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Jazzy: The Irish DJ dropping her debut after a billion streams
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Irish DJ Jazzy is best known for tracks like No Bad Vibes and Somedays Releasing your first album is a big step for any artist, but for Jazzy it's one that's followed some huge strides. The Irish singer and DJ has been streamed more than a billion times and worked with industry heavyweights including Calvin Harris. If that's not enough, on Saturday she has her biggest gig yet when she'll be playing tracks like No Bad Vibes and Someday in front of a home crowd in Dublin. For Jazzy, writing an album has always been in the back of her mind and now, finally, it's time to hit send. She's previously released dozens of singles, building up a monthly listenership over 10 million strong, but Peace and Patience is her first full-length work. "It's been quite a few years of creating some smaller projects," she tells BBC Newsbeat. "That's given me enough experience now to feel like it was the right moment." The 30-year-old, real name Yasmine Byrne, has been putting out music for more than five years and collabed with the likes of Sonny Fodera, Rossi. and KILIMANJARO on some of her biggest tracks. Dance music has boomed in recent years, with Spotify previously telling Newsbeat that since 2020 the amount under-25s listen to the genre has grown by more than 73% globally. It also dominated festival line-ups over the summer - including Radio 1's Big Weekend which dedicated all its stages to dance music on the opening night. But artists in the genre have often moved away from albums, opting instead to release EPs and singles. Jazzy has noticed the change, saying it feels "a lot different now, with people kind of siding with virality rather than quality of music". "When I was making the album, I wasn't thinking about going viral or anything like that. I just wanted to make something that was true to me and sounded like a Jazzy album. "I like to let things happen quite organically and I try to just let the music speak to me." Jazzy says releasing her debut album feels "surreal" Jazzy is rooted in the Dublin club scene, starting her career as part of a group called Powerful Creative Minds in the city. But as more and more clubs close, the DJ says there are fewer opportunities for artists to cut their teeth offline. "When I first started going out, there was a lot more going on," she says. "There was a lot more nightclubs to go to and it's very different when we look at it now, which is sad. "There's definitely a home for dance music on the internet of course but club culture is very important and I think that's something that we need to keep going for sure." Latest figures from the Night Time Industries Association, external suggest about 12 venues are closing across the UK every month, with almost 30% of the night time economy lost since the coronavirus pandemic. "I hope to God that it doesn't disappear, the club scene altogether," says Jazzy, who describes a similar issue in Ireland. "We all need to try and put a hand in to keep it going." Jazzy's taking her new album on tour across the UK from next month, but first she has her biggest gig yet: Dublin's 3Arena in front of a home crowd. Even after a Coachella set and supporting Calvin Harris, she describes this as the "biggest milestone of my career to date". While she says fans can mostly expect her brand of uplifting records on the album, she says it's also more personal than her usual work. She highlights one track in particular, Invisible, as a change from her more upbeat releases. It deals with a bad experience she had in the music industry, describing it as "like my first ever diss track". "I hope [fans] learn a little bit more about me, because that was one of my goals with the album - to open up a little bit about experiences in life as well. "So there's a little message from me in each song." Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here. 'We're meant to dance': Radio 1's Big Weekend has one focus on its first day