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Czech Republic's DJ Lucca: Practise Makes Perfect

Author: Jonty Skrufff
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Eastern European techno DJ Lucca chatted to Skrufff this week about her rapidly expanding career and revealed that her debut gig in 1997 was almost a disaster.

"The first one was at a famous club in the Czech Republic called The Roxy but it wasn't a regular club night, it was a party for a famous local alternative singer who was signing over a DJ set and there were lots of people in the crowd who followed the singer who weren't into clubs so much," Lucca recalled.

"I did the warm up slot as the very first DJ and played from 8 to 9pm and I must say I wasn't very good, it didn't go very well at all," she admitted.

"I'd practised for about six months before but that experience inspired me to practise more and eventually to improve."

The strikingly beautiful Czech star took up DJing after being inspired by DJs including Nick Warren and Paul Van Dyk, she said.

"I first had the idea because I was going to lots of parties and I knew a lot of people around the scene and I thought I liked the music, I'll try it," she told Skrufff.

"I worked at the time as a hotel receptionist but after two years I felt I wanted to do something more creative."

After her first date, she continued with her hotel job, practising two or three hours a day becoming fully confident of her abilities in 2000, she said.

"On the one hand it was good that I started playing in front of audiences early on because it's different from playing at home when you think you can mix really well to spinning at a party with 500 people in front of you," she said. "Even now though before I go to a party, I'm not nervous but still feel an excitement; you never know what can happen, it's always a challenge."

She also admitted her looks have prompted one or two problems along the way. "My friends were supportive though some media people were saying things like I only get gigs because I'm a girl and that kind of thing," she said, "But mostly it was positive."

More recently she's toured the world as a DJ, picking up heavyweight management and agents along the way and recently setting up her own label Acapulco Records featuring upcoming releases from producers including Valentino Kanzyani, Umek and Davide Squillace. She also gained the support of Carl Cox, who featured her recent track Freedom/ Mirage 1 on his recent Live In Rotterdam compilation and has booked her for his arenas at Global Gathering and Dance Valley later this year.

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