Dekmantel spotlights underrated vinyl selector Sassy J in short film

The art of DJing.

After releasing a short documentary about Amsterdam’s Red Light Radio and Red Light Records, Dekmantel has published this beautiful new film tracing under-the-radar Swiss DJ Sassy J’s musical influences.

J grew up in Bern, absorbing her mother’s radio shows and listening to records all night long with her jazz musician father and his friends. In her teens she became obsessed with Yo! MTV Raps, discovered that you could buy 12″s from the local record store and made mixtapes for her Walkman. Visits to London’s Plastic People introduced her to the broken beat scene, which set the blueprint for her own long-running clubnight Patchwork as well as her genre-bending DJ sets.

Sassy J is on the bill for Dekmantel’s new Selectors festival, which features a line up of artists known for their record collections and digging skills. The Dutch label has also launched an accompanying compilation series, with the first three volumes mixed by Motor City Drum Ensemble, Joy Orbison and Young Marco.