The most important thing is that the music being played is right for the moment… and be played well. Outside of that, anything goes.
"The most important thing is that the music being played is right for the moment… and be played well. Outside of that, anything goes."

KRISTINA CHILDS (aka NASTINA CHILDS; Plasmodium Industries)

Current top 5 tracks: "I’m feelin the bassy and broken vibes more than anything at the moment, so Nastina is getting a lot of action and Kristina has been pretty full-frequencied house-ish. Between the two monikers, here are 5 samples of hotness in heavy rotation."

Shake Dat, "Hotline Zero" (Disco Cakes)
"I may have contracted a bit of Stockholm syndrome from the many Top 40 commercial and wedding gigs I do, but I’ve got a not-so-secret soft spot for mainstream… um… 'hiphop.' It still feels gross calling it hiphop. Take a hit single from a deranged rapper, let a breaks producer cut the shit out of it and run it through a glitch machine? Yup. Sounds like a winner to me. This track is a panty-dropper."

Destructo, Wax Motif feat Vanilla Ace, "Fool or Coward (Namatria Remix)" (Maze)
"I feel like deep house was revived with the introduction of bass-influenced sound. I LOVE big, resonant bassline sounds: growing up it was Miami bass and any West Coast rap with an 808, the big and hollow square bass of '90s hip house, jump-up jungle had me at hello and speed garage made me feel so hard I literally made out with speakers. This track is a good example of future/bass/deephouse/genrebenderthingwedo. It’s like contemplative deep house went out of the town wearing some of techno’s cynicism, borrowed elasto-808s homecoming queen sash and downed a cap of GHB in the Lyft to the club. I’m all over this shizz."

[No stream found; you'll have to rely on Childs's great description for now. Sorry!]

Friend Within, "The Renegade" (Method)
"Gotta love when someone pulls off a fresh and new way to work classic anthems. It’s hard to do and this one is beast. Props to FW. Killt it."

Hate N Beanz, "The Nasty! (SvenG Remix)" (Pooty Club)
"When doing DJ sets for Nastina, the mixes are pretty breaks-heavy. And I go big, 'cause I sure as hell ain’t goin’ home."

A.Skillz feat. Kymberley Kennedy, "Dead Ringer" (Jam City)
"This one is a bit older but is a great example of how I’ve been filling out the funk. I’ve been playing a lot more mid-tempo breaks lately (which often make their way into Nastina sets) on two sides: either dark and trap-esque or carefree and funky."

Affiliations: "Plasmodium, The Vortex c89.5, The Outer Limits."

Format: "I keep a USB drive updated for certain circumstances as well as an emergency drive on my keychain. But you will have to pry turntables from my cold, dead hands. I hate CDJs; they sucked all the romance out of DJing. Controllers are even worse. But vinyl is heavy and digital is convenient, so I use Serato with vinyl control discs. I DO miss playing vinyl, but have plenty of opportunity to pull them out at home."

DJing philosophy: "I hesitate to call it a philosophy, but for the sake of saying words about that thing you asked… Love the music enough to step behind it and let it shine. Don’t pigeonhole yourself with labels or expectations; the worst thing you can call yourself is a '________ DJ.' I’m not a house DJ or techno DJ or breaks DJ. I’m just a DJ and I’ll play whatever the hell I want thankyouverymuch. Drop House of Pain in the middle of a techno set? Damned skizzy.

"The most important thing is that the music being played is right for the moment… and be played well. Outside of that, anything goes. And I am a lover of most music with a huge palette to pull from. DJs like this are musically richer and more engaging than the rest. They make willing participants of dance floors and keep the floor fuller longer. I never understood DJs who pre-programmed sets, 'cause what happens if your presumption of how the night will go doesn’t pan out?

"I give two shits how technically perfect the mixing and programming are. Curation is the most important aspect of any set first and foremost, and for the perfectly curated set you’ve got to be intuitive and fluid with your choices—be ready to take a hard left at any moment if that’s where the group wants to go.

"I literally don’t recall the last time a crowd 'just didn’t get it' with one of my sets, an excuse I’ve heard from many a rigid DJ. No, they just didn’t want what you were forcing down their ear holes. If you like and have what they want to hear, then why not play it instead? I feel like to abandon the option for technicality’s sake is a rare display of arrogance and self-doubt. Practice more… and leave your ego at the door."

Worst request: “'Worst' is such a subjective term, lol… The most ridiculous request I’ve ever had was in the middle of a late-'90s house/techno set. Dude just wanted to hear some Metallica. I laughed. A lot. 'Where the fuck are you, man?' Like… seriously. Then there’s the other worst—the worst where I fight the urge to punch them square in the face hole. But that’s usually more to do with the way the request is made than what’s requested. Or remade. And remade again, and again, and again…"

Upcoming events: "For the first time in 20 years, I’ve got nothing on the horizon besides the monthly two-hour spot on The Vortex, but this is by design. I’m moving out of state, am in the middle of a bunch of life changes and have not been in the city/state I planned to be in for over half a year so… yeah. I’ve been turning down events based on the belief I wouldn’t still be here. Kinda shot myself in the foot on that one, but it’s probably for the best since I can barely hold onto my sanity at the moment as it is. Until I make it to SoCal, my mantra is 'I am not superwoman.' I mean… I AM [*wink, wink*] but even supers need to check theyselfs b4 dey wreck theyselfs ;)"

Check out Childs's mixes on SoundCloud and Mixcloud.