“House music is an aphrodisiac, and I’m not even going to say that’s subjective, because it’s not,” says Whitney Fierce. “Good house music, music that gets your body moving and your blood pumping, and even without drugs, gets you high and euphoric and connected and just plain happy, that’s an aphrodisiac. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the BPM of house music is an ideal heart rate for a heightened state.”
Although Fierce is just now wriggling her way to the top of the underground heap in LA as a DJ, she’s earned her musical chops through a variety of gigs – most recently as a vocalist on Subb-An’s latest Crosstown Rebels release and as seminal UK nu-wave band New Order’s touring DJ. The experience that had the strongest effect on Fierce’s performativity, though, was recording and touring as a vocalist with Hercules and Love Affair. “Hercules is a special creature, and one that I am so grateful to have been a part of,” she explains. “I learned a lot about myself. When all of a sudden you’re on a stage in front of 10,000 people in some random country. That’s the point where you figure it out quick, all of a sudden you’re taken over by adrenaline, and all of these people have paid to come see you, so you put on a god damn show!”
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After trekking the world with Hercules, Fierce returned to find Los Angeles a very different place than when she left. In her words: “I’ve been back in the LA scene for about two years now. It’s exciting to me. I was in New York, London, and on tour for a handful of years, and believe you me, LA was not nearly as cool when I left. That, however, is probably the exact reason LA is blooming and booming right now. It has the space to do it, it wasn’t at the top of its game – and it’s moving in the right direction.”
Since returning, Whitney’s focus has been on her own productions and DJing, culminating with her upcoming release, titled Broken Car Window. Released on RIS Labs, the collection exemplifies her take on dance music, what she calls dream house. “The EP is vibey, I can tell you that much,’ she states. “It’s ethereal and breathy and real and I think that’s all very me. The single from the EP, The Night Air, has a sort of similar ethereal simplicity, it describes a very real yet cinematic moment in my life. But then again, my whole life is a sort of dream state. I blame it on being a Pisces, because how else do I get to embrace having my head in the clouds more often than my feet on the ground?”
This weekend, Fierce’ll be pulling other into her clouds at Love Triangle, a renegade Venice Beach Valentine’s party at an as-yet undisclosed venue alongside Andy Caldwell. In celebration of her EP and the sheer sexuality of house music in general. The mix opens with Fierce’s “Breath” and features tracks from Detroit Swindle, Danny Daze, and fellow LA upstart Ballast. And she’s got a word of advice for those coming to the gig: “You should know to get your party pants dry-cleaned but be mentally and emotionally prepared to take them off. Also I’m going to be bringing some serious heat, so maybe bring a fan too.”
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Tracklist:
Breath – Whitney Fierce
Records Bailo – Kresy
The Break Up – Detroit Swindle
Enigma – Locked Groove
In my Soul – Riva Starr
Hoodlum – Traumer
Speaker Language – Translucent, Danny Daze
Pressure – Gregory S & Dandy Aka Peter Makto
People – Nick Curly
Rainy Dayz (Whitney Fierce Remix) – Hernene
Shifter – Adam Port
For Club Use – Ballast
Love Reminder (Shit Robot Dubstramental) – Tippy Toes
