LAST WEEK YVETTE FROM OUR TEAM SAT DOWN WITH NAARM-BASED DJ NAK IN THE MIDDLE OF A RELENTLESS RUN OF SUMMER GIGS. A MIX CREATED FOR KLOKE, A FULL WEEK AT HER 9 TO 5 AND SETS ACROSS THE WEEKEND LEFT LITTLE ROOM TO PAUSE. STILL, NAK WAS SHARP, REFLECTIVE AND BUOYANT, AS IF RETURNING FROM A HOLIDAY RATHER THAN A LONG WEEK BEHIND A DESK AND AT THE DECKS.
YVETTE: WHERE DOES NAK COME FROM? DO YOU PREFER NAK OR ISABEL?
NAK: My full name is Isabel Nakonieczny, but the nickname Nak emerged in high school because no one could pronounce it (classic Polish surname). It’s stuck ever since, and I’m happy to go by either :)
Y: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DJING, AND HOW HAS YOUR APPROACH EVOLVED OVER TIME? WHAT FEELS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT NOW, COMPARED TO WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED?
N: I’ve been properly DJing for about four years now, which feels pretty surreal to think about… over time, I’d say my approach to music has become a lot more intuitive and personal.
I really didn’t anticipate how much DJing would challenge me to learn how to tap into, and trust, my instincts. This is not something that comes naturally to me – I am a very thorough and risk-averse person, qualities that do not coincide with making split second decisions based on your gut in an environment where things can be embarrassing if they go wrong... this definitely drove me to meticulously planning out my sets when I first started, but I’ve been making a concerted shift away from this approach the past couple years.
I think the hallmark of a truly great DJ is their ability to read the room and follow their gut, and this is a quality I’m really prioritising. It’s exhausting and against the essence of the art to agonisingly plan song-by-song. I’ve really been leaning into b2bs lately as a result of this – these have been a great challenge for thinking on the fly and leaning into my intuition.
Y: DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN THREE WORDS FOR THOSE UNLUCKY PEOPLE WHO HAVE YET TO HEAR YOU PLAY. DO WE HEAR THOSE SAME QUALITIES IN THE KLOKE MIX?
N: Lush, dreamy, playful… I like contrasting deeper, more ethereal sounds with cheeky, sexy moments, letting the set breathe and flipping the mood into something silly and fun :)
The mix I’ve recorded for Kloke leans into the softer, more meditative side of my taste. Expect lots of beautiful percussive, dubby moments, bits of jazz and ambience... it’s the kind of mix I’d want to listen to lounging in the sun, or sipping tea with a good book.
Y: YOU RECENTLY PLAYED A PRIME-TIME NEW YEAR’S EVE SLOT AT DIEGA. WHAT WAS THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE?
N: Incredibly special! I went to one of the first renditions of Diega (called Tabula Rasa) in 2021 as one of my first ever bush doofs, so it felt like a full circle moment to step onto that stage. So many of my best friends were dancing in the front the whole time, one of my best friends Ella apparently cried happy tears for 20 minutes straight :’)
I was quite anxious before, it felt like a lot of pressure playing 9-11pm on NYE. I knew that people wanted a set that was silly, fun and celebratory, and it was quite a challenge to express the catharsis and celebration of the new year in a way that still felt like me – I did my best and am pretty happy with how it turned out. Of course, in reflection there’s always things I would’ve done differently but there’s no such thing as the perfect set, everything is always so contextual. Hopefully the set recording will be released later this year!
Y: YOU AND DJ RAIN ON HOSTING YOUR FIRST EVENT TOGETHER AT TENDER. WHAT DREW YOU TOWARDS EVENT CURATION? WHAT WAS THE INTENTION BEHIND THE NIGHT, SONICALLY AND SOCIALLY? HOW DID IT FEEL SEEING IT UNFOLD IN REAL TIME?
N: At the end of last month, my dear friend Jude (DJ Rain) and I hosted Alex Albrecht (live) and Emelyne at the beautiful Tender studio in Brunswick. The event sold out and went really well, we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
Jude and I had been talking about turning our Skylab Radio show errare into an event series for a while, and it felt really right to choose Tender as our venue. Steph and Nik have created such a unique, warm, inviting space that’s become quite special to me over the past couple months of attending their yoga classes. Jude and I had a beautiful moment dancing to Alex live at Hopkins Creek last year, and so when Alex said yes to playing our event, it really felt like all the pieces were falling together. There’s actually a few songs by Albrecht La’Brooy (Alex’s duo project with Sean La’Brooy) in my Kloke mix too!
Intention-wise, errare is all about the premise of storytelling and world-building through music, and we wanted the night of music to reflect this. We also wanted to do the beautiful venue justice and encourage deep listening – something I don’t think happens much nowadays with notoriously chatty Melbourne crowds (we are all guilty of a dfloor yarn!). I was a little worried that ninety minutes of sitting still to a live set would be pushing things attention span-wise, but people were raving afterwards about how beautiful and transportive the set was. All in all, it was such a fulfilling night and I can’t wait to do it all again :)
Y: WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU? ANYTHING ON THE HORIZON AFTER THE SUN SETS ON GOLDEN PLAINS?
N: It’s going to be a big year for me! I’ve recently left my job after five years in corporate… I kind of went straight into my commerce degree and the workforce without ever really having the option to think about what I wanted to do for myself, so this is going to be my year of soul searching :’) I’m planning a mix of travel and volunteering across SE Asia and Europe for the next 6 months. My partner is also moving to London so I'll end up relocating there afterwards for who knows how long!