Rising Stars: Meet Lita Frazier of Denver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lita Frazier.

Hi Lita, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is LitaLotus and I am a DJ and Producer originally from The Bay Area/ Northern California now residing in Colorado. My entrance to this scene started as a Fan moving into being a Professional Festival/Concert Photographer for 7 years before Covid began.

I graduated from Butte College with a Degree in Photography with hopes of reaching greater heights by traveling all over the world taking photos. When my love of music and photography ended up crashing together, I took this new found passion with me all over the US where I had the opportunity to capture the artists and the culture in its prime as Lotus Flame Photography. Throughout that time, I made so many special connections with so many like minded individuals, it is no surprise I ended up following through with mixing and making music as my current passion and was given mass amounts of support when I allowed it to be a part of who I am today.

In 2018, there was a massive fire called The Camp Fire, in Northern California where many people lost their homes including my friends, my family and myself. Watching hundreds of thousands of us lose everything we loved and all my parents worked for was truly devastating and still affects many of us to this day. Because of this, many of my friends and I fell into a deep depression where we all began normalizing our partying a little more often than needed. Oddly, near the end of 2019, right when I was breaking out of that cycle, I found myself downloading the Mixxx Program on my laptop to be able to learn to mix music. From there on out, a new Lita was able to rise from the ashes and live again.

I found a new purpose in life once I began mixing music and after telling so many DJ friends for so long what songs would go great in their playlists, I was able to now do that myself! All the artists I had the honor to photograph and gain inspiration from during the last 7 years, now got to be apart of my sets and be a part of my new making! Right as I began breaking out of my shell and putting myself out into the music world as a DJ, Covid stopped everyone in their tracks and lockdown began. During this time, I was working in a severely mentally disabled care home where I was not allowed to leave and be around other people due to the lack of immunity my clients held. The last thing I wanted to do was put their lives in danger. Because my mother owned the care home, I was able to stay there, invest in my first mixing controller and earnestly perfect this new craft for the next year. Even though venues had closed down and no one was able to see each other in person, we all took to the Twitch platform where everyone was able to showcase their artistry and connect with anyone across the globe via streaming. This was a very special and rare time for the music scene as this built many peoples music careers up that may not have had the proper opportunity to do so if it wasn’t for those who took a chance on them and allowed them to be shown to the masses.

Due to these gratuitous opportunities provided by the music community on Twitch, many of us were able to come out of lock down with a sense of purpose for our projects, a new found love for music and the chance to finally showcase our craft to the public. Many of us even had the opportunity to meet in real life and play shows together with artists we have looked up to and have admired for so long! Everyone who gave me a chance and believed in me during the lockdown is the one of the biggest reasons I am here today. I am eternally grateful for those who cared enough to put us all on.

Just as we were entering the real world once more, I had the opportunity to connect with The WiddFam label where I was asked to be their Operations Coordinator! This was a very rewarding time for me as I coordinated Twitch streams for 2 years and was able to give others the same chance that was given to me; to showcase their skills to the world. From also being such a prevalent Moderator for Twitch Music Channels as well as my dedication to the scene during lockdown, I gained the respect of the Deep Dark and Dangerous Label. From here, I was entrusted to coordinate their Guest Mix series along with their Subscriber Exclusive Tracks on their Bandcamp Subscription.

This year will be my 6th year mixing music and I would have never dreamed that I would move from having a degree in photography and capturing the scene for so long to now stepping out from behind the camera to such a vulnerable place in front of the crowd. Mixing music saved my life after my home burned down and it kept me sober so I could focus on what truly matters. The Passion. The passion I have for mixing music is unlike anything I have ever felt in my life and I would not trade this sensation for anything in the world. To know there is something you can do for yourself that is so utterly rewarding expresses that anything is possible if we put enough passion into it. I am still discovering my passion for making music as working with a blank canvas is much different than blending two or more art pieces together in a Mix. In 2022, I had my first LP release with The WiddFam label and since then have been working to hone my craft in producing as to continue showcasing my passion for music. I am extremely excited to see what the world holds for my forthcoming music journey and I am honored to have so much support moving into the future.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I first started mixing, my moniker was BitchKraft and my focus was on playing darker witchy dubstep and adjacent genres. Right before coming out of lockdown in 2021, my Twitch name , B1TCHKR4FT, was taken down for censorship issues where I was banned on the platform. Because of this, I decided to lay BitchKraft to rest, however it was not without a fight as we created a petition in an attempt to unban my Twitch account with over 150 signatures to keep my alias. At the time, Twitch did not have proper customer support which led to a long battle that we eventually decided was no longer worth the fight. Now having to chose a new moniker, something special blossomed based on my previous photography brand, Lotus Flame and LitaLotus was born into fruition!

In lore, the Lotus Flower growing in mud symbolizes the ability to rise above adversity and achieve purity even when rooted in difficult circumstances, representing the human spirit’s potential to overcome challenges and blossom into beauty despite a messy or challenging origin. Essentially, “no mud, no lotus” means that without hardship, one cannot achieve enlightenment or true beauty. As this moniker, LitaLotus, also stems from my photography name, Lotus Flame, which together is meant to resemble the flame that burns all that no longer serves us to ashes which then creates the mud that the Lotus must grow from.

During my music journey, as many connections grew with me, I also grew out of many connections. I had leaps and bounds with people who I thought had my best interest only for them to either not climb the mountain with me or try to keep me down with them. I believe we shed many versions of ourselves throughout our lives and keeping to one version of ourselves will stunt our growth. Hoping someone stays at the same level as you when they are working on their growth, only prevents us all from reaping the harvest of benefits we’ve all earned. Everything is a group effort in this music scene and it’s important we all work together as much as possible for the music. At the same time, not everyone will have the same ideals or morals as you so remember that not everyone has your best interest and to always focus on what is best for you in the end.

I anticipate many more struggles ahead as the scene is ever changing, along with the music to social media content creator push ruining the real creators’ drive to put themselves out there. We must go through many ups and downs to see who is there for us and what no longer serves our growth moving forward in this scene. It is not without these struggles though that we become the people we are truly destined to be and we can reach greater heights than we’ve ever seen to be in view.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I believe I am most known for my stage presence while I am performing. I let out all the anxiety I feel and release it all to the crowd through the decks. My purpose is to heal people through my mixing no matter what that looks like to them. We all deserve to feel safe and free with those around us on the dance floor. I am honored that my energy can translate so well to the crowd so everyone can feel authentic within themselves and we can all let out our feral side a bit! I feel what sets me apart from others in the scene is even though I am know for my vast selection of 140 tunes, I truly love mixing all genres that call to me. I have gone to concerts of all genres with my parents since I was 10 years old and I truly love to hear what each song represents regardless of its label. This is how I feel about myself as well as I consider myself non-binary. I believe my gender does not define me as an artist or performer; you simply enjoy the craft I provide as the person I am. Defining someone’s gender as a part of their role does nothing for anyone and unfortunately, women are the endless target of that in the music scene. This is something I am working to constantly bring awareness of and promote anyone who can see the music as the main goal in this vision.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
When it comes towards having a mentor, it is important to remember we are all human. Putting someone on a pedestal does us no good because when someone is teaching us something that is important to our skill set, it is because they were humble enough to share what they have taught themselves or what was passed down to them. This music scene is endlessly about connection so as we network with others we start to learn their stories and how they have grown in their project. Sharing our origin and helping others with their craft is pivotal as no one is competition here. With respect and care, there is enough room for all of us to be fulfilled at the table.

Through my connection with others doing photography, the artists I captured have been a huge push for me musically by helping me find what my drive should be in my project. Having others share their positive and negative experiences with me has helped me stay wary and cautious of what to look for in the future and how to go about my project.

I am honored to have Morgan Jones as my mentor and Artist Manager as she has always had my best interest in life and in my project fully. She keeps me grounded and inline with all I need to focus on for myself along with everyone on her roster. Having someone truly in your corner as a guide is the most imperative thing for your project but it takes the right individual you can trust to really be there for you as an artist. I am grateful to have Morgan by my side and I know I will stay on track with her skills, guidance and knowledge.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/litalotus_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lotus.flame.1/
• soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/litalotus
• Other: https://linktr.ee/litalotus

Image Credits
Mike Kessel – Kessel Kreations (Infrasound Photos) – Joe Create