Friday nights Kongos, 1051 12th Ave., is trying to do something different. In the recent rise in popularity of dance/electronic music they are trying to give it a more permanent space here in Norman. Starting Friday night Kongos is now hosting "Femme Fridays." Along side DJ Desire, the very beautiful Kelly Trance will be spinning. Kelly was runner up to BPM Magazine's Beauty and the Beats and has spun alongside uber- scenesters Shiny Toy Guns. Kelly opened up to the Daily because she wanted to make sure that people not in the know could catch up and have fun alongside the hardcore trance and house heads.

So how would you describe yourself to somebody who has never heard you or anything other electronic music that wasn't a huge hit?

What musical genre do you approach the most at a gig? How would you describe it?

I play a pretty wide variety of stuff. The main things I play are house music, progressive house or electro house. I also play breaks and a little bit of trance. Progressive house is more in a direction of trance music. It's a lot more melodic then funky house or disco house. It's prettier. It can be darker or it can be bigger. It's something you hear more at a big party in a big club. In Miami your gonna hear a lot of progressive house. Electro house is in the direction a lot of music that's 80's style. It's house with a new wave feel to it.

What artists do you usually keep your ear on?

I think someone huge right now is Deep Dish. A lot of people in love with them and it is my favorite. Some of my all time favorites have been Hybrid, Green Velvet. Hard house techno stuff. Gabrielle and Dresden would be good because they remix a lot of different artists. It's got lyrics. It's prettier and somebody that doesn't just listen to straight up techno with no words could love it. Basement Jaxx would be good to start listening too. They are one of the top acts in the world that would grab anybody.

What should one expect from goingg to one of your shows?

I define myself as progressive but I really try to play other genres. I try to be pretty diverse. Unlike a lot of techno Dj's I will take requests. I know a lot of people don't like to take requests because it ruins their flow, but the reason I became a DJ was for other people to have that musical connection. I want to do whatever I can to make the crowd happy and play what they like. I check out the crowd and play something they want to hear but in addition to something new.

Is there a certain culture or etiquette that seasoned clubbers usually follow?

If you are around a DJ don't just start talking in their ear. Don't get on the stage and jump around it can make the needle skip. I'm really laid back I really don't care, but when people are trying to mix you can't listen to somebody talk and do that.

Fashion wise I would say as much as the club scene has evolved it's goingg to a slightly older crowd that is more in the age range of 18 to 20 something. You don't need to show up with glow sticks and big baggy pants now. Nobody's doing that anymore. There are no more binkys and baby bottles. It's got to be able to be compatible with a much rider range of music. A lot of the reason that people were using glow sticks was because they were messed up on drugs. They were not trying to make a fashion statement. The people now trying to fit that image are way off base.

You DJ'd the fetish ball earlier this February. How was that?

When I started playing everybody was sitting or standing around. I think I played for about two and half hours or so. More and more people started dancing and then it turned into a club. People from all ages to 60 were dancing. There were some people up front dressed in all leather and this one guy was literally whipping his slave to the beat.

What do you think the appeal to Kongo's "Femme Fridays" is rather than the fact that you are a woman?

I think Kongos is really trying to do something different to attract people and a big trend is dance music now. It's having a hard time finding its place in Oklahoma but I think the crowd to go to is the college crowd. That's where you will find people listening to something different than what's usually goingg on in the clubs. The appeal is something different in Norman where you don't have to drive to the city to hear this style of music.

Do you find it exploiting?

I've gone round and round with this issue because I never wanted it to be about me being a girl. I just realized that clubs got to make money and what attracts people and right now women. I'm kind of goingg into the conclusion that as a DJ you got to do what you're given. You got to realize that DJ'ing and clubs are all about marketing and working at a club every single bit of it is marketing. I won't use my body to market myself but if you look at sports they have turned around the whole market because women are using their sex appeal to sell the sport. Now they have all this attention and more recognition. There is nothing wrong with sex appeal as long as there is talent behind it. There are some women DJs who just hide behind their looks. That's one thing about Oklahoma. There is not a ton, but a few around here and most of them are extremely beautiful and talented. Women like DJ Desire. We are gonna be residents at Kongos if Femme Fridays turns out well. She has been around forever. She's great. She's beautiful. It's a whole package deal but it's not always like that. I've seen plenty of girls who have the looks but don't have the talent. I think Oklahoma has a lot of talented DJs and the women are up to par.

What other Oklahoma DJs would you recommend people check out?

Go check out DJ Diverse. Desire is amazing. She plays out at Pure. The opening DJ will play all hip hop and then shell follow and play dance music and people like it. She gets people dancing as if they were listening to KJ radio. Then there's 90.9 FM's Lifted radio on Fridays and Saturdays. There is also Unadave. He is a great progressive hard trance DJ. I love his stuff as far as that genre. If you want to check out the most up to date current stuff he is the best DJ to listen too because he really keeps up with what's going on in the trance world.

What do you expect from the show?

I think it's gonna be a good turn out. I don't know exactly if people know what to expect yet. Just it's not gonna be the main room and a hip hop sound but were gonna be playing a lot of house and breaks. We will play some remixed commercial dance. It's gonna be a really fun environment to dance and drink a lot too.

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