Max HeyraudWe caught up with one of the West of Ireland’s most brutal new techno forces, GJ504B, as she joins us for our tenth birthday celebrations at Index this Sunday. She’ll make her Index debut alongside Clouds, Aero and Sam Greenwood.
Over the past year or so, Lauren Whelan, better known as GJ504B, has emerged as an essential techno artist, specialising in weird and wonky hypnotic techno, with a skillset behind the decks that showcases her stellar knowledge of cavernous sounds. As co-founder of Kilq Collective, she has been instrumental in bringing raw and thundering techno to the forefront of Galway’s current club scene.
She joins us at Index this Sunday. You can purchase tickets here.
This is your debut at Index. How are you feeling about playing one of Dublin’s biggest dancefloors for the first time?
It’s an absolute dream. Playing Index for the first time is such a massive milestone. I’ve been there so many times over the years, always looking at that booth and visualising myself in it one day, so for it to finally become reality feels surreal. More than anything, I’m proud that I’ve stayed true to myself and my sound throughout it all, and I think that authenticity is exactly what got me here.
What drew you to DJing in the first place, and how has that initial inspiration shaped your sound today?
I grew up with my dad playing Kraftwerk, which I took an interest in from a young age, so I’d like to think I’ve always had an ear for underground sounds. Music is one of the most important parts of my life, from as early as I can remember. When I started DJing, I fell in love with the old school, weird, alienated techno straight away. It became a real form of therapy for me, and digging for tracks and expressing myself through the sets I create gave me a feeling I’d never really found anywhere else. Once I truly found my sound as an artist, everything naturally started falling into place.
You’ve built a reputation warming up for a lot of international artists. What do you enjoy most about the warm-up slot, and what do you think makes a great one?
Controversially, a warm-up slot is probably my favourite slot to play. My natural sweet spot is around 136–139 BPM, which fits perfectly into that space. There’s something special about watching the room slowly fill and building the energy from the ground up. To me, a great warm-up is all about setting the tone properly, giving people space to settle into the dance floor while offering a taste of what’s to come, all while showing respect to the headliner. I think a lot of people overlook how important that balance is. It’s a challenge in the best way, because you want to showcase your sound without overpowering the overall flow of the night.
