DJ Moeejito aka Moee is a LA Born / Las Vegas based female DJ and producer representing Church of Bass LV. She is not only an essential part of the Las Vegas drum and bass scene, but a true example of showing up for the community. I was honored that she agreed to do this interview. Enjoy!
Introduce yourself and tell us a bit of the history behind Moeejito.
It’s my pleasure! My name is Moee (pronounced Mo), yess both E’s are silent. Perhaps that story is for another interview, haha. My DJ name is based on the drink, Mojito which is the “I” in my logo. This is one of my favorite drinks in the world when made fresh.
I started making music in the form of poetry as early as 5th grade. I remember getting my work done as quickly as I could so I had an excuse to ask my teacher if I could share poems in front of the class. I wrote many songs as far as lyrics go in middle school, but didn’t have an instrument or way to transform these into true songs with melodies.
It wasn’t until high school that I learned how to play the guitar. By the time I graduated, I had made 2 albums just using my acoustic guitar, a notebook, a basic laptop and a USB mic. I knew nothing about recording, editing or mastering. I was doing one takes with my songs singing them, playing the guitar, and reading from my notebook all at the same time.
I had found dance music in high school as well, but didn’t have the chance to experience a rave until 2017. I knew from that night, I was meant to dive deeper into the movement from there and become an artist that contributed to the culture for years to come. I went home immediately and dived deep into research of the origin of dance music as well as deep into the underground of my own community. There was no going back from there.
What was your first experience with Drum and Bass like?
I can’t quite remember the first time I heard Drum N Bass. It must have been so long ago. However, I do remember the first time I mixed it into my sets. My very first live set ever took place on June 27th, 2020. This set ended up being 3 hours because I was the last DJ and the crowd wanted me to keep going. It was in this set, that I played House, Dubstep, Trance. Trap, Drum N Bass, Psytrance and more. I wanted it to be known from the very beginning that I am not choosing just one thing to share with the world; and that if you come to a show of mine to expect the unexpected.
Talk a bit about your latest mix.
One of my latest mixes is DNB Vol. 1; A complete hour of Drum N’ Bass including Liquid, Rollers, Jungle and Jump Up showing my versatility even within subgenres. One of my mixes before this was Pt. 7 of what I call The Feminist Series. This is a passion project I began years ago to showcase songs created by female artists across all genres; as well as capture the beautiful vocals of those females across songs as a whole. Pt. 7 of this series was dedicated to women across Drum N Bass who grace each track played with their lovely voices. I played this set live last year when I opened up for Ms. Vicious on an all female lineup of Drum N Bass artists. You can find both of these DNB mixes on my Soundcloud.
DJ Moeejito Soundcloud
Drum N Bass Vol.1 Mix
Feminist Series Pt. 7
I’ve seen you on several lineups for events benefiting the community. Do you have any suggestions / words of encouragement for others who want their shows to incorporate mutual aid / charitable elements?
Absolutely! All of these types of events speak to the connection I have to my community and being both an ally or advocate for communities that don’t necessarily involve me. People can get involved on many different levels in their own cities. I would recommend thinking about what’s important to you as far as social issues go (homelessness, education, poverty, after school programs for kids, recycling and eco-friendly efforts, etc.) When you genuinely care about the issue or the group affected by the issue, fundraising events like this come across in a more genuine way, and you attract others who are also touched by the issue. Besides reaching out to these programs and facilities already doing the work in the community, you can also try to collab with other event companies who have done similar events before. All it starts with is asking questions.
You’re a proclaimed genrebender. If you could collab with any artist, of any genre / style, who would it be and why?
This is quite the loaded question for me as I do suffer from the overload of having so many options to play. Ultimately the choice comes down to either my mood or when live, the mood of the crowd and what it feels like they need to hear. In terms of collaborating, I would want to collaborate with some of my favorites who bring in their instruments into their music and live performances. This is something I would like to work towards as well so artists such as Boogie T (Guitar) , Griz (Sax) , Timmy Trumpet (Trumpet of course) or Alison Wonderland (Cello) would all be a honor to work with among many. A lot of my favorite sounds in Drum And Bass especially come from flutes or whistles in Liquid so artists like Nooch would be awesome for this.
Where do you see / hope to see the sound of Drum and Bass evolving to in the next few years?
I hope that Drum N Bass continues to move and flow through the sets of many artists who are experimenting and helping DNB reach audiences it normally wouldn’t. For example, Subtronics and Excision now both producing DNB, playing it live and working with other Drum N Bass artists, only shows how endless music is. Crossover episodes like this are happening all the time with artists from other sub genres now taking a liking to DNB or being more intentional about sharing it. This is helping the recent generation become exposed to a genre that has been around for such a long time, but unfortunately been overshadowed. I look forward to continue seeing DNB get the credit and the attention it deserves, and for the genre itself to keep evolving allowing it to withstand the test of time.
