From 9-5 to DJ
interview and portraits by Jorge Perezchica
Meet Alexis Spencer, known as Ay-Lex Song, a “joie de vivre” shaping the musical landscape of Palm Springs. From her beginnings in Joshua Tree to grinding as a full-time artist, embraced within her community, Ay-Lex Song shares her transition — quitting a conventional 9-5 job in pursuit of DJing and discovering her love for the craft during a life-changing moment in Europe inspired by the legendary Daft Punk. Self-taught and driven, she draws inspiration from jazz, rock, alternative, and disco — culminating in a diverse musical palette that keeps her sets eclectic.
With residencies at popular venues like Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel V, Ay-Lex Song is not just a DJ; she’s a curator of unique experiences, blending Latin rhythms with house beats, ensuring each performance delivers a fresh set of sounds.
Discussing her creative process, Ay-Lex Song reveals the meticulous planning behind her sets, always aiming to provide a distinct and evolving musical journey. Whether surfing the web for new tracks or reinventing her image, Ay-Lex Song strives to be a constant source of surprise for her audience — always radiating a vibrant and enthusiastic aura in her persona.
Looking ahead, Ay-Lex Song anticipates global performances, financial success, and, most importantly, continued happiness. For her, success is not just about the destination but enjoying the journey, feeling the music resonate through her fingertips, and witnessing the unifying magic that music creates. Read on for the Coachella Magazine interview.
Coachella Magazine: Introduce yourself and tell us about your background and music.
AY-Lex Song: My name is Alexis Spencer and I go by Ay-Lex Song. And I’m a DJ out here in Palm Springs and I’ve been DJing since 2017. And I’m also an actress as well, but I haven’t done that since Covid.
I love doing DJing. I do DJing full-time and I actually quit my 9-5 day job last year and I decided to do DJing full-time and it was the best decision that I ever made — cuz I am so happy.
CM: Tell us about your start as a DJ.
ALS: Well, it was like 2017. I was living in Joshua Tree at the time and I’ve always wanted to get to do it and I just bought a little controller and I had my laptop and I just started doing it. But I fell in love with DJing and the art of mixing. When I was in Europe visiting, I was like 13 and I saw Daft Punk on TV and I was like, “Oh my gosh, this is what I wanna do.”
CM: Do you currently have a residency?
ALS: I have a residency at the Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs on Saturday night and the Agua Caliente Cathedral City every Thursday. And very Saturday, I usually do a pool party at the Hotel V residency. And then, I also have residency at Gigi’s Restaurant.
CM: What’s the biggest lesson you learned so far throughout your journey as a DJ?
ALS: Well, personally for myself, I’ve learned that, like I said, quitting my nine-to-five was the best decision I’ve ever done. I’m so happy. I’ve realized, this is what I wanna do for a long time, you know, I really get a kick out of seeing people smile and dance and happy, you know?
Like today, I had someone that was mean, but then I have a bunch of other people that are happy, so it equals out <laugh>. But I just wanna do this for the rest of my life. I would say mainly house music, but lately I’ve been really into Latin music and salsa but mixing it with house. I’ve been really into that lately. And taking a break from all of the disco. I like disco a lot too, but lately I’ve been really into Latin House and salsa.
CM: How long have you been in the desert?
ALS: In the low desert, I’ve lived here for about three years and in the high desert in Joshua Tree, I lived there for six years.
CM: What brought you to the desert to begin?
ALS: Oh no. <Laugh>. Boys. Relationships. And they didn’t last, but I love it here. It’s like a different planet.
CM: Describe yourself in three words.
ALS: That’s hard. <Laugh>. Okay. Creative. Hungry. I guess, I’m always hungry. Like not food, but like other things. Just everything.
And then, maybe, I don’t know…
Maybe, “curious.” I dunno. That’s a really hard question…
The color “Yellow.” <laugh>. Yellow. The third one, “Yellow” like the color.
That’s hard. I can’t do that one.
CM: Did you grow up around other musicians or artists?
ALS: No, actually no.
CM: You were all self-taught?
ALS: Yeah. Basically all self-taught. I don’t really have a close relationship with my family, so it’s all me, YouTube, and me. But as I got older, I had all my friends, my community, all around me. Some of my best friends are DJs. But back then when I was learning, it was all me.
CM: What did you listen to when you were growing up?
ALS: I really like jazz music a lot. And I really love rock music and alternative rock music a lot. And disco, <laugh>, a lot of disco. A lot of eighties and jazz. Lots of jazz.
CM: As far as preparing for your set, what is your creative process?
ALS: Well, I wish I could meditate, but I can’t. Depending on where it’s at — if it’s like at a private event and they tell me what to play, it’s different. Usually when I play at the club or when I play at the pool, or I play an event, I don’t like playing the same song twice and I like getting new songs every time. And I like to give people a different experience. So every time they see me, it’s something completely new. It’s something completely different.
And I try to do the same thing with my outfits. I wanna be a different person when you see me and when you hear me. So I do a lot of surfing online for new music. I put everything together on my computer and I put it on my flash drive and I hook up and takes me about 20 minutes to set up and take down.
CM: Where do you see yourself five to ten years?
ALS: I hope I’m where I would like to be. I wanna make a lot of money. <Laugh>. I just wanna be, I’m happy now. Just keep doing what I’m doing, you know. I wanna say, “I’m already successful.” I want to travel. I wanna play shows all around the world, you know. I’m already happy, you know. I wanna be alive. <Laugh>
CM: What goes through your mind as you play a DJ set?
ALS: That’s a hard question. Whenever I hear a song, I just feel it go through my fingertips when I push the buttons and stuff, and I just feel like the electricity in my body and I’m just like, I don’t even think about anything. I just think about, “I’m in this world and I just dance. I feel it.” And when I’m dancing and I feel it, that’s when I’m in the zone. And when I’m in the zone, I’m in the music, you know, I am lost in the music. And then when I look at people and they’re happy, it makes me so happy.
CM: What do you love most about music and DJing?
ALS: I love that it brings everyone together. Everyone, you know, you could be 60 years old, 80 years old, you could be 16, a child, white, black, whatever, you know, from different countries — or anything. Just to see everyone together dancing at the same time. That’s the most beautifulest thing to me. Music brings everyone together and it’s so beautiful, you know? That’s what I like about it. Music brings everyone together.
LINKS: AY-LEX SONG
SOCIAL: ay_exsong