NAMM Preview: Gear Galore Dirtybird Campout A Family Affair AMERICA’S FIRST MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs ESTABLISHED 1988 NAMM 2020 ISSUE
VOLUME 33 NUMBER 1
Plus: * Dr. Fresch * 13 * Pioneer DJ’s DDJ-200 * Reloop’s Spin * State of the Wedding Industry * Rust Belt DJ Retools
Max Your Website’s SEO – Pronto!
Inside: EDC Orlando & Germany’s Time Warp
CLAPTONE The Man, The Mask, The Music
Discover What’s Next bpmsupreme.com/whatsnext
AMERICA’S FIRST MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs ESTABLISHED 1988 NAMM 2020 ISSUE
VOLUME 33 NUMBER 1
The Sound of the Future The CEO behind the fastestgrowing music service for DJs, Angel “AROCK” Castillo, will reveal what’s next for the
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NOTABLES…MILESTONES NEWS
WINTER NAMM: GEAR FOR DJS, CLUBS & STUDIOS
MDF System: ADJ’s portable dancefloor.
2626 audio interface; and the StudioLive Arc series of interface/mixers, which includes the AR8c, AR12c and AR16c models. From Avid, several debuts are expected. They include: the Avid S1 audio control surface, designed for smaller facilities and project studios; Pro Tools 2020, an upgraded version of the world-famous studio software; Pro Tools | HDX Thunderbolt 3 Chassis; and Pro Tools | MTRX Studio audio interface. Tracktion will expand its Retromod Series with the Lofreq Wired, a new synth plug-in, and it will launch Waveform Free, a free DAW suitable for Windows, OSX and Linux. AMS Neve will showcase its new GenesysControl, a plug-in that allows recording professionals to mix traditionally using a console, work in-the-box or combine both with a hybrid workflow. Artesia will unveil the ReClouder, a hi-res field recorder, and the Xpad controller. Germany’s RME will debut the ADI-2 DAC FS audio converter. MOD Devices will showcase the MOD Duo X audio processor and the new MOD Dwarf entry-level, multi-effects instrument. NUGEN Audio will showcase its NUGEN producer software suite – the bundle includes the Stereoizer, Stereoplacer, Monofilter, ISLst, SEQ-ST, MasterCheck, Visualizer and SigMod plugin, which users can purchase individually or as one complete toolkit. Sonicware will debut a new drum machine based on the technology of the ELZ_1 synthesizer. Other Debuts: From the accessories department, DPA Microphones will debut the 4560 CORE binaural headset microphone and 2028 model vocal microphone. 64 Audio will feature its N8 customizable in-ear monitor. Prism Sound’s Titan and Atlas audio interfaces will offer the option of the new MDIO Dante card.
Cans: V-MODA’s M-200 headphones.
AIR: M-Audio’s audio-interface series.
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
Series of line-array speakers and the E11EVEN Sound club sound system. QSC will show the recently released KS118 active subwoofer. Kali Audio will debut the WS-12, a 1,000watt, 12-inch, powered subwoofer for studio apps and small PA apps. Renkus-Heinz will show a pair of speaker systems – the DC12/2 active, column array series and the ICLive X medium-format steerable line array series. Harman Brands expect to have several debut products to join recently released products like AKG’s Lyra USB microphone and JBL Professional’s 104 BT Bluetooth desktop reference monitor and the EON One Compact all-in-one rechargeable PA system. From Yamaha and its related companies come 75 new products, including several for the DJ-, cluband studio-related segments. Show debuts include: the STAGEPAS 1K, an all-in-one portable PA system that includes a 5-channel digital mixer; the NEXO P12 multi-purpose loudspeaker and the L15 subwoofer cabinet for sound reinforcement apps; and white-finish versions of the powered DZR/DXZ-XLF speakers and passive CZR/CXS-XLF speakers. Related company Steinberg will show the Cubase 10.5 music-production software, which includes improvements and workflow refinements. More Studio-Related Debuts: Roland will debut the A-88MKII MIDI keyboard controller for studio and stage and a pair of premium synthesizers – the Jupiter-X and the Jupiter-Xm. Related company V-MODA will showcase the M-200 reference headphone. From Gibson’s family of brands, KRK Systems will show the CLASSIC 5 studio monitor. PreSonus will debut several products. They include the ioStation 24c, audio interface/ production controller for both audio recording and DAW control designed for the home studio; the Quantum
Compact Column: E-V’s EVOLVE 30M.
DJ TIMES
By Jim Tremayne Anaheim, Calif. – From Jan. 16-19, the Winter NAMM show will run at the Anaheim Convention Center and, according to organizers, more than 115,000 retailers, manufacturers, distributors and end-users are expected to attend. As always, this huge musicproducts market will produce plenty of gear debuts, including several DJrelated products. Testa Communications – publisher of DJ Times – will be there with a dedicated exhibition booth. It also will produce Convention TV @ NAMM, which will provide on-thespot show coverage. Onto the Exhibit Floor: Pioneer DJ will showcase the recently released XDJ-XZ all-in-one DJ system for rekordbox and Serato DJ Pro software. At the American Music & Sound booth, Germany’s Reloop will show the RMX-10 BT 2-channel DJ mixer, which facilitates wireless music streaming directly to the mixer via its integrated Bluetooth interface. From inMusic Brands, M-Audio will debut the AIR Series of audio interfaces, which will include five models. Denon DJ will show its Prime Series hardware family of controllers, which recently had a v1.4 firmware update that adds internet connectivity (wi-fi and wired) and TIDAL Hi-Fi music streaming. Akai Professional will show Force and MPC Series products with recent firmware updates that include Ableton Live Control. VocoPro will showcase its DJ Smart Lightshow, which features 5-in1 LED lighting effects, the SilentDisco-310 wireless headphone system, the Commander-SingAndHear Series of wireless microphones, and the WiFiOke all-in-one karaoke system. Also from the lighting world, ADJ will have several debuts. They include: the MDF (Magnetic Dance Floor) System, a portable LED dancefloor; the Focus Spot 2X moving head fixture; and the MOD STQ LED-powered par-style wash fixture. Related company Eliminator Lighting will introduce five new products, which include the Furious Five RG five-effect unit; BP Tubes 4 Pak color-changing tubes effect; the LP 12 HEX LED-powered par fixture; and the Aqua LED 2 compact fixture. From the pro-audio sector, Electro-Voice will launch the 1,000-watt EVOLVE 30M compact column loudspeaker system with onboard mixer, DSP and effect. DAS Audio will celebrate its 25th anniversary at NAMM and debut two product lines – the Icon
5
SAMPLINGS
VOLUME 33 NUMBER 1
10 Dr. Fresch The Prescription
12 In the Studio With… 13
DEPARTMENTS 9 Feedback
Answers to All Your DJ-Related Questions
FEATURES 14 Mystery Achievement
28 Making Tracks Reloop’s Spin Turntable
30 Sounding Off Pioneer DJ’s DDJ-200 Controller
No Matter Who’s Behind the Mask, Claptone’s GlobeSpanning House Music Does All the Talking BY JIM TREMAYNE
32 Mobile Profile
Rust Belt DJ Retools & Adapts
20 Google Your Business
33 Business Line
Is the Wedding Industry Dead?
34 Gear
New Products from Mixed in Key, ADJ & More
Your Google My Business (GMB) Account Drives a Massive Portion of Your SEO. Here’s How to Get It Right. BY JORDAN ST. JACQUES
Special Section:
Time Warp Festival Turns 25 in NYC
26 Hot Shots NAMM 2020 ISSUE
EDC Orlando Breaks Records
Contents Image by Andreas Waldschütz
24 Spotlight
DJ TIMES
41 Club Play Chart The Hottest Records, As Reported by Our Top U.S. Record Pools
With Claude VonStroke Out Front, Dirtybird Campout ’19 Delivered Another Winner BY ASHLEY TEFFER
6
Phat Tracks from MK, Mousse T, 3lau & More
Cover Image by Jonatan Ferrer
22 Fun & Games
38 Grooves
FROM THE EDITOR
The Man in the Mask In and out of dance music, we’re seeing plenty of masked men doing their best to entertain us. On TV, there’s “The Masked Singer” competition, for example, and all over the DJ scene, we have all manner of helmeted, masked or otherwise costumed performers. The idea, presumably, is that it’s “about the song, not the singer” (merci, Daft Punk). To my ears, however, only a small handful these disguised folks hit the sweet spot musically – but Claptone is certainly one of them. Quite uniquely, the German mystery man (men?) can communicate old-school, deep-house vibes to a modern generation. Terrific albums like 2015’s Charmer and 2018’s Fantast bring the grooves, and branded events like The Masquerade bring the party. We caught Claptone’s act on consecutive October weekends – at an Elrow Party at Encore Beach Club in Las Vegas and during A.D.E. in Amsterdam – and returned to NYC with a greater appreciation of the man and his music – and yes, during our interview at A.D.E., he wore his golden-beaked mask and white gloves. Gotta stay in character, right? Far from the land of Dutch discos… for another feature, Michigan-based scribe Ashley Teffer ventured to Modesto, Calif., for the 2019 Dirtybird Campout. She connected with DB’s label chief Claude VonStroke, caught DJ sets from label talent (J.Phlip and Justin Martin) and more (Josh Wink), and experienced campground fun and games. Life could be worse, right? In this issue’s quarterly ClubWorld section, our Brian Bonavoglia visited with Time Warp’s Robin Ebinger, after the German techno-festival brand celebrated its 25th anniversary with a big blowout party in The Bronx that featured talent like Sven Väth and Peggy Gou. For CW’s Hot Shots department, he also ventured to Central Florida for the EDC Orlando festival that presented a diverse lineup that included Above & Beyond, ATLiens, REZZ, and many more. At EDC Orlando, Brian connected with all-analog bass producer 13 for our In the Studio Sampling entry. Additionally, in Samplings, Ashley Teffer sat with Dr. Fresch to discuss his popular take on G-house and The Prescription – his branded label. For our gear-review sections, Minnesota’s DJ Deets handles both entries. For Sounding Off, he runs Pioneer DJ’s DDJ-200 through its paces and offers a thumbs-up on the wireless controller. In Making Tracks, Deets takes a look at the portablism market of turntables by reviewing Spin, Reloop’s entry to the trendy sector. From the world of the mobile entertainer, Jordan St. Jacques offers some vital tips on keeping your DJ company’s website high in the SEO rankings – read and learn. In Business Line, we cite a recent survey and ask several major mobile jocks a question: Is the wedding market in trouble? Opinions differ. Also, for Mobile Spotlight, we visit with West Virginia-based DJ Bill France, who recently made it to 30 years in the business, but not without a little adaptation to the grim forces of his Rust Belt market and some retooling to his DJ rig. Of course, if you’re reading the hardcopy version of this issue, there’s a great chance you’re already at the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, Calif. On Page 5, you might enjoy our show preview, which features all the product debuts that NAMM exhibitors would share at presstime. (On the show’s first day, you can see the very latest info on the newest gear by visiting our website – djtimes.com.) And if you’re at Winter NAMM, stop by to see us at the Testa Communications booth and make sure you check out Convention TV @ NAMM, which will deliver plenty of industryrelated information. Enjoy the show!
editor-in-chief Jim Tremayne jtremayne@testa.com editor-at-large Brian O’Connor boconnor@testa.com assistant editor Brian Bonavoglia bbonavoglia@testa.com chart coordinator Dan Miller dmiller@testa.com contributors Wesley Bryant-King Chris Caruso Amanda Chavez Shawn Christopher Paul Dailey Reed Dailey Chris Davis DJ Deets Tony Fernandez Tommy D Funk Michelle Fetky Mike Gwertzman Jennifer Harmon Josh Harris Ryan Hayes Greg Hollmann Mike Klasco Michelle Loeb Erick Miller Lily Moayeri Jeff Stiles Ashley Teffer Phil Turnipseed Curtis Zack President/Publisher Vincent P. Testa FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TO ORDER SUBSCRIPTIONS, CALL 800-937-7678 VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.djtimes.com
DJ TIMES
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
Cheers,
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Jim Tremayne Editor, DJ Times
DJ Times Sound & Communications The Music & Sound Retailer Sound & Communications ClubWorld Blue Book America’s Best DJ The DJ Expo IT/AV Report Convention TV News VTTV Studios
director of integrated advertising Paul Bozikis pbozikis@testa.com art director Janice Pupelis jpupelis@testa.com production manager Steve Thorakos sthorakos@testa.com digital art director Fred Gumm fgumm@testa.com social media coordinator Amanda Mullen amullen@testa.com traffic manager art production assistant Jeannemarie Graziano jgraziano@testa.com Circulation circulation@testa.com Classifieds classifiedsales@testa.com operations manager Robin Hazan rhazan@testa.com Editorial and Sales Office: DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, New York, USA 11050-3779. (516) 767-2500 • FAX (Editorial): (516) 944-8372 • FAX (Sales/all other business): (516) 767-9335 • DJTIMES@TESTA. COM Editorial contributions should be addressed to The Editor, DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, NY, USA, 110503779. Unsolicited manuscripts will be treated with care an d should be accompanied by return postage. DJ Times (ISSN 1045-9693) is published monthly except for February, July, September and December for $19.40 (US), $39.99 (Canada), and $59.99 (all other countries), by DJ Publishing, Inc., 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779. Periodicals Postage Paid at Port Washington, NY, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to DJ Times, PO BOX 1767, LOWELL MA 01853-1767 Design and contents are copyright © 2020 by DJ Publishing, Inc., and must not be reproduced in any manner except by permission of the publisher. Websites: www.djtimes.com and www.testa.com NAMM 2020 Issue
visit our website: www.djtimes.com
FEEDBACK VOLUME 32 NUMBER 8
A M E R I C A’ S F I R S T M A G A Z I N E F O R P R O F E S S I O N A L D J s E S TA B L I S H E D 1 9 8 8
WINTER 2019 ISSUE
ADE ’19: Business, Tech & Music SEO Tips: Boost Your Bookings Meet 11-Year-Old DJ Sophia PLUS: UZ * Yotto * Technics SL-1200 MK7 * Ortofon’s Concorde MK2 * MCs’ Secrets * IK Multimedia Monitors
MARK KNIGHT
T O O L R O O M T I TA N
This is Feedback, a monthly feature that fields questions from you, our readers, and funnels them out to in‑ dustry professionals. If you have any questions about DJing – marketing, mixing, equipment or insurance, any at all – drop us a letter at DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Ave, Port Washington, NY 11050, fax us at (516) 944‑8372 or e‑mail us at djtimes@testa.com. If we do use your question, you’ll receive a free DJ Times T‑shirt. And remember, the only dumb question is the ques‑ tion that is not asked. 2020 Trade Show/Convention Calendar Now that we’re entering the new year (and, indeed, a new decade), we look forward to another year of trade-show travel and convention activities. Of course, for professional DJs, there’s no better show than DJ Expo, which DJ Times has produced since 1990. We hope to see you at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., this coming Au‑ gust 10-13. The following international shows are related to professional audio, lighting, or music endeavors: *2020 International CES, January 7-10, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev. *Winter NAMM, January 16-19, 2020, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif. *Prolight + Sound Guangzhou, Feb‑ ruary 19-22, Canton Fair Complex, Guangzhou, China *Prolight + Sound Frankfurt, March 31 – April 3, Frankfurt Fair, Frankfurt, Germany *South by Southwest (SXSW), March 13-22, Various Venues, Austin, Texas *Winter Music Conference, March 16-19, Faena District, Miami, Fla. *Nightclub & Bar Show, March 30 – April 1, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev. *Musikmesse 2020, April 11-14, Frankfurt Fair, Frankfurt, Germany *Canadian Music Week, May 18-23, Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, To‑
ronto, Ont., Canada *International Music Summit, May 20-22, 2020, Destino Ibiza Resort, Ibiza, Spain *148 th AES Convention, May 25-28, Austria Center, Vienna, Austria *MIDEM 2020, June 2-6, Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France *West Coast Weekender, June 5-7, Lafayette Hotel, San Diego, Calif. *InfoComm20, June 17-19, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev.
*Sweetwater Gearfest, June 26-27, Sweetwater Campus, Fort Wayne, Ind. *Summer NAMM, July 9-11, 2020, Music City Center, Nashville, Tenn. *DJ Expo, August 10-13, Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City, N.J. *PLASA 2020, September 6-8, Olym‑ pia London, London, England *2020 NAMM Musikmesse/Prolight + Sound Moscow, September 17-19, Sokolniki Exhibition and Convention Centre, Moscow, Russia
*149th AES Convention, October 2124, Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York, N.Y. *Amsterdam Dance Event, Various Venues, October 21-25, Amsterdam, The Netherlands *LDI 2020 (Live Design International), October 23-25, 2020, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev. *Monaco International Clubbing Show (MICS), Grimaldi Forum, No‑ vember TBD, Monte-Carlo, Monaco
SAMPLING
DR. FRESCH: THE PRESCRIPTION
DJ TIMES
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
a ke n a s t op h n tio ip-h vo l u al and h riety e l a va et ic m u s t a s a m fo u n d a n s t o ’s h u c y itio F re s r ting o ntuall amb To ny rms. Sta kid eve sparked i re d rnia y fo hat - i n s p ved man e Califo avors t o r t fl h elec y mo fan, t cefloor er. t h e ventuall H o u s e n c n a a u g d e d e Gy b ro of ut DJ/p F re s c h , 2012, b o n t h e iscover a e a D n b . e i l r l k ’s e e a c D The Remedy: As l lab o w n t somnia ed prop els o o In Sch t e h i s lab elp n h p Dr. Fresch delivers at n o e t o r w e P s ha c r e a 3, he scor rack nd t Electric Forest fest. o n t o . I n 2 0 1 t i t i o n a elease t S o u n d , loud, r e e f undC g e n r c t c o m p een him i s t r y o n S o a l s , f ro m . s e n o j i o ’s s M t r a P tiv re am and er th stre g e s t fe s a l t i m o y B care W S L A million g i ab n i b B O e ’s l i k e than 30 o u n t r y o o n r i s l l a b w i t h c M e o mor l ay t h e g a s t o 2016 c usic e p s i V . d h c M ipc s i a a s i ,” an s L a n a in scr om e cl ngst E D C gsta Ga s a genr a n d I n s , The Pre n d e d e l ( e fo r a n n i e r a “G E, rema 1 9 , h e est lab op b tion s b reshi h h p i t f 0 u h a evol Eazy e a r l y 2 ed his l e n f r o m ings the ona’s oast r h iz st C Dance R in 2002 ak c b r e t In ? n t A . c u e i W y n i a t e s y e l d l r m r k e u i n e ) p a m a l c a v m p n s im up an iti e to al Gro W i t h a resch’s al talent a to the bler d a n c i t h m e t w i t h D c o m p e t ap p e a l o t m F r . b n ’t w ic g t i o n ow, Dr. om glo y Rome ouse ru ami’s ays i mu s didn layin ssed h h n fr -h u alw ng obse to rave I was p t trance o y . mixs -house nce’s To he bass U on Tc ht up n i e n Gt a ause g ds o s, bu p be ing i Wer to “ t k est G and Fr t single , ith BIJO , we cau ecor imes: I grew u ed gett kid bec record c r a kep tb w U s ts DJ T resch: . I star t I was a d trance f ing i mixes, I ple BIJO his late a collab e stree o g n d i e l r n F s e an eo , th Dr. ered rav e] whe earing o nd b se r So, a Back” – el – hit Fresch. own br so p v ro. A h all the ocket, he time . ? am was h ? b o t t r r g a u e c c e l u v s D o e l i o . o l G n p t y y e “ e o ed I d c vide .I use s evo roug pend. At grab the fe s s i hous ated -bas i s 13 taste rough reer. Th bass-ho at soun it was o urs Con he L.A. You cre t sound angster ar ted mu s e n I w a r [ u h s a h o t o i t d a t g h : st did y ked in ed my c oped th hrough 016, an these t hat with T i m e s n did th called 03, w h. u s e , m the w o o l t 2 o t h h n e ’s J e t H s g t o v e r to D ,i fro so ng tto Wh enou Times: : I got h cene bi cene de envelop 2015 in thing h the so o hard u s e . c h : N o w l l e d g h e t h e g u y s , I h e a rd o h s s , J s h e H i n g e h D it o pl sc G- . Fres of that s ca 005. just e . So has ing t hous avilli py w Fre com Dr lly, it wa nd some like juk ol in 2 se Dr. ar t 3”… se . The ted push d Flux P d to ac I’m hap ided to ecords o u a t a lt in ho os sch dec e, P nee on R and z an star -hou Orig J Assau ter, alm in high then G- mine hous with G nd Jauz like Brill “Well, I ng trap ion and escripti . D s A i t r s a r , – a h f . g c a k P s t e n t 3 i a as 40) w fi -1 Iw Ggoi phward ith act was lik ried m hat dire ulture ter flavo . It w t when roots o nd 2012 d the “ s, page c w s t t I s E g n e I r . 0 f n e o s h u 9 o a t ’ .” l y e o d lik out g DJ ssau e gu k at ast g a ro u rand on t f the ther tinue was for thes ing my b I pulled ause loo est Co DJ A kind o r g e n c e f go d f a g e a m o n w a s (con I t o ’s W u i u p ec py fic h T h a t b i g re s c e k i n d t w a s h l e . B u t i n s . I f ing u ut sacri er y hap ound. B use wit tware? a a a n p s v o o of h h e s t s m i s ’ h a d a n d D a a n d t h e r p e o re re m r a z i l w hou it’s bas tion ut I B u ” c b h t e G t 2 u l , r g d u d o , o c rt e Ed g I di his new know ur pro thes erica e , Pa mon t the u t o hous o b i g a DJs tha J in Am o u h a d into on – yo hat’s y s W n : b D ance , y ng e s u o l k e not a c m t im Fr ra ig a DJ T s o b e re e ve e r l i n o r w B yo u a i n o r p or S
10
IN THE STUDIO WITH...
Bring the Bass: The masked 13 at EDC Orlando.
DJ TIMES
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
13: MID-TEMPO MASTER
12
With his dark, menacing tracks, the masked, all-analog DJ/producer 13 has found quite a niche in the increasingly popular subgenre of mid-tempo bass. After catching plenty of attention with his stellar collabs with Rezz – 2017’s “Drugs!” and 2018’s “The Crazy Ones” – 13 was plenty busy in 2019. His pair of wellreceived EPs – “Revelation” on Mau5trap and “Old World Order” on Mad Decent – set him up to hit America’s club and festival circuit hard. So this past November, we caught up with the anonymous Canadian talent after his high-octane set at EDC Orlando. DJ Times: When were you introduced to electronic dance music? 13: I’ve been around elec-
tronic music my entire life. I realized I was fascinated with the production/DJing side of things when I was 10-years old on a trip visiting my family in Croatia. My neighbor there is a DJ/producer and he had the whole set-up, a basement studio with vinyl turntables. I must have been the most annoying kid. I was always over there asking what this and that did, trying to learn how to DJ and understand how it all worked. From that point on, my curiosity and love for electronic music continued to grow. It wasn’t until later on that I decided to dedicate myself to it. DJ Times: Why did you c h o o s e s u c h a s i n i s t e rsounding musical path when it came to your productions? 13: I’ve explored all types
of genres from drum-n-bass to trance to hip hop – the music I’m currently releasing just resonates with me. I’ve realized that the more I produce other genres, the more I let those genres influence my sound, which allows me to develop and even create completely new genres. I have always drawn a lot of my inspiration from old-school/underground hip hop, bass, cinema and video games. I wouldn’t n e c e s s a r i l y c l a s s i f y my sound as “sinister,” though. If you listen to it, there’s melodic elements in most songs, namely my remix for Kraysh’s “Talk to Me.” DJ Times: Why do you think menacing mid-tempo sounds have been so popular over the past few years? 13: It’s fresh. Mid-tempo
has a new feel and flow that hasn’t been fully explored yet, and that’s why I think it’s been so popular. DJ Times: When it comes to production, where do you find inspiration? 13: I draw inspiration from a lot of different places. When I sit down to write a track, more often than not I don’t have a song in my head I try to get out. I’ll get started with sounds that I find cool, whether it be a synth, a crow cawing, the squeak of a sneaker or a friend eating down the stairs. There’s no wrong way to do it – it’s an art. My fans also motivate and inspire me, knowing that every time my music is added to a playlist, they’re including me in the soundtrack to their life. I’ve gotten many heartfelt messages describ-
ing how my music has helped people get through tough times, and that drives me to create more. DJ Times: What’s in your studio? 13: I’m currently produce on the ADAM Audio A77X studio monitors. The audio interface I use is the Universal Audio Apollo Twin. My go-to outboard synth is the Moog Sub 37. I find learning one synth very well is better than having a million different synths. I’m definitely going to expand soon. I’ve been very interested in the new Moog Matriarch. Eventually, I want to properly get into modular, too. DJ Times: Why are analog synths so appealing to you? 13: I absolutely love out(continued on page 40)
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DJ TIMES
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
Las Vegas – It’s an afternoon Elrow Party at Sin City’s Encore Beach Club. Fisher’s finishing up his set, but still blasting the last beats of his extremo party music. Cartoonish characters flit and prance about, thrusting provocative signs and totems. Inside and out, the sozzled day partiers aren’t dancing as much as they’re swaying, often a beat behind. Confetti cannons ka-boom with relative frequency, while bottle-rats eye future spoils. An off-duty Diplo, clutching a beverage and wearing a bathrobe-andslippers combo, stands atop a mid-room perch surveying the messiness, and it’s messy, Vegas messy. Hidden behind his big-beaked, golden mask, Claptone waits near the DJ booth, adjusting his white gloves. Soon, he’ll be on the decks and the room will undergo a subtle transformation. When he drops a warm bassline with a singular kick drum, the frantic, sloppy vibe halts for an instant and quickly morphs back to a solid groove. Hips start shaking right on rhythm, hands shoot into the air. The adults have re-entered the room, it seems, and it feels good. Cut to the very next Saturday, nine time zones away at Amsterdam Dance Event… a very different party. Held in
tone and be intrigued. DJ Times: There’s also a certain mystery to it, obviously, and people buy into that. Why do you think it works so well for you? Claptone: I think because the music’s good. For one, the music that I produce touches people’s hearts and emotions. It means something to them. Secondly, when they come to my gigs, they can expect a great party wherever I play and have a good time – and they appreciate that. DJ Times: Why do you think this generation of dance-music fans likes to buy into the idea of a character playing for them? Claptone: It’s all a bit meta. For me, I just
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
nect with youthful cosplayers, but there’s nothing gimmicky about the music – it’s quality all the way. Before the Amsterdam gig, we sat backstage with the mysterious German DJ/producer – yup, he wore the mask for the interview – to discuss the facets of his career. While there’s been plenty of online discussion about the possibility of two Claptone characters playing gigs around the world – sort of like a Blue Man Group of house music – we didn’t bother with that notion too much in our conversation. Talking music was enough. DJ Times: So, were you the one playing in Vegas last weekend? Claptone: Yes! Claptone! Obviously, I was playing in Vegas, yeah... [laughs] DJ Times: OK, can you explain the whole Claptone concept – the performance, the music, the whole persona. Claptone: Claptone is basically me and the music is the music I wanna make. It’s not much to explain. I think it’s more to find out… like people have to just enter my realm. Come to a gig or listen to my music on Spotify or wherever and find out more about Clap-
DJ TIMES
a 2,000-capacity, warehouse-like venue in a suburban shopping mall (called the World Fashion Centre), The Masquerade, Claptone’s branded event, is going off late into the night. With its decidedly deep and housey lineup, which includes Todd Terry and Purple Disco Machine, and a clued-in, genre-loving crowd that’s all-in from the jump, this Masquerade celebrates the fusion of disco, funk and house music. After Terry and PDM deliver a slew of club and disco classics (Daft Punk, Chic, Bee Gees, etc.), Claptone takes over with a set of his own bombs – the throbbing “No Eyes,” the hooky “In the Night,” and the piano-driven “Under the Moon,” plus some choice classics like Laid Back’s “White Horse.” The Amsterdam clubbers, many bedecked in Claptone masks, gleefully take the wild ride into the early morning. It’s all in keeping with the established genre star that Claptone has become – a DJ/artist who can communicate a genuine, old-school, deep-house ethos to a modern generation of clubbers and festival-goers, no matter the venue. Along with his two superb albums (2015’s Charmer and 2018’s Fantast), scores of tasty remixes (like his recent take on Michael Kiwanuka’s breezy “You Ain’t the Problem”) and his wildly popular Clapcast (now with more than 230 entries), Claptone maintains a profile that few house acts can match. In fact, he’s one of the very few modern DJs who can transcend generations. His outfit may con-
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ever have a moment where you thought this is getting to be too much? Claptone: Funny enough, I had a moment, but I’m not the guy that measures those things, right? [laughs] So, when Marshmello came up, I thought, like… that’s ridiculous. But, if I think that’s ridiculous, it’s probably successful. It doesn’t mean that it is ridiculous. It’s just it just means my limits are tested, and it’s never bad if one’s limits are tested, right? So, my limits got tested when he went on and he showed me otherwise. He showed that it’s relevant to put on the Marshmello head, obviously, for a lot of people and make the music he makes. DJ Times: I was at the Elrow party in Vegas and I’ve also attended a couple of your Masquerade parties. These days, the big, branded parties seem to bring the festival vibe to the club. What was your idea behind The Masquerade? Claptone: The good thing about Claptone is everything originates from the mask. So, if you do your own event, it’s just at hand that you call it The Masquerade and have people try out masks, because in everyday life they’re just that person and they can’t escape to be that person. Most of the times, they’re on the job or in family circumstances, so just give him give him a room or a time where they can be somebody else – put on the mask. DJ Times: And there’s plenty of them out there tonight, I can tell you. Claptone: Yeah, exactly – that was the idea. First, have them wear the mask, experience what it is to wear a mask and be somebody else. Secondly, add something to the sonic sense. Give them some visual ideas, and add some performers or some dancers that look otherworldly and weird and beautiful and something you haven’t maybe seen
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feel people love a story, and that hasn’t changed over the centuries. They love myth. They love to be intrigued. They love to enter into a different world. Yeah, that’s intriguing, basically. So, it’s not a new phenomenon. Maybe it’s a new phenomenon when you look at it in terms of entertainment or something. But, yeah, I think it’s a step towards entertainment, and the critics might say it’s away from music, right? DJ Times: But it doesn’t have to be. Claptone: It doesn’t have to be. You can combine great music with great entertainment. DJ Times: Also, the younger crowd doesn’t really have a problem with avatars when it comes to video games, when it comes to forums, things like that. It isn’t something that repels them initially… whereas some of the older folks may have an issue with it. Claptone: You might think so, and you may be right on that. But I feel the whole avatar thing gives them a lot of freedom. Like, people can be different, and other people can put on different masks and live in different worlds that may collide in the real world, but they can bring that together and create their own identity… over different dimensions, basically. And that is great. On the other hand, I would beg to differ when it comes to Claptone. I have a lot of older friends who just enjoy good house music and they know I know the roots about house music. I bring it together with new stuff with everything out of hip hop, rock, pop, and I just give them a great party. DJ Times: When Daft Punk first came out, they said that they wore the helmets because they wanted the music to take precedence over the personality. Was that a notion that intrigued you at all?
Claptone: It’s a part of it. But I think since David Bowie, the whole idea of authenticity in pop music should have changed, even the older people that are in the game for longer. They should have understood that it’s about playing with identities, and that is a big factor in music and pop – that you can reinvent yourself from album to album, bring different facets to your universe and your story. From album to album, you can change... be a different character. DJ Times: Worked for him, but it doesn’t always work for everybody… Claptone: Bowie was the first one doing that on a global scale and very successfully. But a lot of people followed, and why not play with identities? Because it’s fun, and you can. Musicians also don’t want to be stuck with just one sound or one kind of music. Musically, sonically, you don’t want to repeat yourself too much. You want to create your freedom zones your own way. Inventing different identities or playing around with your identity or extending your vision of your identity helps. DJ Times: Sure, Bowie is a perfect analogy. He not only had different personas, he also had different sounds and different approaches. And it does give you a little more artistic freedom, perhaps. Claptone: Exactly. That’s what I also try to do with Claptone. You can listen to the albums, but you don’t know what to expect when you go to DJ gig. They’re completely different worlds, but it’s connected. If people follow everything, they understand the connection points and they understand that “oh, this is more of a banging club remix of that album track.” But when they listen to the album, there might even be a ballad on the album. DJ Times: Can the costumes and masks go too far sometimes with some of the artists? Did you
before. At Pacha in Ibiza, we had aerials. In London, we had fire-breathers. Tonight, we have fire breathers. Give people different things that they don’t see every day, together with music and give them like a conclusive idea of what The Masquerade can be. DJ Times: Last week in Vegas, you followed Fisher at an indoor/outdoor beach club. But tonight, it’s a warehouse vibe with a more classic house-music vibe with Tino [Piontek, aka Purple Disco Machine] and Todd Terry on the bill. How does your approach differ tonight? Claptone: Well, I think it doesn’t differ that much from the vibe of things. It might differ from one or two different tracks and the order of tracks – and it probably differs from the tempo. When Fisher finished his set, he was at 127 [BPM]. I usually don’t play that fast, so I probably play a little slower, and Tino plays very slow compared to what’s going on around here at the moment. So, I’d probably play a little slower. But, mainly, I think the feeling is the same. It doesn’t change that much.You know, it’ll be a great party no matter what. DJ Times: What’s your DJ platform? Claptone: Pioneer DJ CDJs, USBs and rekordbox. It’s easy for me to use – I can set cue points or jump points. I can do a lot of mixing stuff, especially with the Pioneer DJM mixer. I use the effects heavily here and there. That’s definitely a thing that I can adjust from gig to gig – depending on the size of gigs, if it’s a stadium or a club. It gives you a lot of freedom to really perform, which other set-ups wouldn’t give me. DJ Times: What was your DJ evolution – from records to recordbox? Claptone: Vinyl, firstly. Then the first mixer? I don’t even remember – something 2-chan-
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ALL THE MUSIC. ONE SOURCE. NOW IN AN APP. Introducing the BPM Supreme Mobile App – the new app that is redefining the way DJs discover music. Stream high quality audio, add to your crate, get inspired with curated sets, create custom playlists,read the latest industry new, and much more. www.bpmsupreme.com/app
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nels, Gemini, maybe Numark. Then, I switched to a Pioneer mixer for the turntables, and then the first pitchable CD players [from Denon] – I tried those out. You had to play plus or minus to pitch – pretty interesting. They worked, once you got your head around it. DJ Times: Primitive days… Claptone: Right, I was kind of not
DJ Times: But you have to realize it. Claptone: You have to realize it, but I have never learned to realize it. I’m an intuitive person. I taught everything I know to myself. I didn’t watch too many YouTube tutorials or anything. I sound like I sound because I did trial-and-error forever. And I really don’t think it’s about hardware,
and that. The little bit of keyboard that I can play, I taught myself – but it’s not much. I’m not a live-music performer or guitar player or anything like that. DJ Times: But your music has real melodies to go with the heavy groove. Claptone: Again, I got the melodies in my head and it takes me probably longer than if you’re a skilled musician to get those down. But I love
convinced. So, I went into Final Scratch, the first one. It really didn’t do the trick, so I switched to CDs again. The CD players got better. You could burn your CD and all that. And I jumped a step in the evolution when I pressed my own vinyl, actually. I made special edits right on my computer at home, and then I had a pressing plant where you could just press one or two vinyls. It cost a little bit, but you could press your own remixes on vinyl. That was pretty cool back then. DJ Times: So, no Serato or Traktor? Claptone: No, the Final Scratch experience scared me away. Plus, with Serato… I’m not a hip-hop DJ, I’m not scratching, so it didn’t make too much sense. And USB is so easy to travel. I probably would have terrible back problems if I still carried my records [laughs]. DJ Times: Where do find your musical inspirations and what’s your approach in the studio? Claptone: My philosophy is that most of the music happens in your head…
software or what exactly you use… DJ Times: OK, so what do you use? [laughs] Claptone: I will tell you that I use Ableton a lot because you’re able to have quick success, basically, in arranging and throwing ideas together. But the mixdown takes ages and I don’t know if certain hardware or software components would make it better. I just have my way to work and it’s probably super-old-school from a technical perspective. I mean, you’ve got to work hard to develop an ear and teach some little things to yourself, but it’s not so much about a certain plug-in or a certain mastering tool. It’s whatever works for you. DJ Times: Your tracks are very precise, very warm and obviously influenced by New York house music. What’s your musical background? Claptone: I never really learned to play an instrument either. I was always thrown off by the idea to go to school where they teach me this
melodies. I grew up with melodies, all kinds of melodies in different musical directions. And if I have a melody in my head, I can get it into the computer, in the system, and I can work on it, one, two, three days until it’s perfect. So… it’s not like I’m a jam musician. I’ve always been a loner… like, teaching myself things – making tape collages and mixing records was more my background. DJ Times: Your take on deep house is unique because it connects with young fans and longtime devotees alike. Has the definition of deep house changed? Claptone: Constantly changed. If you think: What was deep house when it started? It’s completely different music when it was then reinvented, like, let’s say seven years ago and they re-labeled it deep house – and it was a little of a deep-house hype. It was different music. It took the feel of that music back then, but... DJ Times: Still with the warm
basslines, big kicks… Claptone: Yeah, but definitely different music. Like, it’s the same with electro, but it’s probably more radical when you look at electro. What was electro in the ’80s and what was electro in the early 2000s? It was completely different music. But people like those labels and they like to stick them on music. If you ask real house heads, they don’t like those labels. Nobody likes those labels. DJ Times: Still, it’s all on display tonight. Claptone: Yes, listen to Todd Terry play. He takes music from everywhere and just puzzles it together as he feels. That’s a good way to do it, and that makes it interesting.That’s what makes you not want to leave, and that’s what makes people dance. We should appreciate all the musical styles that are out there and bring it together under the umbrella of house. DJ Times: Any producers out there now that that you enjoy? Claptone: There are a few producers out there nowadays making music on the radio that I like, which is very difficult because I don’t like the sound on the radio a lot. But Mark Ronson, I feel, has a very warm and beautiful sound and he brings it to radio and pop productions. And I appreciate that. DJ Times: The Clapcast has become very popular. What’s the process for putting that show together? Claptone: It’s a huge selection process and it’s a lot more work than you might think because there’s so many promos nowadays. If you make an effort, you have to listen to a lot of music that is not very nice. But if you do, you find one or two tracks that really get your attention and that nobody else listens to because it’s a no-name… DJ Times: All the better, right? Claptone: Yeah, there’s some secret weapons that I play. Also, because I’m an arranger, for my DJ sets, I do a lot of edits and re-edits. So, if a song is not arranged very well or if there’s just a snare missing or there’s the breakdown that’s not good… I just produce the breakdown or add the snare or I re-edit it. If I think it’s too much, I do a dubbier version; if I think it’s not enough, I play something on top. DJ Times: You can customize your sets… Claptone: That’s why I probably have a little bit of a quirky selection of tracks that is not just your standard big names or whatever. Also, of course, the standard big names are in there because some of the productions are good. So, yeah, but I try to make it an interesting mix. One week, I can be an little more disco. Another week, I can be more deep. Another week, I can be more techy. As a DJ, I have to be focused that the party is a great party; but in the Clapcast, I can be a little more left-field to an extent, which I (continued on page 42)
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Google Your Business
By Jordan St. Jacques
Your Google My Business (GMB) Account Drives a Massive Portion of Your SEO. Here’s How to Get It Right. For the last few years, I’ve served as a seminar speaker/keynoter at DJ Times’ DJ Expo in Atlantic City. And as anyone who has sat through one of my seminars can attest, SEO is a social science in which many aspire to do well. However, it’s still very much misunderstood by modern DJs looking to maximize their online marketing opportunities. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) overall is a daunting task, with many factors in play. Indeed, there are anywhere between 200 to 300 ranking signals that the master Google rank calculation takes into account at any one time, all with varying degrees of importance (weight). And, Google changes the weights of these factors on an ongoing basis. Unfortunately, what you think you know today could be irrelevant tomorrow! One thing we know for sure, however, is the importance of treating your listing on Google My Business as the primary entry into the SEO effort for your brand/company. Depending on which study you are looking at, your listing on Google My Business (GMB) can account for between 11- to 14-percent of the weight in your rank calculation – a massive portion of your SEO when compared to the weights of other calculation aspects. With all the new features that Google has put into My Business over the past three years, it’s easy to understand why it’s become the most important factor in your SEO effort. Let’s take a look at what’s under the hood for this most important of SEO work that you or your web professional must handle properly. q BUSINESS PROFILE
q CONNECTION REPORTING
q REVIEWS
q GOOGLE MAPS SOURCE
q PHOTOS
q INCREASED SEARCH VISIBILITY
q POSTS
q GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION
q 2-WAY MESSAGING
q FREE WEBSITE BUILDER
BUSINESS PROFILE On the surface, having a properly maintained Google My Business listing helps to get the word out about your brand over all Google properties. Maps, search, photos, reviews – My Business has it all. In comparison testing, engagement with Google My Business was over 49 times the engagement of a LinkedIn Company Page. People will find your brand/ business with a proper My Business listing. This just cannot be ignored.
PHOTOS Just as reviews now count in the SERP (Search Engine Results Pages) calculations, so do photos within Google photos search. (Remember to fill out the image description, which is the analogy to making sure the alt tag text is properly configured within your website.) And, new photos posted in My Business count as fresh content within Google overall.
POSTS Posts have been possible within GMB for a couple of years now, and can be of great help when used strategically. The data flowing through GMB from posts gets treated as fresh content (as per reviews), with benefits from hashtag sentiment analysis accruing as well. Cast study: Dick’s Sporting Goods makes great use of posts to advertise specials/deals with particular emphasis on local SEO through honing in on a per-location basis.
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I know what you’re feeling: Great, here’s yet another review system to have to pay attention to. This one, however, is very much worth the effort, as fresh new reviews, combined with the rating system, now factor into SEO calculations. Compare that to reviews and ratings on The Knot/Wedding Wire, which do not. And, you’ll never have the “disappearing reviews” phenomenon as has been reported with Yelp. Reviews within My Business should now be your primary focal point to direct customers to.
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2-WAY MESSAGING This aspect is one of my absolute favorites, and something I pay attention to quite a bit. Just as most of you have widgets in the bottom right of your website to allow customers to message you directly right then and there (if you don’t, you really should), this feature within GMB will allow you to communicate in a similar manner when someone is on Google itself and comes across your business listing. Once you activate this within the GMB admin panel, you’ll have to install the mobile app on your phone, as that is how you receive these messages. Once you’re set up, though, you can go back and forth with potential customers while they are on Google itself!
CONNECTION REPORTING
GOOGLE ANALYTICS INTEGRATION
Good metrics are never a bad thing, and GMB offers you some unique numbers that even Google Analytics doesn’t give you. With GMB being a different sort of tool, the reporting here is generally geared towards what feature within GMB was used to connect with you. Was it a click-through to your website? Was it a message? A question? The GMB reporting is a worthy addition to the items you’re paying attention to each week.
As with most Google products, using GMB properly will help accentuate the reliability of your Google rankings. In this case, the Connection Reporting from GMB tells you what keywords people are using to find your business, as well as sending this data back to Analytics itself.
GOOGLE MAPS SOURCE
We have all seen those detailed business listings on the right side of Google SERPs, especially where Local SEO is concerned. Ever wonder where that data comes from? That’s right – it’s from the data you enter into GMB. Combined with Maps data, these two features are the main reasons to use GMB going forward.
Need a free website, even a temporary one, while you hire a professional to publish a more comprehensive website? Google has you covered with a pretty decent web-builder tool. Of course, you ask, “Why not use Wix, Squarespace or even the GoDaddy web builders?” Well, for our money, a Google landing page will be more in tune with ranking higher, since Google owns both. And, it’s truly free, unlike some of the bait-n-switch web builders out there.
Creating a Google My Business Listing
Step 1: Log into the Google Account you want associated with your business (or create a Google Account if you don’t already have one). Step 2: Go to google.com/business and select “Start now” in the top right-hand corner. Step 3: Enter your business name.
I hope by now I have shown you just how comprehensive that Google My Business is, and how it can tremendously help your SEO efforts. Begin your 2020 SEO campaign with GMB, and you’ll be starting off on the right track! Based in Ottawa, Ont., Canada, Jordan St. Jacques owns the digital marketing agency, Digitera Interactive. n
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INCREASED SEARCH VISIBILITY
FREE WEBSITE BUILDER
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Here’s one of the most important reasons to use GMB: The fact that Google Maps pulls its business-listing content right from your GMB data! If that doesn’t convince you to add GMB to your marketing mix, then nothing will. Note that your competitors are using GMB, for sure.
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The Fam: The crowd at Birdhouse stage. Ashley Teffer
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Double Dutch: J.Phlip jumps rope with fans. Ashley Teffer
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Camp Counselor: Claude VonStroke in the mix. Chiddy
All Smiles: Justin Martin goes back to the egg. Chiddy
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Daytime Party: DJ Glen B2B Bruno Furlan. Brittni Zacher
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DJ / CLUBWORLD / SPOTLIGHT
BY BRIAN BONAVOGLIA New York City – Time Warp began in 1994 as a techno festival in Manheim, Germany, bringing the day’s top genre talents like Speedy J and Laurent Garnier. Since then, it has branched out broadly as a global brand, producing techno-centric events worldwide – from to Europe to North and South America. So, as Time Warp celebrated 25 years at the New York Expo Center this past Nov. 22-23 – with help from local promotional partners Teksupport – DJ Times was there to take in the festivities. With a bill featuring major DJs like Peggy Gou, Richie Hawtin, Loco Dice, Nina Kraviz, Maceo Plex, Sven Våth and Ricardo Villalobos, Time Warp kept techno lovers in The Bronx until the early morning hours. After the gig, DJ Times connected with Robin Ebinger, co-founder of Cosmopop, the company behind the brand, to dig a little deeper into the festival’s rich history. DJ Times: How did Time Warp begin? Robin Ebinger: One of my partners, Steffen [Charles], and his back-then partner Michael [Hock] had invented Time Warp in 1994. Steffen has been promoting it since its inception in 1994. The first edition took place in an old huge and rambling warehouse on the River Rhine. The location in which Time Warp U.S. takes place [New York Expo Centre] reminds me of that and has the appeal of an warehouse from the early days and its also near the water. DJ Times: How do those days compare with today’s event? Ebinger: The early days were a little wilder than today [laughs] and the first editions caused a lot of financial loss. However, even from the beginning, it was always about creating a whole experience for our guests. Sound was and still is the most important thing, but even at first edition of Time Warp we had elaborate decoration elements. We just wanted to create a very unique atmosphere. DJ Times: What did you learn from your earliest events? Ebinger: There were no blueprints or training courses on how to set up a proper rave or electronic music festival. So, the first years had been a lot of trial-and-error, as our drive has always been to improve the experience for our guests. Promoting events is a constant learning process because with every festival, every location, each new technology you keep on finding ways how to operate it a little bit more smoothly. In the beginning, it was more about improvising, and nowadays, it’s all about the right planning. The main lesson we learned is that you need to believe in your vision and work hard for it in order to make it work. DJ Times: How would you describe the evolution of Time Warp? Ebinger: From 1994 onwards, our journey has been driven by our true love for electronic music. It has been a long, crazy, emotional ride with unique encounters and endless memories. Over the years we have elaborated further on the idea of a synergy of sound and, from 2001, 2002 on, event technology made a massive leap forward. Modern computer programs made it possible to plan whole shows and floor designs in advance in front of the screen. Our production and creative team grew with this amazing progress of technology. Everyone on the team gives their best for each edition and we are always on the lookout for new ideas and inspiration, bringing in designers and creative minds from all over the world. It really helps that Time Warp Mannheim found its home in 2000 – after many editions at [Mannheim venue] Maimarkthalle, we know every corner of the venue. Our main mission is to present a perfect synthesis of music, light and floor design. DJ Times: For its various events, what sound system does Time Warp prefer? What about lighting? Ebinger: We are fans of the French manufacturer L-Acoustics. They are the pioneers of modern line-array sound systems. Crystal clear sounds and warm bass – this is how techno should sound. For lighting, we mainly use Robe and Elation fixtures lately, but also units from SGM and Clay Parky are sometimes specified. DJ Times: What’s the future of this iconic extravaganza? Ebinger: We’ll keep on doing what we do best – make you dance!
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TIME WARP TURNS
GERMAN TECHNO
BRAND
C E L E B R A T E S
W I T H
N Y C
W E E K E N D E R
Robin Ebinger: Brand marketing manager.
Changover: Maceo Plex greets Loco Dice. Tyler Allix
In the Mix: Nina Kraviz feels the beat. Tyler Allix
Double Trouble: Pan-Pot rocks Time Warp NYC. Off Brand Project
New York Expo Center: Techno in The Bronx. Off Brand Project
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
Old-School DJ: Sven VÃ¥th flips thru his vinyl. Tyler Allix
DJ TIMES
Searching: Ricardo Villalobos tracks his next tune. Off Brand Project
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DJ / CLUBWORLD / Hot Shots Dark Techno: Charlotte de Witte gets it going. Adi Adinayev
Going Large: Scene from the Kinetic Field. Taylor Wallace
Buddies: Green Velvet & Fisher pal it up. Ivan Meneses
Hands Up: Steve Aoki rocks the joint. Adam Weissmann
DJ TIMES
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
Day Party: 3LAU reaches to the crowd. Adam Weissmann
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Orlando, Fla. – This past Nov. 8-10, scores of dance-music lovers migrated south for record-breaking edition of EDC Orlando. Produced by Insomniac Events at Tinker Field, EDC Orlando expanded to three days, taking up 40 acres and drawing nearly 225,000 fans. According to organizers, the attendee number more than doubled that of the 2018 event. Playing on four stages – Kinetic Field, Circuit Grounds, Neon Garden, and Stereo Bloom – EDC Orlando drew nearly 160 DJ/artists, including Deadmau5, DJ Snake, Above & Beyond, Seven Lions, REZZ, Kaskade, and Afrojack. It all looked like this: – Brian Bonavoglia
Wonder Glasses: REZZ mesmerizes the crowd. Taylor Wallace
On Fire: Seven Lions blazes on. Taylor Wallace
Ka-Boom: MineSweepa drops a beat. Kasey Filmore
Bigtime: EDC Orlando’s Circuit Grounds. Taylor Wallace
DJ TIMES
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
Masked Marvels: ATLiens go dark & menacing. Tessa Paisan
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MAKING TRACKS STUDIO…HARDWARE…SOFTWARE…
By DJ Deets
DJ TIMES
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
SPIN: PERFECT FOR PORTABLISM
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In the last few years, the portable scratch scene has really taken off. What started as a very niche sect has become a relatively mainstream facet of DJ culture, both in the United States and internationally. The appeal of portablism is plain to see: elaborate scratch tricks, cuts, and combos are meant to be shared, but lugging around a battle-ready mixer and a heavy turntable isn’t always easy. Portablism’s roots started off with DJs using miniature turntables and modifying them; for instance, adding crossfaders. As the number of portablists continued to grow, DJ equipment manufacturers began to see potential in this market. Some companies released dedicated portable crossfaders, and others released entire all-in-one scratch turntables for portablists. While it is possible to modify a miniature turntable to include all the trappings needed by portable DJs, there are now dedicated turntables custom designed for portablists. This is where Reloop’s Spin fits in. The Unit: The Spin is a belt-driven portable scratch turntable manufactured by German DJ gear and pro audio company Reloop (distributed Stateside by Newbury Park, Calif.-based American Music & Sound). It promises to give portablists all the features they want, enclosed in a reliable and carrying-friendly design. It comes in the form factor of a briefcase, which, from a style perspective, I think is very cool. There is an integrated grab handle at the top, and there are two latches that hold the cover in place. The color scheme is black on grey, and the body is entirely plastic, but I think that’s probably necessary to keep the device lightweight and easily portable. In my time with it, the Spin never felt flimsy, and I think it should easily survive long-term portablist duties. On the top of the unit, there’s a 7-inch platter that doesn’t rock too much when being heavy-handed. The unit ships with an included Reloopbranded slipmat. The tonearm has good weight to it, and there’s an included stylus and cartridge assembly. It’s weighted enough to not be easily bounced during scratching and stows the cartridge in a trench recessed into the deck, which guards the stylus. To the right of the platter, there is a play/pause button, a button to pair the unit by Bluetooth, and a button to control recording. Bluetooth makes an appearance on the Spin because users can pair their own devices and stream beats and songs to scratch over. In my testing, I never found there to be too much latency, and the signal quality sounded good. There’s also an auxiliary input through a 1/8-inch headphone jack if users aren’t feeling Bluetooth. Recording & Other Features: The record feature is also handy, especially considering how much the portablism culture involves sharing routines and posting them online. You connect a formatted USB drive to a port on the side of the unit. Pressing the record button once starts recording, and pressing it again stops it. To the very right, there are controls for the turntable speed (switchable from 33, 45, and 75), pitch, tone, auxiliary input (Bluetooth or analog) level, and output volume (either through the built-in speaker or through one of the outputs). There’s also a 7-inch record puck adaptor that sits in the top right when not in use. The unit has a built-in speaker, which sounds good and is loud enough for small-group jam sessions. If more volume or the privacy of headphones are desired, there are outputs on RCA and headphone jacks to connect the unit to headphones or larger speakers. On the back of the unit, there’s a micro-USB port to connect the unit to a power source, a power switch, an RCA output, two headphone outputs (one is 1/8-inch headphone-jack sized, and the other is ¼-inch), a full-size USB port for connecting a storage device for recording sessions, and a Kensington lock. Power is an interesting conversation with the Spin: the unit can be powered by any power source that can send at least 5 volts and 2 amps. This (continued on page 40)
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DJ Expo August 10 – 13
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Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, NJ
Watch for Registration Info
SOUNDING OFF PLAYBACK…PRO AUDIO…PROCESSING
WIRELESS WONDER: PIONEER DJ’S DDJ-200 By DJ Deets
As DJs, we live in time when DJ controllers seem to just keep getting more and more complicated. I had a friend, who is a first officer with a major U.S. airline, tell me that Pioneer DJ’s four-CDJ/ DJM-mixer set-up vaguely reminds him of a flight deck – and he’s right. The whole process can get overwhelming sometimes, especially for beginning DJs. I definitely don’t think I could’ve started out dealing well with the level of control and feature sets that many professional controllers now offer. And that’s part of the magic of Pioneer DJ’s new DDJ-200. It’s delightfully slimmed-down, covering all the essentials and nothing more. It’s also the first entry by a mainstream manufacturer into the wireless DJ gear space – you can wirelessly connect your smartphone to the controller via Bluetooth. And, at just $149, it’s one of the most accessible DJ controllers on the market. Versatility is also in its DNA: it runs on several DJ applications, including Pioneer DJ’s own WeDJ smartphone app, Algoriddim’s djay, edjing Mix and Pioneer DJ’s rekordbox. Pioneer DJ also seems to be betting big on DJs using streaming services for their music libraries. The company proudly advertises how, with various software, DJs will have access to libraries from Beatport LINK (WeDJ, rekordbox), SoundCloud Go+ (WeDJ, rekordbox), Spotify Premium (djay), and Deezer (edjing Mix). You’ll need a stable internet connection to be able to stream music to your smartphone, but having access to the virtually limitless library of streaming services is an attractive proposition for new DJs who might not have the resources to curate a multi-thousand track library. The Unit: On the DDJ-200, there are two identical deck sections flanking a 2-channel mixer section. Each deck section contains a capacitive jog wheel, eight performance pads, a tempo slider, a beat-sync button, a shift button, and transport controls. The jog wheels felt good to use. Though they were on the small side, I had enough control for scratching and beat juggling. Below the jog wheels are the performance pads. They are more buttons than pads: they click when pressed and are made of the same material as all the other buttons. Nevertheless, they felt good to use. Depending on the software, they can control hot cues, loops, and effects. Next to the pads are the tempo sliders. Each one has a ver y sizeable throw for a controller of this size, and there’s
a centerline click. In the center, the mixer section has 3-band equalizer controls above a knob for color effects. When using Pioneer DJ software, the filter can be swapped for other effects, like a bit crusher or a pitch control. The channel faders and crossfader felt good to use. Cutting on the controller was not a problem, and beginners will feel right at home on this mixer. Between the upfaders, there is a button that activates the Transition FX mode, which is a feature in WeDJ that allows the user to select from 11 crossfader effects that create smooth transitions from one deck to the other. It reminds me a lot of the Filter Fade that Pioneer DJ’s first and secondgeneration DDJ-SB had. In practice, it was really fun to try single-handedly mixing between two tracks, especially ones of polar-opposite genres. Personally, some of the “cut in” effects felt a little too jarring or abrupt, but many of the “mix” effects felt really subtle and tasteful and offered a nice, smooth transition. Physical VU meters are absent from the device, but they are available virtually in the software. On the Back: With this unit, there is just a USB Type-B port to connect the device to a laptop or power source with the included cable and a port for a Kensington lock. Keep in mind that there are no audio inputs or outputs on the hardware: all output signal comes through the smartphone or laptop. It is possible to simultaneously monitor
Versatility: DDJ-200 works with a variety of DJ apps.
with an included stereo-to-mono splitter cable. When connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth, you’ll need to plug in the controller to a USB power brick. When connected to a laptop, the controller is fully USB-powered. It’s also truly plugand-play – there isn’t even a power switch. When plugged in (either to a power brick or a laptop), the device powered on instantaneously. Testing: Things got interesting when I connected it to my smartphone. Going into this test, I was skeptical, wondering if Bluetooth as a technology was even able to handle the amount of data needed to be transmitted wirelessly. However, my fears were completely wrong. The device shines as a wireless controller. Pairing it to my iPhone running WeDJ, incredibly, took just seconds. The wireless range of the controller is similar to that of Bluetooth headphones: you’ll want to be in the general vicinity of the controller for the best functionality. The WeDJ app itself is incredibly easy to use and well laid out. Starting out, there were a series of tutorials that integrated hardware control to explain and demonstrate various techniques; experienced users can skip these. There’s also a “Pop-Hint” feature, which explains individual controls. WeDJ also has a feature called Phrase Sync, which analyzes tracks and can help DJs determine when to mix in and mix out tracks. Perhaps I might be impressed with the novelty of a wireless controller, but the hardware-software integration in WeDJ is nothing short of magical. Among beginner DJ controllers, there is a lot of competition – every brand wants to capture loyalty as early as possible, and if someone started on a Pioneer DJ controller, they might be more likely to invest in a second one further in their DJ career. There are, of course, offerings from the likes of Numark, Hercules, and other manufacturers. Even Pioneer DJ’s own DDJ-400 makes a compelling case for itself, considering it ships with more features and a rekordbox DJ license for under a hundred dollars more. The Verdict: However, at its price point, I suspect the DDJ-200 isn’t just competing with other DJ-beginner controllers, but with other hobbies: “I’ve wanted to get into DJing, but those golf clubs also looked really good.” That being said, this controller is perfect for someone wanting to get their feet wet with the DJ world. Experienced DJs might consider purchasing one as a portable practice controller or as a gift to their friends or family as it offers all the basics needed to get started with mixing in an attractive, easy-to-use form factor. I also think we’ve officially entered the era of wireless DJ equipment. Well-done, Pioneer DJ.
MOBILE PROFILE CAREERS…INNOVATIONS…SUCCESS STORIES
RUST BELT DJ RETOOLS & ADAPTS
Bill France: 30-Year DJ in West Virginia.
DJ TIMES
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
By Con Carney
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Logan, W.V. – Bill France didn’t see it coming. As a public-school teacher and a DJ in this small coal town in West Virginia, he’d spent 30 years interfacing with kids during the day and playing music for their parents and relatives at weekend weddings and parties. Times were good – until they weren’t so good. A few years ago, the local coal industry began shedding jobs. “We are a small- to medium-size town that has depended on coal-mining for many years,” says France of Logan, a town in the state’s southwestern corner near the Kentucky border. “Recently, the shift has been to tourism, which is currently booming. Events are planned and they always need entertainment.” Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains and featuring a rich regional history, Logan County, W.V., remains attractive to both outdoor enthusiasts and history buffs – indeed, much of the famed Hatfield-McCoys family feud took place in the area. Also, each Fourth of July, the West Virginia Freedom Festival draws crowds that enjoy its car and motorbike shows, carnival rides, concerts and DJ-led block parties. But the economic impact of the coal industry’s
demise has had lasting effects on a variety of local people, including mobile DJs. “Coal started declining a few years ago, and it hurt everyone – mainly corporate parties,” says the 50-year-old France. “Those just dried up. Weddings and school gigs were still there, but on a lesser degree. It took several years before people started feeling confident to let go of their cash again.” France was fortunate – he had a full-time job as a teacher with the advantages of being a weekend warrior. You keep your regular job and the drop in business doesn’t hurt quite as much. But it did hurt. Prices came down and France had to adapt his services to meet the market. “You have to get creative with what you offer – no choice,” he says. “People were scared to spend. Prices were lowered and I had to start going after lower-priced events, like birthdays and schools, to make up the difference. You have to roll with the times and wait it out, though the coal mines will never be what they were to our area.” The local economy is not the only wholesale change France has witnessed. Just like he never would have imagined tourism becoming an economic driver in his area, he did not envision the changes that have occurred in the DJ industry. “Technology has really changed the DJ game,” he says. “When I started, record players were still a part of many mobile rigs… cassettes, compact discs came into play, and eventually digital music. I was reluctant to give up CDs, but it got to the point where the CDs were impossible to get. I paid for all my music in the early years – now you just
get a streaming service. I feel we’ve gotten lazy and less creative.” France hasn’t been part of the lazy. He’s busy during West Virginia’s wedding season, which runs from May through August. He’s always pretty wellbooked, with a scattering of weddings the rest of the year. One wedding per weekend gets him $600 to $1,000, depending on several factors. It’s been steady enough to allow France to retool. In fact, he just invested in some new equipment, a set-up which includes a Pioneer DJ DDJ1000SRT controller and a pair of Electro-Voice ZLX-15P active, 15-inch loudspeakers. These units join a system that includes Serato DJ software, Electro-Voice Gladiator G118 subwoofers, Ultimate Support stands, a Shure wireless microphone system, and Odyssey road cases. For lighting, he uses ADJ units, including Revo 4, Sparkle and Mystic effects. France buys mainly online from ProSound & Stage Lighting, but he’s not picky. He’ll buy from Amazon too, maybe a few others. This time, he says, the rig overhaul will help him keep up with the competition. “There is always competition,” says France of the Logan County market of 36,000 people. “There are some young guys wanting to make a quick buck, but few who do it professionally on this level.” In terms of marketing his business, France doesn’t keep a website anymore. He had one for many years, but all the activity was coming from social media. So he put all his time and energy there, and he says that it’s paid off. He’s boosting select posts through Facebook and got some traction from an article he published in four area newspapers. Says France: “I have a solid name and good reputation locally. People know me and that really helps.” The years have ticked on, he says, and 30 years flew by like the wind – and as he’s gotten older, he’s downsized. He had a hearing-loss scare some years ago, like so many DJs. “I ended up having surgery,” he says. “Since then, I wear ear plugs and I’m a lot more careful when it comes to my hearing. When you are young, you feel like Superman. But it does catch up to you.” France says that the people of this small coal town have always been partial to escapism. “They like to have a good time,” he says. “And although people were scared there for a while, prices are slowly coming back up. “Whatever it is,” he says, “I’ll be here for it.”
BUSINESS LINE SALES… MARKETING…SOLUTIONS…
KoKoruz, “you will also see how many DJs are constantly coming into the By Stu Kearns market.” True, the number of available DJs in Bulles’ Baltimore market has increased. “Just in my local area, there are like 487 DJs listed on Thumbtack,” he said. “Gig Masters has over 150 in my service area. It is unlikely there are more than 150 wedding receptions in the area needing a DJ on a busy Saturday – especially with more of these couples opting for small destination weddings in the Caribbean or opting for a courthouse ceremony and dinner in a restaurant afterwards, and saving their money for a nice trip. Many couples do that now instead of having a classic ceremony and reception/celebration where they drop $20,000 or more.” Casillas Joe from Los Angeles-based PDJI (Professional Disc Jockey Inc.) says the problem is lack of education, a deficit of professionalism in the industry. “Here’s the problem: Only 10-percent of the DJs attend DJ-related shows, seminars or any formal type of training or are part of any association,” he says. “The last Wedding Pro event I attended in Long Beach in 2019 had 3-percent DJs out of approximately 400 in attendance. It’s no wonder why we are not viewed as professionals in the event industry. There is more money in higher paying events – once you are perceived by your clients and other vendors as an expert.” Joshua Volpe of Kalifornia Entertainment in Rochester, N.Y., says wedding bookings are way up for him. “I’m still booking two-plus years out with an insane schedule,” he says, “and still receiving 20 to 25 inquiries a week – which I pass off to four other guys in my area. My clients are, for the most part, Gen X and Millennials who are looking for an all-out, wild, fun party without all the old traditions and fluff that comes with weddings of the past. A ton of clients are doing themed events as well and specifically seek me out for those styles. All in all, no complaints or worries on my end as far as business goes.” So, there – right? Thomas Angelo at CJ Sound in West Seneca, N.Y., says that despite the demographic of married couples shifting – “Everything age-wise has shifted a decade: 20s are now 30s, 30s are now 40s,” he says – the company he works for didn’t have enough DJs to cover all the shows they booked in 2019. “And 2020 is getting more bookings than this year,” he says, “so we are not even close to being down on shows.” Anthony Cortis at TC’s Disc Jockey Service in West Springfield, Mass., also thinks we’re safe in the wedding industry for quite some time. “People will always get married and people will always die,” he said candidly. “And millennials are spending more money on experiences rather than personal possessions – so that helps as well.” So, what did that Fox 5 Atlanta story say? It reported from census data analyzed by the Pew Research Center that, in 2015, among adults ages 25 and older, 65-percent with a four-year college degree were married, compared with 55-percent of those with some college education and 50-percent among those with no education beyond high school. Twenty-five years earlier, the marriage rate was above 60-percent for each of these groups. The analysis also found that not being financially stable is a major reason given by 41-percent of never-married adults, who would like to get married in the future, as to why they have not already done so. Of course, if wedding bookings were down for many DJs in 2019, it will pick up again in 2020. Many DJs report that couples are waiting for 2020 because they like the symmetry of a round number, two 20s, and a fresh decade in which to begin their journey together and celebrate an anniversary for years to come.
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
IS THE WEDDING INDUSTRY DOOMED?
DJ TIMES
Mike Fernino, owner of Music in Motion Entertainment in Seymour, Conn., runs the “DJ Idea Sharing” Facebook group. He recently posted an article from Fox 5 Atlanta – “U.S. Marriage Rates May Be Dipping.” It caused quite a stir, as this topic usually does, because an estimated 60-percent of mobile gigs are weddings. Is the wedding industry in peril? Are DJs’ jobs doomed? That was the conversationstarter. Richard Bulles from Delmarva Music Radio in Baltimore doesn’t see much room for optimism. “The Goden Age to be a DJ is behind us,” he says. “Marriages are down like 30-percent or more compared to years ago and many more people are taking a piece of the pie today, with more options for music entertainment than ever – including DIY.” Bulles cautions: “Just wait for the next recession to get under way. The event industry is going to see a big decline and DJs will be seriously affected by it. Could be worse than the last recession in 2007 to 2009. Let’s hope that does not start in 2020.” Christopher (DJ iShine) Isiah at TEAMiSHINE DJs in Columbus, Ohio, disagrees with Bulles’ gloomy premise. “Industries always evolve, and those that are serious about their craft will find a way to adapt,” he says. “Events will always be thrown and, naturally, as humans, people like to socialize, too. What comes with socializing? Music. As long as DJs and business owners alike are willing to be open-minded and adjust to their current habitat when it comes to marketing and advertising, things will be alright. No need to pack it up – just adapt.” Isiah says that he’d been mentored by DJs that have been full-time for 30 plus years. “They’ve obviously have been through recessions and industry changes,” he muses, “and they are still standing.” Keith KoKoruz at the Keith Christopher Entertainment Group in Chicago says weddings are indeed on the decline. “Statistics show that we are at the lowest marriage rate in 100 years,” he said. “Millennials are coming out of college in huge debt and their view of marriage is different because so many of them come from parents of divorce. Organized religion is also dropping drastically – and marriage rates reflect that.” KoKoruz did agree with Isiah – there are a ton of other events available – but he also warned of a rush of bottom-feeders coming into the market (a sentiment that’s really as old as the hills). “If you speak with anyone at Pioneer, Denon, Numark or Roland about the number of controllers sold in 2019,” said
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GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF ADJ
QSC
Pioneer DJ
Mixed In Key
DJ TIMES
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
Reloop
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Color Commentary
MOD Squad
Feeling Reloop-y
Ride Captain Ride
Pioneer DJ Americas 2050 W. 190th Street Suite 109 Torrance, CA 90504 (424) 488-0480 www.pioneerdj.com
ADJ Products 6122 S. Eastern Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90040 (323) 582-2650 www.americandj.com
American Music & Sound 925 Broadbeck Dr. #220 Newbury Park, CA 91320 (800) 431-2609 www.AmericanMusicAndSound.com
Mixed In Key 3250 NE 1st Ave #305 Miami, FL 33137 www.mixedinkey.com
P i o n e e r ’s H D J - X 5 B T h e a d phones are available in four colors—metallic black, metallic red, gloss white and gold. The unit sports both Bluetooth and wired connectivity thanks to the included 1.2m coiled cable, and it can operate for up to 20 hours with a single three-hour charge, according to the company. The foldable headphones come with a built-in microphone, a USB charging cable, a 6.3mm stereo plug adapter, a flexible headband and “comfortable ear pads.”
The latest LED-powered parstyle wash fixture from ADJ is the MOD STQ. The unit generates a total output of 56W thanks to seven 8-watt RGBW LEDs that deliver up to 2952 LUX measured at 3M (9.8 feet), with a total output in excess of 2500 Lumens. Each quad color LED features independentlydimmable red, green, blue and white elements that can be mixed together. It comes with a 17-degree beam angle that can be widened to 20, 40 or 60 degrees by using the three frost filters, which are custom-designed to sit flush with the edge of the unit’s casing when positioned in front of the LEDs.
The RMX-10 BT is a compact two-channel DJ mixer from Reloop. The unit utilizes an integrated Bluetooth interface to allow for wireless music streaming directly to the mixer. The RMX-10 BT has a user-replaceable 44mm crossfader, as well as a 6.3mm microphone input with separate volume adjustment, and a 6.3mm headphones output with volume adjustment and cue-mix function. Each channel has an individual gain control and three-band EQ that raises or lower the frequencies at 100 Hz, 1 kHz and 10 kHz.
Mixed in Key expanded its Captain Plug-ins Series with the release of Captain Beat. Captain Beat allows users to easily mix and match patterns from different genres. Users can access one of hundreds of drum MIDI patterns ranging from 67 BPM to 124 BPM in the bank library, make beats with one of the custom drum kits, or create their own rhythms by finger drumming using the computer keyboard. Captain Beats offers a variety of effects, including filter, reverb and delay, as well as advanced controls that can change the attach, hold, decay and pitch of each sample.
AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF
GEAR
Sterling Audio
Steinberg/Yamaha
Koda Kroma
Beam Me Up
All About That Cubase
Sterling Audio P.O. Box 5111 Thousand Oaks, CA 91359 (888) 621-2154 www.sterlingaudio.net
UVI www.uvi.net
Laserworld USA Inc. 41 Skyline Drive, Suite 1017 Lake Mary, FL 32746 (407) 915-5577 www.laserworld.us
Steinberg/Yamaha Corporation of America 6600 Orangethorpe Ave Buena Park, CA 90620 (714) 522-9011 www.yamahaproaudio.com
Sterling Audio’s S400 and S450 professional studio headphones sport a closed-back, circumaural design, as well as rotatable ear cups with removable, replaceable and lockable ear cushions. These foldable headphones also come with a detachable eight-foot cable that has a twist lock 1/8-inch connector and ¼-inch adapter. The S450 uses 45mm drivers with neodymium magnets and copperclad aluminum-wire voice coils for a frequency response of 15 Hz to 28 kHz with an output of 103 dB SPL. The S400 uses 40mm drivers with neodymium magnets and oxygen-free copper voice coils for a frequency response of 15 Hz to 24 kHz with an output of 101 dB SPL.
UVI released Kroma 1.5, a new update that adds the PolarX duallayer synth that was inspired by the Rhodes Polaris. The PolarX features a discrete amp, multi-mode filter, stereo, pitch and 16-step arpeggiators, as well as pre-layer modwheel assignments for quick mapping of controls like vibrato, tremolo and filter depth. Kroma 1.5 also comes with an enhanced UI and hundreds of new customdesigned presets that are built on high-quality samples from the actual hardware instruments and are fully-editable.
The Laserworld EL-300RGB is a multicolor RGB whitelight-effect laser system with color change and controllable rotation and strobe. Featuring a Class 2 laser light and a starry sky star effect, the unit is designed for mobile DJs and small nightclubs. The colors of the laser as well as dim, rotation and strobe effects can be controlled by push buttons or via DMX. The unit features a stand-alone mode, master-slave mode and sound-tolight mode, in which the sensitivity of the integrated microphone can be adjusted.
Steinberg’s Cubase 10.5 comes with several exclusive features designed to enhance its Pro and Artist editions. Users are now able to export timecoded MP4 video including 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz/16bit audio and those using Pro can normalize with the Loudness Unit Full Scale. Cubase Pro 10.5 includes Spectral Comparison EQ, which allows users to compare the spectral components of two audio signals in order to adjust and bring balance to the mix. There are more than 570 presets and 570 pre-produced samples through Padshop 2 and additional features include MultiTap Delay, a Note Ruler and colorized mixer channels.
DJ TIMES
Sterling Reputation
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
Laserworld
UVI
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GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF
Denon DJ
KRK
AKG
AKG/HARMAN International
DJ TIMES
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
400 Atlantic Street Stamford, CT 06901 (888) 452-4254 www.akg.com
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The AKG Lyra ultra-HD, multi-mode USB microphone produces acoustically transparent audio on 24-but/192kHz resolution. The unit spor ts AKG’s Adaptive Capsule Array, which includes four capture modes, and it features an internal self-adjusting shock mount, as well as a built-in sound diffuser. The Lyra comes with AKG’s proprietary Internal Element Overload Prevention, which the company says automatically reduces noise, eliminates pops and improves signal levels. The plug-and-play microphone is compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices.
Chauvet
Brush Up on the Classics
Let’s Meet Our Panel
PRIME Number
KRK/Gibson Pro Audio 309 Plus Park Boulevard Nashville, TN 37217 (800) 444-2766 www.gibson.com
Chauvet 5200 NW 108th Ave. Sunrise, FL 33351 (800) 762-1084 www.chauvetlighting.com
Denon DJ 200 Scenic View Drive Cumberland, RI 02864 (401) 658-5766 www.denondj.com
KRK Systems has introduced the CLASSIC 5 professional biamp studio monitors, which come with a variety of classic features, including an innovative bi-amped Class A/B amplifier with builtin automatic limiter and a lowresonance enclosure for minimized distortion and colorization. The CLASSIC 5 monitor comes preinstalled with hi-density foam pads underneath to decouple the speaker enclosure from the surface. It features a five-inch lightweight, glass-Aramid composite woofer and a one-inch soft dome tweeter with optimized waveguide. Additional features include a front-slotted bass port and a selection of XLR, ¼-inch and RCA input connections.
The F2 2.9mm pixel pitch panel is the latest product to have joined Chauvet’s line of F Series LED panels. The F2 delivers a 3840Hz refresh rate for flicker free images that can be viewed at any angle at distances as close as 7.5 feet. It reproduces video at 14-bit grayscale, operating on an A5s Novastar card. The panel also features a contrast ratio of 8,500:1 and pixel density of 112,896/m2. The panel has a light source life expectancy of 50,000 hours.
Denon DJ released Serato controller-mode support for their PRIME 4 four-channel DJ console. PRIME 4 X Serato DJ Pro Controller Mode allows the Prime 4’s 10-inch, HD multi-touch display to be used for navigating and browsing the Serato DJ Pro library. Both Standard and Expanded Library views can be accessed. Users can stack up to three FX selections, as well as and adjust parameters with the hardware encoders and built-in displays. Expanded USB Hub capabilities are also included to allow users to run mobile, club and event lightshows within Serato DJ Pro with SoundSwitch DMX interfaces.
AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF
GEAR
Serato
Waves
American Music & Sound
Making Waves
To Serato With Love
Come as You RS
American Music & Sound 925 Broadbeck Dr. #220 Newbury Park, CA 91320 (800) 431-2609 www.AmericanMusicAndSound.com
Waves 2800 Merchants Drive Knoxville, TN 37912 (865) 909-9200 www.waves.com
Serato Limited Private Bag 92015, AMSC Auckland 1142, New Zealand +64 27 635 1254 www.serato.com
EAW One Main Street Building 13 Whitinsville, MA 01588 (800) 992-5013 www.eaw.com
Serato Studio 1.4 is the company’s latest update, allowing users to load full songs or a cappellas into the software for editing, remixing and mashups. Serato Studio will instantly find and set a Cue Point on the first downbeat of a track and users can slice up the song in a single click thanks to the Endless Slicer function. Serato Studio 1.4 is available as a one-off purchase, as well as a monthly subscription.
EAW’s RS Series of two-way self-powered loudspeakers includes the RM 121/123 and the RS 151/153. Each model comes in a portable, lightweight wooden enclosure and features bi-amplified electronics, as well as a rotatable, constantdirectivity HF horn for precise pattern control. The RS Series also includes two companion self-powered subwoofers. The RS115 and RS118HP offer 1,500 and 2,500 watts of Class D power, respectively and feature what the company calls “meticulously tuned, vented enclosures.”
The Glorious Sound Desk Pro is a professional studio workstation that offers enough space to set up a laptop/computer, screen, studio monitors, audio interface, MIDI controllers, synths and a master keyboard up to 88 keys. There are also two 3U rack slots behind it also allow 19-inch devices such as compressors, equalizers or effects to be mounted. The desk sports an X-shaped design with additional struts to make sure the table doesn’t wobble. The Sound Desk Pro is made of solid MDF wood and available in a black, white or walnut finish.
V11 is the newest version of Waves plug-ins, which is installed by using an improved version of Waves Central that the company says has been streamlined “for the most intuitive installation and license management experience.” V11 adds more than 1,400 artist presets to the plugins and 43 plug-ins now have NKS support for compatibility with Native Instruments hardware. The update gives users full ongoing compatibility with the latest major DAWs and operating systems, as well as access to updated version of all Renaissance plugins, including all-new interfaces and hundreds of new artist presets.
DJ TIMES
Desk Jockey
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
EAW
37
TRACKS…MIXES…COMPILATIONS Mousse T
Michael Gray
Miguel Migs
Starley
TOKYO” u 3LAU ft. XIRA u Anjunabeats
“THE MK” EP u MK
u 4 To The Floor Classics, Vol. 7 U.K.’s 4 To The Floor imprint returns with a spectacular entry to its Classic 12” Series – and deep-house jocks will love these massive MK hits from the early ’90s. Displaying plenty of soul and groove, this trio of Alana-fronted vocal classics (“Burning,” “Always” and “Love Changes”) stands the test of time. If you missed it the first go-round, here’s your chance.
– Tommy D Funk “AYAHUASCA” u Wankelmut u WKTMT Gee, what’s this one about? As if you couldn’t guess from the title, this deliriously energetic, yet devoutly trippy house track gets way, way out there. With jungle percussion supporting a tasty vocal hook, the track soars and careens through the cosmos – until the drop hits a full stop. The Extended Mix buys you a bit more of the space journey – a worthy debut track for Wankelmut’s new imprint.
– Jim Tremayne “CAN’T DO WITHOUT YOU”
u ALIA u Broken Records
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NAMM 2020 ISSUE
ALIA delivers a beautiful vocal on this soulful house number, and check the hot remixes, especially the pair by Demarkus Lewis – the “Deeper Remix” and the “Deeper Dub.” Sweet stuff.
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– Tommy D Funk “TAKE CARE OF THE MUSIC”
u The Jazz Codes u SPRY
The unbelievably talented multi-instrumental Michele Chiavarini delivers the second track on his SPRY label. If you’re into jazzy, funky, and classy, this one’s right in your wheelhouse.
– Curtis Zack “
A new addition to the ever-expanding and always exciting Anjuna family, 3LAU comes correct with a solid progressive-house track blanketed in trance flavors. The layered classic-synth foundation and syncopated melody (reminiscent of New Order) are gorgeously wrapped up in the angelic vocal. A perfect crowd-warmer.
– Jennifer Harmon THE JAM FILES, VOL. 4
“THE PRODUCT”
u Snips feat. William Stowe u Classic Music Company With NYC’s Snips dropping a jazzy, groovy background, spoken-word artist Stowe spills tough tales from the London streets. Sweet horns and a rugged bassline keep the tune rolling, giving it cinematic vibe. And don’t sleep on the Dirty Channels brass-filled remix on the flip.
– Tommy D Funk
u Various u Peppermint Jam
“BROTHER BROTHER”
Mousse T has been on fire in 2019 and to close the year out he drops the unbelievable Vol. 4 album on his Peppermint Jam label. DJs get 20 tracks in total with exclusives aplenty and every track hitting the mark. Highlights include: the gospel-pop of “Taking Off” by Praise B feat. Phé and the hands-in-the-air house of “Melodie” by Mousse T feat. Cleah.
Best known as one-half of the legendary Full Intention, Gray is leading the nu-disco charge as a solo artist, and this new single continues his fine run of form. Featuring Brown’s formidable vocals and supported by a superbly funky bass and haunting strings, this one’s gonna work the floor.
– Curtis Zack
u Michael Gray feat. Kimberly Brown u Sultra
– Curtis Zack “LOVERS + STRANGERS” (REMIX)
“HOLD ON ME”
u Starley u Central Station
The Dutch producer teams up with the sultry songstress, Hil St Soul, for a lush track that cries out for spins both in the clubs and the airwaves. An outstanding vocal performance tops off the percussion and keys in the track perfectly.
“House music is a feeling” goes the line, and this track is definitely in that category. On this fabulous Mousse T remix, a thumping bassline blended with a sultry vocal ensure this delivers everything you want in a first-rate house cut. Irresistible.
u Diephuis feat. Hil St Soul u Quantize
– Curtis Zack
– Curtis Zack
“ODYSSEY” u Knee Deep u Soulfuric Deep
GLITTERBOX JAMS u Various u Glitterbox
German house duo Knee Deep delivers a soulful, warm-up groove for DJs requiring such things. With its very ’70s R&B vibe, “Odyssey” will take you back in time. Also, the flavorful remix from Italy’s Moplen ramps up the disco flavor.
The funkier sister of Defected, Glitterbox drops another four tracks on vinyl for the more discerning ear. The Joey Negro dub of “Falling Deep in Love” (the recent Horse Meat Disco collab with Kathy Sledge) and the awesome “Catz ‘n Dogz Extended Pride Mix” of Fiorious’ “I’m Not Defeated” are the standout tracks.
– Tommy D Funk
– Curtis Zack
3LAU
Diephuis
Guest Reviewer: Eddie Scott
“ONE LOVE” MK
URBAN JUNGLE
u Thommy Davis & Greg Lewis u Unquantize
Davis and Lewis bring the heat with this wonderful Afro-house full-length. Keep the groove going with bangers like “Hot” and the title tune, oldschool jackers like “Vertical” and soul-deep cuts like “Love Trance.”
– Tommy D Funk
Scotty Boy, Block & Crown Zulu Records Looking back at 2019, it’s a tough call on choosing a favorite floor-filler. But for me, this crew really came Eddie Scott through on this track. Whether I’m playing a funkier set or a tougher one, this one will always get the dancefloor groovin’. Pure house music.
Wankelmut
“MOVING LIGHT” u Miguel Migs u Salted Migs hooks up again with his longtime collaborator Lisa Shaw for another quality vocal-house outing. The sleek vocal version has all the soul you would expect, and with a couple of deep disco dubs thrown in for good measure, you probably do need this in your life. – Curtis Zack
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(continued from page 12) board gear. There’s something about being able to physically touch and create that inspires me. It keeps it interesting. You never know what could happen and happy mistakes are always a treat – not to mention, analog synths really breathe life into songs. They capture a feeling I find tough to get through digital synths. DJ Times: How has it been juggling producing and a lengthy tour schedule? 13: It’s great! I’ve been nothing
short of blessed. My passion has brought me to new places and allowed me to experience many things, and meet great people along the way. It is tough settling after traveling, though. Sometimes after coming back home, you just want to sleep for days. DJ Times: What advice do you have for up-and-coming DJ/producers? 13: Keep working hard. Focus on improving every aspect of your production and don’t try to copy others.
Draw inspiration from inside of you and elaborate on it. Most importantly, stay true to yourself. That’ll separate you from 95-percent of the herd. DJ Times: You recently dropped one epic remix of Zeds Dead and Delta Heavy’s “Lift You Up.” What else can fans expect from as we enter 2020 and beyond? 13: You can expect a lot of new music in 2020. I’ve been working on a lot of songs expanding on my current sound. I’m looking forward to reveal-
ing other sides of my production that I haven’t yet. I’m looking forward to playing at new venues and festivals and revisiting ones from the past. DJ Times: Some of the hottest names in electronic music are Canadian like yourself – why do you think that is? 13: It’s the combination of long winters and maple syrup that drive us insane enough to pursue this career path. – Brian Bonavoglia
ed full-size, twin-rail, 45mm crossfader located on the bottom left of the unit. There is a slot for the fader on the top left: you can move the fader from its current position to the other one with just two screws and a simple connection. You also have the ability to swap out the fader for a preferred one, with included connections and a screwdriver. If you want to install two faders at once, I’m told the secondary one can act as a line fader. Two things to note about the fader. One, the curve is short enough of a cut for scratching, but it isn’t modifiable. Second, there’s no fader-reverse, meaning that if you want to reverse the fader, you have to physically reinstall it in the other direction. In my use with the device, I really enjoyed it. It’s lightweight and easy to carry, and it’s got nearly everything
a portablist could want from an allin-one unit. Its biggest competitor is probably the Numark PT01 Scratch, but there is a considerable difference in price: the Numark unit costs around $129, and the Reloop goes for $249.The Reloop Spin, however, packs in significantly more features than the Numark, including Bluetooth-streaming capability and the record-to-USB functionality. Use Cases: In addition to basic recording of scratch routines, other production uses could include making lo-fi or hip-hop beats, for example, when you want to throw in scratches to a mix, but don’t need or don’t have a full-on scratch mixer/turntables set-up. Users could record the output of the Spin into a DAW and incorporate that into a beat. Producers could also take their own beats and pipe it
through the Spin and scratch on top of something they’ve produced. I might even recommend the Spin to mobile or event DJs, who traditionally run turntables into Serato or another DVS solution. I could see mobile DJs turning up with a pair of Spin units running control vinyl and a DVS setup, and rocking dance floors without having to manage the size and weight of full-sized turntables. I might also suggest controller DJs incorporate the Spin into their existing set-ups to add another layer of complexity to their rigs. Verdict: Regardless of the use, there doesn’t exist a more fully featured portablist turntable on the market today. If you want to get into portablism or just want a small, lightweight turntable, you can’t go wrong with the Reloop Spin – it’s quite a unit.
have a similar message and sound. People who have their heads in a similar place, some more overground, some more underground. Every song fits into my sets, as opposed to [my previous label] Prep School, which was a different brand that sort of lived outside of what I do as Dr. Fresch. This second label I’ve started is a complete representation of myself. DJ Times: How do DJs succeed with making their own music labels? Dr. Fresch: Look at what Claude VonStroke has created. He’s created a culture around his sound and other people have launched onto that. I like to think that with one flagship artist it can still be the best launch pad for artists to become huge acts. Look at Justin Martin and look at Tchami and Malaa, AC Slater and Chris Lorenzo. Really, the originally three for me coming from a place of electro and blog house – it was first Ed Banger. But the ones that I started to idolize from a business standpoint are Fools Gold, Dim Mak, and Mad Decent. DJ Times: Why? Dr. Fresch: Those labels, to me, were foundational. Let’s throw parties! Let’s release records that sound
like what the DJs play! Those three labels did stray away from what the original sonic, audio, what that message was, but that’s why Dirtybird started to succeed so much. Underground labels are very specific with their sounds in general, but what Claude did – unlike anyone else – was create that culture, kind of take a page out of what all of those guys were doing, but really nailed the sound. So when you have those two things, you create a culture. I’m copying the shit out of all of these people – I look up to them. DJ Times: What do you take from them, then? Dr. Fresch: You just have to ask yourself: How do you become bigger? Put yourself in more places, create a culture around your sound and advance that. We are getting to the point there are going to be Prescription shows in 2020 that I won’t be playing – we are going to have a culture around it. There are going to be events we have in San Francisco, L.A. and New York that I might not necessarily be playing, because they’ll be regular. There are a lot of other artists that that I’ve signed that are
selling out 300-400 cap rooms that are just getting bigger. It’s really about taking a sound, that Dr. Fresch sound, this message, and using everything in my power to blow myself up and find people along the way that share that message. – Ashley Teffer
Making Tracks
(continued from page 28) could be a car charger, a cigarette lighter, a wall socket, a computer, or even an external battery pack. There is also a slot on the bottom of the unit for rechargeable batteries (not included); when the unit is plugged in and there are batteries in place, the Spin can even charge the batteries. Each Spin comes with a slipmat and a 7-inch scratch record included. There’s also the free Super Spin Duck Looper smartphone application created by turntablist legend DJ Babu of The Beat Junkies. The app is an arcade-style beat machine. Users can select from 10 beat loops and tweak their tempo and pitch to create grooves to scratch over. It’s a fun addition, but certainly not earthshattering. What’s Best: The truly killer feature of the Reloop Spin is the includ-
DJ TIMES
NAMM 2020 ISSUE
Dr. Fresch
40
(continued from page 10) Dr. Fresch: I’ve been using Ableton since 2011. I used Logic from 2008 to 2011. DJ Times: What made you switch to Ableton? Dr. Fresch: My roommate. I collab with him and it was so much easier for my brain. For Logic, I gravitated towards it because I grew up with GarageBand – I had been using that since it launched. I’ve been making music on a computer since 2002. My parents bought me Logic for Christmas and a keyboard for my 18th birthday. I was going hard in senior year of high school. I knew at that point I was fully sold on this. DJ Times: You’ve had this vision for a while… Dr. Fresch: I knew when I was 8 that I wanted to be a rock star, but I was not good at playing instruments. I took piano for 10 years. I took bass for a couple. I sang for four or five, did choirs and a cappella, did jazz band, but none of it hit. DJ Times: What is your plan with your new record label, The Prescription? Dr. Fresch: It’s just an extension of my brand. I’m finding producers who
Fun & Games
(continued from page 22)
Wink, Nastia, Robag Wruhme, Dillinja, and Eric B & Rakim. It’s a little bit of me just trying to book all my heroes, but it’s also like these are the people that created the scene. DJ Times: What growing pains have you experienced with DB Campout? VonStroke: Well, it really is a labor of love and it takes almost a whole year to make it happen. There are always a million fire drills, hiccups and mistakes. There’s just so many details that it’s a very difficult event to do, but it’s awesome. At the same time, it’s my favorite thing. It’s the best thing that our label does, in my opinion. By far the coolest event, it’s the most emblematic of our person-
Compiled As December 17, 2019
C LU B P L AY C H A R T
NATIONAL CROSSOVER POOL CHART 1 Lizzo 2 Shaed 3 Muduza X Becky Hill X Goodboys 4 Riton X Oliver Heldens F/ Vula 5 Dua Lipa 6 Post Malone 7 Tones And I 8 Black Eyed Peas F/ J. Balvin 9 Loud Luxury F/ Bryce Vine 10 Halsey 11 Galantis & Dolly Parton F/ Mr Probz 12 Blackbear 13 Tiesto & Mabel 14 Benny Mardones 15 Vassy 16 Ed Sheeran and Khalid 17 Sam Smith 18 Major Lazer J Balvin & El Alfa 19 Normani 20 Lil’ Nas X 21 Jonas Brothers 22 Billie Eilish 23 Valerie Broussard & Galantis 24 Allegra 25 Niall Horan 26 Diplo and The Jonas Brothers 27 Gryffin & Carly Rae Jepsen 28 Dj Regard 29 Ed Sheeran F/ Camila Cabello & Cardi B 30 Maroon 5 31 AJ Mitchell F/ Ava Max 32 Dua Lipa 33 Judy Garland X Eric Kupper 34 R3hab & A Touch Of Class 35 Sam Smith 36 Yves V F/ Afrojack & Icona Pop 37 Jimmy Cypher 38 Jonas Blue & Retrovision 39 Arizona Zervas 40 Felon
Most Added Tracks
1 Ed Sheeran F/ Camila Cabello & Cardi B 2 Camelphat & Jem Cooke 3 Sam Smith 4 Tones And I 5 Loud Luxury And Bryce Vine 6 Sofi Tukker 7 Jennifer Lopez 8 Black Eyed Peas F/ J Balvin 9 Madonna 10 DJ Regard
REPORTING POOLS n n n n n n n n n n n n n
Gary Canavo Blake Eckelbarger The Dance Environment Manny Esparza Howard HK Kessler Brian Stephens Peter K. Productions Steve Tsepelis Kidd Leow Sam Labelle Chris Egner Peter Gozzi DJ Ilan Fong
Good As Hell Trampoline Lose Control Turn Me On Don’t Start Now Circles Dance Monkey Ritmo I’m Not Alright Graveyard Faith Hot Girl Bummer God Is A Dancer Into The Night Trouble Beautiful People How Do You Sleep Que Calor Motivation Panini Only Human All The Good Girls… Roots All About Us Nice To Meet Ya Lonely Omg Ride It South Of The Border Memories Slow Dance Don’t Start Now The Man That Got Away All Around The World I Feel Love We Got That Cool A Horse With No Name All Night Long Roxanne Crazy
Atlantic Photo Finish Astralwerks RCA Warner Bros. Republic Elektra Epic Armada Capitol Big Beat Interscope Republic Silver Blue Spinnin’ Atlantic Capitol Mad Decent RCA Columbia Columbia Interscope Palm Tree Radikal Capitol Columbia Geffen Epic Atlantic Interscope Epic Warner Brothers Universal Republic Capitol Spinnin’ SERE Astralwerks/ Capitol Columbia Armada
South Of The Border Rabbit Hole I Feel Love Dance Monkey I’m Not Alright Purple Hat Baila Conmigo Ritmo I Don’t Search I Find Ride It
Atlantic Columbia Capitol Emg Warner / Sire Ultra Sony Latin Music Epic Interscope Epic
Masspool Dj Stickyboots Powered By Spectrio Nexus Radio In The Mix With HK Mixxmasters Peter K Pacific Coast DJs Vindictive Vendetta Soundworks Victor’s Live Sounds Entertainment Kahoots
Saugus,MA Syndicated Los Angeles, CA Chicago,IL Minneapolis,MN Lithonia,GA Syndicated Long Beach,CA Tampa, FL San Francisco, CA Milwaukee, WI Glendale, NY Columbus, OH
NATIONAL LATIN DANCE POOL CHART
1. Evalina 2. Karol G y Nicki Minaj 3. Artie Oyola 4. Prince Royce 5. Juan Luis Guerra 6. Tony Succar feat Angel Lopez 7. Ozuna 8. Major Lazer ft J Balvin, El Alfa 9. Romeo 10. Becky G 11. Maluma 12. Bad Bunny feat Teiny 13. Tulile 14. Grupomania 15. Ángeles Azules & Belinda feat L. EBratt 16. La Maxima ’79 feat. DJ Isaia 17. Rauw Alejandro 18. Elvis Crespo 19. Natti Natasha & Romeo Santos 20. Lisette M & Reinier B
Cierra Los Ojos SGR Tusa Universal El Quedao Artie Oyola Morir Solo Sony Lampara Pa Mis Pies Universal Mas De Mi Unity Ent. Danzau Aura Music Que Calor (Remix) Mad Decent Me Quedo Sony Dollar Sony 11 PM Sony Callaita Rimas Ent. Vaina Loca Ricky G LLC Tocaito MM Amor a Primera Vista Warner El Profeta Del Guaguanco iLatin Music Fantasia Sony Abracadabra Sony La Mejor Version De Mi (Remix) Piña La Mulata Del Sabor Salsa Medley
Most Added Tracks 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Marc Anthony Isidro Infantes Farruko ft Ozuna, Sech, Lunay Reik, J Balvin, Lalo Ebratt Josean Rivera
Lo Que Te Di No Tengo Dinero Nadie (Remix) Indeciso Mi Salsa Es Mi Cura
Sony Era Sony Universal Salsaneo
REPORTING LATIN POOLS n n n n n n
Latinos Unidos Record Pool Salsamania Latin Record Pool Lobo/Bass Record Pool North East Record Pool Mixx Hitts Record Pool Ritmo Camacho Record Pool
n n n n n n
Ritmo Internacional Record pool DJ Latinos Record Pool MassPool Record Pool Latino Latin Beat Chicago Record Pool All In Music Pool
ATTENTION DJ TIMES READERS: DJ Times is currently looking for DJs that are interested in reporting to the DJ National Dance/Crossover chart and the DJ Times National Urban Dance chart. Reporterships are open to Record Pools and individual DJs. For more information contact: Dan Miller, dmiller@testa.com
ality. It represents everything that we’re about, in the best possible way. Because when you go into a party for one day there’s only so much that you can do. But when you’re going for four days and camping, you can really get the point across. DJ Times: At the Campout, you were at every set, on stage supporting guest artists, as well as artists on the label. But you were also an active participant in camp events – you greeted campers as they drove in. VonStroke: I try to connect with everyone. When I say that the bookings are personal, they really are personal. I’m really booking the people I want to see, and I actually want to go see them. I actually want to say “hi” to them and give them a hug and thank them for coming. I’ve been to a lot of festivals where it’s really impersonal and you just go in and out and do your job and that’s that. Clap your hands and you’re out the door. And I just don’t want our festival to be anything like that. DJ Times: So, where do you see DB campout going in the future? VonStroke: I don’t think there’s gonna be an East Coast campout in 2020. There might be a party, but I can’t tell you anything, really. It’s all up in the air. Florida [DB Campout East, held in February, 2018] was very difficult for us [laughs] – and we’re still kind of recovering from that one. But we’re going to keep doing West Coast Campout for sure. I don’t know if we could do it in Europe. I’m just seeing how much it takes to do just the one. Especially since we brought it all inhouse, I don’t know if it’s possible to do two, but it could be. DJ Times: How important are the sound systems you use to the festival?
VonStroke: For me, it’s extremely important, and it’s always tricky to figure it out. We try to do the best possible sound that we can do. Whenever we do something, sometimes there’s weird noise restrictions. Sometimes there’s a person literally standing there with a decibel meter. Sometimes we have to do things to get through it – you know what I mean? But I try to have the best possible sound at every show. DJ Times: Even though you’re running a label, you still play a ton of festivals, even smaller boutique fests like Bass Coast in B.C. Are you talent-scouting? VonStroke: I’m always talentscouting, like non-stop every second, but I actually prefer those festivals. They’re like our festival. They’re more fun and more personal. It’s more of my vibe – I’m all about it. n
Claptone
(continued from page 18) really love. DJ Times: What’s your take on the U.S. club and festival scene? Claptone: In comparison to Europe, the U.S. is not doing so bad with clubs because the same thing happens over here: Festivals take over and clubs die. Sometimes I feel that people have a list that they carry around with their 20 favorite DJs, and every summer they’re like, “Oh, I’ve crossed off 10 DJs from that list by just attending one festival. Every DJ played 15 minutes… but, I saw them all.” DJ Times: Congratulations! Claptone: Yes, congratulations… If it makes them happy, that’s cool, but they’re not that deep into music. Years ago, music could be a counterculture. It’s just not the way anymore. It’s not at that level anymore. It’s not
possible. So that’s why music loses a little bit of that meaning and that power it had. People are not that underground anymore. They’re not that dedicated – some are – but for the majority, it’s enough to just go to the festival and cross off names. DJ Times: I’m always fascinated by how Germans, in particular, have such a love for Black American music. Not all Germans DJs are techno DJs… Claptone: For me, the music needs to be funky and there’s just no funky German music. [laughs] I mean, what can I do? I mean, apart from Kraftwerk, let’s say… We only have this folk music, schlager, oom-pah stuff. It’s the same as when you’re listening to Thai music – it can’t be funky. It’s cool and you could put a funky beat below it, if you dare. But the original stuff is just not funky. And that’s just the culture of the country, we were born in. DJ Times: But, somehow guys like you and Purple Disco Machine really get house music right. Claptone: I can only tell you that it happens from the heart, and it’s not like there’s a formula for it. It’s just the music that you love and that inspires you. And for me, it’s always been about the funk. I couldn’t make a track that isn’t at least remotely funky. You know, it’s impossible. DJ Times: For young DJ/producers looking for success, what advice would you give them? Claptone: I get this question a lot… Don’t do it for the girls. Don’t do it for the money. Either you feel it and you are you willing to invest a lot of hours of the day into the thing that you really love – producing music, making music – and you could live with the fact that you do it maybe 25 years and you never have success… and be happy any-
way. I know a lot of people like that. DJ Times: There’s success in actually creating something. Claptone: Exactly, and that’s the biggest reward. And if you don’t feel that, it becomes a nightmare to try, I guess. All the fame in the world doesn’t feel as good as when you produce something, and you think, “Wow, this is it! I nailed it!” And then next day, maybe you see you didn’t nail it. [laughs] But that moment when you feel that, it’s more precious than playing to a football stadium full of fans. Well, not that I don’t like playing to that football stadium full of fans... [laughs] DJ Times: I love the fact that you made two albums in a world that doesn’t really do that so much anymore. Anything on the horizon? Claptone: I love albums. I’m not saying that there will be an album next year, but I’m in the early stages of getting stuff down. I love to be able to produce albums because I know nowadays nobody cares for albums anymore – especially now that Spotify picks your best tunes and you have your four singles and then the album drops and nobody cares for the rest. Yes, I might be old-fashioned. DJ Times: And you have videos for all the songs. It’s like a complete rollout, all in keeping with your image. Claptone: I think also making visuals or videos to accompany the sonic world is important. You need to do that because Claptone is a concept that is very heavily based on a visual icon. That is the mask. I also did a comic book. I’ll do a bobblehead. There will be lots of different other stuff that I want my fans to be able to experience and touch Claptone. They can buy the mask in the shop, or the gloves. So, I feel I want to give them the whole experience. And for me, an artist, I want to show them all of my world. n
Miami Music Week: The Perfect Mix
Adi Adinayev
Adi Adinayev
42
That is, if you call this working. Cesar Paublini
And work simultaneously.
In Miami, we can play…
Miami Music Week, Next Issue of DJ Times
Come wish us a happy anniversary and experience the unveiling of the all new ICON SERIES & E11EVEN SOUND by DAS Audio
Thursday, January 16th, 2020 | 11:30 AM BOOTH #17224
Work hard. Play hard. Step up your game with the next generation turntable, born from the legendary Technics 1200 series but made for today’s DJs. Add the Technics professional DJ headphones for the ultimate power play. After the party, unwind with premium hi-res sound that only the Technics wireless noise-cancelling headphones can offer.
Premium Hi-Res Wireless Headphones EAH-F70N
Direct Drive DJ Turntable System SL-1200MK7 Professional DJ Headphones RP-DJ1200
Technics.com