Paisley Nahanee has been an instrumental force in breaking barriers for women, non-binary, queer, and trans individuals learning to DJ for the past 10 years.

“I definitely was not the only person who was doing work at that time,” says Nahanee, better known as DJ Paisley Eva, “but it feels special to even have just a small part of that growth and that diversifying of the scene.”

Through her non-profit Dame Music Society, which she founded soon after starting her career at 19, Nahanee has trained over 40 DJs. And though she brought Dame to a close in 2020, its effects on the local music industry are still felt to this day.

“People who I taught have gone on to teach other people, and so forth and so forth,” she says. Nahanee jokes that she’s called the great-great-great-great DJ grandmother by many of the city’s up-and-coming talents.

Things were difficult when Nahanee herself first entered the scene. Thanks to a few lessons, she got her start DJing on vinyl at spots like Red Gate and the Fox Cabaret—but she still felt that a lot was being gate-kept.

“It was a pretty male-dominated scene at that time,” Nahanee explains. “When I started DJing, it felt like I was one of the only women…or at least, there weren’t any non-binary or trans people around in that community. And it wasn’t great, to be honest.”

Sometimes, interactions with other DJs were aggressive. “In one of my early DJ sets,” she recalls, “the other DJ smashed my vinyl cartridges.”

So, out of necessity, Nahanee created her own community by teaching with Dame and hosting its all-vinyl, all-girls, all-night parties.

“It’s not an easy skill,” Nahanee says, “but it’s definitely a teachable skill.”

Sharing knowledge has been crucially important to her from the beginning. She grew up as part of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation from the village of Eslha7an, where her culture’s teachings were instilled in her at a young age.

“As Squamish people, we’re people who love to share knowledge and share skills,” she explains. “It’s always been taught to me that if you have a skill, you share it.”

This value still plays an important part in her career almost a decade later.

Her upbringing surrounded by family members’ love of music also influenced her.

“My mom bought me my first record player and records around 13,” she says. “I grew up appreciating that kind of sound. So I think that has transferred into what I do now as a DJ.”

Though she occasionally spins vinyl, most of her work these days is electronic. With access to an online music library and more tools, Nahanee says it’s easier to blend songs.

Those songs include popular favourites across genres (maybe with some female postpunk sprinkled in there) mixed with house beats to make a cohesive sound. No genre is off limits. “It’s so different for every set,” she says. “I’ll become inspired by a certain song or certain artists and then build a set around that.”

Being a multi-genre DJ means Nahanee can get creative and experimental.

“There is a little bit of a science to it, or an equation, to making songs sound good together,” she offers. “I love when I find two songs that mix together perfectly that I would never think of.”

Nahanee is experienced enough that she doesn’t need to rehearse her transitions anymore, but she still spends a lot of time reading about music and looking for new tracks on SoundCloud. “I love when somebody has Shazam out,” she says. “That’s a DJ win.”

The crowds really are her favourite part of what she does.

“I’m a Libra, so I’m a little bit of a people-pleaser, which I think makes me a really good DJ,” she says jokingly. “The crowd dancing, the crowd singing along—that’s where I get so much joy out of DJing.”

Her love and talent for the craft are paying off, as Nahanee is booked and busy. She recently performed at the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Art Party, and later this month she’s got a gig (that’s free to attend!) as part of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

And while she’s obviously happy to be booking shows, she seems equally satisfied to see others get them, too.

“People roll their eyes and be like, ‘Everyone’s a DJ nowadays,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, but when I started, it was all this one archetype of mainly white male DJs,’ ” she says. “And the scene has just grown. I love that there are so many DJs now.”

DJ Paisley Eva performs at Ocean Artworks on June 21 as part of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival in partnership with the Queer Arts Festival.