W.I.G.: How long have you been DJing?

Jasmin: I started in February. I was in Europe from August to December. Before I left, I bought an Aiwa Recording Walkman with a detachable microphone. I started taping for the four months I was traveling in Europe. I taped the Subway in Berlin and Paris and Prague. I taped a wedding in Budapest, and a Turkish vegetable market, and the Muslim call to prayer in Turkey.

People don't know you're taping because you're wearing headphones. They wouldn't talk to me because they thought I was listening to music, even though I was visiting a castle in Budapest or walking around in a large cathedral.

What did you do with all the tapes?

I want to put out records for other DJs to use because I've been trying to find music or pure sound for people to play at bars. More listening music than dance music. I like stuff that's pulled from all different parts of the world. I want people to talk to each other when they hear thisÑit will trigger something, and they'll start talking with someone.

When did you decide to start spinning yourself?

When I came back I announced to my friends that I wanted to be a DJ, and I have some really supportive friends. They're in "We" [a well-known illbient group]ÑDJ Olive and Luke. They tried to teach me how to scratch.

I played at the Knitting Factory and jammed with other people. Then We gave me a chance to play at a thirty-six hour party. I set up my tapes with a four-track, and I mixed them with other records. I hooked the four-track up to a sound effects board to get echo and delay. The four-track can play backwards and it can slow down and speed up, so that's really exciting.

What's your background?

I grew up in Iceland and Japan. My father is Turkish, my mother American. I would really like to thank my father because he sent me turntables with pitch control. He made speakers for me from a kit.

Have you found that people react to you differently because you're a woman?

At first, when I told this one person (who's name I won't mention), that I wanted to be a DJ, he told me that I could get some gigs here and there because of the novelty. He said I wouldn't succeed any further than that because DJing is "really competitive."

What was your reaction to that?

I think if you're imagining something that you really want, you're going to get it. Someone can tell you something like that and it will make you try even harder. I think more women should DJ because I hear a lot of women saying, "I want to DJ." I say, "Well, do it."