Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rachel Mclaughlin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I learned what I learned by originally wanting to work on a collab track with my partner, That Derrrt.

It started out with a basic transition and learning how to chop between two different songs. From there I learned how to load up a track, and how to mesh and blend two different songs. And then it was about building a playlist and mixing different genres and carrying a flow!

Knowing what I know now, what I could have done to speed up the learning process would be being more hands-on. Also being a lot more confident in myself and putting that confidence towards each action and each effort. Another thing that I could have been better about is not caring so much about what others are doing or how others are creating and what they’re going to think of my set, versus sticking true to myself and reading the crowd!

Skills that I think have been really essential to my process, Knowing a basic 8 count, being able to understand the difference in BPM and genre, not being scared to switch it up or to try something new, staying true to myself, being in tune with my audience and asking questions and actually following through with the answers given, not following the trend or doing whatever. one else is doing, but continuing to March to the beat of my own drum.

Obstacles that stood in my way, at the time not having the gear or the opportunity to practice. Self doubt and letting others get in my head versus being true to myself and staying confident on my path, and honestly myself. I let myself get in my head and let myself discourage versus just being confident and I’m so grateful for where I am now and not letting myself hold me back.

Rachel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

So my name is Rachel McLaughlin. I am a 28-year-old female DJ, who specializes in EDM music, I also produce EDM and I am also a vocalist! I have been DJing for almost 6 years, and have been growing my EDM project, Sunshine The Derrrty Girl, for that same duration!

I honestly got into the industry after a really bad breakup and just needing somewhere to find myself, and that is where the EDM scene came in and showed me a whole new world with performing and music! Growing up I was a theater kid, I absolutely loved being able to sing dance and perform live, and becoming a new character and finding new things about yourself while playing said character was one of my favorite things growing up, which is where I find a similar love and taste in performing my Sunshine project!
I had originally started out mixing a lot more heavier dubstep, some melodic and tear out! Now I’m a little all over the place with funk, soul and wubs having my heart, that doesn’t mean that I still don’t throw down some dubstep or some heavier sets! I like to say I’m very well rounded in my genre selection because I don’t like to stick to just one!
However I do pull inspiration from artists like GRiZ, LSDream, Inzo and CLOZEE.

Some things I’m extremely proud of
the bookings, opportunities and amazing support I’ve been given
being able to say that I’ve played some pretty cool venues in WA state such as WAMU, The Gorge, Neumos, Vue, and Monkey Loft to name a few.
Overall my biggest accomplishment in something I’m proud of is being able to spread that sunshine message, and helping people get out of whatever negative funk they’re in, and helping them turn it into a groove! You never really know what someone’s going through, and you don’t know what’s going to be the final straw, what I do know is that it costs 0$ to be nice and kind to others, which is something I’m very big in my branding and message with my work!

The message with my brand is: “If You can’t find the sunshine, BE the sunshine”

I am currently mixing almost if not every day on my TikTok page! And I try to switch up the genres and ask if people have requests to go ahead and send me them, which is different because anywhere else you wouldn’t really take a request!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is having that freedom to express myself. I feel like so many people choose to be negative or choose to stew in the crap, versus trying to be optimistic or look at the bright side of things. What I appreciate and I find most rewarding being an artist is the fact that I can push that positive message. I can provide a safe space for people feel wanted, accepted, and needed.
I feel that a lot of social media is not positive, and not a safe space And a lot of people are searching for a safe place or just somewhere to be heard. What I love about my project specifically is the new community that we’ve been building on my TikTok page! I ended up signing with an agency a couple months back and started streaming my DJ sets, and throughout that I have had so many people pop in and speak on how they need this music they need this message, and my favorite thing is being able to hop on the mic and letting them know that they are wanted and needed here, because so many people need to hear that and deserve to hear that. You really don’t know what’s going on or how much of an impact you can have just by telling someone, “hey I see you I appreciate you being here.”
And I think that’s something I’m really proud of and that is really rewarding is being able to remind people that they are special and they are important and needed.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Have fun. And being true to yourself. For a while I was trying to mimic what I saw others doing, or what I thought was a cool “trend” And it wasn’t authentic to myself or true to who I am as an artist and what my brand stands for .

Once I started separating myself from the basic, and started sticking true to what resonates for me and what I believe in, I really did notice a difference in my audience and social media build.

Consistency is key. Community is another key! If you’re just posting and not connecting, commenting or reacting to others, how are you expected to get that love on your stuff? Social media, people hear the media aspect but forget the social aspect! And if you remind yourself that it is a way to grow and build a community, yes there will be hard work, there will be a lot of rewarding and fulfilling moments as well.

Example and something I’m extremely grateful for, is the fact that I did dive into the TikTok streams. When TikTok first came out, I was very skeptical and very much against it as a social media outlet. Versus now, it’s a great tool to connect with anyone all over the country, I can’t tell you how many different artists that I’ve looked up to that have hopped in and that I’ve watched me mix, and It’s actually helped me make merchandise sales, more than what I can say in my first 5 years!
I started streaming about 3 months ago, and since I’ve started, I can say that my community has grown from 1 to 2 now up to 30+ members coming in and out and supporting, catching some sunshine and spreading that positive message! Was it a little discouraging at first, a little bit and it was hard to get my feet wet. Once I got my toe wet, I jumped right in and I’ve seen how wonderful the community can be if you put the love and drive into it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://derrrtysunshine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thederrrtygirl?igsh=c2psMW5lMGE5cHlj
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BSY3fvwHa/
• Twitter: https://x.com/TheDerrrtyGirl?t=0HFngoowvUZuOaeSb-puKw&s=09
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/XgWhXiQoboyYkp678
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thederrrtygirl?_t=ZT-8tg17TVvBgE&_r=1