Who shall I be today? The many faces of DJ Janette Slack
From baggy pants and baseball caps to latex dresses and killer heels, the Hong Kong-born Eurasian has worn different guises on stage, but for her it’s the music that’s front and centre
In the two years since she returned to Hong Kong, DJ/producer Janette Slack has gone from strength to strength - and she’s further cemented her position with this month’s release of EP Lost.
Prior to returning she had spent 15 years in London, where she cultivated an outlandish image influenced by the BDSM scene and an eclectic electro-dance sound during a career-defining residency at the Torture Garden in Brixton, Europe’s largest fetish club.
Of the latex dresses, bright hair extensions and killer heels she wears onstage, Slack says: “People think that’s my life 24/7, but it’s not.”
Today, she’s sitting on a sofa in her Lai Chi Kok studio, which serves as the base for her Slack Trax label. Her hair is in its natural black and has recently been cut short, so she looks anything but eccentric. “I have two distinct lives,” she explains. “I spend most of my time in the studio alone.”
Slack’s high-intensity electronic dance music and gregarious personality catapulted her on to the world stages in her twenties, yet she was surprised how much Hong Kong welcomed her when she returned.
