By Tiffany Martinez

TThe East Coast was the first to embrace Bambi with open ears. Check the Manhattan nightclub scene and you’ll see the 23-year-old Ford model turned full-time DJs name on rosters for clubs like Marquee, Pacha, Pier 94, LAVO, Provocateur, and countless others. Venues outside NYC, like HQ at Revel Resort and Casino in Atlantic City and New City Gas in Montreal also go for the doe.

The Toronto born Dutch-Canadian currently lives in New York and has become a staple of the Eastern region’s EDM evolvement.  “I find that the East Coast likes a harder style, which is obviously great for me because that’s what I like to play. And they party hard.”

She credits Tiesto and Hardwell for inspiring her to develop her craft. “I’m influenced by so many people in this industry but Hardwell has to be one of the best DJs I’ve played with, as well as Tiesto. And Tiesto is an amazing business man, especially in the way he keeps reinventing himself.”

Oddly enough, in her quest to separate Eva Shaw (her given name) the model and Bambi the DJ, she has found a way to combine the two and hints that it is developing into a very exciting project. “I’ll soon stop modeling as Eva Shaw, but I just signed with IMG in New York who’ll be handling my endorsements, so I’ll sort of continue modeling as Bambi. It’s a good way to merge fashion with music and at the same time get your brand out there.”

Being one of the only females in EDM to embrace a hard house sound has definitely set Bambi apart from the rest. Her steady, unrelenting bass lines and non-reliance on vocals gives people a visceral reaction. It makes them bristle with fervor and all at once take pause in amazement. The question that usually follows, for people unfamiliar with Bambi, is that’s coming from a girl?

A true believer that everyone should nurture their passions, she says, “If there are more girls that like harder style music, they should definitely do it.  I think whatever comes easy to you, what you love and can spend 24 hours a day doing, is what you should do.”

Her deviation from the norm has definitely not gone unnoticed.  Earlier this year, Bambi was asked to be a part of the all-star cast of resident DJs – Tiesto, Steve Aoki, Calvin Harris, Hardwell, Laidback Luke – at Las Vegas’s new hotspot Hakkasan.  The deft company meant magnified pressure. “I definitely had to prove myself.  Then we all ended up getting to know each other because we are around each other so much, sort of like a crew. But at the photo shoot (prior to the opening) I was really shy just lying there in the middle of everyone.”

Rumor has it that Bambi has been shopping a single for a while now. She quickly clears that up. “I have a lot of songs ready and have a game plan for when I release what.  I want the first single to be a heavier, non-commercial club track, more for DJs.”

“Production is important because you can do a gig but then its only the people who are right there seeing you, but when you have your own songs you can let people know what your sound is going to be before they come to your show, or play somewhere you never played before and people will know what to expect.  It’s a way of expressing yourself,” says Bambi. She recognizes that it is a talent in itself just to be able to mix tracks but finds that it is more of a personal outlet to create them.

Bambi isn’t shy about what she tweets or posts on sites like Twitter and Instagram.  She likes following DJs that are active on the sites – DJs like Zedd and Deadmau5 – because she observes how social media activity has expanded their fan base.  “I think it’s important to have a close connection with fans because they are the ones that make us.  I like to see what they like and don’t like, the feedback is good.”

On judging her progress over the past year: “I think I’ve got the East Coast down since they like harder style house but I need to play on the West Coast more. Keep developing my brand over there. I’m not entirely sure what’s big there yet.”  West Coast, get ready for the Bambi take over.

East Coasters, be sure to catch Bambi at HQ Beachclub on Saturday July 27th and Marquee NYC later that same night.

Follow Bambi on Twitter at @DJBAMBI and on Facebook at @bambiofficial to stay up to date on news, shows, and appearances.

 

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