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MYOPIA x ENVY by JULIET REYNOLDS
How does one craft a vision of sound?
Sure, you could draw a graph of the soundwaves etched by pounding electroscapes and techno grit beats. Maybe you’d imagine photos capturing the pulse of bodies, conceiving of what intimate bassline flowed between them…
With a sonic practice informed by a literal worldview of nearsight, Phoenix DJ Myopia dares you to question how you see music. Her sets occupy the liminal space between two senses, where the distinction between sight and hearing is challenged as not for creating independent vessels moored to conventional understanding of our fleshed forms, but as a ripe opportunity for overlap and reformation of thought.
How exactly does one see experimental techno music?
Nearsightedness is the magical gift of a Myopia set. Understanding the smallness in scope of physical periphery prompts you to stay metaphorically inwards with yourself as you experience the melange of hammering rhythms you’re enveloped in.
Focus on just yourself and how the flow of sounds reaches each one of your fibers, as if you truly couldn’t see beyond your fingertips, or the moment.
Myopia invites you to experience the untz of her atistry with the auditory height of blindness. Look down and in, listen free and far.
Nearsightedness brings multiple forms of closeness for the DJ, each warm and evident in all its honesty. I was invited into her home, offered a drink; we sat chummed in her living room and palled with her beautiful black cat. We explored recontextualizations found within stories of her optical perspective on an auditory medium, venturing through her deep, true love for music.
JULIET REYNOLDS: How did we get here, how did you start DJing?
DJ MYOPIA: 2022 . . . to 2024 I was going to a lot of raves and . . . EDM shows. And then—I work at Warby Parker—I work with like, a LOT of old people, and they know I go out a lot and listen to that music—I'm always wearing headphones—and one day I was in the back—this is, like, September of 2024—and I was organizing glasses, I like to listen to music to focus . . . so I put a Boiler Room set on my phone and I put it next to the glasses-
JR: Warby Parker was the Boiler Room?!-
DJ MYOPIA: Yeah, I was in the back like untz untz untz untz-
JR: [laughs]
DJ MYOPIA: So then my manager's like, “You're always watching this stuff, why don't you just do it?” And I was like, . . .
Wait a damn minute.
DJ MYOPIA: Yeah, I was in the back like untz untz untz untz-
JR: [laughs]
DJ MYOPIA: So then my manager's like, “You're always watching this stuff, why don't you just do it?” And I was like, . . .
Wait a damn minute.
And so after that . . . I was watching tutorials and more DJ sets and then I told my dad I wanted a DJ board for Christmas, and then he kind of just went on this huge thing about how I should go back to school or something.
JR: Girl, you’re going to DJ school now.
DJ MYOPIA: I just graduated from DJ University. [laughs] So then I started doing it a lot, and then I recorded a mix, and this was January 2025. I would have parties at my dad's house . . . and I would just practice. It was a party of like, six people. [My friends and I] would move the kitchen island and . . . position [the board] in the kitchen. We were cooking it up.
JR: Literally. How does playing at your Dad’s house compare to playing at the club?
DJ MYOPIA: It's more fun because I get to experiment. When I DJ at clubs, I feel like I have to do a certain type of—not set—because I don't plan any of my sets. That's something I'm getting better at, knowing what songs I want to play.
JR: Girl, you’re going to DJ school now.
DJ MYOPIA: I just graduated from DJ University. [laughs] So then I started doing it a lot, and then I recorded a mix, and this was January 2025. I would have parties at my dad's house . . . and I would just practice. It was a party of like, six people. [My friends and I] would move the kitchen island and . . . position [the board] in the kitchen. We were cooking it up.
JR: Literally. How does playing at your Dad’s house compare to playing at the club?
DJ MYOPIA: It's more fun because I get to experiment. When I DJ at clubs, I feel like I have to do a certain type of—not set—because I don't plan any of my sets. That's something I'm getting better at, knowing what songs I want to play.
JR: You just wing that shit fully?
DJ MYOPIA: I wing that shit fully. I'm the type of person that will continue downloading music on my laptop an hour before I have to go on.
JR: Are there any subgenres that you could say [your music] falls under?
DJ MYOPIA: I don't want to say it's just techno music that I play a lot of in my sets, because what I do is—I love experimental music—but then I’ll mix in alternative. I like the idea of ambiance with down tempo. Liminal space music. Like, weird shit. I did a crazy mix with Dawn Chorus by Thom Yorke with an EDM song. I remember when I played it at my house . . . it lowkey made us cry. The sad chords of Dawn Chorus, but then with the untz untz untz untz… I still have that ingrained in my mind. I want to play sets like that. When I play at clubs . . . I look at the fucking board the entire time. I don't look out, I don't look at anyone. I don't like when people look at me. My DJ name is Myopia, and that means ‘nearsightedness.’ I'm really blind without my glasses.
JR: Glasses, Warby Parker, myopia… there’s a theme here.
DJ MYOPIA: Exactly. I enjoy the blindness of it all. I don't really care what people see or even think of me. I think that's what I also love about looking at the board, but in reality, it's because I actually don't know what I’m playing next. [laughs] But [myopia] also means ‘lack of foresight’. Pretty much saying that you lack a bigger picture, so I really like that, too. Myopia is what I'm actually diagnosed with. Right now at [work], I'm doing an apprenticeship to be an optician. I’ll get certified and then I can read glasses, I’ll do adjustments. You can adjust glasses, and then you can see differently just by making those small adjustments.
JR: Do you like your job?
DJ MYOPIA: I love it. I love glasses. It’s nice knowing how to see the optical perspective of things. So that’s where Myopia came from, . . . nearsightedness, lack of foresight.
JR: Do you feel like you have a lack of foresight?
DJ MYOPIA: When people think of music, weirdly enough, they're not open-minded. There's a lot of people who like certain types of music, which is fine. But it's crazy that a lot of people don't actually listen to music. There's so much more, and I think that's where that [lack of] foresight is. What I love about [DJing] the most is that I can play what I want, I can make it work in some way, hopefully, and I can show people different music. So that they can be like, “Oh, that's actually good, let me Shazam this.”
JR: Do you ever think that anyone's in the crowd Shazaming?
DJ MYOPIA: That’s the goal of life. I got offered to DJ for [DJ] Sueno for Bump back in November . . . and I was so nervous because I was like, “Oh my God, I can't believe I’m being asked.” I've been to [Sueno’s] DJ sets since I turned 21; he really is so good. It was at Linger Longer Lounge, and I went on and I was so nervous, but I had a lot of fun.
DJ MYOPIA: I love it. I love glasses. It’s nice knowing how to see the optical perspective of things. So that’s where Myopia came from, . . . nearsightedness, lack of foresight.
JR: Do you feel like you have a lack of foresight?
DJ MYOPIA: When people think of music, weirdly enough, they're not open-minded. There's a lot of people who like certain types of music, which is fine. But it's crazy that a lot of people don't actually listen to music. There's so much more, and I think that's where that [lack of] foresight is. What I love about [DJing] the most is that I can play what I want, I can make it work in some way, hopefully, and I can show people different music. So that they can be like, “Oh, that's actually good, let me Shazam this.”
JR: Do you ever think that anyone's in the crowd Shazaming?
DJ MYOPIA: That’s the goal of life. I got offered to DJ for [DJ] Sueno for Bump back in November . . . and I was so nervous because I was like, “Oh my God, I can't believe I’m being asked.” I've been to [Sueno’s] DJ sets since I turned 21; he really is so good. It was at Linger Longer Lounge, and I went on and I was so nervous, but I had a lot of fun.
JR: Do you usually get scared going up to play?
DJ MYOPIA: Yes. Oh, my gosh, yes. I get super anxious. I remember when I played my set [at Bump] . . . one of the DJs was like, “I actually Shazamed one of the songs you played because I really liked it.” That meant a lot to me. Also with the anxiety thing- I DJed at Palabra . . . and when I got [there], I got a drink, and . . . I was like, “Wait, I have shrooms in my purse. Maybe that'll calm my nerves.” Like, two plus two equals four, right? Except, two plus two did NOT equal four.
JR: Four did not exist in this equation.
DJ MYOPIA: Oh, there was no answer to this equation. Everything was moving, I was hyperventilating. I was freaking out- my whole family's there, by the way. My Mom, my Dad, my stepmom, my older brother, my mom’s friend from church who I’d never met. They actually all support me down. [My mom] records my shit like a concert. But so, I go in the corner at Palabra, by the coffee bar—it’s foggy as SHIT in there— . . . and I'm staring at the wall, I'm like: [queue heaving breathing]. I go up [to play], and the moment I start playing, my mind goes completely blank. And apparently…
It was one of the best sets I've ever done.
JR: Wait, you don't remember it?!
DJ MYOPIA: I remember some songs I played. After, my dad was like, “You did really good!” All my friends were like, “You did so good!!!”
JR: Out of all of the sets that you’ve played recently, was that still one of the most memorable?
DJ MYOPIA: Yeah, for sure. Honestly, what I did appreciate about all the fog: . . . again, I don't like to see who's watching me. I couldn't see anything in there. That's why I like wearing sunglasses, too, because I . . . close my eyes and really like to think. My dad, he's so funny. Now he's so with me with DJing, but it's to the point where he'll be like, “So, you got any gigs this month?” And I’m like, “Dad, do you want me to study for my certification?” What about school??” He thinks I’m so good. My mom- she dances so much.
JR: I love how you always have your family with you.
DJ MYOPIA: They support me so much. My mom and my dad got me into music when I was younger. I'm so grateful.
JR: Do [your parents] go to every single [set]?
DJ MYOPIA: My mom does, for sure.
JR: I want to meet your mom. [laughs]
DJ MYOPIA: I love my mom. I get scared the way people perceive me. So I . . . just pretend people don't exist. I hate being perceived. I like wearing hats so that people don't see my eyes. I love jackets, I love black, . . . and then I always lose my sunglasses. I've lost maybe… six?
JR: There's such a clear image of—again, with the sunglasses—losing sight. There’s so much artistry. If you had to describe who you play for, who is it?
DJ MYOPIA: I play for people who just want to dance, I want people to be free. I love dancing! When I play music, . . . I don't care that people expect a certain thing from me. I'm gonna play what I want to listen to. I want to dance to. Being able to dance is so releasing.
JR: It sounds like with everything you do, you have so much trust in the, “It's for me.” And because there's so much authenticity, other people then feel like, “Now, it's for me.”
DJ MYOPIA: I don't want people to think they have to be a certain person. If they don't like it, they don't like it, it's fine. But, if people like it, I don't want them to be scared of . . . being authentic. I feel like people think of DJing right now as clout chasing. I was scared when I started actually practicing to be a DJ that people’d be like, “Oh, is she going to be a social climber now?” I don't do it for people. I do it because I love music.
JR: How’s the broader DJ scene in Phoenix, and playing with other baddie girls, specifically?
DJ MYOPIA: All the girls I’ve DJed with- I love them. I love them down. They're all so supportive right now. There's a lot more open-mindedness. There's this weird thing, though, that does get uncomfortable being a girl DJ. Being a girl DJ means that people do naturally think—same with like, actresses—people say you fuck your way to get there. It's an uncomfortable idea. When you DJ for a guy, . . . people feel like it's not genuine. It's like, “Oh, he just got a pretty girl to DJ for him.”
JR: Does that make you even more fervently want to go up there and play some good-ass shit?
DJ MYOPIA: Yeah. It does. I'm here for a reason. I really want to outperform each time I play.
I'm going because [Myopia’s] playing… I like that idea.
I do get people like that—that I've never met—who continuously go to my sets. It’s the sweetest thing ever. It makes me so genuinely grateful that people do see me for who I am.
Because,
I play who I am.
Go back to music
DJ MYOPIA: Yes. Oh, my gosh, yes. I get super anxious. I remember when I played my set [at Bump] . . . one of the DJs was like, “I actually Shazamed one of the songs you played because I really liked it.” That meant a lot to me. Also with the anxiety thing- I DJed at Palabra . . . and when I got [there], I got a drink, and . . . I was like, “Wait, I have shrooms in my purse. Maybe that'll calm my nerves.” Like, two plus two equals four, right? Except, two plus two did NOT equal four.
JR: Four did not exist in this equation.
DJ MYOPIA: Oh, there was no answer to this equation. Everything was moving, I was hyperventilating. I was freaking out- my whole family's there, by the way. My Mom, my Dad, my stepmom, my older brother, my mom’s friend from church who I’d never met. They actually all support me down. [My mom] records my shit like a concert. But so, I go in the corner at Palabra, by the coffee bar—it’s foggy as SHIT in there— . . . and I'm staring at the wall, I'm like: [queue heaving breathing]. I go up [to play], and the moment I start playing, my mind goes completely blank. And apparently…
It was one of the best sets I've ever done.
JR: Wait, you don't remember it?!
DJ MYOPIA: I remember some songs I played. After, my dad was like, “You did really good!” All my friends were like, “You did so good!!!”
JR: Out of all of the sets that you’ve played recently, was that still one of the most memorable?
DJ MYOPIA: Yeah, for sure. Honestly, what I did appreciate about all the fog: . . . again, I don't like to see who's watching me. I couldn't see anything in there. That's why I like wearing sunglasses, too, because I . . . close my eyes and really like to think. My dad, he's so funny. Now he's so with me with DJing, but it's to the point where he'll be like, “So, you got any gigs this month?” And I’m like, “Dad, do you want me to study for my certification?” What about school??” He thinks I’m so good. My mom- she dances so much.
JR: I love how you always have your family with you.
DJ MYOPIA: They support me so much. My mom and my dad got me into music when I was younger. I'm so grateful.
JR: Do [your parents] go to every single [set]?
DJ MYOPIA: My mom does, for sure.
JR: I want to meet your mom. [laughs]
DJ MYOPIA: I love my mom. I get scared the way people perceive me. So I . . . just pretend people don't exist. I hate being perceived. I like wearing hats so that people don't see my eyes. I love jackets, I love black, . . . and then I always lose my sunglasses. I've lost maybe… six?
JR: There's such a clear image of—again, with the sunglasses—losing sight. There’s so much artistry. If you had to describe who you play for, who is it?
DJ MYOPIA: I play for people who just want to dance, I want people to be free. I love dancing! When I play music, . . . I don't care that people expect a certain thing from me. I'm gonna play what I want to listen to. I want to dance to. Being able to dance is so releasing.
JR: It sounds like with everything you do, you have so much trust in the, “It's for me.” And because there's so much authenticity, other people then feel like, “Now, it's for me.”
DJ MYOPIA: I don't want people to think they have to be a certain person. If they don't like it, they don't like it, it's fine. But, if people like it, I don't want them to be scared of . . . being authentic. I feel like people think of DJing right now as clout chasing. I was scared when I started actually practicing to be a DJ that people’d be like, “Oh, is she going to be a social climber now?” I don't do it for people. I do it because I love music.
JR: How’s the broader DJ scene in Phoenix, and playing with other baddie girls, specifically?
DJ MYOPIA: All the girls I’ve DJed with- I love them. I love them down. They're all so supportive right now. There's a lot more open-mindedness. There's this weird thing, though, that does get uncomfortable being a girl DJ. Being a girl DJ means that people do naturally think—same with like, actresses—people say you fuck your way to get there. It's an uncomfortable idea. When you DJ for a guy, . . . people feel like it's not genuine. It's like, “Oh, he just got a pretty girl to DJ for him.”
JR: Does that make you even more fervently want to go up there and play some good-ass shit?
DJ MYOPIA: Yeah. It does. I'm here for a reason. I really want to outperform each time I play.
I'm going because [Myopia’s] playing… I like that idea.
I do get people like that—that I've never met—who continuously go to my sets. It’s the sweetest thing ever. It makes me so genuinely grateful that people do see me for who I am.
Because,
I play who I am.
Go back to music