Jacky Sommer
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Biografía
- In a relatively short time, Jacquelyn has quickly made a name for herself in the NYC dance scene. In her time as buyer and manager of DanceTracks, she was able to work with and be amongst some of the biggest names in dance music like Theo Parrish, Kenn..DJ Jacquelyn Smith (aka Jacky Sommer) has always maintained an immense passion for music and the creative arts. Born in San Francisco, she was exposed to a diverse community of cultures, people, music, and the visual and performing arts. Her parents, both artists themselves, helped to peak her many interests including fine art, jazz, literature, film and dance and encouraged her many creative endeavors in singing, writing, dancing and choreography. As a dancer, her musical repertoire was already extensive — ranging from jazz to hip hop to classical and world music — but it wasn’t until her exposure to the San Francisco club scene, as a teenager, that she realized her that her true voice was in electronic music. As she delved deeper into this genre, her passion for discovering new music grew and subsequently she bought turntables and began what would soon become an extensive record collection. Inspired by artists like Goldie, DJ Shadow, DJ Vadim, Larry Heard, 4-Hero, LTJ Bukem, Vanessa Daou, to name a few, and labels like Shadow, Ninja Tunes, Om, Nervous, Strictly Rhythm, etc... she immersed herself in the music and swiftly realized her calling to expose people to this sound. There was a feeling about the music that she had never experienced through any other creative effort. As if she were destined to find that sound, she immediately excelled in her musical knowledge and quickly honed her dj skills. As fate would have it, around this same time, (while dancing in a modern dance company and working on a dance major at small college in Oakland), she (with some nervousness) auditioned and landed a spot at the prestigious Ailey School in New York. Turntables and leotard in tow, she made the pivotal decision to head to NYC. With the amazing musical history and culture in NY however, it wasn't long before she realized that music was her calling and had to be her entire focus. She made the decision to leave Ailey, but continued to dance in a company part time, so as to have more time to go clubbing and record shopping. A trip to a local record shop, DanceTracks, would prove to be pivotal to her music career. “I was at Virgin one day and came across a CD called "Do You Know House". The album cover was the front of DanceTracks. I went down to the store and when i walked in, there was something about the vibe that immediately appealed to me. I started shopping there, getting to know the guys a little and just knew i had to work there. So, every time I went in, I asked if they were hiring. Every single time. I was determined. And sure enough, one day I came in, and they said there was a spot available. I met the owner and started right away.” Her passion and dedication to the music was evident and in a short period she went from being the stock girl, entering and tagging records, to the downtempo, techno buyer, the store manager and eventually the content/label manager with DanceTracks Digital. She also, alongside her identical twin sister, held down a long running radio show, Analog Soul, on the NYC based internet radio station, East Village Radio. The show, “an exploration in the sound of the deeper underground”, spanned many genres of electronic music — house, techno, dub, d+b, downtempo, etc., but primarily pushed a deeper darker side of techno along the vein of Robert Hood, Jeff Mills, Theo Parrish and Matthew Dear. She has also deejayed at many venues in the city, including Apt, Love, Bar 13 and Stay, to name few, pushing her brand of deep minimalist Detroit sounds. In a relatively short time, Jacquelyn has quickly made a name for herself in the NYC dance scene. In her time at DanceTracks, she has been able to work with and be amongst some of the biggest names in dance music like Theo Parrish, Kenny Larkin, Danny Krivit, Robert Owens, DJ Pierre, Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Jus-Ed, Mike Grant, X-Press 2, King Britt, Giles Peterson, and Deadmau5, to name a small few. She has had the privilege to be a part of the history of dance music culture in NY and the honor of promoting the talents of many of her musical idols. Her passion and love for the underground is the only thing that has continually propelled her efforts. “It’s always been about preserving the integrity of the culture. By pushing quality music only and by promoting artists and labels that continue to expand and elevate the sound.”