Reykjavík Grapevine - 20.04.2018, Qupperneq 32

DJ Dominatricks
Will Make You A
Rave Slave
The DJ/VJ duo on technology, obscurity and
oppression

Words: Alexander Jean de Fontenay Photos: Timothée Lambrecq
DJs
Catch DJ Dominatricks at Húrra at
their all-nighter on April 27th, and at
'Mayday!', hosted by Axis Dancehall,
on Wednesday May 2nd
In the past half year or so, the DJ/VJ
duo DJ Dominatricks have become
an intriguing addition to Reykjavík’s
nightlife. The two deliver absorbing
performances, mixing hard-hitting
electronic dance music and dark,
technologically-centred visuals.
The duo consists of two promis-
ing young talents—the DJs/visual
artists Arna Beth and Melkorka
Þorkelsdóttir (a.k.a. Melly). They met
in high-school and had an instant
attraction to each other. “Melly had
been stalking my artwork on the in-
terweb for a while, so our first conver-
sation felt very natural,” says Arna.
Techno & trap
Arna was asked to perform an in-
strumental set of her own music
at Stage Dive Fest in December
2017. “I hadn’t finalised anything,
so I asked Melkorka to collabo-
rate on a DJ set,” she says. And so,
DJ Dominatricks was formed.
They have different backgrounds
when it comes to music. “Melly
comes from a more
h i p - h o p & t r a p
based background
which can be a very
interesting t w ist
in our sets,” Arna
said. “When Arna
asked me to collaborate I agreed
without hesitation. I had been do-
ing very bubbly and flamboyant
DJ sets as DJ Motherfunker,” Melly
explained and adds “Transition-
ing to techno was out of my com-
fort zone. But I decided to go for it.”
Contemporary rebellion
DJ Dominatricks offer an unusual
mixture of visual and musical ex-
pression, blending alternative gen-
res such as trance, gabba and reggae-
ton with nostalgic industrial techno
originating from Berlin and Detroit.
“I’m very much into electronic
and experimental music, so I en-
joy playing tracks that are hard to
find offline,” said Arna. The two
also consider their style an act of
feminist rebellion in today’s op-
pressive culture. They want to ex-
aggerate their resistance to it as
much as possible. “Honestly, we use
this platform to serve as ambassa-
dors for female empowerment in a
male-dominated world,” says Melly.
“We want people to be a bit afraid of
us, but also to keep wanting more.”
Techno obsession
One might consider their perfor-
mances, with their dark and fu-
turistic music and visuals, a con-
scious attempt to stand out from the
crowd. But Melly thinks otherwise.
“Standing out is not our objective
per se,” she says. “We’d much rather
use the stage as a platform to ex-
press our interests
and project what we
would like to experi-
ence as an audience.”
The influence of
new technology, sci-
fi and internet cul-
ture is strong in Dominatricks’ aes-
thetic, musically and visually. “We
both grew up with the internet, and
were both outcasts from a very young
age,” says Arna. “I became isolated
from the outside world as a teenag-
er.” Melly adds: “I’ve been commit-
ted to my funeral-esque dress code
ever since my emo adolescence.”
DJ Dominatricks have a busy
schedule ahead, playing three
times in the coming weeks. “The
summer is packed with exciting
things, like performing at LungA
festival and Reykjavík Arts Fes-
tival,” says Arna. “Stay tuned!”
“You will become the slave
to our rave,” finishes Melly.
Music
Lead us into temptation
“We want peo-
ple to be a bit
afraid of us.”
Open:
Mondays-Saturdays 11:30-22:30
Sundays 16:00-22:00
Now offering
catering service!
Closed Mondays.
Marshallhúsið, Grandagarður 20, 101 Reykjavík.
Bus route 14 (Listabraut)
To reserve lunch and dinner call +354 519 7766, or
info@marshallrestaurant.is, marshallrestaurant.is