Following her noteworthy set at Jamie xx’s LIDO Festival in East London, Livwutang talks the role of a DJ, her sonic essence and her future plans.

Denver-born, New York-based producer and DJ Livwutang is finding her flow. Quickly rising in her local scene and the global live circuit, the genre-spanning spinner is bringing her sound to the masses, not least with her jaw-dropping showcase at last weekend’s LIDO festival. Featuring on the day curated by Jamie xx, Livwutang was handpicked by the industry legend for a set at the all new festival in East London’s Victoria Park.

With a busy summer still to come, Liv talks to Wonderland about the role of a DJ, her sonic essence and her future plans.   

Read the interview…

What’s your earliest memory with the concept of a DJ? Was it something that immediately excited you?

I spent a significant part of my childhood weekends at parties my West African extended family & friends would throw and there was always someone spinning coupé-décalé, zouk and zouglou on a phone, computer, or as I got older, a controller. Of course it immediately excited me — it was hard for anyone to stay still in that context and the music, alongside the food, was the beating heart of every party.

Who provided inspiration to you when you first began spinning? Who influences you now?

When I first started playing, the organisers and DJs in Seattle’s dance music community were my biggest inspiration. They remain the foundation of my life’s involvement in dance music. Since I’ve moved away I’ve been fortunate enough to observe and participate in many different scenes globally and the span of inspiration has expanded. Almost everywhere I visit has an impact on me, but I’m particularly influenced by the legacies of and contemporary scenes in Detroit, New York, London, Bristol, D.C. and Baltimore, to name a few of the more salient ones.

At the core, for you, what is a DJ’s role?

To be a conduit between the music, the dancers and the sound system.

How would you describe your essence as a performer and musician?What informs your sound?

I’d say my sound’s two biggest inspirations are the persisting legacy of US (particularly the midwest) DIY parties and UK sound system culture. When people ask me what kind of music I play, I always semi-jokingly reply “house and dubstep”, which seem like polar opposites, but I think my sound encompasses dub-wise strains that run through both genres and their offshoots.

What have you been up to this year to date?

Other than a brief month-long UK/EU tour in March, I took the first few months of this year slower and spent them at home in New York to ground myself in the energy of DIY parties there and my Nowadays residency. I recorded a couple mixes, including my RA podcast. More recently, I’ve just embarked on my UK/EU summer tour and I’ll be playing around on this side of the Atlantic until September.

You played LIDO festival with Jamie XX this past weekend. How did you get the gig? Has Jamie shown you love before?

Until LIDO, I was never able to play any of Jamie’s club residencies due to scheduling conflicts, so I was gassed to have the opportunity to play this past weekend.

What can attendees expect from a set from you?

Music for the hips, not just for the feet!

What are your festival essentials?

Custom moulded earplugs, electrolytes and sunscreen.

What else have you got coming — in 2025 and beyond?

DJ-wise, I’ll be wrapping up the party series, dub-tempo, that I’m doing in collaboration with Outra Cena in Lisbon, and returning to the US after I wrap my summer UK/EU tour for some great festivals, like Making Time in Philadelphia and III Points in Miami (and a few others I can’t mention yet).