Hart & Neenan discuss their moving track in memory of rising DJ Olivia Jaxx
Following the devastating loss of 'Olivia Jaxx' (Sacha) - DJ/Producer Duo Hart & Neenan have collaborated on an exclusive Original track in memory of Sacha. Where 100% of the contributions of this release will be donated towards Sacha's funeral and Mind Charity. Olivia was a rising Female DJ in current scene and her trajectory within the last year has been truly been remarkable. She will be deeply missed by close friends and family and a great loss for the music community. We spoke to Dale about his memories of Olivia and his decision to make the tribute track.
Hi Dale, I wanted to start by wishing you our condolences for your loss. Can you please tell us about how you met Olivia and your memories of her?
We spoke online quite a bit on Instagram a couple of years ago. She was a DJ learning at London Sound Academy, I did a few posts about me playing on Select Radio and she showed a lot of support. We eventually arranged to meet up and went to a studio for a little mix. That night Olivia was playing at Egg London, doing an early set and helping with tickets. I ended up buying a ticket and watching her play and we were really good mates from then on.
When was it you decided you wanted to make a track?
The news hit me really bad and has really impacted all of Olivia’s friends and family over the past couple of weeks. A lot of people were doing tributes to Olivia, I really wanted to show my support in my own way and writing a track felt like the right thing to do. I didn’t have any personal belongings to remember Olivia, just memories. So this track is a celebration of her, written in light of the memories I had of her. What started off as a solo project then became a collaboration with Neenan, I got in touch with him and then we decided to work on it together.
How different was the creative process when making a track as emotional as this one, did you feel a heightened sense of pressure or any initial concerns when making it?
I certainly felt a lot of pressure when doing it, I put a post on Facebook announcing that I was going to make the track. It meant I heard nowhere to hide and had to get it done, which really helped. I put myself under a lot of pressure on myself but I wanted to do my absolute best to help support her mother raise funds for Olivia’s funeral and obviously any other funds went to the MIND Charity. It was pretty emotional; I spent the best part of two days looking for a vocal. Olivia’s taste of music was slightly heavier than mine so I was initially thinking of writing quite a hard-hitting track. After much thought however I made something a bit more minimal which is my preferred style. I was dead set that the vocal should say ‘Remember’, so I spent a load of time on Beatport looking for the right vocal to use. I finally found a really nice Acapella that worked perfectly.
Do you have a favourite musical memory with Sacha (a certain set, mix or breakthrough moment she had)?
I always remember us booking slots at Pirate Studios and having a mad mix-up with a bag full of Red Stripes. I’d play some warm-up tunes and wait for Olivia who would always be fashionably late. Me and Neenan played at the same event as Olivia where G.W Harrison was also playing her mixing was flawless, her transitions, her builds, she absolutely smashed it. She had the crowd in the palm of her hands and everyone behind the decks was loving it, I was in absolute awe of her that night. I remember her playing her debut set for 93 Feet East, she was so nervous but still absolutely smashed it. She was known for always consistently delivering.
How has the reaction been since releasing the track?
It’s been above and beyond what me and John(Neenan)expected. We put out a vinyl spin video and we have never had such a positive response. We couldn’t quite believe how much support everyone gave us and how many people had engaged with it. We had a good few thousand views, with major brands such as Dirty Transmission, Tech It Deep, Detection Audio all sharing the post on their pages. To have brands like that engage with the cause was absolutely amazing. People are still buying the track now which is absolutely incredible. We managed to help fund the funeral so any of the profits now go to Mind Charity.
Can you please tell our readers how they can get the track, where the profits go and how else they can help?
The track is available on the Hart & Neenan Bandcamp Page for just a £1. All sales will go to Mind Charity.
