This week, we’re catching up with Moomba, who’s just touched down after a summer spent spinning records across Europe and North Africa, from intimate Hi-Fi and listening bars in Athens, Greece to a full crowd at the Gnaoua & World Music Festival in Essaouira, Morocco.
Moomba is also the founder and curator of CoolNiceSessions, a project where she welcomes DJs and selectors into her home studio to record hour-long mixes made for cooking whilst discovering new sounds. Read on to find out how Moomba got behind the decks, what to expect from her sets, and the story behind her name…
Tell us a little bit about yourself:
Hello! My name is Moomba and since 1998 I’ve been creating sound environments and making people dance in many parts of the world. I’m also a passionate and student of Jazz and its fusions, funk, soul and Latin flavours.
What sparked your interest in collecting records?
I’m a general collector and seeker. I have a brand of original vintage 60s 70s glasses, Ouch Eyes, and I really love that era to look for music and fashion.
“I always encourage girls to start playing music”
What is it about vinyl that you love most?
Touching it by hand. Prior selection at home, music curation for each space. The great sound equipment that is being installed in Hi-Fi bars and listening bars around the world is exciting me. Listening to music at a good volume and in that quality is a transformative experience and you discover transitions that you didn’t even know in the songs.
When did you start DJ’ing, and what got you behind the decks?
I started over 25 years ago (and I haven’t stopped, it’s my real job!) I play music all over the world when I travel as a photographer and videographer with my project Up&Up where I interview artists around the world (10 years/+100 Artist/16 cities). Now I’m focused on music with DJs and selectors.
I started playing music when I was 16 ‘cos I saw a girl who played Bossa Nova and I thought: if she does it, I can do it too! I like that attitude and I always encourage girls to start playing music. Years ago I founded a collective of women and dissident DJs with that objective. Come on girls, we need you!!
You’ve just wrapped up a summer tour – what was your favourite city to play in and why?
Wow! This Cool Nice Summer Tour has been amazing! I have been to Morocco, Marrakech on a beautiful terrace where I could see the Mosque, and to the Gnaoua & World Music festival in Essaouira. Then I went to Athens where I set up several very top restaurants/Hi-Fi bars and listening bars!! And in August I went to the Netherlands to Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. The session I liked the most was at Cue Amsterdam (recently awarded a Michelin star) the audience was excellent, they listened, they asked, they even hugged me at the end and thanked me. It was a dream session and I will return soon. I am very lucky to be able to share my selection with the world.
Tell us more about CoolNiceSessions – why should people check it out?
Thank you very much for this question. After so many years playing music I have realised that the important thing is to share knowledge since there are many people who are experts in what they like and know, and can teach others new sounds. My colleagues are 90% DJs and selectors (with a 50/50% gender split) so I have decided to record, in my home studio (or outside when I travel), one-hour sessions of music for cooking. It’s music to listen to, and we do a different exercise of playing music that you normally wouldn’t be able to play in a club but that you love. I recommend the selections! I curate them so that they are all wonderful and very different and they are talking about of the personal story of each selector.
We will soon launch the website with CoolNiceAgency & CoolNiceDesignStudio.
What are your go-to crate digging spots?
In Tokyo, the Disk Union stores each have certain styles. I remember going to the Rare Groove store with the same excitement as when I was a child and I went to amusement parks. In Barcelona there are a couple of stores that are totally my style, Barcelona City Records and Discos Redondos. With good funk, soul and acid jazz. I really liked the Netherlands because I’m a great lover of jazz and there they understand and appreciate it very well, so there is variety and great quality. In Athens I found several stores like Zaharias Records and soon I will go to London and Paris where I hope to find delicious jewellery.
Flea markets, whether looking for vintage glasses, clothes, shoes or records, are on my list in every city I visit.
What’s the most prized record in your collection, and is there a story behind it?
It’s not so much because the album is expensive, but because of what it symbolizes. It’s Yma Sumac’s Mambo! album from 1954. My name Moomba comes from a record (also in the font of my logo) since I am a great admirer of Yma, her unique and unrepeatable work of mambo opera and her voice. Soon I am going to embark on a new cinematographic adventure in search of her personal and professional history in Peru and Los Angeles, I’m designing a documentary. Stay tuned!
Follow Moomba’s vinyl journey over on Instagram, and check out CoolNiceSessions on YouTube.
