Long before she became the woman who would open for such house music legends as Mark Farina, Derrick Carter, and DJs Heather and Collette, Erin Millington aka Blend*e was cultivating her devotion to electronic music by immersing herself in the culture heart and soul.
From spending her teenage years dancing the night away at the Legendary 1st Avenue to beginning her record collection at the age of 15 with Rome Anthony’s The Wonderer, Blend*e’s love of house music has never been anything but strong and deep.
Blend*e began to really cultivate her sound with the help of local house stable (and record store worker), DJ Kris B, who would become her house music mentor. DJ Kris B helped Blend*e develop her style and ear by setting aside crates of records for her to peruse, until what began to emerge was her unique blend of deep, jazzy house with a splash of disco a hint of vocals, and a whole lot of Chicago-inspired funk.
Of course, just because a girl adores her house and has a collection of records any DJ would envy, it doesn’t mean she’s ready to break out her beats in front of a crowd. It took moves to San Diego and San Francisco (and their respective influences), a whole lot of dancing and more record collecting before Blend*e finally landed in Austin, TX and decided she was finally ready for her love of the sound to outweigh her fear of performing.
Blend*e sums it up like this: “Someone told me once to not share your art is like a perversion to the soul. It might sound cheesy but it hit me like a hammer over the head one day and that was it.”
And that WAS it. Shortly after, Blend*e began playing at Plush turntable club on 7th & Red River; and now has a Thursday night residency at Lanai Lounge where her love of Soulful House continues… So what’s next for Blend*e? The sky’s the limit. No doubt she’ll continue to collect the best beats around and keep the dance floor on fire in Austin and beyond.