On a cloudy Saturday morning in Dallas, DJ Frances Jaye is busy running back and forth to the grocery store. “I've forgotten to buy dish soap, dang it. OK, are you ready to start the interview? I’m ready. Let’s chat,” she says. The “conscious-driven” Dallas DJ will be appearing in St. Louis at The Soulitions “Ladies First” event at Lucha in Grand Center this Friday, July 14 from 7 to 11 p.m.
“Ladies First” will feature a national, all-female cast of DJs that are members of The Soulition collective, founded by Jaye and St. Louis' own DJ Needles in 2007. Frances is an eclectic, soulful DJ that has one mission in mind: to not be a jukebox, but to inspire you to live in the moment of the music. She is the founder of the Neo Soul Cafe, a website and app for music lovers and has been a featured DJ at the Essence Music Festival, Capital Jazz Cruise, and a featured artist at the Las Vegas Soul Music Festival.
What should listeners in St. Louis expect when they come to your set on Friday?
Well, I am an underground DJ. You may hear artist like the Foreign Exchange, Thundercat, RC and the Gritz, Blu or Masego. I don't take requests, yet try to create a place where the audience is drawn into me. I was doing a set once on the Capital Jazz Cruise by the pool. I heard some one say, "Psssst, I need everything you just played." I looked down by the hot tub and it was DJ Kid Capri. He plays some of the music on his SIRUS XM show. I believe deejaying is a transferring of feelings. I do not play the same set twice, or have a bunch of perfectly planned out crates, but perform straight from my emotions. If no one is Shazaming me, I am not doing a good job in my mind. I was doing a set at The Prophet Bar opening up for Snarky Puppy. The band was vibing my set, and opened their set with the song I was playing. Good energy.
How did you get into deejaying?
I grew up hanging around my uncles in Atlanta. They would listen to artists like Weather Report and Dee Bridgewater. I used to make cassette mixtapes of my favorite songs and sleep with them under my pillow. As I got older, people would always come around and ask me what is that your listening to, and can I get a copy? I eventually got a job at the radio station and the rebel in me came out. Why are we not spinning this, or we can not play this, because we are pushing these records, so I eventually left and I started Neo Soul Cafe. Never in a million years would I have imagined getting paid for this.
Awww man, I left my smoothie at the grocery store. I have to go back. I paid twelve dollars for that cup!
Staying in shape for the Capital Jazz Cruise?
Yes, and for my gigs in London and New York.
Throughout your travels, have found any bias shown towards you as a female DJ that is rocking the party?
No. Everything has been pretty positive. Surprisingly, most people say they have never seen a female DJ, and they usually say, "Wow, I wasn't expecting that.” I have been deejaying for almost 17 years, and I do not like stress. Being a DJ is my stress management. I am doing that for me and not for the praise or titles.
Catch DJ Frances Jay with DJ Agile One and Makeda Kravitz at The Soulition’s “Ladies First,” Friday, July 14 at Lucha, 522 North Grand. Admission is $5. Follow DJ Frances Jaye on Instagram (DJFrancesJaye) and Twitter (FrancesJaye), visit her website at Neosoulcafe.com and listen live through the Neo Soul Café app, available for both iPhone and Android.
