WHO Being bogged down with fourth-year university commitments, a part-time job as a teaching assistant during the school year, and a full-time summer job at a local radio station hasn’t stopped up-and-coming Toronto DJ Aleksandra from spinning her way to the top. In the six years the high-scoring student has been DJing, she’s played all the major cities across Ontario and landed a coveted residency inside the Acid Lounge at the Guvernment. Also making her way onto more bills at Footwork with her increasingly tech-influenced house sets, Aleksandra is becoming well-known for her party programming, smooth transitions and on-deck creativity. Formerly tagged Reckless Girl, Aleksandra always had an interest in music. Both her parents are professional musicians with master’s degrees in music, so it was only natural she pursue it in some way. She bought turntables when she was 16, but had no intention of playing out — until one night in 2002 at Revolution Nightclub’s Purple Room in Waterloo, which snowballed into numerous repeat offers for gigs. Like any upstart, so much of getting known relies on stellar self-promotion. So when Aleksandra isn’t gigging, promoting or updating her website, she’s squeezing in studio time with her brother Jake Chec to produce their first track, aptly titled “Sibling Rivalry.”

WHAT “It depends on the venue, city and time slot,” says Aleksandra. “My range includes deep house, fun, vocal house, electro and tech house. I am best known for my dirty electro house style, but am expanding more into tech house. “

WHERE July 26 with Steve Porter at Footwork (425 Adelaide W.)

FAVOURITE RECORD OF ALL TIME “That’s a tough one. It’s a toss up between Rachel Star’s ‘Til There Was You (Gabriel and Dresden Remix)’ and The Beginerz’s ‘Reckless Girl.’”

FAVOURITE RECORD RIGHT NOW “Steve Angello & Sebastian Ingrosso, ‘555,’ which can be found on my recent mix Identity Crisis Vol. 2.”

FAVOURITE WEBSITE RIGHT NOW “Sadly, I am on Facebook the most but that’s because I am constantly updating my group and uploading new photos, flyers and videos. When I need a music fix, I head to www.executivemix.com for the latest DJ mixes.”

WHAT IS YOUR MOST SURREAL DJING EXPERIENCE? “My upcoming gig with Steve Porter is pretty surreal to me since he is in my Top 5 list of influential DJs. Also, I’d have to say when I invited my parents to come to one of my gigs — they even came up into the DJ booth! And a few weeks ago, at the Acid Lounge inside The Guvernment, a guy threw a $10 bill on the mixer. He messaged me on Facebook a few days later explaining it was a ‘tip’ and wrote: ‘One of the best tech house DJ's I’ve ever heard. You made my night for sure.’”

DIGITAL OR ANALOG? “Definitely digital. Much easier for my wimpy self to lug around.”

WHAT IS VITAL TO YOUR DAILY ROUTINE? “The internet, green tea and brushing my teeth at least 3-4 times. I also spend most of my free time dealing with the business side of DJing which includes updating my website, www.djaleksandra.com, buying new music, marketing and promotions, programming mixes, artwork, etc. I wish I could devote more time.”

WHAT GLOBAL ISSUE CONCERNS YOU MOST RIGHT NOW? “Definitely global warming and climate change. The strange, severe weather patterns we are getting in Toronto are starting to freak me out — what’s 10 years from now going to be like?”

WHAT IS THE LAST GREAT FILM YOU SAW? “I am not the biggest movie buff, but Season 6 of Curb Your Enthusiasm had me rolling on the floor with laughter — the best comedic writing in years, or ever?”

WHAT ACTOR WOULD PLAY YOU IN A BIOPIC? “The charismatic (and not to mention, Canadian) Rachel McAdams.”

WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW? “DJing for Dummies. Just kidding. When I get time to read, it has to be my textbooks, catching up on the loads of reading we get. Everything from marketing to international exporting to finance to sociology… very exciting, I know.”