DJ Times 2020, Vol 33 No 2

PLUS: FriendShip DJ Cruise Gabriel & Dresden Lazyboy KRK Classic 5 Monitor QSC KS118 Subwoofer Are Party Rituals Dying?

AMERICA’S FIRST MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs ESTABLISHED 1988

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

VOLUME 33 NUMBER 2

NAMM SHOW: TOP GEAR PICKS MIAMI PREVIEW: WMC, ULTRA FEST & MORE HOW TIKTOK KEEPS MOBILES YOUNG

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SLANDER $4.95 US

$6.95 CANADA

GUD VIBRATIONS

PRESENTED BY

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DJ Expo August 10 – 13

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NOTABLES…MILESTONES NEWS

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK BRINGS WMC, ULTRA FEST & MORE

Anaheim, Calif. – QBert (left) mugs with Z-Trip at BPM Supreme’s industry party after the NAMM show’s opening day. Held at Rumba Room Live this past Jan. 16, the event also featured scratch sets from Just Blaze, Skratch Bastid, and Lazyboy, among others. For more on the NAMM show, please visit Page 18.

Faena Forum: WMC’s daytime venue.

Josh Wink: WMC mentor.

Douglas Wojciechowski

Carl Cox: Ultra fest headliner.

KIDKUTSMEDIA Get Lost: Cassy on the bill.

Khris Cowley

Losin’ It: Fisher set for UMF.

Malaa; Martin Garrix; Oliver Heldens; Richie Hawtin; Slander; and Tale of Us. Top live acts at Ultra include: Flume; Gesaffelstein; Gryffen; Laserface (by Gareth Emery); Madeon; Major Lazer; Sofi Tukker; and Zedd presents The Orbit.

With parties running throughout the week, visitors will have dozens of choices to see DJ sets at nightclubs or hotel swimming pools all over South Beach, downtown Miami and beyond.

Recommended Events: March 16 at Kimpton Epic Hotel, Kings of House with Louie Vega and David Morales;

March 17 at Delano Beach Club, Mau5trap Pool Party; March 17 at SLS South Beach, Claptone presents The Masquerade; March 18 at Surfcomber Hotel, All Gone Pete Tong; March 18 at National Hotel, MK Area 10 Pool Party; March 18 at Treehouse, Gabriel & Dresden present Remedy Album Party; March 20 at SLS Brickell, Nervous Pool Party; March 20 at 1 Hotel, All Day I Dream; March 20 at Club Space, Dirtybird Players; March 21 at venue TBA, Get Lost; March 21 at National Hotel, Armada Invites; and March 22 at Island Gardens, BPM Festival.

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

Scratchin’ at NAMM

On March 20-22, Ultra Music Festival will return to Bayfront Park in downtown Miami. Delivering 30 hours of music on six production-rich stages, Ultra’s lineup will deliver the biggest acts from all electronic genres.

Top DJ/artists at Ultra include: Above & Beyond; Adam Beyer/Cirez D; Afrojack; Amelie Lens; Armin van Buuren; Carl Cox; David Guetta; DJ Snake; Dubfire B2B Nicole Moudaber B2B Paco Osuna; Eric Prydz; Fisher; Jamie Jones B2B Carl Cox B2B The Martinez Brothers; Jauz B2B NGHTMRE; Kygo; Loco Dice; Maceo Plex;

DJ TIMES

By Jim Tremayne Miami Beach, Fla. – Once again, South Florida is all-set to become the epicenter of DJ/dance-music world.

Running March 16-22, Miami Music Week will see the annual infusion of music fans, DJs and industry people, all of whom will attend a variety of events. They include Winter Music Conference, Ultra Music Festival and a slew of branded parties and sponsored soirees – at clubs, by pools, on boats, on rooftops, etc. – that will run ’round the clock all week.

First up, the revamped Winter Music Conference will run March 16-19 at Faena Forum in Miami Beach. Now in its 36 th year, WMC will present a deep schedule of industry panels, mentor sessions, tech tutorials, sponsored seminars and keynotes. DJ Times will be there, participating in WMC daytime sessions, and taking in its related events.

Notable DJ-specific mentor sessions include presentations from Josh Wink, Sydney Blu, Morgan Page and Tommie Sunshine. Top DJs participating in panel discussions include Carl Craig, David Morales, Roger Sanchez, and Seth Troxler. Technology companies presenting sponsored sessions include Native Instruments, Pioneer DJ, Denon DJ, iZotope and IK Multimedia.

Daily sponsored MMW Oasis pool parties at The Generator will include DJ sets from Junior Sanchez and Mike Weiss (March 16), DJ Craze (March 17), Felix Da Housecat, Simon Dunmore and Luke Solomon (March 18), and Josh Wink, Soul Clap’s Eli Goldstein and Jason Bentley (March 19).

DJ Times will also attend The Remix Awards on March 20 at the W Hotel on South Beach. Presented by Digital Music Pool and the Remix Top30 Countdown, the award event will honor artists and remixers/producers in a variety of categories. Also, the event will present its Legends Award to Steve Aoki.

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VOLUME 33 NUMBER 2

FEATURES 12 Gud Vibrations

Slander Breaks Big with Melodic, Emotional Bass

BY BRIAN BONAVOGLIA

18 Six Picks

DJ TIMES

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

Destructo’s DJ-Driven Music Cruise Brings the Magic

BY BRIAN BONAVOGLIA

4

24 Breaking from Tradition

Is the Garter Toss Dead? Is the Dollar Dance Over? Mobile DJs Weigh In on the State of the Wedding Gig

7 Feedback

DJ Expo Update: Aug. 10-13 in Atlantic City, N.J.

26 Making Tracks KRK Classic 5 Monitors

28 Sounding Off QSC KS118 Subwoofer

30 Mobile Profile

DJ Mixes Rave & Biz Backgrounds

32 Business Line

TikTok: How to Keep Up with the Kids

34 Gear

SAMPLINGS 8 Lazyboy

U.S. Battle Champ

10 In the Studio With…

Gabriel & Dresden

New Products from Numark, Electro-Voice & more

38 Grooves

Phat Tracks from Mr. C, David Penn & More

41 Club Play Chart The Hottest Records, As Reported by Our Top U.S. Record Pools

Contents Image by Koury Angelo

20 FriendShip 2020

DEPARTMENTS

Cover Image by DONSLENS.

DJ- & Studio-Gear Faves from the 2020 Winter NAMM Show

BY WESLEY BRYANT-KING

FROM THE EDITOR

DJ TIMES

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

Miami Music Week & Way More

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Wanna see an impressive list of alumni? If you’re a DJ/producer, you needn’t look at an Ivy League school – instead take a peek at the talents who’ve matriculated through ICON Collective. The L.A.based music college, which specializes in production, performance and business, has given electronicmusic fans a deep roster of DJ/artists, with a list that includes Jauz, NGHTMRE, Kayzo and many more. Next up in the spotlight: Slander.

After breaking big a few years ago with its unique “heaven trap” sound, Slander’s Derek Andersen and Scott Land have taken their Gud Vibrations brand to even loftier places. Aligned in music and business with fellow ICON alum NGHTMRE, the duo has become one of the festival scene’s higher profile talents with a variety of tunes – from mega-jams like its 2014 breakout remix (with NGHTMRE) of Showtek’s “We Like to Party” to pure pop confection like 2019’s “Potions,” a collab with Said The Sky. Our Brian Bonavoglia caught up with Slander, as the duo prepped for its appearance at Ultra Music Festival.

Before connecting with Slander, though, Brian took a trip on FriendShip, DJ Destructo’s cruise-ship festival that ventured from Miami to the Bahamas (and back) this past January. After experiencing onboard performances from Boys Noize, Mija, Bob Moses, GRiZ and many others, he offers his review of the many moments of musical magic, while FriendShip photographers provide their highlights.

In our Samplings section, we visit with electronic-music stalwarts (and longtime pals) Gabriel and Dresden, who discuss their second Kickstarter-aided album project, Remedy, and a few gear-related revelations. Also, our Josh Kerman trekked to San Francisco for the Red Bull 3Style U.S. Championships, an annual DJ battle won by the mightily talented Gregory “Lazyboy” Sherrell. While winning that title was accomplishment aplenty, Lazyboy’s most pressing battle is that he’s taking on cancer for a second time. As he prepped to represent the U.S. in the 3Style World Championships in Moscow – a competition that’s been pushed back to a date TBD, due to Coronavirus concerns – Lazyboy discussed what it was like to win the smaller battle, the one with turntables. The larger battle looms.

(BTW, if you want a genuine slice of inspiration, I encourage you to watch Lazyboy’s spectacular 3Style competition routine on YouTube.)

On the gear side of things, Wesley Bryant-King and I returned from California’s NAMM show after seeing plenty of new products for performing DJs and for those jocks making music. In his “Six Picks” feature, Wesley reveals his favorite DJ- and studio-related debuts from the show. (For even more product-driven reporting from the show, please visit djtimes.com.) In the Making Tracks column, Wesley does some double-duty as he reviews KRK’s Classic 5 studio monitors. And in the Sounding Off column, longtime contributor Paul Dailey runs the QSC KS118 subwoofer through its paces.

On the mobile-entertainer tip, our longtime correspondent Jeff Stiles asked a panel of DJs if the long-held American party traditions (like the dollar dance and the garter toss) are still holding up in various markets around the country. As we’ll see, opinions vary, often depending on one’s geography.

In Mobile Profile, we visit with Joshua Volpe, the upstate New York-based jock who goes by the handle DJ Kalifornia. He explains how his rave and marketing backgrounds inform his business to this day.

And in Business Line, we ask Baltimore jock Chris Bartosik how the TikTok video-sharing app keeps him young and in touch with the youth market.

As we land in Miami Beach for our week of Winter Music Conference, various music-industry events and, of course, Ultra Music Festival, we hope to see you at one of the various stops. We’ll be at WMC (March 16-19) with magazines available for all to peruse and take home. Among other events, we’ll also be at the W Hotel for the Remix Awards on March 20, in addition to all three days of Ultra Music Festival (March 20-22). As the great Fred Schneider once intoned… pass the tanning butter.

Also, don’t forget DJ Times’ upcoming event: DJ Expo. Set for Aug. 10-13 at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., DJ Expo will present the industry’s largest exhibit hall, sponsored evening events and 30 educational seminars, panels and keynotes. As DJ Times has presented the show each year since 1990, we look forward to bringing DJs new ideas and certainly hope to see you there. For the very latest info, please visit thedjexpo.com.

Cheers,

Jim Tremayne Editor, DJ Times

editor-in-chief Jim Tremayne jtremayne@testa.com editor-at-large Brian O’Connor boconnor@testa.com assistant editor Brian Bonavoglia bbonavoglia@testa.com chart coordinator Dan Miller dmiller@testa.com contributors Wesley Bryant-King Chris Caruso Amanda Chavez Shawn Christopher Paul Dailey Reed Dailey Chris Davis DJ Deets Tony Fernandez Tommy D Funk Michelle Fetky Jennifer Harmon Josh Harris Ryan Hayes Greg Hollmann Josh Kerman Michelle Loeb Erik Miller Lily Moayeri Jordan St Jacques Jeff Stiles Ashley Teffer Phil Turnipseed Curtis Zack President/Publisher Vincent P. Testa FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TO ORDER SUBSCRIPTIONS, CALL 800-937-7678 VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.djtimes.com

DJ Times Sound & Communications The Music & Sound Retailer Sound & Communications ClubWorld Blue Book America’s Best DJ The DJ Expo IT/AV Report Convention TV News VTTV Studios

director of integrated advertising Paul Bozikis pbozikis@testa.com art director Janice Pupelis jpupelis@testa.com production manager Steve Thorakos sthorakos@testa.com digital art director Fred Gumm fgumm@testa.com social media coordinator Amanda Mullen amullen@testa.com traffic manager art production assistant Jeannemarie Graziano jgraziano@testa.com Circulation circulation@testa.com Classifieds classifiedsales@testa.com operations manager Robin Hazan rhazan@testa.com Editorial and Sales Office: DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, New York, USA 11050-3779. (516) 767-2500 • FAX (Editorial): (516) 944-8372 • FAX (Sales/all other business): (516) 767-9335 • DJTIMES@TESTA. COM Editorial contributions should be addressed to The Editor, DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, NY, USA, 110503779. Unsolicited manuscripts will be treated with care an d should be accompanied by return postage.

DJ Times (ISSN 1045-9693) is published monthly except for February, July, September and December for $19.40 (US), $39.99 (Canada), and $59.99 (all other countries), by DJ Publishing, Inc., 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779. Periodicals Postage Paid at Port Washington, NY, and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to DJ Times, PO BOX 1767, LOWELL MA 01853-1767 Design and contents are copyright © 2020 by DJ Publishing, Inc., and must not be reproduced in any manner except by permission of the publisher.

Websites: www.djtimes.com and www.testa.com Miami Music Week 2020 Issue

visit our website: www.djtimes.com

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FEEDBACK NAMM Preview: Gear Galore Dirtybird Campout A Family Affair AMERICA’S FIRST MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs ESTABLISHED 1988 NAMM 2020 ISSUE

VOLUME 33 NUMBER 1

Max Your Website’s SEO – Pronto!

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Plus: * Dr. Fresch * 13 * Pioneer DJ’s DDJ-200 * Reloop’s Spin * State of the Wedding Industry * Rust Belt DJ Retools

Inside: EDC Orlando & Germany’s Time Warp

CLAPTONE The Man, The Mask, The Music

048JA20_p001-044.indd 3

to gain prospective clients and build a strong referral network through faceto-face interactions. The result will be better clients, better referrals and better profits.

Upsell Your Video Screens: A Hands-On: Bring your laptops, be‑ cause Jimmie Malone from Exception‑ al Receptions in Binghamton, N.Y., will show you how to create slideshows to upsell video screens — and how to pitch them to clients. Included will be

workflow instruction on how to create and pitch; background slideshows for cocktails and dinner; photo booth pics; pro photographer pics; text to screen via Jammtext; more specific slideshows produced in advance and played during the first dance and par‑ ent dances; and “found footage” (i.e., short clips of wedding members that can be used during the introductions, videos of family and friends that can be used in all manner of ways).

12/23/2019 3:58:26 PM

This is Feedback, a monthly feature that fields questions from you, our readers, and funnels them out to in‑ dustry professionals. If you have any questions about DJing – marketing, mixing, equipment or insurance, any at all – drop us a letter at DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Ave, Port Washington, NY 11050, fax us at (516) 944‑8372 or e‑mail us at djtimes@testa.com. If we do use your question, you’ll receive a free DJ Times T‑shirt. And remember, the only dumb question is the ques‑ tion that is not asked.

DJ Expo ’20: First Round of Seminars Atlantic City, N.J. – Mark your cal‑ endars, DJs! DJ Expo is set for Aug. 10-13 at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City.

In addition to the industry’s largest exhibit hall and finest sponsored events, DJ Expo will present a deep slate of educational seminars, panels and keynotes.

Among the new features at the 2020 Expo will be a dedicated 101 track of sessions for newcomers, specific seminars geared toward part-timers looking to go full-time, and masterlevel presentations for experienced multi-ops looking to scale their busi‑ nesses. Included will be many handson workshops where attendees can apply what they learn immediately, and special-guest keynote speakers to inspire and inform. For the latest on the show, please visit thedjexpo. com. Confirmed mobile-DJ-related seminars include: 101 Track: Get in Someone’s Face and Grow Your Footprint: Bostonbased Rob Peters DiFazio of Rob Peters Entertainment will share his secrets on how he networks. Peters will discuss how to choose the right networking events and how to maxi‑ mize your time once you’re there — doing prep work, breaking the ice, the 80/20 rule, and how to follow up to get your “foot in the door” with clients and vendors who would use and refer your services. Learn how

News. DJ News+.

Read all about it

on Apple News!

Mitzvahs — Beyond the Booth: Jersey jock Adam Hirschhorn, owner of AJH Entertainment, who has been writ‑ ing the popular “Mitzvahs – Beyond the Booth” column for the DJ Times website, will moderate a seminar of the same name. Topics will include: how to find motivators/dancers; cus‑ tom set-ups; producing unique ideas/ concepts; mitzvahs with children with disabilities; and the simple mitzvah vs. the extravagant mitzvah.

Lazyboy: U.S. Red Bull 3Style champion.

SAMPLING

8

Over the course of his impressive DJ career, Gregory “Lazyboy” Sherrell has won a slew of turntable battles, from local to national in scope, including his victory at the Red Bull 3Style U.S. Championships, held this past December in his hometown of San Francisco.

In the DJ-rich Bay Area, Lazyboy has become one the most-respected turntablists on the scene, in addition to being sought-after for club nights and choice mobile events. However, for Lazyboy, it’s his recurring battle with cancer – Squamous Cell Carcinoma, to be exact – that has required the majority of his attention lately.

In fact, roughly a month before taking the 3Style title, he’d endured surgeries that that took a part of his tongue and left him with a tube in his throat. As impressive as his most recent victory was, given the serious circumstances, the 37-year-old DJ remained humble, giving props to his

DJ friends who visited him and helped him prep for the competition.

Using Serato DJ software and a variety of Pioneer DJ gear (PLX-1000 turntables, a DJM-S9 mixer and a DDJ-XP2 controller), Lazyboy rocked the Red Bull battle with a wildly eclectic and entertaining 15-minute set, winning over the hometown crowd, impressing judges and earning the U.S. title. Next stop: Moscow, Russia for the Red Bull 3Style World Championships, dates TBD. We caught up with Lazyboy after taking the crown.

DJ Times: Before the U.S. 3Style Finals, you had endured a major surgery. You said that the area DJ community really helped in your preparation for the battle.

Lazyboy: Yes, my friends were helping me write scripts, choosing songs, connecting with management for dubplates, adding samples, creating redrums, giving feedback, visiting me, and taking me away from DJing to enjoy the other parts of life.

I wouldn’t have done it without them.

DJ Times: But the performance obviously went well, even though you were the first competitor to perform.

Lazyboy: I was super-comfortable on that stage, and fully confident in my set. I had no idea if it would be better or worse than anyone else’s, but I knew that I loved it and could perform it. Right when I dropped “Conga,” I knew it was a

wrap for me. I didn’t have anything to worry about as far as messing up.

DJ Times: How would you rate the set?

Lazyboy: I would rate it an A. I did a decent amount of letting the crowd finish lyrics, then switching the track on the one count to something unexpected. They didn’t hold back, at one point even singing, “Hit me baby one more time.”

DJ Times: You hit a lot of genres up there…

Lazyboy: Yup, hip hop, punk, pop, alternative, soul, funk, disco, rock, R&B, metal, holiday and Latin.

DJ Times: Why did DJ Dynamix join you onstage?

Lazyboy: I invited him up to do something I’d never seen done before, and that was to have a competing DJ join me and do a merry-go-round during my performance. He said he was down months before the battle and I told him I’d think of the best spot for it and we could practice it once or twice before going onstage. We ran through it two times in the green room with a set-up that I brought from home.

DJ Times: Tell us about the Jazzy Jeff audio snippet that you used in your set.

Lazyboy: My friend [Don Gordo] and I throw a party called “Hella Cheese” in San Francisco where we play guilty-pleasure music, along with cheesy hits across all genres and eras. As a marketing tool, I reached out to the celebrities I know – Tony Trujillo, Shaquille O’Neal, and DJ Jazzy Jeff – to have them send video clips of them stating their guilty pleasure songs. Jeff’s was “Toxic” by Britney Spears, so I used that. See, after I had my surgery, DJ Color TV and DJ Ease came to visit and we played “Hella Cheese” where they saw me bust this out. They both told me I needed to do it in my 3Style set so… bam!

DJ Times: Now that you’re the U.S. 3Style champ, what’s next for you?

Lazyboy: I’ve got a list of things to focus on, like updating my marketing with a new one sheet and logo, focusing on national bookings, fundraising for living costs while I step away from work to really focus on my 3Style sets for the world competition, and connecting with brands to help build from this moment. But first and foremost, I gotta stay on track with my treatment and health.

DJ Times: What are you looking forward to most for competing on the world stage?

Lazyboy: I’m excited to show them the Lazyboy and how I do things. Excited to see Russia.

Excited to create memories with so many great friends who will be joining us and all of the new friends I will meet along the journey. This is gonna be a challenge, as I’ve not played this kind of stage on foreign soil before, and I’m up for the challenge!

– Josh Kerman

Long Nguyen/Red Bull

DJ TIMES

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

LAZYBOY: BATTLE-TESTED DJ

LOUIE VEGA • DERRICK CARTER OMAR S • MARQUES WYATT HYENAH • KING BRITT TONY TOUCH • OSCAR P CRIS HERRERA • ERIC MEDINA ALUKU REBELS • HELEN TING MORE TBA

JUNE 5-7 | SAN DIEGO, CA WESTCOASTWEEKENDER.NET

G&D: (from left) Josh Gabriel & Dave Dresden.

DJ TIMES

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

GABRIEL & DRESDEN: KICKSTARTED

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Since forming as a DJ/production duo in 2001, Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden have experienced some massive highs and lows.

The pair delivered hit productions, like 2003’s “As the Rush Comes” (as Motorcycle feat. Jes) and 2007’s “Dangerous Power,” plus popular remixes for artists ranging from Above & Beyond to The Killers.

They toured the world and played the biggest festival stages. But in 2008, the pair had an acrimonious separation that lasted more than two years.

After reuniting in 2010, G&D hit the road again, but eventually tired of the grind of touring and releasing singles. By 2017, the duo returned to the notion of making a full-length artist album and, after raising the necessary funds via Kickstarter, G&D released The Only Road, a well-received effort, full of gorgeously melodic dance tracks like “This Love Kills Me” featuring Sub Teal.

Now the duo’s back with Remedy, another Kickstarter-aided album on Anjunabeats featuring vocalists Sub Teal, Jan Burton and Centre. Loaded with sharp hooks, aching melodies and ripe beats, especially on Sub Teal-fronted tunes like “No One’s to Blame,” Remedy effectively melds progressive, trance and pop sensibilities. We recently caught up with G&D to discuss the new project.

DJ Times: In an era ruled by singles and playlists, why make albums?

Gabriel: Nearly 10 years ago when we reunited, we made some kind of internal pact with each other that we weren’t going to make albums anymore. We saw the trends and the fact that artists were getting huge and doing full world tours off singles. We thought we’d just jump in and be a singles act, too.

We made single after single and released them on a very large and connected label. None were making the kind of impact we had hoped, and our touring was starting to seem stale. We needed to do something. What we found was missing from our lives was the ability to make music that was part of a larger story, something that could really help people feel something deep and emotional.

We needed to feel something, too, and that happened when we finally made The Only Road.

DJ Times: And for this album, Remedy?

Gabriel: We got so into the process making the previous album, so we wanted to do it again.

There’s just something special about making a body of work that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. We won’t say Remedy is a concept album, but the songs work like puzzle pieces that you can either play by themselves our as a whole. Then there’s also the fact that releasing albums is the best way to empower fans and the industry, and get them excited. The whole album cycle still plays a huge role in our industry, even if casual listeners have moved on to singles and playlists.

DJ Times: You again used Kickstarter to fund this project. Good thing you have such a loyal fanbase, right?

Gabriel: We feel incredibly blessed that our fans support us like this. We were so nervous about launching the first Kickstarter, not knowing what the reception would be. But that all changed the day we launched the first Kickstarter. The outpouring of love and support and excitement that we were finally going to make a new album – it was infectious. Getting to work hand-in-hand with our supporters just felt and still feels like the way forward for us.

DJ Times: How did you approach this album, in terms of material?

Dresden: Like The Only Road, we made sure we had all the lyrics before we started working on the music. For a good number of these songs, they started on guitar or piano with Sub Teal and Josh working together to hammer out the lyrics and chord progressions. They were then presented to me, and I chose the ones I felt worked best. We added in two songs we had intended for The Only Road [“Keep On Holding” and “Coming On Strong”], but didn’t have the chance to finish in time. The difference between The Only Road and Remedy is that the earlier album was (continued on page 40)

Michael Victor

IN THE STUDIO WITH...

BY BRIAN BONAVOGLIA

DJ TIMES

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

SLANDER BREAKS BIG WITH MELODIC, EMOTIONAL BASS

12

Slander: (from left) Derek Andersen & Scott Land.

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

trap genre. How would you say your sound has evolved since your beginnings?

Andersen: Since we began this project in 2010, we have always evolved. When we started DJing at local parties and small bars, we were playing everything from five-hour hip-hop sets to marathon trance sets.

But in 2012 when electronic-based trap music emerged, we knew that was the sound we wanted to learn how to create.

DJ Times: Why? Andersen: The immediate love of this sound came from our mutual love of hip hop and electronic music. Now in 2019, that love still remains and it is reflected in our more emotional records, which try to bridge the gap between the uplifting feeling of trance and the drum flow of hip-hop and dubstep. This sits in stark contrast to some of our more aggressive records from 2018, which lean toward a heavier bass perspective, a taste that has been building within us for years and that has finally come to the light. Simply put even now, nine years later, we continue to evolve.

DJ Times: There is no denying that bass-music lovers seem to have a soft spot for the melodic stuff. Why do you think your “heaven trap” subgenre resonates so well with the masses?

Land: True emotion will always resonate with people, and fans of bass music are very dedicated because of the nature of bass shows.We thought: Why not combine these two ideas and see what happens? When we first started going to shows, we were huge fans of Above & Beyond, Deadmau5, Cosmic Gate, and Armin van Buuren and we wanted to bring that uplifting spiritual feeling that you get from a trance show into the bassmusic world. For us, it was all about combining our past love with our current love and that’s how “heaven trap” came about. We tried to make a trance/trap hybrid with the focus being on real emotion.

DJ Times: Seems like it worked…

Land: “Heaven trap,” for us, simply meant euphoric trap that could make you cry and take you to a higher place emotionally. Initially, we thought this was a terrible idea and that no one would like it, but for us that didn’t matter – and we just wanted to make something we hadn’t heard before, regardless of other opinions.

DJ Times: While we’re on the topic of melodic and emotional… after years of anticipation, “Love is Gone” was finally released this past summer. How did it feel to finally share your highly coveted single and its accompanying music video?

Andersen: At the time, “Love Is Gone” was the most important proj-

DJ TIMES

der was officially catapulted into the spotlight.

With a consistent flow of releases that feature a signature blend of emotional lyricism and satisfying drops, Slander remains fan favorites throughout the festival circuit. With its expanding fanbase, Land and Andersen extended its Gud Vibrations brand into a record-label venture with NGHTMRE. In addition to becoming familiar names in the bass scene – on the strength of their monstrous productions – Land and Andersen went on to host their own branded events, this time as label bosses.

As festival-circuit staples this past summer, the duo managed to expand its reach, as it treated its loyal fans with much-anticipated singles – “Love Is Gone” featuring Dylan Matthew, the emotionally charged gem “Potions” (with Said The Sky), and the bone-rattling collab with KOMPANY, “Broken.”

After an unforgettable 2019, Slander kicked off the new year with a headlining tour – “The Eye.” Featuring massive new production, including awe-inspiring visuals and amazing audio from PK Sound, the tour will hit 18 cities and is currently set to run through the end of May. Just as Slander released another catchy collab with NGHTMRE (“Feeling Gud”), the duo began to prepare for its upcoming Miami experience. This year at Ultra Music Festival, the Gud Vibrations brand will enjoy a UMF Radio stage label takeover. So, it was in the midst of all this craziness that we caught up with Slander’s Derek Andersen and Scott Land.

DJ Times: Slander has come quite a long way since being one of the true pioneers of the festival-

Photo: Nate Vogel

Photo: Emma Paige

At time when bass music’s popularity is showing no signs of slowing down, the genre’s more melodic side has begun to take more of the spotlight. Thanks to prominent acts like Seven Lions, Adventure Club and Illenium, festival tents and stages continue to draw in big numbers for purveyors of that sound. Of course, another driving force – and perhaps the one with the most upward trajectory these days – is L.A.based duo, Slander.

Its members, Derek Andersen and Scott Land, befriended each other in college, at the UC-Irvine, sharing a common interest in music production. Before long, they began to hone their craft at ICON Collective, Los Angeles’ influential music-production school. During that time, they befriended another up-and-coming talent, Tyler Marenyi (aka NGHTMRE). That connection quickly became beneficial because, in 2014, Slander collaborated with him on an edit of Showtek’s “We Like to Party” that quickly dominated the blogosphere.

Looking to cash in on that success, Land and Andersen would continue to work their “heaven trap” sound on some of the scene’s biggest names – Above & Beyond, Seven Lions, Jack Ü – before reuniting with NGHTMRE for their first original production, “Ascensions.”

Continuing to ride the hot hand, the California natives unleashed their fury with a steady flow of releases like “Vanguard,” “New Monarchy,” and a bevy of collabs with NGHTMRE, including their festival anthem, “Gud Vibrations.” In 2015, they connected with WAVZ for their hit single “Love Again,” which has since received well over 10 million streams. It was then that Slan-

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Photo: Jake West

ect we have ever worked on, hands down. The music video took three years to make and we will never forget the initial reaction online. The amount of messages that we received from people saying it was a “masterpiece” or the “best thing they have ever watched” was mind-blowing. Obviously, we hoped for a good reaction, but the love from our fans was overwhelming and truly humbling. The release day for the video will always be one of the happiest days of our lives and we are so grateful for our fans. We also have to shout out Roboto, the creator of the video, for literally putting his heart and soul into it and creating something that is unforgettable.

DJ Times: Was there a sense of pressure to deliver on a track of this magnitude or was it more of a “when-the-timing-is-right” scenario when it came to its release?

Land: For this song, we knew we were going to take our time to make everything right regardless of pressure from fans. Also, our top priority was making sure that the accompanying video for “Love Is Gone” matched the strength of the song – so nothing was rushed.

DJ Times: Some fans believe this release served as the beginning of a new chapter for Slander – is this true? The way the “Love Is Gone” video ended has the fans expecting more from this story.

Andersen: For us, this serves true. The next chapter has begun, and we are so excited to show our fan community where it leads soon. “Love Is Gone” is just the first taste of the story and universe we are creating.

DJ Times: Between a music video that has been in the works for over three years and bringing your “The Eye” logo to life with your most recent stage design, you two offer plenty of attention to detail.

As artists, why do you believe it is so important to deliver on all angles?

Land: Attention to detail is what separates the good from the great, in our eyes. A few artists we currently look up to are Eric Prydz/Cirez D and Excision. These guys have a few things in common: Extremely loyal cult followings, show-stopping production, and incredible attention to detail on every level. These are the things we want Slander to also represent. Our goal is simple: We want to deliver the highest quality experience possible for our fans through our music and performances. Covering all the angles is everything because, to us, true quality is about elevating all aspects of our artistry to their max potential.

DJ Times: It’s certainly not a bad time to be a Slander fan. “Love is Gone” was followed by “Potions” with Said The Sky. Walk us through the production process of that collaboration.

Andersen: In early 2017, we cut the “Potions” vocal with the extremely talented singer/songwriter, JT Roach. At that time, we also had about 15 works in progress that needed to be completed and released before we could even start to think about completing “Potions.” Once we finally got around to releasing all that music and it was time to focus on “Potions,” we had a hunch in fall of 2018 that Trevor [Christensen from Said The Sky] might be the perfect person to bring in to give the song new life. In the end, we are so happy with how it turned out and we’re super grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Trevor. The song that was collecting dust finally got to see the light of day.

DJ Times: Where do you guys find the inspiration behind these emotionally charged tunes?

Land: Most of the initial inspiration comes from the vocals themselves, but for “Love Is Gone,” in

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Monitors 4 PK Sound VX10 compact line-arrays 2 PK Sound CX800 dual 18-inch subwoofers Stage DJ Set-Up 1 Pioneer DJ DJM-900NXS2 mixer 4 Pioneer DJ CDJ-2000NXS2 players Front Of House Console 1 DiGiCo SD9 desk

Photo: Rukes.com

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MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

Main PA 22 PK Sound Trinity large-format robotic line-arrays 12 PK Sound Gravity 218 dual 18-inch subwoofers 12 PK Sound CX800 dual 18-inch subwoofers 4 PK Sound VX12 medium-format line-arrays

Photo: Emma Paige

Big-Room Boom: Slander & PK Sound

particular, we just wanted to write the saddest piano piece we had ever written, then the vocal came second. Our rule for the emotional records is that if it doesn’t make us cry, it’s not done yet. We really let our emotions and feeling guide us when we are creating them.

DJ Times: In the studio and onstage, what gear and programs do you use?

Andersen: In the studio we use Ableton Live 10 running on MacBook Pros with some MIDI keyboards/step sequencers. The majority of our work is done in the box. Onstage, we use four Pioneer DJ CDJ-2000Nexus players and a Pioneer DJ DJM900 mixer.

DJ Times: Slander uses PK Sound for its shows. How’d that come about?

Scott: The [PK Sound] guy we found was Rory Stewart, who had toured with Excision and does a lot Bassnectar’s stuff, and we found that the guys at PK Sound not only have a huge passion for electronic music but also have a huge passion for the clarity of sound in general. I feel Excision and Bassnectar are the pioneers. They’re the ones that first invested heavily into audio, creating a much more of a live experience. That led to each of them having such devoted fans and mind-blowing curated events and we’re looking to do the same, taking the PK Sound whenever we can. We’re trying to deliver much more of a live experience.

DJ Times: Starting out as two friends who met in college, working your way through Icon Collective, then to a status where you’re selling out some of the country’s biggest venues… quite a journey, right?

Land: We will never forget the day we started the Slander Facebook page in June 2010, and it had 0 likes. We will never forget the years of grinding as local DJs playing at frat parties, small bars, and Top-40 clubs. Lastly, we will never forget the people who supported us when no one else cared. They are the ones who always inspired us to keep pushing and they continue to inspire us to this day. Every single day when we wake up, we are grateful beyond belief because getting to pursue music full-time was always our dream. We will never stop striving to be the best for our fans and for our loved ones because we wouldn’t be here without them. All we feel is gratitude all the time. We wish we could properly express how thankful we are. We truly love our fans so much.

DJ Times: Any advice for up-and-coming DJ/ producers?

Andersen: Make music just for yourself. Do not make music for others. Make a song that you are not going to show to anyone, have that intention when you start it. That is what is going to allow you to create with no fear of judgement and that is going to yield your most unique art that is the most you. This will help your music stand out from everything else. Also, release a song every month if you can and post every day on your socials, so you can create a platform and engage with your audience even on days when you are not releasing music or playing shows. Also, just to do a ton of remixes – that will make people slowly start to care about wanting to hear original music from you. Our first 12 releases were remixes for this reason.

DJ Times: Anything to avoid?

Land: Don’t complain, don’t overthink, and don’t let your ego grow.

DJ Times: How did you connect with NGHTMRE? Andersen: We met the second day of class at Icon Collective and have been best friends ever since. Working with NGHTMRE has been the most (continued on page 42)

OVox: Waves Audio’s “vocal re-synthesis” tool.

improved, larger touchscreen and revamped controls. Across the product line, Denon DJ emphasized its in-built WiFi and streaming support, initially for Tidal, with more coming — a great feature for mobile jocks to handle requests on-the-fly during a gig.

No 2 DJ- & Studio-Gear Faves from the 2020 Winter NAMM Show

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By Wesley Bryant-King

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Anaheim, Calif. – Now that we can look back on our four full days of walking the aisles at the spacious Anaheim Convention Center, we have fully updated our thoughts on Winter NAMM 2020.

Held this past Jan. 16-19, the show drew 115,888 attendees, according to organizers, representing a slight increase from the previous year’s show. Given that the show is really for sellers of music products and services (“NAMM” originally stood for “National Association of Music Merchants”) — in other words, retailers — the fact that Winter NAMM continues to be vibrant appears to be a testament to the unique nature of the music hardware and software business in this era of technological and retail disruption. (Amazon.com anyone?)

In any case, I’ve seen a lot of innovation in the more than 11 years that I’ve been writing for DJ Times, especially in the techniques that working DJs use, and the technology that supports them. But as I wrote in all of my NAMM Show wrap-ups in recent years, it continues to feel like we’re between major innovation cycles at the moment, with iterative enhancements coming out, rather than major seismic shifts. But unlike last year, where the show actually felt like a bit of a letdown, I left Anaheim this year a bit more excited than last. While the new offerings I saw at the show may still be a bit iterative and evolutionary rather than revolutionary, many things I saw offer tangible benefits and advantages — something that seemed to be missing to a large degree a year ago.

What follows is what stood out as DJ Times editor Jim Tremayne and I wandered the halls of the Anaheim Convention Center and spoke to vendors throughout the DJ and pro-audio space. On the DJ side:

The folks at inMusic have been focusing a lot of attention on their Denon DJ brand this year. To start, they’ve expanded the PRIME standalone series to three offerings; the PRIME Go (battery-powered standalone console) and PRIME 2 (all-in-one, 2-channel unit) join the previously available PRIME 4, providing many of the same capabilities across the family, but sized for different segments of the market. The PRIME Go isn’t exactly entry-level at $999 suggested retail, but it certainly makes getting into these innovative performance systems a bit more affordable. On the conventional mixer and media player side, the company has rolled out the SC6000 Prime and SC6000M Prime media players (the latter being motorized), along with the matching X1850 Prime mixer. I’m a huge fan of the previous SC5000 (which is still available), so the SC6000 doesn’t disappoint with its

Lighting manufacturer Chauvet DJ created a lot of buzz with the GigBAR Move.

This all-in-one LED lighting set-up that’s perfect for mobile jocks working smaller gigs (or master/slaved together for larger ones) includes moving heads, derbies, washes, a strobe and even a laser and UV effects, all on a single, tripod-mounted bar. Everything needed to carry, set up and use the system is included: the tripod, a wireless footswitch controller, and a carrying bag. Controllable via DMX, the footswitch or the fixtures, GigBAR Move delivers a ton of utility and convenience for just around $800 retail. I’m pretty sure a couple of these are going to join my own mobile gig gear collection.

No. 3

Pioneer DJ always seems to have a lot to talk about, and this year was no exception.

There was a lot of talk at the show around the company’s new DJM-V10 mixer. This beast of a mixer is like nothing seen before, with six full channels backed by under-the-hood circuit design to ensure great audio quality, all the tailoring tools you need (4-band EQ, compression, powerful effects), strong support for offboard effects devices, and much more. Also getting buzz was the company’s XDJ-XZ

Artiphon’s Orba: Portable synth/looper/controller.

standalone system. It’s everything you need to play your digital media directly, with multiple inputs, and a special feedback reducer — great for mobile DJs handing a mic over to the head table for toasts — designed to prevent that annoying howl when the mic gain’s up too high.

No. 5

No. 4 One challenge for DJs wanting to get into music production is often simply not knowing how to play keyboards — the most common tool for capturing melodies or other musical ideas into a DAW. In truth, I play both keyboards and guitar, and I still struggle (mightily) with capturing melodic musical ideas before they vanish from my creative brain. Enter Dubler from Vochlea Music. This U.K.-based company has had some Kickstarter success with Dubler, which is a hardware/software solution consisting of a purposebuilt USB microphone and software that lets you hum melodies or beatbox some rhythms, and convert that in real-time to MIDI information, which can then be piped into and captured b y a DAW — or played t h ro u g h a ny instrument that supports MIDI.

Waves Audio showed off one of the most creative and interesting plug-ins I’ve seen from the company to-date: OVox. They call it a “vocal re-synthesis” tool, but it’s basically a voice-controlled synthesizer and vocal effects processor. It provides a host of customizable tools that range from traditional vocoder- and talkbox-like effects to all sorts of vocal morphing, tuning and harmonizing tools that can be used in real-time or used with recorded material in a DAW. The amplitude, pitch and formant components of the input vocal can be applied to different modulations, forming an unbelievably powerful (and fun) tool for your music creation toolbox.

No.

Artiphon, which created Instrument 1, a unique string-inspired electronic instrument, showed its new Orba. Another Kickstarterfunded product, it’s a puck-like portable synth, looper and controller with a $100 price tag that offers promise as an innovative musical-idea creation-and-capture device. With its internal accelerometers and buttons, you can tap or wave or shake or slide the device to create sounds and

PRIME Go: Denon DJ’s battery-powered controller.

beats, then use USB or Bluetooth MIDI to capture and develop them. Watching people play with the device was a fascinating case study of being in the music-making moment and strikes me as one of the more innovative things I saw at this year’s NAMM Show. It’ll be interesting to see how people use and accept the device when it starts reaching the masses.

These were just a few of the things I found interesting this year; for others, check out my daily show summaries at djtimes.com. Also, look for in-depth reviews of these products in DJ Times over the course of 2020. n

Dubler: A unique studio solution for making melodies or beats.

DJM-V10: Pioneer DJ’s 6-channel beast.

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MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

GigBAR Move: Chauvet DJ’s all-in-one lighting set-up.

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FriendShip 2020 Destructo’s DJ-Driven Music Cruise Brings the Magic

ShipFam: The gang’s all here.

Oh Dag Yo

Strike a Pose: Destructo & Boys Noize.

Rukes.com

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By Brian Bonavoglia

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Miami, Fla. – Does Destructo know how to throw a party or what?

With years of club events, festivals and cruises under his belt, we definitely know that’s the case. But after the successful, late-2018 maiden voyage of FriendShip – his newly branded, DJ-driven, music cruise – the legendary DJ/promoter (aka Gary Richards) decided to up the ante. For his next Miami-to-Bahamas iteration, he landed a bigger boat, Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas – and, after spending that week at sea, we can tell you that the results won’t soon be forgotten.

Running this past Jan. 6-10, the second FriendShip cruise hosted over 3,500 fans and presented more than 50 DJ/ artists, many of whom delivered memorable sets. It all went like this…

Getting Underway: Before the boarding process at the Port of Miami, there was a palpable energy running through the terminal. Pulsating beats emanated from every corner and the “ShipFam” was greeted with a barrage of stickers from fellow cruisers. Excitement was up. Once the actual process began, Destructo himself made the rounds, greeting attendees with glasses of champagne, as they made their way to their cabins. With this being a new boat, even the most experienced cruisers seemed to be thrilled, as they took their time familiarizing themselves with the impressive new digs.

Monday Music: Allowing for everyone to get settled in, freshen up and take a much-needed power nap, the ship set sail around 7 p.m. with Troyboi bringing the bass to the newly designed mainstage on the pool deck. Party on!

From the second the ship launched, there was simply no escaping the music, whether it was coming from one of the five stages, portable DJ rigs popping up on every corner, and or tunes blaring from each cabin speaker. Oh, and let’s not forget the Dial-A-DJ program, which allowed lucky fans to summon a DJ-of-choice to spin in a private suite.

Monday set the tone for what was to come. After Troyboi’s bottom-heavy barrage, Destructo took the helm and kept

Jersey Club: UNiiQU3 rocked the house.

Oh Dag Yo

Bob Moses: Canadian duo in the Theater.

Oh Dag Yo

Sunset Sermon: GRiZ’s saxy moment.

Oh Dag Yo

.

Double Trouble: Nina Las Vegas & Mija.

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Notorious: Masked man Malaa in the mix.

Oh Dag Yo

Thanks, Gary: Destructo greets a fan.

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FriendShip Beach: Scene at CocoCay Island.

Oh Dag Yo

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Indoors: Lucii lets loose with lasers.

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Manic: Mija’s drum-n-bass set.

Oh Dag Yo

All Aboard: The on-deck party scene.

Oh Dag Yo

a groove going. Up next, techno titan Boys Noize unleashed his fury on the pool deck. After that, however, it was all about a heavy dose of girl power. With her rockin’ brand of Brick City Club tracks, Jersey’s DJ UNiiQU3 turned the Theater into a high-energy house party before Australian tastemaker Nina Las Vegas unloaded a set filled with her vibrant, bouncy productions. Then, onto the evening’s main event, Mija’s drum-n-bass set… amid the flurry of breakbeats, we saw it morph into a manic B2B featuring Nina Las Vegas, Madame X, Flava D and Star Eyes. Closing things out with a bang, Ducky wrapped it up in Studio B. Tuesday Tunes: On the first full day at sea – en route to CocoCay in The Bahamas – the party theme was Area 51. The music started out on the pool deck around noon, with Flava D igniting the dance floor and kickstar ting the Night Bass take-

Dial-a-DJ Party: Destructo & Bob Moses.

Rukes.com

over. Throughout the day, there were plenty of activities, like creating your own tiny hat, a twerkshop, DoubleDutch jump rope with J.Phlip, and blind-folded mini-golf with Golf Clap.

After an afternoon fueled by hardhitting house, things began to heat up with the first performance of Dita Von Teese’s “Shiptease” burlesque show.

Set at the Theatre, it left attendees in a daze after viewing the flawless execution of their sensual routines. While Boys Noize’s alter-ego ELAX was taking the main deck by storm on that Tuesday night, it was his pop-up, B2B with Danny Daze, Destructo and Bob Moses in the Promenade that had everyone moving and grooving until the wee hours. The trio brought the funk with a bevy of French house gems. In fact, Boys Noize and Danny Daze were quite the dynamic duo all throughout the week.

Bahamas: FriendShip then made its (continued on page 42)

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BRE KING FROM TR DITION

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Believe it or not, things are changing at a lot for mobile entertainers working wedding receptions.

Well, at least they’re changing in some areas of the country – according to James Malone of Exceptional Receptions in Binghamton, N.Y. “Many of the gaudier wedding trends, like the bouquet and garter and dollar dance, have all but disappeared,” says Malone, who says he only gets requests for those traditional dances maybe 20-percent of the time.

Adds David Sporn of Debonaire Entertainment in Richmond, Va.: “People are actually dropping wedding trends. Remember the good ole days when a bride came with money and a goat, too?”

Our questions: Is the garter toss over? Is the dollar dance dead?

Aspects of the traditional wedding reception are not totally dead, but simply less important and therefore employed less often, claims Scott Faver of The Party Favers in Phoenix, Ariz.

“My solution,” he says, “is always to ask why they want to do something, then explore new and creative ways to do the same or something similar.

“Often, these activities were continued through the years as a means of inserting entertainment into the reception. But creative DJs can do the same without relying on what today is considered a cliché,” he adds, with a smile.

Such traditional dances are not dead, but just less important, says Stephen P. Munger of No Limit Entertainment in Middletown, N.J. “I’ve done the dollar dance maybe twice in the past 200 weddings I’ve done, so that’s been dead for me,” he says. “Meanwhile, the garter/bouquet routine is definitely on life support.”

The garter toss and dollar dances are becoming less-frequent occurrences for Tony Fernandez of Soundwave Productions in Richmond, Va. “I don’t think things from the DJ perspective have changed, in the sense that we’re a service provider,” he says. “We’re able to adapt and conform to the unique and specific needs/demands of our clients.

“What has changed is the way people want to celebrate their wedding day. So, sure, you’re still going to have couples/brides that want the ‘standard’ or ‘traditional’ experiences, such as the garter toss and dollar dance.”

Fernandez says he’s seen over the past two to five years that couples don’t want to be tied down to social and traditional ‘norms.’

“They want to have a celebration, but they want to do it on their terms,” he says. “Those so-called new terms are not conforming to the traditional sense of what a wedding reception is ‘supposed’ to be. So, for me, a wedding reception isn’t actually going to have a garter toss or the dollar dance.

“Heck, they sometimes don’t even want introductions of the obligatory dances. It’s a much more laid-back social affair with family and intimate friends.”

Meanwhile, Iz Hernandez of MADDMEN Entertainment in Tampa, Fla., says he doesn’t actually see the death of bouquet, garter and dollar dances.

“It may be less emphasized, but there are, in fact, creative ways of reinventing traditional things you do at receptions. It’s like what we’ve seen with the parent and son/daughter dance. So, we may see variations of the garter toss and dollar dance.”

Adds Michael Moyer of Custom Fit DJ Services in Tempe, Ariz., “I’ve been advising my clients who request a dollar dance to consider that less people have cash now than in the past.

“Further, I tell them to have their parents reach out to a handful of relatives, so they can be prepared with some paper currency

ahead of time. Often during this discussion, the small percentage of my clients that checked yes for a dollar dance decide against it.

“For some, it’s a cultural tradition that gets a great response. However, garter is probably on half of my timelines, although bouquet is still probably around 80-90-percent.”

Chuck Lehnhard of Spectrum Mobile DJ in Northern California’s wine country says he agrees that the dollar dance/money dance/honeymoon dance is all but dead.

“I think maybe one wedding this year asked for dollar dances and, if I remember correctly, they decided not to do it,” says the Santa Rosa-based jock.

“Of course, there are also some cultures here where a version of that is done— Indian weddings come to mind. Also, the garter toss is not dead, but only at about a third of my events is it done. And generally, they’re my more causal events, not my higher-end winery-type celebrations.”

Dennis Craig of Rock D Productions in Warner Robins, Ga., says that the dollar dance has never been a must-do down in his market. “In the last 10 years,” he says, “we’ve maybe had about eight of them.”

Joshua Volpe of Kalifornia Entertainment in Rochester, N.Y., adds: “Dollar dances are not dead, but they’re definitely becoming less and less. Many of my clients don’t want the traditional ‘old-person’ type of wedding that their parents or grandparents had. Instead, they want a non-traditional, but super-fun party, where everyone can just get wild. Some are even creating their own new and interesting traditions that you haven’t seen before.”

Mobile DJ Jesus Perez, Jr., says the garter and bouquet tosses in his market, although not as popular today, are on everybody’s radar.

“It’s something that they either saw at a wedding they attended or on TV or in the movies,” explains the owner of Echo Entertainment in Middletown, N.Y. “It may get less excitement today, but they never fade away. And for the dollar dance, I usually have to bring it up to most of my couples, and nine out of the 10 have never heard of it.”

Perez says he explains to his patrons that it’s a cultural/traditional event, and

IS THE GARTER TOSS DEAD? IS THE DOLLAR DANCE OVER? MOBILE DJS WEIGH IN ON THE STATE OF THE WEDDING GIG.

DJ TIMES

advises them to check with their families.

“In my four years of DJing, I have yet to see one done at one of my weddings,” he adds. “I eventually think it will just be done exclusively with families that include it as a cultural tradition. I’ve made it a point to not even bring it up anymore.”

Dean “D-no” Baker of Platinum Lighting & Design in Greensburg, Pa., reports he’s getting less and less garter and banquet requests at receptions where he performs these days.

“Probably 50-percent or less,” he claims, “with just a bouquet toss being a little higher. I’m a single operator from western Pennsylvania, and agree with the statements of it being a culturaltype thing here. Pittsburgh was once a huge melting pot, so it’s always been quite a standard event in our area. The old tradition was also to get a liquor shot – most venues here don’t permit shots from the bar at any other time – and cake.

“While it’s traditional to give a couple dollars, I don’t believe guests feel like they’re being fleeced by the newlyweds, and it’s a chance for every guest to take a spin or two with the bride.”

Dollar dances remain a staple in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, reports DJ Joshua Balbierz of Audion Entertainment. “They’re certainly not outdated here,” says the Marquette-based jock.

“And I always explain the purpose of the dollar dance to my clients when they’re trying to decide if they should incorporate it into their reception. And if they choose to, I’ll also take a moment to explain the idea to the audience as a part of my introduction.”

Daniel Davis of B-Boy Productions in Destin, Fla., reports his mobile company “hasn’t had a dollar dance – I term it as a ‘honeymoon dance’ to clients to try and dress it up a little – request in about two years. Bouquet/garter requests are definitely way down – not extinct, that is, but somewhat disappearing in my market.”

But things are slightly different in smaller markets like Williston, N.D. – population 27,000 – where Matthew Schenkenfelder of SicMonkeySic Entertainment works.

“In smaller towns, the dollar dance is still alive,” he reports. “In my area, most people don’t toss the garter, though, but they do auction it off. I’ve actually seen a garter go for a grand, on top of usually giving it back to the bride for keepsakes.”

Adds Keith Lobdell of Just A Song in Easton, Conn.: “In the over 10 years I’ve been doing weddings, I’ve never had a request for a garter or a dollar dance. I can think of only a few times when a bride has thrown her bouquet.

“Some still want a grand entrance, and most want a first dance and then toasts. Some will still cut a small cake, but then provide cupcakes or cookies for the guests.”

According to Becka Page of BPM Entertainment in Lynnwood, Wash., DJs really need to analyze the sources of our data. “In West Coast vs. East Coast vs. the Midwest, you’re going to get vastly different answers,” she says. “In Montana, it’s the dollar dance and it’s expected, but up here in Seattle—unless it’s cultural—it’s considered tacky.

“The last few years I’ve still seen the bouquet toss, but less of garter. However, lots of couples are choosing to not do them at all.”

DJ Erin Elyse of Big Ern Productions Mobile DJs in Yakima, Wash., says that about 85-percent of the time, they still see the money dance, garter retrieval and bouquet toss.

“For us, it comes down to delivery to the guests during the wedding,” says Elyse. “Give them the ‘why’ we’re doing this special event, and they’ll understand. If you, as the host or MC of the evening, treat it special, then it’ll be received as special. You’re ultimately creating moments n through announcements, as well as through music.”

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BY JEFF STILES

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MAKING TRACKS STUDIO…HARDWARE…SOFTWARE…

KRK CLASSIC 5: COMPACT STUDIO SOLUTION Classic 5: Versatile & budget-priced active monitor.

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By Wesley Bryant-King

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From Gibson Brands comes KRK Systems, makers of fine studio monitors, like its popular Rokit series. After gaining plenty of traction in the DJ/producer segment of the market, the Nashville-based company has returned with the Classic 5.

The Basics: Let’s start with what’s different between the Classic 5 and KRK’s Rokit line. That, in turn, has to begin with the understanding that studio monitors — despite their job in helping producers and engineers create a solid mix — generally will add a little color to the sound.

That’s not a problem in most cases, because an engineer will know his or her environment well, and experience informs what ultimately sounds right and delivers an optimal mix.

For the rest of us, however, I’d argue that the best starting point would be the most neutral one: flat. The KRK Classic 5 is designed to deliver a flatter response curve across the audible spectrum than its siblings, and in theory, that should enable you to more easily create a mix that works optimally across different listening environments that your fans will be using.

All that being said, one’s own studio listening environment has a lot to do with how any studio monitor performs and, regardless of the response curve, your studio’s configuration and furnishings are going to impact the result — often in profound ways. I’ll dig a little deeper into that in a moment.

While they may start flatter, the KRK Classic 5 can still be adjusted on-board to suit the room by providing both boost and cut for high and low frequencies. For the highs, you can boost 1 db, or cut 1 or 2 db. For the lows, you can boost 1 or 2 db, or cut 1 db. Both provide a “flat” setting as well, of course, and beyond these two knobs, there’s one that serves as an on-board gain control.

KRK didn’t make it too easy to find the specs for the Classic 5, but as it turns out, they are said to provide frequency response from 46 Hz on the low end, to 34.5 kHz on the high end. It’s delivered through two drivers: The 5-inch glass aramid main driver (in KRK’s beautiful trademark yellow), and 1-inch soft dome tweeter that on this model is in black. They deliver 50 watts of power through a compact cabinet that’s roughly 11-inches tall, 7.5-inches wide, and under 10-inches deep.

Input choices include what you’d expect: XLR, ¼-inch and RCA. And because these monitors are self-powered (as are most these days), there’s the usual power-cable plug on the back, and a power switch. The Classic 5, like other KRK monitors, provides an illuminated logo on the front to indicate that power is on, and they offer a power-saver mode that turns off the amps when a signal is not present for an extended period, and turns it back on again when you push audio to them once again.

How They Sound: Out of the box with no tuning whatsoever, I have to say I’m pretty impressed with the sound of the KRK Classic 5 pair I received for evaluation. Known musical material sounds pretty decent all in all. I wouldn’t expect pounding bass from a main driver of this size, and indeed, it’s not there — but the low-end still manages to sound pretty full.

In my studio, I use a room-tuning and monitor calibration system I’ve reviewed previously for the magazine: Sonarworks Reference 4 Studio Edition. Using its bundled, lab-calibrated testing mic and multi-step testing procedure, I tested and calibrated the Classic 5 units for my particular studio environment.

The testing process provides a response-curve graph, and indeed, they are fairly flat — somewhat flatter than other monitors I’ve calibrated using Sonarworks. But my room characteristics still seem to want to cause a dip of a few db around the 1,100 Hz mark, with some boosting around 100 Hz and at about 11 KHz. I say that it’s my room, because the response curves of other tested monitors have similar bumps when tested in my environment, and its why a tool like Sonarworks is valuable — to correct these environmental flaws.

With Sonarworks’ correction dialed-in, the KRK Classic 5 units really shine, since the Sonarworks software is compensating where needed to ensure flatness. Everything I threw at it sounded great, but the low-end was generally lacking.

Indeed, the low-end of the Classic 5 frequency response begins to drop off at 65 Hz, and by 46 Hz, they’ve dropped off clear to -10 db, according to the calibration results. Considering that -10 db is an oft-used value when (somewhat optimistically in my view) quoting frequency response specs, perhaps it’s delivering what KRK was

aiming for — although their spec sheet doesn’t make that clear, as some manufacturer specs for monitors often do.

To be honest, I’m not terribly surprised at the results given the mere 5-inch size of the main driver. And this is generally why I don’t typically recommend studio monitors with main drivers less than 8-inches for serious work — especially in low-end-heavy genres like EDM. The main monitors I’ve used for years (with 8-inch drivers) have no drop off at the low-end at all until around 45 Hz, and provide usable low-end even farther down.

That may not, however, be enough if you’re making music with serious thump, and for smaller monitors, I’ve always paired them with my studio subwoofer that’s been a fixture in my studio for years. When used with a smaller top-end monitor, there’s no low-end drop at all until 40 Hz, and no significant one until the 32 Hz at +/– 3 db quoted in its spec sheet. Now that is some low-end.

My sub is not from KRK; I’ve not had an opportunity to test any studio subs from the company, but they do have them, offered with main drivers from 8-inches (35 Hz low-end) to a 12-inch highoutput model that’ll take you down to 29 Hz according to the spec sheet. I think one of them (continued on page 40)

MAINSTAGE

CONTINUING TO SET THE STANDARD FOR DJ TURNTABLES Building off of the legacy of the Technics SL-1200 from the 1970’s, the Technics SL-1200MK7 is made for the new DJ generation. The new model inherits the traditional design of the previous series and maintains the same operating ease, reliability and durability, while adding a coreless direct drive motor and other sound-enhancing technologies. www.technics.com

BOSE S1 PRO GOES WHERE YOU GO Carry, plug, and play anywhere you go with the S1 Pro Portable PA from Bose. This small-yet-mighty PA weighs just 16 pounds, is battery operated, and features auto EQ for fast set up and great sound quality. www.bose.com

ALL THE MUSIC. ONE SOURCE. NOW IN AN APP. Introducing the BPM Supreme Mobile App – the new app that is redefining the way DJs discover music.

Stream high quality audio, add to your crate, get inspired with curated sets, create custom playlists,read the latest industry new, and much more. www.bpmsupreme.com/app

SOUNDING OFF PLAYBACK…PRO AUDIO…PROCESSING

QSC KS118: WHOPPER SUB

By Paul Dailey

It was right around a decade ago when QSC unleashed its now-legendary KW181 active subwoofer on the market. And 10 years down the line, to my ears, very few subs have been able to best their sound-quality-to-price recipe.

But now that the KW181 has been discontinued, the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based manufacturer has delivered its long-awaited replacement, the massively impressive KS118 sub. Stout, well-made and unsuspecting – the KS118 is the perfect fit in almost any subwoofer application.

Sound & Image: First off, the subwoofer looks as good as it sounds. With a more upright design (vs. the KW181), the unit allows mobile DJs to get their tops on poles and up over the heads of their dancers. Add in some impressive processing, including cardioid settings (like the single-box cardioid KS212C, which I reviewed in early 2019), allowing the DJs to direct the bass toward the dancefloor and away from the rear of the sub. Finally, you can be assured the bass sweet spot will be on the dancefloor, not in the DJ booth behind the subs.

QSC’s KS118 ($1,499 MAP) is a beautiful wood enclosure delivering clean, clear, bass blasting through a 3,600-watt, Class D amplifier. The 18inch driver humbles the low frequencies and provides constant and precise bass. QSC provided me with a pair of the new K.2 Series loudspeakers – but with its highly adjustable crossover, the KS118 can be dialed in to complement whatever top units

you pair it with.

In Practice: Playing in a relatively big room, with a crowd of over 250, my pair of KS118 subs handled everything I could throw at them – from dancehall and reggaeton to classic house and modern EDM – without breaking a sweat. At another show, I set up my subs back-to-back in a configuration that QSC claims will deliver the best bass SPLs, and the results were stunning – almost too much for a crowd of 200.

Certainly, the KS118’s low-frequency performance is plenty impressive. But if you’re looking for that extra bottom for EDM tunes, for example, just activate the unit’s DEEP mode and you’ll rock the joint. And, again, if you add that second sub unit, you can very effectively run the pair in cardioid mode (advantages include feedback control), keeping the low frequencies in check.

In Comparison: For a lot of mobile DJs, the bottom line comes down to the comparison between the old KW181 subs and the new and improved KS118 units. Are the new subwoofers really better and worth an upgrade? In my estimation, yes. They sound cleaner and punchier to

my ears. But more importantly, they are more musical – which was always my only quibble with the KW181s. Sure, they could move air, but they didn’t always sound musically pleasing to me. These KS118s have it all over them in that category.

At 104 pounds, the KS118 is a tad heavier than the KW181, which weighed in at 93.6 pounds. Also, according to the company, the KS118 delivers 3,600 watts (peak), compared to the 181’s 2,000 watts (peak). With purchase and registration, buyers get a six-year warranty on the KS118.

Additionally, the KS118 can work in a variety of apps, including mobile sound and permanent installations. For the mobile jock, the unit is certainly transportable, as it sports comfy handles and four low-noise casters. An M20 threaded pole receptacle fits a 35mm pole for easy full-range set-ups.

Conclusions: Taking everything into account, these new subwoofers are worth every penny.

With such output and tipping the scales at just over 100 pounds, the KS118 is impressive, to say the least. A big thumbs-up.

If you have any questions for Sounding Off, please send them to djtimes@testa.com.

“If you’re looking for that extra bottom for EDM tunes, for example, just activate the unit’s DEEP mode and you’ll rock the

DJ TIMES

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

joint.”

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KS118: Big output, extended low frequencies.

MAINSTAGE

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SIR IVAN - “HAPPY TOGETHER” REMIX EP International Pop/Dance superstar and Top 10 Billboard recording artist Sir Ivan releases "Happy Together" with all-star remixers DJs From Mars, Moto Blanco, Ralphi Rosario, Bimbo Jones, and 7th Heaven. Out now on Peaceman Music. www.fanlink.to/happy-together

MOBILE PROFILE CAREERS…INNOVATIONS…SUCCESS STORIES

By Con Carney

DJ TIMES

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

Rochester, N.Y. – We reached out to Joshua Volpe because he was commenting regularly on Facebook DJ groups and sharing useful information. With his marketing background on display, it became apparent that Volpe was operating on a level beyond most DJs – yes, he’s got an MBA in marketing.

We subsequently had such a great conversation that we asked Volpe if he’d like to contribute to our relaunched website. He agreed, and we are thrilled – we think you will be, too.

DJ Times: Interesting choice of company name for a DJ in upstate New York – Kalifornia Entertainment.

Joshua Volpe: The company name comes from my DJ name… DJ Kalifornia. So-Cal is very near and dear to my heart and where I’ve spent a lot of time. I have close family that live there and because of it being a part of who I am, it was only fitting to have a name that resembles that.

Tell us about the trajectory of your company. When did you start it, and did you have a business plan?

My DJ life started at the University of Buffalo for the college radio station and throughout the years, my DJ career started to build more and more. I went to school for music and, after my first semester, I realized that I probably should have a fallback plan in case a music degree didn’t pan out. So, I doubled up on my courses, went for a dual major and graduated with bachelor’s in music and marketing. I was accepted into the MBA program where my education in marketing went even further.

Music was my first love though and I didn’t want to give up on it. I ended up meeting some people and got into the rave scene pretty heavily to the point where I started DJing different electronic events. At the time, I was mostly into Florida Breakbeat, Nu-Skool Breakbeat and even some progressive house. Those were the days where there were no laptops, no Serato, no sync buttons and just good old-fashioned 12-inch vinyl records spinning on a couple of turntables and cheap mixer.

How did your DJing evolve?

Flash forward a few years and there were some openings at a cou-

30

DJ MIXES RAVE & BUSINESS BACKGROUNDS ple of nightclubs where they were looking for open-format DJs to come in and play on Wednesday nights – the big night for Ladies Night around here. I was hired and got my foot in the door for the club scene. When I started, I admit that open-format was pretty new to me and I really didn’t have much of a clue, so it took me a long time to really get the grasp of things and finally start to figure out how to mix somewhat without sounding like a total train wreck.

Luckily, there were a couple of DJs who helped me out and taught me a few things.

How did that go?

People would come up to the DJ booth and say, “Hey, I’m getting married and I would like to have you DJ for it.” At this particular time, I didn’t know a single thing about mobile events or weddings. I turned down a lot of people because of it and would joke about how I was a club DJ – I don’t play “The Macarena” or any cheesy stuff. The wild thing is, even though I turned people down, the requests kept coming in because people saw something unique in how I played, and people were really looking for that. There was a local company with some DJs with whom I’d worked in the club scene that did

weddings and events at the time. So, I had reached out to them to see if I could work for them due to the requests that were coming in almost every week. Sadly, that company totally ignored and snubbed me, so it didn’t work out with me working for them.

But, that must’ve inspired you in some way…

Because of that, Kalifornia Entertainment was born. I thought long and hard about it before I made the decision to start a mobile-event company.

I knew that I had two very specific skillsets. One was being able to read crowds and play a very unique way that wasn’t really seen in my market, and the other, my strongest and most powerful skillset, was marketing.

Describe that background.

After college, my education in the marketing field didn’t stop. I started working for a company as their Creative Director. The Chief Marketing Officer and the CEO both took me under their wings and took what I had learned in college and amplified by 100 times! The amount of knowledge they poured into me on marketing theory, PR, marketing communications, brand development, marketing execution, digital/guerilla/traditional marketing and marketing process was staggering.

How did that give you an advantage? (continued o npage 40)

MarketingMinded: Joshua Volpe aka DJ Kalifornia.

BUSINESS LINE SALES… MARKETING…SOLUTIONS…

TIKTOK TALK: KEEPING UP WITH THE KIDS

DJ TIMES

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

By Stu Kearns

32

We recently spoke to DJ Chris Bartosik from Raptor Productions in Baltimore. He’s been in the business for decades, but has a particular talent for remaining young. To that end, we asked him about how he uses TikTok (the mega-popular, youth-driven, video-sharing, social-networking service/mobile app), and inquired about other ways to appeal to a younger audience.

DJ Times: How are you using TikTok? Chris Bartosik: I actually use it a good bit, along with other tools when it comes to school dances. Like for this past Saturday, I mixed into Sales’ “Chinese New Year” – just the main TikTok part – from Metro Station’s “Shake It.” Then, I went into the psy-trance TikTok remix of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” What most DJs don’t get is that TikTok is only a minute-long video, so most of the time the entire song is way too much. Besides, it’s 2020 – controllers are cheap and everything is digital – why can’t you mix it live or even pre-record it? If you get out there and do the dance with them, it’s like gold. It’s no different than when I did clubs in the ’90s. I would use record pools, U.K. charts and more to find those songs before they were pop. Just today everyone has access to almost everything.

The “For You” page on TikTok is one great source of what’s hot – how else can you use TikTok to find material?

That really depends on your client base. It’s much different for younger kids than it is for adults and clients at weddings.

Can you break it down?

Kids like newer stuff and it may be short-lived; adults will like stuff that has more staying power. Example – “Old Town Road,” kids are done and over with it, but adults are going to ride that train thanks to the Doritos commercial. You can also search trending hashtags on TikTok and see if there is a common song, such as #coolranchdance featuring “Old Town Road.” I usually go through the Sounds section, Trending, New Releases, Featured and Greatest Hits. From there, I listen and see how many videos of each are made.

One of the challenges in selecting music for kids is picking the 15 or 20 seconds of the song that has gone viral.

Also, you have to check the real song and find out if it’s even a playable song, or a special TikTok edit, just like “She Wolf” going around now – it has a sample from the HBO show “Euphoria.” That’s pretty hot right now.

That can be a tough one, because it can fail miserably if the kids just aren’t into it. We do high-school events throughout the year and communication is key. We will never be able to make everyone 100-percent happy, but we find out what they liked and didn’t like the year before. We also inquire on their taste. Many do say that it’s TikTok songs. That doesn’t always mean it’s going to be the newest song. “Shake It” from Metro Station is still a great one because the chorus is the viral part. Another one I got from TikTok was “Payphone” because many videos had them lip syncing. A current one is “Woah” from Krypto9095, which is actually on the trending list. Songs like that we never play all the way through.

Ever play a TikTok song that’s trending and there are ton of videos for it, and it still fails?

Nothing is fail-proof. One can kill at one school and fail at another. No matter what one does, it won’t always hit 100-percent. I do try to test the waters with a more familiar viral song going back to the Vine days.

Spotify has many TikTok lists and I usually look for the ones that have the most subscribers. Then I check with my record pools to make sure they are available.

Is there crossover from old Vines to Tik Tok? Actually yes. Some of the dances are the same and some of the kids, now, actually had Vine and TikTok’s earlier version – Musical.ly. Many of the Vine posters are now on TikTok, too, so if you follow the ones from L.A. or New York you can usually get some music ideas from them. They have a reputation and following, so they don’t usually use junk songs. There will never be just one list to serve all; when it comes down to it, one must use all the tools available. Some of the hits I got from TikTok before they were hits include “Dance Monkey,” “The Box,” and “Ballin’.”

That was your DJ experience, knowing they’d work?

Yes, I look for something catchy, either a hook, beat or melody. The beginning of “The Box” is unique – it sounds like a squeak. That’s what got me hooked on that... same with “Dance Monkey.”

How about slow dance stuff?

For those, I need to keep up with the charts. Lately, we have been using Daniel Caesar from a year ago and some Dan + Shay. The charts will be better for those songs, as you’ll end up playing more of it. I’ve noticed that brand new songs, for them, isn’t always best. It needs to be familiar for a slow song, as you want the couple to enjoy it. The old rule of playing for the females still applies – guys will follow if you get the girls dancing. With all our high-school events, we still do plenty of the classic singalong songs, too, mixed with current rap, pop and TikTok songs.

Anything else?

Another great tool I have used are other DJs in my network. I have some that are really good friends. We are all working DJs and some of us DJ every week in various casinos, nightclubs and bars. A non-mobile gig is a great place to try something new – you don’t have a client to worry about and you can see how they react right then. It can be tougher to try new stuff at a school dance, wedding or other social event. Another great source is movies and TV – “Momma Mia,” Queen and Elton John movies helped to make them popular again.

“Glee” is great for bringing back old songs. In today’s world, there is no sure-fire way to find the next hot song.

In the end, it’s still a guessing game. You’ll have better odds by using these tools and DJ intuition.

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GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

Novation

PreSonus

DJ TIMES

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

JBL

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Electro-Voice

Black & White

ioStation Zebra

Launch Time

Evolver

Harman International 400 Atlantic Street Stamford, CT 06901 (203) 328-3500 www.harman.com

PreSonus Audio Electronics 18011 Grand Bay Court Baton Rouge, LA 70809 (225) 216-7887 www.presonus.com

American Music & Sound 925 Broadbeck Dr. #220 Newbury Park, CA 91320 (800) 431-2609 www.novationmusic.com

Electro-Voice 12000 Portland Ave Burnsville, MN 55337 (866) 782-8346 www.electrovoice.com

Novation, distributed Stateside

by American Music & Sound, has introduced the Launchpad Pro MK3, the latest upgrade to the popular Ableton Live grid controller. Combining deep Ableton Live integration with an intuitive built-in sequencer that can drive any MIDI instrument, the unit offers dedicated controls for clip and scene launching, transport, quantizing and duplicating. New features include larger pads, transport controls, tap tempo, Print To Clip and Capture MIDI for deeper integration with Ableton Live.

Electro-Voice has released the EVOLVE 30M compact column loudspeaker system. With an 8-channel digital mixer, DSP, studio-quality effects and Bluetooth app control of all audio, the active system has the most complete feature set in its class, according to the company. The 1,000-watt, full-range column array has six 2.8-inch neodymium drivers providing 120-degree coverage and a 10-inch subwoofer housed in a 15mm wood enclosure.

JBL expanded its 1 Series line to include the black 104-BT and the white 104-BTW compact reference monitors with Bluetooth. The models, which have been acoustically optimized for desktop placement, feature a coaxial 4.5-inch low-frequency driver with contoured woofer, an integrated .75inch soft-dome tweeter and a 60watt Class D amplifier with max SPLs as loud as 104dB. There are three sets of inputs for connecting professional equipment and consumer electronics, as well as a low-frequency port for deep bass extension down to 60Hz.

PreSonus has released the ioStation 24c, an audio interface and production controller designed for DJ/producers, podcasters and other content creators. Delivering the tools needed for both audio recording and DAW control, the unit has a compact, ergonomic desktop design and combines the recording capabilities of PreSonus’ Studio Series USB-C 24-bit, 192 kHz audio interfaces with the functionality of PreSonus’ FaderPort USB production controller.

AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

GEAR

Numark

AIAIAI

Chauvet DJ Image-Line Software

Chauvet DJ 5200 NW 108 Ave Sunrise, FL 33351 (954) 577-4455

Image-Line Software Franklin Rooseveltlaan 348 D B-9000 Gent Belgium +32 9 281 15 33 www.image-line.com

Chauvet DJ has released GigBAR Move, a five-in-one, packn-go lighting system with two 10-watt LED moving heads. The system includes a tripod and carry bag, as well as a wireless footswitch with a user-friendly LDC menu that makes programming a breeze. GigBAR Move features quad-colored RGB+UV LEDs, derbies, strobes and laser dynamics, making it a crowdpleaser for mobile DJs and a perfect companion piece to the GigBAR 2.

Image-Line Software has released FL Studio 20.6. The latest version features a new time-warping editor that offers audio quantization and groove shuffling, as well as an advanced fill tool for exploring Euclidean rhythms. It also comes with a Distructor feature that aggregates the most popular Distortion and Filter effects into a single multi-FX guitar-pedal inspired plugin. FL Studio 20.6 now comes with an internal MIDI capture feature, as well as an “upload to cloud” option that allows users to render songs to their SoundCloud account.

Wake Me Up Before You GO2

Show Me Your Colors

Numark 200 Scenic View Drive Cumberland, RI 02864 (401) 658-3131 www.numark.com

AIAIAI has collaborated with online music creation platform COLORSxSTUDIOS to design new special-edition headphones that are based on the company’s TMA-2 modular headphone system. The two brands worked together to configure a dedicated sound setting preset, allowing listeners to “experience their entire music library with smooth tone and audio balance,” according to the company. The headphones also offer Bluetooth functionality with 20 hours of playback time battery life.

DJ2GO2 Touch is a portable, 2-channel. pocket-sized DJ controller from Numark. The unit comes equipped with a built-in sound card with headphone cueing and touch-capacitive jog wheels for scratching and mixing. The DJ2GO2 fits perfectly on top of any laptop and gives the DJ the ability to perform hot cues, looping and sampler effects. It comes with Serato DJ Lite, which also allows for music streaming capabilities with TIDAL and SoundCloud. Additional features include ¼-inch headphone output, ¼-inch main output and controls for song navigation, channel and master gain.

AIAIAI www.aiaiai.audio

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

Walk the Image-Line

DJ TIMES

Move It!

35

GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

Aiwa

ADJ

Reloop

DJ TIMES

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

KRK

36

Exos & Ohs

Brush Up on the Classics

Call It a Wash

Going Into Battle

Aiwa Corporation 965 W. Chicago Ave. Chicago, IL 60642 312-489-8563 www.aiwa.com

KRK/Gibson Pro Audio 309 Plus Park Boulevard Nashville, TN 37217 (800) 444-2766 www.gibson.com

ADJ Products 6122 S. Eastern Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90040 (323) 582-2650 www.americandj.com

The Exos-X8 speaker from Aiwa features one 8-inch woofer, one three-inch tweeter and a bass reflex port delivering up to 106 dB sound with minimal distortion. The unit comes with four professional-grade wireless UHF microphones, as well as a 12-hour rechargeable battery, a 3.5 mm auxiliary port, an FM radio tuner and two 6.35 mm ports for wired microphones and a wireless mic adapter. The speaker also comes with two USB ports, one of which doubles as a 5V/1A charger for phones and other devices.

KRK Systems has introduced the CLASSIC 5 professional biamp studio monitors, which come with a variety of classic features, including an innovative bi-amped Class A/B amplifier with builtin automatic limiter and a lowresonance enclosure for minimized distortion and colorization.

The CLASSIC 5 monitor comes preinstalled with hi-density foam pads underneath to decouple the speaker enclosure from the surface. It features a five-inch lightweight, glass-Aramid composite woofer and a one-inch soft dome tweeter with optimized waveguide. Additional features include a front-slotted bass port and a selection of XLR, ¼-inch and RCA input connections.

A DJ’s V iz i Was h Z19 come s equipped with 19 20W Osram quad color 4-in-1 RGBW LEDs to create a wash effect in a variety of hues.

The LEDs are arranged in concentric circles and positioned behind a precision-engineered lens array that generates a uniform wash and removes color shadows, according to the company. The unit features a motorized zoom function that ranges between 10 and 60-degrees with 16-bit fine zoom control. Additional features include 16-bit fine dimming and 1 to 40Hz variable speed strobing.

American Music & Sound 925 Broadbeck Dr. #220 Newbury Park, CA 91320 (800) 431-2609 www.AmericanMusicAndSound.com Reloop’s Premium Battle Mixer Case comes with a fivepiece foam element that makes it compatible with a variety of devices, including the Reloop ELITE/RMX-60/90, Pioneer DJM-S9/900 NXS2/750/850, Rane Seventy- Two/Sixty-Two/ MP2014/MP2015, Allen & Heath Xone 96, and Denon DJ X1800 Prime. Available in black, the case sports a wood and aluminum construction with a protecting PVC surface. It features butterfly locks for theft protection, a carrying handle and shoulder strap.

AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

SoundCrush

GEAR

Steinberg

ASI Audio

Site Builder

LUNA Recording

23 & 3DME

Yamaha Corporation of America 6600 Orangethorpe Ave Buena Park, CA 90620 (714) 522-9011 www.yamahaproaudio. com

SoundCrush www.soundcrush.co

Universal Audio, Inc. 4585 Scotts Valley Drive Scotts Valley, CA 95066 (831) 440-1176 www.uaudio.com

ASI Audio 23307 Commerce Park Beachwood OH 44122 (833) 274-2244 www.asiaudio.com

Universal Audio has introduced LUNA Recording System, a fullfeatured music creation, recording and analog-style production system.

LUNA transforms UA’s Apollo interface into a fully integrated recording system. LUNA consists of a UA Thunderbolt-equipped audio interface, the LUNA Application, LUNA Extension and LUNA Instruments. LUNA will be available as a free download for Apollo and Arrow Thunderbolt audio interface owners (Mac only).

The 3DME in-ear monitoring system features universal-fit Active Ambient IEMs, which come with an embedded binaural microphone system that captures natural stage sound with accurate 3D directionality, allowing for distortion-free sound at up to 135 dB. The IEMs connect to the USB-rechargeable sub-compact bodypack mixer, which can also be used without a monitor mix, acting as customizable high fidelity hearing protection with level control.

The system is controlled by the ASI Audio smartphone app, which controls the limiter, as well as seven bands of EQ.

Steinberg has released Cubase 3, adding 75 new effect presets; updated audio, MIDI and automation editors; and a revamped mixer to its music production app. Among the new features is Group Tracks, which combines multiple tracks so that they can be processed and mixed as though they were a single track, according to the company. There are presets for user interface scalability that allows Cubase to fit perfectly on either an iPhone or iPad. Cubase 3 also offers eight rearrangeable insert and send effects, which can now be placed before or after the fader.

SoundCrush is a new “dragand-drop” website builder and eCommerce platform aimed specifically at DJs, producers and musicians. With custombuilt templates, skins and elements including media players, social-feed links and galleries, SoundCrush enables DJs to build websites in minutes with no coding skills required. DJ/ users can also set up a store to sell their music and merchandise with 0-percent commission, giving back power and directly supporting the artist.

DJ TIMES

Cubased

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

UniversalAudio

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TRACKS…MIXES…COMPILATIONS

Cazztek

Shapeshifters Dana Weaver

Mr. C

“OCEAN” u Henri (BR) u Enormous Chills Enormous Chills drops another wonderful, smooth-house groover, this time from the talented Brazilian producer. A gorgeous instrumental, it delivers a soothing piano-led melody on top of a subtle, bouncy bassline and some sweet chord overlays. Chilly, but groovy.

– Phil Turnipseed “LOOPS & TINGS 2020”

u Nicholson X Jens u Tidy Two For trance fans, this much-remixed ’90s classic needs no introduction. Genre guru Nicholson gets it going with a very “Who’s Afraid of 138”-esque, thumping, hard-trance intro and mashes it up with a soulful reggae vocal from Jimmy Riley’s “Woman Gotta Have Love.” While preserving the 1993 original’s overall intensity, this is a fresh update, bridging the generational genre gap. Long live trance anthems!

– Jennifer Harmon

DJ TIMES

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

“TO THE BEAT”

38

own “Nobody,” plus fine Penn remixes for Pete Heller’s “Big Love,” Candi Staton’s “Hallelujah Anyway,” Sandy Rivera’s “I Can’t Stop” and Jon Cutler feat. E-Man’s “It’s Yours.” Wonderful house music.

surely win some new fans. Make sure to check the chunky “BK298 Mix,” the uplifting “Rob Made Disco Mix” and the stomping “Block & Crown 2K20 Mix.”

– Tommy D Funk

– Tommy D Funk

“RADICAL INCLUSION” (REMIXES)

u Mr. C u Superfreq

Ominous and driving, Mr. C’s “Bass Remix” pushes forward with a percolating rhythm and peppy stabs – tough and tasty tech-house with an open-hearted message. Noël Jackson’s pulsing mix takes us back to the warped and wonderful acid-house days, while In.Phrequent’s bewildering effort careens and morphs from darkness to light. J.Gabriel and Chuffin Buffy’s mix rumbles with acid flourishes and otherworldly soundscapes. Solid remix package.

– Jim Tremayne “SECOND CHANCE”

u The Shapeshifters feat. Kimberly Davis u Glitterbox If you like your nu-disco, you’ll love this one from Simon Marlin. With all vintage elements – percolating bottom, dramatic strings, punchy horns, melodic keys and Davis’ soulful vocals – this one’s a winner.

– Tommy D Funk

u Cazztek u Future House Music Featuring the howling hook from Led Zep’s “Immigrant Song” – replicated by siren – this one’ll take your crowd to new heights. A steady kick and crazy percussion stabs help make “To the Beat” an absolute peak-hour banger.

– Phil Turnipseed DEFECTED PRESENTS HOUSE MASTERS: DAVID PENN

u David Penn u Defected

With a setlist of worthy productions and stout remixes, Penn’s mix comp is loaded with handsin-the-air goodies. Highlights include Penn’s

“DEEP VIOLIN” u Filtered Tools u Sirup From Lithuania’s Filtered Tools comes this sexy, deep-house gem that works an electro-violin hook, along with some seductive vocal work. The chilled, hypnotic rhythm pulls you in instantly and the hook doesn’t let go.

– Phil Turnipseed “BEAUTIFUL”

u Black/White & Kane Lane u Nurvous Records With its irresistible nu-disco beat, retro synths, claps and snaps, this one jumps right out. A soaring and vibrant R&B vocal sample ramps up the hands-in-the-air vibe. A new dancefloor slayer.

– Jennifer Harmon “EQUINOX”

u Austin Leeds & 2 Tall Keith u Sirup On this deep, prog-house winner, full-bodied bass and dramatic chords help deliver a rugged, dark groove. With its numerous drops and breakdowns, this one’s a late-night thriller.

– Phil Turnipseed

“DARLIN’”

u Arno Cost & Norman Doray u Positiva

“TOKYO” u Tony S u Crooks & Villains

A delicious vocal-house cut that offers an uplifting summertime vibe, this track’s guitar and vocal hooks are infectious and sexy. A bouncy, commercial tune that’s party-ready.

The London-based producer offers up an elegant two-tracker of quality deep house. The title track delivers a melodic, happy vibe with sweet vocal samples melding with piano stabs, riding over a rugged rhythm. The flip, “Things You Shouldn’t Do,” is pure late-night fare – deep and dark, but rumbling with righteous rhythms.

– Phil Turnipseed “BREAK 4 LOVE” (REMIXES)

u Raze u Champion

With four worthy remixes of the 1988 house classic, Champion brings us a package that’ll

– Tommy D Funk

Henri (BR)

Guest Reviewer: James Morgan

“SUNDAY KIND OF LOVE”

u Dana Weaver u POJI David Penn

“I CAN’T SLEEP”

u Robert Burian u Enormous Chills Another quality melodic house piece from the Slovakian producer, this dark vocal cut offers dramatic chord work, a sparse female vocal and some effective ambient breakdowns. The groove is smooth and silky, but has just enough kick to move your body.

– Phil Turnipseed

A wonderful deephouse vocal track from late 2019, this one’s still working my dancefloor. With a range of DJ Pope remixes, definitely check the “DJ Pope FunkHut Vocal” – it brings me back to those classic Tony Humphries Yellorange mixshow days when he’d heavily feature DJ Pope cuts. With Weaver’s beautiful, effortless vocals, this track takes me back to where I wanna be.

Filtered Tools

“SOLO” u Sulene Fleming u Future Spin After Lenny Fontana’s soaring mix from late 2019, “Solo” gets more remix treatment here.

Moodymanc and Dominic Dawson do their business with a pair of terrific efforts. Moodymanc’s “Better Together” delivers a proper house anthem, while Dawson’s “Hands on Dubz” takes a tribal route. Great mixes.

– Tommy D Funk

Mobile

(continued from page 30) menacing tracks,and the IWith tookhisalldark, of the education masked, all-analog DJ/producer has knowledge I had gained and put 13 it into found quite Entertainment. a niche in the increasingly Kalifornia I looked popular subgenre of up demographics of mid-tempo the area – bass. avercatching plenty attention ageAfter income, average age of that people with his stellar collabs with Rezz get married, average wedding size, –average 2017’slocations, “Drugs!” average and 2018’s “The wedding Crazy – 13 was plenty busy spends,Ones” competitive analysis, etc.

All in 2019.

His pair of me well-received of that is what helped put a propEPs – “Revelation” on Mau5trap and er marketing plan, vision statement, “Old World Order”value on Mad Decent mission statement, proposition –and setstrategy him up in to place. hit America’s club I then went and festival circuit hard.

So thisbuilt pasta out and bought sound, lighting, website, created a social-media presence, and I was off to the races.

How did you proceed?

My first couple of years were spent really understanding the wedding industry, the ins and outs, what people wanted, what people didn’t want. It was a growth period. I watched a lot of YouTube videos, tutorials, gig logs, etc. I talked to lots of people in the industry near and far to gain more advice. The marketing side of things and DJ side of things were nailed down flawlessly. But I didn’t want to just be another guy who showed up and did things like everyone else. I started to really think about how I did events and how everyone else did them. I wanted to stand out, be more unique, not do things so cookie-cutter. I took some risks while doing weddings and events and it paid off. By risks, I mean

Making Tracks

(continued from page 26) would make a great partner for a pair of Classic 5s.

Conclusions: All that being said, I still find that the KRK Classic 5 would make a nice choice, even if it’s solely for A/B mix comparison. I currently use an older Rokit 4-inch pair for that — a size KRK no longer offers — alongside my usual monitors. The Rokits are paired to the studio sub,

DJ TIMES

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

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40

(continued from page 10) the culmination of about eight years of songwriting. For Remedy, the new songs were specifically written for the album.

DJ Times: On this record, you worked with three singers, but mainly Sub Teal. What’s your process for working with a vocalist?

Gabriel: The process to record this album was that we made some basic instrumental tracks for Sub Teal to sing to and then recorded one song per day, so that we could get all the vocals we needed for a song and then give her a chance to rest and recuperate. It was a great workflow and we never felt stressed or running against the clock to finish.

DJ Times: What’s your main studio setup?

Gabriel: We used to work for

by playing music a certain way, almost November, caught as if we werewe back in the up clubwith and the not anonymous Canadian talent after hisI in some high-end wedding venue. high-octane at EDCupOrlando. also started set to come with unique DJ to Times: When were you introways MC and get the crowd really duced dance music? hyped to up electronic –things that I saw no one 13: I’ve inbeen around electronic else doing the local market.

Those music mythe entire life. I and realized was risks put company brandI into fascinated production/DJing overdrive with and the suddenly everyone side of things I was 10-years old wanted to hirewhen me for their events. onDescribe a trip visiting family in Croatia. themyRochester marMy neighbor there is a DJ/producer ket. andThe he market had the here wholeisset-up, baseprettya much mentany studio like otherwith area.vinyl You’llturntables. always haveI the companies who are at the upper tier of pricing, the guys who are low price and then the median guys who are in the middle – where I price myself. It’s good to have an abundance of different prices and types of DJs because it means there’s something for everyone. There is a lot of business here and there really isn’t any reason for any DJ to not be busy if they’re marketing and promoting themselves properly.

What’s in a typical mobile rig?

My standard equipment is two turntables, either Reloop RP-8000 or Technics SL-1210 MK5, with Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol Z2 or Reloop Elite mixers. The RP-8000/ Z2 combo is probably 90-percent of events with the Techs/Elite combo accounting for the other 10-percent.

Software is Serato DJ Pro, using a De-

non DS 1 soundcard box and custom mapping forbeen the Z2 must have themixer. most annoying Lighting and sound? kid.

I was always over there asking Sound always ART series of what this isand that RCF did, trying to learn active speakers, I’m lookinghow to add how to DJ andbut understand it BASSBOSS yearthat for point larger on, events. all worked.this From my Icuriosity use Shure Furmanmufor andwireless love formics, electronic power conditioners/outlet strips,until plus sic continued to grow. It wasn’t Mogami cablestofor everylater on and thatNLFX I decided dedicate thing. myselfLighting to it. is a combo of ADJ and Chauvet units. IWhy use ADJ’s mydmx Go, DJ Times: did you choose Chauvet DJ’s ShowXpressmusical or Daslight such a sinister-sounding path 4when for DMX control, depending on the it came to your productions? event rig.allI types use BenQ and 13: or I’velighting explored of genres Optoma projectors for static and motion monograms, as well as cake video projection mapping.

Where do you see the business in five years?

Weddings are constantly evolving and changing. You need to really stay up to date and on par with new traditions, new music, new ways of doing things so you can stay relevant.

I see more and more weddings getting away from the traditional things, like cake-cutting, garter-tosses, grand introductions and other formalities.

People just want a fun party and you’re seeing it more and more now where they are erasing the traditional things. As for my business, who knows how long I’ll want to keep doing events? I have formulated an exit plan for when the day comes. It would be easy to sell the business as a turnkey

to someone who wants to enter the industry and not work as hard to from drum-n-bass to trance to hip build the bottom. hop –something the music up I’mfrom currently releasI’ve just already receivedwith offers sell,realbut ing resonates me.toI’ve I want to the remain in Ithe industry for ized that more produce other years tothe come. been blessed genres, moreI’ve I let those genreswith inover 400 reviews in me total fluence my five-star sound, which allows to and have and beeneven placed on 53completely preferred develop create vendor lists inhave thealways amount of time new genres. I drawn a lotI have doing from events.

In the next of mybeen inspiration old-school/unfive years, I hip hopehop, to have derground bass,grown cinemathose and numbers to 1,000 five-star reviews, video games.

I wouldn’t necessarily 100 preferred vendor lists, athough. lot of classify my sound as “sinister,” and to the industry leader Ifawards you listen to be it, there’s melodic elein this market.

Any plans on turning into a multi-op service?

I’ve put thought into it, but I have such a strong quality policy and strict guidelines on how I do events, that it would be difficult to instill my reputation and those ethics and values into someone else. They would have to do things exactly how I do events and that can be pretty hard to do. So, I’m happy staying where I’m at, filling up my colleague’s calendars and having the business where it’s at.

Seems like it’s working out.

I also want to mention that, currently, I book two-plus years out due to being in such high demand. So even if I never received another inquiry, I would still remain very busy for the next 24-plus months with no worries.

while my usual 8-inch main monitors (without the sub) are the other choice in my A/B configuration. Both are calibrated using the aforementioned Sonarworks system and are thus corrected to theoretical flatness.

But as you might imagine, flat or not, they do sound different, and I find it very useful to compare them while working on mixing and mastering.

You can simply hear things through

“A” that you don’t in “B” — and viceversa.

Given that, and given the fact that the Rokit 4-inch is no longer available, and given the low street price ($150 each) of the KRK Classic 5, it seems like it’d be a great choice for a secondary monitoring option for an A/B set-up as I just described. I can also see the Classic 5 being a good choice for monitoring applications

where that low-end pump simply isn’t required, or isn’t mission-critical. At that price point, I’d honestly consider them for just general music-listening applications around the home; aesthetically, they’d look great just about anywhere — and sound great as well.

If you have any questions for Wesley Bryant-King or Making Tracks, please send them to djtimes@testa.com.

many years with Logic Pro – all of our early records were created in it.

About 10 years ago, we switched over to Ableton Live and have not looked back. We like it for its creative workflow and ability to keep the music going no matter what we are working on within the song. Since we do a lot of automation, having macros allows us to control many different automation parameters with one simple knob, which also helps us to be more creative.

Dresden: For the past two albums, we have profusely used the UAD2 Satellite and many of the plug-ins that go with it. Having the UAD has allowed us to have 50 years of recording technology right there at our fingertips. This unit has changed the way we make music because of not only the quality of the plug-ins, but

also all the extra computing power using it affords.

Gabriel: We also have gotten great use out of this standalone DAW called SunVox. It’s like “LEGO-for-sound.”

The blocks have different functions that are familiar like delay, reverb, flanger, etc. But the magic is that you can connect them any way you want with “wires” and create complex things that don’t exist. For example, while doing The Only Road, we had some live bells and SunVox was detecting the pitch via a microphone and making synth sounds that were specially created at whatever pitch the bells were hit. On Remedy, most of the synths from the song “Twelve” were made using this application.

DJ Times: Have you come across any studio-related gear lately that you’ve adopted?

Gabriel: Interestingly enough, we’ve always worked a lot with analog synthesizers and effects, but for this album, we got really deep into Serum and a great deal of the sounds on Remedy were created with this VST. We sort of shunned using Serum all these years because of its almost universal adaptation within the electronic music industry. But when we got deep into it, we found that we could make the sounds in our head with relative ease once we got the hang of how it works. The only song on Remedy that uses an analog synthesizer is the instrumental track “Luna,” which has both a Moog Voyager and an ARP Odyssey layered on top of each other.

DJ Times: Has anything changed when you two DJ together?

Dresden: For a good 14 years, we

Compiled As February 26, 2020

C LU B P L AY C H A R T

NATIONAL CROSSOVER POOL CHART 1 Dua Lipa Don’t Start Now 2 Tones And I Dance Monkey 3 Ed Sheeran F/ Cabello & Cardi B South Of The Border 4 Justin Bieber Yummy 5 Camelphat & Jem Cooke Rabbit Hole 6 Black Bear Hot Girl Bummer 7 Madonna I Don’t Search I Find 8 Jennifer Lopez Baila Conmigo 9 Post Malone Circles 10 Sam Smith I Feel Love 11 Lizzo Good As Hell 12 Halsey Graveyard 13 Billie Eilish Everything I Wanted 14 Diplo & SIDEPIECE On My Mind 15 Jonas Blue & Retrovision All Night Long 16 Kesha Raising Hell 17 Selena Gomez Lose You To Love Me 18 Maroon 5 Memories 19 The Weeknd Blinding Lights 20 Jonas Brothers What A Man Gotta Do 21 Brett Oosterhaus & Debby Holiday Living For The Music 22 Vintage Culture, Fancy Inc In The Dark 23 Dj Regard Ride It 24 Martin Garrix & Dean Lewis Used To Love 25 Elton John & Taron Egerton Love Me Again 26 CP-1 Love Regenerator 27 Knife And Party Feat. Harrison Death & Desire 28 Selena Gomez Rare 29 Yves V Feat. Afrojack & Icona Pop We Got That Cool 30 Sir Ivan Happy Together 31 Diana Ross Love Hangover 2020 32 Bimbo Jones & Thelma Houston Turn Your World Around 33 Zack Martino ft. Lenii Crave U 34 Debbie Gibson Girls Night Out 35 Madeon All My friends 36 The Black Eyed Peas & J Balvin RITMO 37 Tritonal Long Way Home 38 Landis & Breikthru F/ H. Cracknell Find Me 39 Arizona Zervas Roxanne 40 The Weeknd Heartless

Most Added Tracks 1 Bimbo Jones & Thelma Houston 2 Hilary Roberts 3 Jax Jones & Ella Herderson 4 Sir Ivan 5 Michelle Kash 6 Kygo With Avicii & Sandro 7 Debbie Gibson 8 Duke Dumont 9 Connor Bvrns, Bonn 10 Dua Lipa

Turn Your World Around Good Man This Is Real Happy Together Personal Jesus Forever Yours (Tribute) Girls Night Out Therapy Anthem Physical

REPORTING POOLS n n n n n n n n n n n n n

Gary Canavo Blake Eckelbarger The Dance Environment Manny Esparza Howard HK Kessler Brian Stephens Peter K. Productions Kidd Leow Sam Labelle Peter Gozzi DJ Ilan Fong Randy Schlager Alan Chasen

Masspool Dj Stickyboots Powered By Spectrio Nexus Radio In The Mix With HK Mixxmasters Peter K Vindictive Vendetta Soundworks Live Sounds Entertainment Kahoots Soundtrack Your Band OMAP

Warner Elektra Atlantic Def Jam Columbia Interscope Interscope Sony Latin Music Republic Capitol Atlantic Capitol Interscope Higher Ground Astralwerks/ Capitol RCA Interscope Interscope Republic Republic Swishcraft Spinnin’ Epic RCA Interscope Columbia Earstorm Interscope Spinnin’ Peaceman Motown/ Capitol Radikal Armada Stargirl / Dauman Columbia Epic Enhanced Hexagon Columbia Republic Radikal Dauman Interscope Peaceman Love Animal Island / Republic Stargirl / Dauman Capitol Capitol Warner Saugus,MA Syndicated Los Angeles, CA Chicago,IL Minneapolis,MN Lithonia,GA Syndicated Tampa, FL San Francisco, CA Glendale, NY Columbus, OH Seattle, WA Washingotn, DC

NATIONAL LATIN DANCE POOL CHART

1. Artie Oyola 2. Prince Royce 3. Alfonso Lugo 4. Kalimente y Fulanito 5. Evalina 6. Juan Luis Guerra 7. Jennifer Lopez 8. Yahaira Plasencia 9. Major Lazer ft J Balvin, El Alfa 10. Tito Rojas 11. Tony Succar feat Angel Lopez 12. Van Lester 13. Willie Gonzalez 14. Lusito Rosario 15. Ricky Martin 16. Charlie Cruz 17. Ángeles Azules & Belinda feat L. EBratt 18. Rigo V 19. Rauw Alejandro feat Wisin 20. Juan Jose Meza

El Quedao Morir Solo Loca Remix Sueltala (Remix) Cierra Los Ojos Lampara Pa Mis Pies Baila Conmigo Y Le Dije No Que Calor (Remix) Los Años No Pasan Mas De Mi Ya No Queda Nada No Te Olvido Belen Cantalo Pa Que Enamorarse Amor a Primera Vista Que Se Repita Una Noche Donde Estas

Artie Oyola Sony Pulp Music Sueños SGR Universal Sony Nuamerica Mad Decent TR Unity Ent. Cookita MZ Artists LR Sony Get Crazy Note, LLC Warner Rigo V/Crossover Sony Cafe

Most Added Tracks

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Thalia ft Mau Y Ricky Static & Ben El ft Pitbull Mambo King La Resistencia ft. Luisito C Pitbull feat Blake Shelton

Ya Tu Me Conoces Further Up Mambo 20 Naci Get Ready

Sony Saban Music Group LLC Mr. Street Prod.

Indi Mr. 305

REPORTING LATIN POOLS n n n n n n

Latinos Unidos Record Pool Salsamania Latin Record Pool Lobo/Bass Record Pool North East Record Pool Mixx Hitts Record Pool Ritmo Camacho Record Pool

n n n n n n

Ritmo Internacional Record pool DJ Latinos Record Pool MassPool Record Pool Latino Latin Beat Chicago Record Pool All In Music Pool

ATTENTION DJ TIMES READERS: DJ Times is currently looking for DJs that are interested in reporting to the DJ National Dance/Crossover chart and the DJ Times National Urban Dance chart. Reporterships are open to Record Pools and individual DJs. For more information contact: Dan Miller, dmiller@testa.com

were using the same basic setup when DJing – Ableton Live in Session View – where Josh would handle Ableton and send the track to the DJM and then we would be four hands on the mixer – faders, EQs, mixer effects – throughout the transition. But this past summer, we started experimenting with the Pioneer CDJs. Gabriel: Dave was one of the first DJs to ever exclusively use the Pioneer CDJ back when it came out. But as we have been using Ableton for live shows for so many years, he needed to take a crash course in how the CDJ has changed over those years, and he got the hang of everything. We were very impressed with how awesome the experience is. For the past four

months, we have been performing B2B-styled sets, using the CDJ and it has transformed our live shows.

DJ Times: You two have been through a lot as an artistic duo. How does your partnership sit now?

Gabriel: For many years, Gabriel & Dresden was a lot more like Gabriel vs. Dresden, and we had to argue and fight for what we wanted in a song. What has helped our most recent output come together is that we have recognized what each of us brings to the table, our strengths and weaknesses and how best to utilize them. We argue about things way less now and that helps us focus on making the best possible music together.

– Jim Tremayne

FriendShip 2020

(continued from page 22) docking debut at CocoCay. On the island, there were two stages, Beach Front and the Swim Up Bar. Attendees also had access to a complete waterpark.

As they soaked up the sun, partygoers were treated to a surprise B2B set from Wax Motif, Noizu, Nina Las Vegas, Solardo and Latnum, plus a Bob Moses DJ set.

Eventually, the island party came to a close with a wild “Destructo & Friends” B2B at Captain Jack’s before everyone headed back to the ship for a much-deserved disco nap.

Back on the boat, the evening’s theme was “Animal Spirit,” but due to wet weather, all parties were moved inside. No problem, because Bob Moses took those in the Theater on an ethereal journey through sound.

With their light-hearted productions, like the Grammy-winning “Tearing Me Up,” the Vancouver-based duo won over the crowd.

Next up, Destructo’s “The Sunrise Sermon,” and was it ever magical.

Featuring appearances from Danny Daze, Boys Noize, Bob Moses, and Wax Motif – plus GRiZ popping up with his sax! – this five-hour B2B set welcomed the last day of this epic voyage. Can’t get better than that.

Later Wednesday: The pool deck would remain closed for the voyage’s final day. But in the boat’s center, the Promenade brought the beats for those still able to get their groove on. Stepping up to the DJ booth for the finale, J.Phlip, Boys Noize, Jack Beats, Noizu, Mija, GRiZ and Nina Las Vegas delivered sweet closing sets for the week. And before you knew it, the electronic-music dance marathon was over.

So, for those DJs and fans looking to check off another bucket-list/ must-attend music event, your next chance at FriendShip is Jan. 11-15, n 2021. ShipFam or bust.

Gud Vibrations

(continued from page 16) fluid collaboration we have ever been a part of. The best way to describe it is we are like water. Everything flows naturally, organically, and with zero resistance.

DJ Times: How did you develop the Gud Vibrations event into a music label?

Land: Initially, Gud Vibrations came about because we needed to think of a theme for our first Miami Music Week showcase. At the time, we knew we wanted to do it in collaboration with NGHTMRE because he was our best friend and we thought we could throw a dope party together with a unique lineup.

On a ski trip over four years ago, we were all brainstorming and we simply asked Tyler what he thought the theme should be. The first two words that came out of his mouth were “Gud Vibrations” – the name of one of our previously released collabs.

DJ Times: Speaking of Gud Vibrations, you have a UMF Radio Stage takeover during this coming Ultra Fest…

Land: With all the international eyes on Ultra, it’s really an honor. We were really lucky to curate our own lineup for the stage this year, giving some of the smaller acts an opportunity to play and showcase their sounds to all those festival-goers.

DJ Times: Slander has one of the most loyal fan bases in the electronic music. How’d that happen?

Land: I think that in electronic music, you can only calculate so much, right? You can check off all the boxes: high-quality productions, releases on time, doing social media, and all that, but you can never really tell if something is going to catch or not. I think when it came to Derek and me, we

were very fortunate to come up in the era that we did, getting our start with our “hard trap” phase and the way our sound developed into more emotional bass.

DJ Times: Where did that come from?

Land: We were always inspired

by Above & Beyond, their music, and their fanbase. We always used them as a muse when it came to our fans. We always believed there’s just something about powerful lyrics and emotional production that seemed to get people more invested in a song or genre, and I think our fans are a reflection of that. Our fans are a mixture of a lot of hardcore dance music lovers that are basically a reflection of who Derek and I are. Back in our early rave days, we’d buy tickets to all these shows when it was all about, and trance was still mainstage music.

It’s a big part of us as producers and as people. We look to cultivate that and bring that to our fans.

DJ Times: Any advice for firsttimers to Ultra Fest and Miami Music Week?

Land: Well, first off, stay hydrated.

A lot has changed since we first went down in 2011, but I’d say get there a day or two early and check out a couple of the label showcases. This is an opportunity to get introduced to some new talent that may not be tour regularly yet. I really think that’s one of the best ways to find out about new acts. That’s a very unique thing about the Miami experience – a lot of up-and-coming acts invest a lot to make the trip, not just to connect with other producer/DJs, but showcase their talent live any chance they can. Miami Music Week is quite the marathon for both fans and DJs – n there’s nothing like it.

Let’s get this party started.

Festival Previews, Next Issue of DJ Times

AliveCoverage.com

42

And you know what that means, right?

Calder Wilson/Insomniac

Festival season is fast approaching.

Christopher Pearce/Insomniac

Festival Season: EDC, Movement & More

Work hard. Play hard.

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Premium Hi-Res Wireless Headphones EAH-F70N

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