Is the New Year ringing in LE MOOD nostalgia? Re-live some the magic of the festival’s closing show through this interview with the highly talented Argentine DJ and musician, Simja Dujov, who brought down the house at LE MOOD. Read on to discover the influences, identities, and preoccupations behind Simja’s original sound and enigmatic moustache.
Gypsy, latin, Jewish, Cumbia, World, Fusion are words that get thrown around when defining your style. How did it develop?
I used to work in Bar Mitzvahs and weddings but we were always playing the same music. I got tired; I didn’t want that. So I went to New York and, my first night there, I went to a big warehouse in Brooklyn where I met musicians, artists, photographers and actors. It was amazing. The next day, I bought some instruments and spent every morning recording music and every night at a party searching for different sounds.
Every time I listen to something new I want to include it in my music. It started in New York and now every time I travel I’m keenly aware of what’s around me and looking for new things I could use. When I go to a show and really love the band, on the following day, when I’m walking around with the sound in my mind and I see other people walking in the street, I often think:
“How can these people exist without knowing this band!? How can they live without listening to this?”
Why is your moustache important to you?
You can decide to live your life respecting what others expect of you and try to please them. Or, you can live your life because it’s yours. I like to live my life as happy and as fun as I can.
How do you practice Judaism?
I was raised in a non-religious family so Judaism wasn’t really part of my upbringing but I definitely have religious experiences. I’m the resident DJ at the biggest party in Buenos Aires. As far as I’m concerned parties are essentially huge ceremonies. They are special moments where you gather with the people you care about, where you take time the get dressed up, and the guy who is playing music is like the rabbi of that ceremony. The rabbi is both the leader of the community and an employee. He advises you but he is also there, every Friday night, to perform the ceremony for you. The DJ is the same. The DJ is not the master of the ceremony he is an employee helping you to live that special moment with your friends and to take you on a journey with music to a profound place.
When I see everybody dancing because I played a specific song that took the people with me to some state, I feel fulfilled. During those moments, I go backstage and I thank God because I have a beautiful job. I know that during these moments something deeper than what I’m seeing is happening and I am thankful to get to be part of that. Being grateful for what I have and sharing that with others is one of the most important religious feelings I have.
Is there something you are obsessed with right now and that you are interacting with?
One thing that I think about a lot is how to bring together this conflicting world we live in, how to accept and celebrate contradictions. There’s an amazing photographer from Argentina, Marcos Lopez, and he shows the Latin American clichés in an exaggerated way. In the first viewing of his photographs you see the cliché, in the second you find a special detail, and in the third viewing you realize that he’s trying to tell you how you can find a whole story in cheesy, seemingly insignificant, periphery details.
What is your goal?
To feel full and satisfied when I do things: when I record, go on stage, compose; when I meet my family. You know when you find love—sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t—you find a truth. It’s the feeling of authenticity. Sometimes it fades but when you remember the moment, you feel as if what you felt was real. My goal is to fall in love more often, not only with a woman, but with everything I do.
What advice keeps you moving towards your goal?
Two things: first, try to take things really seriously and on the other hand, don’t care at all about what you’re doing. Do things that you really feel are worthwhile but also live in the present and enjoy life. That keeps me moving.