Delilac
Delilac
Delilac is a DJ not to be put in a box. Born and raised in Milwaukee, she’s been bringing an eclectic mix to the party in the last few years around Milwaukee both on her own and with crews such as Apart, No Stress Collective and Club Ritual.
Her fascination with music all started with what was played in the house growing up, as she explains. “My mom really loved the acid jazz scene of the ‘90s, and she introduced me to artists like Deee-Lite and Dmitri From Paris. I also got really into Japanese pop and club music like Towa Tei and Shinichi Osawa, and a lot of the artists that my mom got me into had influences in Japanese music.”
Listening to music with established scenes like that got Delilac used to looking up B-sides for remixes, which is how she discovered a ton of great DJs and electronic artists. “I got into an artist who has several jungle and drum & bass monikers named Luke Vibert, and that’s where it kind of took off for me because I learned that there was an entire culture for this,” she recalled.
Scratch Sessions
Delilac credits the Scratch Sessions hosted by DJ Bizzon and DJ Loop as what helped her get started on the decks. Learning turntablism, she wanted to play what she felt she wasn’t hearing a lot of in Milwaukee, so she began with playing a ton of jungle, house and techno music. “Bizzon and Loop were very adamant about the importance of networking,” she said. “That’s how I met DJ Fortune, who runs Apart. It’s also how I met Max Holiday and Will Mitchell, who both helped really connect me with the electronic scene in Milwaukee.”
She is now on the official roster of Apart, an agency with the goal of building a more inclusive electronic and club scene in the Midwest. Delilac says about the opportunity, “I really appreciate Fortune for how vocal she is about making artists heard. I’ve learned from her how to conduct myself in these spaces whether you’re playing an event or running an event, or playing an event versus a party.”
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No Stress Collective centers women, BIPOC, trans and queer DJs; after staying quiet for a couple years due to COVID, they returned last summer with a dance party during the Riverwest24. After getting introduced to the collective by DJ Shaq, Delilac was able to start throwing her own shows for the first time. “It’s awesome because we’re all DJs at different levels and all play such different styles of music,” Delilac said. “We’ve taught each other about equipment and experiences and things like that, and we’re all here just to have fun.”
Black, Legacy, Historical
Club Ritual, which is thrown by Asher Gray and Greyhound, gave Delilac the opportunity to play a lot of the electronic music that she likes. “Asher booked me for quite a few of my earliest shows,” she said. “He and Dylan (Greyhound) are my bros.”
Describing herself as a DJ, Delilac uses the following words: Black, legacy, historical, sophisticated, thoughtful, and nostalgic. “Those really sum it up,” she said. “Prior to me DJing and actually paying attention to club music, my exposure to it was just these images of Black DJs spinning in Tokyo with their crates. You could tell that there was a lot of thought and intention behind what they’re doing, and I see that as a reminder to always learn your history. When I see a Black person doing something that I don’t get to see every day, it reminds me of how I watched Jeff Mills when I was learning how to DJ techno. I also collect a lot of music magazines from the 90s because I imagine myself there at that time a lot. Every set that I play is an ode to that.”
In terms of where her personal goals for 2023 lie, Delilac says that she plans to listen more and ask more questions. “I need to challenge myself and keep growing so that I can throw my dream nostalgia events. I also want to collaborate more with people and give them an opportunity to play their sounds, letting them be whatever they want to be when they have the controller.”
Delilac’s got a few shows coming up, starting with a MELT show with Paul Demix and Niki Kitz at Quarters Rock ‘n Roll Palace on January 28th. She’s also curating events in March for Women’s History Month and has gigs in Chicago and Detroit as well. Stay up to date with Delilac by giving her Instagram @del1lac a follow.
“I really want Black people of the Midwest to know that electronic music is Black,” she says. “It is part of our Black regional culture that is appreciated and continues to set standards across the world. Stay Black and stay Afrofuturist. Know your history and be proud of it.”
