For those who don’t know you, tell us a little about yourself, where you are from, and how you first got into dance music

My name is Lauren Munar and I DJ under the moniker, Wahine, which means ‘woman’ in Hawaiian. I was born and raised in Southern California– Redondo Beach, to be exact. Being from a seaside city in Los Angeles County with lots of diverse influences and having studied World Arts & Cultures at UCLA influenced my sound immensely, on top of being a life-long dancer. As a result, my sound is heavily dancefloor-driven with lots of world music influences. I was a latecomer to the dance music scene in the early 2000’s, a few years after college. Prior to that, dance music to me was Jazz, Flamenco, West African, and Jamaican Dancehall, amongst a dozen dance forms that I’ve studied over the years. 

How long have you been a DJ? Tell me a little about your DJ career.

I started DJing in 2002, shortly after being introduced to house music and meeting a top-shelf DJ who took me under his wing. By 2004 I was producing weekly events in Pasadena, California. Over the next few years, I would become one of the better known female house DJs in LA, with residencies across the city and playing well known clubs such as Avalon Hollywood, Vanguard, and King King. 

For a few years, I performed as half of the duo, “Wahine & Kanaka” with my DJ mentor and boyfriend at the time. Later, I performed alongside my friend Jason Rath and did a combination of go-go dancing and DJing to the audience’s surprise. I would play the opening set, then hand things off to my partner while I went for a costume change. Then, I would go-go dance during my partner’s set and return to the decks for the last part of the B2B set. 

I played many places across Los Angeles, but my favorite residencies were closer to the ocean. I played a Sunday 12pm-midnight party at a spot called Dragon in Hermosa Beach, which was like a little slice of Ibiza just a few minutes from where I grew up. $1 beers in red solo cups, dancing in flip flops and shorts just steps from the pier, and sunny, soulful, funky beats. My other favorite spot was The Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey where I played an eclectic selection of lounge music at a time when my ear was changing.  

Despite my success, I hung up my headphones in 2008. The volume of gigs became overwhelming, and the gap between what I wanted to play (organic sounds) and what crowds wanted to hear (electro house) was widening—not to mention a major career switch to the all-consuming world of internet startups. 

I relocated to Atlanta in 2017 and made an unexpected return to the decks a few years later. The inclusiveness of Atlanta’s “small, but mighty” house music scene inspired me to return to DJing.

In January 2019, I purchased my first digital DJ controller—-which I played for 2 weeks—before receiving a fateful email from the Managing Director of Defected Records. He invited DJ mix submissions for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at Defected Croatia. 

Inspired by the return of disco to the forefront in recent years, and the possibilities presented by my new digital controller, and encouraged by my husband Jonathan, I entered the contest. A few months later, I found out that I would be making my international debut at Defected Croatia in August of 2019, alongside more than 80 of house music’s top DJ’s. It was all of the validation I needed to return to the booth and the high profile nature of the event opened up opportunities to play local gigs, as well as radio, and guest mix opportunities, including my very first guest mix for Spin City in October of 2019. On New Year’s Day 2020, Goz (creator of Spin City) reached out to me with the opportunity to become a resident and then the co-host of the show a short time later.

In November 2019, I produced the first Wahine’s Hideaway event with Mexican disco edits don, The Funk District as my special guest. I’ve produced 2 additional Hideaways since then with guests The Silver Rider and Dicky Trisco.

Despite COVID decimating nightlife for the next few years, being a part of the My House Radio family allowed me to keep moving things forward and continue to build a following through podcasts and radio broadcasts, alongside contributing a column to Le Visiteur’s house music blog and interviewing US-based talent for Only Good Vibes Music, both of which are based in the UK. I was able to organize 2 tours of the UK, and 2 trips to ADE.

In 2020, I took my first baby steps with music production, releasing a couple of my mashups as free downloads on Soundcloud. One of those has almost 10,000 plays and reached the Top 10 on the Hypeddit Disco Chart.

I’ve returned to the decks with renewed vigor and commitment to the concept of the dancefloor as a safe space for self-expression, a temple for spiritual release and a gathering place for community. I do my best to spread this belief with revelers at my event, “Wahine’s Hideaway,” where the sound is tropical disco and the setting is tiki kitsch. I’m proud to be bringing Hideaway back this spring/summer as a bi-monthly event.

How did you get into dance music? What drew you to the scene?

As mentioned previously, I’m a dancer at-heart, but I actually stopped dancing altogether for an entire year after I graduated from UCLA. Thankfully, I had my “dancefloor epiphany” to house music at an after-after-hours in Hollywood and found my way back to the music. The 4:4 beats, blending of diverse sounds, and open-hearted spirit gave me the freedom to combine all of these different influences into a cohesive dance and musical style that has become a form of meditation for me.

Where do you live? How is the dance music scene where you live?

I relocated to Atlanta from Los Angeles in 2017. I would characterize Atlanta’s dance music scene as “small but mighty” and very inclusive. I don’t have hard numbers, but I can confidently say that there are more female DJs and promoters here than any other city that I’ve experienced. Atlanta has a long and storied legacy of nightlife as the progressive hub of the South–attracting the “freaks and geeks” from all over the world and across the southern states.

What is the first album or piece of music you bought for yourself? 

I’m not positive, but want to say that the first record I ever bought for myself as a DJ was Ministers de la Funk featuring Jocelyn Brown – “Believe”

If you had to recommend one album for someone looking to get into dance music, what would it be? 

Dimitri From Paris – After The Playboy Mansion or Nuyorican Soul

What is the biggest issue currently facing dance music? 

Rebuilding nightlife culture after the closure of so many venues due to COVID.

What is the best/most exciting thing happening in house music now? 

While the scene has had its challenges due to COVID, this is also a really exciting time to be producing events because it gave all of us the opportunity to stop and really consider what we were doing making music and producing events. I think people are being much more intentional about trying to do things in a more sustainable and inclusive manner. If you didn’t learn something about the world during this challenging period, then you missed an opportunity to build a better dance community–and world–than the one that we started.

What is your favorite place to listen to and experience dance music? 

In the sunshine with lots of fellow dancers and smiling faces around me. In Atlanta, my favorite event is House In The Park, which takes place every year in September at Grant Park. 15,000 people dance in the daylight (and sometimes the rain) to local legends: Kai Alce, Ramon “Rawsoul,” DJ Kemit and Salah Ananse. You arrive early and stake out your spot to put up a pop-up tent for shade and a cooler for staying hydrated for the duration of the all-day dance-a-thon. It’s one of my favorite days of the year.

Who are some of your favorite DJs? 

Who are some of your favorite producers? DJ Koko, Karizma, Ian Pooley, Kenny Dope, Dicky Trisco, and a friend of mine in London who used to go by the moniker Heavy Usker.

Who has been your greatest mentor? Your greatest inspiration? 

I’ve been fortunate to have a number of great mentors. My first was Glenn Cabalar who patiently and generously taught me how to DJ. The second is a french DJ who came into my life just as I was getting back into DJing. He shared honest feedback on my mixes and terabytes of wonderful new music that helped shape what I play today. Goz, my co-host on Spin City helped lift me out of total obscurity with the invitation to co-host this radio show. His faith in me and friendship over the years has kept me going through difficult times.

My husband, Jonathan has been in the scene longer than I have and is an avid record collector. We inspire each other continually with our love of music and dance. 

Do you feel satisfied with the role of women in dance music? 

I appreciate that conditions are improving and becoming more inclusive, but we have a long way to go. This is probably going to sound harsh, but equality in the dance music scene looks like this: When there are as many mediocre women in headliner spots and positions of power within the industry as there are mediocre men, then we will have reached equal status as our male counterparts.

As a woman in the dance music industry, do you feel that you have been given the same opportunities as your male peers? Do you think that women are adequately represented at festivals? 

I have been very fortunate in my career. It seems that the doors have always been open to me as a DJ and I feel extremely fortunate. But that is definitely not the path that has been laid out for many of my female peers who have been dismissed, sidelined, not taken seriously, and suffered various forms of abuse, as well. 

As for representation at festivals, everyone should follow @bookmorewomen for statistics on female representation on festival lineups. Strides have been made, but we haven’t reached gender parity at the majority of festivals, especially some of the largest and longest-running events.

Who are some of the women of dance music that you look up to? 

Annie Mac, Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy, Yvonne Turner, Loleatta Holloway.

How do you feel the dance music industry could improve in its treatment of/attention to female artists? 

We need our male counterparts to be our champions and help us demonstrate that we can be judged for our merits on equal footing with men.

Do you feel there are adequate opportunities for women at gigs, clubs, festivals, radio stations? 

Things are improving, but I have no patience for these things. I would urge my sisters out there to take matters into their own hands. Be job creators. Open venues, produce your own events, book each other. Start a record label, a music blog, radio shows, radio stations and give your sisters a platform to be heard.

Where is your favorite place to hear house music, past or present? 

One of my favorite clubs back in the day was where I first discovered deep house after-hours called “Does Your Mama Know?” at Coconut Teaser in Hollywood. This was where I first discovered soulful house and disco.

What – or who – are you currently listening to?

Khruangbin has been my favorite band for the past several years. Millie McKee is a DJ that I recently discovered and I love the psychedelic grooves that she plays. Clive From Accounts and Session Victim are a couple of producers that I am really into right now. Crackazat can really do no wrong and his label, Heist is a constant source of quality tunes from across the spectrum of house music.

Where are you in the world right now and what are you up to? 

I recently moved houses across town in Atlanta so I am busy settling into my new space.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

I see myself living in one of the great nightlife centers of the world (Spain, Germany, France, etc) with a weekly radio show, a day party residency, and producing my event Wahine’s Hideaway as a touring event. I also have some ideas related to musical stage production, but am keeping that under wraps for now.

Is there anything else you want us to know about you? 

I’m a functioning introvert. Being a DJ is my way of participating in the vibe generation, but being behind the decks allows me to have some level of separation from the crowd when my introverted nature is in need of a break from the social aspects of nightlife. 

You can catch DJ Wahine on MyHouseRadio.FM on the Spin City radio show on Sundays from 2:00-4:00 pm EST!