Kleopatra J Q&A
-Entering Juliana's shop, one immediately understands that this is a place that she wanted to create in her image. It is full of colourful clothes, refined jewels but at the same time it is extremely sober and elegant, intimate and cozy and all these adjectives can be used to describe the energy that comes from her. A tribal beat plays in the background, she invites us to sit at the desk that is in the middle of the shop and while Giuseppe sits down I remain standing because of my back pain… We brought some of our records as a present to her and Keith and -one by one- she curiously looks at the covers and touches them to feel the texture of the paper. I haven’t prepared any question but the Youtube playlist that Juliana is playing gives me the chance to find the groove right away.
-How do you search for the music you want to discover? Perhaps Spotify is more user friendly but you can't find the same gems that you find on Youtube, right? On Youtube individuals have more freedom to upload exclusive and unobtainable content, while on Spotify you must necessarily be the owner of the rights (masters) to upload any content. What do you think about it?
You know what… I’m a bit lazy! I usually start by typing a keyword like ‘Disco’ or ‘rare’ on Youtube. I don't have Spotify (having to open a new account blocks me and prevents me from carrying on). The fact that there are playlists on Youtube, that you can play without having to be present to the software is great, as I think that nowadays we are much more subject to long and extensive contents. What you’re hearing now, for instance, is a psychedelic Funk / Folk playlist which I really love. I put it together myself and I also managed to find and buy some of the records that I found while searching. But otherwise I go totally random. Nevertheless, I get your point about Spotify and I think it’s just a matter of getting familiar with the interface. I guess once you start, you never stop…right? But again, I’m quite lazy hahah.
- Did these two years of pandemic change your relationship with music in any way?
- Oh yes, definitely. During the pandemic I started studying and discovering different music, slower, more… I’d say Ambient or Minimal, anyway, different from usual. It's funny and wonderful at the same time that you brought me your records as a present, because maybe a few years ago I wouldn't have listened to them. I was too much into my thing and perhaps not ready to explore new sounds. But the great thing about music is that it always waits for you. To be honest I started to discover new things also through my boyfriend. My background is mainly made of Funk, Soul, Latin, Brazilian music and soundtracks. I used to play soundtracks even to packed clubs and the audience’s reaction was always astonished and amazed at the same time. We have a Japanese client and friend who has a label and recently he’s been sending us so many modern Classical music CDs over the years, which were a true revelation. I used to play them a lot (especially in the old shop, ed:Superfly) and the customers were very impressed with the unconventional sound they could hear when they would come in.
-You’re originally from London, a place where music is a primary good and where the mix of different people has really created an incredibly varied and flourishing cultural fabric. A place where Indian, Caribbean, Middle-Eastern and West African immigrants have really enriched English society, bringing their lifestyle and their habits in. Tell us what it was like to grow up in that environment.
- Yes, I’m a Londoner. My parents now live in Edgware but I have always lived in North London. For me and for the ones around me, music has always been a fundamental vehicle of union, education and growth. Both at home and on the street. I don’t know if it’s the grey and rainy weather…I’m not sure…But there’s surely something intangible that helped the people to focus on something else (ed: music) rather than just having fun and killing time on the streets. I first of all got into Reggae, Dub, Roots. The hardest stuff… While when Jungle came in I was already into Funk etc. The choice to focus on some genres obviously came naturally but, anyway, I absorbed all the new musical waves and made them my own. London (the UK in general) is a place where music is an essential part of everyday’s life so, wether you are connected to the social fabric or not, it will sooner or later hit you somehow.
-When you moved to Milan from London more than 20 years ago, how did you fit into the Milanese musical environment and how was for you the first impact with the cultural scene of this city?
- When I first moved to Milan I was not even a DJ. It all started with Radio Popolare: I think that one of the radio hosts heard and liked my voice and my aptitude to music, so he proposed to me to host my own show. Through the radio I was able to play whatever I wanted and I’m still thankful for the chance I was given, being -back then- literally a nobody. From then on, my name started to become more and more popular in the city and people began to know me. Some wanted me to play at their events, some at their clubs or fashion shows and, having always been interested in the world of fashion and vintage, that was something I loved doing. It was right at the beginning of my career as a DJ in Milan 25 years ago and, to be honest with you, there wasn’t very much going on at that time. Then I became a resident DJ at the Atomic Bar, which was something quite special in terms of the music that I was able to play, the freedom I was given and the environment of the place itself. Atomic was a melting pot of different people, cultures and tastes for music. Then gradually Conchetta became my favorite place (there I’d play Funk, Afro-Funk, Latin etc). Conchetta was -and still is- an ideal place for pushing sonic boundaries and, considering how difficult it was to play new, undiscovered music (because of the listener’s narrow-minded mentality) playing there it really felt like home. I’ve kinda witnessed the growth of the Milanese scene and, personally, I think that my strong point was that I loved to play a certain kind of music that was so difficult to find/buy and, before me, no one was really able to create a scene or a market around this ‘original’ type of sounds. Milan is a place of trends and perhaps the fact that I was a woman also helped me to be seen as new, authentic, therefore to break through. I was able to create a scene around me. I tried to push the musical barriers a lot to provoke a reaction in the listeners and I have to say that Milan really opened up and embraced this new ‘wave’ that I was an ambassador for. I was lucky too because people reacted well, it could have been different, I took a risk…But I can say I opened the doors a bit, to new people for new listenings. As time went by, I got to a position where I could choose where to play and where not and I happened to meet amazing artists at my shows: famous people like Calvin Klein, Wu-Tang Clan etc. It was awesome how easy it was to meet influential and inspiring people trough music, here in Milan. Surely I’ve found the best places for me to express my feelings and my art and -probably the most important thing when you work with music- I stayed true to myself, trying to be as original as possible, without copying anyone or any trend around me. Sometimes I see some promoters trying to recreate here the same atmospheres they lived and witnessed during their trips to London or Berlin but this never worked, or at least it always made me very, very angry! We in London grew up with the idea that originality is the most important thing, both in musical tastes and in clothing (hence my passion for vintage, which came from wanting to have my own personal look, my identity, without having to spend too much money). If you are a copy, you are not worth anything!
-Having lived in London myself for many years I find that, paradoxically, despite being much bigger than Milan, the sense of community among music professionals is much bigger there. People share their knowledge and working experiences with others, rather than just keeping things for themselves. Do you agree?
- Yes, it's true. I think it's due to the fact that music in the UK is a pillar of the community. Music is a part a of everyone’s education and it’s taught at school since a very early age. The relationship between people and music is transversal and involves everyday life acts, so you learn to love it, respect it and live in harmony with it. It is something very important. For example: the music you listen to, is what makes you get along with a certain group of people rather than another, at school. Everyone develops a very own taste for it, therefore a critical spirit towards it. Music, by nature, is against racism and discrimination, because in the end all listeners don’t judge based on where the artist comes from etc. Music is a common ground, a common language. Sometimes when I listen to some lyrics in a language I don't know, I don't even want to translate it because it's totally superfluous.
