DJ Colette
Afterhours

DJ Colette hails from the homeland of house, Chicago, but she's not just spinning hometown beats, she's using them as a springboard to reach new levels of house artistry. Y'see, Colette's a singer as well as a DJ, and she drops her own vocals over the top of tight tech-house and deep house grooves. It's a style you can experience on her excellent In The Sun album. She's no warbling rave diva either -- using her voice sparingly as another instrument in the mix, rather than grandstanding at every opportunity.

It's not a unique approach -- DJ Sonique from the U.K. does similar vocalizing over commercial dance tracks -- but Colette keeps things closer to the true sounds of the dance floor, smoothly mixing sophisticated track selections no serious house-head could argue with. By adding dashes of vocals here and there, Colette turns her mixes into a showcase for her own artistry that leaves most male DJs looking like nothing more than guys who spin records for a living.

It all started back in the early '90s when Colette began collaborating with another Chicago house fiend, Lego. Soon after, she hooked up with (and was sampled by) DJ Sneak. Before long she was promoting her own parties. As the parties got bigger she'd occasionally perform onstage with Deeper The Blue, a live musicians-cum-DJ hybrid. Finally, she took the logical step and placed herself behinds the decks (an old pair of Sneak's, as it happened), and began spinning tracks herself. Having sung over Lego's DJ sets, it only made sense to add a little vocalizing to her own.

Colette is also a founder of the SuperJane collective, which assists female DJs in networking and playing shows together. The SuperJane crew took to the road in the summer of 2000 on a national tour spotlighting funky female DJ talent. There's no gimmickry here though, just sisters with solid house scene roots taking it to the people. Colette continues to make music, working hard in the studio and taking her artistic energies to Los Angeles where she's relocated, perhaps to bring her Chicago success to a new stage. Colette is coming up fast to show people that female DJs are bringing their own unique vibe to the scene, so y'all better get used to it.
Luke Magnuson
last updated: 10/11/01
DJ Colette

J.T. Donaldson & Chris Nazuka - In The Sun
In The Sun

In The SunLet It ShinePulsezRU Feelin' Me?Subsequential LifeTo The MusicPhoenix Theme (G's Dub)