Grace Garcia was invited back to Beat-Herder by popular demand after her successful debut last year. The up-and-coming DJ has been making waves across the country with her fresh spin on disco house and her uplifting performances. I caught her set last year and it was a funky delight so I was really pleased to interview her.
Where/how did your career in music start?
I’ve grown up going to festivals, my first festival was before I’d even turned a year old, so I’ve had 21 years of watching and learning from other musicians and industry professionals and I think I’ve always known that I wanted to work in music from being surrounded by it my whole life. I got my first DJ controller after I’d finished my GCSEs in 2019, so I started to properly learn then. I’d say my career in music properly started though when I played my first set at Beat Herder back in 2022, I was so grateful for the response and support I received off the back of that set.
What were the decisions you made, things that you did that got you to where you are now?
Pushing myself outside of my comfort zone has helped me a lot, I’d say the biggest rewards have come from the times when I’ve thrown myself in the deep end with something, so I’d definitely say that’s played a big part. I’d also say that moving to London for university massively helped, the electronic music scene there is incredible and holds so many opportunities.
What does grassroots music look like in the dance music industry?
In my experience there’s a lot of mutual support amongst new, up and coming DJs. I’d also say there are lots of opportunities for new and emerging talent to DJ in venues, promoters are always on the look out, as long as you’re putting yourself out there in terms of social media and uploading mixes etc. Grassroots music in the dance music industry does of course face challenges, I think a big one is a lot of people will only buy tickets for events where there are big headliners or arrive at events after the support acts have played. It would be great to see more people also going to events with emerging talent, some of the best DJ sets I’ve seen have been from DJs I hadn’t heard of prior to hearing them play. You never know, you may just find your new favourite DJ before everyone else does!
What are the barriers for women and minority represented genders in the dance music industry?
There are some barriers in the dance music industry, but I think it’s getting better due initiatives such as the Jaguar Foundation and it seems like a lot of line-ups are becoming more evenly split, in terms of gender. There’s also lots of amazing female role models in the industry today. There’s definitely still a way to go but I’m optimistic for the future for women and minority represented genders in the dance music industry.
Who are your female and nonbinary inspirations from music?
As a DJ and aspiring radio presenter I massively look up to people such as Annie Mac, Jaguar, Charlie Tee, Sarah Story. Honey Dijon has also always been a big inspiration of mine, both as an incredible producer and a DJ. I could list so many more but I’d say my first female inspiration in music was an amazing breakbeat DJ and good family friend, Toni Jarvis. I remember first meeting Toni when I was around the age of 5 or 6, at the recording studios where she was working and I’d gone along with my dad who was also working there at the time. I still remember she sat in the studio kitchen with me and helped me to peel the stickers out of my sticker book. After that I saw her DJing at festivals and always massively looked up to her and it helped me realise from a young age that this was something I could find my own place and direction in.