Daily Inspiration: Meet Tatiana Flowers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tatiana Flowers.

Hi Tatiana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started DJing when I was 21. I was committed to learning but I was so bad at it. I couldn’t understand how to beat match – no matter how much I practiced, and eventually, I quit after just a few months.

When the pandemic hit, and I and many others were looking for something to do with all of our extra free time while quarantining, I decided I wanted to learn how to DJ again. I started to think, if so many others are able to get good at this craft, why couldn’t I do the same? I was also so tired of going to so many parties and rarely seeing a woman on a lineup.

I started learning how to spin with a friend named Tatia (her DJ name is Shvili) in Brooklyn in 2021. She was a good teacher and I finally started to understand how to beat match, organize my music and gain confidence. Soon after I started lessons with her, I moved back to Colorado for a full-time journalism job, and I continued practicing DJ sets in my apartment and at friends’ and families’ gatherings.

About a year later, in August 2022, I and a friend went to Defected Croatia, a music festival that focuses on playing house and disco. I was so inspired by the quality of the music and the amazing people there. When I got back home to Denver, I had about 100 tracks of pure gold and I was ready to play them in Denver’s night clubs. I felt, at that moment, that I had finally found my sound. I messaged Alex Frick, who books local DJs at night clubs here in Denver, and told him I was finally ready to play at my first gig. Four months later, on December 15, 2022, I played a set at my first gig in the Red Room at Bar Standard. It was one of the most epic moments of my life. I blew my own self away and proved to myself and almost 100 others that I was able to spin an epic set.

That first year, after my first gig, I played somewhere at least once per month. Now, I have multiple gigs every week and I’m starting a disco party series called Disco Diva! at Mockingbird on Larimer Street on October 30.

I think there are many things that have helped me get here. Not many people in Denver play disco. Being a woman DJ is still unique and there are many collectives working to hire women and people of color to create equity in this space. I also think house and disco are feel-good genres that are easy on the ears, with lots of vocals that people will recognize. It’s not terribly hard to get people to enjoy such a happy, upbeat and uplifting sound.

I also think reliability, professionalism and consistently delivering during performances is what helps me get booked regularly. I am a personable and friendly woman, who loves to instigate fun and encourage other to be themselves, and connect with others while on the dance floor.

Many people have helped me get here, including especially, my mom, Andrea Robinson.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When I was learning that first time, it wasn’t a smooth process at all. It was so frustrating that I just gave up for almost a decade.

When I picked it back up, I did better, but DJing was still hard for me. I struggled to find a groove in my sets. I didn’t understand why my sets always sounded flat until I learned to mix in key.

When I think about my DJ journey, I feel very blessed and supported. I spend a lot of time digging for fun remixes and deep cuts that people never knew they wanted to hear. I care a lot about trying to make people feel like their lives are lighter after they leave my sets.

None of it is easy work. It’s time-consuming and tedious at times and almost every DJ I know, especially local DJs, think we should be paid more for our work.

And as we get older, it gets harder and harder to be up late and in dark, noisy, stimulating environments that contain a lot of alcohol. But we keep coming back because we love it. There is no feeling like the one I get when I know I played an incredible set that moved a crowd of hundreds of people. The energy exchange that happens when a DJ feels what their crowd wants is why so many of us keep coming back to each gig, even when getting on stage feels intimidating, and like a ton of pressure. And for me, it often does feel like that.

Being genuine and caring about this craft has created an amazing journey for me. I lost my full-time job as a journalist a little over a year ago, and I’ve made it to the last round of interviews several times, since then. DJing has been one of the few things keeping me mentally and financially intact since I lost my full-time job a year ago. I feel an even deeper spiritual connection to it because of that.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I write feature articles for The Colorado Trust, which provides hefty grants to organizations statewide that work to ensure all Coloradans can thrive, especially as it relates to health equity. I am also training with Unbound Authors to work as a prison writing center tutor. I’m learning music production in Ableton and I’m considering organizing more parties and networking events to help us all connect and grow.

What’s next?
My plan is to settle into a full-time writing-based role and continue playing at as many DJ gigs as possible. Or to excel at music production and make music my full-time gig. We’ll see. I’ve been struggling and thriving, as I move through this, which is a very strange combo. But to me, it means this time is rife with opportunities to learn, grow, align and expand.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @misstatianaflowers
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/misstatianaflowers

Image Credits
Doug Ruhl
Kate Foster