“Upbeat but Cute”: The Ideal Workplace Playlist with DJ Ayebatonye
Introduction
The Sydney-based DJ and community engagement specialist builds bridges in everything she does. In partnership with Desk Space, we find out how she crafts mixes and playlists – including a chill session for the co-working space.
DJ and community engagement specialist Ayebatonye (pronounced “Eye-yeh-bah-ton-yeh) is all about building bridges.
The host of monthly show Club Abundance on Skylab Radio, the Sydney-based DJ previously had a Nomad Radio show called Irregular Fit, which shared a name with the DIY arts platform Ayebatonye founded in 2019 to foster “a more equitable and sustainable future for marginalised folk in arts and cultural industries.”
“I’m an artist and a DJ,” she says, “but I also have a background in community engagement. Having that skill set made me start Irregular Fit, because I have the knowledge and connections to create bridges between people where possible.”
Whether it’s her video and sound art or her intuitive, globe-trotting DJ sets, Ayebatonye's hope is to bring people together. “I want to showcase my love of different genres of danceable music,” says Ayebatonye. “My sets are eclectic. Of course I have certain genres that I listen to more than others, but I wouldn’t say I like one particular sort of music. I like a dynamic set: it’s fun when someone is playing music that’s unexpected, but it’s all cohesive and sounds alive.”
Informing that eclectic approach is her fondness for blending songs in her immersive DJ work, which introduces loops and layers to more obscure samples and sounds she finds. That sense of trust is implicit in her recent playlist for Desk Space – a co-sharing workspace in Darlinghurst built on the ethos of community engagement and music’s role in it.
The three-hour playlist opens with wistful, ambient-tinged track If We Should Meet Again by veteran Detroit house DJ Mike Grant, then slips naturally into funk, disco and R&B from around the world.
“I wanted to keep it upbeat but cute,” says Ayebatonye. “And trying to bear in mind it’s for a space where people will be working. I wanted to lean into a mix of global sounds that are funky and fun, but not so distracting from your work – so, complementary to you achieving what you need to achieve. Nothing too turbo or heavy.”
Ayebatonye’s playlist features some well-known names like Solange, Herbie Hancock and Fatboy Slim, as well as underground gems and a nice cross-section of instrumental selections. There’s also Australian acts like Milan Ring, Sampa the Great, Ngaiire and Winston Surfshirt. At the same time, she honours her Nigerian heritage with a focus on Black music of all kinds, from neo-soul (Erykah Badu) to jazz (Donald Byrd).
“All these genres of music inform each other,” says Ayebatonye. “There’s a symbiosis. I’m really into Black music history, and these genres have all just taught each other how to be.”
As for key turning points along the way, she singles out Michael Was Right About You by Melbourne producer Harvey Sutherland as a dreamy expansion of space and vibe. “It’s uptempo, but it’s got this pan effect that feels really psychedelic,” she says. “It’s beautiful, and after a few more low-key songs it’s definitely a moment.”
She also points to Nigerian singer Oby Onyioha’s 1981 disco cut Enjoy Your Life. “I’m obsessed with this track,” she says. “It’s really upbeat and all about enjoying your life, but not in a toxic positivity way.”
A similar standout is genre-hopping Canberra artist Genesis Owusu’s falsetto-licked romantic turn on WUTD. Ayebatonye recently interviewed him for Sydney magazine Soft Stir and noticed a lot of parallels in their processes. “I love his approach to music making,” she says. “Just do what you want, because there are no real rules. I can just vibe with an audience, and it’s so freeing. It’s amazing.”
