At SOBU, everyone will be a headliner

I had no idea the day of the shoot was the first time you met. It certainly didn’t seem so.

Bia: It was! And we were already all over each other. [laughs] I didn’t want to go to the shoot and serve face. That wouldn’t be genuine.

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How’s your summer going? Did you go to any festivals you particularly liked?

Bia: I just came back from Guyenne, a festival in France. Their curation is amazing. To be honest, it’s been a while since a Belgian festival stood out to me. A lot of festivals here share the same headliners, while local artists keep having to play support slots for small fees. It’s a real problem. The scene doesn’t support their local acts in the long term.

Local artists should start saying no to bad fees. We need to know our worth

Noah: There’s such a high barrier between local and headlining DJs. It’s very hard to break through. But at the festival, we will put the locals out there. At Sound of the Belgian Underground, everyone will be a headliner.

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Do you have any advice for upcoming DJs?

Noah: Be kind. There are so many mean people out there. And – I know it sounds corny – but you have to believe in yourself.

Bia: Get out there and connect with people. That’s how you get opportunities. And local artists should start saying no to bad fees. We need to know our worth.

The festival focuses on the underground. What does that mean to you?

Bia: It’s the most subjective thing. It depends on who you ask.

Noah: I think it’s tied to social norms. Something is underground because it's not accepted by the mainstream yet. When it is, it becomes institutionalised. That has happened with many genres created by black people.

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Have you ever regretted that an artist broke out of the underground?

Bia: Yes. Sometimes the connection you feel while listening to a certain artist changes when everyone starts digging them.

Noah: I do regret that being into underground music sometimes becomes a competition. Who digs the most, who knows the most niche artists? I don’t want to be like that. I want to be able to play popular songs in my sets too.

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For those who don’t know you: what’s a typical dj Straight Again and iced lattina set like?

Bia: I’m a BPM fucker. My only rule is that you can mix any song with anything, really. A 90-BPM track can be followed by a track set at 130. My radio sets are quite chill, but in the club, I get very restless and chaotic. I like to keep up the pace.

Noah: I like to imagine my sets as a mix between a girl’s night out and a noughties dance movie. You’re getting ready, you put on a cute outfit, and you dance as they used to in music videos: that’s the vibe I’m going for. I want to see ass shaking.

Bia: I want to see 40-year-old dads losing their glasses because they’re dancing so hard they’re sweating. And at the end of the set, they tip me €10. [laughs] That has happened.

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So at Sound of the Belgian Underground people need to tip. And shake their ass.

Noah: Yes. They have to shake with all their senses.

Bia: They have to lose their soul.

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Lastly: what’s the origin story of your DJ names?

Noah: When I first started DJing, I was listening to a lot of nederhop. Frenna, Mula B, Ronnie Flex, all of them. ‘What’s this straight persona you're putting up?’ my best friend asked me. Since Fred Again was popping up at the time, I was like: I can be Straight Again. It started as a joke, but it's a way to challenge gender norms. I can be Straight Again wearing a skirt. I can be Straight Again kissing guys.

 I can be Straight Again wearing a skirt.

I can be Straight Again kissing guys

Bia: When I was studying, before I was doing music, I was addicted to iced lattes. I would have seven iced lattes a day. I'm Portuguese, and in Portugal, when something is small and cute, they’d add ‘ina’ to the end. So my friends started calling me iced lattina.

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What’s iced lattina’s iced latte recipe? :)

Bia: Two shots of coffee and pea milk. I used to use oat milk – I must have spent thousands on Oatly throughout the years – but then I realised oat milk was the reason my poo– Wait, let me put this in a way you can quote it: I had #tummy issues. [laughs]

 I would have seven iced lattes a day

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<div class="editorial-banner"> <div class=“editorial-credits”>@noah_frb<br>@icedlattina</div>