DJ Times November 2017, Vol 30 No 11

PLUS: Roland SYSTEM-8 PLUG-OUT Numark NXT1000 Hercules & Love Affair Sophie Francis AMERICA’S FIRST MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs ESTABLISHED 1988 NOVEMBER 2017 $4.95 US $6.95 CANADA

Das Energi: EDM in Utah DJ Expo ’17: The Lessons, The Pictures 2017 WRAP-UP

paul van dyk The Triumphant Return

NOTABLES…MILESTONES NEWS

AMERICA’S BEST DJ: JAUZ VOTED 2017 CHAMP Los Angeles – The ballots are in and JAUZ has been voted America’s Best DJ 2017.

The top five finishers in DJ Times magazine’s annual fan poll of U.S.-based jocks were JAUZ, Seven Lions, Marshmello, Markus Schulz and Diplo.

After a season of online voting and balloting at events on America’s Best Summer Tour Presented by Weedmaps & DJ Times, the Los Angeles-based DJ/producer—aka Sam Vogel, 24—has become the youngest jock to take the title.

“I never thought I would even get to do this for a living, much less be nominated or win an award,” said Vogel after being notified of his win. “The fact that so many of you fans took time out of your day to vote for me means the world and is the reason that I do what I do.”

Another product of L.A.’s renowned Icon Collective music-production institute, Vogel began to gain traction with original productions like 2014’s “Feel the Volume” on Mad Decent. In addition to a series of collaborations with industry bigshots like Skrillex, Tiësto and Marshmello, JAUZ has dropped a flurry of quaking remixes for tracks by Porter Robinson, Duke Dumont. and The Chainsmokers. Since 2016, his DJ sets have rocked festivals across America and he’s already become a main-stage staple. (JAUZ was featured in a DJ Times cover story this past February.)

DJ Times Editor Jim Tremayne chimed in with praise: “JAUZ certainly has risen in the ranks quickly, but after seeing the fans’ enthusiasm for him, especially at the bigger festivals this summer, I wasn’t shocked to see such a level of support. In addition to his already prolific discography of productions and remixes, his live mix of bass, trap, EDM and classics never failed to connect with festival audiences. Again – congrats, Sam!” Indeed, the Weedmaps-sponsored tour hit major festivals like: Movement at Detroit’s Hart Plaza; Spring Awakening at Chicago’s Addams/Medill Park; Global Dance Fest at Denver’s Sports Authority Field at Mile High; and Moonrise fest at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course. Additionally, the ABDJ tour hit major American nightclubs like Philadelphia’s Coda and New York’s recently closed Webster Hall.

At all ABDJ-related events, DJ Times reps were there with an activation booth, handing out magazines and Weedmaps swag, and taking votes from fans supporting their favorite U.S.-based DJs. The America’s Best DJ promotion, annually sponsored and operated by DJ Times, has run since 2006. The magazine nominates 100 U.S.-based DJs each year and fans have the opportunity to vote for the ABDJ winner. (No DJ can win the title in consecutive years – the 2016 winner was Claude VonStroke, so he was ineligible for 2017.) Additionally, the promotion is supported by a slate of Summer events (in clubs and at festivals), which run from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. Stay tuned for information on the America’s Best DJ Closing Party/Award Ceremony.

JAUZ: Top ABDJ vote-getter.

Moonrise: Fans snag Weedmaps swag.

Denver Date: Global Dance Fest.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Jauz Seven Lions Marshmello Markus Schulz Diplo Kaskade Skrillex Porter Robinson Bassnectar A-Trak

DJ TIMES

Chapin Bouffard

2017 ABDJ Top 10

3

VOLUME 30 NUMBER 11

12 Playing With Pain Still Recovering after a Near-Fatal Stage Accident, Paul van Dyk Returns with a Personal Album, an Immersive Show & a New Lease on Life

BY BRUCE TANTUM

18 SLC Beats EDM in Utah? You Bet. DJ Times Dove Into Das Energi Festival & It All Looked Like This.

BY MIGUEL MENDOZA

DEPARTMENTS 7 Feedback As Always, the Answers to All Your DJ-Related Questions

26 Making Tracks Roland SYSTEM-8 PLUG-OUT

20 Lessons Learned DJ Expo Delivered Industry Wisdom to Upstart & Veteran Jocks Alike

BY JEFF STILES

28 Sounding Off Numark NTX1000 Turntable

30 Mobile Profile Syracuse Wedding Maven

32 Business Line More Money-Making Tips from DJ Expo

22 DJ Expo Highlights Expo ’17: Gear, Tips & Parties in Atlantic City

BY ARTCHICK & METROMIX MEDIA

34 Gear New Products from ADJ, Mackie & More

38 Grooves Phat Tracks from Jamie Jones, Honey Dijon & More

41 Club Play Chart

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

The Hottest Records, As Reported by Our Top U.S. Record Pools

4

SAMPLINGS 8 Sophie Francis Dutch Teen Sensation

10 In the Studio With…

Hercules & Love Affair

Congratulations

‘17 Winner

FROM THE EDITOR

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

Alive: Paul van Dyk’s Return

6

I tell the story all the time. I’m at an enormous rave in Munich, Germany, in early November, 1995.

Called Tribal Gathering and produced by a wild-and-woolly English crew from the Bath area, the event was held at a disused airport outside of town. Each terminal had its own stage repping a different genre (house, techno, drum-n-bass, trance, etc.) and there must’ve been 20,000 fans in there.

Up to that date, Tribal Gathering was the largest DJ-driven event I’d ever attended and the level of enthusiasm was a bit overwhelming. At one point, a particularly excitable group from Cologne physically dragged me out of the media area – hey, free beer, coffee and food! – to go see their man of the moment, Paul van Dyk. Now! You must come with us now! I didn’t want to violate some kind of German rave protocol, so away I went, laughing, my feet barely touching the ground.

Of course, the Berlin-based DJ/producer turned the room out with a set of huge melodies and whopping beats. Indeed, within a few years his popularity began to catch on in the States with a string of club hits like “We Are Alive,” “For an Angel” and “Time of Our Lives.” He eventually appeared on the cover of multiple issues of DJ Times, spoke at DJ Expo and became one of the globe’s most popular DJ/producers. So this past February, 2016, when he suffered a near-fatal fall through a festival stage in Holland, many of us were shocked at the news. He suffered several severe injuries, and his return to the music game was no sure thing.

But after much rehab, he did just that. Later that year, I caught his New York return at a Brooklyn warehouse and that show had something extra in the air. In fact, it was quite a moment when van Dyk took the stage and just stood behind his mixer – the crowd erupted and you could see that he was genuinely touched. His fans were still there for him. Now he’s touring again with an impressive stage show, which is supporting his new Vandit album, From Then On, his most personal full-length yet. Our Bruce Tantum caught up with van Dyk after his Manhattan date and he detailed his road to recovery and his new lease on life. Welcome back, Paul.

In our Samplings section, Long Island-based writer Michelle Fetky connects with Dutch teen DJ/ producer Sophie Francis, who expounds on her quick ascension. For our “In the Studio” Samplings entry, L.A.-based contributor John Ochoa gets some tech talk with Andy Butler of Hercules & Love Affair.

For our gear-review columns, Wesley Bryant-King takes on Numark’s NTX1000 turntable in Sounding Off – he found it to be a solid entry for playback and DVS control. In Making Tracks, Mike Gwertzman took Roland’s SYSTEM-8 PLUG-OUT synthesizer into his home studio—he, too, was impressed with its classic sounds and its ease of use.

In much of this issue, we take a good look back on DJ Expo. Presented by DJ Times and Testa Communications this past Aug. 14-17 in Atlantic City, N.J., the Expo again brought the industry together with its unique package of exhibits, seminars and sponsored events – targeting DJs of all stripes.

Our four-page spread with terrific photos from Kristine Di Grigoli (aka ArtChick) and John Hohman (aka MetroMix Media) detail some of the Expo’s more notable moments. In his monthly feature, our mobile scribe Jeff Stiles connects with some DJs who tell what they’ve learned at Expo and reveal why they keep returning to the show. In the Business Line column, annual Expo-goer Gregg Hollmann recounts some details from a pair of seminar sessions that offered vital tips for professional DJs. Also, in our monthly Mobile Profile entry, we visit with Ormond Entertainment of Syracuse, N.Y. Immediately after DJ Expo, our Brian Bonavoglia headed way out west for the Das Energi Festival, for which DJ Times served as media sponsor. Produced by Utah-based V2 Presents, the show rocked Salt Lake City’s Great Saltair venue this past Aug. 18-19 with some of the industry’s top acts, including four America’s Best DJ nominees and the 2016 ABDJ champ, Claude VonStroke.

Speaking of America’s Best DJ, we also take a look back on the 2017 version of the ABDJ promotion, its tour and the vote that saw L.A.-based JAUZ finish on top. The America’s Best DJ Summer Tour Presented by Weedmaps & DJ Times took us to a variety of major festivals and club venues. As always, we maintained a dedicated booth, where we took votes, distributed magazines and hooked up fans with Weedmaps swag. Again, congrats to JAUZ (aka Sam Vogel), stay tuned for details on our closing party and we look forward to the 2018 version.

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 Kat Bein Joe Bermudez Wesley Bryant-King Shawn Christopher Matt Clark Paul Dailey Reed Dailey Chris Davis Tony Fernandez Tommy D Funk Michelle Fetky Mike Gwertzman Jennifer Harmon Josh Harris Greg Hollmann Mike Klasco Michelle Loeb Lily Moayeri Phil Moffa John Ochoa Deanna Rilling Jeff Stiles Bruce Tantum 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 Matt Van Dyke mvandyke@testa.com

marketplace advertising sales manager Ricky Pimentel rpimentel@testa.com art/production assistant Ricky Pimentel rpimentel@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) (USPS 0004-153) is published monthly for $19.40 (US), $39.99 (Canada), and $59.99 (all other countries), by DJ Publishing, Inc., 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 110503779. 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 © 2017 by DJ Publishing, Inc., and must not be reproduced in any manner except by permission of the publisher. Websites: www.

November 2017

visit our website: www.djtimes.com

FEEDBACK

13 Chainsmokers 14 DJ Shadow 15 GRiZ 16 Lee Foss 17 Questlove 18 RL Grime 19 DJ Craze 20 Jazzy Jeff 21 Maceo Plex 22 DJ Mustard 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‑

America’s Best DJ ’17

The votes are in and JAUZ has been voted America’s Best DJ 2017 by the fans.

After counting all the ballots cast online and at events during America’s Best DJ Summer Tour Presented by Weedmaps & DJ Times, which hit major festivals and club venues from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the L.A. based JAUZ (aka Sam Vogel) landed on top. Stay tuned for details of the ABDJ closing party at Omnia San Diego. Congrats, Sam! Here’s how the voting for Ameri‑ ca’s Best DJ 2017 broke down— the Top 50.

1 Jauz 2 Seven Lions 3 Marshmello 4 Markus Schulz 5 Diplo 6 Kaskade 7 Skrillex 8 Porter Robinson 9 Bassnectar 10 A-Trak 11 Steve Aoki 12 Dillon Francis

23 Dubfire 24 Josh Wink 25 Danny Tena‑ glia 26 Soul Clap 27 NGHTMRE 28 Deorro 29 Justin Martin 30 Tritonal 31 Ghastly

32 Krewella 33 Morgan Page 34 J. Phlip 35 Audien 36 The Black Madonna 37 Grandmaster Flash 38 Green Velvet 39 Carl Craig 40 BT 41 Honey Dijon

42 Dennis Ferrer 43 Destructo 44 Cash Cash 45 Vice 46 Flosstradamus 47 Carnage 48 Kill the Noise 49 Skribble 50 MK

SAMPLINGS Sophie Francis only graduated high school this past summer. But not unlike fellow Dutch-teen phenom Martin Garrix, Francis—who turns 19 in December—seems to have a golden EDM future.

Indeed, it’s all happened so quickly.

After gaining notice with three banging 2016 releases, her free debut single – the festival-ready “Annihilate” – received over 2 million SoundCloud plays.

But it was the ubiquitous vocal track “Walls” that broke her big in late ’16, garnering her mainstage DJ opportunities and a contract with Spinnin’ Records. DJ Times recently connected with Sophie Francis to discuss her quick ascension.

DJ Times: Did you ever expect

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

SOPHIE FRANCIS: TEEN SENSATION

8

so many positive things to happen so quickly?

Francis: Not at all! I’ve been playing and learning to produce for a few years. Many people have told me that I have a special feeling for music, to build the right balance into my mixes and ideas. I’ve also been very lucky with people who decided to give me a chance. My manager was willing to go for me for the full 100-percent and invest her energy in me. To be honest, I never could have dreamed this.

DJ Times: For you, DJing started as a school project when you were asked to master a skill over a ninemonth period. Why did you choose DJing?

Francis: I always felt strongly attracted to music, so I wanted to do something with it – at that time, I was already playing the piano for several years. I started researching and I realized how DJs could connect and to transfer their emotions and energy to the people. I knew this is what I want to do.

DJ Times: Would you have pursued DJing even without this school project?

Francis: Of course! The excuse of the school project was perfect for letting me put many hours on it during my school time [laughs]. I would have done it anyway, but I think it would have taken a bit longer to get where I am now.

DJ Times: How does it feel to be a young female in a male-dominated

Breakout: Francis flexed in ’16 with “Walls.”

industry?

Francis: It’s kind of hard, but getting very used to it. This male-dominated scene is very sexist, for the simple reason of being a girl, a lot of people try to put me down – “girls can’t produce” or “girls can’t mix.”

Or I’ll hear worse, explicit sexist comments. For these reasons, I have to work harder and prove myself more than twice.

DJ Times: It can get tiresome, right?

Francis: Please… come beside me or play a back2back if you need to see if I am mixing [laughs]. Of course, I do! And I normally improvise a lot during my sets because I like to connect with the people and make them dance, so you need to adapt on the go.

DJ Times: Who inspires you, production-wise?

Francis: I really like Ummet Ozcan’s work. Also, Martin Garrix, Yellow Claw, Crossnaders, Showtek, KSHMR, Olly James, Nicky Romero, TV Noise… all those are great.

DJ Times: And DJs? Francis: As a great entertainer, Steve Aoki. He definitely knows how to put a show – Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, too. And I really love the sets from Afrojack.

DJ Times: What’s your production process?

Francis: My studio isn’t fancy – I’m still a bedroom producer [laughs]. (continued on page 42)

DJ TIMES 10

Since debuting with its 2008 self-titled album, Hercules & Love Affair has crafted a trademark sound injected with classic dancefloor aesthetics, filtered through a disco funhouse. As the brains and heart behind the entire H&LA operation, producer/ DJ Andy Butler now broadens his sound and scope on Omnion (Atlantic), the group’s newly released fulllength album.

For the project, Butler once again enlists his rotating cast of colorful vocalists and collaborators, including recurring singers Rouge Mary and Gustaph, as well as new voices like The Horrors’ Faris Badwan, Lebanese rockers Mashrou’ Leila, singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten and Icelandic sister act Sísý Ey. The new album continues Butler’s artistic arch last heard on The Feast of the Broken Heart (2014), which explored issues like feminism and sexuality. Now, Butler ups the ante with Omnion, on which he bridges the dancefloor with global affairs and social issues like faith and religion (“Omnion”), the international refugee crisis (“Running”) and his own battle with addiction (“Fools Wear Crowns”). Still, the album is not all gloom and doom, as heard on standout track “Rejoice,” an upbeat celebration of life.

With Omnion, Butler fully flexes his skills behind the boards via complex, layered productions and sounds not commonly explored in electronic music, from horns and brass (“Omnion,” “Rejoice”) and orchestral strings

HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR: FAMILY REUNION

NOVEMBER 2017

IN THE STUDIO (“Lies”). He even recruits an eight-piece girls’ choir on album closer “Epilogue.”

Here, Butler dives deep into the ambitious creative process and robust sound behind Omnion.

DJ Times: How much freedom do you give your vocalists on the songs?

Butler: It depends on the collaboration. I invite people in with no lyrical content beforehand, especially people who I know to be excellent lyricists. In the spirit of collaboration, get the most out of the person you’re working with.

If you know someone is a great poet or someone’s great with words, you want to engage that talent that they have.

I always come with the track; I’ve already started the writing process, [and] the structure of the

song [is] generally already there when a vocalist enters into the picture. In terms of words being put to paper and words being sung and recorded, that process varies.

DJ Times: What’s your production setup?

Butler: I’ve maintained the kind of office that I had

from Day 1 with the first album. I run Logic Pro; that’s my main sequencer, editor and platform I’m using. I have a healthy sample library. I have a couple of synths that I’m in love with that I use to shape things up a bit. I used

some more involved chains and processes on this record than I had previously. But it tends to be just a couple of analog drum machines, or a couple of small drum machines and a couple of synths that I initially sketch things on and use Logic Pro as the editor.

DJ Times: Do you have help?

Butler: I always record elsewhere because I don’t have a bunch of mics and I didn’t study micing instruments, so I tend to go to a more versed hand when it comes to that. I usually hire an engineer who has a bit of a space that can offer different ambiances.

And depending on the vocalist, I find a

Andy Butler: H&LA’s producer/DJ/leader.

suitable mic. Mixing I also source. I don’t tend to trust my ears when I’ve been involved from the very beginning on a project or on a track.

I overemphasize things that I think are important from a musician standpoint. It’s really useful for me when I have someone with fresh ears who’s just approaching the music and hearing it for the whole thing.

DJ Times: Omnion features trademark sounds like horns, brass and orchestral strings. The closing track, “Epilogue,” also features a girls’ choir.

What was your approach here?

Butler: In terms of live recording, the only courses [I really studied] in school were electronic music courses. But I did study classical composition and classical music, so I enjoy arranging things and I enjoy the sound of acoustic and orchestral instruments. That fusion is something I have explored with every record. But I think my drive or desire to do it probably comes from listening to great New Wave and ’80s bands that were able to do that, too, or were able to have a foot in both worlds—in electronic music, but also in live and orchestral melodic music.

– John Ochoa

12

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

Paul van Dyk Returns with a Personal Album, an Immersive Show & a New Lease on Life

PLAYING WITH PAIN

By Bruce Tantum New York City – “He was a little bit nervous the other night,” Paul van Dyk’s publicist confides as she leads the way to a Times Square hotel suite, where DJ Times is set to interview the longtime trance luminary.

Though he’s one of the genres biggest names, he could be forgiven a slight case of the jitters—just two nights earlier, he debuted his new AEON live set at Times Square’s PlayStation Theater, a show which also served as a coming-out party for his latest LP, From Then On [Vandit].

But if van Dyk (born Matthias Paul) was apprehensive, he certainly didn’t show it. Standing in the middle of the futuristic set—behind a transparent controller and flanked by two black-clad musicians, with all the video and lighting bells and whistles you’d expect from a superstar production—he was in full control, furiously working his arsenal of gadgetry whenever he wasn’t busy jumping up and down, clapping his hands and generally working the crowd.

Not that his fans needed any encouragement: A mix of ravers, collegiate kids and older folks who had probably been following van Dyk since his early ’90s beginnings, they were jacked up and ready to go from the start, reacting on cue with wide-eyed rapture at every breakdown, build-up and key change.

What made the scene even more remarkable was that less than two years ago, van Dyk didn’t even know if he was going to be walking again, let alone be commanding a stage in front of thousands of acolytes. In February of 2016, the Berlin native suffered a near-fatal accident, falling off his stage set-up at the State of Trance festival in Utrecht, Netherlands. He broke his spine; there were internal injuries; he had an open wound in the back of his skull; he suffered significant brain trauma. In an interview with Billboard just a few months after the accident, he confided that the doctors told his family that “most likely I won’t know who I am, or what my surrounding is.”

But van Dyk, 45, persevered. He’s relearned how to speak, and finally to make music again – and now comes From Then On, his first full-length album since the fall. It’s the Paul van Dyk his fans all know and

NOVEMBER 2017

a Near-Fatal Stage Accident,

DJ TIMES

Still Recovering after

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NOVEMBER ER 2017

DJ TIMES 14

love—rhythms and throbbing bass laying down the bedrock, while swirling synths, soaring melodies and heartfelt vocals provide the uplift. As usual with van Dyk, it’s a sound that manages to convey spaciousness while still feeling intensely personal – but it’s perhaps the purest distillation of that sound yet.

When we sat down to speak with van Dyk, he was in upbeat spirits but in serious need of caffeine – not surprising, since the interview was taking place at 10 a.m., an ungodly hour for an electronic-music maven.

But a few sips of coffee later, he was ready to chat, reflecting on his early days, the accident, the album, and his new outlook on music and life.

DJ Times: We’re sitting in the middle of New York City. You have a long history with this town, don’t you?

PvD: I do. My first U.S. gig was at here Limelight [infamous early ’90s club-kid night] at Disco 2000. I was one of the residents there. You have to remember, I was this little kid—no drugs, hardly any alcohol—and there were these club kids doing all these crazy things! I didn’t know, I just thought they were really nice and friendly. Then the whole Michael Alig disaster happened. I know it’s really wrong to say about a murderer, but he seemed like a very friendly and clever person. The drugs made him do the bad things.

DJ Times: When you were an even younger kid in East Berlin and were first finding out about electronic music, did you have any idea that you would make a career out of it?

PvD: When I first discovered the music, I knew that, OK, this is going to be something that would be forever. It was going to be something I’d be listening to and enjoying for my whole life. But it wasn’t until a few years later that I even thought about making this music. And it’s amazing that I’m still doing it, traveling around and finding audiences everywhere.

DJ Times: You still live in Berlin. Did you ever live anywhere else?

PvD: In ’89, we moved to Hamburg, then I moved by myself back to Berlin in 1990.

My mom is still in Hamburg.

DJ Times: The Berlin Wall had just come down when you moved back. That must have been a wild time to be living there.

PvD: It was crazy. When I was growing up in East Berlin, I wasn’t the only one there illegally listening to West Berlin radio stations, finding out about electronic music.

There was a substantial amount of us. We all developed an excitement about the music, but we could never go to any of the clubs.

When the wall came down, and we were finally able to go to these clubs, there was an acute influx of energy and of momentum, right into this scene that had already been established in West Berlin.

DJ Times: What was that like?

PvD: At the same time, there were all these factories and warehouses in East Berlin that had gone out of business because of reunification, so there were a lot of spaces

to do things. Also, the administrative side of things wasn’t really installed yet. Nobody knew who was in charge of anything! So people would just bring some turntables and a PA into these spaces, and make these illegal parties everywhere they could. And that created the groundwork for the dance-music revolution, that then sparked a global phenomenon.

DJ Times: Were you taking part in that revolution as soon as you moved back to Berlin?

PvD: I was getting into it right away, going to the clubs and everything, From the start, I always had a very clear idea about what part of electronic music would be mine. I knew what kind of records really reached me, so I started buying as many as I could, started making tapes and all that—the old-school way. And then I started playing about a year after I got there.

DJ Times: It was just a few years later, in ’93, that you were DJing in New York at Disco 2000.

PvD: I was really lucky. That’s when the [long-defunct conference] New Music Seminar was going on in New York, and they had what was billed as a German night. They were bringing all these famous German DJs over, but one of them couldn’t do it—and I was the substitute. I made the best of my chance, and I really connected with the audience that night.

Howard Schaffer, who used to run the Happy Colors DJ agency—which I think was the first DJ agency in the world—saw me, and said, “I think you are really talented. We should do something together. Come by the office on Monday.” And after that I was playing in Lime-

“There has been a lot of very, very positive energy sent my way to give me the strength to pull through.”

light every month, and then started doing tours.

DJ Times: It sounds like a combination of luck and skill that had set you on your path.

PvD: It’s like with anything. You can be the most talented, most creative person in the world—but if that element of chance isn’t there, if you are not in the right place at the right moment, it’s difficult. I’m a very lucky guy.

DJ Times: You seem remarkably upbeat for a man who recently sustained a life-threatening injury, one that nearly ended your career. How is the recovery proceeding?

PvD: Well, I broke my spine in two places… and that was the easy shit.

There are still a lot of things going on, like I don’t really have proper feeling in my legs. And this [points to his arm] is all numb. But giving up is not an option, and I try not to let that stuff hold me back. The doctor says it will be at least three to five years, but that’s not for everything to go away—that’s how long it will take me to get used to not feeling anything. I also have other challenges, like word mix-ups. I had some really serious injuries to the speaking area of the brain, and it’s taking a lot of focus and training and extra energy, just to appear to be good again.

DJ Times: You’ve certainly had a lot of fans rooting for you.

PvD: There has been a lot of very, very positive energy sent my way to give me the strength to pull through.

DJ Times: Has it affected the way in which you perform, or even in how you approach music in general?

PvD: Well, there’s multiple things. I can’t perform the same. I can’t be as agile as I was, simply because I’m in constant pain.

DJ Times: You seemed to be pretty active, even leaping around, at your PlayStation Theater show.

PvD: I love the music, so I can’t help it. But every single time I land, it’s like [makes electric-shock sound]. It’s like sticking your fingers into a power plug. So I still interact with the crowd, but I’m definitely a lot calmer when it comes to jumping and things like that. In terms of my approach to music in general, I’ve realized how much my music gives me, and I think I am working without compromises anymore. Sometimes in the past, there might be an A&R person or someone from a record company saying, “Why don’t you do this? Why don’t you do that?” And I would never really follow that advice,

NOVEMBER 2017

DJ TIMES 16

but it would always be in the back of my head.

Perhaps I would do something that I wouldn’t ordinarily do.

DJ Times: But that’s changed?

PvD: The music I’m making now is music that means something to me, 100-percent. I think that this new record is the most personally relevant record that I’ve ever made. There is not a single, tiny little thing on there that wasn’t influenced by me wanting to do it exactly that way. That’s what’s changed. There is now no compromise. It’s like, this is my album—if you don’t like it, fair enough.

DJ Times: It sounds like a whole new outlook on life in general.

PvD: When I had the accident, I was like, why did this happen to me? What did I do? There’s an element of anger. I spoke a lot to my wife, and she said, “You have to look at it in a different way.”

We know what happened, and that’s obviously a disaster. I was more dead than alive. But she told me that I should look at all these other things, good things, that happened that just can’t be an accident.

DJ Times: What other things were those?

PvD: Like the fact that the accident happened in Utrecht, only 10 minutes from the best neurological center of the Netherlands. If it had happened in Amsterdam, I wouldn’t be here, because time was so vital for the doctors to do the right thing. And then just being there, with this phenomenal medical team. And it was the same when I was transferred to the rehab facility in Germany.

I was told that it was like a miracle—they had never seen anyone coming back from multiple injuries like I had, as fast as it has been. It’s been just a lot of things coming together: the doctors, the positive energy, the love that was sent my way… the love was the most essential part. I had a reason to stay alive.

DJ Times: Has music played a big role in your recovery?

PvD: Definitely. The first few times that my wife was playing me music after the accident, I was crying like a baby. It was like drilling to the core of my soul.

DJ Times: Did you want to get back to producing music as quickly as you could?

PvD: Oh, no—that was really scary. I put that off ’til the last minute. The creative area of the brain is where the speaking center is, and I had severe damage there—so I wasn’t sure if I could do it. I was afraid that I wouldn’t know how to make the programs work, or even if I would feel anything about my music. Can you imagine that? It would have been really bad.

DJ Times: But that obviously wasn’t the case.

PvD: Yeah, it felt good right away. And the first track I made, which is actually on the album, is called “I’m Alive.” That’s how I felt—I can do it!

DJ Times: Were all of the songs on the album produced after the accident?

PvD: They were pretty much all made after. But it’s not like a therapeutic piece of music; it’s not something I made to get rid of my anxieties or anything. I made the album for the same reason I always make music.

DJ Times: What specifically is that reason?

PvD: It’s that I’m inspired by life. It’s everything I see and everything I experience. That can range from a beautiful movie to a sunset in Central Park, or really anything. What has changed is that… like, I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to (continued on page 40)

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Way Out West: Fans arrive at Great Saltair.

Chatterz Photo

Checkmate: Getter goes in.

Purple Haze: Mija in the mix.

Relax: Rezz gets goggle-eyed.

Rott N’ Roll: Zomboy drops bombs.

Vibrations: Ephwurd’s Bais Haus & Datsik.

Salt Lake City – While there are plenty of U.S.-based EDM festivals throughout the summer, one relatively new one is quickly earning its stripes way out west.

The Das Energi Festival, produced Aug. 18-19 by Utah-based V2 Presents, drew over 15,000 fans to SLC’s Great Saltair venue with a lineup featuring some of the biggest DJs in electronic dance music.

At Das Energi, international acts like Zedd, Knife Party and Adventure Club dropped big beats. Additionally, four America’s Best DJ nominees (Dieselboy, Diplo, Herobust and Mija) rocked the crowd and the 2016 ABDJ champ (Claude VonStroke) closed the weekendlong fest.

DJ Times served as a media sponsor for the event and was on the premises to take in all the action. It looked like this:

EDM in Utah? You Bet. DJ Times Dove into Das Energi Festival & It All Looked Like This.

Photos by Miguel Mendoza (MigPXL.com)

Beats The Big Stage: Das Energi gets going.

Bass Face: Herobust on the salt flats.

Say Cheese: Zedd poses onstage.

Synergy Station: Claude VonStroke closes it out.

Galactic Flats: Dubloadz brings the heat.

As Usual, DJ Expo Delivered Industry Wisdom to Upstart & Veteran Jocks Alike

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

“I can get gold nuggets out of any seminar and love the fun in the summer with friends.”

— Mark M. Brenneisen of Adirondack Weddings & Events

20

PHOTOS BY ARTCHICK

Atlantic City, N.J. – Even a month after the event, Jerry Bazata still can’t say enough about DJ Expo 2017.

“As was heard throughout the Expo,” he recalls, “the annual exhibit floor was like a gigantic Toys-R-Us for the DJ kid inside all of us.”

Keeping that enthusiasm in mind, we asked mobiles who attended this year’s convention about what they learned. (Held this past Aug. 14-17 in the Atlantic City Convention Center, DJ Expo has been presented annually since 1990 by DJ Times and its publisher Testa Communications.)

Which seminar speakers did they enjoy the most? Which new pieces of equipment did they discover? Did they learn any new dances or interactions they plan to incorporate into future shows?

lessons learned

BY JEFF STILES

Over in Reading, Pa., Denny McConnell of Music to You Entertainment says the annual DJ Expo has actually changed his life, and this year was no different.

“I attended the very first Expo back in 1990, and had a ton of fun meeting DJs from all over the world and being able to pick their brains as to how they ran their businesses,” says McConnell. “Up until then, I’d been a single operator, so the Expo got me to see the bigger picture and how to run my business more efficiently.”

After becoming a multi-op, McConnell has been to every single Expo since, though even after a quarter-century he’s still meeting great new friends and learning something new every year. In fact, he recalls how he further bolstered his business with the addition of karaoke.

“I’m always asking myself how something is going to make me money,” he says . “I couldn’t see my audience liking the wiki-wiki-wiki of the scratching on the 1000s, so it was karaoke and I figured it would be good for maybe three years—long enough to get my money back [on the initial gear investment].

“Well, believe it or not I’m still doing karaoke in 2017, and I’m still going to the Expo every year to steal tidbits from other DJs and meet new friends each year.”

At the end of the week, McConnell went home with a new loudspeaker along with a new mixer—both for providing sound at wedding ceremonies.

Over in the Midwest, KC Kokoruz of The Keith Christopher Entertainment Group in Chicago, praises those leading Expo seminars and events.

“Brian Buonassissi is a rock star and will be the new guy speaking at conferences all over the country,” he says. “His seminar, ‘Do It Like Disney,’ was a great look at the customer experience. (continued on page 42)

NOVEMBER 2017

Up in Queensbury, N.Y., Mark M. Brenneisen of Adirondack Weddings & Events, says this year’s Expo was even better than the 2016 version at the Trump Taj Mahal, despite the fact that this year’s Expo events were split between the Convention Center (exhibits and seminars) and The Tropicana (sponsored evening parties).

“It was honestly good stuff all the way around,” says Brenneisen. “Most people I spoke to about the two separate venues [hotel and convention center] said the transitions and transportation was easy, and I thought

so, too.

“Of course, it’s always better to have the event in one spot, but DJ Times did a great job this year considering all we had to deal with.” (Editor’s Note: The Trump Taj Mahal closed after the 2016 show.)

Brenneisen says that he’ll return for the 2018 DJ Expo. “I can get gold nuggets out of any seminar and love the fun in the summer with friends,” he says. “As an American DJ Association chapter president, we continually bring in new content to our meetings each month, along with outside-theindustry speakers.”

DJ TIMES

Bazata says that first and foremost were the seminars presented during the first three days of the Expo—a symposium that encompassed every topic related to performance and building a person’s brand in the competitive market.

“As a presenter each year—this being my 16th anniversary of speaking at the annual DJ Expo—what touches my heart was hearing from those who’ve attended my seminars in the past and were able to implement one or two ideas that helped them become successful business owners,” he says.

“Therefore the most rewarding and memorable experience from the DJ Expo is the ability to network and learn from others, while building long-term relationships and friendships.”

Bazata says that for him the most outstanding seminar during the week was a Q&A with Laidback Luke, the Dutch superstar DJ/producer/ entrepreneur.

“Luke offered a straight-forward non-nonsense advice that was down to earth and to the point,” says Bazata. “His message of ‘You’ve Got to Earn Your Place’ in our industry—the fact you’ll not become a success overnight or because you produced your first song—resonated with every member of the audience. He focused his message on working hard, never giving up and being prepared to fail – because it’ll make you a better person in the end.

“Luke’s strategy of being prepared for an event by taking a short 30-minute nap made us all laugh, but in turn caused us to realize the importance of being prepared and keeping our head in the game.”

Bazata says his own seminar on the five keys to business success engaged a very interactive and focused group of attendees.

“The audience participation was one of the best,” he recalls, “and I thank all those who came with some new ideas on how to manage their financial business better.”

On the show floor, Bazata opines that retailers and manufacturers did a great job helping attendees to understand and learn about all the new products on the market.

“Namba Gear Bags—for the traveling DJ—was again a favorite and a featured purchase for me,” he says, rattling off some products that caught his attention. “Scrim King came out with a new tabletop to help hide DJ gear and was on my purchase list. And finally, the ADJ Pinspot batteryoperated gobo projector is a must-have for those smaller venues with tight spots where a DJ nonetheless wants to project.

“I actually noticed the projector at a booth selling gobos, which led me to wander over to the ADJ booth and check it out. This was a great example of vendor networking, as both ADJ and Pro-Gobos made a sale of me.”

21

expo ’17: Gear, Tips & Parties in Atlantic City

Photos by ArtChick & MetroMix Media Atlantic City, N.J. – This past Aug. 14-17, DJ Times and Testa Communications presented DJ Expo. With exhibits and seminars held at the Atlantic City Convention Center and evening events at Tropicana venues (Kiss Kiss and Boogie Nights), DJ Expo brought four days and three nights of new gear, educational sessions and sponsored parties. It all looked like this: Roland Party: Biz Markie at Kiss Kiss.

ArtChick

highlights

PE + DMP: Keith Shocklee & Digital Music Pool gals.

ArtChick

22

High-Stepping: The Kiss Kiss dancefloor.

ArtChick

Reloop Booth: DJ Casper in the mix.

ArtChick

ProX Booth: DJ Drew gets busy.

ArtChick

Prime Time: Melissa Nikita at Denon booth.

ArtChick

Skribble & Lodato: Afterparty at Kiss Kiss.

MetroMix Media

Keynoter: DJ Enferno in session.

MetroMix Media

Mixware Booth: DJ Precisa cuts it up.

ArtChick

Black Star: Talib Kweli at Mackie seminar.

MetroMix Media

LED Tunnel: Entryway at Kiss Kiss.

ArtChick

23

Trippy: DJ at Electro-Voice booth.

ArtChick

Mixware DJ: Eliza May on showfloor.

ArtChick

Bose Booth: Mike Dez bangs a beat.

ArtChick

Wellness Hosts: Claudia Godi & Lola Faturoti.

DJ Times

Mobile Mania: Big Daddy at Boogie Nights.

MetroMix Media

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

Erik Amerine: Ultimate DJ Giveaway winner.

MetroMix Media

24

All Lit Up: ADJ’s Expo booth.

ArtChick

Pioneer Booth: Attendee gets a tour.

MetroMix Media

Host Jake Jacobsen & EOTY Ricardo Medrano.

MetroMix Media

Animated: Chauvet’s booth in action.

ArtChick

DJ TIMES

Kickin’ at Kiss Kiss: Recloose at Roland party.

ArtChick

NOVEMBER 2017

D.A.S. Booth: DJ Serafin rocks the room.

ArtChick

25

MAKING TRACKS STUDIO…HARDWARE…SOFTWARE…

Roland’s Jupiter-8 and Juno-106 are easily two of electronic music’s most enduring and iconic analog synthesizers, workhorses whose distinctive sounds and features have cemented their place in the synth hall of fame.

The idea of having one modern, 8-voice polyphonic, USB-enabled synth that combines both of these classics into a single machine is an attractive concept. And that is really what lies at the heart of Roland’s stellar SYSTEM-8 PLUG-OUT Synthesizer, the most robust offering yet in the company’s celebrated AIRA product line. This is a 49-key synth, replete with an array of knobs and faders, using technology that allows you to swap in different synthesizer modules (and comes pre-loaded with both the Jupiter-8 and Juno-106), a smart fusion of analog functionality with digital flexibility.

Roland PLUG-OUT synths are essentially digital platforms – along with the Jupiter and Juno modules, you can purchase and download SH-2, SH-101, System-100 and PROMARS plug-outs. The SYSTEM-8 has three plug-out banks, and along with its SYSTEM-8 factory bank, you potentially have the ability to access four different banks of synth presets.

The SYSTEM-8 fits nicely with the AIRA design sensibility – soft black aluminum and plastic casing, with backlit neon green buttons, knobs, and fader banks surrounding the keyboard. The LED brightness on the green knobs can be adjusted, or even turned off. And for those who’d like to customize the look of their SYSTEM-8, Roland sells wood and brushed aluminum side panels.

Powering the sounds on the SYSTEM-8 is Roland’s Analog Circuit

the quality of the presets and patches on the SYSTEM-8. After installing and setting it up, I found a nice selection of interesting new sounds that were balanced nicely by the throwback styles on the Jupiter and Juno banks.

Lots of warmth, depth and character here – Roland’s ACB engine is topnotch, and you can really hear its range and power in full display with the SYSTEM-8.

The SYSTEM-8 gives you multiple options for sound design and shaping, as well as performance. Above the keyboard, on the left-hand side, are the LFO, two oscillators, and a third sub oscillator. The oscillators feature sawtooth, pulse and triangle waves, in both basic and “super” varieties. You can turn the color knob to beef up the sound, and there are also fineand coarse-tuning options.

One of the best features of the

sounds. The filter has three variations: a low-pass/high-pass (variation 1), a side-band filter (variation 2), and a low-pass filter based on Roland’s System-1 synth. You have four knobs to twist here (cutoff, resonance, envelope, and key) as well as a full fourband ADSR fader section.

The effects section offers up another wide ranging palette for audio manipulation. Here, you’ve got a distortion, delay/chorus and reverb to work with, and all three can be used at once. The delay/chorus is particularly useful, with time and level knobs to widen the sounds.

The SYSTEM-8 is particularly appealing to live performers, with two noteworthy features here. I really was impressed by the “performance” mode, which lets you play with two “panels” of sounds. That means your left hand (or the left hand of the

SYSTEM-8: ROLAND’S PLUG-OUT EVOLUTION

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

The SYSTEM-8 continues with Roland’s recent practice of utilizing its rich legacy of classic synths to appeal to new and contemporary customers. This includes its boutique line of updated reproductions – such as the TB-03 and TR-09 (which are faithful recreations of the TB-303 and TR909 respectively), and the System-1 Plug-Out, the slimmed-down, 25-key predecessor to the SYSTEM-8. The

26

Behavior technology, the digital engine that is responsible for the rich analog reproductions on Roland’s recent products. And the sounds on the SYSTEM-8 are some of the best ACB ones yet.There’s a wide range of styles with the three on-board sound banks, from contemporary leads and basses, to the classic pads, brasses and retro ’80s vibes that are so en vogue right now. I really was impressed with

SYSTEM-8 are the “variation” knobs that can modify the filter and the two main oscillators. For the oscillators, this means you have 12 different options at your fingertips – ranging from standard saw and sine waves, to FM, vowel and cowbell.

The filter on the SYSTEM-8 is another highlight. It brings out a tremendous range of tones, and again, gives you multiple options to shape

By Mike Gwertzman

keyboard) can play one patch, while the right section can play an entirely different patch. The SYSTEM-8 comes with 24 different patches of split presets to try – and it’s super-simple to change which panel plays which patch. (Performance mode can also layer both sound engines.) You can also set up performance mode so both panels are stacked on top of each other. And while in performance mode, you can choose which panel is selected – that means you can filter and modulate one patch, while the other plays normally.

The step sequencer is another live function that works very well.

Located in the lower-right hand of the SYSTEM-8, the sequencer is a 16-step XoX-style sequencer, with a number of great options to choose from. I loved being able to record my sequence in real-time, and then go back in and edit, step by step. The “play mode” selector was also a lot of fun, with the “random” and “key trigger” options leading to some very creative possibilities.

It didn’t take much time working with the SYSTEM-8 to appreciate that this is a very well-designed and easy-to-use synth. The layout is very sensible, and all the features are easily accessible. I quickly became accustomed to navigating between the different options I wanted to use, and activating features like the arpeggiator and sequencer were very quick and easy. Switching between

the patches was fast (no lag time), and there was no latency noticeable, even when switching between the different plug-outs. And it sounds absolutely stunning, evoking both classic analog goodness with modern tones.

It’s hard to find fault with the SYSTEM-8 to be honest. Analog enthusiasts might point out that the ACB technology is not “true analog,” so therefore the Jupiter and Juno emulations do not match up to the originals. And while this might be technically true, you’d be hard-pressed to find any noticeable difference. And aside from that debate, the flexibility gained from combining these two classics into one modern machine, with all the updated filters and oscillators, is a net win here.

Priced at $1,499, the SYSTEM-8 is Roland’s highest-priced AIRA option.

It’s balancing itself between an expensive MIDI controller and a true analog synthesizer; Dave Smith Instruments Prophet-8, for example, is also priced at $1,499. I’d recommend getting your hands on the actual unit as well. Since it is encased in plastic, it’s absolutely fine for a studio setup, but might be a little bit of an issue for live performers. So it’s worth deciding what you’re looking for specifically in a synth before taking the plunge with

Next-Generation Synth: SYSTEM-8 PLUG-OUT.

the SYSTEM-8. I really liked the idea of the SYSTEM-8 being an updateable and expandable platform, provided, of course, that Roland keeps dropping new PLUG-OUT modules.

For producers, I see the SYSTEM-8 as a great synthesizer for someone who might be interested in transition between a software workflow and

entering into more of a hardware setup. It’s easily compatible with your DAW via USB, but it also has plenty of options for connecting to other gear, with CV and gate outs in particular that would allow you to control a Eurorack. And the faders and knobs work great as control surfaces for softsynth MIDI parameters.

Overall, the SYSTEM-8 has something for everyone, but in this situation, everyone should be very happy with what they get.Will it be as iconic as the Jupiter-8 and the Juno-106?

Time will tell. But it certainly works very well to deliver an updated, modern, and efficient evolution of these classics.

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DJ TIMES

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NOVEMBER 2017

Let’s

27

SOUNDING OFF PLAYBACK…PRO AUDIO…PROCESSING

NUMARK NTX1000: TOUGH TURNTABLE

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

By Wesley Bryant-King

28

At the recent DJ Expo in Atlantic City, I participated in a DJ-tech panel discussion with DJ Times editor Jim Tremayne, and three prominent music retailers.

During the panel, I expressed some surprise that after nearly a decade of writing for this magazine, we still have all the same fundamental DJ technology approaches that we had back then, and they’re all still in use: We have dedicated digital DJ controllers.

We have CDJs (or “media players” if you prefer) for spinning CDs, DVDs, and so on — though many of them have morphed into decks that actually lack disc media slots. We have vinyl turntables with features uniquely targeted to the DJ market. And both the CDJs and vinyl turntables are still frequently being used for DVS or “scratch-style” digital DJing with specially coded media.

Quite frankly, in 2008, I would have imagined that we’d all be using dedicated controllers by now, and that’d be that. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Indeed, here I am, in 2017, taking Numark’s brand-new NTX1000 vinyl-DJ turntable for a spin.

Numark Industries is part of the Cumberland, R.I.-based inMusic family, which includes in the DJ space not just Numark, but Denon DJ and Rane as well. These brands cover the full spectrum of DJ-control options, and the company continues to show both innovation and dedication to the DJ market that’s hard to surpass.

So, what does a turntable new-tomarket in 2017 look like and feel like?

Let’s find out.

First Impressions, Set-Up & Use: In the interest of full disclosure, part of the reason I wanted to look at the Numark NTX1000 is because I’m not a turntablist, and my review is based primarily on the use of the

Bass-Buster: NTX1000’s isolation resists feedback.

turntable for DVS control; it represents the one area of DJ control that I’ve not had the pleasure of exploring for these pages, and I wanted to check out what I might be missing.

For my own gigs, I move between multiple dedicated controllers, and multiple classic mixer-and-twin-deck combos with CDJs or slot-less media players — the latter sometimes playing digital media directly, sometimes using DVS/scratch control, and sometimes a hybrid of both. I like being able to walk up to just about anything with my media (in whatever context that might be), and get to work. But vinyl turntables? Well, these bad boys are something I’ve not tinkered with much since I was a kid.

Having recently received a Serato DVS-focused mixer from another manufacturer (the subject of a separate review), the NTX1000’s arrival couldn’t have been better timed; I unboxed the turntable and began setting it up for use with the mixer.

The NTX1000 doesn’t come with a cartridge; I borrowed one from a USB-equipped DJ turntable I received as a gift a few years back (and which I never used for DJing – it found only limited use converting some rare, old vinyl records to digital). Numark assumes — rightly — that selecting a cartridge is the stuff of religion among DJs, and, naturally, the company offers a number of choices themselves that may be of interest.

With my borrowed cartridge in place, I balanced the tonearm per Numark’s included directions — a simple process that seemed familiar enough from back in the day when vinyl ruled the roost. I next unboxed the mixer and its included Serato vinyl media, connected the NTX1000, and set about getting familiar with using a real vinyl turntable for transport control in Serato DJ. For a start, I immediately understood why there’s a whole subset of the DJ community who prefers this

approach; using a turntable, a real one, has a distinct feel that simply is not duplicated by any CDJ, media player, or digital controller I’ve ever used. It became obvious to me why so many DJs remain dedicated to the medium.

Much about the NTX1000, quite frankly, seems familiar to me — given that CDJs were designed to emulate the capabilities of DJ turntables in many regards. It’s also really not entirely different from turntables of decades past; the ubiquitous spindle adapter for 45s is present and accounted for, and you get strobed illumination that, with marks on the platter, is used to ensure that the pitch is precisely centered and the platter’s spinning at either 33-1/3 or 45 RPM. As I mentioned, tonearm set-up is really quite traditional as well.

For the DJ market, however, you get the expected extras, including the ability to quickly start or stop the rotation of the platter, a pitch fader, adjustable pitch ranging (up to plus/ minus 50-percent), and adjustment knobs to control the rate at which the platter comes up to speed — or comes to a stop — letting you fine-tune the behavior to your liking. None of these features may be groundbreaking (more on that later), but all are important to the working DJ. Equally important to a working DJ is the beefy vibration damping system that helps eliminate skipping from thumping subwoofers and so forth.

The damping system, in particular, was quite effective. In my home-studio, DJ-test-bed environment, I intentionally drove the low-end very, very hard, and the NTX1000 quite literally never skipped a beat. It was actually a bit difficult to get it to skip even when I was deliberately trying to (continued on page 42)

MOBILE PROFILE CAREERS…INNOVATIONS…SUCCESS STORIES

BByy SSherm herm Hightower Higghtow

Cindy Ormond’s rebrand paid dividends.

So Ormond embraced the concept of being a business owner. She developed a business plan, purchased equipment, secured personalities and talent. “We also attended our first DJ conference,” she says, “and subsequently helped develop a local association to improve the perception of the industry and promote networking, education, and support between companies.”

There were other challenges — branding being one of them. “We were so successful in the karaoke market [10 shows and a radio segment each week], many people who knew and loved us just did not know we were also a DJ service. They associated us with karaoke exclusively, and that was an obstacle we needed to overcome.”

How did they do it?

“We completely redesigned and polished our brand, focusing our website and all of our collateral materials on the DJ portion of the business,” says Ormond.

“We participated in bridal shows, connected with event planners, published articles, spoke at conferences, anything we could think of that would build our credibility as DJs. Our website is currently in its third iteration, with the fourth adaptation looming.”

At one DJ convention, she sat in on Mark Ferrell’s “Getting What You’re Worth” seminar. “It changed my business and my life,” she says. “Consider all that a family invests in the planning of a wedding in terms of time, thought, care, travel, and the biggie... emotions! Then, of course, there’s the sizable financial investment, too. Recent research suggests the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. hovers around the $30,000 mark.

“Next, think about how much responsibility the DJ entertainer has for the success of the entire event. We’ve all heard people say, ‘The DJ makes or breaks the reception,’ right? Our clients are trusting us to ‘make good’ on their

DDJJ TIMES TIMES

NOVEMBER NOV OVEMB E ER EMB E 201 20177

NEW YORK DJ EMBRACES BETTER BUSINESS

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Syracuse, N.Y. — Cindy Ormond possesses the most unlikely DJ-origin story we’ve yet heard.

She calls it a “right place right time” sort of thing, and it involves studying for her RN degree.

“In 1990 while studying for my RN, I was offered a position as a karaoke hostess,” she says of getting a gig with “The Karaoke Krew,” a local upstate entertainment company. “It was a total fluke.

Karaoke was a new concept then, and I could earn more than I would as a student nurse, so I welcomed the financial—and social—opportunity.”

A few years later, the owner of “The Karaoke Krew” Linda Neaton, sold the company to Ormond. “She was my first mentor,” she says. “She was so generous… it was truly a gift from her.

We became Ormond Entertainment and offered corporate and wedding DJ services, in addition to our weekly karaoke shows.”

We asked Ormond what challenges presented themselves when she took over the DJ business, and her reply was unusual. “The first challenge was changing my own perceptions,” she says.

“While attending a Chamber of Commerce event, I shared my thoughts with another member: ‘I can’t just be a DJ for the rest of my life – I need to get a real job!’”

Thankfully, says Ormond, she was talking to a very wise individual, who asked her, “What’s wrong with being a business owner?”

A light went off. “That question lead to a major paradigm shift,” she says. “What’s most remarkable—and sad—is until that moment, in my mind this wasn’t a legitimate profession. I was unconsciously subscribing to the public myth that DJs just do this on the side for fun.”

By Stu Kearns

$30,000 investment, but is our compensation commensurate with our level of responsibility? Furthermore, do we DJs really understand what’s at stake? To quote Mark, ‘If you want to find out what you’re worth, try not showing up.’ Are our hearts in the right place? Is our level of service and performance truly what it should be? All of these thoughts and more inspired me to value our services, clients and ongoing performance training more appropriately.”

She continues, “Life changing? You betcha. Remember how we used to host 10 karaoke shows a week, plus all of our other types of events? We now only host 25 weddings a year instead – hallelujah!”

Soon, Ormond was creating her own experiences that she could use for her own talks. She participated in a “How to Increase Your Ceremony Revenue” at a DJ Expo. “Rather than just pushing play for the processional and recessional, be the helpful expert they need,” she says. “When they marry on-location, there’s almost always a gap in services. For example, if it’s a long, hilly, grassy aisle and grandma doesn’t walk well, advise them she might rather be comfortably seated early rather than risking a fall during the processional. Coach their friend who is going to marry them, but has never done this before. Make him look like a pro, and charge accordingly.”

On the gear side, Ormond Entertainment uses, among other items, loudspeakers from RCF and Harbinger, microphones from Shure and lighting from Chauvet DJ. “While gear is a necessary tool to accomplish what we do, it’s my least-favorite part of the business,” she says. “My focus has always been on the ‘people side’ of the business – from customer service to talent development.”

Ormond offered another interesting response when we asked if she considers herself primarily a businessperson or an entertainer.

“This feels like a trick question,” she says. “When we were growing up, we moved frequently and I was often the new kid in class. I’ve always remembered how it felt to walk into a room full of people and not know anyone. It’s why I’m so motivated to make sure people feel absolutely comfortable whether they’re guests in my office or at a reception. I also enjoy taking performance workshops, discovering ways to surprise and personalize each celebration, and the genuine exchange between us and the guests, so... ‘entertainer’ is it!”

In the future, Ormond hopes to establish a second office in a warmer climate.

“It’ll allows us to escape Central New York winters,” she says. “My husband has yet to embrace the idea — please stay tuned!”

SEE BEYOND READ OUR DIGITAL EDITION THE AVERAGE AVE READER SPEND SPENDS 4 MINUTES READING DJ TIMES DIGITALLY Answers through a synthesis of Icons, Brands & Ideas:

First we allow you to “See” the most influential DJ icons and how they’ve launched some of the most successful careers in the DJ business.

Going “Beyond”, we show you how to make your own brand grow and thrive by exposing you to the latest creative ideas in the professional DJ world.

✳✥✥✳✦✧★✬✛✰✷✲ SEE ✳✥✥✳✦✧ ✢✥✹✯✮✤✷✭✰ BEYOND ✢✥✹ ✢✥✹✯✮✤✥✴ YOURSELF ✢✥

Shifting the focus to “Yourself”, we then relate those ideas back to the world at large so you too can become one of the leading DJs of your industry.

BUSINESS LINE SALES… MARKETING…SOLUTIONS…

MORE MONEY-MAKING TIPS FROM DJ EXPO

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

By Gregg Hollman

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The most recent DJ Expo—presented by DJ Times in Atlantic City, N.J. this past Aug. 14-17— was another triumph for education, as dozens of seminars helped DJs of all stripes improve their marketing, performance and customer service.

Here are highlights from a pair of them: Motion Monograms & 3-D Cake Projections. For the New Jersey Disc Jockey Network’s annual session, presenter Donnie Lewis from Your Event Matters Entertainment of Hopewell Junction, N.Y., offered a glimpse into the future when he discussed using projectors to achieve stunning effects like motion monograms, holograms, and 3-D animated cake projections.

In Lewis’ case, the future is now — his company is currently offering these services. These effects are still very unique in the wedding market and have the potential to become the next hot trend.

At a minimum, Lewis suggests that DJs examine their annual expenditures purchasing custom gobos (typically $60 to $90 per gobo) that are then placed into special lighting fixtures. How much money could be saved annually by transitioning to monogram projection through a projector and designing your own gobos using simple software programs? By using a projector as opposed to a traditional lighting fixture, DJs can also dip their toes into the exciting world of motion monograms.

For motion monograms and 3-D projection cake monogramming, Lewis favors the Optoma 501 projector range (discontinued, but can be purchased off eBay) and the Optoma 515 series.

For the Optoma 515, it should be noted that this model does not offer a USB input, which means that media must be run through a laptop. Desirable technical specifications for a projector include high lumens (3,500-plus, 5,000 for bright rooms), a high contrast ratio (10,000:1+), 1080p+ resolution, horizontal keystone correction, four corner correction and built-in WiFi. To streamline setups, Lewis recommends wireless HDMI. To calculate any projector’s throw distance for any screen size, users can visit projectorcentral.com. Regarding custom monograms, Lewis offers an exciting collection of customizable templates at myweddingmonogram.com.

To view sample videos and cake mapping tutorials, visit Lewis’ YouTube channel at youtube.com/ user/aggreciv. Regarding wedding-cake projections, Lewis’ team favors four-tiered cakes created to their exact specification. This effect can be created using a single projector. The learning curve is substantial, but not insurmountable, particularly if using online resources and Facebook groups.

Lewis is currently offering “wow factor” 3-D projection cake mapping services for between $800 and $1,750. Hiring an animator for custom video content can drive the cost even higher.

Animated 3-D projections allow guests to interact with a cake and be dazzled wondering how the effect was achieved.

SUCCESSFUL SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS DO THESE 5 THINGS. Jerry Bazata, a commercial banker in Maine for 30 years by day and a successful wedding DJ by weekend (DJ Jaz Music and Entertainment) speaks annually at the DJ Expo and his no-nonsense presentations are always chock-full of wise advice for DJs of all experience levels.

Bazata’s presentation discussed the five actions necessary for small business success: Create an annual budget and manage to the bottom line. As per Bazata, “Knowing how much your make is the easy part; not keeping track of what you are spending is what often causes a business to fail.” It’s also important to compute the cost per job of expenses like advertising, insurance and other corporate overheads. This can enable analytic realizations. For example, if hypothetically a DJ realized that his marketing costs represented a fat 25-percent of the average price of a wedding, this could cause the DJ to either raise prices or trim marketing expenses.

Plan for capital expenditures. The proper method to prepare for equipment expenditures is to routinely reserve 5 to 7 cents per dollar of revenue. This allows a DJ to upgrade equipment and grow the business. Too many DJs do not put aside funds for equipment, and end up scrambling when their existing equipment breaks or gets outdated. Reserves also help to shore over seasonal lulls or other unexpected operating expenses.

Discounts should be the exception, not the rule. Pricing for your DJ services should be based upon the annual budget that you’ve created. If a DJ can’t resist the temptation to discount, then expenses should be trimmed by an identical amount in order to maintain the integrity of the estimated net profit. According to Bazata, “While an occasional discount will not have a significant impact, over the long-term, discounting can erode your profits quickly and even result in a negative cash position for the business.”

Avoid financing that sounds too good to be true. There is a new popular method of financing being offered to small-business owners which is tied to credit-card receipts. These short-term loans can end up taking 65-percent of your merchant receipts on a weekly basis with an effective interest rate of 25-percent or more. The better financing alternatives for DJs are bank loans, and credit cards with competitive interest rates. Bazata recommends keeping accurate and timely financial records to facilitate the underwriting process.

Stick to your core business model. Diversification into related service areas is not necessarily bad, but DJs need to be aware of the true costs of running a new business/service that they may not be well-acquainted with. For example, too many DJs get sucked into offering photo-booth service on the promise by manufacturers that each booth will add $10,000 or more to the bottom line.To alleviate the risk of diversification follies, Bazata recommends that DJs thoroughly investigate the capital cost for the new service as well as any additional expenses to deliver the service, both from a fixed and variable cost perspective.

Bazata concluded his presentation by stating that to have a successful career as a DJ, it’s more important to be a good business person than a good DJ. While this advice could be a bitter pill for some to swallow, in my opinion it’s the truth!

Gregg Hollmann is the owner of Ambient DJ Service in East Windsor, N.J.

GEAR G GE EA AR R AU AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF A UD DIIO IO O… …LIGH GHTI TING…ST TI TIN

Forge My Signature

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

MAGIX Software GmbH Quedlinburger Strasse 1 10589 Berlin Germany +49 30 293 92 -200 www.magix.net Sound Forge Audio Studio 12 is built on a 64-bit platform designed to digitize, repair, and restore LP records and tapes, create podcasts, master audio, burn CDs, and render to all media formats. It includes two editing modes—Slice Edit for tweaking edits after a cut is made, and Soft Cut for creating automatic, user-adjustable crossfades to transition between cuts. The program is able to perform frequency-based noise removal and it features such repair and restoration tools as a DeClipper, DeCrackler, DeNoiser, DeHisser and DeEsser. Ozone Elements 7 from iZotope is also included.

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Up M My Sl Sleeve UDG Gear Industrieweg 18-21 3846 BD HARDERWIJK The Netherlands www.udggear.com The UDG MIDI Controller Sleeve is available in medium, which fits NI Traktor S5, Komplete S25, Pioneer DDJ-RB/SB2, Toraiz SP-16, Numark NV II and Reloop Beatmix 2 M; and large, which fits Pioneer DDJ-RX/SX2/SX/RR/SR, XDJ-R1, NI Traktor S8, Denon DJ MC7000, Numark Mixtrack Platinum/Mixtrack Pro 3 and Reloop Mixon 4. Available in black, the sleeves feature an egg crate interior that protects jog wheels, faders and buttons. They feature easy grip zipper pulls, a padded shoulder strap, carry handle and adjustable foam inserts to customize the main compartment.

Saints and Synthers

In Your Element

Roland Corporation 5100 S. Eastern Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90040 (323) 890-3700 www.roland.com

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

The Roland Boutique electronic instrument lineup has expanded to include the SH-01A Synthesizer, a compact reproduction of the Roland SH-101. The SH-01A is equipped with a 100-step sequencer that can save and recall 64 sequence patterns. The unit supports four voices and four modes, including a Mono mode that produces the classic SH-101 sound and a Poly mode that allows four notes to be played simultaneously, and offers 64 patch memories for storing sounds. It runs on USB bus power or batteries, and includes a built-in speaker for monitoring the sound in mobile situations.

The Element Series from ADJ consists of four battery-powered, longdistance wireless DMX par fixtures specifically created for up-lighting.

The Element QA utilizes six five-watt 4-in-1 RGBA (Red, Green, Blue and Amber) LEDs for smooth color mixing and features a beam angle of 14 degrees, while the Element QAIP adds an IP-rated weather-proof casing.

The Element HEX features four 10-Watt RGBAW+UV (Red, Green, Blue, Amber, White + UV) LEDs with a 20-degree beam angle, while the Element HEXIP adds an IP54-rated enclosure.

AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

GEAR

Beginning to See the LightShow

Size Matters

VocoPro 1728 Curtiss Court La Verne, CA 91750 (800) 678-5348 www.vocopro.com

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

VocoPro introduced the LightShow, a 100-watt, battery-powered karaoke PA system that comes equipped with a Bluetooth receiver, digital FM radio and MP3 player via SD card. Slot and line inputs are included to accommodate most music sources.Two wired microphones are included in the LightShow, as well as the company’s echo mic effects. Additional features include a sound activated, LED moonflower light, 10-inch bass driver with slot port enclosure and two XLR/¼-inch TRS balanced inputs with separate gain and echo control.

The DJ2GO2 from Numark is a pocket-sized DJ controller that is designed to fit on top of a laptop. It comes pre-mapped with Serato DJ Intro and is upgrade-ready to Serato DJ, offering quick access to cues, auto/manual loop, and sampler. The unit features a built-in sound card with master gain, headphone output for cueing, channel gain knobs and two channels with a crossfader and pitch faders. Additional features include a 1/8-inch Headphone output and a 1/8-inch main output.

The AudioBox USB 96 from PreSonus is an audio/MIDI interface with two front-panel combo mic/instrument inputs and two balanced line outputs. The two-channel, USB 2.0 bus-powered unit is designed to work with Studio One recording software but will also work with other audio software that supports ASIO or Core Audio. Features include 48V phantom power for the M7 large-diaphragm studio condenser microphone, an internal mixer with zero-latency monitoring and converters with 24bit resolution and up to a 96 kHz sampling rate.

L-com Global Connectivity 50 High Street West Mill, 3rd Floor, Suite #30 North Andover, MA 01845 (800) 341-5266 www.l-com.com L-com announced a new line of USB cables with ferrite beads to suppress high-frequency noise. Both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 versions of the cables are available. The USB 2.0 ferrite cables are offered with Type-A male to Type-A male connectors, Type-A male to Type-B male connectors and Type-A male to Micro-B male connectors. The USB 3.0 ferrite cables are available with Type-A male to Type-A male connectors and Type-A male to Type-C male connectors.

NOVEMBER 2017

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

Remain L-com

DJ TIMES

Think Outside the AudioBox

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DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF UFF

36

All About That BASSBOSS

Under U d M My Th Thump

BASSBOSS 9501 Cargo Ave, Ste. 600 Austin TX 78719 (855) 822-7770 www.bassboss.com

Mackie 16220 Wood-Red Road NE Woodinville, WA 98072 (425) 892-6500 www.loudtechinc.com

The DV12 from BASSBOSS is the latest in the company’s MicroMain speaker series. It is a two-way active full-range, direct radiating loudspeaker designed to meet the needs of the mobile DJ. Offering 3,000 watts of power, this compact unit features a flat frequency response down to 45 Hz and it comes housed in a cabinet designed to counteract standing wave reflections. In addition, it features a down-angle orientation that “allows optimal audience coverage,” according to the company.

Mackie’s redesigned 1,300-watt series of Thump Powered Loudspeakers includes the Thump12A, Thump15A and Thump18S. The Thump12A and Thump15A feature a built-in two-channel mixer equipped with Vita preamps, Wide-Z technology and four application-specific speaker modes. In addition, the line includes two Thump Boosted models—the Thump12BST and Thump15BST—which come equipped with advanced digital mixers, wireless control, streaming, and linking capabilities. All models in the line feature custom-designed, high-output woofers, Dynamic Bass Response technology, and 1.4-inch titanium dome compression drivers.

Time & Update

Nice Rack

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

Propellerhead Software AB Hornsbruksgatan 23 117 34 Stockholm, Sweden 46 8 556 08 400 www.propellerheads.se

FL Studio 12.5 is the last major release of FL Studio 12. This latest update offers a variety of new features, including Picker Panel—a pattern, audio and automation clip manager/browser that lists all pattern, audio and automation clips in the project. Users also have access to virtual MIDI controllers, a plug-in preset panel, automation clips and an updated Control Creator. With FL Studio Mobile, users can load .dwp files and FL Studio will open .flm projects in FL Studio Mobile.

Propellerhead has released Layers, a new Reason Rack Extension. Layers Quadrasonic Sample Player is a virtual sample collection of vintage synthesizers, re-imagined in a modern, creative instrument. Producers can access new sounds and get inspired by layering and sculpting pristine audio samples from classic ’80s and ’90s synth keyboards to create new music. Layers includes four separate layers of samples, comprehensive effects and modulation, and a built-in step sequencer to trigger sounds.

AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

GEAR

Pure & Sample Serato Private Bag 92015, AMSC Auckland 1142 New Zealand +64 9 379 4944 www.serato.com Serato Sample is a production plug-in designed as a “beatmaking tool,” according to the company. Sample is integrated with Serato’s original production plug-in, Pitch ‘n Time. Utilizing this technology, the plug-in allows users to quickly find, chop, key-shift and time-stretch samples with studio-grade sound, including manipulating the BPM from 1 all the way up to 999, without losing audio quality. Serato Sample is available in a download that includes access to a bank of free Loopmasters sample packs, and in-depth tutorials.

In A Nano Second Korg 316 South Service Road Melville, N 11747 (631) 390-6500 www.korg.com The HK Audio LUCAS Nano 600 series has expanded to include the LUCAS Nano 602, an active compact PA system equipped with a powered 10-inch subwoofer. The LUCAS Nano 602 comes equipped with Anti Resonance Bracing, as well as two satellites featuring Multi Cell Transformer technology. Users can combine the LUCAS Nano 602 with a LUCAS Nano 600, 608i or an additional 602. The unit can be connected to any stereo line-level device, such as DJ controllers, keyboards or laptop audio interfaces. It can also be used as a 2.1 stereo system or as a mono column system.

Feeling Loopy

DJ TIMES

BMG and Avid Technology partnered to create Strictly Rhythm Producer Loops, curated collections of loop-based samples featuring music from BMG classic catalogue artists’ master recordings.

The new BMG collections work together with Pro Tools 12.7 and Soundbase. They feature work from legendary Strictly Rhythm artists such as Erick Morillo, Reel 2 Real, Barbara Tucker, Armand Van Helden, Wamdue Project, Phuture, Sir James, Black Magic and more.

Strictly Rhythm Producer Loops is currently available for download and the company says new download and expansion packs will be unveiled soon.

NOVEMBER 2017

Avid Technology 65-75 Network Drive Burlington, MA 01803 (978) 640-6789 www.avid.com

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TRACKS…MIXES…COMPILATIONS

Crazy P

AFTERNOONERS

X Patrick Cowley X Dark Entries/Honey Soundsystem

“WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN”

X The Shapeshifters feat. Teni Tinks X Glitterbox This one roars from the funky bassline to its uplifting brass sections. It’s also topped by warm Rhodes piano and the delightful vocals by Teni Tinks – hands-in-the-air moments aplenty here.

– Tommy D Funk “KOOKY MUSIC” EP

X Jamie Jones X Hot Creations The seminal tech-house label celebrates its 100th release with a four-tracker from its co-founder.

The titular “Kooky Chords” captures Jones’ signature, pulsating bounce and mashes it together with ’90s-rave-adjacent synth work. British vocalist Katy B’s dulcet tones elevate the cover of Nookie’s “Sound of Music,” which is now a throbbing, soulshaking peak-hour anthem.

– Chris Caruso “COVER ME” (NICOLE MOUDABER REMIX)

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

X Depeche Mode X Columbia/Mute

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On her 11-minute mix, Moudaber raises the heat around the 4:20 mark – the kick drum signals the call and we descend into a deep, dark, bewildering landscape. Dave Gahan’s brooding vocals bring the melancholy, but Moudaber’s techno remix produces the tingles.

– Jim Tremayne BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

X Honey Dijon X Classic Music Company The Chicago-raised, New York-based selector Miguel Migs

drops a cheekily titled collaborative affair for her debut artist album. The sizzling house-hop of the Cakes Da Killa feature “Catch The Beat” is the undeniable highlight of the release – although the hypnotic slink of “Love Muscle” is a dreamy offering of vocal house ready to slide into an opening set. The glorious nostalgia of classic NYC house continues with “State of Confusion” and “Look Ahead,” which both prove effortless timeless.

– Chris Caruso

A reissue of the late disco purveyor’s scores of adult films from the early ’80s, Afternooners showcases just how fine the line between erotica and floor-filler is. The analog groove of the funky “Surfside Sex” is simply irresistible, while “Take A Little Trip” is a raunchy synth excursion that’s simultaneously driving and wistful. Even the non-club-ready fare like “The Runner” and “Furlough” are sure to find a home at afterhours anywhere.

– Chris Caruso “LAST CALL” X Sonic Future X Rules This unique track from the Brazilian producer delivers deep vibes, trippy grooves and fantastic melodic sounds. Atmospheric, but driving house music – a winning cut.

– Tommy D Funk

“RAISE IT UP”

X Mario Bianco & Master Polo feat. The Blue Gospel Singers X Quantize Uplifting gospel vocals mixed with tribal-house grooves here, and check the devastating mix from Spen and Gary Hudgins. Potentially, the vocal track of the year.

– Curtis Zack

“YOU & ME”

X Pat Bedeau feat. Sofia Rubina X TR Records Quality is always for order of the day for any record on Tony Humphries’ labels, and this is no exception. With a bumpin’ track and a superb vocal from Rubina on the main version, this package also includes a heavyweight dub.

– Curtis Zack

“SECRETS” X Husky X Bobbin Heads Another underground-house monster from Husky, this one offers sexy Rhodes, a classy 4/4 beat, and soulful vocals from Shyam P. Check the smooth and silky “Extended Classic Mix.”

– Tommy D Funk

“ODESSA” X Max Linen X Phonetic Aimed squarely at Ibiza, Odessa is a killer, anthemic instrumental with a heavy string hook and huge breakdowns. Expect to hear this all over.

– Curtis Zack

Colman Buckley

Jamie Jones

“ALL THE WAY” EP

X Colman Buckley X Snazzy Tracks Buckley delivers a nice, deep, underground EP with bouncing 4/4 beats, ’90s-style house keys, sassy rhythms and a sexy female-vocal sample. Smooth.

Nicole Moudaber

– Tommy D Funk “WORK IT” X Malachi X All About House Lifting a cheeky and very well-known sample from Blackstreet, label boss Malachi makes his debut on the imprint. This is already attracting lots of attention, so don’t sleep on this irresistible house groover.

– Curtis Zack “GOD MADE ME PHUNKY”

X MD X-Spress X 4 to the Floor

Crispin J. Glover

On this remix package of Mike Dunn’s ’94 classic, DJs get a trio of notable house mixes.

Efforts from Franky Rizardo, Harry Romero (“HCCR Remix”) and X-Press 2 (“Pitch Invasion Mix”) will get your dancefloor grooving in a big way.

GUEST REVIEWER: CRISPIN J. GLOVER “ONE TRUE LIGHT”

– Tommy D Funk RAINBOW FANTASIA

X Crackazat X Local Talk This 10-track album includes elements of funk, soul, jazz and house music, rolls ’em up and delivers one superb full-length. For the dancefloor, check the bumpin’ single, “Proton Blue,” which kicks it old-school, Chicago style.

– Tommy D Funk

X Crazy P X Classic Music Company A fantastic mid-tempo Nu-Disco groover here. This slinky, sexy tune delivers electric piano, wonderful rhythm guitar, and spoken word with a deep message that gives it an almost “spiritual-disco” feel. Very well-produced, from a live band and production outfit who’ve been on the scene for well over 15 years.

Patrick Cowley

The Shapeshifters

Honey Dijon

39

Van Dyk

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

(continued from page 16)

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walk again. I was in a wheelchair for five months. So now, just being able to walk in Central Park is so special. I don’t take anything for granted. I don’t think I ever really did, but now I see how every little thing has an impact on my music.

DJ Times: What defines your music? I was re-listening to some of your earliest releases, tracks like ’92’s “Perfect Day” [produced with Cosmic Baby under the Visions of Shiva moniker] and ’94’s “Pump This Party,” and even though your sound has obviously evolved a lot since then, it feels like there’s a core to the music that runs throughout your career.

PvD: I know that this sounds a bit cryptic, but I think my music is a celebration of life. It’s that positive, hopeful energy. Even if it’s dark, it’s dark in a positive, hopeful way [laughs]. That’s what I am, and that’s how I express myself. That’s what shines through in my music. And that’s exactly the feeling that I had when I was a kid, listening to electronic music on the radio—it made me feel alive. At the same time, I’m very targeted with the music that I like. I mean, I’m a musician, and I know how to make an easy EDM track. I could easily do that. But that’s not who I am; that’s not what I feel. As an artist, you need a certain confidence in yourself, and not let anything else influence you. I feel that way even more since the accident.

DJ Times: What kind of gear were you using in your early days to help you realize your vision?

PvD: Back when I started, I had an old Atari computer. When you would start a production, you had to leave it on ’til you were finished because you never knew if you would still have it [laughs]. And I had an 808 and 909 and 303, all that essential Roland gear from the past. I still have them, though my 909 finally gave up a few months ago. But it’s still in the studio—I have a long history with it, so it will never leave. Also, there was a Juno 106 synthesizer… a lot of really cool machines.

DJ Times: Do you miss the days of relying on that gear?

PvD: A little. Nowadays, it’s so much easier to create music. Back then, you had to improvise a bit more.

For instance, back in ’96 or so, I was in the studio with BT, and we wanted to get this aggressive, electro, techy sort of sound. The sound we were searching for wasn’t on any of the synthesizers available. So I ended up taking a cable, sticking it in a guitar distortion effect, and touching the other end of the cable to create a short. Zap! We sampled it, tuned it and we had it. I can remember the studio looking like a spider-web of cables [laughs]. You had to be creative just to find the sounds you wanted to create with. I

do appreciate the fact that it’s a bit easier now, but it was fun back then.

But even now, you still need the ideas.

DJ Times: Your music certainly feels full of ideas.

PvD: You know, it’s a shame that after all these years we still have to explain that the computer doesn’t make the music, that there’s actually a person making the music, a person with those ideas.

DJ Times: Do you still use much in the way of hardware?

PvD: Well, I do for mixdowns, and I have touch controllers in the studio.

But really, the main piece of hardware that I rely on is my big Moog Phatty.

That’s always connected, and is in pretty much every piece of music that I make. That thing is just a monster. A good monster, like the Cookie Monster!

DJ Times: Your PlayStation Theater gig was the first stop of your AEON tour. Is there an underlying concept behind the show?

PvD: It took a long time to figure out the whole thing. You know, when you watch a movie, maybe a sad movie, and you feel emotion. I cry at animal movies—sorry about that [laughs]. But then, the emotion wears off, though you remember it was a great movie. Reading a book, the emotion might last a little longer, and maybe the thing that has the longest lasting impact is music. The idea behind AEON is to create this whole audio-visual concept, one that comes together through the production and the visuals together with the music, to create that same kind of emotional impact—but on the highest level that we can. We want to give people a feeling of energy, and of openness to the world. We want it to be inspiring.

DJ Times: Do you feel that you are achieving that goal?

PvD: It’s a learning process. Just from that first show, we learned so much–and because of that, every show will be different. It will be an ongoing, organic progression. But I think that people are already feeling a lot when they come out of the show.

DJ Times: You and your two musicians seemed to be very active during the show. Is it stressful at all?

PvD: Not really. But I always do a lot of things live, and sometimes you don’t have enough hands to do what you want—to trigger things at the right time, to play the keys and everything. That’s why I have my two colleagues onstage with me. They take over some of it, which enables me to be doing even more. For example, very often, I’ll be playing something, and then it will be recorded, quantized, and then I can loop it and play it back. I’m basically constructing a track live, from nothing. It can get pretty complex, and have that sup-

port on stage helps.

DJ Times: Do things ever go wrong?

PvD: Of course! The other night, for example, we had a big sound glitch. One of the main audio connections was right at my feet, and I must have kicked it. But it didn’t get quiet—the drum loops and the bassline were still going—so people thought I was just playing this really fucking cool break. They were into it!

But really, there’s always something going wrong—I don’t even know how many wrong notes I play during a show [laughs]. But luckily, nobody usually notices.

DJ Times: Do you ever think back to the days when you could just show up at a club with a few crates of records and just slap them onto the turntables?

PvD: I do, and I wouldn’t say that I miss it, but I am very glad that I got to experience that. I have the knowledge that you get from doing that, and I also think that it gave me more of an emotional connection.

DJ Times: In what way?

PvD: I would have one Deutsch Mark in my pocket, and I would have to think, should I buy that record or am I going to eat something that day?

That’s a very powerful way to get a connection to the music, and I’m very, very glad that I lived through that. It’s much better than some management team buying some young kid a slot at an EDM festival, and creating an online persona for that kid that’s more important than the music.

DJ Times: Did you ever find yourself getting lumped into that EDM world?

PvD: I think a little bit. If you are a passionate artist and you really care 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

13.

14.

15.

A. B1.

B3.

C. D4.

E. F. G. H. I. 16.

A. B. C. D.

about the music, and you are suddenly being compared with something that is just a marketing product… let’s just say that it could be annoying. I never wanted to be part of it—not in any article, any list, or any other sort of way. And I think I have managed to avoid that.

DJ Times: It sounds like you are not exactly an EDM fan.

PvD: You know, back in the beginning of the ’80s and the end of the ’90s, the people who were getting really into making electronic music were making a conscious decision against marketing-driven product. We used to call it plastic pop. We believed that it didn’t matter what you looked like or who you were. But EDM is more market-driven than anything. It’s not really about the music. I mean, I guess it’s not for me to say—a lot of people enjoy it. Fair enough, but it’s not what I like to listen to. It’s not me.

DJ Times: What do you listen to when you’re not working?

PvD: For the past four or five years, there’s been this really interesting musical movement. The music has this really trancey element, but there’s a laid-back feeling to it as well.

Luke Howard would be a good example—you could put a trancey beat and a bassline on any of his tracks and it would fit, but it’s a whole different thing. It’s like trance, but taken out of the club. And on the much more sunny-day side, my wife is Colombian, so I listen to a lot of Latin-American music.

DJ Times: So should we expect a Latin trance track at some point?

PvD: I don’t want to end up with something like “Despacito,” so probably not. That’s not something I would even want to try.

■

Publication Title: DJ Times Publication Number: 1045-9693 Filing Date: September 26, 2017 Issue frequency: Monthly Number of Issues Published Annually: 12 Annual Subscription Price: $19.40 Contact Person: Vincent P. Testa (516-767-2500) Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779 Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of the Publisher: 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779 Publisher: Vincent P. Testa, 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779 Editor: Jim Tremayne, 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779 Managing Editor: Jim Tremayne, 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779 Owner: DJ Publishing, Inc., 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779 Publication Title: DJ Times Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: September 15, 2017 Extent and Nature Of Circulation Average No. Copies No. Copies of Each Issue During Single Issue Published 12 Months Nearest to the Filing Date Total Number of Copies (Net press run) 22,771 23,024 Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions 1,010 953 Sales Through Dealers and Carriers 15,426 15,691 Total Paid and /or Requested Circulation 16,436 16,644 Nonrequested Copies Distributed Through the USPS by Other Classes of Mail 6,125 6,210 Total Free Distribution 6,125 6,210 Total Distribution 22,561 22,854 Copies not Distributed 210 170 TOTAL 22,771 23,024 Percent Paid and /or Requested Circulation 72.85% 72.83% Electronic Copy Circulation Requested and Paid Electronic Copies 2,205 2,201 Total Requested Print /Electronic Paid Copies 18,641 18,845 Total Requested Copy Distribution/Requested/Paid Electronic Copies 24,766 25,055 Percent Paid and /or Requested Circulation Print/Electronic Copies 75% 75%

17. Publication of Statement of Ownership: Will be printed in the November 2017 issue of this publication.

18. Publisher: Vincent P. Testa, President Date: September 26, 2017

Compiled As October 11, 2017

NATIONAL CROSSOVER POOL CHART

NATIONAL URBAN POOL CHART

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Maroon 5 F/ Sza Charlie Puth Dj Khaled F/ Rihanna & B. Tiller Dua Lipa French Montana Gryffin Axwell & Ingrosso Demi Lovato Nial Horan Blondie F/ Debbie Harry Alan Walker Sir Ivan CHarris F/Pharrell & KPerry Shawn Mendes Robin Schultz F/ James Blunt Taylor Swift The Weekend Kygo & Ellie Goulding Jax Jones F/D.Lovato Stefflon Don Miley Cyrus Taryn Manning Clean Bandit F/ Zara Larsson Triachy F/ J. Lauryn Pink Justin Bieber + Bloodpop Liam Payne F/ Quavo Kim Cameron Alma Blackbear F/ Gucci Mane Cartal Felix Nick Jonas Dragonette Jaki Nelson Smashmouth Fenix F/ Lisa Williams The Bloody Beetroots Peter K 5th Harmony Imagine Dragons Rita Ora

What Lovers Do Attention Wild Thoughts New Rules Unforgettable Love In Ruins More Than You Know Sorry Not Sorry Slow Hands Long Time Tired I Am Peaceman Feels There’s Nothing Holding Me OK Look What You Made Me Do Reminder First Time Instruction Malibu Gltchlfe Symphony Coconuts What About Us Friends Strip That Down Dancing In The Dark Chasing Highs Do Re Mi What You Gave Me Remember I Told You Body 2 Body Uh Oh Walkin’ On The Sun 2017 California Sun Saint Bass City Rockers Every Day He Like That Thunder Your Song

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Dj Khaled F/ Rihanna & Bryson Tiller Yo Gotti & Mike WiLL Made-it F / N.Minage Jacquees Meekk Mill F/ Chris Brown & Ty Dolla $ign Sza F/ Travis Scott C. Brown F/Yo Gotti & A Boogie Wit’Da Hoody Wiz Khalifa & Ty Dolla $ign Dj Envy F/Fetty Wap & Dj Sliink Jay Z Miguel F/ Travis Scott Cardi B August Alsina Kendrick Lamar F/ Rihanna Dave East F/ Chris Brown Goldlink F/ Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy 21 Savage Tk Kravitz F/ Sexton 24Hrs F/Ty Dolla $ign & Wiz Khlaifa French Montana Ty Dolla $ign F/Lil Wayne & The Dream

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Soundworks - San Francisco, CA; Sam Labelle ■ New York Music Pool - New York, NY; Jackie McCloy ■ Dixie Dance Kings - Atlanta, GA; Dan Miller ■ C-89.5 - Seattle, WA;

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barger ■ Victors - Milwaukee, WI; Chris Egner ■ Kahoots - Columbus, OH; Ilan Fong ■

Randy Schlager ■ DJ Laszlo - Las Vegas, NV; Laszlo Szenasi ■ 3DFL¿F &RDVW /RQJ Beach, CA; Steve Tsepelis ■ Peter K. Productions - Peter K ■ Mix Masters - Atlanta. GA - Brian Stephens ■ Nashville, T N - Carlos Cabrera

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Reporterships are open to Record Pools and individual DJs. For more information contact: Dan Miller, dmiller@testa.com

Sounding Off (continued from page 28) make it happen by doing a hip thrust onto my work desk; I definitely give Numark high marks on that front, and I wish I’d had that kind of isolation back in the day.

I t ’s w o r t h n o t i n g t h a t t h e NTX1000 provides standard stereo RCA outputs, at either line or phono level (switchable), as well as offering a USB port that allows the unit to behave as a plug-and-play USB audio device for digitally capturing the audio with ease.

While I don’t have audio vinyl to spin in a DJ context, I did throw some aging vinyl on the NTX1000 just to see how it performed. While much of the outcome lies perhaps the choice of cartridge I happened

to use, I have to say I continue to be amazed at how good vinyl sounds — even old stuff played on poorer-grade gear back in the day — in an age where many people have accepted over-compressed MP3s reproduced through cheap earbuds as the new normal. The various technical specifications for the NTX1000 claimed by Numark suggest stable, accurate, and noise-free playback for those spinning audio vinyl (or people like me who are just taking a walk down the musical memory lane).

After giving the NTX1000 a thorough workout, about the only issue I could find is that the tonearm clip — used to fix the tonearm in place when not in use — is not as tight and “affirmative” as it seems it probably

should be. But that’s a pretty small criticism for what is clearly a nicely made, high-performance turntable for the DJ market.

Using DVS control with Serato on the NTX1000 was a pleasant experience, albeit one quite different than I’m used to, especially as my entry into DJing was via early digital controllers. I was able to spin a pretty basic DJ set without any difficulty, but it’s clear that choosing vinyl turntables for transport control in Serato would take some more time and practice to be truly skilled at executing.

Finally, despite my predictions from a decade ago, there are actually a very large number of DJ turntables on the market, so the NTX1000 enters a somewhat crowded space. Compar-

Lessons Learned (continued from page 21) “Donnie Lewis’ session, presented by the New Jersey Disc Jockey Network, was also a good seminar. Donnie gave some awesome tips on projector mapping on walls and cakes, and his information was great.

“Jake Jacobsen’s retooling the ‘DJ of the Year’ to the ‘Entertainer of the Year’ award deserves a ton of credit for his work. He’s a great guy that really did a nice job re-doing the competition.”

Jason Klock from Jason Klock Entertainment in Harrisburg, Pa., arrived at Expo on Wednesday, but still found plenty of takeaways. “I got a couple bullet points to refresh on, that I could share with my crew on my return, just to refresh.”

Klock was able to catch Adam Weitz’s seminar (“Making the Sale: Lessons from the Cruise Ship Industry”), which was about helping

customers through the entire experience, funneled through the cruise ship industry.

“Every touchpoint counts with the customer, from start to finish, from the start of the day to rock-n-rolling their party,” says Klock.

“I think, in general, that first experience of ever attending the Expo in August of 2008 really changed the energy and the passion for me to really create what I’ve been able to create and to keep moving forward,” he says. “So I first got there not knowing anybody or anything. No one in my area was in attendance that year – at least that I knew of at the time. I’m sure that, looking back, there were people who I know now. The very first seminar was Mike Walter and his crew, on finding success at bridal shows. It was eye-opening to see.

“And then throughout the years the ‘games seminar’ is always packed

for a reason. And I’ve always loved the panel style, personally, because they’re taking one topic and then getting five perspectives. And then I always love the seminar on merging best practices, because I always think that’s an impactful use of a 16-minute time slot.”

In closing, Brenneisen says: “They really did a fantastic job this year with everything and re-inspired me to already want to come back next year. Hold it up high, we keep getting new blood and the Expo is making younger DJs get inspired and becoming successful!”

■

Francis (continued from page 8) There, I work on my ideas. Then, to record instruments, vocals and work on the final masters, I take my files, laptop, and I go to real studios of friends, or rental studios.

ing its features to some of those others suggests that Numark isn’t really trying to blaze any new trails with the NTX1000 in terms of its capabilities — but maybe it doesn’t have to.

Conclusions: The Numark NTX1000 is an affordable new entry in the vibrant DJ-turntable market, providing a straightforward set of functions, and robust construction, in an affordable package — roughly $400 street price. While not blazing any new trails feature-wise, it offers great performance all around, making it an attractive choice for both audio use, as well as DVS/scratch control, for DJs who prefer using vinyl in their workflows. I may not be one of them today, but perhaps a little more time with the NTX1000, you never know.

DJ Times: What’s in your studio?

Francis: I started out with a Mac with Logic Pro X, but now I switched to [PreSonus] Studio One [DAW], because I like the workflow better – same amount of work in less clicks.

Then I have an Apogee Symphony sound card, a set of Genelec 8050 monitors, a Mackie Big Knob, a Novation Impulse 61 MIDI keyboard, and a pair of piano pedals – M-Audio SP2 and M-Audio EX-P. I use Ableton for making some mashups and small edits. That’s it!

DJ Times: What do you use for DJing?

Francis: I think it’s regular gear – two Pioneer CDJ-2000s and a Pioneer DJM-2000 or 900NXS mixer.

Add a pair of decent monitors, a wireless mic, and the show is on! The only special request I always have is a platform for me to stand on. I’m very small and need it to see what I’m doing [laughs].

– Michelle Fetky

DJ TIMES

NOVEMBER 2017

Krewella’s New World

42

Yeah, we’ve had some dramas…

But don’t sleep on us, because…

We’re still killin’ it.

Krewella, Next Month in DJ Times