DJ LIFE MAG 2025, Vol.5 No.2 Featuring David Guetta
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Miami, Fla. – This past March 25-30, the world of electronic dance music again visited South Florida for Miami Music Week. Including the re-integration of Winter Music Conference, the week saw a deep slate of area club/festival gigs, rooftop bashes, and one-off/pop-up events like the EDMAwards at Eden Roc Hotel. As usual, MMW gatherings (see Pgs. 24-25) stretched from South Beach to Wynwood and Hialeah, culminating with Ultra Music Festival at downtown’s Bayfront Park (see Pgs. 26-29). As always, DJ LIFE was there to take it all in:
WMC: On March 26-28, Winter Music Conference picked up where it left off in 2019 – the last year WMC ran in Miami Beach. Held at the historic Eden Roc Hotel, WMC delivered a dozen panels discussions and keynotes. Including an illuminating “keynote Q&A” with global DJs Danny Tenaglia and Nicole Moudaber, the slate also featured informative DJ-centric panels like “The Power of the Remix: Transforming Your Music & Growing Your Audience” and “Getting Signed: What Agents Look For & How to Stand Out.”
On the latter session, agent Peter Slayton encouraged DJs looking for representation and a move up the profession ladder to “throw your own branded party – do it yourself, if you have to.”
Liaison Artists’ Emma Hoser added: “If you’ve got my attention and I come to your show, I look to see how a DJ behaves behind the decks – is the DJ an entertainer? Does the DJ light up and project to an audience?
“Also, even if you put on a great show and you’re having a big moment, just know that it’ll pass because there’s just too much saturation out there, too much competition. So, at some point, you need to make music to keep up the momentum you’ve created. Cover all your bases – performance and music.”
On the keynote session, Moudaber challenged clubbers to “put down your phones and experience the music” and encouraged upstart DJ/producers to “gain an extensive knowledge of all music – all genres – and, when making music, to trust your ears, but don’t copy.”
Touching on the same topic, Tenaglia simply offered: “Be yourself.”
In addition to offering guidance and knowledge to industry upstarts, the conference provided a needed center to the week’s festivities. To wit, the Eden Roc’s lobby bar offered three days of primo networking opportunities for vets and newbies alike – something that’s been sorely missed in recent years.
EDMAs: Presented and co-produced by IHeartRadio’s Sean “Hollywood” Hamilton, the EDM Awards lit up the Eden Roc by attracting the biggest names in the dance-music scene. In addition to presenting nearly 50 awards in a wide variety of categories to the industry’s elites, the EDMA show also presented surprise performances from the likes of Hardwell, Armin van Buuren and Markus Schulz. (To see ’25 winners, go here.)
UMF: On March 28-30 at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami, Ultra Music Festival celebrated its 25th edition and created
its usual weekend of madness. Despite a rain-soaked final day, the seven-stage event delivered big sets from some of the DJ world’s top acts – deadmau5, Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Zedd, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Skrillex, and more. As usual, there were surprises, like David Guetta and Sia joining Afrojack for a performance of their 2011 monster hit, “Titanium.”
Other highlights included: Richie Hawtin’s “DEX EFX XOX” at the Resistance Megastructure, which delivered ominous visuals and hypnotizing dark techno. At the same venue, Joris Voorn’s melodic, but tough set mixed rumbling techno with acid sounds.
Also, Armin van Buuren’s crowd-pleasing and hit-filled set of trance currents lathered up mainstage followers. From the same stage, Joel Corry’s sing-a-long set delivered a decade’s worth of quick-cut favorites. Knife Party’s rattling set of quirky cuts wound up the crowd at the Worldwide Stage.
Baltimore Blend Battle
Baltimore, Md. – This past March 23, Atlanta’s DJ Popo (pictured) won the Baltimore Blend Battle. Held at Ikonic Live and presented by VirtualDJ, the 9th annual competition awarded the DJ who can create the most unique version of a track using an instrumental of one song with the a cappella of another. Popo blended Stevie Wonder’s “Part Time Lover” with Eazy-E’s “Boyz-n-the-Hood ” to take the title, cash, and prizes. Other BBB sponsors included Pioneer DJ by AlphaTheta, Ortofon, and Jetta Productions.
Ultra Fest: A packed Worldwide Stage.
Hooray: Subtronics, EDMA winner.
IN THIS ISSUE
Sound Bites
Miami Music Week
WMC Resurfaces & DJ-Driven Parties Pop All Over Miami By MMW Photographers
In the Studio With…
Ultra Music Festival
The East Coast’s Biggest DJ Event Returned to Downtown Miami By UMF Photographers
Restricted 26 High Seas Adventure
FriendShip Cruise DJs Take the Party to the Caribbean Images by FriendShip
Booka Shade
Mark Mancino
GUETTA’S GIANT STEPS
When we talk about the rise of dance music and DJ culture in America, we’d be remiss if we didn’t include David Guetta in that conversation. Beginning in 2007 with his Chris Willis-fronted hit “ Love Is Gone,” Guetta began a stream of pop and dancefloor smashes that runs to this day, effectively launching the DJ-as-hitmaker phenomenon Stateside.
In 2009, he delivered “When Love Takes Over” with Kelly Rowland and “Sexy Bitch” with Akon. Two years later, it was the transcendent “Titanium” with Afrojack and Sia. And most recently, “I’m Good (Blue)” with Bebe Rexha was the party song of the year in 2022. And on the club side, after a decade of playing at Wynn’s XS and Encore Beach Club in Las Vegas, Guetta signed a two-year deal with Fontainebleau, which will see him play the LIV properties in Vegas and Miami Beach. Additionally, this season, he’ll be spinning at two Ibiza venues – Ushuaïa with his legendary F*** Me I’m Famous! party and the brand-new [UNVRS] with his Galactic Circus residency. This summer, he’ll be taking giant steps indeed. Our Mark Mancino connected with him to discuss a little bit of everything – early career, gear, artistic process, and, of course, his latest moves in clubland.
Finally back from South Beach, we offer reports (and lots of imagery) from Miami Music Week, which included a rejuvenated Winter Music Conference, the star-studdedEDM Awards, the massive Ultra Music Festival, tons of club events and various activations (like the one celebrating Apple Music’s integration with top platforms like Serato and more). With WMC back in the mix, the networking at the Eden Roc was a pleasant surprise, and it’ll be something we look forward to enjoying again in 2026.
In Sound Bites, we go into the studio with German duo Booka Shade (Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier) to discuss the group’s latest full-length For Real. Additionally, Mr. Mancino connects with rising Australian talent Restricted (aka Rhys Sfyrios), who offers up some secrets to his newfound success.
In this issue, we also venture out to sea for FriendShip, DJ Destructo’s annual Caribbean cruise. This year’s outing included top jocks like Disclosure, Duck Sauce, Justin Martin and more. For our Club Spotlight, we also drop in for a first birthday party for Nashville hotspot Night We Met, whose anniversary weekend included Dombresky, Dosem, and The Whooligan.
As he often does, our Denver-based DJ/scribe Wesley King handled both our productreview columns. For Playback, he tested out Reloop’s Mixtour Pro, a versatile and compact controller. Also, in Studio Session, he ran Yamaha’s SEQTRAK “ideastation” through its unique paces.
From the mobile-entertainer world, we visit with Michael Bowman from the Charleston, S.C.-based Drop the Mike Productions, which handles the town’s huge wedding market, while still performing club gigs. In Business Line, Jordan St. Jacques reveals the secrets of Google’s Star Rating system.
Finally, we offer the latest on DJX ’25. Set for Aug. 11-14 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., DJX will celebrate its 35th anniversary and offer an exhibit hall full of gear, more than 30 panels, tutorials and keynotes, plus three nights of sponsored parties. Just announced: DJ White Shadow, best known as Lady Gaga’s Grammy-winning DJ/producer, will perform at the show’s opening-night party and do a “Keynote Q&A” with yours truly. Don’t miss it, be there. For the latest, please visit www.djxshow.com.
Cheers,
Jim Tremayne Editor, DJ LIFE
editor-in-chief
Jim Tremayne jtremayne@hazanmediagroup.com
editor-at-large Brian O’Connor boconnor@@hazanmediagroup.com
web editor and social media manager Mark Mancino mmancino@@hazanmediagroup.com
contributors
Wesley King, Chris Caruso, Amanda Chavez, Shawn Christopher, Paul Dailey, Reed Dailey, Chris Davis, DJ Deets, Tony Fernandez, Tommy D Funk, Lexi Ferguson. Greg Hollmann, Danielle Johnson, Erik Miller, Lily Moayeri, Jordan St Jacques, Jeff Stiles, Ashley Teffer, Danny Turner, Phil Turnipseed, Joshua Volpe, Travis Wackerly, Curtis Zack
chart coordinator Dan Miller dmiller@hazanmediagroup.com
director of sales Josh Kerman jkerman@hazanmediagroup.com
creative director Janice Pupelis jpupelis@hazanmediagroup.com
director of technologies and project management Steve Thorakos sthorakos@hazanmediagroup.com
Chairperson & COO/Co-Publisher Robin Hazan rhazan@hazanmediagroup.com
President & CEO/Co-Publisher Shawn Hazan shazan@hazanmediagroup.com
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DJ Life Mag is published bi-monthly starting with the second month annually.
Atlantic City, N.J. – He was born Paul Blair, but music fans know him as DJ White Shadow. As the longtime DJ and award-winning producer/songwriter with Lady Gaga, White Shadow has cranked out the highest-charting records, played the biggest arenas, and won the most prestigious honors – like a Grammy Award for his work on the A Star Is Born soundtrack. And he’ll be speaking and performing at DJX ’25: White Shadow will play the show’s opening-night party at HQ2 Nightclub and he’ll sit down for a “Keynote Q&A” to tell his success story.
Join us at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, August 11-14 for DJX ’25 – the 35th anniversary of the industry’s most powerful gathering. This is where it all happens, all in one place, under one roof, at one time. Demo and shop for the latest gear and explore cuttingedge technology trends. Take part in interactive experiences, next-level education, and network with top DJs, producers, brands, and thought leaders – because real opportunities happen through eye contact and handshakes. Grab your passes now and set the standard in ’25.
Growing up in music-rich Detroit, young Paul Blair absorbed all genres of music – punk, pop, techno, metal, house, hip hop and more – and began his fruitful career on the decks. As DJ White Shadow, he co-wrote or co-produced much of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way (2011) and ARTPOP (2013) albums, plus he provided similar efforts for the A Star Is Born soundtrack (2018).
Additionally, he’s done production and remix work for a slew of top artists, including Chris Brown, Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, No-Yo, and the Black Eyed Peas, as well as releasing his own tracks, which range in style from dance-pop (“Just the Way You Are”) to ominous dubstep (“Fear” from his EP trilogy). In more recent times, he’s played select club dates and celeb-filled events, in addition to working on a few yet-to-be-unveiled Hollywood projects.
At DJX ’25, bring your questions for DJ White Shadow – career advice, gear, Gaga, whatever – at his “Keynote Q&A” at the Hard Rock (where he’ll be interviewed by DJ LIFE Editor Jim Tremayne) and hit the dancefloor for his sure-to-be-lively set at the nearby HQ2 Nightclub at Ocean Casino Resort on Monday, August 11. It’s only at DJX ’25.
TOOLS TO DJ TOOLS
FOR LIFE
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nXt Summer Camp @ DJX is an immersive, hands-on experience designed for aspiring DJs ages 7-20, offering three days of expert-led training, mentorship, and inspiration at the industry’s most influential gathering.
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THE EDIT covers everything from DAWs to desks, mics to monitors, software to storage, plug-ins to preamps, and computers to cables. From bedroom setups to dedicated home and semi-pro studios, THE EDIT has you covered.
RESTRICTED: FACE 2 FACE
Breakout DJ/producer Restricted has been on an accelerated rise to the top of the electronic-music circuit recently. Born Rhys Sfyrios in Adelaide, Australia, Restricted, 25, has wowed the EDM world with a steady stream of hard-hitting productions, crafty remixes and high-profile gigs, all of which have been amplified by his considerable efforts on socials like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
Over the course of the past five years, Restricted has performed globally at top nightclubs, Ultra Music Festival Australia, and Germany’s Parookaville and Airbeat One. Next on the calendar: May 17 at EDC Vegas ’25. Not bad.
And it’s already been a huge year so far, as he reached the No. 1 spot on Beatport’s Hardcore/Neo Rave chart with “WTF?,” his collab with Anderex, which was followed by “FACE 2 FACE,” his banging pairing with Rebelion. Sfyrios has also been spending his time focusing on his newly launched label, Revive Records.
Boasting 2.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify, over 500 million views on his social-media platforms, and more than 100 million streams on DSPs, Restricted is a powerhouse in the making. As his journey unfolds, his tunes have already been championed by the likes of Sara Landry, Azyr, Dimitri Vegas, Clara Curve, NOVAH, BYORN, and WINSON. Restricted has been called upon for remixing duties for the likes of Switch Disco & Ella Hender-
Hard-Hitting Talent: Restricted aka Rys Sfyrios.
son (“REACT”), Öwnboss & Sevek (“Move Your Body”), Oliver Tree & Robin Schulz (“Miss You”), and Day1 (“MBAPPÉ”).
We sat down with Rhys Sfyrios, ahead of his forthcoming shows, and discussed a variety of topics – from his upbringing to his studio process to his career dreams. It all went like this:
DJ LIFE: When did you begin exploring dance music? Which artists sparked your interest?
Rhys Sfyrios: I was about 12 or 13 when I started listening to dance music. My older brothers always had friends over on the weekends for predrinks and they would play big-room/ Melbourne Bounce tracks from Martin Garrix, Will Sparks, Showtek. When they left one time, I took their playlist and put it on a USB and then started DJing with that.
DJ LIFE: Did you begin as a DJ or producer? Do you prefer one to the other?
Sfyrios: I started as a DJ first and then I started producing music about a year later. I love performing and making music, I feel like it’s good to
have both to balance things out. I usually make music during the week and then, on the weekends, test out tracks that I’ve been working on. It’s a good way to gauge if the tracks work well live or not.
DJ LIFE: Did your upbringing influence your decision to pursue music?
Sfyrios: My mum would always listen to ’90s music around the house or in the car when she would take us places, and my older brothers would play dance music when their friends would come over for predrinks. I come from a loud Greek family, and I’d say music is a big part of our lives. Maybe that influenced me subconsciously to get into the music industry.
DJ LIFE: What was your initial DJ set-up? How about your current DJ setup?
Sfyrios: Honestly, I can’t really remember. I think it might have been Pioneer DJ CDJ-1000s. I currently use a club standard set-up, which is usually Pioneer DJ CDJ-3000s and Pioneer DJ DJM-A9 mixer.
DJ LIFE: Tell us about some of your early DJ experiences.
Sfyrios: I started DJing when I was about 14 or 15, just at small parties and private events. By the time I turned 18, I had multiple club residencies in my home city, and then I would play private functions every weekend, then I’d go straight to my club residency after.
DJ LIFE: Are the sets different now? If so, how?
Sfyrios: The music style is much different; the Boiler Room/360 style wasn’t as common back then, as well. I’d say the shows are more intimate and the crow connection is so much better.
DJ LIFE: What are five tracks you always have on hand for DJ sets, things that you think will almost always make the crowd go crazy?
Sfyrios: “Tunnel Vision” by Restricted & Nik Sitz, “Ha Ha” by Onlynumbers, “Hard Beat” by Darren Styles & TNT, “FCKN LOUD” by Restricted & Vorteks, and “WTF?” by Restricted & Anderex.
DJ LIFE: In terms of music production, how did you begin and with what software?
Sfyrios: I actually downloaded FL Studio during my home economics class when I was in Grade 9.
DJ LIFE: What’s your current studio like, in terms of DAW and plug-ins?
Sfyrios: My current setup is quite basic, as I just moved to Amsterdam. But for me, it’s not so much about the gear as it’s more about the idea. [Kilohearts] KH plug-ins are great and new [Xfer Records] Serum 2 is awesome. Favorite DAW is FL Studio overall, but Ableton Live is better for workflow.
DJ LIFE: Do you have any studio routines/rituals that might be unique to you?
Sfyrios: Currently, I’m using a standing desk, so producing while standing up.
DJ LIFE: You’re already having a busy year on the new music front. What can you share with us about your recently released music and what’s upcoming?
Sfyrios: Just released “FACE 2 FACE” with Rebelion, a mix between raw and hard elements, a track that I’m loving at the moment. The structure of my live sets usually moves between different genres hardtechno/rawstyle/hardstyle. I’d like to be able to create an entire set that transitions through the genres, but it all has to be originals.
DJ LIFE: Fill us in on what’s been going down for you on the live performance front. What’s coming up?
Sfyrios: Currently touring Europe and playing some really cool new venues. Really loving the intimate ones, always makes such a sick vibe. We have a great run of shows in the U.S. coming up, including EDC in May – I’m looking forward to that!
DJ LIFE: In a perfect world, what does the next five years look like for Restricted?
Sfyrios: Establish my label Revive, knock off some bucket-list venues around the world, make some good music, work with some really cool artists – and maybe even break a Guinness World Record.
– Mark Mancino
BOOKA SHADE: MAKING “FOR REAL”
As Booka Shade, German DJ/ producers Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier have been releasing music for 30 years now, and it’s been quite the memorable ride.
A career full of musical milestones goes back to 1995’s techy wobbler “Kind of Good,” thru its 2004 debut album, the superb Memento , and then onto 11 more studio full-lengths, including Dear Future Self, which garnered a 2022 Grammy nomination for “Best Immersive Audio Album.”
Its latest full-length effort, For Real , is the 150th release on the duo’s imprint, Blaufield Music, and it finds the group returning to a familiarly melodic, but no less dancefloor-friendly group of tunes. Including standout cuts like the haunting “Losing Control” and emotive “Nukk,” plus singles like the breezy “Broken Glass” and the electro-banging “P.I.N. 4,” For Real offers a tasty range of moods, flavors, and beats.
We recently caught up with Kammermeier, 57, and Merziger, 55, to discuss their latest project, their gear, their influences, and more.
DJ LIFE: I read that Planet Claire was the duo’s original name – you must’ve been fans of The B-52’s, right? When you started the group, what else were you listening to?
Arno Kammermeier: The band name back then, Planet Claire, was indeed inspired by The B-52’s song, which was played regularly in our local disco. As teenagers, we listened to all the New Wave bands of the time, mainly Depeche Mode, New Order, and The Cure – and we were always interested in electronic music. I remember how my older brother showed me a music magazine with the Kraftwerk robots on it; I was fascinated. I met Walter in a school band where he played guitar and keyboards, and I played the drums.
DJ LIFE: How did you two know that you could be musical partners?
Walter Merziger: We quickly realized we shared the dream of “achieving something in music.” But did we imagine that decades later we’d still be standing on festival stages, and we’d support our heroes Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode, and a member of Kraftwerk [Fritz Hilpert] would help us mix our albums in Dolby Atmo? No way! That’s a crazy dream.
DJ LIFE: In the studio, what’s the artistic balance between the two of you?
Kammermeier: Walter has been the studio wizard and the primary songwriter since the beginning. I’m good at coming in with fresh ears and seeing the bigger picture, or balancing out the overall course we’re on.
DJ LIFE: What’s your creative process?
Kammermeier: For a couple of years, we haven’t lived in the same city and don’t have a shared studio, so we are very used to sending ideas back and forth and discussing them on the phone. Walter would usually start with a song idea, and we’d produce it until we could try it out in the show – if it was a club-oriented song.
DJ LIFE: Creatively, how did you approach For Real, your latest project? Anything novel or different from previous full-length albums?
Merziger: We constantly write and produce music, but not all songs are immediately released. Songs can go through many phases before they are finished. It may not fit on a release for different reasons, be it musically, or we may feel that something in the production is missing to make it complete. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad song; it’s just that the time isn’t ready yet. And over the decades, we learned that good things take time. About a year ago, we went through our archives, like we regularly do, and realized there were several ideas we liked and could revisit. And we also had a particular sound
Booka Shade: Kammermeier & Merziger.
in mind for the album. After COVID, we released a lot of music for the dancefloor because, like everybody else, we were happy to return to the clubs and celebrate nightlife. We wanted to return to the more organic sound typical of Booka Shade for this new album.
DJ LIFE: When you’re doing outside collaborations, how do you work with those artists? How do you decide who you want to work with?
Merziger: The project has got to be musically interesting and cover something we haven’t done before. Most of the time, we work with the collab partner remotely, and it’s not much different from how we both work: We send ideas back and forth until they click. Who finishes/ mixes the song depends on who started it and whose label it will be released.
DJ LIFE: I always loved the melodies that Booka Shade creates and, again, they’re all over this album. “Losing Control,” “Nukk,” “P.I.N. 4,” and “Broken Glass” are particular favorites. “Broken Glass” is most-recent single – what went into creating that one?
Kammermeier: “ Broken Glass” is probably Walter and my favorite song for a long time. I rarely say that; we usually have that “we-love-all-our-children” attitude towards our songs. The idea for the song that now is called “Broken Glass” was there for, I would say, a good 10 years. We had the beautiful chord progression, but didn’t feel like we had finished it. Then, a couple of months ago, Walter came up with the idea for the vocal in this ’60s hippie-esque style. I loved it from the first second. The finishing touches happened quickly, and there wasn’t much discussion. We just needed to make sure the vibe stayed.
DJ LIFE: From your main studio gear, what’s your DAW? Fave plug-ins?
Merziger: Our main studio DAW is Apple Logic Pro. We started with Notator/Creator in the late ’80s and, since then, we’ve been working with the
software of this brand. We have a few plug-ins which we use in almost every production, like Logic FX and EXS Sampler, Fab Filter EQs, Waves L3 Limiter, Audio Damage Panstation and Dubstation, XLN Audio RC-20, Valhalla VintageVerb, Plugin Alliance ADA Flanger and Noveltech Vocal Enhancer. We have the iZotope Vocal Synth and Ozone 9, and on the instruments side, all the stuff from Arturia, u-he, Spectrasonics Omnisphere and Trilian, XILS-lab Oxium, and Native Instruments.
DJ LIFE: Monitors? Other vital hardware?
Merziger: Our main monitors in the studio are Genelecs, but we’re also working and mixing a lot with headphones because we’re on the road a lot. Because of the touring, we stopped working with most of our hardware and focused on what we had “in the box.” It’s all about the idea; the technical stuff is only a helper.
DJ LIFE: Which producer/remixers do you most admire?
Merziger: We’re kids from the ’80s and very eclectic. Some examples include Flood, Stephen Lipson, Quincy Jones, Martin Hannett, Conny Plank, or more currently, Tame Impala. All are very innovative and unique producers. There are not many “real” producers out there anymore, but there are a few excellent programmers in the electronic music world, such as Adam Ten, DJ Koze or Notre Dame.
DJ LIFE: What goes into your live performances? It’s not just a DJ set.
Kammermeier: I guess the live performance is special about Booka Shade: the keys and the drums. Not many people make the effort to bring the equipment, set it up and soundcheck, and do the physical workout we do. But we love it. On this tour, we played five shows in a row per week, and during the day, when I was tired, I sometimes questioned what I do. But, when I stand onstage, feel the music, and look over to Walter, I think: “We were born to do this.” It’s our mission. Our little contribution to making the world a little more positive and giving people good energy. It’s essential that we have a stage to perform on so the audience can see us. That makes a big difference. When they pick up the energy that we send out and return it again to us on stage, that’s magic.
DJ LIFE: What’s your gear set-up for live shows?
Kammermeier: We have three laptops, two running Ableton Live and one for Walter’s keyboard sounds. Apart from a MIDI controller and USB keyboard, Walter uses some “noise makers” such as the Korg Kaoss pad. My Roland V-Drum pads and SPD SX sampling pad trigger sounds from Native Instruments Maschine, and all sound sources are mixed on stage in our beloved Allen & Heath Xone 96. We then send a stereo signal to the PA/Front Of House.
DJ LIFE: Which DJs do you admire?
Merziger: We’re old-school; we’re privileged to have grown up listening and dancing all night with the best DJs like Laurent Garnier or Sven Väth.
DJ LIFE: Aside from releasing great music, what’s the secret to running a successful label in 2025? What have you learned over the years?
Kammermeier: We’ve been working independently for most of our lives. All the bands we admired as kids were indie bands on small labels – Depeche Mode on Mute, New Order on Factory, The Cure on Fiction Records. There’s a reason why the logo of our label, Blaufield Music, looks a little bit like a The Cure/Fiction typo. When we were young, there wasn’t much literature on how to run a label or survive as a musician, and there was a lot of trial-and-error as we went along. Ideally, you breathe in all the information you can get to know what you’re doing and see the income streams. All the producers who shout about Spotify are the same people who have given their music away for free on Soundcloud for years and years. We’ve never done that. Build up your own following on platforms that can’t be controlled or shut down by the big social-media platforms, like a newsletter or your own webshop.
DJ LIFE: How have the shows been, supporting the new material?
Kammermeier: We just finished an early evening European concert tour to present the new album. We had amazing shows in cities such as Berlin, London, Munich, and Cologne, and many sold out in advance. The feedback was so good that we’re planning a second fall tour,
DJ LIFE: Will you be coming to play in North America in the near future?
Merziger: We’re in the process of getting a new visa – the usual pain – and had planned to return to the U.S. in September, but a family issue came up, and now we’re looking into new dates. Maybe spring 2026 will be a good time. We like touring in North America, and there are many great venues to play!
– Jim Tremayne
GiantSteps
ALREADY A GLOBAL SUPERSTAR, DAVID GUETTA LOOKS FORWARD TO A 2025 THAT PROMISES TO BE BIGGER THAN EVER
As a true tastemaker, Guetta became a master of his craftinthe1980s.Fromayoungage,hewouldDJand createhisownopportunitiesthroughoutParis,andeventuallyotherpartsoftheglobe.Promotinghisownevents from the start, he learned how to maneuver the businesssideoftheindustry,whilediscoveringnewtrendsand introducingmusictonightclubswithinhiscity.
He’s become a festival headliner, club connoisseur,andtop-tierhitmaker–andlet’snotforget aboutthetimeheplayedalive-streamedDJsetat thetopoftheEmpireStateBuildingin2020.Guetta hasalwaysdiscoverednewwaystobegroundbreaking.He’srichinmusichistoryandextremely knowledgeableaboutDJculture,whichcomesas nosurprisegivenhisyearsofcommitmenttothe craft.Appreciativeofthemanystylesandgenresof music, Guetta was the first to introduce electronic dancemusic(EDM)tomainstreamandpopradio. Hisblendofhouse,hiphop,pop,disco,funk,and more,seeminglycreatedtheperfectformulafor stateside crossover success.
Ourrecentsit-downwithGuettacamejustashe waspreparingforyetanother career milestone. This year’sUltraMusicFestivalinMiamiwasacelebration of its 25th anniversaryedition–andtruetoform, Guettawasamajorpartofthefestivities.During Afrojack’ssetatthemainstage,Guettajoinedhim withSiaassurpriseguests.Leadinguptotheironstageentries,AfrojackplayedoneofDavid’searliest crossover hits, “SexyBitch ” (feat.Akon),thencame thefirst-everliveperformanceoftheir2011smash-hit, “Titanium.”
someThepremiernightlifeanddaylightdestinationsboast oftheworld’smostsought-aftertalentfeaturinga roster of John Summit, Tiësto, Dom Dolla, and now, David Guetta. That’snottheonlyresidencywegottospeak withhimabout.Thisseason,he’smakinghis[UNVRS] residencydebutinIbiza,whichwillbeinadditiontohis existingresidencyatUshuaïa.
writingInourdiscussion,Guettaalsoexpoundedonhissongprocess,theDJcraft,re-joiningforceswithSiafor their new “BeautifulPeople” collaboration, the return of F***MeI’mFamous,hisFutureRaveprojectwithMORTEN, andsomuchmore,DJLIFEunpackedanearly40-year careerwithanindustryicon,andhere’showourdiscussionwiththepowerhousewentdown.
DJ LIFE: CanyoutakeusbacktothedaysofwhenyouwereaDJandclubpromoter?
David Guetta: IstartedtoDJwhenIwas14-yearsold, andIwouldplayatweddingsandpartiesatmyschool. Iwoulddophotocopiesandpromotemyparties.Back then,itwouldbe$1togetin;justtopayfortheorange juice[laughs].ThisishowIstarted…thiswasbeforehouse musicorhiphopevenreallyexisted.Iknow,itsoundscrazy,butit’strue!Atthetime,Iwasplayingfunk,andthen IstartedtoplayprofessionallyinaclubwhenIwas17.
Theclubwasagayclub,andIwasplayingdisco/funk andNewWave,likeDepecheModeandNewOrder, whichwasthemusicthatwashugeinthegayscene. IwastoldIhadtoplaythisstyleofmusic,andIdidn’t reallylikeitatfirst.Butbasically,thatcomboofearly electronic music with Yello and Kraftwerk with the disco andfunkthatIwasplaying,funnilyenough,wasthe foundationofwhatmymusicistoday.BecauseIwas workinginagayclub,Ilookedintowhatthemusicwas likeingayclubsinAmerica.Nowwe’retalkingabout 1987,soIlearnedofhousemusic,warehouses,garage, andthat’swhenIstartedthefirsthousemusicnightin France.EveryMondaynightinthatclub,Iwoulddo ahousemusicnightbecausetheclubwasemptyon Mondaynights.
DJ LIFE: Howdidthosedaysintheclubscomparetothescenetoday?
not the resident and it’s so hard to play with other people’s records, I came with my own records. I told the owner, “Look there’s this new music, and it’s called house music.” At the time we actually called it “acid house.” So, I asked him to let me throw a party playing only house music, you just give me my regular fee, which was probably the equivalent of $80 for an eight-hour set. Then I would promote the party with my own time and out of my own pocket. This was actually how I got my start as a club promoter, but it wasn’t the other way around. At the time, it was like a crusade for new music, and that was house music. So, I would make the smiley fliers, go to every club, and let them know about this new type of music, and you need to hear it, you need to come.
DJ LIFE: How did that work out?
Guetta: I ended up making the [Monday night] party, where it was house music only. I became a promoter because that was the only way for me to play the music that I wanted to play. For so many years, I was a club employee, and they wouldn’t let me play the music I wanted to play. And honestly, I feel like this is a good example of how to look at business. If they’re not going to book you, book yourself. They didn’t believe in me playing house music because they thought it was too weird [at the time], so I became the promoter for those nights. This is how it is now – of course, there was no social media then – where if you really believe what you’re doing, you put yourself out there, you can be your own agent.
DJ LIFE: So, you basically became their resident DJ?
Guetta: After I became I club promoter and started those house-music parties by 1988, so this was still very, very early on. There really was nobody playing this style of music in France, and actually my only competition was Laurent Garnier. At the time, he was living in the U.K., and he would come once a month to play in Paris. With that, I built a real audience of people that would follow me to the different clubs. At that time, there was no such thing as a “resident DJ,” the concept just didn’t exist. I became very popular in Paris, and I would go around the city playing the off day for each DJ at the best clubs in the city. And because I was coming with my own music, people started to realize that when I played, the music wasn’t the same [as it was on the other nights]. I would also go out and promote myself. Back then, I was crazy, and I was going out every single night of my life. You didn’t really get paid as a DJ then, it was better to be the waiter or bartender than the DJ. Once I realized I had people following me to different clubs, I decided not to sell myself as a DJ, but little by little, become my own promoter.
DJ LIFE: And where did things go from there?
Guetta: Once I was more established as a promoter, I then opened my first club, Les Bains, which was one of the best clubs in Europe. Then I opened up Queen, and I started the concept of inviting international DJs. I was looking at what Ministry Of Sound was doing and thought it was so fucking cool. Around 1992, I started to invite guys like Frankie Knuckles and David Morales, and I would learn from them. I would ask them, “What synth do you use?” Or, “How do you make that bassline?” Because imagine, now you can just go on YouTube and find something the same week a record is released, but at that time, it was like a fucking mystery [laughs]. I know it might be hard to relate, because it’s so different. I had this club called Les Bains Douches, and it was very cool. Downstairs was DJs and house music, while upstairs was celebrities, supermodels, and Hollywood’s finest. I remember Prince did a private concert there, and Destiny’s Child, even though the club was small – and they did these for free.
DJ LIFE: When and how did you begin your F*** Me I’m Famous parties?
Guetta: I ended up being a club owner, but I was not happy because, for me, it was always about the music first, but I ended up taking care of business, which was not making me happy. As a form of provocation, I started the concept, F*** Me I’m Famous, because I was so tired of that fucking game. This is what I was seeing in my club every day, famous people and all these girls surrounding them – and me, I was about the music, you know? So it was like a provocation, but I never imagined that one day I was gonna be
famous [laughs]! When started F*** Me I’m Famous, it was almost more like a satire. In the late ’90s and early 2000s, I was playing a tech-house party called Scream that was very big. Pepe Roselló, the owner of Space Ibiza came the party. You have to remember, at this time, I had no hits. I really had no name outside of France. [Roselló] liked the music and thought the party was super cool, then asked to speak to the DJ. When I went to say “Hi,” he asked me if I wanted to play at Space in Ibiza. And this is how it all started… I played my first show there a year later and then launched the F*** Me I’m Famous events with my ex-wife. She would take care of the dancers, the visuals, the production, and all of that, while I would take care of booking the DJs.
DJ LIFE: Do you recall what DJ set-up you had initially or what you first learned to play on?
Guetta: Oh yeah, of course! So… [laughs], every weekend when I was not going to school, I would go to this shop where I could see the Technics SL-1200s. I would touch it and just stay there looking at them for hours, every Sunday. At the time, I couldn’t really afford it, so I bought one turntable, which was a Denon with the elastic, and bought a mixer to go with it. I definitely couldn’t afford to have two turntables, so I would listen to the radio, and I would learn how to mix from the radio to my [one] turntable. On the turntable, I had to control the speed with my fingers. This should also tell you why it’s not very hard for me to mix now… [laughs]. It’s so funny because when people say, “Oh, he’s playing a pre-recorded set,” I’m like, why the fuck would I do that? This was how I started, so now it’s so easy for me to mix. For years, I was playing like that and moving the speed with my fingers, until one day I had enough money to buy two turntables, which this time were the Technics.
DJ LIFE: And you got better, I assume.
Guetta: Later on, with the rise of hip hop and DMC, I was scratching and doing all the tricks of that time, like DJ Cash Money, I remember. I was completely crazy with it, training every day to master it. I was using the two Technics, there wasn’t even any Pioneer yet. I remember when I started to play in Ibiza, it was a rotary mixer because guys like Frankie Knuckles and Louie Vega, this is what they were using… and I hated it, it was a nightmare [laughs]. You wouldn’t be able to switch out equipment at clubs like this in Ibiza then, so you played with what they gave you. It would be whatever mixer they provided.
DJ LIFE: How about your current DJ setup? What’s the same and what’s changed?
Guetta: Now it’s four Pioneer CDJs and a Pioneer mixer, I’m all Pioneer for my DJ setup. Pioneer to the max!
Very early on, I would come with a sampler, a drum machine, things like that. But you have to imagine, at that time, house music or “acid house” was completely new and experimental. There was no such thing as phones yet either, so the people would really be into it. It was transformative. It was new world. My feeling, especially when I play festivals… I don’t really get the point of doing that. I appreciate the art of doing it, but I think if you play a small club, people can see what you’re doing. When I was playing those smaller shows, it was super-avant-garde-type of people. Nowadays, there’s nothing crazy about adding sounds to an instrumental or doing a mash-up. My point is, why would I make my life complicated doing something like that live when I can create the perfect mash-up that’s well produced with the perfect buildup, I can add some pads, some changes, and
make it better.
DJ LIFE: You’ve already mentioned some legendary names. Who were your early inspirations then and who do you appreciate now?
Guetta: Who influenced me the most when it comes to that was first Masters At Work in the old days. Secondly, more than anyone, was Erick Morillo. Erick was the first DJ that I saw playing with Pioneer and playing with CDs. I saw him making loops on the fly, playing a cappellas over [an instrumental], and using filters. At the time, there was no filters on the mixer, so he would come with external filters. I remember thinking, “Wow, fuck!”
When I would get together with guys like Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello, and Axwell, we would spend the entire night watching Erick play. The four of us would be in the DJ booth in Ibiza every week, partying like crazy, and we were really like his hype guys. Not only that, but we would learn from it. The guy has been a little bit controversial, and I don’t like to be part of that because I know he brought so much to the culture… so much.
DJ LIFE: How so?
Guetta: All these techniques we see now would not exist without him. All of the foundations of modern-day DJing, at least for me, come from him. I’m not talking about playing festivals for 100,000 people; I’m talking about a DJ set at a club. At the time, it made so much sense to make a loop on four bars and then play with the external filters, delays, and a cappellas live. You were able to just put people in this hypnotic state where after two minutes, you bring the bass back and watch the whole club scream and go crazy. This is a different job than what I’m doing now.
DJ LIFE: Can you break down your thoughts on the current state of the industry?
Ultra Fest: With Sia & Afrojack.
because they want to hear that DJ’s original music being played. With club DJs, people are going to see a DJ be cause they might’ve heard there was a good DJ playing. This is what I used to do. I would DJ for eight hours per day, six days a week, and I would play any style of music. Anybody is able to a one-hour set of only the same music –that’s so fucking easy ! What I’m talking about is the art of DJing: Taking people on a journey, having musical culture, studying music from the ’80s, ’90s, 2000s and understanding all of it, and bringing that into what you’re playing. This is DJing – and this is a culture that is a sub-culture.
to properly be able to mix on the spot and in the moment.
DJ LIFE: A completely different world from your upbringing…
Now, what I explained, to me, is for the clubs. Once you get onto a stage and you perform as an artist because people love your music or your hits, even if they’re underground hits, the minute you take that stage, it’s entertainment; it’s something else. You have people that come and don’t understand what you’re doing. There are sometimes people who come and think you’re making the music live. My point is, I never want to…
DJ LIFE: This makes a lot of sense…
Guetta: I was a little upset when I saw that deadmau5 was saying that all big DJs play pre-recorded sets because that’s absolutely not true. I’ve never done that. My point is, why would I do that? Today, you have a system of light that works perfectly, you can set a time code for the track, separate it, so why would you find yourself locked into doing something like that? Of course, I have a skeleton of what I might want my DJ set to be, but if I see the crowd is really into Future Rave, then I’m going to play more Future Rave. If I see that they really want to hear my hits, then I’m going to play more of my hits. If I see they’re into melodic techno, then I’ll play more of that. What I’m saying is, DJing is still there, even if you’re an “entertainer.” Otherwise, I would shoot myself, it would be so fucking boring [laughs].
DJ LIFE: Well, don’t do that…
Guetta: I’m not telling anybody what to do, but I just
Guetta: My son is actually learning to DJ, and I taught him how to mix in the moment for the first time at his birthday. He was preparing his set, and I was, of course, helping him. Now, he plays a completely different style. He prefers U.K. Garage and more of the underground. I was helping him, and I said: “OK, you prepared a set, but I want you to have two different playlists – one with more underground, and then one with hits. This way, if you lose them, you go to the hits, but if you see they’re into it, you go with more underground.”
DJ LIFE: So, for you, what’s the difference between a “DJ” and an “entertainer”?
Guetta: Once you’re onstage, you’re there to put on a show. So, the production needs to be sick, your set needs to be as perfect as it gets. When you’re playing a 90-minute or one-hour show, it’s not as much about taking [the audience] on a journey or taking them to this hypnotizing place and play a loop for three minutes. People don’t have the energy for that during these sets. When I’m playing these kind of sets, I’ll prepare some of the mash-ups or edits, and I’m also preparing a set where none of the records you hear in my set can be heard elsewhere.
DJ LIFE: That makes for a special show…
Guetta: Because even when I’m playing my hits, I play a version that’s unique, so that it’s basically like a concert. For these kind of sets, I’m giving you an experience that you won’t get again or hear from anybody else. First, I’m playing only my own productions – my own original music, remixes, or edits, even done in the moment, but it’s my own take on it. In that sense, I’m giving what I want to give as an artist, not just as a DJ, and that’s entertainment.
Paul Barba
Paul Barba
Future Rave Parties: Guetta & MORTEN.
DJ LIFE: And DJing?
Guetta: DJing is when you know all about the culture, you know every single style of music, and not just that, you’re able to mix live in the moment, go from those different styles, and really take people on a journey. As a DJ, if I want to play a mix that’s two- or three-minutes long, I can, but at a festival, I can’t do that because I’ll lose the crowd. It’s two different jobs, and I think they’re both honorable. It’s just that with one you’re a DJ, and the other you’re an artist. When you accept that, I think you become better as an entertainer.
DJ LIFE: Let’s talk about production and studio time…
Guetta: I would separate two aspects of production – at least for me. There’s the songwriting component and there’s the production. When I started, I would make beats that were very produced, and think, “Wow, this sounds so fucking sick! The bass is so huge,” or whatever. From there, I’d take the beat that got the best reaction [in my sets], and I would go into a session with a songwriter. I felt like when the people reacted the best on the dance floor, that was the best thing to do.
DJ LIFE: And now?
Guetta: I absolutely never do this anymore. Because, first, this is a classic mistake – and I’m talking even famous DJs make it – is that there’s a misunderstanding of what songwriting is. Songwriting is not about production. You can be the world’s best producer, but it’s not going to influence an artist or songwriter. What makes a songwriter inspired is a good chord progression, great melodies that indicate where it could go within its own melody.
DJ LIFE: What’s that process like for you?
Guetta: Every year during the month of May, I do songwriting. Because of my residency in Vegas, every May when I’m there, I go to L.A. to write. So then, I go into the studio and play chords on the piano, and I’m talking about basic as fuck, sometimes I’ll have a guitar player with me, but that’s it – no drums, nothing else. This, to me, is songwriting. Then I have a collection of songs, and I want to say that this is what makes the difference between people like Calvin Harris, myself, Swedish House Mafia, The Chainsmokers, Martin Garrix, and some others, is that many other producers just wait to receive demos. But then you sometimes are stuck with these heartless, soulless demos. In this world, these songwriters are doing two songs in two sessions per day and shopping them around to hundreds of DJ/producers until you find the fastest one to claim them. But in my opinion, in cases like this, you’re getting something that’s so impersonal.
DJ LIFE: It doesn’t work for you, then…
Guetta: I think I’ve named a few DJs/artists that happen to be the biggest, but there’s a reason for that. It’s because
we go and we write, so that’s a big, big difference. After that, I have songs for the entire year. Of course, I’m still going to listen to demos, because sometimes there are rare cases –and it’s very rare – where they work. But in most cases, I’m almost always in the studio writing and, then afterwards, I work on the production. Knowing that out of 10 songs, only one of them is going to be strong, why would I produce all of them? That would just be a waste of my time. So, I live with them for a few months, and then I see which ones I’m getting tired of. From there, sometimes I’ll even make a mash-up. I test it, and I’ll see that people love those vocals, and then I turn it into my own production. This is something, I think, makes me different from a lot of the other producers.
DJ LIFE: How about your DAW? Your go-to plug-ins?
Guetta: Production wise, I work with Ableton Live. Importantly, I changed on the way. Again, I’m all about results. In the way that my philosophy is towards DJing, it’s the same when it comes to production. Of course, I can do mash-ups on the fly, but why would I, when I can do it better in Ableton? So, in the same way, you have those people who say, “Analog, it’s so much better!” But since I’m traveling all the time, how do I do that? Because of that, I do it all in the box.
DJ LIFE: No hardware?
Guetta: Once in a while, for fun, it happens that I’ll use analog synths, if I’m doing a two-month writing camp in LA. But, I tend to feel like everything really can all be done right within Ableton. I used to use lots of plug-ins, and I have almost everything, but now, I tend to simplify everything. That means working really basic. [Xfer Records] Serum is my main synth, and again you’ll have lots of producers saying, “If you’re a real producer, you don’t use Nexus.” My answer is: Why? You’re only going to make your life easier. I’ll use Serum, but any basic sound that I need, I’m going to go into (reFX) Nexus, because the sound is already produced and sounding great. So, if I need some strings or piano, they’re there. I make a lot of mash-ups, especially for Vegas, and sometimes you want a classic sound from a record. So, if you type the name of the song or artist, you’ll find it. If I want to make a mash-up of a classic, I’ll find the sound, because when I make a mash-up, it’s produced like a copy of the original sound. Those are the foundations, as far as I’m concerned.
DJ LIFE: Any other plug-ins we should know about?
Guetta: Let me open up my sessions and see what else I’ve been using the most… FabFilter, I use a lot, Limiter, and Pro-Q. And then there’s mastering… of course, for mastering I use [iZotope] Ozone because I think it’s really good and very complete. I use mostly plug-ins from Ableton, so delays, reverbs, compressor. After trying everything, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s better to limit myself to what’s in Ableton and not killing my CPU.
DJ LIFE: You’re not alone.
Guetta: Actually, I’m quite happy with everything they provide. I just don’t like the synths in Ableton – they sound good, but they’re not user-friendly, in my opinion. Sometimes I’ll use [U-he] Zebra because it has that real analog feel, but to be honest, if you work really well on sound design in Serum, you can also get it sound more analog. So, my advice would be to not try to use a million things, but use what you do have well. There’s also one reverb that I have to mention because it’s fucking sick to do creative stuff, it’s really, really insane… the KSHMR Reverb. One other thing that I would advise is Mixed In Key Live, which is extremely useful. Sometimes when
Roberto Castano
you want to double check the tone – if you’re playing a sample or a an a cappella – Mixed In Key Live works great. Sometimes the detector in Ableton isn’t as good, so I always have it going. Oh, I definitely can’t forget about OTT by Xfer Records, VPS Avenger, and Trackspacer from Wavefactory, which is amazing… amazing ! Trackspacer is really good for something like, if you have a piano and a voice, it will lower the frequencies of the voice inside of the piano in a very easy way, and it’s very easy to use. If I’m doing a Future Rave set, I won’t use that, but if I’m leaning more pop or EDM, I would use Native Instruments Kontakt or Omnisphere by Spectrasonics if I need a good acoustic bass or atmospheres. I know this seems like a long list, but I think if I was just starting out now, I wouldn’t make my life as complicated with all of these because a lot of this comes down to personal preference.
DJ LIFE: So, that’s what you’d recommend to those just starting out?
Guetta: Yes, the main message or takeaway, especially if I was speaking to a beginner, I would say: Don’t use anything outside of Ableton except for Serum and Nexus. All the rest, you can really do within Ableton.
I’m actually currently working with Nicky Romero on a mastering plug-in, which is going to be called Faster Master. My idea is to simplify and to make things more efficient, but this is what I’m dabbling in at the moment. Basically, you make a beat or a remix, and you want to play it that night. A super-expert is going to analyze your song and do what’s right, and from there, you can modify each preset. You’re actually the first to know [laughs]!
DJ LIFE: Let’s dive into you and Sia joining forces again on “Beautiful People,” 14 years after your smash-hit “Titanium.”
Guetta: I’m really, really excited to be working with Sia again. I mean, with “Titanium,” those were some of the best years of my life, and probably my favorite record out of everything that I’ve produced. I think she might be the best songwriter in the world. Since we’ve always brought love to each other, it’s a big deal for me to be working with her again. We actually have two records that we made together, and “Beautiful People” is a great story. It’s a little bit like when I did “I’m Good (Blue)” [with Bebe Rexha].
DJ LIFE: Why’s that?
Guetta: Well, I had [“I’m Good (Blue)”] on my laptop for 12 years. I could never find a way to produce it… it was so hard. I don’t know why, but it was just so difficult. And then finally, we get there. The reaction on that record was amazing. We’ve gotten such amazing feedback on that record. You know how I know? When I have so many DJs calling me asking if they can remix it, and you think to yourself: This is a good sign [laughs].
It’s all very exciting. I also have another record [with Sia], but [“Beautiful People”] is very DJ-friendly, and the other one is very pop. I love her – she’s the best! She sings like nobody else, and she writes like nobody else – so it’s really incredible!
DJ LIFE: Let us dive into your new Las Vegas residency at LIV and what you’ve got coming up for the rest of this year.
Guetta: This year brings two massive challenges. After 13 seasons at Wynn, I’m moving to Fontainebleau, so this is a huge deal and big challenge in my life. It’s a combination of being scared and excited. You know, when we spoke, I was like, “I don’t know… I feel like the club is too small.” And they came back and said, “OK, we’ll make it bigger for
you!” They showed me such motivation that they really seduced me, and wanted me to be happy. We truly spoke about everything and the pool party, for many years, I was making the craziest numbers in Vegas at Wynn. They’re really transforming the venue, so I’m going to do one club party there and then everything else will be the pool party. I’m working my ass off, when I tell you, every single day – at least the past two weeks and leading up until then. I’ll be preparing the mixes, making the mashups and edits for my sets for at least 8-12 hours per day. I’m coming to these shows with exclusive new content. I have so many remixes that I’ve made only for these shows… it’s going to be really cool!
DJ LIFE: What makes playing Vegas different for a DJ?
Guetta: Vegas is like a very specific market. It’s like Ibiza and Vegas are almost the opposite. Vegas is actually a very, very produced show, meaning musically produced. So, I’m spending every day making the craziest edits because I don’t want to have one minute that’s not full-on when I’m performing in Vegas. I use some very electronic drops, but also some vocals that everybody knows, usually some classic American songs. That’s just the Vegas vibe, mixing some crazy electronic drop with a recognizable vocal, and I’m going like full-on, feel-good, party, sexy – that’s the idea. There’s something unique about Vegas because, even with Ibiza, I do the pool party and the club – but the pool party when I play it’s like 9 p.m., so the people come dressed. There’s no other place, at least that I know of, where there’s people in bikinis – only in Vegas you see that [laughs]. The vibe is Vegas is everybody having fun, dancing around in the pool – so it needs to be uplifting, sexy, and about positivity.
DJ LIFE: And what’s the next challenge?
Guetta: The next challenge right after that is Ibiza. I’m still doing Ushuaïa, which is also the pool party in Ibiza, but instead of Hï – which is the same owner – I’m gonna be doing [UNVRS], which is a bigger club. Until this summer, I was the only DJ in Ibiza to have two shows in one week – now Calvin Harris is also doing two shows a week at Ushuaïa. I’ve been doing this for years and years, but there was a slight problem at Hï because the club was smaller, at least to Ibiza scale. Because it was fully booked from June through October, some people were complaining that they couldn’t see me and that they’d be blocked, and not only that, they also were saying it was so packed that they could barely even move. We won’t have that kind of problem with [UNVRS] because it’s way bigger and even has a real stage. Most importantly, it is the most insane club that I have ever seen in my life ! This is a once in every 10-years type situation with the level of production in this club… I don’t think anything exists or will exist in the coming years that’s at that level.
Paul Barba
Miami, Fla. – This past March 25-30, the world of electronic dance music again visited South Florida for Miami Music Week. With the re-integration of Winter Music Conference, the week saw a deep slate of area club/festival gigs, rooftop bashes, and one-off/pop-up events like the EDMAwards at Eden Roc Hotel. (To see ’25 winners, go here.) As usual, MMW gatherings stretched from South Beach to Wynwood, culminating with Ultra Music Festival at downtown’s Bayfront Park (see Pgs. 26-29). It all looked like this:
Snapshots of a Wild Week in South Florida
Miami Music Week ’25
By MMW Photographers
Breakaway Beach: Diplo & Hugel. @morgsmedia
WMC Remix Panel: Dim Mak’s Lorne Padman. WMC
How You Feel: ANOTR at Factory Town. @adinayev_media
EDMAs: Hollywood Hamilton & Afrojack.
Apple Integration: Serato’s O.P. Miller shows off. Serato
It Takes 2: Armin van Buuren at EDMAs.
Gabe Garza
Factory Town: Another wild night in Hialeah. @adinayev_media
Aye Captain: Kaskade’s pop-up boat party.
Rooftop: Myles O’Neal at the Clevelander.
WMS Agent Panel: Liaison Artists’ Emma Hoser. WMC
Black Book Party: Chris Lake bids farewell.
EDMAs Scene: Excited crowd at Eden Roc. Gabe Garza
Never Letting Go:
Worldwide Stage: Knife Party rocks it.
Gryffin embraces Julia Church.
Masked Man: Boris Brejcha on Day 1.
Massive: Ultra Fest goes off.
Friday DJs: ARTBAT on Resistance Stage.
Armin van Buuren: A State of Trance.
The 25th Edition of Miami’s Top DJ Event Delivers Big Thrills
Miami, Fla. – Ultra Music Festival drew more than 165,000 fans to Bayfront Park in downtown Miami this past March 28-30 for its 25th edition.
Despite a rain-soaked final day, the sevenstage event delivered big sets from some of the DJ world’s top acts – deadmau5, Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Zedd, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Skrillex, and more. As usual, there were surprises, like David Guetta and Sia joining Afrojack for a performance of their 2011 monster hit, “Titanium.” It all looked like this:
ULTRA Music Fest ’25
Photos by Ultra Music Festival Titanium: Afrojack, Guetta & Sia.
Mainstage: UMF dancer shakes it.
Lit Up: Late night at The Cove.
Jumping Jack: Crankdat
Resistance: A Scene from the Megastructure.
Megastructure: Sunday DJ Solomun.
Boom: The Mainstage on Day 2.
Big Beats: KSHMR on the Live Stage.
Legend: Carl Cox at Megastructure.
Mainstage Scene: See you in ’26.
Mainstage: Hardwell closes Day 2.
Lasers: A scene from Worldwide Stage.
Photos by The Friendship
DESTRUCTO’S FRIENDSHIP
SEA
Miami, Fla. – For FriendShip – DJ Destructo’s annual music cruise –the Norwegian Joy liner navigated a round-trip journey from the Port of Miami to Harvest Caye, Belize, while presenting some of the industry’s top DJ talent. Held this past Feb. 21-26, the voyage culminated in a 24-hour private-island party. Presented by AMF, the cruise saw more than 70 jocks performing onboard and on land. They included Disclosure, Duck Sauce, DJ Pee .Wee (aka Anderson . Paak), Boys Noize, A-Trak, Wax Motif, Justin Martin, Ben Sterling and Destructo (aka Gary Richards). It all looked like this:
1 Island Scene: Partiers celebrate in Belize.
2 Funk Phenomena: Armand Van Helden spins.
3 Party Starter: Justin Martin delivers.
4 Keep Raving: Wax Motif wows ’em.
5 Applause: Ben Sterling says thanks.
6 All-Aboard: Destructo welcomes a new crew.
7 On the Deck: Armand Van Helden works it.
8 DJ Pee .Wee: Anderson .Paak wigs out.
FRIENDSHIP TOOK TOP DJS TO THE CARIBBEAN
CRUISE
9 Madness: Lower deck party goes off.
10 Sunset: Partiers bid the day adieu.
11 Hands Up: Justin Martin & Destructo.
12 Pals: A-Track & Anderson .Paak.
13 Bye: Norwegian Joy cruises out.
10 11 12 13
Night We Met
Nashville, Tenn. – When it comes to clubbing, Music City is, of course, best-known for the live variety with traditional instruments. The country-music establishment – venues, labels and studio – has ruled Nashville’s music scene for decades.
By Jim Tremayne
But the state’s capital city also has always had a pesky DJ scene with underground events and venues spinning house, techno, and trance. And one club that seems to have found its footing is downtown EDM haunt Night We Met. Since its opening in 2024, the club has booked international acts like Sofi Tukker, Elderbrook, and LF System. Most importantly, it’s given the town an epicenter for proper club music.
This past March 28-29, the club celebrated its first anniversary with a blowout weekend that saw killer sets from Dombresky and Dosem, plus support from The Whooligan, Mgr Mike and Maggie Vanderbilt. It all looked like this:
Photos by Night We Met.
4 5
7
8 Green Room: Whooligan & Dombresky.
9 Head Trip: The Whooligan in the booth.
10 It’s a Party: Dombresky’s impressed.
11 Big Beats: The shaking dancefloor.
12 No. 1: Happy 1st anniversary.
RELOOP’S MIXTOUR PRO:
By Wesley King
Compact, Capable
When I first heard about the new Mixtour Pro from Germany’s Reloop, I was intrigued; the promise of pro-grade DJing with hardware that would fit in a small backpack or courier bag certainly has its appeal. But I was also a bit skeptical, as this isn’t my first rodeo with controllers designed with mobile phones or tablets in mind, and the experience so far had left me wanting.
The price point for the Mixtour Pro, roughly $500 on the street, sets somewhat of an expectation for this unit as something above and beyond the sort of entry-level unit I would generally expect for a smartphone or tablet DJ platform. Unboxing the unit reinforces that impression, with a controller that, while compact, still has a rugged, almost beefy feel to it despite tipping the scales right at the 2-pound mark. Add in the fact that Reloop makes a lot out of the collaboration with Laidback Luke that reportedly led to the Mixtour Pro, and I was pretty excited to dig in. Before I continue, I should clarify that the Mixtour Pro isn’t designed solely for mobile and tablet; Algoriddim djay software, with which the unit is tightly bound, is available for both macOS and Windows as well, and the Mixtour Pro works with all the versions. But the marketing materials clearly make mobile and tablet use the focus of the product, and accordingly, was my focus as I reviewed it — in my case, with an iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Getting the Mixtour Pro going on my iPhone was straightforward enough, but the first hurdle was providing sufficient power to the controller, given that it doesn’t include any sort of AC adapter. For a product at this price point, I think that’s an oversight given its requirement for an 85 W, PD-grade, USB-C power source.
[ From Reloop: The Mixtour Pro has a maximum selfconsumption of 15 W. Therefore, any USB-C power supply rated at 20 W or more – commonly used for charging smartphones or tablets – provides sufficient power to both run the Mixtour Pro and charge the connected device.
The “PD 85 W” specification simply indicates that the device supports pass-through power of up to 85 W, which is typically only needed for high-power devices such as the MacBook Pro. Additionally, a 20 W rating is noted next to the power input port on the rear panel. The Mixtour Pro can also operate using bus power from a USB-C device, emphasizing its low power requirement. These connection options are detailed in the manual and on the product page – please scroll to the bottom ]
For this review, I dug out a spare Apple MacBook AC adapter to power up completely, and connecting to my iPhone was a simple matter of connecting the included USB-C cable between it and the Mixtour Pro, then downloading Algoriddim djay from the Apple App Store.
Versatile Use: Ready for mobile, tablet or laptop.
It should be noted, however, that the Mixtour Pro comes with no unlock for the full version of Algoriddim djay, either limited-time or long-term, meaning that both the software and the hardware are limited in functionality without paying for an Algoriddim djay subscription, which runs $50 per year. (For those keeping score at home, we’re now up to $550 before taxes or shipping to get started with full functionality, along with that recurring annual fee in future years.)
[ From Reloop: It’s technically correct that the unit comes with no unlock for the full version of djay. The app’s functionality may vary depending on the platform used. Only Pro functions that can be operated with the controller are activated without a subscription. This means that every control on the controller can be used repeatedly without a subscription. Or on the other way: Only Looper and Video mode require a subscription, while others are unlocked with the device connected. Although djay initially prompts you to subscribe during the first connection, this can be bypassed by clicking the “X” in the top left corner. We are collaborating with djay to improve the onboarding process, although certain Apple conditions make this challenging. More details can be found here. ]
On the plus side, Algoriddim djay provides a wide range of options for music material, including support for Apple Music. Traditionally, Tidal had been the only major streaming service to provide access to DJ platforms. The djay app supports Tidal, too… however, along with Beatport and Beatsource, which is appealing for EDM DJs. Personally, I appreciate the Apple Music availability, as while not always being very vocal about it, Apple has made it remarkably easy to add music files (like MP3s) to your Apple Music library; they can simply be draggedand-dropped into the Songs collection in Apple Music on a Mac, where they are uploaded to the cloud, and can then be played in the Apple Music app on your devices — or, as I discovered, within the djay app just as easily. This simple integration between the streaming music library and one’s own legacy music library offers real benefits.
[ Editor’s Note: At presstime, Apple announced that it had introduced DJ with Apple Music, which integrates with leading hardware and software platforms, including Algoriddim’s djay Pro.]
Lastly, audio connections. This, too, seems to reveal the focus of the product, given that there are no physical inputs (mic, aux, etc.), and only two outputs: stereo RCA connectors on the back for the main mix, and a 1/8-inch headphone jack on the front for monitoring.
Mixtour Pro in Use
Using the Mixtour Pro was straightforward enough for basic functions, as for the most part, things are placed and labeled as one might expect. There are dedicated filter knobs and the usual 3-band EQ knobs. There are multi-colored pads, deck faders and a crossfader, various level and gain knobs of course, and a range of buttons. Speaking of knobs, one immediate observation with the Mixtour Pro is that the knobs and faders are not as solid-feeling as I would have expected at this price point,
with a fair amount of lateral “play” that wasn’t confidenceinducing.
As is immediately apparent, the unit has no jog wheels for manually aligning beats between tracks or for scratching, highlighting a dependency on automatic beat matching for the former, and using the unit’s paddles with a button combination for a twist on the latter.
That need for a button combination highlights an issue with the Mixtour Pro: There are so many button combinations to access specific features that it’s overwhelming to keep track of what does what, and Reloop’s documentation won’t help you much in this department. In fact, watching a Laidback Luke video highlighting the DJ’s contributions to the project drives this fact home, simply trying to keep track of the ones he demonstrates. In the video, Luke himself says, “I know it’s tricky with all the key combinations and everything,” but that strikes me as an understatement.
[From Reloop: It is important to note that these additional features do not block access to the main controls, which are available on both the first and second layers. Users can choose to use only the primary functions for the compact design of the Mixtour Pro, or they can explore the extra options if they wish. More information is available in this document, which is also linked in the manual and on the product page.]
Nevertheless, the flip side of that drawback is that Reloop has jammed a lot of capabilities into the hardware, including direct support for Algoriddim’s Neural Mix capabilities — their name for stem separation. By doubling up the functions of the EQ knobs, you can easily and quickly isolate beats with the bass EQ knob, melodic context with the midrange EQ knob, and vocal content with the high EQ knob. It’s a clever way to control it, and Algoriddim’s feature works well, especially in more recent Apple hardware.
Conclusions
There’s no doubt that the Reloop Mixtour Pro is compact, capable, and fun to use. In addition, Algoriddim’s djay, which the hardware is tightly integrated with, has always been an interesting app that’s pushed the very limits of what’s possible on compact devices — and it continues to push those limits, years after its introduction.
But with a street price of around $500, and as mentioned earlier with the added costs of an Algoriddim djay subscription to unlock its full feature set pushing the all-in price toward the $550 mark, it’s hard for me not to end up with higher expectations than I believe the product actually delivers. For aspiring DJs there are less costly entry points, and for experienced ones, I remain unconvinced that the Mixtour Pro represents the ideal controller for most types of serious DJing. (Of course, if you see the well-versed, very professional Laidback Luke use it, you may become convinced.)
That being said, for an ultraportable set-up that’s light and easy to carry around, and doesn’t require a full-blown laptop? Well, that’s another matter; if that’s your goal, then you’d be hard-pressed to find a better solution. If you’d have asked me a decade ago, I’d have said we’d never see this level of capability for smartphones (or DJ controllers designed for them), and yet, here we are.
But for now? Speaking for myself, I’m just not sure that I’m ready to stop carrying a laptop to DJ gigs.
Mobile Ideastation:
YAMAHA’S SEQTRAK
By Wesley King
Each January at The NAMM Show in Anaheim, Calif., you quickly get a sense of the breadth and depth of the music-gear industry. At DJ LIFE, of course, we focus on the products of interest to our DJ and producer readership, but NAMM is always a reminder that “music gear” incorporates so much more: drums, guitars, pianos, sheet music, ukuleles, saxophones, kazoos… you get the idea.
And there are no companies that have a foot in as many areas of music gear manufacturing as Yamaha, the 137-yearold, Japan-based behemoth behind Bösendorfer, Steinberg, Line 6, and a wide array of Yamaha-branded products that span drums, pianos, keyboards, guitars, pro audio, mixing desks,
band instruments, music production, and more.
It’s that breadth and depth that in some ways makes it all the more surprising to see a product come to market from Yamaha as interesting as the SEQTRAK (pronounced seek-track). Described by the company as a “mobile music ideastation,” the product has been on the market for a while now, but the recently released OS 1.2 firmware update has delivered even more capabilities to this unique instrument. It pushed me over the edge; time to take a look.
First Impressions
Prior to unboxing my review unit, I hadn’t seen a SEQTRAK unit up close, so my first impressions of the device were exactly that.
What immediately came to mind was the design ethos of Swedish firm Teenage Engineering, and reading what others had to say about the SEQTRAK, apparently I’m not the only one who made that connection. As I alluded to above, it’s very… un-Yamaha to me. I was also struck by the different approach taken compared to other similar products with a similar use case, specifically the Ableton Move. The SEQTRAK is simultaneously somewhat overwhelming, with all its buttons and knobs that cover not just the top surface, but the edges of it as well. There’s a lot to take in.
So, what is the use case for the SEQTRAK that I mentioned? In short, it’s part of a larger trend of creating electronic music-making devices that untether one from one’s computer and DAW, allowing ideas to be generated, captured, and performed –anywhere, anytime, with ease.
The SEQTRAK is small, incredibly lightweight, and has an onboard rechargeable battery to truly disconnect you from the confines of a home studio.
Hands On
First things first; what does the SEQTRAK have on board?
For sound generation, the SEQTRAK offers a wavetable synth engine and sampler, along with an FM synth engine. In addition, there’s a versatile array of effects that enable myriad ways to shape those sounds. Yamaha presents those with a sectioned physical design that splits into three logical sections on the top of the instrument: drums; synth and sampler; and, sound design and effects.
The drum section sports eight knobs and 16 buttons to provide control over the sounds and a way to trigger or sequence your beats. The synth section provides four knobs and eight buttons for basic control, and the ability to utilize the buttons in the drum section for playback of notes, although for more sophisticated access to sounds, an external MIDI keyboard can be connected. Lastly, on the right section of the SEQTRAK, you’ll find controls for effects and sound-shaping, which includes three touchbased faders.
All the knobs on the SEQTRAK double as pushbuttons for previewing or making selections. And Yamaha has made excellent use of LED illumination in the form of small indicator lights, multi-color backlighting under the buttons, and backlighting
under the various text legends on the device.
The SEQTRAK can be used for live performance, but I was most intrigued by its ability to play with and capture musical ideas. The array of sounds on-board covers a lot of territory, as do the effects. Is it possible to build a complete track using only the SEQTRAK? Well, yes, actually, but I can imagine a wide range of use cases, from augmenting DJ sets, to providing the foundation for a performance, to sketching out ideas that are later leveraged through MIDI export to a full DAW and not even using the SEQTRAK’s own sounds at all in the final product.
To be candid, it’s a little tough to try and put the SEQTRAK into a single creative bucket. With an investment in the learning curve, in the end, it turns out to be a chameleon that fills any number of difference niches.
The full potential of the SEQTRAK is, to be fair, dependent on the use of one or more of its companion apps. Available for iOS/iPadOS, Android, Windows, and Mac, the apps more than make up for the lack of any sort of display on the device itself, while providing a wide array of functionality – from interactive tutorials to networking to project and sound management to an easier way to see and access device settings in real time to (of course) firmware updating.
Kudos to Yamaha are justified here, too; the app is well-designed, intuitive, easyto-use, and reflects the design ethos of the SEQTRAK itself throughout. The software leverages Bluetooth, WiFi, and/or USB connections to access and enable functionality on the SEQTRAK itself. It’s a clever way to simplify the device itself, without sacrificing capability.
It’s worth calling out that the SEQTRAK includes both an onboard speaker and an onboard microphone. The speaker, of course, can be used for playback, while the mic can be used to sample real-world sounds. As you’d expect, perhaps, their actual utility is limited; I’d strongly suggest a pair of headphones or IEMs plugged into the unit to really hear what the SEQTRAK is capable of, and an audio input is also provided. (There’s a MIDI jack, too; the SEQTRAK comes with the necessary custom cable for that to leverage off-board devices.)
Conclusions
The SEQTRAK was an instrument that surprised me at every turn. I don’t know the back story of the product; what prompted Yamaha to create it, or the thought processes that went into it. But the end-result is a product that reflects some serious outof-the-box thinking; something that innovates, but keeps its foundations anchored in reality. It’s a tricky balance, but in the SEQTRAK, it feels like Yamaha’s onto something. I’ll be anxious to see if, when, or how the company might choose to top itself with a future iteration of the SEQTRAK. But with a current street price right around the $300 mark, it feels like it hits a sweet spot with price and performance – a viable contender in a new market segment that’s poised to fundamentally change the way creatives approach beat-based music projects for years to come.
SEQTRAK: Portable & powerful music machine.
Destination City Brings DJ
BIG BENEFITS
By Jim Tremayne
Charleston, S.C. – To hear Michael Bowman tell it, his DJ company’s market is as fertile as any in the country. Working in a top wedding-destination town creates opportunities for both mobile and club services, so he and his colleagues at Drop The Mike Productions are spinning nearly non-stop throughout the year – at catering halls and area nightspots.
We caught up with Bowman, 37, to discuss his company and the Charleston market, where, he says, “the parties are hot, and the weddings are even hotter.”
DJ LIFE: Where did you grow up, and what got you interested in music?
Bowman: I grew up between Ridgeville, Summerville, and North Charleston, all in South Carolina – small-town vibes with big-music energy. I was an evangelist’s kid, so I basically grew up in church and around music 24/7. My mom was a preacher in a Holiness Church back in the early ’80s, so I grew up immersed in church culture. One of my first introductions to music was drumming for the kids’ choir. So, before I was rocking dancefloors, I was keeping time for Sunday-morning praise breaks! That early exposure to music and rhythm played a huge role in shaping me as a DJ today.
DJ LIFE: When and how did you get the DJ bug?
was a local legend in Charleston. I grew up listening to him, and when he held an open audition for his radio show while I was in high school, I went for it. Once I got on-air, I was hooked. Fast forward, I officially launched Drop The Mike Productions in 2015, making this my 10-year anniversary running my own DJ business.
DJ LIFE: How does the company operate?
Bowman: My company is a multi-op, led by my fiancée, DJ Erin Elyse. We currently have a team of six DJs, most of whom I personally trained – from helping with loadins at corporate events to becoming full-fledged DJs. Erin, however, was already a seasoned pro before we met. She was based in Seattle, specializing in weddings and karaoke. When we came together as a family, we naturally evolved into a powerhouse wedding-and-nightclub duo.
DJ LIFE: How many events – club or mobile – do you personally spin each year?
Bowman: I personally do about 25 to 30 weddings a year, which is a slowdown from my previous 45 to 50 – thank you, knees. But I still hit the clubs 50 to 75 nights a year.
DJ LIFE: What’s your company’s event breakdown, percentage-wise?
Bowman: We handle around 400 to 500 events a year, with about a 60/40 split between nightclubs and weddings/corporate events. So basically, we take people from “I do” to “let’s get loose.”
DJ LIFE: What makes your market unique for mobiles?
Bowman: Charleston is one of the biggest wedding destinations in the country. It’s surrounded by hotspots like Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, and Savannah, making it a magnet for couples ready to party. So with the demand for high-energy, clubstyle wedding DJs, we’re a natural fit. We don’t just DJ weddings; we turn them into nightclubs.
DJ LIFE: What makes your company unique within its market?
On Mic: Zerambo has become a frequent public speaker.
Bowman: My true DJ awakening happened at a spot called Local Records in North Charleston. It was more than just a record store; it was a whole vibe. They had live DJs spinning, and one day, I walked in, heard the music, and boom! That was it. Love at first beat drop. Funny enough, my first DJ gig wasn’t in clubs – it was in radio. My mentor, DJ Sean Doby,
Drop The Mike: DJ Michael Bowman.
Bowman: Drop the Mike Productions – aka Bridal Club –is the bad boy/girl squad of the wedding industry. Our clients aren’t here for stuffy traditions, fancy catering talk, or floral arrangements; they want their wedding to be the biggest, wildest party of their lives. If you still love going out on the weekends, then we’re the DJs who will make sure your wedding feels like a legendary night out.
DJ LIFE: What makes your market unique for club work?
Bowman: On top of that, Charleston is also a top tourist destination, so my nightclub crowd is 90-percent different every single weekend during our eight- to 10-month warm-weather season. Every night, it’s a brand-new audience, which means I never have to play the same set twice – unless they request “Sweet Caroline” for the hundredth time.
DJ LIFE: How does your company market itself these days?
Bowman: Our slogan: “Celebrate You Differently.” We brand ourselves as the ultimate frat party that just so happens to be a wedding. And it works because we encourage our clients to be 100-percent their authentic selves – whether that means a crowd-surfing groom or a bride doing shots with grandma.
DJ LIFE: Tell me about your destination weddings.
Bowman: I’ve been fortunate to DJ weddings in 10 states so far, as well as in Canada, Jamaica, and Costa Rica. I love destination weddings because it means the couple specifically sought me out instead of just picking a local DJ. That’s a huge honor! One of the coolest places I’ve DJ’d a wedding was Friday Harbor in Washington state, right on the Canada-U.S. border. Technically, I was DJing in two countries at the same time – pretty wild!
DJ LIFE: How do people find you outside your market?
Bowman: Because Charleston is one of the top bachelorette party destinations in the country, I get a lot of bookings from bridal parties that come to my club nights. I started bringing a sign with a QR code
CURRENT RAGE: DROP THE MIKE’S TOP 3
“Whatchu Kno Know About Me” by GloRilla feat. Sexxy Red. “It’s a modern flip on ‘Wipe Me Down’ from 2007, and the nostalgia hits hard. Plus, it’s all over TikTok and Instagram, so it gets a crazy crowd reaction.”
“Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan. “The ultimate sing-along anthem. I have a special edit that takes the ladies to another level, and I love watching their energy skyrocket.”
“No Hands” by Waka Flocka Flame feat. Wale & Roscoe Dash. “It’s this generation’s ‘Back That Azz Up.’ Doesn’t matter the crowd – first beat drops, hands go up, chaos ensues. It’s been a guaranteed floor-packer for over a decade, and I don’t see it fading anytime soon.”
that says, “We also DJ weddings!” When I see a group of bachelorettes vibing to my set, I hype them up and casually mention that I also do weddings. Nine times out of 10, the maid of honor or the bride’s sister comes up, scans the code, and boom –another destination-wedding booked!
DJ LIFE: When you’re playing clubs, what kind of music are you playing?
Bowman: We’re truly open format –whatever gets the people going. It can be Top-40 in a variety of genres – hip-hop, old-school, disco, R&B, EDM/dance, etc. Charleston’s club scene is open-formatheavy, which keeps things fun and unpre-
dictable. No rules, no limits – just reading the crowd and giving them exactly what they need, even before they know they need it.
DJ LIFE: How has the business evolved?
Bowman: Technology has revolutionized the game. I started when we were lugging heavy crates of records –now, DJs have the power of an entire record store on a laptop. The ability to instantly drop requests, remix on the fly, and even live-stream has completely changed the way we perform.
DJ LIFE: What’s your DJ-gear setup?
Bowman: For controllers, players, and mixers, it’s all Pioneer DJ – the DDJ-REV7, the DDJ-REV5, the CDJ-3000 with the DJM-S7 mixer. We use Serato DJ software. As for headphones, I don’t need ‘em anymore… I can feel the music –also, I keep losing them.
DJ LIFE: What about loudspeakers?
Bowman: I’ve been a QSC guy for years. Their K Series is my go-to because of the clarity, power, and reliability. I have an arsenal of 8s, 10s, and 12s, plus four KW118 subs to bring the bass when it really counts. Whether it’s an intimate wedding or a high-energy club night, I can scale up or down to fit the vibe perfectly.
DJ LIFE: How about lighting and accessories?
Bowman: I roll with Both Lighting U.S.A. because they’re reliable and affordable – perfect for mobile DJs who need quality without breaking the bank. For cases, Odyssey all day! Their cases are built like tanks and can handle the wear and tear of constant gigging. For stands, I rock Rockville Audio – sturdy, reliable, and easy on the budget. They get the job done, and that’s what matters!
DJ LIFE: Where do you see yourself/your company in five years?
Bowman: Running my own nightclub/wedding-venue hybrid – less DJing, more curating the ultimate wedding-meets-nightclub experience. Think of it as a Vegas-style party meets Charleston charm… also, probably still refusing to wear headphones.
Double Trouble: Bowman & Erin Elyse.
ATTN: DJS!
Google Star Rating Explained
By Jordan St. Jacques
The days of hidden five-star reviews proudly displayed on your DJ company’s website are long gone. This past year, Google brought these star ratings to the forefront, showcasing them prominently in branded search results (SERPs) and beyond. This shift in focus highlights the growing importance of star ratings for businesses, as they can:
Build Trust: Positive star ratings act as social proof, influencing potential customers by demonstrating user satisfaction and building trust in your business.
Boost Rankings: Google uses star ratings as a factor in determining local search rankings, meaning higher ratings can improve your visibility in search results.
Drive Conversions: Studies show that star ratings can significantly influence conversion rates, encouraging potential customers to choose your business over competitors.
This guide delves deeper into the intricate world of Google star ratings, helping you understand how they work and leverage their power to your advantage.
Unveiling the Mystery: Google Star Ratings Explained
From website banners to SERP spotlight: Google star ratings have made a powerful transition, emerging from the shadows of your website and taking center stage across branded search results (SERPs). This guide delves into the intricate world of Google star ratings, equipping you with the knowledge to understand their operation and leverage their potential for success.
Demystifying the Stars
A Voice for Consumers: Google star ratings embody a consumer-driven grading system. Customers, through their scores (one to five stars), inform others about the quality of a business.
Ubiquitous Presence: These star ratings extend beyond maps and grace various Google search features, including:
Standard blue link search listings
Ads
Rich results (e.g., recipe cards)
Local pack results
Third-party review sites
App store results
Behind the Stars: When you conduct a Google search, star ratings appear in the results. Google employs an algorithm and calculates an average to determine the displayed number of stars across various review platforms. As Google explains, the displayed score reflects the average of all review ratings published on Google for that specific business.
Understanding the Algorithm
It’s crucial to recognize that the displayed star rating is not real-time and can take up to two weeks to update after a new review is submitted. This lag allows Google to thoroughly assess and validate the review before incorporating it into the average.
Beyond the Overall Score
When leaving a review, users delve deeper than just an overall star rating. They are invited to evaluate a business based on specific aspects relevant to their experience, such as:
Customer service
Product quality
Value for money
Delivery speed (for e-commerce businesses)
Cleanliness (for restaurants or hotels)
These aspects are tailored according to the business type and the services offered. For instance, plumbers may encounter options like “install faucet” or “repair toilet,” while restaurants might have “food quality” and “ambiance.” Google also empowers businesses to add custom services not included in the standard list.
Shades of Feedback
Customers have the freedom to provide positive or critical feedback alongside their star rating. They can also opt to skip specific aspects if they feel they lack sufficient experience to comment. In such cases, Google considers these aspects as unavailable in
the overall rating calculation. By comprehending these nuances, businesses can gain valuable insights into customer experiences and leverage them to refine their services and cultivate positive online reputations.
Decoding the Average Score
Now, we unlock the secret sauce behind the average star rating. Google employs a straightforward formula:
Average Star Rating = Number of Positive Ratings / Total Number of Ratings (excluding aspects not rated)
This calculation ensures a balanced representation of customer sentiment, considering both positive and negative feedback while accounting for aspects left unrated.
Regional Variations
It’s important to acknowledge that Google star ratings may exhibit some regional discrepancies in functionality. For instance, the U.K. and EU have implemented specific restrictions, influenced by recent scrutiny from regulatory bodies like the EU Consumer Protection Cooperation and the U.K. Competitions and Market Authority regarding the prevalence of fake reviews. These regional variations highlight the evolving landscape of online reviews and the importance of staying informed about local regulations.
Platform-Specific Nuances
Furthermore, the intricacies of how reviews are gathered and managed can differ depending on the type of Google star-rating search property. Each platform, whether it’s standard blue-link listings, ads, or local pack results, might have its own quirks and functionalities.
To empower businesses with a comprehensive understanding, we’ll delve deeper into each type of Google star rating prominently displayed across search engine results pages (SERPs) in a follow-up articles to come. Stay tuned!
APPLE OF MY EYE
Apple has introduced DJ with Apple Music, an integrated experience with leading DJ software and hardware platforms AlphaTheta, Serato, and inMusic’s Engine DJ, Denon DJ, Numark, and RANE DJ – enabling Apple Music subscribers to build and mix sets directly from Apple Music’s catalog, and adding to a first integration with Algoriddim’s djay Pro software. This integration ensures that DJs at every level have easy and intuitive access to Apple Music’s catalog of over 100 million songs to create and rehearse their sets on any of these DJ software and hardware platforms – a way for any DJ to hone their craft and shape their future sets. Users can also access a new dedicated DJ with Apple Music category page, spotlighting a series of DJ-friendly editorial playlists, along with new curator pages for each DJ software and hardware platform showcasing any mixes or sample playlists that can be used to practice.
Apple 1 Apple Park Way
Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 996–1010
https://music.apple.com
IT’S A MIRAGE
ADJ has released the Mirage Par H IP. An ideal solution for a wide range of indoor and outdoor lighting applications, including uplighting, the unit is a wireless and weatherproof LED par. It combines potent, lime-infused color mixing LEDs, with a powerful rechargeable battery and Aria X2 wireless connectivity in a robust and flexible IP-rated enclosure. Whether used to illuminate a stage, décor, foliage or a dancefloor – inside or out – this compact fixture can transform the ambiance of any event with ease. Harnessing the power of five 20-Watt RGBAL+UV color mixing LEDs, the Mirage Par H IP outputs a vast spectrum of vibrant colors. Its UV chip allows for the creation of a blacklight effect, and its lime chip delivers an enhanced color palate as well as increased visual clarity (high CRI).
ADJ 6122 S. Eastern Ave Los Angeles, CA 90040 (323) 316-9722 www.adj.com
DOWNTOWN CASES
Mixware brand Headliner has introduced the Downtown line of cases. Offering portability and effective gear protection with its premium materials, these cases are tailored to customfit individual pieces of music-production equipment. Features include: space-grey aluminum profiles and ABS-laminated MDF panels provide a sleek and stylish, yet robust exterior; lockable latches with two included keys; high-density custom foam interiors to protect from shock and impacts; dedicated compartments for cables and power supplies; egg-crate foam lining for extra cushioning; and padded handle and removable shoulder strap with metal hooks and latches. Current models include cases for Ableton Push 3, Akai Pro MPC Live II, Akai Pro MPC One+ and Roland SP-404 MKII.
Headliner/Mixware 11070 Fleetwood St., Unit F Sun Valley, CA 91352 (818) 578-4030 www.colorkeyled.com
MOBILE SPEAKERS
Alto Professional, an inMusic brand, has unveiled the TX4 series of portable, highperformance active loudspeakers and subwoofers designed for DJs and venues. Comprising seven top models – TX408, TX410, TX412, TX415 and TX412B (battery) and two subs – TX12S and TX18S – the series features up to 700-watt amplification, a built-in 2-channel mixer for mic, line-level and Bluetooth 5.0 streaming inputs, speaker linking, and contour EQ tailored for music or speech apps. The subs feature 900-watts and DSP-based EQ controls and protection, versatile connectivity, polarity reverse switch, and rugged design.
Reloop, distributed Stateside by American Music and Sound, has released the Reloop Keyboard Pro. This compact workstation with wireless MIDI is a combination of mini master keyboard, drum pads, mixer unit and DAW controls provides an all-in-one solution for project studios and mobile use. The unit is capable of running on either USB power or batteries and it supports both wired (via USB) and wireless (via Bluetooth) connections to host computers and smart devices (via wireless MIDI). Features include: Full integration with Bitwig Studio; keyboard with 35 mini keys across nine playable octaves; 16 velocity-sensitive drum pags with aftertouch and RGB lighting; eight channel strips with line faders, endless encoder, two potentiometers and three illuminated function buttons; and four selectable performance scenes with LED indication.
Reloop/American Music & Sound 310 W. Newberry Road Bloomfield, CT 06002 (800) 431-2609 www.reloop.com
GET CONNECTED
Germany’s Bitwig has released its first hardware product – the Bitwig Connect 4/12, a three-in-one audio/MIDI interface, monitor, and DAW controller. More than audio interface, it’s a class-compliant, 4in/12out CV and MIDIenabled audio interface with monitor- and DAW-control functionalities and a unique Bitwig Mode. Six mode buttons allow its 360-degree, touch-sensitive dial to adjust interface parameters or control software. It can set input gain, regulate the volume levels for two sets of monitors and your headphones, or even move the playhead and control any Bitwig Studio parameter with exceptional resolution. The front panel gives you immediate visual feedback, with accurate input and output meters and a ring of 32 RGB LEDs around the dial to visualize parameter values and automation data.
RCF has released showed the NXL 14-A column speaker. The most compact model in RCF’s NXL active column speaker series, the NXL 14-A features best-in-class RCF transducers – dual 6-inch woofers and a 1.75-inch PKX driver on a rotatable TRW waveguide – and an onboard 2,100-watt amplifier. The NXL 14-A, available in black or white, is ideal for both portable and fixed-install professional applications where size is a critical factor, spanning DJs, clubs, and rental companies. Models from the NXL series can be used vertically coupled for improved vertical coverage, alone or paired with a sub, and offer flexible rigging options allowing them to be flown or truss-mounted using the included rigging points and special accessories. The speakers are housed in rugged, Baltic birch plywood cabinet, with ergonomic handles for easy carry. RCF USA 101 Circle Drive N.
On-Stage, supplier of music instruments and accessories and a brand of The Music People, has released the RVS series of Vented Rack Shelves, which enable easy integration of non-rack-mount components into a rack system. These 19-inch-wide shelves mount directly to any standard rack or server cabinet using four rack screws and provide a secure location for wireless transmitters, small audio interfaces, effect units, peripherals, and other non-mountable devices. Constructed from solid steel, the shelves deliver outstanding strength to ensure reliable support for up to 35 pounds of gear. Perforations and slots in the panels provide ventilation on all sides to promote proper air circulation and protect your equipment against overheating. Two models are available: a 9-inch-wide 1U shelf (RVS1000) and a 14-inch-wide 2U shelf (RVS2000).
On-Stage/The Music People 154 Woodlawn Rd Berlin, CT (800) 289-8889 www.on-stage.com
KARAOKE PARTY
VocoPro has released The Wedding-Singer, an all-in-one, pro-level karaoke system for wedding sites, party rentals, dance halls, restaurants and other venues. The Wedding-Singer is a 1,000-watt, batterypowered professional wi-fi enabled karaoke system with a 15-inch speaker and HD touchscreen for easily accessing YouTube and other karaoke apps. The system uses a 3-way speaker system, which includes a 15-inch woofer. No karaoke discs are needed. Users can sing along with thousands of songs available online, or use an SD card to play their favorite karaoke files. The new product’s internal battery can run up to eight hours on a full charge. Users can easily stream or record their performances directly to a laptop with The Wedding-Singer’s built-in USB sound card. Users will get better sounding vocals using the two included rechargeable wireless mics with VocoPro’s “MicOn-Chip” technology. The system is protected by a wooden cabinet and metal grille. Four heavy duty caster wheels and multiple handles make set-up and transport a breeze.
VocoPro 1728 Curtiss Court La Verne, CA 91750 (909) 593-8893 www.vocopro.com
OUR MARKET-LEADING BRANDS OFFER TRUSTED ACCESS TO THE EXPLOSIVE BUYING POWER AND INFLUENCE OF DJ INDUSTRY, LIFESTYLE, AND CULTURE
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MULTI-PURPOSE MODULES
PK Sound, distributed Stateside by ACT Entertainment, has launched the Tx Series of intelligent multi-purpose point source models, beginning with the TX14 and Tx26. Weighing only 25 pounds, Tx26 features controlled 100-degree conical directivity with a frequency response of 55 Hz-18 kHz and peak SPLs reaching 136 dB. The larger Tx14 offers controlled 50- x 70-degree directivity with a frequency response spanning 50 Hz-18 Hz and max SPLs of 139 dB, all driven from a premium 14-inch coaxial transducer with a 3-inch neodymium diaphragm compression driver. Both Tx14 and Tx26 are easily mounted or flown with a variety of rigging accessories via onboard M10 rigging points, making them suitable for both portable and installed applications.
PK Sound/ACT Entertainment 3581 Larch Lane Jackson, MO 63755 (800) 255-9822 www.actentertainment.com
STUDIO CANS
Debuting the newest generation of its premium studio headphones, beyerdynamic has released the closed-back DT 1770 PRO MKII and the open-back DT 1990 PRO MK II. Featuring enhanced comfort and improved sound quality, plus a newly developed dynamic TESLA.45 driver, the flagship models offer added flexibility for today’s music professionals. With a new impedance of 30 ohms, they are highly adaptable to a wide range of playback devices. With its closedback design, the DT 1770 PRO MKII is ideal for recording, monitoring, and editing, offering a lively sound profile with powerful, deep bass. Designed for mixing, mastering and editing, the DT 1990 PRO MKII is the perfect choice for discerning users who want to take their tracks to the next level.
beyerdyamic North America 56 Central Ave Farmingdale NY 11735 (631) 293-3200 www.beyerdynamic.com
BIG BURST
German Light Products has released the JDC Burst 1, a powerful strobe/wash hybrid that delivers a blend of power, color, intensity, and flexibility. In addition to the white strobe line, the JDC Burst 1 features two powerful RGBW LED plates, offering strong color performance. As GLP’s first hybrid strobe with RGBW LED plates, the Burst 1 enables not only rich, vibrant colors but also delicate pastel tones to be achieved. The RGBW plates are also precisely controllable in 20 x 240 RGBW pixels, promising unparalleled dynamic range and maximum creative control. Whether it’s an open-air festival or a club show, the JDC Burst 1 is ready for any environment. With an IP65 rating, it easily withstands rain, dust, and pyrotechnic effects while remaining virtually maintenance-free.
German Light Products 16170 Stagg St. Van Nuys, CA 91406 (818) 767-8899 www.germanlightproducts.com
THE SUPER INSTRUMENT
Roland has introduced GALAXIAS, a powerful new softwarebased musical instrument available exclusively on Roland Cloud. GALAXIAS runs as a standalone application on macOS and Windows. It’s also available in VST3 and AU plug-in formats for DAW music production. Within GALAXIAS, users can work with any instrument on Roland Cloud and instantly access a vast searchable library with over 20,000 ready-to-play sounds. From historic icons such as the JUPITER-8, TR-808, and D-50 to modern instruments like ZENOLOGY and SYSTEM-8, GALAXIAS harnesses Roland’s evolving sonic legacy into a single “Super Instrument” with infinite creative possibilities
Roland 5100 S. Eastern Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90040 (323) 890-3700 www.roland.com
SYNC’D UP
Waves Audio has released the Sync Vx plug-in, a tool that allows music makers to match the time and pitch of multiple vocal tracks, resulting in tighter vocal arrangements. Sync Vx provides control over vocal alignment, enabling music producers and mix engineers to manage entire vocal arrangements in a single, streamlined display. With Sync Vx, users can assign multiple reference tracks, fine-tune pitch and timing, or get creative with transposition and formant manipulation – all without leaving the plugin. Sync Vx tightens your vocal tracks in seconds, automatically aligning and locking the time and pitch of multiple vocal tracks to your lead performance, in a way that is as precise as detailed manual work. Sync Vx delivers vocals that feel tight, polished, and professional – with control and a more convenient workflow.
New Mixware brand, Germany’s Black Panther, has released a range of fully customizable studio and keyboard stands. The series includes: PARA, a robust 3-tier stand with adjustable angles and optional accessory shelves and side mounts for additional equipment space; CEDRO, a stable 2-tier stand with ergonomic design and add-on compatability; and BABACU, a single-tier stand offering a solid foundation, expandable with additional tiers and accessories. Black Panther stands are crafted from elegant, black powder-coated steel and each stand combines elegance with functionality offering a space-saving, clutter-free solution.
Black Panther/Mixware 11070 Fleetwood St., Unit F Sun Valley, CA 91352 (818) 578-4030 www.mixware.net
TRACKS
Let It Show” b/w “Getting Stronger”
Definite Grooves
Groove Culture
Another groovy two-tracker from Andrew Eggleton and Danny Hird – heading out of the U.K. and straight to Italy’s Groove Culture imprint. “Let It Show” kicks proceedings off with an infectious bassline and a neat hook. On the flip, “Getting Stronger” gives a little bit of disco kick, with sublime strings and a vocal loop rounding things off.
– Curtis Zack
“Plastic Feelings”
David Morales & Joi Cardwell
DIRIDIM
Shuffling Latin-esque house rhythms and jazzy piano/ Rhodes key riffs weave joyfully throughout the original mix of the latest collab from Grammy-winning DJ/producer Morales and storied house songstress Cardwell. The simple “Stereo Mix” is a bit chunkier, but with Morales’ classic production and Cardwell’s laidback nostalgic diva vox, they both show that after all these years, neither of them have lost their swing.
– Joe Berinato
“Keep On Running”
Audiowhores
AWMusic UK
Graham Lord and Adam Unsworth return with their strongest cut in quite a while. “Keep On Running” is a simple, but deadly groove, which encourages you to fully lose yourself in the vibe. Funky, deep, and, above all, quality.
– Curtis Zack
“If I’m Gonna Be With You” (Michael Gray Mix)
Gwen Dickey
Sultra
After hearing “If I’m Gonna Be With You” on the radio, Michael Gray immediately snapped it up for his Sultra imprint and set to work on the remix. The end result is an uplifting house cut, with first-class production and a great vocal from the former Rose Royce vocalist.
– Curtis Zack
Eelke Kleijn
“Lost In the Deep” Eelke Kleijn feat. Josha
Daniel Armada
Twitchy and tingly, this ascending pop-trance number delivers hooks aplenty and lays down a firm groove throughout. With Daniel’s airy vocals and retro synths wafting over solid kicks and a thundering bassline, this one should grab genre lovers.
– Jim Tremayne
Definite Grooves
Gwen Dickey
David Morales & Joi Cardwell
Audiowhores
Stronger”
Random Soul feat. Nada-Leigh (Remixes)
Random Soul Recordings
This is one of those insta-feel good tunes you look forward to hearing as the season heats up. Nada-Leigh’s tone of voice is just sup-urban cool on the beautifully arranged original. And when laid over the chuggin’ pumpier chord-filled remixes by Grant Nelson or the loungey-er rendition by Knight Horse, the result is a mine of soulful sonic gold.
– Joe Berinato
“Keep On Dreaming”
Miguel Migs feat. Martin
Luther Salted Music
Pure quality out San Francisco again from Miguel Migs. DJs get three very different mixes, with a sublime vocal version and two dubs, one uplifting and a stripped-back classic-vibe dub. If you like your house music with class, then this is a must.
– Curtis Zack
“Never Surrender”
DJ Fudge & Hedi Benromdan feat. Sarah Summer
Quantize
Longtime friends and musical cohorts from France, DJ Fudge and Hedi Benromdan join forces here for an amazing soulful-house release on Spen’s mighty Quantize label. This is a vocal cut of the highest order, with superb musicianship and wonderful vocal courtesy of Sarah Summer. This will no doubt be one of the tracks of the summer.
– Curtis Zack
“Living Proof”
DJ Univibes & TRKRNR (Remixes)
Open Bar Music
If you’re lookin’ for a mad-deep organic groova, look no further. West Coast DJ/producer and sonic healer DJ Univibes teams up with future-beat voyagers TRKRNR for their debut single on Oscar P’s Open Bar imprint. Oscar’s lite-tribe rework, together with the illustrious Mr. V super-vibey “Sole Channel” remix, and the easy-flowing Original mix, punches us profoundly and right in our funky chakra.
– Joe Berinato
“Ain’t Nobody”
Luca Guerrieri feat. Rona Ray
Double Vision Studio
Original disco vibes here on the first release from Luca Guerrieri’s forthcoming LP. Teaming up with Rona Ray, “Ain’t Nobody” is built around a super-funky bass guitar throughout with a stripped-back vocal layered over. If the likes of Purple Disco Machine is your thing, then make sure to track this down.
