Hai,

I am @ home tonight getting new music ready for a gig. I figure this site has helped me allot and this is perhaps something I can do to "give back". Also, I'm getting kind of jaded Re: Dj ing (at least when it comes to playing out for crowds / $) in general for a variety of reasons so I figure this might lessen that feeling or...Possibly reinforce it - So it's a semi selfish endeavor as well. . No it's not a brag. Def not within the current state of things.

Simple background off the top of my head.

I began my career about a decade + ago @ 16. I first began spinning @ raves which then progressed to clubs as rave's became both wack (for the most part) and the whole club explosion (more clubs = more club gigs = things starting to get more "commercial" and now things being mostly commercial) began to take place. The "club explosion" thing brought better paychecks but as time went by weaker parties in general (from my pov at least).

I had a very strong local following early on which began to "see saw" as things got more commercial IE everyone became a DJ / It became "cool" to everyone to be a dj. I always maintained a strong core of "fans" tho. The good thing about local gigs getting harder was by then I had begun to make a name for myself outside my city and began to travel more. I have been all over...UK / Europe / Canada / Asia / Spain / Brazil etc.

I began playing mostly electronic music (progressive house / breaks ) but eventually started playing house music and that stuck. When I say house music think Mark Farina / Dj Heather / Derrick Carter...Not David Guetta / Tiesto / Deep Dish. I have and always will be an "underground" DJ in terms of music and approach but many of the venues I have played in have been commercial / Large room (500-2000 clubkids +) and even large festivals. Essentially I'm saying I play underground **** but often play it to large crowds in non underground clubs. I prefer a 300 max capacity room going nutz over 1000 people 100% drugged out tho .

I have played with / alongside the likes of the Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk to Dj's like Carl Cox, Sasha, Ritchie Hawtin, Derrick Carter, Dj Sneak and like...A bunch of other "big names". Most of the people I have played with that I was really into are less known. I produce as well and have music out but I'm def a DJ first.

I have seen / done allot in this scene / industry - From the political and techinical side of things to the "crazy party story" side and everything in between...So ask whatever you want! I will do my best to answer.

Also...Just to be clear...I'm not claiming to be a star DJ that everyone knows who posts on 2p2 and plays poker - I'm not a celeb dj haha...But I am globally known within my circle. I'm not going to out my name or anything because the internet is just way too nasty of a place haha...But I may post a mixset if people are interested. All in all I'm saying I am who I claim to be but I'm not gonna "post a graph" so to speak haha. I'm legit tho.

Also part 2 - If people are into this and wanna ask stuff I will be happy to answer participate etc etc. If no one cares and this gets trolled / hated on that's cool as well but I will then just bow out .

Again...All this is totally off the top of my head...And super general...So ask whatchawant...GoGoGoGo.

If this is somehow in the wrong section go ahead and move imo.

im a legit dj too. you can ask me questions if you want

Sarcasm via mb's is sometimes hard to detect. If you are being serious...I don't really have any questions other than what do you play? If you are insinuating something about how "legit I am"...Yea...I'm just gonna make this up because I'm bored lol.

1) so tonight my friend said the club my friends bro went to for tiesto hardcore searches people takes peoples drugs and than people buy drugs from house dealer?is this TRUE?

2)are the best raves in europe
3)have you been to a rave in the US in a legit empty wharehouse somewhere complelty random with like 10000 people all drugged out raving or is this just in movies?

1. This does happen although not always resold by the "house" dealer. The bouncers themselves sometimes keep the drugs and sell them / do them. Sometimes the owners of the clubs are actually drug dealers themselves laundering $ (not rare but not unusual) in which case they may re sell them OR try to find out where they got them from and "deal" with the source. Hells angels style. Basically yes shady stuff like this does happen.

2. Raves were big in the early to mid nineties and then kinda died out. There has been a small resurgence as of late. I would have to say yes tho...The best raves are in Europe right now. They used to be better in NA but Europe has a more healthy scene overall period right now.

3. Been and played @ several. They happen much less often now but mid to late nineties there were tonnes. I once played one for "raliens" which are like...A religion of people who believe in aliens lol. There def not just in movies tho and they still do happen...Just have to know where to look / keep your ear to the ground so to speak - And sometimes travel to get to one.

Have you seen the 'documentary' across the universe about Justice? Is that similar to your lifestyle? Also post a set plz

Is dubstep gay, or really really gay?

What is your setup/equipment?

Also, your opinions on the following artists if you've heard of them: Disco Biscuits, Bassnectar, Spongle, Sound tribe sector 9, LCD sound system, Thievery corporation

how easily do djs get chicks? some stories plz.

Funniest story that has happened to you while behind the DJ booth?

weirdest song requests you've received?

+1 to the setup/equipment question

particularly, your thoughts on vinyl vs cdjs, on dvs, and on timecode vs midi controllers.

your favorite clubs (worldwide)?

the best track of 2009?

your favorite labels?

best music store (can be either online or B&M)?

where was this?

what do you use (vinyl, serato, tracktor, ableton, etc) and if its a controller do you use cd decks or turntables?

who are the top-ranked/most sought after people in your genre and do you think they deserve their spot?

Do you ever perform slices yourself for mixes with instruments?

I have a question plz.

Who are you? i.e. DJ name?

You have played with some of my fav artists and you play my kind of house music, so I am very curious.

So much so that you got me out of lurk mode.

I know you said you wont post your name, but I would like to know cos I am probably a fan boy maybe?

Also...

Granted the internet can be a nasty place as you mentioned. However, the scene you are in isn't exactly full of haters, and(no disrespect) I can't imagine a whole bunch of 2+2ers knowing the scene and its components.

And yes please post a mix. If you have a fresh one, that will be great.

Do you rock to the Hardstyle?

What do you guys think of Diplo? (He's my nephew.)

Jake

I have not seen that documentary. They are absolutely huge though + They are a group so no my lifestyle is not similar to them as they are constantly touring and well...Basically full on rock stars now. I have been on tours though on my own and alongside other DJ's and they have all been fun.

My "touring / traveling" life style is more get on plane and reach destination 1 - kick it / play / party / sleep (sometimes) and then hop on the plane back home. That is if it's a one off. If I have 2-3 gigs that weekend it's often because you get booked in cities / places close by to the original gig because they find out you are going to be around or because the promoters are all networking with one another in the surrounding areas and let each other know who they are bringing in and they do flight shares and what not which cuts down on costs for them.

Full on tours is basically the same as above but span over 2 weeks to a months time. It's basically the same thing with stop and go gigging IE you are on the move and gigging for a few days and then have a few days off and then a few more days of gigging and so on and so forth. **** gets hecktick but it's always fun till the very end where you're like..."where the F am I? I want my bed" haha...But good times.

Again though I'm not in the same league as justice haha...I'm not traveling ev weekend / week. There have been periods where I was out of town plauing 2 weekends on a month and periods where I had no out of town gigs for 2 months and then 4 weeks in a row etc etc. Getting on a plane to go to work is kinda cool though .

Dj'ing has brought me to places I probz would have never been too otherwise which is something I'm grateful for.

I'm not all that into it. Some of it is cool. I prefer older D n B to it.

My setup @ home is simple. Mixer = Allen @ Heath Xone62 which Ive had for a few years now. I like it but kinda want the new pioneer. Decks = 2CDJ 1000s and a 100s. I have 3 Technique's as well but don't use them anymore. Monitors (huge) and amp are both old school but sound really good big and warm. I have yet to go final scratch and am not sure I want to but prob will. I go threw periods where I barely play @ home @ all and periods where I play a tonne.

I think all those groups do cool stuff. They are all creative in there own ways. Thievery Corp would prob be my fav out of who you named. I love good downtempo stuff but it's obv not at all what I play. I def listen to it when I'm chilling / grinding tho. Check out FourTet or goldfish and if u wanna get really heady "new young american primitive" though they are an entirely different thing. There are just soooo many people making music now and getting "noticed" it's hard to keep up at times.

I figured this would come up quick. I'm gonna post an actual story (i think someone else asked as well and I'm sure others will) later because it's gonna be a lil TL: DR and I don't have the time right now but...Overall....Yes it is easier for various reasons.

I will answer in full and answer the rest later as **** just got hecktik over here

1. Thinking about it now for some reason I can't remember one really really weird / funny story though I'm sure I'm just forgetting because over the years things get "foggy". There was the time a mob boss type threatened me if I did not put on Latin music for his girlfriend "right now" when I had 800 people going nutz to bangin tech house. A girl once literally tried to undress and **** me as I was playing haha. I have got a blow job under the decks but that's somewhat standard. I'm sure there is something crazier but for the life of me that's all I can think of right now and if I did remember something crazier it would be tl dr probz. All kinds of crazy **** has happened in a variety of situations though. Sorry if that's a boring answer haha.

2. Answered above. I want a new pioneer mixer tho. My thoughts on the CD vs Vinyl Vs Serato Vs whatever else there is and whatever else there is to come is....It took me awhile to get into playing CD's. I was so resistant at first but once I had a bunch of tracks that were CD-R only I started getting used to it and within 6 months from that I was pretty much CD-R only. I kind of dig CD's now as I like being able to still physically look @ and touch what I am going to play. This probably comes from vinyl and being able to look at it and touch it. Serato and the like is foreign to me because it seems so robotic. So "impersonal". I could go on forever about this so I suppose I will say this and let it be at that.

When vinyl was the main medium...You had somewhat of a relationship with those records. Some were precious to you! You're most prized "possessions" in fact. I was very passionate about my vinyl collection and very passionate about collecting and digging period. When things began to get digital...That relationship changed. I was now getting all this unreleased stuff only available on CD-R/mp3 and even just the stuff u got/get off digi download sites...Everything was so immediate and ready to go at all times. I started receiving so much music because it was so much easier to get / share between artists etc. There were obv +'s to this but at the same time...You're "relationship" with the music began to change. They were no longer prized possessions but just...Files on a hard drive or CD. I found myself playing stuff just because I had it and not because I sought it out or bought it. This is not to say I did not like the track...But it was prob not something I would have bought. It became a "too much music" thing. I had to stop insta burning whatever I thought was "ok" and become pickier with what I chose to play as at one point I was getting at least 50 tracks a week. CD's are what do it for me now tho as I like the easy access to so much music and its sooooooooo much better to travel with. I may give in to serato one day. The other stuff (midi etc)...It's really what you do with it and how it may enhance the type of stuff you play. For me personally I do not need it at all but for some it def does add something to there performance.

I'm realizing as I type all this off the cuff that I'm going to have to make my answers shorter because they will all be tl;dr if I go on like this...Because I could type even more lol...But at the end of the day...I think technology advancing is cool...And for those who use what they use in a creative way to add to what they are doing it's dope. I prefer a somewhat "stick to my roots / If it's not broke don't fix it" mentality but I'm not close minded and if I think something new is cool I'm all for it.

3. I really can't name just one. This might sound corny but a dope party is a dope party and that's where I wanna be as a dj or a patron. To name a few though...Cafe Danvers in Belgium was fun. DeEdge? In brazil was as well...Stereo in Montreal and Sona before it. Again I'm not so much about clubs as the party themselves. There are awesome parties all over Europe...The WMC has had certain really good years. Ottawa Canada used to be the sh it in the mid to late 90's. Anywhere where the crowd is there for the right reasons and are all open minded and willing to let go.

4. Wow. 2009...Umm...I can't think of a specific fav from 2009 as allot of the tracks I liked the most are still unreleased or I got pre 2009 but some fav's over the last 2 years are...

Freaks Ft Robert Owens - Right now just got released I think but I got it early 2009 or so and I played that allot. You can listen @ http://www.traxsource.com/index.php?...itles&cv=54420

Lovebirds - All about love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmIP_FPSLGY I played forever

Inland Knights Remix of I refuse -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHfksXLmELY


Jamie Jones - Summertime -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQo7Fk2zjus
I mean these are again, off the top of my head and I'm 2 lazy to grab my book and also there were just so many...And most are prob still not released so I have no link.

This is pre 2008 but I have yet to stop playing it Recloose - Dust- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH-kgJdVaVI

Funny thing is this stuff is not really what I'm known for / Not really exactly representive of what I play but I dig these tracks . Again...Just so much music out there. I do tend to play somewhat more uptempo than these and funkier but These do fit into longer sets.

Fav labels..Don't have any in particular anymore really. Drop is always solid and Classic used to always be solid. Guesthouse is a dope label.

Fav record stores = Stompy, Beatport, TrackSource, The Internet lol. No more B n M shops

That reference was my hometown Strong following is a local. Don't wanna give more details for the same reason I mentioned in OP.

1. CDJs. Kinda covered it in one of the replies more in depth.

The top ranked / sought after people in my style are Mark Farina, Dj Sneak, Derrick Carter, Dj Heather tho it seems less now...Maybe Diz. Justin Long started to pick up steam in terms of being in demand but he kinda switched styles. My style...Is very NewSchool Chicago house oriented but with various other moods and grooves mixed in. In fact the chicago style kind of means that you are mixing all kinds of disco / dance music together yet making it all work well together...IE straight up house / techo / Tech House / Minmal ish stuff / Disco funk / etc etc.

This particular style started to pick up fast late 90s to early 2006 and seemed like it was headed to become somewhat more commercially accepted but then just slowed down and stayed underground. That being saidtho DJ's like Mark Farina and Sneak play what they play to HUGE commercial rooms and people eat it up but people also know It;s "some superstar dj" so they auto accept it whereas if u were to put some relatively unknown DJ at the same party playing the same thing or even the exact same set people may not be so open minded. People tend to trust in "names" so to speak. It is what it is.

That blends in to your question of "deserving there spot". No one has particularly broken out into the mainstream from this genre in years. It's been the usual suspects for awhile now...And this is prob because they were big as things got more commercial and remained big but...As soon as electro and minimal started to get big again people started to get into / focus more on that sound which these dj's did not really play. It was almost as if as soon as ChiTown house seemed to be getting "bigger" electro came along and took whatever spotlight there was on the ChiTown sound. Electro / Mashup is party music and so is Chicago house...And electro def won haha.

Deserving within the dance music scene is kind of like deserving in poker. Some might think they deserve to win a MTT because they are more skilled but we all know that it requires more than skill to win MTT's. Allot of DJs who get there spot in the limelight or wtv right now were possibly just at the right place at the right time...Or knew someone who knew someone etc etc...Or they just marketed themselves to death or someone did it for them. I know one very well known DJ who is basically bad and does not care much for what he does but he put $ into marketing himself and broke threw.

Everyone and there mom seems to be a DJ right now and for the past few years so It's really hard to say who deserves it or not. There are lots of overnight success stories and there are lots of DJ's "Grinding it out" who have greater skill / passion than many of the top dj's but....Can't get noticed or move up for one reason or another. DJing is one occupation where hard work does not always pay off. Early on (early 90s) I think it did much more...But with the current state of things...Hard work will help but who you know and what you will do for who you know often wins out...Or other situations like that.

I do think most who are sought after in my genre do deserve there spot but I think there are many others deserving of a spot who won't seem to ever get it for one reason or another. The scene overall is so huge right now that it's hard to break threw.

I'm not gonna say...For the reasons I posted in the OP but I will post a mix right b4 I leave which is in like...45 mins.

Fwiw...Most DJ's who have made a name for themselves have played alongside big names. I just named some to put my story into perspective. I doubt you are a fanboy but mabe the mix will make you into one .

Hell no haha. Sorry...not into that stuff.

Diplo is dope. Period. Met him years ago and was a cool dude as well. Very creative cat.