Experience WHITEHORSE: A 1st-Person Look at DJ/Producer Natalia Benson

When you hear the title DJ… what do you picture?

Most people envision a dude in a T-shirt bouncing his arm up and down to the stomps of an LED-soaked, sweat-drenched crowd. So when I encounter a female behind the controls, I sit up and pay attention. 

With the Los Angeles-based DJ/Producer, WHITEHORSE, the surprises don’t stop there. While it’s not uncommon for artists to cultivate a deeper relationship with themselves in order to manifest more honest expression in their work, Whitehorse survives by walking the balance between the center, herself, and the audiences she connects with.

Whitehorse is Natalia Benson. A 28-year-old, bass-mixing, sample-loving, meditating phenomenon who makes tarot-reading a daily practice and a second business.

Sure, Whitehorse's personal life is not what you might picture behind the curtain, but her lifestyle and state of mind is more than just mystical brouhaha. Benson created this way of life as a means to express herself and escape from a darker period in her life where she dabbled with substance-abuse. Benson says addiction is “unexpressed energy” and Whitehorse provides her with the catharsis she needs that reconciles parts of her life that she still hasn’t gotten her head around.