As Olanskii often likes to say, Jaeger is more than just bricks and mortar, it’s people. One of the people that has been a significant presence within this construct is Dara Woo. She’s been a lynchpin at Jaeger since its very early days as a guest, a member of staff and most recently a DJ.
She’s channeled her entire experience of the dance floor through this latest pursuit and has already garnered a following around Oslo, playing places like Jaeger and a fair few distinguished venues and parties over the course of the last year. She’s astounded with her sets at Jaeger with an innate understanding of the club’s audience it seems.
Her appearance at the Jaeger Mix was an inevitability and without coercion or any sort of pressure she set out for a two hour long set that was just too good to cut. She traverses the wide arching palette of any given night at Jaeger, with elements that touch on Acid, Trance, Techno and Deep House with the only common denominator being that all-important “beat and bass”.
Although we’ve known Dara as a fixture at Jaeger for some time, we know very little of her musical history, so we delve into that while we listen back to two uninterrupted hours of Dara Woo!
Dara Woo the original Woo-thang! It’s good to have you on the Jaeger Mix. What do you have in store for the people in this mix?
I’m going to play songs that reflect pieces of me and my personality. I have a broad spectrum when it comes to music taste. It’s fun with a wide variety of different music that moves the body and soul. It’s very important for me to express myself through music and connect with the audience.
”Cuz she’s simply the best! Better than all the rest!”
As somebody that is closely associated with the Jaeger family, what effect do you think it has on the way you play when you’re in a DJ booth?
It has affected me a lot actually. In many ways it has been a musical journey for me working at the club. What I personally like and what I don’t like. I didn’t necessarily have to go and try to seek music anywhere else. It’s just there for me to absorb. And in the bar 50% off me is always listening to music and observing how to connect with the guest. And who is not connecting. Seeing people having a good time, what do they like? Or if they don’t have a good time, why? I’m feeling the vibe and basically experience a lot of different club scenarios.
My relationship with Jaeger started before I was working there. I used to go there alone, almost every Thursday. Usually late at night after work. Have a couple of quick shots and some beer and then, it was closing time. But that’s when I started. And I continued on in the night at some after hours spot. I remember Påfugln as one of the first spots I started to hang out at.
I didn’t need friends at Jaeger to have a good time. I was free to be myself and make my own relationship with the place and also the people. Who actually is my colleague now. They welcomed me and offered a safe and stimulating place to grow and discover my musical journey. It feels like it’s the same old house, but now with rooms that I can use, and I’m exploring my rooms
I know you’ve been around the scene for a while, but DJing is still a recent development. What or who encouraged you to make the leap to DJing?
I was a young girl when I first got involved with music. And that mostly through hanging out with boys doing hip hop, and from there on it’s been growing on me. And I’m lucky to have supporting people around me. But a funny story is that I got my first CDJ 300 as a present from the father of my at-the-time boyfriend. It was in Bali and I was dedicated so I took them all the way back to Norway.
What was your first introduction to Techno, House et al?
It was when I got back from Nicaragua and traveled for three months in central America. I came home, I didn’t have a job and I gave up my apartment before I left. I needed a job and was unsure what to do. And then I passed Illegal Burger, that’s on the floor above The Villa. I just knocked on the door and asked for a job, I told them I noticed it looks like they needed staff. And they hired me, and this was the beginning of evolving a relationship with this new music. Because before that I was listening to hip hop and soul. I worked there for six years. This time I was meeting new people, forming friendships and making memories baby!
And in the beginning I didn’t understand the music really, but I like the vibe of the party and the people and that keep me here.
What is your earliest memory of a piece of music?
”Doo-doo-doo-doo-ter-tum…” next question please!
What kind of music did you grow up with and before DJing did you ever have any musical training or proclivity for music?
Z- tv made me do it! I’ve always liked singing and interested in rapping, and it came naturally. And when I was young music always had a big part in my life. For me it helped me with emotions I didn’t know how to deal with and I didnt have tools to talk about it. But with music it was so much easier. I could put on Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston, and I didn’t understand what they were singing about. But I felt it and lifted me and made me stronger.
How have your musical tastes evolved since starting to DJ?
It’s getting a bit dark in here.. Acid House, dark minimal, and Psy- tech to mention some of it.
What do you listen to when you’re at home?
R&B, Hip Hop, Gangster Rap, TLC, Destiny’s Child, Eve, Ashanti, Alicia Keys, Usher, Mariah Carey, Erykah Badu, T- Pain Eazy E, Snoop Dog, Biggie … mostly music I can sing/rap along to…
Was there a theme for this Jaeger mix and/or is there any relationship to all the tracks in the mix?
I LOVE THEM ALL!.. ..MY BEBBISH
Because they seem to spread the whole spectrum of club music, with elements of Acid, House, DeepHouse and Techno in there, I assume you have quite a wide purview of club music. What are some of the things you look for in a track when you’re looking for music to DJ?
Beat and bass!
Is there a track/s that sums up this mix for you?
K.P & Envyi – Swing my way
The Specials – Ghost Town
These two deffinity stand out!
What do you hope the listener gets out of it listening to it now through the recording?
My initial feeling is that I want them to feel at home and I hope they are receiving the energy I try to create.
It’s almost like there are two phases in there, going from light to darker sonic hews. How did the crowd on the night have any effect on the direction this mix took?
That was the plan all along… and the crowd loved it!