DJ MIX
Alice Austin
Interview by Ines Lefebvre du Prey
Alice Austin is a London-born, Tel Aviv-based freelance journalist with a focus on the intersection of politics and music. She writes for Mixmag, +972 Magazine, Dazed, Huck, Beatportal, RA, Red Bulletin and more, and has a bi-monthly residency on Refuge Worldwide where she spotlights different scenes, genres and social issues in dance music.
Alice’s childhood dream was to be a music journalist, but it “always felt very out of reach.” When she graduated in 2012, right at the beginning of the recession, she got a job in PR and spent the next 5 years working in different PR roles. However, she says “I didn’t like it – each job was worse than the last, it just wasn’t for me at all.”
At 25, she moved to Berlin, to take space from London and the “patterns I was stuck in there”. This was the first step in Alice’s career as a journalist – in the following article we talk about different aspects of her work, music journalism, working freelance, how she got to where she is now, and advice for those in a similar position. For those floating in their twenties, torn about where to go – this article is for you!
On leaving London, moving to Berlin, and forming a creative community:
“I don’t think I would be where I am now if I had continued on the trajectory I was on in London. I don’t think there would have been any moment available to explore my creativity. I was working my arse off in the week and I was going out every weekend because I was so unhappy at work. I had no brain cells left over to do anything creative.”
“Berlin had a better work-life balance, I was surrounded by people doing their own thing, I wasn’t embarrassed anymore to try something different and start writing. I hadn’t really written as adult before - I didn’t see myself as a writer. In Berlin it all kind of came out, because there are so many amazing creatives there. In London, I always felt a certain shame for being creative – saying you’re an artist seems like a bit of a joke there, people roll their eyes.
“Berlin is cheaper than London, which allows you a certain space to be creative because you don’t have to worry about rent all the time, like you do in London. Because of how expensive London is, it feels unnatural to explore your creativity without monetising in. The city is a corporate space, so even when it’s creative, it’s all marketing and sales. In Berlin, there was less pressure, and I was free to explore.”
On her beginnings as a music journalist:
“I started writing for music magazines for free, to get guestlist for festivals. I found myself enjoying it more and more – reporting from festivals, interviewing people. I did about 3-4 unpaid articles, and one of the festivals was in Albania, and the editor of Mixmag was there – it was one of those moments, I was like, ‘go on Alice, introduce yourself!’. So, I went and spoke to him, he was such a nice guy. I showed him my portfolio of all these articles I’d written, and he gave me my first assignment.”
“They sent me to Lisbon to write this article about a techno festival there – and that’s basically how it started… I was given one opportunity, Duncan from Mixmag took a bit of a risk getting me out to Lisbon and from then on, I pushed for more opportunities and took every one I was given. My background in PR probably helped me to make those connections and pitch myself and my ideas – weirdly the nightmare of PR became useful! I guess that’s a lesson, that even if you hate your job – those skills will come in handy one day.”
On networking:
“Networking is pretty crucial. If we’re talking about dance music and underground culture, the whole industry is built on connections, socialising, and friendships. Electronic music is such a social community – so not making enemies is a good idea!”
“I had lots of people help me – lots and lots of friends. My journalist friend would read through the first few articles I wrote, which was so nice of her. With freelance, you really need to lean on people.”
On the highs and lows of working as a freelancer:
“When I first went freelance, I had a few clients and brands I would do copywriting for. That work was regular and meant that my freelance career was supported from the beginning. I think this was half down to luck, and half down to my experience in PR – I pitched an idea to my main client which meant that I would have that regular work. You definitely have to be entrepreneurial to come up with ideas, you have to make your own work.”
“Now, most of my work is music related, but I also do other stuff – I write communications for a school, I work for some start-ups. It’s easy to romanticise and say that all I do is write about music, but really, it’s always going to be a mixture. Most journalists are doing copywriting on the side. I like the variation – it’s fun to speak to people in other industries, in a completely different context.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever stop working freelance. I still have trust issues from my time working for corporations as a young woman but because I’m freelance, I’m not really exposed to toxic company behaviour anymore. It’s definitely a personality thing though – to be freelance, you have to be able to deal with uncertainty. I find when I’m low on work, I have the drive to find more, but I know some people get a bit depressed, and don’t have the energy to find work. It’s not for everyone.”
On the challenges of music journalism:
“Unfortunately, music journalism is a bit of a dying industry because magazines have very little budget. My passion, and how I built a reputation, is reporting on the ground and going somewhere and writing about a scene. I was fortunate enough to get the opportunities, mostly with Mixmag, to travel and check out places. Going somewhere physically and reporting on the ground is a completely different story to interviewing someone on Zoom and writing an interview from that – which is mostly what music journalism is now! There are times where I basically funded my own trips, off the back of other work. It gave me the opportunity to showcase my writing skills, to form connections, and it also gave magazines with bigger budgets the confidence to send me to other places.”
“All this to say, the biggest challenge for music journalists is you’re always going to be up against getting paid. To be a music journalist, you really have to want to do it – you’re going to be doing it for the passion.”
On finding her niche:
“When I started out, I had a little note on my desktop which said – ‘find your niche!’ I was obsessed with this question. Electronic music felt out of reach, because I felt like I didn’t know enough – I think a lot of people feel this way about electronic music. Everyone’s a little bit afraid of getting found out, and sometimes people can make you feel quite stupid.”
“I started writing more political pieces – one about a DJ set out of Chernobyl, another about artists in Tbilisi in Georgia. Slowly, that became my niche – the intersection of politics and music. It was a really natural progression – from dance music festivals, to reporting on scenes around the world, to finding out how that scene reflects local politics and influences youth culture. That really snowballed into what I’m doing now which is the extreme version of my niche – writing about the intersection of politics and music in Israel and Palestine.”
“There’s only so much you can write about a techno festival, there’s only so many adjectives you can use over and over again to write about a music set! So, when I go somewhere like Hanoi, and write about how Hanoi’s position near the border of China affects the energy there compared to other cities in Vietnam – to me, that’s interesting. I’m using music as the lens through which to write about politics.”
“As a journalist, as a writer, the thing that I’m most interested in is sharing the unexpected – sharing new information and not just regurgitating what’s already out there. For me, personally, that’s why it’s important to share politics alongside the culture.”
On gathering research for an article:
“You have to be really open – you never know what to expect when you’re going somewhere. I go, I’ll speak to whoever I can, I’ll pick up on people’s conversations, I try to let it flow as naturally as possible. When it’s a super underground scene, people aren’t interested in journalists, they’re more interested in chatting to the person next to them. You can prepare a little bit, but really you have to try to experience it, to get people to open up – this is probably the skill that is most crucial to the work I do – making people feel at ease. I don’t want someone to have their guard up when they’re talking to me, I want them to tell me what’s on their mind.”
On future aspirations:
“I don’t really have an idea of where I want to end up, I’m not really into goal setting. You can’t predict what is going to happen – something that might be my goal this year might be completely different in the coming years. I’ve noticed my priorities shifting massively even over the last three years. I don’t put pressure on myself to achieve crazy things. Some things I never imagined have recently come within my reach, and it’s almost nicer, because I wasn’t obsessing over it before.”
On getting into DJing, and moving to Tel Aviv:
“I lived in Berlin for 5 years, which is where I got my musical education as I was being exposed to so many different incredible DJs and producers. The music taste of my friends in Berlin really impacted me. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but I think there is some kind of wavelength that means that music taste often matches to personality. I really connect with the music taste of my best friends.”
“When I moved to Tel Aviv in 2021, I found this huge hole where the music I like – breaks, bassy, dubby stuff - was missing. Tel Aviv is an isolated scene, there’s global boycotts so lots of artists won’t come here to play which means there’s a recycling of DJs and you’ll see the same names on the line-up all the time. This means that there’s not as much movement here as in other scenes, and more opportunities to play out, so I felt like it’s a good place to start.”
“I bought a controller about a year ago and started teaching myself how to mix. It seemed as if my music taste was fully formed. I started gathering music and my library just filled up so fast – within the first few months of making mixes and practicing, a pretty consistent sound emerged, and I started playing club gigs. Just like writing, DJing kind of arrived to me – I had the time, I had the space, and it felt right.”
On sobriety:
“I’ve been sober for 3 and a half years. It’s given me so much space, energy, and time - I honestly don’t think there is anything better for creativity. I know it must be so depressing for people to hear but I genuinely think sobriety is one of the best things you can do for clarity, to let your true creative self surface, to give space to it. When you’re not hungover, and you’re not wasted, you’ve got to find other shit to do – it’s boring otherwise!”
“I stopped drinking when I was 29 – I have no regrets about my life, about partying and everything – I’m so happy I explored that side of myself and got to know my limits. It was just a great time for me to stop, and I’ve since become much more laser-focussed on the things I enjoy. You do miss out on some fun, but the stuff you gain is stuff you can’t even imagine – like starting DJing, I don’t think I would have ever found the motivation otherwise!”
On making difficult decisions:
“The most difficult decision I’ve ever made was moving to Tel Aviv. I don’t think I could have moved to a worse place, in terms of my involvement with the music industry. I had no idea if the magazines or radio stations I work for would still want to work with me. My values have stayed the same, I’m left-wing, I’m progressive and I think this helps ground my decisions. And it was the right decision - I’ve spent the last 2.5 years writing about issues I care deeply about, building relationships with communities I would never have had access to from Europe. I’m able to use my writing and photography skills to draw attention to social issues that might fly under the radar. Ultimately, it goes back to what your idea of success is and making sure you stay true to that. To me, my idea of success is to write about issues that are meaningful and help create positive change.”
On dealing with creative dips and staying inspired:
“I don’t force things. With writing, you’re always going to have days where you’re not good at it – and that’s ok. If I’m in a place where the writing isn’t coming out, or I’m not focussed, I usually don’t force it. Investing in your own creativity is also really important – doing the odd course and doing different projects that trigger an aspect of your creativity to keep it fresh. Investing in yourself is important as a freelancer because no one else is going to do it.
On being a woman in the music/journalism industry:
“It’s so easy to get imposter syndrome, and imposter syndrome can be so crippling. With the first assignment I was given by Mixmag, I felt like a complete fraud – my first instinct was to say no, I felt I didn’t know enough about electronic music to do it. It’s so important to fight through that – firstly, you can learn on the job and secondly, we really need more diversity in music! And if you don’t know something it doesn’t really matter, it’s not that deep.”
“With everything I’ve picked up in the last few years – journalism, photography and DJing – I’ve learnt that you shouldn’t wait for things to be perfect, you just have to get out there and start doing it. We are often our own worst enemies in making progress, because we’re so critical - we have to learn to ignore those voices in the back of our heads. We have to be the ones to big ourselves up, and back ourselves, because it can feel like no-one else is. It’s also about enjoying yourself, doing what makes you feel free and not taking it too seriously – it should be fun!”
“Once you take those first initial steps, you start to feel more empowered and then you won’t need anyone’s stamp of approval!”
On social media:
“Social media is a good place to show people what you’re doing and gain some traction. But it can also be really unhealthy, and a place where we compare ourselves to others, so it’s important not to lose yourself in it.”
On photography:
“Photography is another way for me to tell stories and share new perspectives.”
“At the moment I mostly use photography to explore different issues in Israel and Palestine – there’s so many different struggles here, and so many communities who are marginalised or suffering, in places that many people have never heard of. Photography allows me to visit these places, talk to people and then share images of their land, their homes, and the issues they’re dealing with daily. It’s a crucial tool of my activism here and I hope I can go some way to tell their stories through photographs.”
“My journalism, photography and DJing are all connected. I think culture is one of the most powerful tools for change, so I want any attention I get as a DJ to feed back into my work as a journalist. I hope people will listen to my music, then read an article, see some photos and understand my values. I want to promote causes that I care about through my work. The Palestinian struggle is front and centre of that, but I also want to highlight specific areas under threat, like Silwan, Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley, as well as the Mizrahi feminist movement, the radical queer Ethiopian community, poverty amongst the Negev’s Bedouin community, and the precarious status of asylum seekers. So many issues fly under the radar here, so I want to use my platform to highlight them.”
Artist Picks
In Alice Austin's Essentials, delve into ten tracks from her interviews, a genre-bending lineup with a standout personal favourite among them.
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