diamond rings – i don't need them.

berlin based D E N A brings booty shaking rhythms with a hint of her native bulgaria peeking into the soundscape. the minimalist beat is something i, as an old electro girl, cannot resist. all i want is chill with my friends by the swimming pools...


performing live tonight at siltanen. i'll be there, you should, too.

fire explosion.

eagerly awaited, beautifully queer. the knife delivers. again.

soon we'll be enjoying breakfast again.

well hello again.

it's been a while.

i am in the middle of a countdown.

4 to go.

see you soon.

in the meanwhile, enjoy this amazing little song.

throb and swoon.

alien alien is a sideproject of rodion and hugo sanchez, casiotone and italo house masterminds. their ep came out already over a year ago, but somehow i missed it.

its b-side is a low, sleazy and lazy sort of a tune that can fill the dance floor at the very late hours, get an afterparty going towards the execution of ideas that make people blush in the morning (or late afternoon) or just the perfect sunday morning workout song.

the video reminds me of early mornings in nyc after a queer warehouse party in a derelict space somewhere in the meatpacking district or just walking home through the desolate streets of brooklyn 5 am... the boys in the video – fierce.

i’m in the milky way.

well, i'm not too keen on suggesting summer hits – my psychic predictions are known to stray away by miles. but i think this song by swedish electropop duo icona pop might keep me bouncing a little come warm weather.

simply. i love it.

monday doc.

a great little piece of film about flow festival history and present by nokia. for english subtitles, click to youtube and press cc.

there's a short duck hat presence at around 4.30 mins from the beginning...

alternative bar.

not for the thirsty kind, this bar is meant for the vinyl aficionado and those who want to preserve their precious cassette tapes and vinyl records.

opening as a part of the city centre library, kirjasto 10, the vinyl bar serves as a platform for beginner dj's (or those willing to learn more) as they offer two quality turntables and a mixer in addition to a selection of records for your listening or practicing pleasure. there's also a recorder to preserve the sound on a cd, in case that's something you're after.

opening tonight, i'm proud to say i have dug from good old my vinyl collection a set of 30 minutes to play in the company of otto talvio, islaja and dj orkidea. the event starts at 7pm and you're very welcome to pop in before 9pm.

pic by mikko rasila

chief cannot let go of the feather toupee and warrior duck gone insane.

it was flow. it was festival. and i was dj'ing prime time on saturday night with stella.

because it was diesel garage and style was expected, we did our best. hence, may i present: the duck hat – my only purchase from a style blogger trip to stockholm.

moreover, since we're ladies and ladies to lady things, we looked our best.

wearing rick owens top and martin margiela mm6 necklace. and a duck.

always.

the time was perfect for partying, from 8 to 10 pm, but lykke li was booked simultaneously. fortunately for us, she suffered from stomach cramps (or so we heard) and cancelled.

the party was off the hook...

this is what i call a pleasant view from the dj booth.

if you were there, i hope you enjoyed it. we did. and will do again. and again. and again.

(did i say again?)

quack.

all photos by mikko rasila.

killer team.

i was asked to dj at a friend's 40th bday party in june. although the place was not something i usually would play at, it was one of those "cannot refuse" situations and, naturally, i had to say yes.

this request was a special honor: it's always a pleasure to know that the person you're going to dj for shares a similar passion for music. moreover, the ability to surprise while also creating comfort with familiarity – and never needing to compromise – feels rare and, quite honestly, great.

champs, sweetie darling.

some acoustic entertainment gave us a much needed break.

a high was also finally having the chance to realize a plan i had with another friend. we had talked about playing together since five years ago, and this was it: we were going to kick it together.

music, maestro!

oysters. creepy.

and boy did we kick high and hard... a night of billy idol, omd, lcd soundsystem, sigue sigue sputnik, bananarama and some obscure goodies that had the bday boy dancing all night.

shake your coconuts.

all photos by robert lindström.


my next back-to-back dj-extravaganza will take place at flow festival, namely the diesel garage. if you happen to be in town, come by and dance!

bright spring.

last weekend i had the pleasure to play at loisto's spring party. the yearly event has been a highlight of a rather quiet party season. there's always a theme, a beautifully detailed decor and, of course, amazing people having fun. the party provides a breath of spring that always convinces one that the warm season is in fact on its way while the last snowfall and slush create doubt.

actually, to be totally honest, i felt envious of the people on the other side of the decks since i was busy clicking through records while they were mingling and dancing. oh, poor me and the trouble of working at parties...

this time the entire salon was filled with balloons and flowers, the smell of chocolate from a fountain and a couple of bright and breezy punches that made sure the crowd was happy and rowdy.

the intoxicating chocolate fountain.

dress by katri niskanen, belt by h&m, tights by wolford, boots by camilla skovgaard.

humid inside.

thank you, i had a blast!

feelin' the blue.

you might as well consider yourself deaf if you did not hear the dance track of 2008: hercules and love affair's "blind". it is rare that an original dark dance gem gains such popularity – in my circle of friends it crossed musical taste boundaries like no other new song that i know of.

the album was great and the band rocked live, but i started doubting if there'd be anything to follow: the following year their starlet, nomi, formed another group, jessica 6. late last year kim ann foxman released a(n amazing!!) solo single, "creature".

i was convinced the band was done.

but no. soon after kim ann's release there was another hercules song: "my house".



their album, blue songs, will be released at the end of this month. for those of you in need of a prefix, guardian is offering a full album stream here. they're also playing live at debaser, stockholm 3 march 2011.

good vibes are back!

dragged out.

last thursday i had a very special dj-gig at jenny woo. i was invited to play at drag attack where dj guests are always dressed up. in drag.

since my personal style varies from fairly clear boy looks to over-the-top feminine frills and i do not have idols that i'd like to play, i was unsure which way to go.

after a busy week and another pro bono gig the night before, i decided to go for the simplest solution. remember my makia gear? well, it kinda started from there...

my drag role was "the punavuori hipster boy" whose life revolves around graphic design, dj'ing music at little indie clubs, taking photos and riding a fixed gear bike around town. however, my colleagues for the night – anna c, spelpojke and miia magia – took different approaches.

the result is here.

the queen gets the party going, spelpojke cheers on.

super mario and queen elisabeth.

hercule chaplin a.k.a. miia magia.

makia, could i model for your next menswear catalogue?

i guess i pulled my role off pretty well: when i tried to enter the bathroom, a bunch of girls pushed me out telling me it was the ladiesroom. they actually shoved me. another walked by while i was playing, stopped to stare and finally approached me with "you are a girl, no? why do you want to look like a boy?" the tone was accusative.

at first i found it hilarious, but then i remembered friends who have dealt with not fulfilling the expected gender roles and their stories of abuse, mockery and exclusion. what to me is all fun and games – something i play to my advantage because truthfully even my most androgynous looks are definitely tilting towards the feminine – is not too far from the reality of some who fail to fit into our heteronormative expectations...

it was quite an eye-opener because although i have lived my life surrounded by people who fail to fit into proper boxes and do not usually take a second look when something is "off" by accepted standards, i have heard and been present when confusion about gender pushes people to react. nevertheless, i have never personally witnessed the troubling sentiments ambivalence creates.

sometimes reality is a drag.

don't mess with my love.

juvelen is the prince of sweden as far as i'm concerned. enjoy.

it gets better.

very late this october a surprising (to me, that is) group in finland decided to take action. they were not people who were unrelated to the topic at hand nor people who had not taken action before – there were think-tankers, digital marketing professionals, celebrities, corporate leaders, politicians, etc – but many of the members of the group had hardly taken a personal is political stance previously.

in a couple of days they put together a video that premiered at the TEDx helsinki conference on one of the first days of november.

i had read about my friends' facebook statuses that "great things were on the way", but nothing prepared me for the actual viral. i cried, and i wasn't the only one.


(if you cannot see the english subtitles, click on cc.)

the past year in finland has felt abrasive. last summer the pride march was attacked. people interviewed on tv, columnists and bloggers have taken their liberties seriously and uttered hurtful words using both their impressions about religion and their right to free speech as excuses. yesterday a "style consultant" asked the gay couples who dared to dance at the president's independence day reception to "show some respect" and refrain from dancing.

just like everywhere around the world, gay kids are more likely to take their own lives than straight ones – the bullying and marginalization is a reality as much here as it is in where the "it gets better" campaign was started, the us.

curiously all of these people claim to know plenty of lgbti-people and that they have close friends from sexual minorities. i am sure they find nothing religiously, stylistically or veraciously problematic about hurting (intentionally?) their other friends, either.

some even ask why gays are above criticism... although none of them can give any other "critical" argument but that they're grossed out about gays (that is, imagining sex between gay men, let's be honest here) and seeing gay people being treated just like others feels like an insult on normality (i.e. forces them to imagine sex between men).

the video above was shown at schools and on all national tv stations and it created such a wave of applause that the force behind it quickly gathered people to write their stories. today, they are launched as a book. it will be available in bookstores nationwide and online (for example here).

all the proceeds go to the youth help line funded by the mannerheim league for child welfare – about which i have distressed views because of their psychiatrist's inexplicable views about gay parenting. nonetheless, the helpline is the only viable one nationally and their work is without hesitation thoroughly admirable.

the book launch is tonight at jenny woo from 7.30pm onwards. there will be a couple of short speeches, some live music, excerpts read from the book and djs, myself included.

welcome.

dj at work.

hey! i am here to disenchant you from thinking i was swallowed by the great cold surrounding us or swooshed away with the snow.

i have been busy at work but also volunteering lately. needless to say, my weekends have been sacrosanct and dedicated to family and friends. but no, i haven't forgotten about you, just bear with me.

i pretty much gave up dj'ing at bars some time ago: the pay sucks in comparison to the extent the lengthy nights disturb daytime work. thus, i've been throwing random gigs at private parties, openings, fashion shows and at special events like the jc + ida sjöstedt launch.

dress worn as top by vivienne westwood anglomania, jeans by cos, heels by zara, bracelets by h&m and cos, headphones by wesc.

but tonight i shall take over siltanen with lauri soini. confusion, 8pm onwards.



come and dance yourself numb.

collaboration for fall.

i first encountered the designs of ida sjöstedt via her collaboration with monki in spring 2009. her lacy details felt attractive combined with minimalistic and edgy base designs – there was an appealing contrast in the introduction of girly with utilitarian forms.

her own collections form the gear of an urban flower girl, someone who loves frills, lace and nature. as you might gather, i am not exactly her target audience, but i do find some pieces wearable.

why am i bringing her up then? she returns with a collaboration with another swedish high-street brand, jc.

a capsule collection of 5 dresses and a pair of leggings continues with the already familiar style of adding a girly accent to a basic, but edgy form. my favorite dress from the collection repeats the theme of my grey sweatshirt: lace on shoulders and a slinky simple base.

you can see the entire collection here, and it will hit the stores tomorrow. tonight i shall dj at the launch party and, perhaps, get myself a velvety dress for the season.

the collection sounds like this to me:



do you fancy the frilly look?

sleep paralysist.

neon indian is a 21-year-old boy (i get call him boy since i'm an old lady...) who also creates as vega, conjuring some of the best dance hits of past years, such as "all too vivid" and the impossible-to-refrain-from-nodding-you-too-cool-for-school-hipsters song, "no reasons".

neon indian is his project for the more off-beat, less accessible (but still far from difficult) material that he could not release as vega. here's his newest video for a synthpop song he scribbled published by green label sound. downloadable for free there as well.

stella behind the g.

quite often i am asked about the origin of my alias, stellagee. my real name is not stella, not even close, but i do have a special history with the name.

it all goes back to around 2004 when i started dj'ing. i am not one of those people who are often given nicknames, but i had been persistently called "the stella girl" by some bar staff and friends because of my habit of ordering stella artois. when i had to decide a dj name, i figured that people already knew me by my reputation and, thus, stellagirl emerged. i started using different, riot grrrl inspired spelling and instantly the name went cosmically haywire and there are a myriad of versions around in posters, websites and flyers.

yup, it all comes down to beer – moreover, a beer nicknamed "the wife beater" in the uk. not terribly fancy, now is it? nonetheless, i did not mind the fact that stella also means a star and i used tähtityttö as my dj name at times, as well.

the reason i am telling you this now is the latest campaign by stella. they have a reputation for intelligent and culturally savvy campaigns utilizing surrealist themes in addition to references to, for example, jean-luc godard. and this one is no exception. the fact that their lightweight bottle campaign also uses one of my favorite songs of the moment, the mystery jets' "dreaming of another world" and a goodie from marina and the diamonds, cannot hurt either.

the campaign itself rides on a lighter bottle that reduces carbon emissions. since i am not sure of the reusability of the bottle, i have no idea whether the promise of eco-friendliness actually delivers – assuming of course that making new bottles is more ecologically consuming than is recycling and reusing them, but if i am not completely off the grid here, it should be so, right?

there are some pretty funny videos of an imaginary tv show presented from inside a stella bottle at 1963 on the campaign site, but first there are these three. the first one is just an introduction to the theme, the second a version of marina's "i am not a robot" and, le troisieme, les jets mystère.

watch them, if only for claude the hedgehog...







the full song and official video for the mystery jets song is here.

list for the beginning of summer.

feelin' positive and everything. things that make me happy at the moment:

1. switching my facebook to pirate english. "yar scurvey self be aprreciat'in this."
2. foursquare and getting my friends excited about it. despite the many obvious bugs in it, it works as a miracle tool for meeting up with friends. if they remember to check in to places, that is...
3. my new shoes from zara. i've worn them everywhere, including the monki/weekday opening party you might have read about everywhere else. i had the chance to see everything an hour earlier at the press event, but have yet to return to the store for shopping. needless to say, i had fun, had a few drinks and chatted with friends. a great party, so thank you everyone involved.


4. nettle soup i made from freshly picked local superfood from the garden cottage. omnomnom.


5. the new solo single from bloc party frontman kele, "tenderoni". the song combines kele's hauntingly ripping voice with some club friendly twitching. i can feel this filling dark dance floors very very late in the hot night.



what makes you happy at the moment?

odd night out.

tonight is the design district odd week late shopping night around town. most stores are open till 9pm and many have special offers and goodies on site. i suggest you take a stroll and just see for yourself what is on going on, but here are a couple of events i'm going to try to make:

*klaus k rooftop terrace opening from 4pm.
*skanno summer terrace party with music, shopping and manolo blahnik designed bottles of coke light.

but to top them all, i want to cheer for the ilja glazunow opening at kiasma. last night's preview revealed that there are some unannounced gems present, such as this artwork by urho kekkonen:



i'm dj'ing on the terrace – hottest in town, seriously – so pop by to hear 60's pop hits from salvatore adamo and alla pugacheva in addition to your usual indie dance tunes. or just to see me faint from the heat...