Rachel Chak - Interview series vol. 14 | #107
On being a DJ, her creative projects and making money as a creative
Hello, this is Celeste. I have been writing poems since 2017 and a low-fantasy crime novel since 2022. Letters for Creatives is the place where I share my thoughts on creativity, resources for creatives, and interview creators and authors. Welcome 13 new readers of this creative tribe since the last letter.
Previously on the interview series:
Jo Bahdo on her second poetry collection and future plans
Rachel Chak, who is known as chakra on are.na, has been working on some interesting things, including being a DJ, and building her archive in the music and creative industry.
Her are.na curation on music, mental wellness and other topics has been leading me down rabbit holes and inspiring me as a creative. Since she is a curious being as I do, I have to get her on to have a chat.
Can you tell us what you are working on right now?
I just started experimenting on a DJ series on Instagram and other platforms, dedicated to recorded sets within my home in London — some solo listening sessions, but also some sessions where I invite friends over.
While I still want to spin in places around London, I also like the idea of building my own container where I can experiment with my creativity freely.
I am challenging myself to start filming these sets and posting on YouTube more, so that is a goal for this year! I am also about to start new design projects, so January has been more about setting up systems and routines to find a balance between all my professional and personal projects.
Is there any new platform that you love using recently?
I been learning to collaborate with ChatGPT this past month actually! I still feel some conflicts with the ethical considerations of the space, but I have grown more curious about it since watching a talk by Maggie Appleton on reframing AI as collaborative partners.
I just finished the book 'Psalm for the Wild-Built' by Becky Chambers, which also got me thinking a lot about cultivating a softer relationship with technology. So I have been in a space of using AI tools with more intentionality and playfulness. It is like a research collaborator or sounding board to go deeper into topics I want to write about, or a smart journal to let questions and random ponderings to emerge.
On your are.na profile, you are researching topics such as coding, slow living and mental well-being. Which topic are you most interested in?
I am interested in the intersection of all of these topics, but I see well-being as the root that started my research and the one that I keep returning to.
I studied and worked in Health Sciences during my time in the US, but I found myself frustrated and unable to relate to the dominant Western paradigm of well-being.
I went home to the Philippines during the pandemic, and it gave me a lot of space to deconstruct what was taught to me and look to other sources of discourse within the Filipino context. I also started observing parallels in the ways indigenous cultures around the world express well-being through a relational and transpersonal lens.
Well-being is how connected we feel within or between our inner and outer worlds.
Do we feel in tune with our own physical and mental bodies? Do we feel an alignment in our values and daily actions? Do we feel a sense of connection to the environments we inhabit? Do we feel connected to our heritage, all the generations that have come before us and that will come after us?
This will look different for everyone based on their lived experiences, but I believe that good design is one that respects and nurtures this interdependence.
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Can you talk about your creative process when it comes to your DJ sessions?
It has been such a non-linear process that I am still figuring out, but I will share what I have observed so far. Every mix that I have done has taught me a different creative process when I allow it to.
Some have been a bit more planned with a concept in mind, and others have been so spontaneous that they surprise me too. There are also periods where I take a break from mixing on the decks, but I would feel more energy in the crate-digging side to DJing — going down rabbit holes to find new artists, getting to know my influences and their influences, learning about the cultures and stories behind sub-genres I am drawn to, going out to shows of DJs I have been following, and just experiencing other forms of creativity.
But I find that even after periods of taking a break from the decks, I will feel drawn to get back on the decks because something is craving form and I need to process all the new sounds and experiences that I have collected.
My mixes feel like journal entries to me, a way for me to capture and revisit chapters in my life through sounds. It is a really intimate and chaotic process, but I love uncovering the layers of it.
Can you tell us your process for making your playlists? How do you find the songs that would fit the vibe of the playlist?
It depends on what I am trying to explore! Sometimes a playlist starts because I have stumbled across a song that sparks some feelings within me that I can’t quite articulate yet. So then I build around it over time until it forms a concept. Or sometimes I am exploring different genres, and then I will start to hear some parallels between songs, and that will spark a new playlist to trace the connections between those genres.
At the same time, I go down rabbit holes to understand the cultures and communities that shaped those sounds, which then leads me to even more rabbit holes and concepts to build on top of. That is why I love the crate-digging process, it brings me into a flow state too.
Have you ever tried to improvise when you work as a DJ?
My sets are usually improvised! A lot of the fun in DJing is in responding to the energy of the people in the room, and surprising myself when I unlock new combos. I notice a pattern where I am the most chaotic right before every set because I would feel so unprepared.
But then there is also an inner knowing that I will know what to do when I get on the decks. It has worked out so far, but it is such a test of trust each time. But I also think that comes from a lot of practice sessions where I get to know my sounds, and I allow myself to mess up a lot in the process.
Which music genres or artists influence your creative process the most?
I find that I am drawn to artists who have been able to weave together different disciplines to express what is most important to them. I remember reading this quote from ‘Creative Quest’ by Questlove back in 2020, where he talked about how every creative sits at the base of a tree whose branches stretch far and wide, into other fields and back through time. It has made me see creativity as a lineage, and so no matter what discipline I go into, I am always trying to trace the stories.
At the moment, I am really inspired by writers and researchers, those who are questioning the status quo and prompting us into that relational and transpersonal lens. Writers like Bell Hooks, Adrienne Maree Brown, Julia Watson, James Bridle, and Gideon Lasco.
How did it all start? Is there a pivot point where it led you to do what you are doing now?
Before my final semester at university, I visited London for the first time, and had a lot of alone time to really sit with myself and sort out my thoughts — all the frustrations I was feeling within the healthcare field, but also the desires to explore new creative paths like design and music. This was the beginning of the pandemic. Since I felt that the world was already going through big transformational changes, I thought that I might as well follow the momentum and take a leap into the unknown as well. This was also when I stumbled across are.na, and found a lot of creative resources there. Are.na really became a space for me to freely explore anything I was curious about or as a way to channel my frustrations into a lot of questions. Still figuring it out as I go, but I’ve come to accept just paving my path and trusting that as long as it feels right to me, it’ll make sense with time.
Can you tell us about what you do as a creative, where you are supported financially?
This is actually my biggest conflict right now. I love design and technology, but I also came into the space shaped by a more critical and global lens, so it hasn’t been the easiest finding my place within the mainstream industry, where a lot of the capital is.
There is the journey of becoming a better designer and technologist as a craft, and then there is navigating the industry. It is important not to place too much of my validation in the latter because the industry is part of a larger hyper-capitalistic system that lacks a holistic awareness of well-being.
I’ve gone back and forth with taking on more corporate projects to build capital that will fund the work I feel called to do, or going the more unconventional path but not feeling so financially stable. I have also burnt out on both paths.
So, what I am practicing now is to compartmentalise. As a creative, I think it is important for me to create containers. Whether that is for music or design practice, where I get to make my own rules and metrics for success; where it’s okay to take my time in developing my craft and making mistakes; where I can collaborate and create for the sake of the process, not having to worry about whether the final product will sell.
But as a creative within a capitalistic society, I also have to be realistic of my financial situation, and what will also sustain me to continue to do the work I feel called to do.
That may also mean taking on projects that may not always 100% align with my values, but I remind myself that I’m also playing the long game. I am still early in my career, so it is a constant practice of balance and discernment.
How does working on music and creative projects have an impact on your life?
A lot of richness that you can’t quantify.
Cultivating a creative practice has given me the language and tools to get to know what it means to move at my own pace — not just in creative projects, but how I operate and navigate the world. It is a space for me to practice trust, to make peace with chaos, non-linearity and ambiguity, which then ripples into how I can navigate through really difficult periods in my life. That also led me to very nourishing, synchronistic friendships, and a greater love for so many cultures, which continues to keep me going in whatever it is that I’m creating.
Have you ever had a moment where you ‘manifest’ what you want when you are in alignment?
Yes! I had a strong calling to return home to the Philippines, to be with family during the pandemic, but also be more intentional with getting to know my ancestry for the first time, to really listen.
During my first month there, I stumbled across Filipino designers and technologists through are.na, who shared similar threads of curiosities with me. I also came across local non-profit organizations that shared a similar approach in sustainability that integrated Filipino culture and creativity. It is strange, I had an inner knowing that we would somehow work together, so I didn’t feel pressure to rush the collaboration.
By the end of my first year in the Philippines, I started a web studio practice with Nikki (one of the designers I met through are.na), where we explored technology as a tool for on-the-ground change within the Filipino ecosystem. The non-profit organizations that we have worked with so far are the exact ones that I had on my manifestation list!
What are you excited to work on now? Is there anything that you would be building from scratch?
The past few years in my creative practice have been about divergence and exploring breadth. This year feels more about convergence — weaving disciplines and mediums together.
I have been following the poetic web movement and people creating their websites as digital gardens. So it is a goal this year to create my digital garden, and cultivate a writing practice as a way to converge all the topics I have been researching for the past few years.
Related: Alisa on her digital garden and how it has an impact on her creative process
What would you do if money was not something to worry about?
I would just live a slower life. I would spend more time in nature and with my family and friends. I would travel more, get to know different ways of living and all the cultures that influence the art that I am drawn to. Go to more classes and workshops, and take my sweet time learning and getting better at all the creative mediums that speak to me.
Can you give my readers a creative challenge?
Take a 2-week social media break to reset your attention, your algorithm and your relationship to time. Pay attention to how time feels, stretches and shifts throughout the 2 weeks.
Visit some places you have never been to, and observe how time feels within a new space. At the beginning or the end of each day, put a timer on for 7 minutes (or however long you want) and brain-dump all your observations with how your relationship with time and attention shifts.