Anna Haleta: The 'Shine A Light On' Mix

Music

Originally hailing from the Ukraine, DJ and promoter Anna Haleta's musical path took her to Jerusalem and then to Tel Aviv, where she currently resides. In her former home she helmed Pacotek, a reputable party series with her friend Tsaji Soussana, which began life in 2003 and saw her throw hundreds of raves in untapped spaces around the city, inviting artists from all over the world to grace the decks.

Her measured approach to DJing is palpable in her sets, something that can only come from the years of experience she has under her belt. Her powerful selections are woven together with elegance and skill, just like on today's mix which floats from raw, throbbing electro to dreamy breaks and bouncy deep house…

Please introduce yourself… Who are you, where are you and what are you I am

Anna Haleta, I am a DJ. Now I am based in Tel Aviv. Many years before in Jerusalem. I am originally Ukrainian, I moved to Israel in 1995. Since 2003 I am playing music and making Pacotek events together with Tsaji Soussana – we did hundreds of raves and parties in the past and had the honor of inviting many artists from all over the world to play with us. For the last few years I am mostly focused on DJing only and it's a big pleasure to play where the only adrenalin you get comes from your excitement and inspiration (not the adrenalin of stress of making illegal events like I used to do).

What does your music sound like? Can you draw what you think it sounds like for us (an image from the old internet is acceptable)?

In terms of genres – I am naturally combining them in my own way driven by immediate impulse. It can sound like everything except fake. To be figurative – I would choose a dot as an image, a dot has no beginning and no end. The dot is endless. If it would be a .gif image, for this mix I imagine a loop of passing leafless trees you see from a bus window during a long road trip. As a human being: the motion, the warm feeling inside and cold grey pre/post-winter outside picture makes me feel comfortable.

Where was the mix recorded?

TEDER.FM studio in Tel Aviv

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

This mix is "a trip for a trip". It came up like this without planning it. Ideally for a special moment you have to yourself when you are alone and you've been waiting for this. It could simply be a flight or a long road journey. Any other circumstances where you can give a little time and respect to what you are focused on – in this case it's this mix. I don't really see it played in a public place. Generally, I prefer the music never being background sound. If the music you hear is right for you, it has to be a total experience for that moment.

What should we be wearing?

Cotton

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/format?

I would love to spend one week in a studio with a gorgeous DJ booth and all of my records with me. When we used to make raves in Jerusalem, sometimes I had the privilege to play in totally energetically virgin spaces where not many humans had been during the last few years, if at all. These kind of venues are powerful by their blank purity. As for the beautiful nature locations, I really appreciate the perfection of those and I wouldn't dare to play any music there, it would be needless and a total overuse of music medium, for me personally.

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

Honestly, all of them. If I have to choose it's gonna be an old Clatterbox track from 2011 called 'Data Stream'. I couldn't stop playing it for one year or probably more. In my sets I am climbing to the point I can play it at the best moment to deliver most of the magic and power of this track.

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

I love all of my recorded sets more or less on the same level – otherwise I would never let it being published. With each of them I have strong personal moments. It would make me sad if I would have one mix I love the most. It can be always the last set, of course, but I respect and stand for the music I played from the past until now.

If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?

DJ Stingray because of his never ending development, healing power and truthful approach. The opposite of cliché.

What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?

One Grundig turntable and one Technics for home listening, both with direct drive and funny pitch and a little mixer. I don't even remember what it was. Very fast I got a pair of good Technics, also Tsaji (my partner) had a cool Vestax mixer (Vestax PCV-275 if I remember well), a couple of years later we got a XONE92 which I use until this day.

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

If I want to start the energy at the club from scratch not keeping the atmosphere the previous DJ developed then the first track is extremely important. But there are times I want to make a smooth transition from the one who played before me to my sound, so the first track wouldn't "jump out" of the context and not many would even know when the DJ changed. This is also nice. I never have a planned track to close my set. A so called outro. But the last one is definitely the hymn for a sudden relaxation after the set.

What were the first and last records you bought?

I have a black out right now about the first record. The last record I got is Xantrax – Grit EP | on Ecke Records or wait… the last I got is Eastern Code ‎EP by East Man released on Padre Himalaya. I've ordered it a few months ago, but got it only now.