Chelsea Leyland

SSW: Growing up, you were listening to Muddy Waters, Joni Mitchell, Carole King. Very unusual music choice for a kid. When did you realize that music was more than a passion and that it was going in the direction of a career?

Chelsea Leyland: I guess I realized it was going in that direction when I started to actually DJ and get paid to do so. I guess that sounds obvious, but that was probably the time that I realized that the way that I love music was also something that I could make money from. And then it began to unravel into this career whereby people were paying for my music taste and still to this day I often find it hard to believe that I get paid to do what I love. DJing is a lifestyle and essentially you are taking people on a journey for the hours of your set, I believe there are many talented DJs out there and many who should have great careers, but not all of us are that lucky, so I am very very grateful for this.

When did you first discover Electronic music?

I was going to see my friend Victor Calderone dj. Though I never really understood his music, I really wanted to, but it always felt quite foreign to me. I sort of discovered a love for electronic music when I fell in love with Berlin. The music scene there was so unique to anything I had ever experienced, and the overall vibe was just incredible, my eyes began to open to a whole new world.

What is your opinion on the business side of the music industry? When you were beginning your career, how did you familiarize the public with what you were doing? Do you have any advice for aspiring DJs/producers regarding both the craft and the business?

I think it’s a tricky one, cause my opinion of the business side of music is both positive and negative. I think like so many industries there are many many  talented people that don’t make any money from what they do. There isn’t really a business side to their love of music or to their talent for music. Obviously when you can combine the two successfully it can be amazing, though music shouldn’t really be about business. A lot of the time I see the business side striving without the talent to back it up and that makes me feel sad, especially when you don’t feel the passion. I think the music industry is corrupt in a lot of ways like so many industries and it’s a tough time for many artists right now, but it’s also quite a remarkable time. A time that anyone can be discovered musically by uploading a video on Youtube and with the power of social media, it’s quite incredible.

You deejayed for Armani, Naeem Khan, Chanel, Christian Louboutin, Prabal Gurung , Naeem Khan and Diane von Furstenberg and many more. How do you choose music for fashion shows? In what way does music correspond with fashion?

Fashion can’t really survive without music. And I think music needs fashion as well, and I think that you look at so many times or styles and fashion takes so much inspiration from music and music scenes. I think they both play hand in hand, they both need each other to breathe. And when I’m working on music for a show,  the way we do it is we look at the collection and we look at what’s inspired the collection, but then for me it’s more of a vibe. I’ll look at the fabric, I’ll look at the textures, and I will instantly know how I feel in terms of music, what kind of music I feel would be right or appropriate for that show. There’s an element of trying to keep everything contemporary and on the edge, in terms of new tracks that are about to sort of go Boom and I think that’s a nice way of approaching doing music for shows.

In your interviews you’ve mentioned your goal to start producing your own music. Any tracks you working on now?

It’s still very early stages in terms of making my own music, but I am working on things right now. I just would like to be a little further along than where I am, but it’s really fun for me. It’s just amazing to be in the studio and be in that environment, be able to use everything that I’ve gained up to this point in terms of DJing and traveling and my love of music and listening to so many different genres and DJing so many different genres and to be able to sort of put that into one project and use all of that information and that creativity and channel it.

Coming back to fashion shows, how important is to always use the latest tracks?

It is important. It’s sort of like an unwritten rule and a snobbery that a lot of people have that are in music. I guess I have that, but I’ve used a track that’s not super new, but amongst other very contemporary tracks, so it really depends on the designer, honestly. The first runway music I ever did I used 70s metal, so that definitely wasn’t contemporary, so for me it’s more important that it sounds good and has the right vibe. But it’s nice to use a couple of tracks that are really really new.

In your opinion, what separates a good song from a great song?

In my opinion, it’s the way that you feel, more than anything. If you get that feeling, it’s like that feeling of falling in love. It’s that feeling when you feel so alive and good and just feel happy and your goosebumps go wild and your hair is on its ends, I think that’s the difference between a good song and a great song. When you listen to a great song, you feel amazing, and you feel that kind of electricity and when you listen to an okay song, you don’t really feel that way.

What types of music and artists are you listening to most right now? Any up and coming British artists to look out for?

I’m listening to everything. Some days I wake up, and I listen to classical piano, the next day I might be listening to African music, and then hip hop or old R&B or electronic music. I’m just going to read a couple of things that are in my playlists right now. Parra for Cuva, I’ve got an old hip hop track here – Mack Wilds, Young MC, Isaac Hayes, Drake, I’d say I’m listening to electronic and hip-hop mostly and in terms of playing that’s what I’m playing the most of. A new artist that I love is this new guy named Leon Bridges. Amazing. Such a talent. He’s not British but just an up and coming artist that is so soulful and beautiful.

Is there a much-loved spot of yours in London and New York that inspires you? Where do you go to listen to music?

Not particularly. Just to be out in London and to be in a different scene around different people, to listen to British radio, it’s not so much about a particular spot. When I’m traveling non-stop I get that feeling – I might be in Israel out one night, or in Berlin, recently in Mexico in the jungle listening to amazing DJs. It’s more kind of spontaneously when I hear things like that and I think you never know when those moments are going to come, but traveling is the best thing you can do in terms of growing your music knowledge.

What was the last song you sung to on the radio?

Oh gosh. I think that was that Drake song, “Watcha say”.

You’re widely recognized for your style—how would you describe it? Who is your ultimate style muse – and why?

I’m often asked that question and I always give the same answer – my style is bipolar, it changes by the day and it changes by my mood. I’m not one of those girls that have a style icon. I never have. There’s no one that I look at , there’s always people that I’m like – oh they dress really cool, but for me it’s more about channeling characters from movies. That’s more of the way I see fashion. I’ll watch a movie and get really obsessed with a particular character, and then I start wanting to dress like that character. So it’s more about being a character and feeling like that character for the day rather than saying that someone specifically is my style icon. It’s movies really; it’s female characters from movies that I tend to fall in love with.

What do you consider to be the epitome of happiness?

I don’t know – you just know when you feel happy, because you feel good, and you feel light. You just know when you wake up in the morning, because you smile, and things don’t feel as complicated and you just feel pure and good inside.

What projects do you have coming up?

I have a lot in the pipeline, but working on music is my next main focal point, I would say. Working on producing my music and continuing to DJ. I have a lot of weird other things that I want to do with my life like I want to make my own products one day. My own organic skincare line is something that I’d love to do one day as well. Totally different from music and not related at all, but something else that I would love to do.

Your top 3 favorite tracks at the moment?

#1 “Your Love Will Set You Free” (C2’s Set U Free Remix) – Caribou
#2 “Keepin’ It Real” – Mack Wilds
#3 “Unfold” – Parra For Cuva

Artsurfer Mag features inspiring people. Which current peers of your industry inspire you?

Other DJs or musicians that inspire me…There are so many! Nicolas Jaar. Everything that he does is amazing. He is such an inspiration to me. His band, Darkside, is amazing. And Questlove. I know him personally, and I get to see him on a regular basis and I find him so inspiring –he is so talented – and his approach to music is just absolutely incredible. And I always feel so lucky every time I get to see him DJ, because he’s so amazing!