Straight outta Norway and now lighting up South Korea’s club scene, ROZIE is bringing serious energy to the EDM world. Her Mind in Motion mixes are all about storytelling, vibe-building, and getting lost in the moment. We caught up with her to chat about her journey from student DJ to full-time artist, her creative process, and how RepostExchange helped her connect with producers and fans all over the world.
I first got into DJing as a hobby around the end of 2021, after having moved to South Korea to study. The club scene there is huge, so while being a student, I also started going to different clubs and raves over the weekends. My interest in DJing grew simultaneously, and after flying back to Norway to see my family over the holidays, I bought a Pioneer DDJ-400 controller and started watching tutorials and practicing.
When I moved back to Korea a couple months later, I started posting some videos on Instagram of me mixing, and got offered a couple jobs at different bars and clubs in my local area. I mostly played Hip-Hop/R&B at the time, but quickly realised the music I enjoyed playing the most was EDM. I started making Tech House mixes and posted them on SoundCloud. The pay was none or very low, but I only viewed it as a fun hobby and side hustle on the weekends next to my studies anyway.
However, after a couple years of only playing as a hobby, I realized DJing was something I felt more passionate about than my actual job, and wanted it to be more than just a side hustle. I quit my previous job last year, and shifted my focus completely to DJing and learning music production this year.
I have been dancing most of my life and majored in Music, Dance and Drama, so I grew up listening to lots of different music genres. However, my playlists were usually filled with the big EDM names during the 2000/2010s like Daft Punk, David Guetta, Afrojack, Swedish House Mafia and Avicii, to name a few... I especially remember listening to David Guetta’s album Nothing but the Beat and Daft Punk’s album Alive 2007 over and over.
Oh... extremely hard to choose, but one of my biggest dreams come true would definitely be to play Freedom Stage at Tomorrowland, or of course, the legendary Kinetic Field at EDC. I can only imagine the adrenaline rush, getting the opportunity to share your own music in front of those amazing crowds!
I usually get inspired while I’m looking for new music to play. Most times, I will come across a specific song that I really like, and start digging for music with that specific vibe or energy and build a set around it. As of recently, I have been working on my mix series called Mind in Motion, where I usually use this approach. At other times, I will choose a specific place or theme, and make a set based solely on that. One of my older mixes called Sidequest on Mars is based only on music that I felt gave me the feeling of travelling through space! These mixes definitely serve as a creative outlet, and I love the feeling of being able to take the energy of a mix wherever I feel like.
The most challenging part for me would be to have the whole set flow the way I want it to, start to finish. For me, the storytelling and flow of the set is the most important, as this is what lets you build emotion and will pull people in during your set. I love listening to mixes that feel like an experience, and this is also what I try to achieve with my own. Most of the time, I will have a list of songs that I know I want to include, but finding the right order and energy flow can at times be challenging. It’s like putting pieces of a puzzle together – however, getting it right always feels rewarding, and probably what I enjoy the most about Djing!
Sometimes I would rent a DJ studio to record, and get some practice in on CDJs, other times I would borrow equipment from one of my friends. However, most of my mixes have been recorded on my DDJ-400 and rekordbox on my laptop. I only very recently upgraded my own gear to a new controller, and have been able to practice on bigger equipment at home. This has been huge, but you definitely don’t need any fancy equipment to record your own mixes!
Listen to a lot of music, find your own niche and lean into it. If you’re not sure what you like, try mixing lots of different genres and go from there. Playing music you love yourself is definitely crucial in my opinion, as well as making the countless hours of practice more enjoyable. Of course, as a DJ, part of your job is playing according to the crowd you’re playing for, but finding your own niche is important for building your own brand.
Depending on the place and crowd, I will at times take requests, but most of the time I will stick to my own music. Other times, I’ll play a remix of the artist or song requested, in the genre of music I’m playing, to still keep the flow of the set going, haha.
I am currently producing and working on several original tracks, and hoping to be able to release my first single or EP pretty soon, which I am very excited about!
I will usually repost tracks or artists within the genres I play the most myself (since the type of music I play and enjoy listening to the most usually matches), but sometimes I’ll come across music I love in completely different genres as well. Anything that’s a vibe goes, really!
I have definitely discovered several artists and gems that I probably wouldn’t have come across otherwise. It’s great to make friends with artists who create and love similar music to you, and support each other’s crafts! There are so many talented artists out there who deserve more recognition, and RepostExchange has definitely helped me find some of them!
RepostExchange really helped me reach more people with my earlier mixes when I was experimenting a lot and looking for feedback from others. One of them is my mix called Let me kick bass, which was kind of different from what I usually play, but it was fun to see people’s reaction to it!
Connect with ROZIE on SoundCloud, Instagram, and TikTok.
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This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
