Star Apps: Nervo
For Mim and Liv Nervo, being the top-ranking women DJs takes a "work hard, play hard" attitude. I chatted with the first sisters of dance music, who next appear at New York's Electric Zoo Festival, about the shows, sharing DJ gigs with Paris Hilton, triumphing in a male-dominated industry, how music has healed their hearts, and their favorite apps.
Drink to the beat: Nervo intoxicates at Electric Zoo on Saturday.
(Credit: Chloe Paul Photography)
What can you tell us about your Electric Zoo set?
Mim: We've been playing lots of festivals this summer, so we're up to speed with our festival sets. They're short and high energy, and they include our new releases and old material, mixed up with some mashes we've made. It'll be a power hour.
You and your twin are together 24/7. How do you handle so much togetherness?
Mim: We're very lucky. We're very similar people, and we always have each other's backs. We have similar work ethics, and we don't really fight over all that much. If we do, then like most siblings, it's forgotten about quickly. You always have a friend on the road. We get to travel to so many incredible places around the world, so it's great to be able to do that with your sister and your best friend. With work pressures, it's also nice to be able to bounce off ideas with your sister, someone who you completely trust. This work brings us together even closer, I reckon. That said, we also have two other siblings, and I don't think we could work together in quite the capacity that we have together.
You are always posting photos over social media with other superstar DJs. Which DJ makes you the most starstruck?
Mim: We always get excited working with all of our friends. We just did a residency with David Guetta in Ibiza, which finished on Monday, and just seeing how much of a superstar he's become is incredible. The people line up down the street to get a glimpse of him getting into his car to get home. Things like that always freak me out a little bit, because he's a normal human being. Paris Hilton is the sweetest thing on Earth. She's living in Ibiza in the summer, so that's another trip-out personality.
With so many superstar DJs today and only so many residencies to go around, does it bug you when celebrities like Paris Hilton get gigs over more established DJs?
Mim: There are a bunch of celebrities becoming DJs or just DJing on the side, but I just think that's an extra facet to their already celebrity status. I don't think that's the backbone of what they do, and I think it's important to acknowledge that. There are many star DJs out there who let the music do the talking, and I believe are where they are for that reason. I think it's the good, old-fashioned music that should do the talking before anything else.
What does it mean to be a woman DJ in 2014?
Mim: It's becoming more and more popular now for women to enter the scene. It's always been popular in techno, but now there are a few more girls popping up overall, which is great to see. I think it's another symbol of where society is becoming more equal, and it's a really great thing.
Are male DJs supportive?
Mim: From our experience, yes. We have had such a great support network, since releasing music under Nervo. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that we already worked with a lot of these guys under their artist names. So when it was our turn, they really got behind us. We feel really lucky for that.
What do you miss most when you're on the road?
Liv: Our family. We Skype quite a lot.
Mim: A washing machine.
Liv: Yeah, we're traveling every other day, so there's often not enough time to get your clothing cleaned in time, so we do have to ration our wardrobe. So the first thing we do when we stay somewhere for too long is put a load of washing in.
You are both models as well as DJs. How do your modeling backgrounds inform your performances?
Liv: We're like any other girls that like to get dressed up, and I think the beauty of our jobs is we're out and we can get dressed up for it. It makes our job more fun, but has also taken on a life of its own. So the more we're gigging, the more clothes we're wearing and the more fun it is. Now we're just addicted to it, and we feel really boring in a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt. We really love it. It's another form of self-expression that we really embrace and enjoy.
Your music is always so positive and anthemic. When you and Mim are feeling down, what uplifts you?
Liv: A lot of our songs, even though they are uplifting, have been written in heartbreak moments. So something we find therapeutic is when we're in the studio. If we've gone through a breakup or [are] feeling a bit miserable, it's almost like a therapy session, the music side of things. That really does help. Some of our earlier releases are about breakups, and when I listen to them now, 'cause we play them in our sets, they're about reassuring ourselves that we'll love again. It makes me feel good.
Nervo's positive music uplifts Mim and Liv just as much as fans.
(Credit: One PR)
What is your DJ setup?
Liv: Our setup is four CDJs all linked and a DJM-900. We sometimes manage our playlists with Rekordbox on a USB.
Have you ever experimented with DJing on an iPhone or iPad?
Liv: One of my friends showed me something on an iPhone or iPad. I had a little fiddle, but we're so used to the CDJs, and we like the way they feel, so we stick to that. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
You spend so much time at clubs and festivals. What do you do on your days off?
Mim: Nothing! We live in Ibiza in the summer, so we have a country house that we stay in, and there are good friends staying with us. On days off we practically never leave the house. We might go out to have a meal, but then it's straight to the pool or the beach. It's very chill. And, you know, part of our work is getting crazy, so on our days off there is just not enough energy to get crazy again.
What are your top mobile apps?
Mim and Liv: Sky Scanner or Kayak to get flights. We love Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and InstaSize, which makes our pictures fit into Instagram. Snapseed is a good one to fix the colors of photos. We love Uber and Shazam. WhatsApp, Skype, and Viber to stay in touch. I really like FaceSwap, a fun application. Duolingo and iTranslate, because we live in Ibiza in the summer, and we go to Spanish-speaking countries a lot. We're not very good at it, but we're trying.
