“Chet Baker at Dawn, Sun Ra at Midnight”: DJ Koze Makes Us the Perfect Dinner Party Playlist

Photo courtesy of DJ Koze.

This is SOUND ADVICE, a weekly destination for playlists curated by Interview’s friends, enemies, and lovers. Over the past few weeks, we’ve collected playlists from Eli Roth, Benny Blanco, and 9mice. This week’s installment comes from DJ Koze, the German DJ and producer known for his genre-defying sounds, on full display in her new album, Music Can Hear Us, dropping this Friday. Describing it as “a cosmic synapse rodeo you didn’t even know existed,” Koze shared his excitement with us by sending over a the perfect dinner party playlist and answering our questionnaire. In it, he reveals his favorite place to dance, his dream collaborator, and the artists who make up his dream musical coven.

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Where do you dance? Where gravity forgets me. Sometimes in the kitchen or with headphones in my studio alone at night when the city sleeps.

Who do you trust most with the aux cord? The one who listens in silence before pressing play.

What was your first concert? The summer rain on tin roofs, I was five.

Bluetooth or wired headphones? Bluetooth so I can dance while making music.

What song on this playlist makes you cry? None.

What song on this playlist makes you horny? None, that makes me cry in the moment.

You’ve played Coachella, Osheaga, Outside Lands, and many more. What’s your favorite music festival? The one that doesn’t exist yet, where the moon is the only spotlight and silence is celebrated as much as sound.

Who’s your dream collaborator? Someone who’s not in a hurry. Who knows that silence is a note, too.

Sunglasses inside: yes or no? Never.

You just arrived at the party. What’s in your pockets? Xanax.

Who’s in your musical coven? Chet Baker at dawn, Sun Ra at midnight, and the space between them where the music breathes.

When are you coziest? When the rain is louder than my thoughts and a hot water bottle at my feet

What song is playing in heaven? Something unfinished, still waiting for its final note.