hit wonders on Rinse FM every Saturday in between chatting to her guests. Guaranteed to lift the spirits, Jyoty’s slot is about easing her listeners into the day with a timeless archive of feel-good tunes to get the endorphins going.
While international club bookings have helped shape her path as a DJ, Jyoty also holds a wealth of knowledge about working in the music industry. Over on Instagram, she shares bitesize videos called 'JYOTY'S TIPS & TRICKS' covering everything from 'Email Etiquette’ to 'DJ Don'ts' for those curious to navigate a career that requires 99% of its learning on the job.
Jyoty uses her platform to give back to communities. She has previously hosted DJ workshops for women in Calcutta alongside the British Council and taught a six-week course for young British Asian women looking to break into the industry. She is vocal about causes close to her heart; most recently, Diabetes UK. After a 4-week stint of selling tickets for an online raffle to raise money for the charity, the fundraiser was one of many outlets where Jyoty pours her energy while shining a light on a worthy cause during the pandemic.
Covid-19 has affected everyone in different ways and for Jyoty, she has remained somewhat level throughout it all. Looking back and recalling a memory with the Peach crew in Glasgow, she also gives an insight into her current 'altar', what she’s up to right now and more…
Peach workouts 🍑Photo: @safetyalways0ff
Where was this photo taken and why did you choose it? What was the music vibe at the time?
This photo was taken in December 2019 at a party called Peach in Glasgow. I got to play with their resident/founder called DJ K4CIE and also with another London-based DJ, CVSS.
The music vibe at the time was…well Peach is known as a hip hop night with a lot of road rap and trap and stuff which is actually not what I play much of, really. Hip hop a little, but trap and road rap — not at all I would say. I played one of my ‘usual sets’ with a little bit more hip hop tracks than normal but definitely with everything from dancehall to UK garage to even some ballroom. We had baile funk in there and lots of RnB edits. It just went off! I closed the night and it was amazing.
I picked this picture because it was the perfect way to almost end 2019. It wasn’t the last party I played but it was one of the last parties. I was so lucky to travel around the world from all throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North America and to close things off in Glasgow, close to home, well close to London at least — it was my first time there and actually one of the most fun gigs I played.
Peach is a party by womxn, it’s LGBTQ+, representative and inclusive. Everyone was there, like different ages, younger, older, all races, all genders, all kinds of sexual identities and it was just so fun, everyone gave it their all. It was as if people were doing a workout and there was no shame! Shoutout to Peach and Glasgow, I hope I get to play there again!
How have you been over the last few months and what’s life like in London?
London is somewhat the same as it was last March — except for a bit more people on the street. We're on our third nationwide lockdown and to be honest, I'm completely fine. I'm used to staying inside now, I keep myself busy by exercising, reading, working, thinking and working on future projects/concepts and pitching them, streaming loads and most importantly: planning and journaling.
I'm using this wicked diary planner (by Lethally Her) which has a holistic approach to planning. Less hustle, more sense. Budgeting/goals/tasks/reviews but also daily self-care acts and things to be grateful for.
I feel totally fine because I have learned that I can be happy without all the things that I thought I needed. As long as I have a SENSE of community (so this is virtual at the moment) and I get to play tuned I love — I'm good.
A while ago on Mixmag's channel, you expressed a collective disappointment felt by the music industry who were essentially told by the Government to retrain in a different sector. How have you adapted to this whole situation yourself?
I was lucky enough to have a manager who told me last year in March to assume I wouldn't DJ to a crowd for another whole year. This was the best thing to tell me because at no point did I 'wait for things to open again' and shoot myself in the foot.
I immediately came up with ideas and concepts that could not only grow my community and brand but also benefit my community and other ideas that would make me money and started rolling these out.
I'm going to continue to do so and not think about any DJ bookings for the foreseeable future and get distracted by those. (Also, after my Club Jyotiana sets on Twitch I am SO exhausted, I feel like I've legit been out for an entire night).
What about your own connection to music this year. Have you discovered lesser-known artists during this live-stream era? If so, who are they?
Going to change this to my fav current streamers so not necessarily new discoveries, all for various reasons and with their Twitch usernames:
@Khalil
@spinorita
@knxwledge
@kiefdaddysupreme
@clubhouse_global
@thefuturebeatsshow
@patrickmordi
@dj_hourglass
At this moment in time, how do you feel about the future?
I am somewhere 60/40 positive and not-so-positive. Not so much for myself but more for other people who are older, in more geographically struggling locations; I am not really sure what the future holds.
I am quite worried about small business owners, entrepreneurs, people who have given up their dreams to start something for themselves and have now seen their dreams collapse but I am also really hopeful in the sense that I do believe that everything that is happening now was going to happen anyway. But this virus has sped up the process x10 and that’s more speaking about the creative scenes.
Overall, as a people, we are strong and capable. We can handle a lot. We have seen many things during our lifetimes and this is another thing to add to the list. We will figure out a way to make this work. I’m 30 now and I’m looking at the kids and I’m seeing their fearlessness, the coping mechanisms, their ability to bounce back and be creative — that gives me a lot of hope.
What has been a constant source of comfort for you during the year so far?
My besties Ilija and Julien back home who I talk to almost on a daily basis. My manager Henry, a very amazing partner, the girls in the Group Chat, my children Ryan and Peju — we like to call them my children — all the music I’ve been able to listen to, being able to do my radio show, the food I’ve been indulging in, Netflix…the first time I used Netflix was in March last year. Everything I choose to surround and indulge myself in, along with a lot of hope.
Back to the present moment. Tell us how the photo below is something that brings you happiness in your current day-to-day life?
I could not have survived the last year without my altar. My little setup in our kitchen: my Pioneer controller, my Shure mic, laptop, webcam, Zoom H6 for streaming and windows if we really want to get into details haha! This is all I need no matter what is going on outside and I am so grateful that I was/am in a position to obtain this and use it to keep doing what I love doing.
Jyoty’s altar 🖤Photo: Jyoty