DJ Times December 2014, Vol 27 No 12

AMERICA’S FIRST MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs ESTAB-

DECEMBER 2014

$4.95 US $6.95

CANADA

Report: Amsterdam Dance Event DJ/Entrepreneurs Sell Up

P LUS : P ort er R obinson * O liv er Hel dens * Anna Lunoe * R ol an d T R- 8 * We b s it e Tip s * All- Vin y l Mo b i l e

Mackie Thump Battles Burning Man

INDUSTRY EVENTS…NOTABLES…MILESTONES

NEWS

Festival: Laurent Garnier in the mix.

Conference: Attendees fill the aisles.

Playground: Junkie XL on the mic.

A.D.E. ’14: SHOW GROWS, DJ SEMINARS SHINE

Las Vegas – The votes are in and the winner is… Markus Schulz!

After America’s Best DJ 2014 took Pioneer’s Golden Mixer this past Oct. 12 at Marquee Las Vegas, Schulz rocked the club’s outdoor Dome with a blazing afternoon set.Thanks to all who participated in the event and at all the stops on America’s Best DJ Summer Tour Presented by Pioneer DJ & DJ Times. See you next year!

was a chance that I could influence the music I like—electronic music— with studio products,” he recalled.

“But really, I had no doubt about success. It was dead obvious.You just had to look at the rest of the industry to see that the computer was the future of music-making.”

Later, Laurent Garnier’s Q&A with U.K. DJ/journalist Dave Haslam offered tidbits from the legendary French DJ’s career. An amusing anecdote about the making of his most famous cut, “The Man With the Red Face,” revealed that the track’s title was taken from the exasperated expression worn by Phillippe Nadaud just after he’d finished recording his famous saxophone part. During Nadaud’s solo in the studio, Garnier attempted to push him farther out musically by riding him with a string

of expletives. When Nadaud finished blowing his sax for 15 straight minutes, he was livid from the abuse and bright red—the curious title for a classic track was born.

As for DJing, Garnier pushed the value of a residency. “A regular residency is vital for a DJ and for a city,” he said. “Why the Paris scene survived was because of the big nights and the DJ residencies. Otherwise, the scene won’t grow from the inside or shine from the outside. It’s a luxury for a DJ to have, say, eight hours to play. You have to dig deeper—people don’t want to listen to the same thing every week. So, for me at the Rex club in Paris, I grew with the crowd and played long, varied sets. Traveling as a DJ can be lonely, but a residency is like having people over to your house.”

www.SoundPro.com

Your DirecT Source For

DECEMBER 2014

Markus Schulz: America’s Best DJ

gates made it out to the Felix Meritis Centre and the nearby Dylan Hotel for the majority of the conference panel, seminar and Q&A sessions.

On the “How to Connect with Brands” session, moderated by Beatport’s Matt Adell, panelists explained how DJs have benefitted by working with various brands. However, entertainment attorney Ed Shapiro offered some key guidance for DJs. “Don’t try to get sponsorships until you know who you are and what you stand for as an artist,” he cautioned. “Don’t just try to get a check because you may not be helping your own brand.These days, people can see through it. When you’re ready, work with a brand you believe in.”

Moderated by U.K. journo Jonty Skrufff, ADE’s “Gamechangers” panel featured a quartet of heavy hitters: DJ legend Paul Oakenfold; multi-genre pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre; Native Instruments CEO Daniel Haver; and groundbreaking producer Arthur Baker.

“You must have belief and work ethic when you’re trying to do something new, when you’re trying to convince other people about your musical beliefs—but it’s also about timing,” said Oakenfold. “Everyone knows the story about how I helped bring Acid House to the U.K.—but the first time we tried that it was a failure! The time wasn’t right, but we were patient, we maintained our belief and eventually people began to understand this new music. So, we had to re-introduce it when the U.K. club scene was ready for it.

“Even when I was the first DJ to play a big Las Vegas residency, people thought I was nuts, but I stuck to my beliefs and I knew that Vegas was going to be the next big thing—now look at it!”

Sensing opportunity and maintaining dedication were themes that N.I.’s Haver highlighted: “In starting the company [in 1996], I realized there

Sound BeTTer. Save Money. Sound ProducTions.

DJ TIMES

By Jim Tremayne Amsterdam, Holland – This past October 15-19, the DJ and electronic-music worlds descended on The Netherlands for Amsterdam Dance Event. As usual, DJ Times was there to cover the conference and festival portions of the show. Additionally, DJ Times teamed with Facebook, shooting videos with some of the world’s top DJs. Check out our website and Facebook page, where we’ve posted them.

According to organizers, ADE drew 5,200 conference visitors and 350,000 festival visitors for 400 events at 125 venues in and around Amsterdam. While the clubs and arenas filled up each evening, ADE dele-

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VOLUME 28

NUMBER 12

12 The Man, The Myth, The Legend

As the Club World Fills Up with EDM Kiddies & Late-Coming Hipsters, DJ Harvey Still Lives in an Alternate Universe

BY LILY MOAYERI

20 The Dutch Touch

Amsterdam Dance Event Brought the DJ/Dance Industry to The Netherlands.

Here’s What It All Looked Like…

BY A.D.E. PHOTOGRAPHERS

22 Different Drummer

With Worlds & Its Current Tour, Porter Robinson Marches to His Own Beat

BY JULIA SACHS

24 Entrepreneurial Visions

Mobiles Looking for an Exit Strategy Have Found It—Start Another DJ-Related Business

BY JEFF STILES

DEPARTMENTS 7 Feedback

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

26 Making Tracks Roland TR-8

28 Sounding Off

Mackie Thump Battles Burning Man

30 Mobile Profile

DJ Ali & The Crackle of Vinyl

32 Business Line

How to Increase Conversions on Your Website

DJ TIMES

DECEMBER 2014

34 Gear

4

New Products from Yamaha, Epsilon & More

38 Grooves

Phat Tracks from Hot Since 82, Dillon Francis & More

41 Club Play Chart

The Hottest Records, As Reported

by Our Top U.S. Record Pools

SAMPLINGS 8 Anna Lunoe

Goes All Out

10 In the Studio With…

Oliver Heldens

Cover Photo By Carlo Cruz/Red Bull Content Pool Contents Photo By marv watson/Red Bull Content Pool

FROM THE EDITOR

My White Whale

DJ TIMES

DECEMBER 2014

Many years ago—late ’90s, if I remember correctly—I was in Los Angeles for business. I had a dinner with Lily Moayeri, then one of our newer contributors. Over her vegan dish, she mentioned that there was a big, secret party later that night in Downtown L.A. with the legendary DJ Harvey on the decks. It would be one of those ravey, map-point situations, where we had to go to some house to get the venue details, etc. Intrigued at the notion of finally catching this enigmatic jock in a native environment, I was in. As it turns out, little did I know what I was in for, or for how long.

The gig was one of those “OMG-this-guy’s-amazing” evenings. In this rather unsupervised warehouse setting, Harvey played custom edits of the very best disco classics, plus some ultra-deep acid-housers and quick drops of ultra-cheeky cuts. (Tucked among the flurry of quality grooves, I seem to recall a cat food commercial—again, IIRC.) Somehow his mile-long range of tastes never seemed terribly startling—everything worked. He was astounding in every respect. The place was full-on mad all night and we left not long before the sun began to rise over City Hall—a memorable road win. Anyway, ever since that gig, I’ve been somewhat obsessed with Harvey and doing a big story on him.

Fast-forward 15-plus years and it’s finally happened, though not in the way I intended. No, I’ve tried to do a DJ Harvey cover story on several occasions. Once he missed his flight to a festival where we were manning an America’s Best DJ booth. More than once, I simply was out of town when he played NYC. Another time, I even made plans (during a vacation) to meet him at his very-hands-on residency at the thirtyninehotel in Honolulu—alas, the residency ended just before I arrived and Harvey’d moved back to Los Angeles. Foiled again.

So… congrats, Lily. After launching me on this White Whale Hunt, you’ve scooped me. But, the good news is that Harvey’s finally been splashed on our cover—and for that, I’m grateful to you and Harvey for finally making it happen. Nice job.

In other musical musings in this issue, we connect with Porter Robinson, who discusses his Worlds album and its current tour, which is more live show than DJ gig. In his interview with Julia Sachs, he confronts the DJ culture a bit as well. (DJs feel free to fire back in our Feedback section.) Chris Caruso tackles our Sampling section by interviewing Anna Lunoe and Oliver Heldens.

In our News section and in a photo spread, we bring you the flavors of Amsterdam Dance Event, where DJ Times also teamed up with Facebook to create some terrific online video content. (Please visit our Facebook page or website to enjoy video interviews with some of the world’s biggest jocks, like Armin van Buuren.) Big shout-outs go to Facebook teammates Andy Mitchell (NYC), Michael Ohene-Djan (London) and Elke Karskens (London) and, of course, to our own Chris Caruso.

In our gear-review sections, Butcha Sound Studios owner Phil Moffa dives into the TR-8, Roland’s modern take on its classic 808/909 boxes. Also, in Sounding Off, Bay Area duo Mike Klasco and Tony Russell put Mackie’s Thump range of active speakers through its paces. However, Mike Prachar really puts the system to the test, as he carried the units out to the Nevada desert to withstand the elements during this past August’s Burning Man event. And, as is usually the case out On The Playa, it was thrown a few curveballs.

In the world of mobile entertainment, Jeff Stiles surveys jocks who realized that starting another DJ-related business is one way to ensure long-range financial security. Our Mobile Profile features Ali Gruber, an all-vinyl jock from Rosendale, N.Y., specializing in soul/funk/R&B formats. Business Line offers tips for DJs looking to sharpen their websites and bring more customers into the fold.

One more time, we’d like to congratulate Markus Schulz on being voted America’s Best DJ for the second time. Also, we’d like to thank everyone who helped with the America’s Best Summer Tour Presented by Pioneer DJ & DJ Times. By that we mean, of course, title sponsor Pioneer DJ, plus additional sponsors Marquee Las Vegas and G-Shock Watches. We’d also like to thank the voters, the venues, the DJs and the promoters—we couldn’t do it without you. See you next year!

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Cheers,

Jim Tremayne, DJ Times

editor-in-chief Jim Tremayne jtremayne@testa.com

art director Janice Pupelis jpupelis@testa.com

editor-at-large Brian O’Connor boconnor@testa.com

production manager Steve Thorakos sthorakos@testa.com

chart coordinator Dan Miller dmiller@testa.com contributors Jody Amos Tom Banham Joe Bermudez Wesley Bryant-King Ally Byers Shawn Christopher Paul Dailey Reed Dailey Chris Davis Michelle Fetky Tommy D Funk Josh Harris Robert LaFrance Michelle Loeb Lily Moayeri Phil Moffa Natalie Raben Scott Rubin Julia Sachs Jeff Stiles Emily Tan Phil Turnipseed Curtis Zack Ashley Zlatopolsky

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 Blue Book America’s Best DJ The DJ Expo IT/AV Report Convention TV News VTTV Studios

brand design & web development manager Fred Gumm fgumm@testa.com assistant editor/digital content editor Chris Caruso ccaruso@testa.com advertising manager Tom McCarty tmccarty@testa.com art/production assistant Vito Gelo vgelo@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 © 2014 by DJ Publishing, Inc., and must not be reproduced in any manner except by permission of the publisher. Websites: www. djtimes.com and www.testa.com DECEMBER 2014

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FEEDBACK PLUS: JUSTIN PRIME AMINE EDGE & DANCE B I T W I G S T U D I O E -V’ S E T X S E R IE S ALL-STAR BUSINESS ADVICE

AMERICA’S FIRST MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs ESTABLISHED 1988

NOVEMBER 2014

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AMERICA’S BEST DJ 2014: MARKUS SCHULZ

DJ EXPO ’14: HIGHLIGHTS & TOP TAKEAWAYS POWER TO THE PEOPLE

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048NO14_p001-044.indd 1

home and you don’t have those same deadlines—often, you can tinker and tinker and you’re never really done.

Over time, even with the freedoms of the home studio, I find I still work better with deadlines. In fact, I love deadlines.”

During Dave Clarke’s Q&A with filmscore legend Hans Zimmer, the fourtime Grammy winner urged DJ/pro‑ ducer/artists to try to maintain one’s musical curiosity. “Remember,” said Zimmer, “electronic music isn’t based

in blues or old American music. It’s our music and it’s ours to re-invent and make our own rules with. It’s a relatively new path and it’s wide open for you.”

During Laurent Garnier’s Q&A (mod‑ erated by DJ/journalist Dave Haslam), he discussed his longtime friendship with fellow Frenchman David Guetta.

After both working residencies at Par‑ is’ Rex club, the two obviously went different directions musically—Gar‑ nier as an underground legend, Guetta

as a chart-topping artist. But the two remain close and even rib each other about their chosen paths.

“David,” recalled Garnier, “is the same as he was when he was a DJ who played commercial hip-hop and dance—that’s always what he wanted to do! So, these days he’ll try to push me onto bigger things and he’ll say to me, ‘Oh, Laurent, you can do so much more!’

“And I’ll say to him, ‘But David, you could do so much less!’”

10/13/2014 2:27:38 PM

This is Feedback, a monthly feature that fields questions from you, our readers, and funnels them out to in‑ dustry professionals. If you have any questions about DJing – marketing, mixing, equipment or insurance, any at all – drop us a letter at DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Ave, Port Washington, NY 11050, fax us at (516) 944‑8372 or e‑mail us at djtimes@testa.com.

If we do use your question, you’ll receive a free DJ Times T‑shirt. And remember, the only dumb question is the question that is not asked.

The following are extra excerpts from the seminar portion of the Amster‑ dam Dance Event, held this past Oct. 15-19 at the Felix Meritis Centre and the nearby Dylan Hotel in The Neth‑ erlands. As always, DJ Times was there covering the evening events and the daytime discussions. (For the full story, please see Page 3.)

During the “Gamechangers” seminar, Arthur Baker sang the praises of the early ’80s New York club scene that included Paradise Garage, Danceteria and Funhouse and explained the pro‑ cess for making the classic electro anthem “Planet Rock” and other early tracks with Afrika Bambaataa.

“We wanted to make the sounds that we heard from Kraftwerk records,” he recalled, “so we looked at the ads the Village Voice [weekly newspa‑ per] and found a guy who had a drum machine and was willing to work for $20 a session. Of course, that was the Roland TR-808 and, even though this guy didn’t understand what we were trying to do, we just fell in love with the machine. The rest is history.”

Baker also explained how his process of making tracks has evolved, techno‑ logically and personally. “Creating mu‑ sic is so different now,” he said, “be‑ cause studios were so expensive then and you usually had strict deadlines, dictated by the record companies.

Now, for the most part, you create at

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SAMPLINGS

Capable of tearing up clubs and festivals alike with bouncing basslines and relentless beats, Anna Lunoe has mastered the art of spinning serious house music.

Of course, one of her most defining artistic characteristics—particularly in the context of electronic music—is the use of her own voice on many of her

DJ TIMES

DECEMBER 2014

ANNA LUNOE: GOES ALL OUT

8

productions. Her warm vocals are laced with undeniable hooks that complement her joyous soundscapes.

This past year was a big one for the Australian DJ/producer, as it saw the release of “All Out,” her first Ultra Music EP, plus a set of collaborations with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Treasure Fingers and The Alexanders.

Lunoe wowed audiences on her first headlining tour of the U.S., and even Skrillex was impressed enough by her Coachella performance that he mixed her then-unreleased track “B.D.D. (Bass Drum Dealer),” so that he could release it on his OWSLA NEST imprint.

DJ Times recently connected with her to discuss her big 2014.

DJ Times: How did you get into DJing and producing?

Anna Lunoe: I started volunteering at a radio station called FBI, and I later got a show on it. I started getting sent promos from record labels and I was listening to 200 songs a week and working out what I really liked and didn’t like.

That was a real first step in feeling confident about my music choices and working out what other people like and how they respond to my selections. DJing was the next step from there, and producing was the next step from there.

DJ Times: What was that process?

Lunoe: I’d been writing music on acoustic guitar and piano earlier, so I’d been flirting with writing, but it took learning music production software, taking Ableton courses, and learning to speak the language of VSTs to learn how to translate it through that medium.

DJ Times: How did your singing come into the mix?

Lunoe: Well, it kind of just happened that way because I found that when I was writing, I would use my voice to get a line out quicker than I would use a keyboard. It was easier for me—because of my crappy keyboard playing—to sing it than it was to work out how to play it and then lose the idea. I started using my voice to quickly get ideas out, and

then sometimes I started leaving those in. Around this time, I heard this song

by Justin Martin called “Sad Piano.” I was playing it on air on my radio show, and this song came in my head. I thought of a topline for it, and I started singing. I told my cohost, “It’s so funny. I just thought of this song,” and he said, “You should record it!” I recorded it and thought, “This isn’t so bad.” I sat on it for six months. One of my friends heard it and told me I should send it to Justin, so they gave me his email address and I did.

DJ Times: What inspired your “All Out” EP and what went into its creation?

Lunoe: It’s a collection of songs that I’ve been working on and collecting for the past two years, but it’s not a definitive collection. There’ve been a lot of releases that have come out in the middle of making it: the [Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs] release, “Bad MF,” and “B.D.D.” It’s by no means a definitive collection of what I’m into, but it’s a cohesive set of house- and club-oriented songs that have real accessibility. It’s a nice collection of music that stems from club culture but could ultimately exist anywhere.

DJ Times: The lead single was a move a bit more into the pop realm.

Lunoe: It’s definitely not a conscious decision, but I’m not afraid of accessibility. It’s something I really admire in other artists. Look at Duke Dumont: he’s had No.1’s on the U.K. pop charts and he’s had No.1’s on Beatport. That’s something he can make coexist, and that’s something I want to make coexist.

DJ Times: Your productions run a wide range of styles—from tribal bass of “B.D.D.” to tech-house on “Bad MF.” What elements pull them all together?

Lunoe: I think what pulls it all together is the immediacy of it; there’s a certain energy that can thread it all together. You can get away with a lot with structure. No matter what I’m doing, what kind of music it is, or what sort of sonics are the focus point of the song, I always try to make the structure really clear. I think that can really direct people into understanding what they’re supposed to be doing and when. As long as there’s a very clear build, growth, and drop, it has an arc to it.

DJ Times: Do you have any plans to add vocals to your live shows?

Lunoe: I definitely want to do that, and I want to do it in a way that makes sense and feels good, but also isn’t a huge production. Touring is already really expensive and I don’t think people realize that. I need to keep the cost of the production down, so it has to be quite simple and effective. I’m just starting to brainstorm how I’d like to do that, and I’ve got a few support offers that would allow me to experiment with this.

I’m hoping in the next year to find a way to do it because people have started to want it more as I do more vocal tracks.

– Chris Caruso

Lunoe’s vocals bring a unique touch to her productions.

Season’s greetings

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IN THE STUDIO WITH

OLIVER HELDENS: BREAKING BIG

Largin’ It: Helden hit radio & main stages in ’14.

10

Between genre mainstays like Armin van Buuren, Afrojack, and Fedde Le Grand, it’s no small task to break into the upper echelon of the Dutch dance music scene.

However, Oliver Heldens flipped the script with 2013’s “Gecko,” his debut single on Tiësto’s Musical Freedom label that blurred genre lines with its combination of EDM builds, tech aesthetics, and sassy garage swagger. The track managed to kickstart the 19-year-old DJ/producer’s career, as it saw widespread adoption by fans, festivals, and fellow DJs, leading to a contract with Spinnin’ Records.

Helden’s innovation even managed to transcend to the pop sphere when “Gecko (Overdrive)”—the vocal reinterpretation of the track featuring singer Becky Hill—debuted at No.1 on the U.K. singles chart this past summer. Heldens has kept the momentum going well into the latter half of 2014 with another pair of Spinnin’ releases—“Koala” and a remix of Dr. Kucho’s “Can’t Stop Playing” alongside Gregor Salto—and a collaboration with Sander Van Doorn on his Doorn Records imprint.

DJ Times connected with the young artist to catch up about his main stage performances, breakout hit, and more.

DJ Times: How did you get started DJing and producing?

Oliver Heldens: When I was going to high school, I went to school parties and Hardwell was playing there, which really inspired me. In that period, I also discovered how to make music on the computer.

DJ Times: How did you first catch Tiësto’s attention to release “Gecko” on his Musical Freedom label?

Heldens: Tiësto was following me on Twitter, and he supported my older tracks. I sent “Gecko” to him in a direct message, and within 15 minutes he replied to me. A week later I met him in Amsterdam during ADE. DJ Times: The vocal version of “Gecko” went to No.1 on the U.K. singles chart. What do you think this says about where pop music is heading currently?

Heldens: I think on one hand is pop music is getting more dance and housey, and on the other side EDM is getting more groovy and housey.

DJ Times: After its success in the clubs, what made you decide to record a vocal version? Also, what went into the process of recording it?

Heldens: We sent “Gecko” to a lot of vocalists and songwriters. They sent their demos in, and my label and I are really liked the Becky Hill version. I think it’s really nice to have two versions of one track. The instrumental was really big in the dance community, and it was a great opportunity to put vocals on it to reach a bigger audience.

DJ Times: What’s your preferred live DJing setup?

Heldens: Four CDJ-2000 Nexus players and a DJM-900.

DJ Times: And your must-haves in the studios?

Heldens: Fruity Loops [aka FL Studio]. For synths, I use the plug-ins Massive [by Native Instruments] and Sylenth1 [by LennarDigital].

DJ Times: You played the main stage at EDC Las Vegas this past summer. What’s it like to play on a stage that’s normally known for big-room house? Does it signal a change in the musical landscape?

Heldens: I feel honored that I can do my own thing at EDC Las Vegas, especially my music is not like the big room house.

I guess it says something that one of the biggest festivals of America booked something like me on the main stage.

– Chris Caruso

DJ TIMES

DECEMBER 2014

Photo By Carlo Cruz/Red Bull Content Pool

12

and the ocean where he spends a solid amount of time surfing. His hair is somewhere between long and short,

local surf company. His face has some lines, but they come from grinning often and from squinting at the sun

ting him just right, his leather jacket an extension of his shoulders, and his blazing orange T-shirt promoting a

is in a self-proclaimed 10-year-long mid-life crisis and loving every minute of it. He is slim and tall, his jeans fit-

up against him makes you automatically cool—at least for that moment. The 50-plus-year-old Harvey Bassett

last 13 years, does not need a motorcycle to make him look cool. He is the very definition and just brushing

and Market in Venice Beach, California. The DJ/producer, who has made his home in this neighborhood for the

A blast of motorcycle exhaust rips through the air as DJ Harvey peals out of the parking lot of the Rose CafĂŠ

BY LILY MOAYERI

between curly and wavy, and is slicked back allowing his eyes, a bright, open blue to shine. He has maintained his cut-glass Queen’s English and is sharply articulate— even if at times he looks like a deranged dude and when he’s got his reading glasses on, you might suspect him as a child molester—his words, not ours. But he’s a happy guy and simply being around him brings the mood up—a good thing, too, as that is kind of his job.

Venice Beach is a long way from his hometown of London, England, or the cultivated university town of Cambridge, where Harvey he went as a young teenager.

Starting his musical ride as a child drummer, he was recruited to the New Wave group Ersatz at 13. In the late ’70s and early ’80s he performed with Ersatz—the other band members were a good six years older than him—going as far as getting their music played on John Peel’s influential Radio 1 show on the BBC. A self-proclaimed punk, he frequented reggae sound systems, as British punks were wont to do, and in the process got exposed to 12-inch singles and the DJs that played them.

A mid-’80s trip to New York in the pursuit of graffiti—which Harvey wasn’t that skilled at—started him hanging out with the Rock Steady Crew and the Fat Boys and frequenting the Roxy and Studio 54. The breaks and beats of DJing appealed to the drummer in Harvey and upon his return to the U.K., he started frequenting parties thrown by the Wild Bunch, Soul II Soul, and Mutoid Waste. He got involved in the Death Tone Krew, a hip-hop/reggae/electro sound system playing in between bands and at the afterparties. Things got real when a fellow called Tonka Roberts purchased a turbo system and a marquee, morphing Tone Death Krew into the storied Tonka Sound System. The cutting and mixing style Harvey was developing allowed him to blend different genres and set him apart from his peers—a skill that is serving him to this day.

house gig?

DJ Harvey: When there are more than 1,000 people in front of me, the set will become more sonic, more extreme, and the common denominator lowered to cut across a larger group of people. As a DJ and an entertainer, my mission is to have the majority of people entertained and hopefully, happy.

I try and do whatever that takes. There’s no point standing in front of 5,000 people getting on the mic and saying, “If you listen to the lyrics in the second verse, they’re really profound, and I know this hasn’t got any bass at all, but don’t worry about that. It’s a little album track, it’s going to feedback a bit, but don’t worry about that either.” I get on some brand new German techno track, bang it out, and everyone loves it. At a bigger gig, like a festival, it tends to be more new music; at a warehouse gig, it’s a combination; and at a smaller gig, it’s more old music.

DJ Times: What’s your ideal DJ set-up in the booth?

DJ Harvey: I take records and CDs. Sometimes, when I’m setting up my own party and booth, I’ll bring my Alpha Recording System, who hand-make mixers and make the best, to my style, of the new-school recording pre-amps.

My tech rider is: two or three Technics 1200s turntables—that haven’t been used as computer stands or drip trays for beer—and a matching pair of CDJs. The standards are Pioneer CDJ-2000 and CDJ-2000NXS—their controls do very different things and it’s a brain-scramble when you have to read which model it is before you start messing around with it. Plus, I require a half-decent mixer—not set up on top of the bass bins. Sometimes if I’m really showing off, I’ll bring a reel-to-reel tape recorder, Technics RS-1500 ¼-track, which I use for analog echo, or if we’re getting really fancy, I’ll play some edits from tape. But that’s a very rare occurrence these days, as no one seems to care.

Photo By Carlo Cruz/Red Bull Content Pool

DJ Times: Although “disco” is the term that ascribed to you more than any other, your sets run the gamut of styles.

DJ Harvey: I wouldn’t want to be lumped into one thing like, “Harvey is a disco DJ, a deep-house DJ, a techno DJ.” I’m a personality DJ. When I DJ, you get my personality, and that includes everything. To my mind, it’s what is the best record at that time to suit that situation? The people decide, in many respects. Some DJs have a predetermined set you get whether you’re at a sunset party in Tulum or at FYF Fest, the same 25 records. They are a two-hour, one-trick pony, whereas I can DJ for two days and play everything from Dolly Parton to GG Allin.

DJ Times: How does your set differ at a festival versus a club or ware-

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DJ Times: No USB sticks for you?

DJ Harvey: If I were to show up with a USB stick, I think people would feel somehow cheated. Even if I don’t play any records, I feel like I should carry them.

It should be painful. People want me to show up with a backache.The USB stick is not very glamorous. DJs now suffer from what I call “the USB squint” from trying to read the track names. Luckily, for records when you can’t read the titles, it’s “the blueSpecial one,” Offer! or “the yellow

DJ Times: The dance scene in America is very different from when you immigrated here. What’s your take on it?

DJ Harvey: The EDM thing has very little to do with what I do. The whole festival thing is odd to me. I don’t really consider myself a festival DJ. I do it, but I’m a nightclub DJ and a warehouse DJ and a party DJ. It’s great because ultimately, a few kids might filter down to me wondering, what is the great granddaddy of all that stuff. Maybe they want to hear a longer groove in between the build-up and the breakdown, something they can actually dance to because they don’t dance, they jump up and down when a sonic thing happens. It’s not what the scene has become, it’s that something else has happened. It doesn’t challenge what I do, as it has very little to do with discoteque and DJing, which is the realm I exist in.

Harvey creates his own realm. He did so during his Tonka days. He did so while he ran his Moist nights at the Gardening Club in London. And he certainly did so as both the Friday and Saturday resident at the world famous Ministry of Sound. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, he did so for the Wax parties and, after moving to L.A., he did so for DJ Harvey’s Sarcastic Disco, a recurring party he did with Paul Takahashi that’s become part of clubland lore. It grew from a core 500 at-

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tendees for almost a decade to a 2,000-person event in its last few years, becoming too big for its ethos. In the process, however, the underground reputation Harvey brought Stateside grew to fabled proportions around the continent, making him an in-demand entity. Interestingly, his lack of legal residency, which kept him landlocked for a decade, made him an in-demand entity abroad. For a while, Harvey went off-continent, establishing the thirtyninehotel club in Chinatown, Honolulu, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

A couple of weeks prior to this interview, he threw a free party (sponsored by Red Bull with an open bar) and DJed for six hours straight in a turned-out warehouse in Downtown L.A. where the queue to get in was wrapped around the corner for the duration of the event. A real mixture of ethnicities and ages, Harvey’s backdrop of podium dancers summarized the crowd: a bendy African American gay boy in a makeshift toga and a chubby, micro-mini-skirted Latina chick, both of them giving it the big, fabulous attitude.

DJ Times: The Red Bull event was astounding, with such a diverse crowd, especially considering it wasn’t promoted at all.

DJ Harvey: If everyone in the crowd was my age, or older, it would be a geriatric disco. With EDM, one thing that’s hap-

pened is the rise of what I call “hipster house.” People in tight black jeans, beanies like a nutbag, black leather jacket with a hoodie underneath and maybe denim sleeves on the leather jacket, and a beard. People who all of a sudden like this thing called “deephouse.” I’m really into shallow house at the moment, but it has been productive for young, stylish, educated, bright people to get into real dance music. I don’t know where they’re from, but they’re discovering disco and, for someone like me, it’s great, because I’ve got all those records.

DJ Times: What happened with your Sarcastic Disco parties?

DJ Harvey: It started very local Los Angeles, heavily Hispanic and Asian, which for me coming from London, is very exotic. In the last five years, it crossed over into a younger, more fashionable crowd who, if you’re there because you think you should be there, you’ll soon leave because it’s not for you. Some of that music can be a little bit challenging. It’s not entrylevel stuff. It encourages abandon and if you’re shy or not prepared to enter into it, it probably won’t do anything for you. We were drawing too much attention to ourselves. It’s very difficult to be clandestine when there’s

Razor Sharp: DJ Harvey’s Disco Edits

“With DJ booths not having machines to play your tape edits, you would buy two copies of a record.You would play the bonus beats, the vocal, then the instrumental, then the dub, and then the full mix” says Harvey. “That’s a lost art. I used to buy three copies of every record, two to play and one to keep. A brand-new record at the Ministry of Sound, I would make a 25-minute mix of two copies, whole new versions of tracks on the fly.

“When Larry Levan came to town for the opening of the Ministry of Sound, he appeared on Judge Jules’ radio show and played an edit of South Shore Commission ‘Free Man.’ I met [Levan] later and asked, ‘What version is that?’ He said, ‘Oh, that’s a version I did I got on acetate.’ I set about recreating it myself. It was my first edit, which was released by Ashley Beedle on Weekend Records.

“My friend Simon Lovejoy taught me how to do computer edits.

He had an amazing thing called a hard drive with six megabytes of memory on it and you could record about six minutes of music. This allowed you to do these amazing things like digital edits where you could see the waveform of the music come out. It would take seven minutes or eight minutes for each little cut to do but you didn’t need to be covered in tape, which is how I was initially doing it, cutting my fingers on razor blades and sitting up all night in smoke-filled rooms.

“Editing is not an easy option for making a record better. Structure and arrangement is what gives a record so much of its magic. The way a chorus comes in or the way that a breakdown happens or the amount of time where something is extended for or cut in or out. Editing is not something you can take on lightly.You can’t just say, ‘There’s a nice four-bar loop, we’ll have that for 10 minutes and then drop the chorus.’ Learn to DJ, buy another copy, cut the damn thing up yourself and watch the crowd really go mad.”

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DJ Harvey: I enjoy showing up and playing records. I don’t enjoy worrying about if we’re going to get sued because the security has beaten up another guy and thrown him down the stairs and he’s got a fractured skull, some girl’s ODed in the toilets again, there are no light bulbs or toilet tissue in the entire club, the bar manag-

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a line of 2,000 people down the street. DJ Harvey parties in Los Angeles have taken a duck and a weave to the left and doing things slightly differently, but just as good and just as happening.

DJ Times: You had a run at doing your own club from scratch with thirtyninehotel in Hawaii. How was that experience?

DJ Harvey: That was fun while it lasted, seven years in all. I was involved for five years. It didn’t last long once I’d left. We had David Mancuso’s sound system from The Gallery. [Mancuso] had put it together from the mid’70s through to the mid-’80s.

There were components that had been serviced by Rosner Custom Sound— Alex Rosner being the first guy to build a commercially available DJ mixer—Mark Levinson ML-2s, and original Klipschorn speakers.

Because those cabinets were designed in the ’50s, they’re not built to handle modern music. They have a very sweet mid-range and treble, but they don’t have the umph that’s required for modern music. I went to Larry Levan’s supplier, Gary Stewart, for Bertha bassbins and tweeters to augment the Klipschorns. I had Isonoe customize my turntables, a UREI mixer, and a beautiful DJ booth built. I never finished the acoustic treatment of the room and that’s half of it. You can put the best sound system in the world in a church, and it sounds like you’re in a gymnasium.

We were getting there, but it never reached its full potential.

DJ Times: Would you want to create a club from scratch again?

er’s stealing all the money— everything that comes with running a club. I would love to be a musical director of a club and help install the sound system and be a resident DJ. It’s the kind of work I know how to do. It would be nice to do the “one DJ/ one club” thing. When I used to go clubbing, I didn’t go to see DJs, I went to the club: the Roxy, Devil’s Nest, Latin Quarter, Paradise Garage. I didn’t know who the DJ was or where they were in the club—I was too busy dancing. They would be in a tiny slit, three stories up, magical and mythical.

Harvey’s myth has elevated to such proportions that unlike today’s producers-turned-DJs, he doesn’t need to put out any music , ever, to maintain his packed gigging schedule. This is not to say that he doesn’t make music. In fact, he doesn’t stop, but he doesn’t put any pressure on it either. He established Black Cock Records with Gerry Rooney in the early ’90s where, along with his friend Simon Lovejoy, they put their imprint on many records via their famed disco edits. He has his techno disco band Locussolus and his dormant Map Of Africa project with fellow Tonka DJ, Thomas Bulloc k (A.R.E. Weapons, Rub N Tug), plus Food Of the Gods, and Rwandan Ice Cream Project, to

mention a few.

Although it was completed two years ago, Harvey’s latest project, Wildest Dreams, was timed perfectly for this past summer. A psychedelic-rock project he put together with the L.A.-based funk band, Orgone, it came from the ashes of the never realized second Map Of Africa album. Wildest Dreams taps into Harvey’s early musical influences. After rock-n-rollers from his mother’s record collection like Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent and Jerry Lee Lewis came British blues-based rock like Cream, Deep Purple, Yardbirds, Graham Bond, Peter Green, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, and their drummers: Mitch Mitchell, Ian Paice, Ginger Baker, Harvey’s heroes.

Besides playing drums and a bit of guitar on Wildest Dreams, Harvey also sings, which he did on the Map Of Africa album as well. His lazy drawl has a come-hither quality dribbling atop the wandering throwback keys and hazy guitars. With titles like “Rollerskates,” “405,” “Pleasure Swell” and “Last Ride,” and sentiments to match, Harvey has created the soundtrack to his laidback SoCal lifestyle.

DJ Times: The psych-rock of Wildest Dreams is not the type of sound your fans would automatically associate with you—even though they know your tastes are broad.

DJ Harvey: I wanted to make music that is played by humans rather than sequenced by humans. The Map Of Africa album took four years and $100,000. I took my ideas to Orgone and made the album in four weeks.

DJ Times: How did you convey your ideas to Orgone?

DJ Harvey: With musicians that can actually play, you don’t have to rehearse, it’s all eye contact, especially the blues. I played them records and very simple chord structures on the guitar. We would jam around it, live jams so everything was recorded together, I would write poems over the top, then guitar solos and vocals were overdubbed. The guys are really talented musicians. I think playing rock-n-roll rather than funk was refreshing to them. We recorded the album in a week and it was mixed 10 days after that.

DJ Times: What did you use to record?

DJ Harvey: Sergio Rios in the band was the recording engineer as well as the rhythm-cum-lead guitarist on the project. He has a beautiful TASCAM 8-track, ¼-inch tape recorder, which we recorded the music on, and a couple of ribbon microphones on the drums. That’s why it sounds authentic—it’s traditional music recorded in a traditional way.

It sounds quite raw. Some bits of it are too raw, but that nudges it into a punk realm that music doesn’t have today. There are a lot of new bands making so-called psychedelic music that’s very polished, with no mistakes. Everything is so edited and refined and perfected, all the rawness has been ground out of it. The majority of the takes on this record were first takes.

DJ Times: How do you feel about singing?

DJ Harvey: I don’t think you have to be very good at singing to be a singer. If you look at modern pop music, people who can’t sing to save their lives become famous and make lots of money, but are soulless. I would like to think that I can’t sing, but I’ve got soul. Someone like Shaun Ryder from the Happy Mondays isn’t the greatest singer in the world, but he gets the message across in a fantastic way. Same with Shawn McGowan of the Pogues, who coughing through his toothless chops somehow gets the message across. Those are the guys I use as inspiration. If they’re not scared, why should I be?

DJ Times: Despite the different musical projects you are involved in, you’ve managed to bypass the requirement to constantly put out music to stay relevant.

DJ Harvey: I’ve been lucky enough and at it long enough that the ripples coming out of my DJing are entertaining enough that I don’t necessarily have to release a track every month. I would probably find that difficult to do because I don’t have the umbrage to achieve as far as production goes.

DJ Times: That’s impressive and not something many DJs can say.

DJ Harvey: You have to work to build it up. America is not somewhere you can just impose yourself. I had a small reputation from Europe, but I worked at it. I’ve got a history, I’ve got a story to tell, I’ve got the best records in the whole world, I can put them together alright, I’ve got something to offer, people are responding to that and n everything is going from strength to strength.

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Amsterdam, Holland – This past Oct. 15-19, the global DJ/dance-music industry visited The Netherlands for the Amsterdam Dance Event.

The 19 th annual conference/festival delivered a loaded schedule of discussion panels and tech seminars at the Felix Meritis Centre, the Dylan Hotel and other area venues. In the evening, ADE delegates and fans enjoyed dozens of sponsored parties and all-night club events featuring DJs of all genres.

DJ Times was there, connecting with the industry and blog-reporting on the DJ-related doings—like daytime Q&A sessions with legendary jocks like Laurent Garnier, plus choice evening events like the Dave Clarke Presents: at Melkweg with Clarke, Stacey Pullen, Ben Sims and more. Additionally, DJ Times teamed with Facebook in shooting video interviews with some of the world’s top DJs. Check our Facebook page to see these exclusive moments. It all looked like this:

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DECEMBER 2014

1 Go Big: Spinnin Sessions get massive. 2 ADE Radio: Lucien Foort on the mic. 3 David Guetta at Amsterdam Music Fest. 4 Late-Night Action: Fans go wild. 5 All Gone: Pete Tong at AIR. 6 Film Legend: Hans Zimmer’s Q&A. 7 Loveland: Deep Dish gets crowd abuzz. 8 Awakenings: Big show at Gashouder. 9 ADE ’14: Celebrating 19 years. 10 At Large: Armin van Buuren at ADE. 11 Martin Garrix: Youthful hitmaker’s Q&A. 12 Q&A: Hardwell makes a point. 1 3 Post-Q&A: L a u re n t G a r n i e r & D ave H a s l a m .

14 Playground: Ableton Push tutorial. 15 Luminosity: Paul Oakenfold at Westerunie.

Photos by A.D.E.

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DJ TIMES

DECEMBER 2014

It’s a steamy, New York summer morning and I step into the artist lounge at the Astralwerks office to find Porter Robinson getting comfortable at the piano in between interviews. He greets me with a humble nature that puts me at ease before we begin discussing Worlds, his debut fulllength, and its upcoming tour.

At 21, the Chapel Hill, N.C., native has already enjoyed a

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DJ/artist career many can only dream about. After breaking into the electronic scene back in 2010 with the release of blaring, dubbed-out single “Say My Name,” Robinson signed an EP deal with OWSLA and quickly became a highly sought-after act among the global festival and club scenes. The young artist gave support on tours with Tiësto, Skrillex and Deadmau5 before headlining his own “Spitfire Tour” in 2011. And yes, this was all done before he turned 20.

Robinson now has reached a level of stardom in the EDM world comparable to the iconic powerhouses with whom he first toured, but pursuing a similar career path doesn’t suit him. Instead, with Worlds, he’s gone a different way. Yes, there are uplifting cuts—remixes for singles like “Sea of Voices,” “Sad Machine” and “Lionhearted” made dancefloor moves—but Worlds certainly veers away from the current EDM landscape. Indeed, Robinson says that his approach to Worlds was informed by some serious artistic self-examination.

The resulting album includes ethereal moments, indie-rock elements, videogame-influenced sounds, and electro-pop melodies. Still, without the big-room boom, Robinson’s fans responded—the album topped Billboard mag’s Dance/ Electronic Albums chart upon its summer release. So, as he prepped for his “Worlds Tour,” DJ Times caught up with Porter Robinson.

DJ Times: You’ve said in past interviews that producing was more of a hobby in the beginning. At what point did you start pursuing it more seriously?

Robinson: It was a hobby that I took very seriously. I was really focused on the idea of music-production chops and the idea of being a really good technical producer. I was producing more from the angle of an engineer rather than an artist. That’s the distinguishing factor, to me, between producer and musician. Of course, there’s a Venn diagram where those two things coexist, but to me the interest in production as a kid was almost a technical one and, even though music was a component of that, I wasn’t trying to express anything. I was just trying to make shit that sounded good and was impressive to other producers.

DJ Times: Comparing something like [2011’s] “Spitfire” with the new album’s first single, “Sea of Voices,” what was it that inspired the harder, faster sound back then?

Robinson: When I was 12, I first heard electronic music in video games like DDR and Japanese video games—that’s what got my interest started in producing. As I continued to produce from the ages of 12 to 18, I was really kind of focused on the idea of impressing the producers and making music for musicians to listen to. I was trying to be the best engineer as I possibly could.

Unexpectedly, I had a song blow up [“Say My Name”] and it went to No. 1 on Beatport. That song doing really well got me requests to go tour and DJ. DJ Times: But you weren’t really a DJ, right?

Robinson: I had never DJed in my life. I had never watched DJs. I didn’t care about it, yet I was asked to go tour. I went out and learned how to DJ about a week before [my first show] and it went really well. Things kind of progressed from there and I released the “Spitfire” EP, but the thing is… I didn’t have these aspirations to be this big famous DJ/producer—I wasn’t really hustling [to have a career as a DJ].

DJ Times: Things worked out…

Robinson: In reality, it all kind of blew up around me and I found myself with this platform as a successful artist, but I hadn’t planned out a trajectory for myself. I had no idea what I wanted to do with myself as an artist and I think “Spitfire” was kind of the result of that. I was still making music

and floating around, not really sure what I wanted to do. Then I wanted to show how diverse I was, so I went and made a bunch of different genres—but that’s not impressive to me anymore. I don’t think that diversity is compelling. I think that actually doing one thing, doing it really well and doing something unique is way more compelling. That’s what my favorite artists do—they sound like themselves. I think that signals a clear change in philosophy. In my early work I was just trying to impress producers. With my new music, I’m really trying to express something.

DJ Times: But you still hear a taste of that diversity in “Fellow Feeling.” That song really caught my attention for that reason. Can you tell us more about what you’re trying to express in the lyrics?

Robinson: The vocal was originally a sample from this science-fiction TV show called “Firefly” that I was really into. There’s this character named Saffron [played by Christina Hendricks] that had this quality that I found really beautiful and kind of enchanting. I recorded my Macbook speakers with my iPhone because I wanted it to sound just kind of shitty.

I chopped up what she was saying, so it was kind of a message that was addressing this idea of my old material vs. my new material, and it worked

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DJ TIMES

out in a surprising way.

DJ Times: Who’s on the mic?

Robinson: I was never able to clear the sample and wasn’t able to use it, so I found this voice actress on the internet named Amanda Lee that does anime voiceover-type stuff and I rewrote the words into a similar message that was kind of implying something about really aggro-dance music. I think I want people to get their own message from it because, to me, the really heavy section isn’t meant to sound like big-room and a lot of the music that I criticize; it’s meant to be a really exaggerated version of it that’s extremely distorted and totally unmusical. It’s in a totally different key than the string section that precedes it, so it was definitely meant to be ugly. But, by contrast, the second half of the song is more of a reference to something like “Language” or “Easy” that’s this very melodic thing at 128 [BPM] and is very bright and beautiful. I think that song in a way represents the transformation for me [as an artist].

DJ Times: So it took you a year to create the album?

Robinson: More like two years, even when I did the song “Easy,” I had started on some Worlds stuff… I threw away 20 songs and was left with those 12, so I’m proud of all of them.

DJ Times: Let’s talk about the vocalists on Worlds. “Lionhearted” is much different from a lot of the tracks on the album, what made you want to feature Urban Cone?

Robinson: I don’t really remember how I found them. I heard their vocals and decided it was the exact tone that the song needs. I flew them out to North Carolina and they heard the instrumental and said it reminds them of Space Invaders, so we thought about an imaginary battle, basically [for the vocals]. The whole idea of the album is escapism into fictional worlds of fantasy, so the lyrics of “Lionhearted” are very much akin with that, as I see it.

DJ Times: For “Sad Machine,” how did you create the robot voice you sing with?

Robinson: There’s this Japanese program called Vocaloid that’s pretty much a text-to-speech program where you type in words and select melodies and she sings [what you type]. The most popular version of this is this character called Hatsune Miku, and if you ever look it up on YouTube there’s this video where they use the Coachella Tupac technology to project her into a stadium where they’re singing songs in this robotic voice. I was really inspired by that, so I wanted to find an English-language version. I found

this character named Ivana and she’s on three of the songs.

DJ Times: In our last interview with you, you told us your studio was just a laptop in your bedroom at your parent’s house. Are you in a studio now?

Robinson: It’s the same thing—it’s like a desktop instead of a laptop now. It’s not because I think that’s cool or better, and I wouldn’t suggest it to people, but it’s what I’m used to. It’s what I’ve been producing on for the last 10 years, so I felt that if I changed that or moved into a studio halfway through writing this album that it was going to change the tone and the sound of the album when I was so concerned with harping on consistency and doing what really felt like me. I think for the next record I’ll probably move into a good studio with a good, clean, flat set-up with a lot of real gear. I do want to kind of bump up the gear a little bit next time.

DJ Times: What software do you produce on?

Robinson: FL Studio/Fruity Loops. I didn’t use any different sequencers. I did use some different plug-ins, but nothing really interesting or unusual.

DJ Times: You’ve mentioned quite a few times that you dislike playing and producing at 128 BPM—why?

Robinson: I guess I should qualify that statement a little bit. I began to resent 128-BPM electro-house when I set out to write this album and I wanted to write something that was very beautiful, something that was pretty, but at the time I was still writing EDM. When I first started the record, I was still planning on writing songs similar to “Language,” which by the way, I still love a lot. There are elements of my old material that are still very much me. I started to find that every single one of the tropes of EDM was limiting me.

DJ Times: How so?

Robinson: Every single thing that was required for DJs—like having a buildup intro and having all of these very specific ways that energy moves so that it will work on a festival main stage or in a night club—were keeping me from being able to express myself through music the way I wanted. I didn’t want to write music at 128. I didn’t want to have to use these rigid structures or think about whether a crowd would jump up and down. It was such a distraction and I think it’s an awkward and self-limiting way to produce music.

DJ Times: But that sound’s not going away.

Robinson: I don’t think [that type] of music is necessarily bad or that no one should produce party music, as there (continued on page 42)

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When Keith “K.C.” KoKoruz experienced a falling-out with a previous business partner in November of 2009, he took lemons and made lemonade: He continued in the DJ industry, and even expanded his business by growing

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DECEMBER 2014

into additional markets.

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“There’s an English proverb that says, ‘Necessity is the mother of invention,’ meaning that difficult or impossible scenarios prompt inventions aimed at reducing the difficulty,” he explains.

“Our DJ company had previously had a terrific relationship with the local bridal show promoter here in Chicago, but I was suddenly told I was no longer welcome to exhibit with that company.”

After spending six months re-establishing his new company—The Keith Christopher Entertainment Group— KoKoruz was speaking with the director of catering from a classy new hotel who was complaining about how another bridal-show promoter had wasted time laying out floor plans for a bridal show they never ended up producing.

The catering director half-jokingly told KoKoruz that he should produce a show at her hotel. “I asked her to send me the floor plan she had laid out, and seven months later we produced our first new show,” he says. “The response was so good that vendors wanted to know when we could do another one, so we did two

more that year, and the following year we added more shows as well.”

For KoKoruz, the bridal show company he ended up forming was a way to branch out into yet another weddingrelated business.As a result, his company has been able to maximize its income and impact on the Chicagoland market.

“We’re now producing 16 bridal shows in the Chicagoland area and three in Milwaukee,” he says. “We have David’s Bridal, Men’s Wearhouse and The Knot as our main sponsors.’”

KoKoruz’s bridal shows feature vendors ranging from bands/orchestras to balloons/decorations to photographers to wedding cakes to florists to catering to formal attire to videographers to honeymoon travel.

We contacted a number of DJ owners from throughout the country for this story about how they’ve expanded their presence in their community by forming totally separate entertainment businesses.

How and why was this other business started? In what ways has doing this helped their DJ business to be-

come profitable by getting more gigs?

And what are some of the challenges of branching out into other entertainment-related lines of work?

Over in Goodyear, Ariz., Ray Martinez of Ray Mar Productions started out in the industry in 1974, but recently began branching out into the children’s market. “Bubble Parties Arizona” is a division of his DJ business.

“We purchased the franchise territory for Arizona from Rob Peters, who along with his late business partner came up with the concept,” explains RayMar. “Rob Peters in Boston has been a longtime friend of mine, and this was an offer I could not refuse.

“Plus, it’s a great way to make extra money during the week.”

If done properly, Martinez says he can pick up anywhere from three to 10 “bubble parties” per month in KinderCare as well as independently owned childcare facilities—with the average fee for a one-hour kids party bringing in between $250 to $350 per gig.

“As I celebrate my 40th anniversary in entertainment, I found that, although

I still thoroughly enjoy performing at weddings, it takes a tremendous amount of preparation and homework for an event to be successful. On an average I personally put in 15-20 hours of pre-production time per wedding event. Many may think that’s too much time; however, that’s what separates the average DJ company from the most successful DJ companies.

“I’m getting to the point in my career that if I can do five or six bubble parties a week—knowing the prep time is not as consuming as a wedding—it could extend my career and I can cut back on my weddings a few notches,” he says.

Martinez chuckles when asked if he’s close to retiring, adding that having this other business keeps him working steady. “I just enjoy putting smiles on the faces of a younger audience,” he says.

“This also frees up a few extra weekends so that I can spend more time with my wife and we can travel more.

“Doing bubble parties can be tremendously lucrative for anyone wanting to put more cash in their pocket during the week, but—just as any

Lighting so as to completely separate it from our DJ company. I didn’t want to only target our DJ clientele with lighting and decor options—that’s what every other DJ company does and I knew we had to be different.”

In 2009, Elegant Event Lighting did 38 events, and in 2014 the company will do over 250. “Originally it was going to be small, with uplighting and a backdrop behind a head table that I was going to train my DJs to set up,” he says, “but this became too much right away so it was necessary to hire full-time staff devoted to Elegant Event Lighting.

“Currently, the company employs four full-time and over 20 part-time employees. Our niche has grown to be fabric decor and speciality elements like crystal chandeliers, white dancefloors, pinspot lighting, patterns, etc.”

In March of 2014, Elegant moved into a new home of over 8,000 square feet that houses Sims’ DJ company, plus the lighting company with plenty of storage, offices and a dedicated 1,000-squarefoot showroom for demonstrations (continued on page 42)

DECEMBER 2014

started full-time as a wedding DJ company on Dec. 31, 2002,” he says. I always wanted to be a multi-op and grew to a nice staff of eight over the next couple of years, but I didn’t want to grow to 10 or more DJs so I was looking for another avenue of growth.

“Photography, photo-booths and videography had no interest to me, though I am an avid and fanatical musical theater lover. I’ve always loved great production, singing and dancing, so I was drawn to lighting, draping and sets.”

After doing extensive market research, Sims found that floral companies were doing elaborate fabric work for weddings and any specific decor-only companies only in downtown Chicago.

“Our niche has been the Chicago suburban bride, so I knew there was a market for beautiful and intricate decor work offered to suburban brides at price points that were more in line with their budget comfort levels,” he says.

“So I decided that our next growth was not going to be on the DJ side but in lighting and decor.

“I named the company Elegant Event

DJ TIMES

event—you still have to work hard to be successful.”

For over 30 years now Bobby Morganstein Productions has been providing all sorts of entertainment services for all sorts of parties throughout the Philadelphia market—from basic parties to over-the-top extravagant affairs— and for a majority of those years Morganstein has operated separate businesses that complement his DJ work.

“Back in 1996, I bought a building which I turned into a venue called Beatstreet,” explains Morganstein. “I bought it because it was a building that could house my warehouse for my DJ equipment, a spot to train my dancers and staff, offices to run the business and a party room in which to entertain.

“It was basically a nightclub for rental, and it became so popular that I bought the two buildings next to it, expanded the main party room and added a second room next door called ‘Backsteps at Beatstreet.’”

Morganstein bought another building at an historic train station in Philadelphia in 2001 and created another

venue called ‘Beatstreet Station’—an additional venue that complements his DJ business along with the other businesses into which he’s expanded.

“In 2003, I started a novelty business called ‘Hour Entertainment,’ which offers photo novelties, arcade games, fun foods and interactive games for events,” he says. “It complements our DJ business, and for the first five years all events for Hour Entertainment were booked from clients who had our DJ services or Beatstreet already booked.

“By branding it separately, it has taken a life of its own—being booked for events for which we are no longer the facility or the entertainment.”

Then again, even with a few additional businesses, Morganstein was not yet done. “In 2006 I started Enlight, which offers event lighting, unique DJ setups, staging and LED dancefloors for our clients,” he says. “Today, Enlight has even expanded to servicing other DJ and entertainment companies, as well as event planners from throughout the Philadelphia region.”

Not yet completed with his expansions, in 2008 Morganstein founded Lounge Around, which initially supplied lounge furniture rentals to his DJ clients as well as his various facilities.

“Over the past three years, Lounge Around has grown to supply many of the event planners and other entertainment companies in the New Jersey, Philadelphia and Maryland markets with lounge solutions for their events,” he says. “Lounge Around has now expanded into LED bars and acrylic table with LED bases, and is now one of the largest suppliers of acrylics in the midAtlantic region.”

By branding each of these companies separately, Morganstein says each of his companies runs independent of the others. “We did this so anyone would be comfortable to use any of our companies they would like,” he explains.

“For the clients we handle directly we market under the BME Bobby Morganstein Events brand, which encompasses all the brands that we market.”

Asked if he gets DJ bookings as a result of operating these auxiliary businesses, Morganstein answers in the affirmative. “We actually do get DJ bookings from clients who are looking into photo favors, lounge options or lighting first,” he says. “We consult with them, and for the ones without entertainment we add a DJ to the package.

“I actually had to hire a manager for each of the companies, and then I oversee the whole picture. I also hired a production manager to oversee the execution of all the events. It’s a lot more complicated, with a lot more moving parts, but as I slow down my entertaining days I’ve created a whole new future for myself.”

Back over in the Chicago market, Jay Sims of Something 2 Dance 2 additionally owns a lighting and décor company that operates as a separate business. “I

25

MAKING TRACKS STUDIO…HARDWARE…SOFTWARE…

By Phil Moffa This year, Roland released its AIRA range of music-making products. It included: TR-8 Rhythm Performer, TB-3 Touch Bassline, VT-3 Voice Transformer, SYSTEM-1 PLUG-OUT Synth, SBX-1 Sync Box, SH-101 PLUG-OUT soft-

than the past. It is a nice upgrade to have tunable rim shot, claps, and hats—although this can take away from the authenticity of the original kits. It would’ve been nice to have the tuning knobs have a middle indenta-

ROLAND TR-8:

DJ TIMES

DECEMBER 2014

TR-8: An evolution from the classic 808/909 boxes.

26

synth, and SH-2 PLUG-OUT soft-synth.

And with the TR-8, Roland answered one of the most frequently heard sentiments from the beat-makers and gear-head set: “Why doesn’t Roland re-release a modern 808/909? Roland would make a fortune!”

Impressions: For starters, the sounds are produced digitally by Roland’s new Analog Circuit Behavior modeling technology. This may not please purists, but when you consider how many tracks have used digital samples of these sounds, it really doesn’t matter. In a mix with some processing, it’d be rather tough to tell.

The ACB technology is responsible for the knobs to work smoothly and allows pitch changes without aliasing and other artifacts. That being said, there are some sounds that shine and others that lack.

The bass drums and snares sound very good and the compressor knob adds some might to them. Although, to my ears, the TR-8’s 909 bass drum lacked a little bit of the tone of the original TR-909, there are still many usable kicks to be had. The toms sound very close, although missing a bit of the attack. The range of tuning is similar with the low tom going even lower

a way better feel.

With a new firmware update, there are now individual instrument gain settings with a range of 0-200, or -24dB to +24dB. This is a very welcome update; originally, the clap was way too loud and the gain structure should be usertweakable. As a side note, all of the AIRA units recently received upgrades, an indication that Roland will be on top of user requests and that there are more improvements to come. Many users have expressed the hope that new kits will get added, too.

Another new update function is the ability to edit patterns, but have them revert to the originals after changing patterns. This can be useful for making drastic changes while performing, but easi-

recommend this method of tracking.

It is unfortunate, however, that the sample rate is locked to 96 kHz. The tempo of the DAW and start/ stop messages was easily transmitted over the same USB connection.

Another simple new feature that is a big improvement is the ability to pan the instruments to either side of the stereo outputs. An inconvenience here, though, is that assigning outputs requires the machine to be powered off, change the settings, and then a power on.

Effects Galore: Another clear distinction from the units of the past is the addition of effects. Eight different reverbs and delays can be step-sequenced and can be used on individual instruments, with the wet sound coming out of the main outputs. Although capable of some decently weird things when pushed, none of these really sound as good as dedicated effects boxes. Only a few of each were usable for me. There is a stereo pair of external inputs and these can be used in (the now-cliché

CLASSIC SOUNDS, NEW FEATURES

tion to keep them exactly at 12 o’ clock.

I think the hats are one of the lessimpressive parts of the new kits, as well as the claps. The crash and ride are still tunable and the new decay knob, when turned very low, basically gives you new “hi-hat” sounds to mess with. There are 11 instruments useable at once, so the 808 clave and rim share a track with the 909 rim, while the 808 cowbell and both rides share another. While this was a good solution to save space and keep it simple, there should, in my view, be the ability to put anything anywhere.

It is a nice bonus to mix and match the two classic kits, and 16 user kits can be stored.

New Vs. Old: Creating patterns on the fly, jumping between them, clearing parts and all general programming moves have been simplified.

With the old boxes, there were some functions that required playback to be stopped, so these things were nicely reconsidered. For the sake of performing and attaining a balanced mix, each instrument has a fader instead of the old level knobs. This is a great improvement over the originals, reminiscent of the TR-707 sliders, but with

ly returning to square one for the next set. There is a shuffle knob for adding swing, but it does not have a displayed amount. This is good for doing it by ear, but would’ve been nice to see a percentage amount similar to the MPC for getting it to work with other gear.

Patterns can be shorter than 16 or 32 steps via a last step button and the scale button selects between different time signatures, just like the predecessors. I found this to be somewhat dangerous while jamming, though.

Accidentally hitting it creates a train wreck. Would be great to have the ability to disable this button, if 4/4 is all you need.

The unit’s two extra outputs are definitely helpful, but they don’t come close to the old 808/909 back panel with jacks for every instrument. The modern solution to this is the ability to multitrack the whole unit at 24 bit/96 kHz into a DAW. After installing drivers, I easily selected the TR-8 as my sound card in Pro Tools and recorded the main output and individual outputs for every instrument while monitoring via the TR-8’s mix outputs.

This multitrack sounded way better than the mix outputs and much closer to the vintage units. I would definitely

technique of) side-chaining with the turn of a knob. However, it can also be used subtly and there are eight different ways the sidechain can react rhythmically to programmed steps, in addition to a depth control.

To the far right is a function called Scatter, which creates a glitched-out drum-fill type of effect. There are 10 different Scatters with assignable depth. I found some of them useful for fills and accents when used at the lowest depths and most to be sloppy and unusable, for me, at any depth.

It is also possible to create random patterns if that is something you need help with or if you like rolling the dice.

In Summation: All in all, the TR-8 can sound very similar to its predecessors, while providing a great interface for jamming and writing.

There are some feature limitations, but these can be worked around, just like the originals. Considering the potential, the machine falls a bit short of what it could be, in my view. However, considering the street price of $499, it can also be seen as a bargain for anyone that always wanted to have these sounds in a fun, playable hardware unit that doesn’t cost several paychecks.

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SOUNDING OFF PLAYBACK…PRO AUDIO…PROCESSING

MACKIE THUMP: POWERFUL & PORTABLE

By Mike Klasco & Tony Russell

Portable powered speakers for mobile DJs hit the scene in the mid-1990s and quickly became the obvious solution to speedy set-up and tear down. With almost all of the cables now internal to the enclosure, the issues of correct connections, forgotten cables, etc., are just a faint memory today.

Other important characteristics in a powered speaker—good sound, substantial volume, portability, reliability and affordability—are on the top of the list, and the bottom line on Mackie’s Thump series is that it’s got it all.

The design team that developed Mackie’s respected SRM powered speaker series set out to come as close as possible with a 30-percent cheaper and lighter product, and the result of this effort is the Mackie Thump series. The 12-inch version (TH-12A) street price is a bit below $300 each, the 15-inch Thump (TH-15A) around $350, and the 18-inch powered subwoofer (TH-18S) priced around $700.

The enclosure is a tough, polypropylene plastic, and the drivers include a 15-inch woofer, 1-inch compression driver with the horn molded into the front baffle. The 15-inch Thump weighs about 36 pounds and the 12inch Thump only 25 pounds. (The sub, incidentally, goes 73 pounds.) The

DJ TIMES

DECEMBER 2014

TH-15A: 15-inch woofer & 400 watts.

28

TH-18S: Sub delivers a big thump.

TH-12A: Mackie’s 12-inch active unit.

design is bi-amped with an electronic crossover, and the bass amplifier is a high-efficiency (low heat) Class D with 300 watts, and the horn gets its own 100-watt amp.

I was impressed that the Mackie engineers put the effort in to provide for time-alignment of the acoustic centers of the woofer and the compression driver. This is a nice refinement that results in both cohesive vocals and better and more efficient transition between the drivers at the crossover point.

Thump loudspeakers also feature a user-adjustable 3-band EQ for tone control to better balance the sound for the room and crowd.

An active limiter for each driver provides optimum protection and thermal circuitry protects the amplifiers and power supply if the system is overdriven.

The TH-15A’s large woofer provides decent bass, but for DJs whose style and music and for the jobs require more serious bass, the TH-12A along with the Thump 18-inch sub is a better fit. We strapped a pair to DJ Times taste tester Tony Roxxx and sent him off to a job for his comments: According to Tony: Out of the box, the new Mackie Thump 15 units are pretty light and they have a decent look and feel. The Thumps are easy to grab and lift. As the Thump speakers cost only about $350, I didn’t expect much—but they surprised me. Though not as nice-sounding to my ears as its brethren (the SRM450s), the cost-to-sound ratio was good. I pushed them hard for 12 hours and not once did the speaker shut down. (Mackie speakers are supposed to shut down if they get to hot or if the circuitry overloads).The balance between the highs and lows is also good, even if the sound quality is not quite what you’ll get from Mackie’s more expensive speakers.

Bottom Line: I’d say for the DJ on a budget looking for a speaker that will be dependable and loud, you will certainly get a bit more then you pay for with the new Mackie Thump series. Call it a sound investment.

DECEMBER 2014

Proudly distributed by:

ITALIAN SPEAKER IMPORTS 914.219.4180 info@italianspeakers.us

DJ TIMES

We only received the speaker the day before we left for Burning Man, so there was no time to engineer speaker placement on the art car, or re-engineer the existing tiny speaker platforms. Those existing platforms were designed for 12-inch monitors that were blown out and fully destroyed by day three last year. However, it’s all we had to work with, and we mounted the 15s where the monitors originally were (rest in peace). The lightweight construction of the Thumps made that job a breeze. Even with the rough playa terrain bouncing them around, there were never any structural issues.

Last year’s system consisted of a discrete amplifier running the pair of monitor speakers. In addition to eventually blowing out the woofers, the system heavily taxed the onboard generator used to run the entire car. We planned ahead this year, and mounted a second generator to run the audio. However, due to the high efficiency of the Class-D amplifiers in the Mackie units, we were able to eliminate the second generator altogether and run on the same gen as last year. This time, with twice the number of drivers, more overall sound, we had no power problems.

Still… next year we will return with the second generator—and the 18-inch subs!

– Mike Prachar

FBTUSA

Black Rock Desert, Nev. – Most of us know that Burning Man is a weeklong, Bacchanalian gathering of more than 65,000 people in the northern Nevada desert. Each August, all sorts of unusual occurrences go on during the event and, of course, plenty of DJs are there to create its round-theclock soundtrack.

Of course, the remote environment—with its heat and dust, plus the funky electrical power options— puts some intense stresses on the DJs’ audio gear. So, we thought Burning Man would be one of the most extreme situations to further test Mackie’s Thump series. To do so, we sent our team with its art car (with speaker stands attached) into this audio-equipment hell.

The Scene: Burning Man started with a flooding rain, something we did not expect in the arid dessert. During camp setup, there was a problem with the generator where it was putting out 135 volts instead of 120. I had no idea this was happening, so when the woofers suddenly stopped working, I was concerned that there was some problem with this production run.

Later, when someone identified and fixed the voltage issue, I reconnected the “bad” speakers and they worked perfectly. So we found out the hard way that the system’s overvoltage power protection works as desired.

We set up camp on Sunday. Four of the speakers and the mixer were set up outside, and we all went to bed.

Around 6:45 a.m. on Monday morning, the event was hit with the biggest rain/hailstorm in over 10 years. It rained nearly nonstop for several hours, while all of us huddled in our various tents, RVs, etc. Late Monday the rain let up, and when I went outside to survey the situation, I noticed all the electronics had been left out in the rain.

I knew better than to turn anything on right then, so I unplugged it all and went back to camp cleanup. The next morning, I decided to plug it back in and see what the damage was. To my surprise and delight, everything still worked perfectly. A pair of Thump 12s and 15s, plus the mixer, all fired right up and played flawlessly.

We had initially expected to receive a pair of the Thump 18s to run as subwoofers, but they did not arrive before we had to leave for the playa. Despite that, several people commented on the amount of bass we were able to get out of the 15s (and the 12s) just as they were.

Remember, getting any sort of bass outside is tough, so this is quite impressive.

Two other design considerations of the Thump units turned out to be very beneficial to our particular application—their low weight and low power consumption.

.COM

Desert Battle: Mackie Thumps Burning Man

29

MOBILE PROFILE CAREERS…INNOVATIONS…SUCCESS STORIES

By Stu Kearns

Rosendale, N.Y.—Ali Gruber got into the music business through her mother, an administrative assistant for the head of the international licensing department at Arista Records in the mid-’70s.

“Her desk was right in front of the art director ‘s office, so she always got to see all the ar tists— members of The Kinks and the Grateful Dead, Patti Smith—as they went in to discuss album artwork,” says Gruber. “She had colleagues at all the other New York-based record labels, like Warner Bros., Mercury, Columbia and Atlantic, and they all used to share music.”

Her mom bestowed to her daughter a love for classic soul music, digging

into her vast record collection and giving her an Otis Redding album. “It was the first record she ever gave me from her collection,” says Gruber. “And I absolutely could not get enough of that in high school.”

Some 20 years later, Gruber is a DJ, spinning at weddings and bars, and retains a love for analog, bordering on obsession, to the point where she refuses to switch to digital. A rare breed, indeed.

“From a business perspective, using real vinyl sets me apart from a lot of other DJs on the scene right now,” she says. “It makes me unique as a DJ, especially in the wedding industry, and unique is lucrative.”

Gruber says the advantage of spinning vinyl is that she doesn’t have to preprogram a night and guess what might work—especially at weddings. “The guest list at a wedding can really run the gamut of ages and music tastes, so I usually bring at least 150 records with me and wait to see what people respond to,” she says. “I think it’s really important to feel out your audience and see what people are actually dancing to.”

The only programming parameter she follows is a loose chronological order. “I almost always do an early dance set for older folks who might not stick around for the end of the night dance party, and I believe in playing full sets, not

DJ TIMES

DECEMBER 2014

THE CRACKLE OF VINYL ENDURES

30

DJ Ali’s turntable sets create a point of difference.

just a song or two from one era. So I’ll do a ’60s soul/ Motown/funk/disco thing in the beginning of the night and usually end the night with ’90s hip hop and whatever current pop music might make it onto my radar.”

Like many DJs, Gruber got her start at house parties, spinning for fun. Then, a couple of friends who were getting married asked if she would DJ their wedding. “They paid me for it,” she says. “It wasn’t much, but I remember that light bulb going off in my brain. I had never considered making money DJing before. It was just something I did for fun.”

That wedding was the night it all began—literally. The caterer and the venue operator both loved what she was doing and started referring her. She had wedding clients before she had a business card. “I was really lucky in that capacity,” she says. “In the Hudson Valley, word-of-mouth is pretty much the gold standard in the wedding industry.

After a couple of summers of doing weddings, I thought, ‘I should really put some effort into this,’ and started actually building my business.”

The business side didn’t come to Gruber as naturally as the DJing. “Getting a grip on the administrative back-end of the business was a challenge,” she says. “You throw me in front of my turntables with a crate of records and I’m fine, but dealing with clients did not come naturally to me.

I really had to step up my professional game to get better at communicating with my clients. Once I did, though, I realized how much easier it made my job in the long run.”

Gruber has managed to be selective in choosing her clientele. “That’s the best part of owning my own business— not having to compromise my standards,” she says. “I told myself when I started doing weddings that I would never ‘sell out’ just because I was making money and working in the wedding industry. I’ve stayed very true to my style, and I don’t have to play music that makes me cringe because I don’t take on clients that don’t jibe with that style. Happily, for the most part, clients that seek out a vinyl DJ for their wedding are usually folks that really love good, classic, dance music and really get behind what I do.”

There are other, more practical challenges for an allvinyl DJ, especially one who lugs two heavy Technics SL1200 turntables, a Rane Empath 3-channel mixer, Crown amps and a crossover to power passive Behringer speakers and a passive Electro-Voice sub—oh, and 150 vinyl records, too.

“It’s all about Yoga,” she says. “I will freely admit I was a total hater until I started doing it and realized that it really works wonders for strengthening the back. I also make it a point to pamper myself with massages and acupuncture, especially during wedding season, because it’s rough lugging all that stuff around twice in one weekend. I’m also really lucky to have an assistant—read: roadie—who happens to be a pretty awesome boyfriend, and comes with me to almost all my gigs.”

DJ Ali doubled her number of gigs between 2013 and 2014, after spending a bit more time and money on marketing, and maintains modest ambitions. “I don’t know how much more growing I can do without taking on an employee,” she says. “I’ve thought about it, but I’m so picky.

I think my music standards probably seem ridiculous to other people. For now, I’m really happy with the way my year went, and I’m hoping to be lucky enough to, at the very least, replicate it next year.”

And she’ll start by almost never saying no to an opportunity to gig. “Gigs bring more gigs,” she says. “And I guess while I have the energy and time, I’ll get out there as much as I can, because you never know who’s listening.”

BUSINESS LINE SALES…MARKETING…SOLUTIONS…

HOW TO INCREASE CONVERSIONS ON YOUR WEBSITE RIGHT NOW Keyword Planner Social Sites Outliers

DJ TIMES

DECEMBER 2014

By Con Carney

32

“Is there demand for the kind of language you’re using on your site? The Google Keyword Planner can help you understand what the language is to meet demand.”

Many mobile DJs running their own businesses might not have a big budget for digital marketing, and you might not have a lot of time to become an SEO expert. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of some free tools to make sure the language on your website is optimized to full effect.

Stephanie Hay, director of content strategy at Capital One, is a wellknown speaker on the UX/content seminar circuit. She advises startups and other businesses on the tactics of “lean content”—using words to acquire customers on the Internet.

Hay offered us some thoughts on three free tools you can use, with examples of how she used them for her clients. They can work for your DJ business, too.

Google Keyword Planner Type in various terms related to your DJ business—don’t just rely on one or two words, go “long tail,” like “hiring a DJ in Baltimore” or “hire a deejay in Baltimore.” In Google Keyword Planner, note how frequently theses terms are searched for each month. If it’s in the thousands or higher, those words should be in your title tags, metadescriptions, headlines and blog posts. Traffic will start increasing as Google re-indexes your site and notices that you’re using words that match people’s search terms.

“What Google is looking for is demand,” says Hay. “Is there demand for the kind of language you’re using on your site? The planner can help you understand what the language is to meet demand.”

Hay uses the example of Ride Post, a car-sharing startup that she worked with. “On their website, they were talking about all the perceived benefits of their product for their customers—meet new people, save money on gas, etc.

But none of these terms drove people to the site. There was no demand for those words and they didn’t immediately relate to the product.”

After a 10-minute exercise looking at Google Keyword Planner, Ride Post changed their website language and ended up with more activity in three weeks than they had in two years prior.

The Takeaway: Don’t overload your web copy with product benefits— “fun” or “memorable” are terms DJs often use.

Social Sites Find your target audience’s niche groups on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and any other known social network.

For example, go to a catering facility’s Facebook page and see how people interact on their page. You want to market towards non-profits? Go to their Instagram page, that’s where they’ll post party pictures.

In other words, find where the masses are; this is your pool of qualified target customers. Study what language gets the most engagement—Likes, Shares—and start peppering those throughout the content you’re making.

“I was doing an experiment with CrossFit as my subject matter,” says Hay. “I went on Facebook and I found that they had 1.5 million Likes, and 500,000 on CrossFit Games Page; on Twitter they only had 282,000 followers, and on YouTube they had 500,000 subscribers. So I know that Facebook has three times the amount of potential customers using it over Twitter and YouTube, and this is where I was able to define my marketing strategy. By focusing on Facebook right out of the gate, I was able to see what kind of content users were interacting with, and then I used some of that on my site, and in my marketing.”

Music for WODs, an experiment Hay ran where she published playlists for CrossFitters, was one example of where she sourced content from Facebook.

“I published them to my website and cross promoted them to Facebook, and over four months I got 33,000 Likes. I would never have been able to do that if I had used a broad marketing strategy.”

The Takeaway: You need to be as good a “social listener” as you are a social post-er.

Pay Attention to the Outliers Hay believes that we can’t learn very much very quickly from the averages.

“What we’re looking for are things that seem to be working incredibly well, and things that seem to be failing at a colossal rate,” she says. “That helps us learn much more quickly.”

She cites the example of Work Design Magazine—a magazine she co-founded for interior commercial designers. “We needed, as a startup, to be able to focus on where people were coming from, and where we should be spending our marketing, and what kind of content we should be making.”

From looking at referrals in Google Analytics, she found that Twitter and Facebook drove a majority of traffic, but also found that the people that Pinterest drove to the site stayed twice as long.

“They would look at three times as many stories,” she says. “These were people who were really interested in what we had to offer. Find out who is staying longer on your site, and drive your marketing to that channel.We found that the keyword ‘best office plant’ was driving an inordinate amount of people to the website. However, they were staying on one page and bolting—they got what they needed and left. They weren’t our qualified audience.”

The Takeaway: Don’t be fooled by raw numbers in Google Analytics.

DJ TIMES

DECEMBER 2014

GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

34

Polar Vortex

Loudspeaker of the House

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

Yamaha Corporation of America P.O. Box 6600 Buena Park, CA 90622 (714) 522-9011 www.yamaha.com

ADJ’s Vortex 1200 is an LED moving-head that uses a 16-piece lens kit and 12 10W RGBW quad-color LEDs to create a Moonflower-style effect. Mounted on a moving yoke, the unit rotates 360 degrees and features exclusive clockwise/counter-clockwise mirror movement, as well as a random strobe effect mode and 16-bit fine pan/tilt. Twenty-three built-in color macros are provided to aid with programming and three operational modes are available— Sound Active, Show Mode and DMX Controlled, which offers a choice of 14-, 15-, 17-, or 29-channel modes.

Yamaha released the new CBR Series of passive loudspeakers, which includes three models—the CBR10, CBR12 and CBR15. Models in the line don’t require power cables. They offer high-definition, low distortion sound, even at high output levels when used in combination with an external power amplifier, according to the company. Features include one speakON jack and a ¼-inch phone jack. Also, they come with a protection circuit that limits excessive input to the HF driver to reduce the risk of the damage.

Call Me on My Mobile UA

WeGO Together

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

Pioneer Electronics 1925 E. Dominguez Street Long Beach, CA 90810 (310) 952-2000 www.pioneerdjusa.com

The Mobile UA is the world’s smallest USB audio interface that supports both DSD and ASIO, according to Roland. The unit features up to four channels of DSD and PCM audio playback and includes ASIO and Core Audio drivers for use with Mac- and PC-based applications. The Mobile UA features a high-performance headphone amplifier with 158 MW + 158 MW output at 40 ohms. It also comes with TRS mini-jacks that provide two stereo audio outputs.

Pioneer’s DDJ-WeGO3 is an entry-level compact DJ controller that is compatible with a variety of software, including djay 2 for iPad and iPhone, djay1 for Mac, Serato DJ Intro, TRAKTOR PRO 2, and VirtualDJ Limited Edition. The unit sports an aluminum top panel and features red and blue LED illumination on the jog wheels. It comes with a Lightening cable so that it can be charged with compatible iOS devices. Features include a built-in sound card, built-in audio ports and a multi-purpose slot for accommodating an iPad or iPhone.

AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

GEAR

Guardians of the Galaxy Audio

Toot Your Own Horn

Galaxy Audio P.O. Box 16285 Wichita, KS 67216 (316) 263-2852 www.galaxyaudio.com

RCF USA 110 Talmadge Rd. Edison, NJ 08817 (732) 902-6100 www.rcf-usa.com

Galaxy Audio expanded its Any Spot Traveler Series to include two new transmitters. The AS-TVBPT is a pendant-style body-pack microphone that is worn around the user’s neck. It features 96 selectable channels and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that carries a charge for up to 16 hours. The AS-TVH2 is a compact condenser handheld microphone. It can run for up to 16 hours on two AA batteries. Features include switchable “Push to Talk/Push to Mute” button, 96 selectable channels, and backlit LCD display.

The SUB H Series from dB Technologies includes 15- and 18-inch hybrid horn-loaded cabinets that the company says allows the products to “achieve a one octave lower frequency response than their previous offerings.” Models in the SUB H line use a smaller amplifier, allowing for more power efficiency while still achieving 133-134 dB maximum SPL output. Features include a crossover frequency switch, phase inversion switch and built-in delay, as well as 56-bit DSP processing for crossover, EQ, limiter and delay management.

Epsilon 1550 S. Maple Ave. Montebello, CA 90640 (800) 832-4647 www.epsilon-pro.com The EPM Series of bi-amped two-way monitors includes the EPM-6.5 and the EPM-8. The former features a 6.5-inch glass cone low-frequency transducer, a power output of 50W LF and 20W HF, and a max SPL rated at 106dB. The latter has an eight-inch glass cone low-frequency transducer, a power output of 70W LF and 20W HF, and a max SPL rated at 109dB. Both feature 12dB crossover, class AB amplifiers, a one-inch silk-dome high-frequency tweeter, and balanced XLR, TRS ¼-inch or unbalanced RCA input.

Serato Private Bag 92015 Auckland 1142 New Zealand +64 9 379 4944 www.serato.com Serato DJ 1.7 is now available for download from the company’s website.The updated version includes some of the features found in the classic Scratch Live, such as MIDI Panel, Chronological Cue Points, AM Mode and Rearrange Cues. Users get a Serato Flip Expansion Pack that lets them create custom edits, extend and re-imagine their music, as well as a Serato DVS Expansion Pack that allows users with compatible/supported hardware to expand their setup and connect Turntables or CDJs to their controller setup. Serato DJ 1.7 offers support for Pioneer DDJ-SX2, Numark NV, Pioneer DDJ-WeGO3, Akai Pro AFX and Reloop Neon.

DJ TIMES

Bi-Amp & Sell

DECEMBER 2014

Head to Serato

35

GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

Kaoss & Creation

Controller Derby

Korg 316 South Service Rd Melville, NY 11747 (631) 390-6500 www.korg.com

Akai Professional 200 Scenic View Drive Suite 201 Cumberland, RI 02864 (401) 658-4032 www.akaipro.com

Korg’s MiniKP2S is the successor to its Kaoss Pad. The new model comes with onboard sampling so that user can capture audio from external sources as well, via both the 1/8-inch stereo input and onboard microphone. Samples can be modified using onboard effects and then instantly exported to Ableton Live “for immediate integration into computer-based productions,” according to the company. MiniKP2S runs for up to six hours on two AA batteries.

ProX

Akai Professional released the AFX and AMX controllers for Serato DJ. The AFX features 10 pad modes and touch-activated FX knobs, as well as an endless controller with LED readout delivers needle-drop access to any point in the track. It is the first official Serato accessory to include exclusive controls for Serato’s Flip Expansion Pack. The AMX is a plug and play mixing control surface with inputs for Serato NoiseMap control signals. It features a 24-bit, 96 kHz audio interface, as well as touch-activated EQ and filter knobs.

Live Performance Gear

Up in the FlareCON Air ...with our

DJ TIMES

DECEMBER 2014

BLACK on BLACK

36

hardware option!

Chauvet 5200 NW 108th Ave. Sunrise, FL 33351 (800) 762-1084 www.chauvetlighting.com The FlareCON Air hardware interface allows DJs to control any of Chauvet’s battery-operated Freedom series fixtures directly from the FlareCON Air app on their smartphone or tablet. This palm-sized device works with both iOS and Android operating systems and operates over unobstructed distances up to 600 feet. The FlareCON Air unit, which consists of a Wi-Fi receiver and a wireless D-Fi transmitter, can wirelessly synchronize an unlimited number of D-Fi ready fixtures and receivers simultaneously. It also comes with three-pin XLR connectors for working with wired DMX protocols.

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GROOVES TRACKS…MIXES…COMPILATIONS

“SITTIN’ (ON TOP OF THE WORLD) u Audiowhores u Toolroom A beautiful piece of deep, funky, techy dance music. This one has everything you want in a top house record—melodic beat, rocking drums and a great hook. This will keep you on the dancefloor—quality.

– Tommy D Funk KNEE DEEP IN SOUND

u Hot Since 82 u Knee Deep In Sound/Ultra Hot Since 82 drops a mix comp showcasing four new originals, in addition to a slew of releases from his new label. The mix is a bit more reserved than the energy on 2013’s Little Black Book, but his new productions maintain the pulsing vibes of the wildest of warehouse raves. The sassy groove of the main riff from Traumer’s “Hoodlum” stands out as a highlight, ready for peak-hour.

– Chris Caruso “GHOST IN THE SYSTEM” EP u Pleasure State u Hot Creations Lee Foss and Marc Kinchen enlist vocalist Anabel Englund to form the underground supergroup Pleasure State. The title track offers an otherworldly fusion of crackling sub-basslines and Englund’s haunting vocals, while “Subject Matter” is a dark house romp that features Lee Foss debuting his rapping skills with verses about government corruption, Monsanto, and GMOs. Don’t miss Carl Craig’s crackling techno remix of “Electricity” on the B-Side.

– Chris Caruso “THE MULATAR HOUSE” EP u Jay Haze & Friends u Soul Clap Records This laid-back, midtempo three-track house piece drops some cool, hypnotic rhythms. “Take a Dip” offers pleasing pads and a sweet guitar lick with tons of reverb, while “Mulatar House” pushes a funky, chunky bassline and smooth vibe. The fave here, though, is “Peru Berlin Connection,” which picks up the pace with ethereal guitar licks and an exceptional groove.

– Shawn Christopher

Pleasure State

MONEY SUCKS, FRIENDS RULE u Dillon Francis u Columbia/Mad Decent EDM’s resident class clown brings some serious goods on his star-studded debut LP. There’s no shame in an unabashed banger, which Francis has no trouble delivering on the sizzling trap of “All That” and big-room electro of “Set Me Free” with Martin Garrix. However, the album’s pop collaborations—“Drunk All The Time” with Simon Lord and “Love In The Middle of A Firefight” with Panic! At The Disco vocalist Brandon Urie—showcase a more emotive and vulnerable side to Francis’ normally brash musical persona.

– Chris Caruso SHIR KHAN PRESENTS SECRET GOLD 06 u Various Artists u Exploited Records Exploited honcho Khan compiles four fantastic deep-house cuts for his Secret Gold series. The tribal disco vibes of Kevin McKay’s funky “Everything’s A Dream” may be the standout, but the bouncing basslines and spoken vocals of “Give It To Me” by PJU are not to be missed.

– Chris Caruso “EL DIABLO” REMIXES EP

u Human Life & Anabel Englund u Exploited Records For Human Life’s reunion with Anabel Englund—the pair previously released 2012’s “Falling”—Exploited delivers a package of deep remixes. The slinky lounge vibes of Joyce Muniz’s rework and hazy tech production of Mia Dora’s remix are top-notch vocal house, but the melancholic nostalgia from the Adana Twins will be a prime closer for your next underground set.

– Chris Caruso “VOICEMAIL” u Green Velvet & Patrick Topping u Relief Records Green Velvet teams up with Hot Creations hotshot Patrick Topping to craft an explosive spiritual successor to 1997’s “Answering Machine,” complete with all-new cheeky answering machine messages. The “meet me at the club” refrain is insanely infectious, but it’s the tech-house bomb’s bumping energy levels and propulsive snare beat that will slay club floors.

– Chris Caruso GALACTIC SOUL ODYSSEY u Fabrice Lig u Planet E Almost every track here is beautiful and dark, if not completely weird and wonderful. Full of funky house, soulful downtempo, tough techno and breaks, the album also features the classy and sexy vocals of Ann Saunderson. Fave Track: The elegant and groovy “Celestial Love Rising” (feat. Hard Ton).

– Tommy D Funk

Dillon Francis

38

“FEEL THE FIRE” u Eli & Fur u Anjunadeep A perfect blend of infectious vocals and delicious bassline, this one’s a

Eli & Fur

Fabrice Lig

Pig&Dan

Hot Since 82

[COMING 2015]

Audiowhores

monster for house-music dancefloors. Rolling back the energy, Journeyman’s remix adds a subtler, more progressive approach. The original is poised to catch the attention of plenty of DJs.

Aimed at both industry professionals and avid club goers, ClubWorld will showcase the hottest locations, newest products, and latest nightlife happenings through a rich, multimedia experience. Additionally, ClubWorld will also tap into the exploding music festival scene, focusing on the gear, production, and events that have thousands of fans attending throughout the year.

– Evan Maag “SEAGULLS” EP

u Pig&Dan u Elevate Pig&Dan are back with a trio of big-room, minimal techno thumpers primed and ready for the dancefloor. The title track builds slowly, channeling alien bleeps and bloops, while the alt mix of “If God Was A DJ” is the highlight, outshining the original mix with its deep, dark bassline and chattering metallic percussion that rains down upon you.

– Chris Davis “WHO U LOVE”

u Roland Tings u Internasjonal With the sound and feel of classic Detroit techno, this 10-track full-length offers up deep, dark underground pleasures. And check the bumping, yet trippy title track— bloody good.

– Tommy D Funk “GOING BACK TO THE OLD SCHOOL”

u Francis Le Laine u Check In Records

Recalling the U.K. underground of the ’90s, this one offers that great smiley-face feeling with its chunky beat, familiar samples, heavy bass and great keyboard riffs. This one will be in my record box for a while.

– Tommy D Funk

IN EACH ISSUE

NIGHTBEAT Multiple sections showcasing the current nightlife landscape, including—but not limited to—quick-hitting news in Snapshots, visual photo compilations of Moments, localized coverage of In Your Town, and the latest club technology in Gear VIP Q&A’s with prominent members of the ClubWorld, including owners, lighting designers, sound teams, promoters, resident DJs, and so much more

SPOTLIGHT A multipage feature on a hot club or festival, telling its story through words, rich photography, and detailed equipment lists

NIGHTSTALKERS Anonymous stories written by clubbing veterans, telling the wild, weird,and unseen tales of the ClubWorld

MORE INFORMATION If you have questions or need more information, please contact: Phone: 516.767.2500 Tom McCarty: tmccarty@testa.com, ext. 507 Fred Gumm: fgumm@testa.com, ext. 712

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1. Publication Title: DJ Times 2. Publication Number: 1045-9693 3. Filing Date: September 29, 2014 4. Issue frequency: Monthly 5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 12 6. Annual Subscription Price: $19.40

Contact Person: Vincent P. Testa (516-767-2500) 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779 8. 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 10. Owner: DJ Publishing, Inc., 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779 13. Publication Title: DJ Times 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: September 2014 15. Extent and Nature Of Circulation Average No. Copies No. Copies of

Each Issue During Single Issue Published

12 Months Nearest to the Filing Date A. Total Number of Copies (Net press run) 24,646 22,897 B1. Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions 1,218 1,108 B3. Sales Through Dealers and Carriers 15,921 14,635 C. Total Paid and /or Requested Circulation 17,139 15,743 D4. Nonrequested Copies Distributed Through the

USPS by Other Classes of Mail 7,040 6,855 E. Total Free Distribution 7,040 6,855 F. Total Distribution 24,179 22,598 G. Copies not Distributed 467 299 H. TOTAL 24,646 22,897 I. Percent Paid and /or Requested Circulation 70.8% 69.6% 16. Electronic Copy Circulation A. Requested and Paid Electronic Copies 2,219 2,032 B. Total Requested Print /Electronic Paid Copies 19,358 17,775 C. Total Requested Copy Distribution/Requested/Paid Electronic Copies 26,398 24,630 D. Percent Paid and /or Requested Circulation Print/Electronic Copies 73.3% 72.2%

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IDJNOW • Holiday Ad • 4c, 4.125” W X 4.375” H • Ad Runs in DJ TIMES for November 2014 •

MP3s in 6

Compiled As November 4, 2014

NATIONAL CROSSOVER POOL CHART

NATIONAL URBAN POOL CHART

1 Katy Perry This Is How We Do 2 Taylor Swift Shake It Off 3 Jennifer Lopez Booty 4 Lee Dagger F/ Inaya Day Shelter Me 5 Alina Artts High Enough 6 Duke Dumont Won’t Look Back 7 Iggy Azalea F/ Rita Ora Black Widow 8 Clean Bandit F/ Jess Glynn Rather Be 9 Jesse Jay Bang Bang 10 Enrique Iglesias F/ Sean Paul Bailando 11 Annie Baltic Low Key 12 Meghan Trainor All About That Bass 13 Calvin Harris F/ John Newman Blame 14 Maroon 5 Maps 15 Erasure Elevation 16 Charli XCX Boom Clap 17 Bastille Bad Blood 18 Magic Rude 19 Mary Lambert Secrets 20 Basement Jaxx Never Say Never 21 Natasha Ashworth Back To You 22 Tove Lo Habits (Stay High) 23 Anything But Monday I’m Still Standing 24 David Guetta F/ Sam Martin Lovers On The Sun 25 Gali Tomorrow Never Dies 26 Nico & Vinz Am I Wrong 27 Beyonce F/Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche Flawless 28 Royksopp & Robin Do It Again 29 Amy Grant F/ Moto Blanco Every Heartbeat 30 Nick Jonas Jealous 31 Second City I Wanna Feel 32 Steve Angello F/ Dougy Wasted Love 33 Aki Starr Illusion 34 Michael Jackson Slave To The Rhythm 35 Erika Jayne Painkiller 36 Kim Cameron Let’s Fall In Love 37 Dupree I Found Love 38 Jennifer Hudson It’s Your World 39 Aretha Franklin Rolling In The Deep 40 Vincent Tomas Burn This Down

1 Beyonce F/Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche 2 Jeremih F/ YG 3 Drake 4 TI F/ Young Thug 5 Chris Brown F/Usher & Rick Ross 6 Ilove Makonnen F/ Drake 7 Rich Gang F/Young Thug & Rich Homie Q 8 Dj Khaled F/ Chris Brown/August Alsina 9 Bobby Shmurda 10 Kendrick Lamar 11 Migos 12 Trey Songz F/ Nicki Minaj 13 Kirko Bangz F/ August Alsina 14 Snootie Wild F/ K Camp 15 Disclosure F/ Sam Smith 16 Jeezy F/ Jay Z 17 Rae Sremmurd 18 Wiz Khalifa F/ Snoop Dogg & Ty Doll 19 Wale F/ Jeremih 20 Teeflii F/ 2 Chainz

Most Added Tracks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Amy Grant F/ Moto Blanco Dupree Meghan Trainor Cathy Tramontana Nick Jonas Aretha Franklin Jennifer Hudson Aki Starr Katy Perry Jesse Jay

Every Heartbeat I Found Love All About That Bass Talk To Me Jealous Rolling In The Deep It’s Your World Illusion This Is How We Do Bang Bang

REPORTING POOLS

Capitol Republic Capitol Radikal REC Capitol Def Jam Warner Brothers Universal Universal Global Groove Epic Columbia Interscope Mute Atlantic Virgin RCA Capitol Pias American Global Groove Republic ABM Atlantic Ryal Warner Brothers Columbia Interscope Capitol Virgin Columbia Columbia Renegade EMI Pretty Mess Side FX Chastity Records RCA RCA BMAB

Capitol Chastity Records Epic Global Groove Virgin RCA RCA Renegade Capitol Universal

Dixie Dance Kings - Alpharetta, GA; Dan Miller n DJ Mike D Adachi - Honolulu, HI; Michael Adach n Masspool - Saugus, MA; Gary Canavo n OMAP - Washington, DC; Al Chasen n Dirty Pop Productions - San Diego, CA; DJ Drew n Dj Stickyboots - Goshen, NJ; Blake Eckelbarger n Fusion Radio - Chicago, IL; Manny Esparza n DeeJay Creativity - Los Angeles, CA; KSXY KPAT n Pittsburgh DJ - Pittsburgh, PA; Jim Kolich n Soundworks - San Francisco, CA; Sam Labelle n Klubjumpers - San Antonio, TX; Dan Mathews n New York Music Pool - Levittown, NY; Jackie McCloy n DJ Rafy Nieves - San Juan, PR; Rafy Nieves n WPTV-Prty 105FM Frd MdMx - New York, NY; Mike Rizzo n MOOD Spins - Seattle, WA; Randy Schlager n DJ Laszlo - Las Vegas, NV; Laszlo Szenasi n Northeast Record Pool - Revere, MA; Justin Testa n Pacific Coast - Long Beach, CA; Steve Tsepelis Looking for these titles? You can hear them and buy them at www.dancekings.com. Just click on the links in the chart.

DDK has limited memberships available for qualified DJs in the US. We service CDs and MP3s in dance and urban formats. Feedback and membership dues required.

770-740-0356

Flawless Don’t Tell Em 0 To 100/The Catch Up About The Money New Flame Tuesday Lifestyle Hold You Down Hot Boy I Handsome And Wealthy Touchin, Lovin Rich Made Me Latch Seen It All No Type You And Your Friends The Body 24 Hours

Columbia Def Jam Republic Columbia RCA Warner Brothers Republic Republic Epic Interscope Quality Control Atlantic Atlantic Epic Interscope Def Jam Interscope Atlantic Atlantic Epic

Most Added Tracks 1 2 3 4 5

DEJ Loaf Try Me Usher F/ Juicy J I Don’t Mind Rich Gang F/ Young Thug Take Kare Dj Drama F/ Jeezy - Young Thug Right Back Adrian Marcel Spending The Night Alone

Columbia RCA Republic EOne Republic

NEW NATIONAL LATIN DANCE POOL CHART 1.

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J Balvin Zawezo Enrique Iglesias feat Gente de Zona The Bello Boys feat Kat Deluna Vein feat J Balvin & Belinda Dasoul feat Maffio Rigu DJ samuel Vs Adassa Yunel Cruz Froilan Jay Patrulla 15 Marlow Rosado David Bisbal Karen Martello Don Omar Joe Santos Prince Royce Johnny Sky El Clasicon Leslie Grace

Ay Vamos Drink Up Bailando Last Call Translation Vamos Pa’ La Calle Dame Una Oportunidad Ole Ola Ay Amiga La Suegra El Moreno Quiero Que me No Amanece (Remix) Besame Asi Pura Vida El Diablo Te Robare One More Night Activo Nadie Como Tu

Universal Digital Launch Universal Radikal Paradigm Roster Music Warner Kult Records Machete Bungalo/Universal Ringo Big Label Universal 47 Music Universal RDM Latin Top Stop Music Premium Latin BN Top Stop Music

Most Added Tracks 1.

2.

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Henry Santos feat Maffio NG2 Grupo Karis Alberto Barros Gente De Zona feat Pitbull

La Vida Y Ahora Me Voy La Persona Ideal Un Monton De Estrellas Yo La Quiero

Venevision 360 group Grupo 360 Barros

REPORTING LATIN POOLS n Latinos Unidos Record Pool n Salsamania Latin Record Pool n Lobo/Bass Record

Pool n Urban Tropics Music Pool n North East Record Pool n Mixx Hitts Record Pool n Ritmo Camacho Record Pool n Ritmo Internacional Record Pool n DJ Latinos Record Pool n Mass Pool n Record Pool Latino n V.I.P. Chicago Record Pool.

Robinson

Visions

(continued from page 23)

will always be party music and it’s something that will always be an institution. I don’t think the all-stars of big-room DJing should go and try to make an artist album. I bring this up only to explain why I think, for me, I needed a change. My goals are not to criticize EDM or say that the genre is bad; it’s only to express why I wanted to move onto Worlds.

DJ Times: EDM feels a lot different than it was a few years ago, now that it’s gotten so big.

Robinson: My feeling on that, in general, and I know that this is a broader criticism of the culture, but one of the big problems with EDM right now is that almost all of its major artists aren’t looking inward to find their taste and asking, “What inspires me?” They’re kind of only looking outward and saying, “OK, what’s the next hot shit? What’s the next big bandwagon that I can jump on?” And that’s why you see so many guys who were once producing electro now producing electro-inspired deep-house because they are scared of losing their position and want to produce the next big trend genre. It’s like these big swarms of locusts come in and invade any new idea and suck it dry.

DJ Times: So what inspires you?

Robinson: That’s why whatever I do I don’t want it to be named, and I don’t want to inspire people to make music that sounds like me. I want to inspire people to make music that sounds like themselves. I want to inspire a philosophy of honesty.

I went and looked in my past and listened to all of my favorite albums and wrote about them and asked [myself], “What is it that I really like about music at all? What feelings really inspire me?” I tried to channel those things as best as I could for two

(continued from page 25)

years. The idea is that someone who doesn’t share all of my experiences coming in and trying to do the same thing seems insincere. That sounds harsh and I’m not going to be mad at anyone who produces something that sounds like Worlds, but I want people to look inward not outward to find inspiration. It’s the best way to stay true to yourself as an artist.

DJ Times: You don’t think today’s DJs do that?

Robinson: I think in a lot of ways a lot of popular DJs, and even myself at one point, have kind of sold “the dream.” Like making these tour documentaries and showcasing “the dream” is almost like this multi-level marketing scheme that says, “You can do it, too!” By saying “you should look at me as an artist because I came from humble beginnings and now I’m doing these big grand things and anyone can do it” is, first of all, bullshit. Not anyone can do it and I think that’s a bad reason to admire an artist—because they have this lifestyle that you fantasize about.

DJ Times: Despite not wanting to do traditional DJ sets anymore, you still have a residency at the Marquee in Las Vegas. What is that like for you?

Robinson: I watched all of the Ultra sets from the live stream and found it was, overall, a really disappointing experience… [But] the Jack Ü set that Skrillex and Diplo did, I thought, was so sincere and so fun.

I like this idea of party music as this happy, fun, unpretentious thing—and it really inspired me. I recently did a set at Marquee’s pool party and I really had a blast—I’m not even going to lie. Even though I did play some electro, it was all stuff that I used to think was really cool and shocking and I also played some kind of beatsy,

90-BPM stuff that is kind of in the vein of the new record. I played “Sad Machine” and some Flume-style stuff, and it all was really fun. I went overtime. It’s almost like I’ve been DJing for so long and I probably came to resent it a bit because of how much I had been doing it, but now that I’m taking a break from it [I like it more.]

I could see myself continuing to do the residencies.

DJ Times: Tell us about the Worlds tour.

Robinson: The Worlds tour is for two months with direct support from Giraffage and Lemaitre. It’s somewhere in between a DJ set and a live show. It’s singing and doing multitracks, which means I have drums, bass, chords, vocals, leads and effects all on faders where I can pull everything down and just play the vocals.

It’s kind of a live PA-type of show.

I’m triggering samples and playing keyboard and there could be a break where I’m playing piano. It’s a lot of career-spanning self-mashups where I make new versions of old songs that people haven’t heard before.

The visuals are the most “me” stuff ever. I’ve got these fast, beautiful alien dreamscape landscape-type things that are really big and beautiful and the lights are really on-point.

DJ Times: So you’re not worried about the older music clashing with the newer music?

Robinson: No, I’m reworking a lot of it. For example, with melodies like “Unison,” I might put that on the sounds from “Lionhearted.” For fans that like the old music, they’ll recognize it, too. I’m playing things like “Language” and “Easy” exactly as they were because those two songs were kind of the first step towards Worlds. n I’m so excited about it.

of lighting and draping (for which he credits Jason Weldon).

“Our offerings have grown to include fabric backdrops, full-room draping, ceiling draping, crystal chandeliers, traditional wood dancefloors, white vinyl coverings for dancefloors, ceremony décor—including staging and Chuppahs and Mandaps—pinspot lighting, pattern lighting, cafe lighting, fairy lights plus much more.

“Elegant Event Lighting now brings in twice the revenue of our DJ business, and continues to grow each year as we’ve developed exclusive partnerships with local venues as their sole source of draping and lighting.”

When it comes to challenges, Sims says staffing is the biggest difficulty he faces with each of his companies. “Finding DJs has been a constant struggle through the years, just to find entertainers who are willing to prepare six to eight hours for each wedding,” he says.

“Most are used to just showing up and performing, but our DJs have to meet their couples and prepare detailed timelines, call parents and vendors.

“We have a core team of seven or eight who are committed to the company, but I’m afraid most of our crew is just here for a job and doesn’t always have the company’s best interest in mind.”

With everyone who contributed to this article, there was one common agreement: DJ owners should become established in the DJ business before even considering branching out with additional entertainment-related companies.

“Newer DJs have to master their craft before expanding into other areas,” says Morganstein. “They can add some lighting and photo favors to support their own businesses, but in the beginning it would be hard to run many n separate businesses.”

Oakie Doke: Perfecto Records Celebrates 25 Years What does that mean, exactly?

Means I’ve forgotten more than most DJs will ever know.

DJ TIMES

DECEMBER 2014

I started Perfecto a quartercentury ago.

42

Paul Oakenfold, Next Month in DJ Times

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