Filipina DJ Katsy Lee makes top DJ lists for 2020

 

Filipina DJ Katsy Lee makes top DJ lists for 2020

By Rick Olivares

 

Katsy Lee’s head is spinning.

 

In disbelief that is.

 

The vivacious disc jockey (DJ) was named to two 2020 Best DJ lists -- the FDJ World List and the EDMDroid Asia. Lee, placed #95 and #25 (in the Asian category; #1 in the Philippines). 

 

“I don’t really expect these things and aside from the ones that do voting, I am not really sure how they come up with these lists and rankings, but I am still grateful,” gushed Lee of the feat. “I have been doing this for 10 years now and the recognition is nice. I’m just happy we all worked our butts off.” 

 

Lee who was a cheerleader during her college days at the Ateneo de Manila University is quite happy that her unexpected career path is paying off. 

 

“I took up Communication specializing in journalism in college and I wanted to do media work. But on the other hand, being into music – I was never a musician because I cannot really play although I took some piano lessons as a kid – was something that appealed to me,” she bared of her unique journey. “As far back as in high school at Immaculate Conception Academy, I dreamed of being a DJ.”

 

“I was scared what my parents might say but when they found out, they were cool with it. And they never actually talked me out of it.” 

 

During Katsy’s grade school years at ICA, she discovered ambient music, house, and chillout music. “It might sound like a cliché, but as it does anyone else, music saved me,” bared Lee. “It got me out many a sad and bored moment.” 

 

“Being a professional DJ has taken me to places I never thought I would DJ in or even travel to alone,” she further elucidated. “I’ve played in the Netherlands, England, America, India, Japan, and some of our neighbors in Southeast Asia.”

 

“I’ve also met a lot of people and made friends from all over the world. There’s much more to discover, but it has made me and other DJs feel like we are citizens of the world.”

 

That world is best encapsulated in a gig that Lee played this past New Year’s Eve celebration.

 

“I was coming off a small tour of India when I went to Vietnam for a New Year’s Eve celebration for a club,” related Katsy. “I curated a lot of Indian music during my tour including this Bollywood song that I really liked. What made the gig cool was not just because I got to play songs from different cultures in one gig but to see the reactions of the people in the crowd. They’d recognize a song in their language and they’d smile, clap, or give a thumbs up.”

 

“I was able to play songs from different cultures in one gig. What made it cool wasn’t just that but was simply that small pockets in the crowd smiled, clapped, and gave me a thumbs up. In a nutshell, it felt like such a global experience of what DJs can do.”

 

Another thing that DJs do is music production and Katsy has been studying it for some years, releasing some tracks along the way.

 

“One time, I went to Amsterdam to attend a convention for artists, DJs, and producers,” Lee recounted. “It was my second year going there as a music producer hoping to be signed to a label.”

 

“It was the third day of the convention and I felt that I hadn’t done enough demo drops, meetings, or legwork, and I was at my wits’ end when my artist manager told me there was this demo drop that might be perfect for my sound.”

 

“The slot was under progressive house, techno, and trance. Now, I love those genres, but the music I brought with me did not fit those categories. Then I saw the name on the list… it was BT (Brian Wayne Transeau who is an American DJ, singer, songwriter, composer, and audio engineer). I think artistically, and technically, he is a genius. He makes all sorts of music and he is just incredible. I thought that BT wouldn’t listen to my music but I leapt at the chance to know what he thought of the music I made.”

 

BT was quite accommodating and he quickly put Lee’s fears to rest. “He was so nice. BT and his wife actually said they liked my music. They gave me their email address and told me to send them further demos. They wanted to help me out. I was in tears at that point.”

 

This took place in a small room and all the other hopefuls overheard BT’s interest and vote of confidence for Katsy.

 

“Some of the guys went up and asked about BT. They heard pretty much everything and they were asking how it was like because some of them were scheduled next. They were way more experienced than me and another good thing to come out of that was some of those guys I met at the demo drop are now my friends. In fact, I have a collab coming up with one of them!”

 

DJ Katsy Lee isn’t going to take it easy with the accolades she’s received. “I want to venture more into music production. I do have my stuff out on digital (Spotify and Soundcloud) but now that you mention it, Sir Rick, I hope to have some of my work pressed on vinyl. That is... if it’s worthy to be pressed.”

 

Knowing DJ Katsy Lee… it’s just a matter of time when she gets to check these off her Bucket List.

 

Then as in today, her head will still be spinning in disbelief.