DJ Times October 2018, Vol 31 No 8

INSIDE Montreal’s Piknic Électronik Utah’s Das Energi Fest

AMERICA’S FIRST MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs ESTABLISHED 1988 FALL ISSUE 2018

VOLUME 31 NUMBER 8

Misstress Barbara $4.95 US

$6.95 CANADA

Rocks Piknic Électronik

www.djtimes.com

DJ EXPO ’18 WRAP-UP • WINNERS • TECHNOLOGIES • TAKEAWAYS PLUS: ALAN WALKER • OCTAVE ONE • YAMAHA STAGEPAS BT ROLAND SPD-SX-SE SAMPLING PAD • HOT GROOVES

NOTABLES…MILESTONES NEWS DJs of all stripes, DJ Expo presented special keynotes from industry notables and influencers. To a packed house, turntable legends Grand Wizzard Theodore, Rob Swift and Mista Sinista discussed the evolution of the DJ and confronted the question: Just what is a real DJ anymore? As one might assume, the old-school perspective reigned supreme.

Also, Phil Morse, the founder of European online school Digital DJ Tips, presented two informative keynotes, which explained how DJs can create an effective website and how DJs can benefit from streaming services.

DJ Expo’s always-entertaining evening events fired up a pair of venues inside Harrah’s (The Pool and Eden Lounge), plus another (Haven)

Expo showfloor scene.

ArtChick Photography

DJ EXPO ’18: DJ INDUSTRY WINS BIG IN AC

By Jim Tremayne Atlantic City, N.J. – Once again, the DJ Expo proved its strength by producing a winning trade show/exhibition at the East Coast’s gaming mecca. Held this past Aug. 13-16 at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, DJ Expo presented the DJ industry’s best-attended combo of equipment exhibits, educational seminars and sponsored parties.

Produced by DJ Times magazine and its publisher Testa Communications, DJ Expo packed the Harrah’s exhibit hall with nearly 100 companies working more than 150 exhibition booths. The show drew more than 6,000 badgeholders (mobile and club DJs, music makers and bedroom jocks), representing a 5-percent increase from the 2017 show. With its 33rd show since 1990, DJ Expo remains the industry’s longest-running and most-successful trade show/ exhibition.

The Show: DJ Expo delivered a packed schedule of exhibits, seminars and parties that enjoyed participation from exhibitor/sponsors like ADJ, Allen & Heath, BASSBOSS, Bose, Chauvet DJ, Electro-Voice, Global Truss, inMusic Brands, Odyssey, Peavey, Pioneer DJ, RCF USA, Roland, and Technics, among many others.

In addition to a schedule of topical seminars benefitting

DJ TIMES

Mainstage: Alex Midi spinning for Bose.

at the nearby Golden Nugget. At parties sponsored by Chauvet DJ, RCF, Peavey, Technics, Bose, and BASSBOSS, Expo attendees enjoyed performances by talents like DJ Scratch, Skribble, Grand Wizzard Theodore, Jazzy Jay, Keith Shocklee, Jade Starling, Maro Music, and Alex MIDI. On the Expo showfloor, attendees caught sets by Talib Kweli, GrandMixer DXT, Shani Barnett, As-One, Kharisma and more.

The Winners: On Aug. 15, Artem Lomaz of Ninety-Three Entertainment in Roxbury, N.J., won the “Entertainer of the Year” competition. Hosted at Haven nightclub in the Golden Nugget by Jake Jacobsen of Affair 2 Remember Entertainment, the annual event bestowed awards in a variety of categories to the best of America’s mobile entertainers. With the victory, Lomaz earned a sharp trophy, plus gear prizes from Chauvet DJ (GigBAR 2 lighting system) and RCF (a pair of HD-12-A MK4 active speakers).

Jonathan Paduano of Classy Cat Entertainment in Syracuse, N.Y., was the competition’s runner-up. Todd Moffre of Party With Todd in Rotterdam, N.Y., won the Best Dance competition. (continued on page 49)

FALL 2018

Jazzy Jay at the Peavey/Technics party.

3

Cover & Contents Images By Toshimi Muniz

VOLUME 31 NUMBER 8

Special Section: ClubWorld 22 Spotlight Meet the Movers Behind Piknic Électronik, Montreal’s Legendary Outdoor Party.

26 Gear & Swagg Turntables, Cases & More

28 Hot Shots Das Energy Brings the Big DJs to SLC

FEATURES

12 Ms. Montreal

After Two Decades as a Global DJ/Producer, Misstress Barbara Maintains Her Hometown Allegiance

BY JIM TREMAYNE

16 DJ Expo 2018 Jocks of All Stripes Flocked to Atlantic City for Expo ’18

BY DJ TIMES PHOTOGRAPHERS

20 Are You ExpoErienced?

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

At This Year’s DJ Expo, Technology, Art & Fun Converged for Priceless Takeaways

BY JEFF STILES

4

DEPARTMENTS 7 Feedback

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

25 Mainstage

35 Business Line

Here’s Some DJ Expo Science for You

36 Gear

New-Technology Showcase

New Products from MAGIX, Audio-Technica & More

30 Making Tracks

39 Grooves

8 Alan Walker

32 Sounding Off

41 Club Play Chart

10 In the Studio With…

34 Mobile Profile

SAMPLINGS Masked Marvel Octave One

Roland SPD-SX-SE Sampling Pad Yamaha STAGEPAS BT PA DJ Turns Casino Luck into a Career

Phat Tracks from MK, David Morales & More The Hottest Records, As Reported by Our Top U.S. Record Pools

FROM THE EDITOR

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

O Canada!

For this issue, which includes our quarterly ClubWorld section, we ventured north of the border to the wonderful city of Montreal and its legendary outdoor party series, Piknic Électronik. We caught the September 9 event with DJs Danny Daze and Or:la on the decks – and what an experience!

Situated amid deeply green environs and sporting a spectacular city backdrop, Piknic Électronik brings a clued-in crowd of 5,000 to Saint Helen’s Island each Sunday during the summer to see a deep slate of DJ talent. So for this issue’s ClubWorld, we connected with the event’s co-founder Nicolas Cournoyer and production manager Maude Laberge to find out how it’s all done. For our cover, we re-visited with Misstress Barbara, who probably represents Montreal and Piknic Électronik more zealously than any other DJ we’ve encountered.

(And for all his help with this issue, a big thanks goes out to Piknic’s François Fournier. Merci, monsieur.)

As you’ll easily see throughout these pages, much of this Fall issue is dedicated to DJ Expo, which DJ Times and Testa Communications produced this past Aug. 13-16 at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. In addition to our four-page photo spread brought to you by MetroMix Media and ArtChick Photography, our News section on Page 3 recounts the winners and other notables from the show. Congrats are in order to Jersey jock Artem Lomaz, who won “Entertainer of the Year” at the show, and big special thanks are sent to Jake Jacobsen who hosted that event, in addition to other valuable duties.

In Business Line, we reprise “Tech Innovations for DJs,” the DJ Expo seminar from mobile jocks Mick Uranko and Mike Felice. Solid advice, we believe. Also, our Iowa-based scribe Jeff Stiles visits with some veteran Expo attendees and offers up their takeaways. For Mobile Profile, we feature upstate New York jock Mike Melice, whose casino luck directly impacted his DJ career. Read how it happened.

In our review sections, Twin Cities-based scribe DJ Deets delivers the Sounding Off section by taking on STAGEPAS BT, Yamaha’s new Bluetooth-enabled, active PA system. And in the Making Tracks column, NYC-based DJ/scribe/drummer Chris Davis tests out the Roland SPD-SX-SE, a powerful sampling pad for stage and studio apps.

In Samplings, B.C.-based writer Ryan Hayes connects with rising Norwegian EDM DJ/producer Alan Walker. For our In the Studio entry, digital nomad Markus von Pfeiffer interviews Lenny and Lawrence Burden (aka Octave One), whose tasty brand of Detroit techno is on full display on their recent full-length, Endustry. Also, in ClubWorld’s Hot Shots section, our Brian Bonavoglia ventured to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the Das Energi festival.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

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 Lily Moayeri John Ochoa Jeff Stiles Bruce Tantum Phil Turnipseed Curtis Zack President/Publisher Vincent P. Testa FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TO ORDER SUBSCRIPTIONS, CALL 800-937-7678 VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.djtimes.com

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

Jim Tremayne Editor, DJ Times

6

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

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

DJ Times (ISSN 1045-9693) 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 © 2018 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 Fall 2018

visit our website: www.djtimes.com

FEEDBACK

AMERICA’S FIRST MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs

EXPO ISSUE 2018

EST. 1988

VOLUME 31 NUMBER 7

ISSUE

GHASTLY

E D M ’s C o m e b a c k K id

Online Production Classes Making Tracks & More The Art of the Upsell Bringing in the Bucks PLUS: Jazzanova • Bose S1 Pro Tech Toys That Wow Clients Output Analog Strings Fred Everything ROAD REPORT

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

DJ Expo Reactions Produced by DJ Times and Testa Com‑ munications, DJ Expo ran this past Aug. 13-16 at Harrah’s Resort in Atlan‑ tic City, N.J. What follows are reactions to the show from Expo exhibitors and attendees: “The American Disc Jockey Association loves being a part of the DJ Expo each year. We have been there nearly every year since it started. This year had a great crowd – our booth was super-slammed.

Way to go, Expo! The ADJA can’t wait for the 2019 show. If you are serious about your DJ business, you need to be there.”

– Hugo Drax, ADJA, Glendale, AZ “Odyssey has always used the DJ Expo as a barometer to gauge how the DJ industry is shaping up – a state of the industry, if you will. At this show, we were very pleased to see growth in attendance, but we also felt the energy that a wellorganized show like DJ Expo can bring to the industry overall. Seeing the familiar faces of veteran DJs attend year after year and also meeting new, promising, professional DJs who want to be involved in an industry as exciting as ours is what makes the DJ Expo an event that cannot be missed.”

– Dave Lopez, Odyssey, San Gabriel, CA “This year’s DJ Expo was an awesome week. Harrah’s was a great location and the vibe among attendees was open and optimistic about the future of our indus‑ try. All my DJ peers seemed to agree

that attending DJ Expo is one of the best ways to stay on the cutting edge of what’s happening and knowing where things are headed.”

– Mike Walter, Elite Entertainment, Tinton Falls, NJ “As an exhibitor, we signed up more cus‑ tomers this year than we did the previous year. We appreciate the opportunity to be part of DJ Expo again.”

– Gerald Olivari, BV Mobile Apps, Atlanta, GA “It was another successful DJ Expo.”

– Randy White, Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center, Wheaton, MD

“I did like the show at Harrah’s with the showfloor and demo rooms close to each other. Overall, it was good show for me.

Caught up with a lot people, had some great networking and I picked up some new speakers.”

– Brian Latocha, Frequency Productions, Ridley Park, PA

gle, party and learn from each other. For me, some of the most valuable moments, year after year, happen in the hallways and at other casual conversations. The diversity at the show is amazing, inspir‑ ing, and humbling all at the same time.”

– Michael Langsner, Xplosive Entertainment, Brick, NJ

“We had a very successful first-time showing at DJ Expo.”

– Alison Maxson, Absen America, Orlando, FL

“The DJ Expo was a great venue for Floyd Rose Audio. We had incredible traffic and sold out 95-percent of our inventory dur‑ ing the Expo. I met a load of cool musical artists and DJs, and Floyd Rose will be back at next year’s Expo.”

– Alan Cabasso, Floyd Rose Audio, Allenhurst, NJ

“DJ Expo continues to be the outlet for entertainers to get together and mix, min‑

SAMPLINGS

As 2018 draws to a close, Alan Walker can look back on the year and smile. In addition to appearing at all the major EDM festivals, the 21-year-old Norwegian DJ/producer played a variety of global venues – like Ibiza’s Ushuaia – as the tour opener for Kygo.

But it’s been like that since 2015 when Walker broke out hugely with his Iselin Solheim-fronted earworm “Faded.” In recent times, Walker has maintained the momentum with story-rich videos for melodic tunes like “Tired” (featuring Gavin James) and “All Falls Down” (featuring Noah Cyrus and Digital Farm Animals) – he now has 15 million YouTube followers. And in late 2018, he expects to release his debut, artist album World of Walker. We recently caught up with the oftenmasked Walker who looked back on his big year.

DJ Times: From this past year of touring, what were your favoritei shows?i Alan Walker: I know everyone states these three, but performing on the main stages of Tomorrowland, Ultra and EDC Las Vegas... all three were really completely insane. Those festivals are just something DJs aspire to. You push for it. They were big milestones for me.

DJ Times: Before “Faded” becamei your big hit, the original versioni (“Fade”)was meant to spread asi royalty-free music throughi YouTube gaming channels...i Walker: That’s correct, and I still try to do that with my music. The idea is to allow people to use the song freely, without fearing blocks from copyright holders. I feel like it’s a win-win situation where content creators get access to free music – and I, in return, get my music spread across the world to new audiences.

DJ Times: What influences you,i musically?i Walker : I’m really inspired by film scores and soundtracks. There are a lot that producers can learn from this type of music.

People like Hans Zimmer tell a story and provide a whole new emotion to visuals in a movie. That is not easy. It gets very clear if you watch a movie scene with and without sound on. It really lets you see the power in music production.

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

DJ Times: What’s your preferredi production set-up?i Walker: FL Studio is my preferred DAW. I’ve been producing in FL Studio since the beginning, and don’t have any plans of changing that anytime soon.

8

ALAN WALKER: MASKED MARVEL

DJ Times: How do you balance thei idea of evolving your sound, whilei making music that your audiencei already loves?i Walker: Oh man, that is definitely a fine balance. I’m constantly trying to make sure that my signature sound is maintained in my music. However, you can’t be afraid to try (continued on page 40)

IN THE STUDIO Detroit’s Burden Brothers have been making vital techno tracks since 1990 when, under the guise of Octave One, they released “I Believe” on Derrick May’s seminal Transmat label.

Since then, Lenny and Lawrence Burden have founded 430 West/Direct Beat Records, released dozens of tracks (like 2002’s underground fave “Black Water”) and created a slew of remixes (for acts ranging from Massive Attack to Steve Bug) – plus, as live electronic musicians, they’ve maintained a busy, global-touring schedule.

In 2018, they returned with another, superb 430 West project – the full-length Endustry. Released under their Random Noise Generation moniker, the seven-track album features some of the brothers’ best work, like the mesmerizing “N2 The Enfinate” and the manically percussive “Alkalyze.” We recently caught up with the duo for some studio talk.

DJ Times: You’re rooted in Detroit, home of techno.What’s going on there?

Lenny: It’s always been an extremely diverse city. When we were coming up, no one knew what techno was—essentially because a group of us were busy creating it. Now, because of the Movement festival, a lot of the people who don’t necessarily listen to techno at least know that it exists. It was something alien to most people — we might as well have been speaking another language. Now, you have people who want to move to Detroit for the techno experience.

DJ Times: What was inspiration behind Endustry?

Lenny: We had been touring. We decided to bring enough gear with us so we could record music on the road.With every city, with every country, we were finding new inspiration. We’d put new music together and play it in our live sets, taking influences from the life we were living at the moment. This process gave birth to Endustry.

DJ Times: When traveling, is there any piece of hardware that you compose on?

Lenny: We’ve started to bring Akai’s MPC Live. It’s totally self-contained. You don’t need to plug it in or up to anything, so it’s perfect. Up until that point, we didn’t have anything we could just pull out and work on. We were so used to composing in a studio setup, it was impossible for us to rely on a single piece of gear. Maybe the Roland TR8 back in the day was the closest thing... if you could plug it in.

DJ Times: What’s your studio process?

Lenny: We like to build on drums and keep things melodic, but electronic. At times, we prefer funk-based basslines and, at other times, we prefer drum-based basslines.

Sometimes we can be very orchestrally driven; sometimes it can be very ethnically percussion driven.

Lawrence: Really, we have no rules. We just do what we feel. We melt our souls to the machines to become one with them. We always try to give the Tin Man a heart.

DJ Times: What’s your studio setup?

L e n ny : We a re ve r y hardware-based, but because of limited space, we have a lot of rack-mount versions of keyboard synths.

We have many of the early Roland pieces including the MKS-50, MKS-7, MKS-70, MKS80 and JP8000. We have the Studio Electronics ATC-1 with all the filters, Moog Voyager RME, Moog Minitaur, Korg Triton rack, Roland XV-5080, Oberheim Matrix-1000, E-MU Carnaval, Korg EX-8000, Mee-

Blip, Yamaha DX200, Mutable Instruments Shruthi XT, Moog Little Phatty keyboard, Alesis Micron rack-mounted.

Lawrence: We run a lot of software on a Mac Tower including Digidesign Pro Tools 12 with an Apogee Ensemble digital audio interface, Native Instruments Maschine, and Melodyne Studio 4. For plug-ins, we run a ton of Waves – two Gold Natives running on a MacBook. We’re always discovering new ones.

Lenny: Yeah, there’s just an ever-increasing amount. We have Valhalla Room, VintageVerb. SpaceModulator and Freq Echo, Eventide UltraReverb and UltraChannel, PSP oldTimerME, PianoVerb, StereoPack, and VintageWarmer2, And various Brainworx, SPL, Unfiltered Audio, Hornet, iZotope, Native Instruments and Sugar Bytes plug-ins. We can’t forget Soundtoys 5.

DJ Times: What about drums?

Lenny: Besides Maschine, we have the Roland TR8 and TR909. As far as usual gear, that is a difficult one. There are many pieces we use in non-traditional ways, but that’s a different conversation.

DJ Times: Do you fall into roles?

Lawrence: Not really. We’re so used to being around one another, we just float to where we’re needed at the moment. One has a baseline, strings, drums. It’s more about where it starts. We might be sitting down, someone on a bass, someone on drums – just goofing off and it gets serious. Or we might be off on our own and bring it in. We jump all over the place.

DJ Times: How do you work with vocalists?

Lawrence: They’re another instrument for us. After we do what we think we can do to a track, we look to the vocalist as the next instrument that we’ll grab – literally… an instrument.

Lenny: Usually, we give them a lot of freedom. As far as what they feel, we’ll give them a bit of guidance. Sometime we’ll let them free-flow over the entire track and we’ll construct it after that.

DJ Times: How do you know when a track is done?

Lenny: We’ll work on things forever, so the deadlines are self-imposed. A lot of the time, they come because we’re going back out on the road. It helps us to focus.

DJ Times: How has making records changed since you came up?

Lenny: Drastically. In the beginning, we could just be at home and sell music. We could take a lot more time, as far as the production process, in coming up with something original. Now you spend so much time on the road, you don’t get the same time in the studio. But feedback-wise, now? Instant. At the show, on the net, all over the place.

DJ Times: How does the live show influence the studio work?

Lenny: A lot, as far as arrangements. We might do a drop or play a particular line that we’d never thought about playing on a particular track—some drums for example, or some effects. We get a chance to test things out and, hopefully, when we hit the studio we’ll remember what we did that worked.

Lawrence: It can be a problem… remembering.

Lenny: You can never totally re-create a moment, but you can try to get the feel in your studio composition.

– Markus von Pfeiffer

OCTAVE ONE: BROTHERLY TECHNO

The Burden Brothers: (from left) Lawrence & Lenny.

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

By Jim Tremayne

12

Montreal – Boasting global talent like A-Trak, Tiga, and Snails, Montreal has earned its reputation as a haven for top DJs in a variety of genres. Still, for all its music-related accolades, Quebec’s main metropolis may have no bigger hometown booster than Misstress Barbara.

Although born in Sicily (née Barbara Bonfiglio), the longtime Montrealer represents her home city with a raging enthusiasm. And for good reason – she’s grateful for all the blessings that the Canadian city’s deep music scene has afforded her. Before becoming an in-demand DJ/producer spinning underground flavors all over the world, Misstress Barbara scaled the local ladder in the late ’90s, eventually becoming a fixture at venues like Sona, Aria, and Stereo, plus Piknic Électronik, the city’s famed outdoor party.

Her music-making career has been fruitful as well. Since 1999, she’s released underground-club music on respected labels like Bedrock, Tronic and Intec Digital. In addition to creating remixes for acts ranging from Umek (pulsing techno) to Lara Fabian (French pop), she’s released a pair of artist albums – 2012’s Many Shades of Grey and 2009’s I’m No Human, which was nominated for a Juno Award, Canada’s most-prestigious musical honor.

So, when we recently visited Montreal’s Piknic Électronik for this issue’s ClubWorld segment (please see Page 22), we thought that no other DJ/ producer could fly the city’s flag higher than Misstress Barbara. We were correct. Ms. Bonfiglio was very open and honest about her 22-year musical career, her particular tastes and, of course, the city she loves.

DJ Times: Montreal has a long history of DJ-driven entertainment and, especially, underground venues like Sona, Aria and Stereo. Pretty fortunate to grow up in that scene, right?

Barbara: I consider myself extremely lucky that I was part of the DJ scene in the ’90s. Because as much as we have amazing events right now, it all started back then in those truly underground events and clubs – that really shaped the Montreal scene. I can guarantee that anyone who is in charge of the best Montreal electronic music clubs or festivals today was most likely a regular at Sona or the 514 events that existed even before that awesome club that Sona was.

DJ Times: As rising DJ, how did that environment help you develop?

Barbara: I had the chance to experience it, and taste it all, and I’m pretty sure it helped me a lot to develop myself as a DJ. I would imagine that an upcoming DJ that doesn’t have access to playing quality clubs or events, alongside quality talent, would have more of a hard time developing his or her style, compared to another one who is regularly exposed to all of it.

After Two Decades as a Global DJ/Producer, Miss

tress Barbara Maintains Her Hometown Allegiance

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

Photos By Toshimi Muniz

13

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

DJ Times: Over the years, you’ve become a regular DJ at Piknic Électronik. In your view, how has the event evolved?

Misstress Barbara: Piknic Électronik started quite small and has turned into a very established and respected Montreal summer event.

Montreal has always been synonym to the very important International Jazz Festival that we have here, or synonym to the Just For Laughs Festival, or to Cirque du Soleil, but I think that for many years now, in the electronic music scene, we can say that Montreal is also synonym to Piknic Électronik or Igloofest.

DJ Times: And you’ve played the version that’s expanded beyond Canada…

Barbara: It’s an event that became world-renowned and, yes, there are a few Piknic Électronik events around the world now that are doing very well, too. Yes, I played twice at the one in Melbourne, Australia, and I found the same type of vibe that’s proper to the original event, which is a sign that the brand is well developed and quite successful.

DJ Times: For the DJ, what makes Piknic special?

Barbara: You feel a very special kind of magic. The audience is amazing. I think people in Montreal are just happy to be outdoors, partying on good music, and they do it whether it’s sunny, rainy – or even when it snows! That’s one of the many qualities we can attribute to Montrealers.

And on top of that, thanks to the music scene in Montreal, with events such as Piknic Électronik, Igloofest, MEG, Osheaga and many more established events that have been feeding the locals with enormous amounts of quality international talent, on top of

14

the incredible amount of local talent we already have, well, we can say that Montrealers are very well-educated music wise.

DJ Times: That’s always been my experience when visiting Montreal.

Also, there seems to be a unique maturity in the Piknic crowd.

Barbara: They know good music.

They’re aware. And many people that used to go out years ago, they know when it’s time to come out again, which makes a public that knows and can enjoy classics. That’s the maturity you feel from the crowd. Another thing I absolutely adore about Piknic is the fact that it’s during the day. So you get families sometimes, with kids, and it’s really nice.

DJ Times: Montreal’s been your home for a long time now. When you play Piknic, do you feel a responsibility to your hometown audience?

Barbara: When I play at home, compared to elsewhere, I am still nervous as if it was my first DJ gig ever… especially at Piknic Électronik because there’s a history there. I can’t even explain how stressed I get.

Yes, my artist name is a play on words between Miss and Stress – hence, why the extra S – but I don’t get as nervous anywhere else as I do get here. And that’s because I love my city so much, and the most important thing for me is to never, ever disappoint the people that I love the most and who love me the most. There is a very special relation between the Montreal crowd and myself, and I don’t ever take it for granted – even though I easily could, I don’t.

DJ Times: And the content of your Piknic sets?

Barbara: I usually play longer sets, so it’s that time of the year where I can pull out older records, old vinyls,

and where, thanks to the length of my set, I’ll play old classics from the mid’90s. I won’t feel bad at all for playing older music, and I know that people actually enjoy it. I wouldn’t play like this in any another gig where I only play the regular two-hour set, but at Piknic it’s always a mix between new and old, and maybe that’s why it’s so magic. It’s like if time didn’t exist anymore, nor the age difference among the people in the crowd, nor any musical style or trend. Everything is OK, everything is welcomed, and I really think it’s an enormous sign of love and respect, that makes me cherish this event a lot.

DJ Times: Piknic’s had two unique locations. For a DJ, any difference in the vibe of the two venues?

Barbara: Both amazing. Perhaps the actual one now is more like a real set-up for a musical event. It’s a real stage, a real dance floor, and what I really like is the fact that it’s in the middle of so many trees, and it makes it even more nature-oriented. But then, you look up and you see the Jacques Cartier Bridge, the downtown Montreal skyline, and you remember you’re getting all this greenery and breath of fresh air just two minutes away from the city. It’s just amazing.

DJ Times: What’s your DJ set-up now?

Barbara: Simply, [Pioneer DJ] CDJs with a USB key. I really miss vinyl and I want to stay away from computer screens, so I can really focus on the basics which, for me, is reading the crowd and giving them what I feel they want. To me, a DJ behind a laptop, who is not making music live, is not really appealing.

DJ Times: And you still play vinyl sometimes…

Barbara: I do. As I mentioned, when I play longer sets there are (continued on page 40)

DJ TIMES

Piknic Électronik (2003-present): I’ve been playing for them for 15 years, on the same date every year, and it’s a true, ongoing, love story.

Sona (1996-2004): That’s where I played my first nine-hour, DJ set – on my birthday. This very special something between the Montreal crowd and myself was born right there and then, and then got carried on through other clubs and events afterwards, like Aria and Piknic Électronik.

Aria (2001-2006): It was my home after Sona, and that’s where I’ve done an even longer set on one of my birthdays – 11 hours!

– J.T.

FALL 2018

Misstress Barbara’s Top Montreal Venues

15

2

1

4

3

5

6

8

FALL 2018

1 Lit Up: DJ Flip at Pioneer DJ booth. 2 Boomin’: DJ Silk in BASSBOSS demo room. ArtChick Photography 3 U.S. DMC Champ: DJ Throdown visits Expo. MetroMix Media Alex Midi at Eden Lounge. Jaclyn McKeown 6 Spinnin’: DJ Creativity hits the decks. ArtChick Photography 7 Showfloor: DJs visit Bose world. ArtChick Photography

7

Atlantic City, N.J. – DJ Expo drew the DJ world to Harrah’s Resort in AC this past Aug. 13-16.

With more than 6,000 attendees, the DJ Timesproduced show included more than 150 exhibition booths and presented evening events, sponsored by exhibitors like Technics, Peavey, Bose, Chauvet DJ, RCF and BASSBOSS. It all looked like this:

9

DJs Flocked to Atlantic City for

Expo ’18 9 Rockit: GrandMixer DXT at DAS booth. ArtChick Photography 10 Prime Time: Rocking the Denon DJ stand. ArtChick Photography 11 Ones & Twos: A young DJ cuts it up. ArtChick Photography

4 Rock the Floor: Expo DJ gets busy. 5 Bose Party: 8 In the Mix: DJ Dvyne at Peavey/Technics party.

11

10

12

12 Eden Afterparty: ADJ’s LED video panel.

Jaclyn McKeown

13 13 Yes! Ultimate DJ Giveaway winner Susan Staff. MetroMix Media 14 Panorama: The Expo showfloor scene.

16 16 Roland Booth: Steve Spak with a DJ-808.

ArtChick Photography

14

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

15

18

15 Smiles: Kharisma kicks it at Eden Lounge. MetroMix Media 17 Mainstage: Oscar Troya & RevoDJ. ArtChick Photography

17

19 23

20 20 Ultimate DJ Giveaway: The contest hopper awaits. MetroMix Media

18 18 Feeding Frenzy: Attendees flock to the gear.

ArtChick Photography

19 21

23

24

9 My Tribe: DJ Turtle on the showfloor. ArtChick Photography 21 In Control: Expo attendee tests out a unit. 22 Mixin’: Flawless DJ juggles a beat. ArtChick Photography 3 Allgood: Vibo’s Michael Mahler at his booth. ArtChick Photography 24 45 in Hand: Keith Shocklee at Eden Lounge. ArtChick Photography

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

22

19

ar

you

By Jeff Stiles For the 2018 DJ Expo in Atlantic City,

DJ Carl Entertainment was able to go to

At This

N.J., more than 5,000 DJs convened at

the DJ Expo this year for the first time

Year’s

ing communities, and the fact that the

Harrah’s Resort this past August 13-16,

in three years, and says he was pumped

best way to do that is through social me-

so we asked a handful of attendees a few

to hook up with attendees to talk about

DJ Expo,

show-related questions:

SEO, hashtags and digital marketing—fac-

How was the show for you? What positives did you glean? What exciting tidbits

FALL 2018

DJ TIMES

typically very time-consuming.

Art & Fun Converged for Priceless

dia,” he says. “However, the call-to-action should always lead back to one’s website.

“In my opinion, one should not put all their content [videos and images] on

did you capture from your experience

“I also really enjoyed the presenta-

in the exhibit hall or from the seminars.

tions on digital marketing from Jordan

Here’s what we heard:

St. Jacques of Digitera,” says Williams.

relevant content to help the owner to

Steve Croce, with Philadelphia’s Sil-

“I find myself helping more businesses

primarily get gigs, and they can also gen-

ver Sound Entertainment, says he’s been

and artists learn how to maximize their

erate revenue from ads, subscriptions

attending the convention every year

online branding initiatives, so I can tell

and branded content sponsorships.”

since 1994. And every year, he says that

you that Jordan thoroughly educated the

While Williams says he always looks

he takes home at least one valuable mon-

attendees on the fact that, while websites

forward to experiencing the exhibit floor

ey-making nugget. This year the priceless

can look great on the outside, there are

at the DJ Expo, he also enjoys meeting

takeaway was the importance of the new

tools to evaluate if one’s website is actu-

up-and-coming entertainers.

speaker technology.

ally working properly on the inside.

Takeaways

a social media platform like Facebook.

One’s website should have most of the

“It was so cool being able to meet

“All websites need an MRI.”

some new high-profile DJs this year,

technology for years,” he says, “one-by-

Offering a nugget of his own, Williams

including future stars and 12-year-old,

one, our DJs are moving to line-array

says that if DJs don’t want a disreputable

turntablist twins Amira and Kayla – as

sound systems – one of our DJs this year

or spammy website to be linked to their

well as their dad, Elijah – at this year’s

purchased the RCF EVOX 12 system.

own website, there are two things they

Expo.”

“After I’ve been doubting the new

20

tors that can make DJs money, but are

Technology,

“Jordan also spoke to us about build-

“Also, I was most impressed by the

can do: (1) Disallow the URL through

Just a short drive (or an even shorter

intense physical pounding I received from

the Google Analytics’ interface or (2)

crop-duster flight) away from Atlantic

the BASSBOSS demo room. I’ve never

disallow the URL via the robots.txt file,

City, Adam Weitz of A Sharp Pro-

heard or felt bass like that—ever!

which is located in the root directory of

duction in the Philadelphia suburb of

their website.

Huntingdon Valley has been attending the

Carl Williams of New York City’s

ri nc d?

“After I’ve

DJ Expo for a number of years now, I can

Weitz says his favorite change this year

been doubt-

say that the evening events were the best

was the show’s move to Harrah’s Re-

ing the new

in recent memory.

sort from the Atlantic City Convention

technology

Center.

“It was much more intimate and provided better opportunities for new DJs to meet,” he says. “The after-party on Monday was a lot of fun, and especially with the DJs spinning near the pool.”

Although he didn’t buy any new gear in the exhibit hall this year, Weitz says he

execute on each task with perfection.

“Also, Mike Wieder provided a stellar seminar [‘Be a Difference Maker’],

“I really enjoyed the Monday-night

as always. His combination of humor,

for years,

[Pre-2K] party at The Pool at Harrah’s,

expertise and anecdotes made the semi-

one-by-one,

and was excited to hear all the ’80s and

nar fly by, and the standing ovation he

our DJs are

’90s music. Mike Walter’s special set of

received from the packed room was well

Prince music exceeded expectations –

deserved. The ‘Mitzvah Massive’ [fea-

Mike did a fantastic job. I loved the theme

turing Weitz, McKee, Jordan Mar-

for the evening, too. My vote is to keep

shall and Randi Rae] was on-point and

that going.”

provided a ton of great information for

moving to line-array sound systems.”

Lomaz says it was great to hear Con-

anyone who does—or is considering do-

necticut-based jock Sean “Big Daddy”

ing—bar/bat mitzvahs. And Mark Bren-

did bring home a hot new dance. Set to

— Steve

Bruno Mars’ “Perm,” the routine came

Croce,

McKee bringing energy and all-encom-

neisen brought a really fun concept to

courtesy of Jersey jock Betsy Fischer,

Silver Sound

passing love to the stage, as he closed

his ‘10:10:10’ seminar, which was focused

a former winner of Expo’s Entertainer of

Entertain-

the Monday and Wednesday festivities,

around his 10 years of attending The DJ

ment, Phila-

and adds that it was really a stellar eve-

Expo.”

delphia

the Year competition.

This year’s winner, Artem Lomaz of

ning schedule all week. And as far as the

Lomaz says that between the change

NinetyThree Entertainment in Roxbury,

seminars, this Jersey jock says there were

in location, the stellar seminars and the

N.J., says said that even if he hadn’t won,

a number of highlights.

unique networking opportunities, he’s

the DJ Expo did not disappoint in any aspect.

“Rob Peters’ seminar was ver y thought-provoking and informative, and

“The move to Harrah’s was a great

he delivered again when he presented

adjustment from last year,” he says. “I

during Jake Jacobsen’s ‘Games’ semi-

sensed more enthusiasm in the attend-

nar,” says Lomaz. “Speaking of which, hats

ees, and I’m sure that the location change

off to Jake for that seminar, but also for

was part of everyone’s rejuvenated de-

producing various aspects of the week.

meanor. As someone who’s attended the

He had a full plate and was able to fully

already looking forward to DJ Expo 2019.

We’ll see you there!

n

FALL 2018

DJ Expo every year now for 23 years.

DJ TIMES

-

21

DJ / CLUBWORLD / piknic electronik

Meet the Movers Behind Piknic Électronik, Montreal’s Legendary Outdoor Party

By Jim Tremayne

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

Montreal, Canada – Just when the sun goes down and the moon comes up, this September-Sunday-night view of the Jacques Cartier Bridge over the Saint Lawrence River is striking.

Illuminated with a network of LED lights projecting vibrant oranges and yellows, the bridge that connects the city of Montreal with Saint Helen’s Island also serves as a brilliant backdrop to the beat-filled bash just below.

Down on Saint Helen’s Island, there’s a party going on – and it’s another edition of Piknic Électronik. With Montreal’s distinct skyline offering even more backdrop eye-candy, over 5,000 fans are having a ball. Yet, it’s anything but another rote exercise of electronic pleasures, certainly not your typical EDM event. For example, tonight’s DJs – Berlin’s Or:la and then Miami’s Danny Daze – aren’t the regulation mainstagers we see on North America’s festival circuit. Nonetheless, they’re throwing down a deliciously diverse program to a fervent audience. In addition to rough-and-ready, brandnew techno and prog tracks, we hear old-school breaks (Wink’s “Higher State of Consciousness”), evergreen techno (Moby’s “Go”), and Euro-club classics (Da Hool’s “Meet Her at the Love Parade”).

It’s a pair of DJ sets that electronic-music fans of all ages can get with – and they do. We see a mixture of generations, happy and grooving, in lush, bucolic surroundings, city and suburbs represented, carefree, but not completely unbridled. Truly, there’s nothing exactly like it in the electronic-music-event market.

22

Since 2003, the city of Montreal has become accustomed to all this. For the past 16 summers, Piknic Électronik has been one of electronic music’s premier events. Presenting up to 21 shows each season, as it did in 2018, Piknic continues to bring a who’s who of underground DJ talent to the island. From Diplo to Art Department, from Dubfire to Kode9, from Nicolas Jaar to Misstress Barbara, fans can expect a diverse slate of quality DJ/producers.

Each weekend, Piknic presents a pair of stages with few obvious frills – just good music played through a robust Meyer Sound system in front of a clued-in crowd dancing away in a gorgeous, leafy park.

Piknic’s famed beverages-in-a-bucket can make the party people well-primed for beats, but there’s also plenty of attractions for families – playgrounds, lounge areas, a restaurant zone, even DJ lessons.

From its well-curated music program to its breathtaking venue to the obvious care put into creating a very “green” experience, Piknic Électronik stands alone in a world of formulaic festivals relying on whiz-bang production gimmicks and all-too-familiar headliners. For the most part, Piknic Électronik lets the music do the talking.

We caught up with co-founder Nicolas Cournoyer to find out how the Piknic became such a special

and lasting event.

What was the original idea for Piknic?

In the early 2000s, the Montreal’s electronic scene, which had grown and boomed throughout the ’90s, was stalling and becoming a bit repetitive.

We felt that it was losing some of its cool vibe and PLUR values. So, we wanted to bring something different to that culture – more accessible, in a city park, during daytime so that everybody including families could discover that neglected/misunderstood type of music and have a good time.

So what happened?

Three buddies and I found the ideal place – a verdant park on Saint Helen’s Island right across the river from downtown Montreal, organized everything with the help of a lot of friends, and on June 22, 2003, the very first Piknic Électronik took place with a huge turnout of 217 friends and intrigued music fans. But it caught on steadily and by the second summer we knew we were really on to something. Today, we welcome over 5,000 happy dancers of all ages and backgrounds every Sunday.

What’s your background, in terms of party promotion/clubs, etc.?

None! I quit my criminal-law practice after five years to work in the festival business doing logistics for the Montreal International Jazz Festival. And while I was doing this, three of my friends [Pascal Lefebvre, Louis-David Loyer and Michel Quintal] and I created Piknic Électronik.

For someone who has never attended a Piknic, what should they expect to see?

Piknic is a weekly ritual for music lovers and people who want to have a good time, dance, relax, enjoy summertime, have a picnic, meet people and/ or recharge their batteries before going back to work/school for the week. It’s also microcosm of the city, an open-minded event with a great vibe with all kinds of people who want to share an immersive social experience.

What is Piknic’s mission? Why do you think it has endured so long?

At first, we wanted to democratize the electronic-music genres, to stop the prejudices around that type of music and events. That’s why we choose to produce a weekly daytime event in open air – to be accessible to everyone, including people who had no notion of the night-time club scene or thought it just wasn’t for them. These factors combined with

DJ / CLUBWORLD / piknic electronik

Ashutosh Gupta

Toshimi Muniz Charles Prot

For DJ talent, what’s the booking policy?

The electronic music spectrum played at Piknic is really broad: all house types, techno, electro, dubstep, funk, dancehall, etc. We are always trying to balance discovery, established DJs, newcomers, and trending DJs. As we hold a daytime event, we tend to choose music suitable for that time of the day... so, no trance types of music, nothing too experimental. And we Nicolas Cournoyer are not really into EDM music either.

Montreal has always had a deep DJ/electronic music scene. How much has that played into Piknic’s success?

Without the local DJs, Piknic would have never become what it is now. We started the event showcasing local DJs and they still have a prominent place

at Piknic. After the first few summers, we started having more and more international guests. That’s when we decided that we needed second stage dedicated to local talent, to make sure that it maintained the presence it deserved at the event. Local artists still represent the biggest part of our programming: 62-percent of our 2018 bookings are local.

started running back to the dancefloor, coming out of bushes and everywhere. It was the craziest last half-hour of Piknic Électronik. Amon Tobin in 2009, because… it was just so good! Every time Seb Léger is playing at Piknic. He has a special relationship with the Piknic crowd. So his sets are always groovy, intense and memorable.

Are you surprised that the electronic music has so taken hold in North America?

Yes and no. Electronic music has been in North America for a long time, with ups and downs over decades. It’s always trend-related. But I think that the combination of the boom around big festivals with the millennial way of life helped a lot.

How do you deal with the city in terms of security, considerations for the park, etc.? Beyond talent, production and employee costs, what are you responsible for?

Everything around the event, except the medical care team and food trucks, is done in-house: bookings, marketing, production, sales, logistic, R&D, human resources, etc. The park we use is owned by the city, so we need to take care of all the aspects regarding our event with the highest of standards. We must be careful with the park’s natural state, see to the cleanliness of the site, have great relations with City Hall, the Police and Fire Department, updating security procedures.

Can you recall a few memorable DJ sets from previous Piknics?

Josh Wink’s set in 2008. There was a massive thunderstorm that hit the event. It was raining horizontally because of the wind. Josh couldn’t play; the needles were just flying off the records. We were struggling to hold the DJ tent down and protect his records – it was all vinyls back then, in cardboard sleeves. It got so intense that we had to stop everything and ask people to evacuate. Fifteen minutes later, a bright sun came back, Josh put some music back on, and people

How do you work with sponsors?

We always try to find sponsors that fit with our event and its mentality. Sometimes it's a simple and obvious fit because a sponsor can provide a product

DJ TIMES

the fact that there were few happenings on Sundays helped Piknic to become a real cultural ritual.

FALL 2018

Charles Prot

23

DJ / CLUBWORLD / piknic electronik that fits with the food or drink selection we offer. Our sound and light partners are also sponsors and both of our two stages is branded with their respective names [Solotech and MOOG Audio].

Ashutosh Gupta

Djalma Vuong-Deramos

Djalma Vuong-Deramos

Peter Ryaux-Larsen

And when it’s not so obvious?

We try to involve the sponsors in an activity that will be appreciated by our piknickers. A few examples over the years would be: charging booths for your cell phone, giant swings, a water fountain where you can jump and splash around, a photo booth and photo contest, picnic blankets you can borrow for the day, a giant Twister game, slack lines, huge beanbags and hammocks for chilling in the shade, etc.

The event is very inclusive for kids, as well.

Yes, there’s also a “Petit Piknic” zone on site, dedicated to kids with animated family activities. Sponsors are involved to help us make this happen, but the first rule is that their logo won’t be plastered all over the zone. For example, the BAnQ (Quebec’s National Library) lends us children’s books that kids can borrow to read on site, one of our sound equipment partner lends us equipment (turntables, mixers, etc.) for a DJ workshop for kids, etc. As a general rule anywhere on site or at the event’s exit, it's never about handing out free samples of any kind and certainly not flyers.

Talk a little bit about your green initiatives to reduce Piknic’s ecological footprint.

Piknic Électronik was the first major event in Québec to introduce the reusable cup system on such a scale. It is now a very common system in all major events, but because we were the first to introduce it, we also were somewhat in charge of handling the “educational” aspect by explaining it to thousands of people, one

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

Piknic Production: How It’s Done

24

at a time. But the effort was well worth it and that move alone has helped us avoid the waste of more than 400,000 plastic cups. This summer, we banned the plastic straws. So, we will avoid the use of at least 100,000 straws. We keep track of the carbon footprint of our events and try to compensate as much as we can. Last fall, we had 333 trees planted in Quebec to match our artist transportation footprint of 2016 and 2017.

How do fans get involved?

We invite everyone buying a ticket or season pass online to make a small donation for a green initiative.

With these donations, we were able to install a water fountain on site where people can fill up all day long, ideally with their own bottle, instead of throwing away plastic bottles after a single use.

And no more press conferences, right?

It may not seem like much, but we've stopped doing press conferences to unveil every new season’s programming years ago. Everything is done electronically and that saves a lot of paper, plastic, USB keys, promotional material, banners, posters and everything else that’s produced for these ephemeral happenings that last less than one hour. However, we’ve kept the fun aspect of these happy events: we usually do our announcements online around noon and then invite the local media, guest artists and everyone involved with the announcement for a happy-hour celebration at our offices – or local pub – later that day. And so many more actions and initiatives.

You’ve expanded Piknic to other global hotspots – like Barcelona, Dubai, Melbourne and Santiago. What are the differences with those events?

The booking policy remains pretty much the same.

As for production, it varies with the city, the culture around events, the location of the site, the relation with authorities, the cost of expenses, etc. The most important thing is that it has to respect the basic context, the vibe and the values of the event. We are still working on the international development. Austin, Texas, in October is our next destination. Other cities are in the huddle – stay tuned!

Maude Laberge serves as Piknic Électronik’s Production & Site Layout Manager. With events running two stages each Sunday – May through September – she and her crew have had quite a busy summer.

We caught up with her to get a quick rundown of the event’s outdoor production approach.

Who specifies the audio?

OneWave Audio, a Montreal-based audio consulting firm, has been designing the systems for Piknic Électronik and Igloofest, our winter event, for a few years now. The systems have been designed to get a well-defined dancefloor area, while ensuring an even coverage throughout the rest of the site.

Why was Meyer Sound chosen?

Meyer Sound was chosen for its sound quality, but also for its reliability. [MSL-6, CQ-1, MILO active Toshimi Muniz PA systems and 650-P active subs are used on the main stage.] With the system being installed in May, staying outside and being exposed to various weather conditions for four months, it was important to choose a product that could withstand the heat and the rain while delivering a consistent result every weekend.

What DJ gear do you usually use?

Typical gear for our stages for the season include Allen & Heath Xone:92 mixers, Pioneer CDJ-2000NXS2 media players and Technics SL-1200 mk2 turntables.

How many production people work a typical event?

We have 18 people to get the whole site ready for each Sunday event and six people during the event.

Any special effects as part of the production?

Not really. Piknic Électronik is a day event. It starts at 2 p.m., and the music stops at 9:30 p.m., with the sun setting behind the main stage and the Montreal skyline across the river. So, the main special effects at Piknic Électronik are the sun, the view, and the natural beauty of the site and its luxurious verdant surroundings. And because we are responsible for keeping this public park in pristine conditions, we keep confetti use to a minimum – sweeping grassy hills and wooded areas is no fun. We once had a snow canon in the summer celebrating the upcoming Igloofest edition. But, special effects would be risky, as we sometimes spray the crowd with water hoses when it gets too hot!

– J.T.

Denon DJ Prime Series: The Future of Professional DJ

Denon DJ’s Prime Series delivers unprecedented performance, ease of use, music organization and system synergy for professional DJs. Receiving unexcelled acclaim since its introduction, the Prime Series represents the future of the professional DJ experience. www.denondj.com/prime-series

XTRAX STEMS Windows® Pre-Sale

Audionamix announces the Windows® version of XTRAX STEMS will be available for pre-sale starting May 22, for a special rate of $79. This provides a $20 savings off the regular price. www.audionamix.com

Bose S1 Pro Multi-position PA

Sound great anywhere with the ultra-portable Bose S1 Pro Multiposition PA. Designed for musicians, DJs and general PA use, the S1 Pro is the ultimate all-in-one PA, floor monitor and practice amplifier that’s ready to be your go-anywhere Bluetooth® music system.

Are you equal to the challenge of using the best? The SeventyTwo mixer and Twelve motorized controller are not for pretenders. Built like tanks with all-steel construction you’ll mix, scratch and fade like never before. www.dj.rane.com

DJ TIMES

Rane Seventy-Two + Twelve = The Best

MARCH 2018

www.professional.bose.com

5

DJ / CLUBWORLD / GEAR & SWAGG

RELOOP RP-7000 MK2

UDG GEAR Ultimate Flight Case

YOUTH CONTROL GAMES MIXMSTR

ADJ AV2

The Reloop RP-7000 MK2 turnta‑ ble features a statically balanced S-shaped tone arm with hydraulic lift, anti-skating mechanism, ad‑ justable height/vertical tracking angle and a universal connection for pick-up cartridge systems. Its quartz-driven motor features digi‑ tal pitch correction and operates at a starting torque of 2.8kg/cm up to a maximum of 4.5kg/cm.

Additional features include a die-cast aluminum platter and a switchable integrated phono preamp that makes it is possible to use the gold-plated RCA connec‑ tors for both phono and line output signals.

The UDG Ultimate Flight Case Roland DJ-808 Black Plus is de‑ signed to fit the Roland DJ-808 and includes an adjustable notebook shelf to store a laptop, mouse or any other devices such as effect processor and interfaces. The case is constructed from solid 9mm thick plywood. The outside is laminated in a black finished honeycomb/hex‑ agonal “Stage Grip” pattern and the inner sides are protected with highdensity, diamond-embossed EVA foam protective padding.

Additional features include springloaded handles and UDG logo embossed ball corners for secure stacking.

www.AmericanMusicAnd Sound.com

www.udggear.com

Finland's Youth Control Games, has released the first teaser video of MIXMSTR, the first ever DJing mobile game. Due for launch early 2019, MIXMSTR will be available on Android and iOS and will be free-toplay with in-app purchases. Featur‑ ing an array of clubland characters, MIXMSTR will see players combine rhythm action gameplay with stra‑ tegic music selection to build a ca‑ reer as a DJ. MIXMSTR will feature music from real labels, available to purchase, and will create new rev‑ enue streams for the music industry.

The teaser video gives a glimpse of the MIXMSTR virtual world, includ‑ ing nightlife characters and club venues. Fans of DJ culture will be immersed in the game as they work their way up the DJ rankings.

ADJ’s AV2 is a high-resolution video panel that features a pixel density of 168 x 168, which equates to a low pixel pitch of 2.97mm. Utilizing 3-in-1 SMD2121 LEDs, it offers an impressive brightness of 1000 NITs and is capable of curving, in either a concave or convex manor, up to an angle of 5-degrees. Four LED mod‑ ules per panel allow for easy ser‑ viceability and the unit also features integrated corner protectors, which can be easily flipped into place when the unit is transported for added pro‑ tection and then slid to the back of the unit when it is in use.

Designed for a wide variety of ap‑ plications where high-definition large-scale video is required on a temporary basis – including clubs, concerts, stage productions and one-off events – the AV2 is also ide‑ ally suited to permanent installation in nightclub venues.

www.mixmstr.com

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

www.adj.com

26

“Get Together”

SIR IVAN wants everyone to “Get Together” his new smash single produced by Chris Cox! www.sirivan.com

Altea-715A

Ever wanted to have wireless audio and DSP control in a speaker that actually sounds good? Stop by Booth #501 and test drive the Altea-715A. You’ll be amazed at the sound, build quality and the price! www.dasaudio.com/en/

XPRS Series Active Speakers

Combining Pioneer Pro Audio sound engineering heritage with the reliable, energy-efficient power of Powersoft amp modules, the compact, portable wooden-enclosure XPRS Series offers a plug-andplay system that fills the room with a natural sound.

Now entering its 13th year, America’s Best DJ fosters the growth of US DJ & nightlife culture by encouraging dance-music fans to support their favorite US-based DJs in a quest to crown the USA’s top jock. At the end of each summer, one DJ will be voted America’s Best DJ. www.americasbestdj.us/vote

DJ TIMES

America's Best DJ Presented by DJ Times

MARCH 2018

www.pioneerproaudio.com/en

3

1

Salty Scene DAS ENERGI FESTIVAL BRINGS BIG DJS TO SLC

2

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

3

28

4

5

DJ / CLUBWORLD

6

7

8

Salt Lake City, Utah – Immediately after DJ Expo, we jetted out West once again for the Das Energi Festival, Utah’s top EDM event.

Produced by V2 Presents and held this past Aug. 17-18, Das Energi drew 22,000 to the Great Salt Air venue to see top DJ/producers like deadmau5, Paul Van Dyk, and Rezz. In addition to quality performances by America’s Best DJ nominees like Kaskade, Dillon Francis, Morgan Page, 12 th Planet and Tritonal, Das Energi revelers were treated to a special B2B set of NGHTMRE and Snails. Despite some weather issues, the show went on – the event extended its hours to accommodate the topname acts. It all looked like this: – Brian Bonavoglia 1 Das Energi: SLC’s big party 2 Synergy Station: Late-night action.

3 Lit Up: JOYRYDE between lasers.

4 Big Boom: NGHTMRE drops a beat.

10

6 Trippy: SHARPS gets kaleidoscopic.

7 Dark Lord: Deadmau5 onstage.

8 In the Air: Morgan Page in the mix.

9 In Orbit: 12th Planet dubsteppin’.

11

10 Goggle Eyed: Rezz fan shows out.

11 Backstage: GG Magree strikes a pose.

12 Hands-Up: Utah party people.

Images by MigPxl Photography

FALL 2018

12

DJ TIMES

9

5 Fireworks: Rezz set goes ka-boom.

29

MAKING TRACKS STUDIO…HARDWARE…SOFTWARE…

ROLAND SPD-SX-SE: POWERFUL SAMPLING PAD SPD-SX SE: Useful for the stage or studio.

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

By Chris Davis

30

In 2003, Roland released the first-ever SPD-S sampling pad, providing tech-savvy percussionists a reliable way to trigger loops, samples, and full backing tracks alongside their main drum kit.

The SPD-S was met with high praise, and the SPD-SX was introduced eight years later, jampacked with new features. Fast-forward to the end of 2017, when Roland announced yet another SPD-S iteration: the SPD-SX Special Edition (aka SPD-SX-SE).

Many musicians, DJs, and producers took notice along the SPD-S’s 12-year journey, realizing that it could add a unique element to their studio workflow or fill a gap in their live performances. My own entrance to the electronic-music industry was from the perspective of a percussionist, so when I heard that Roland was releasing an updated version of the SPD-SX, I was taken back to fond memories of marching band, jamming on the SPD-S pads to the killer factory preset loops and sub-bass drops.

This time around, my mind was filled with ideas for using the SPD-SX-SE in my home studio and using it as a supplemental instrument when DJing. Instead of just mixing back-and-forth between tracks, a percussion multi-pad provides the opportunity to interact with the music and supply a unique energy to a performance.

Aesthetics & Build Quality: Roland is upfront about the fact that the SPD-SX is identical in functionality to the original SPD-SX, yet the new unit features much more internal storage—16 gigabytes (GB), to be exact—plus a shiny new coat of sparkling red-and-black paint. (And that’s always a good color scheme.)

Other visual features include a blue LCD screen with settings for backlight brightness and contrast.

The blocky iconography and 128x64 dot display

resolution are where the SPD-SX-SE begins to show its age, but hopefully, you won’t be staring at the screen as much as you will be hammering away at the nine pads.

The SPD-SX-SE’s rubber buttons on the lower half of the unit have a nice matte-black finish that feels quite nice to the touch, but I wonder if hard plastic buttons would have been a better design choice, given that my review unit had two minor issues. The black, silkscreen finish for one of my review unit’s buttons was bubbling up slightly, and a different button wasn’t stamped cleanly during manufacturing, leaving a bit of extra rubber sticking up which I mistakenly scraped off at some point, thinking it was dirt. These are minor grievances, but my limited usage left me with concerns about how these buttons will fare under years of heavy usage.

Inputs & Outputs: A standard USB-type A-toB cable is required for connecting the SPD-SX-SE to your computer. This is only necessary if you plan to use it with the included copy of Ableton Live Lite or as a MIDI controller. A USB flash drive can also be connected to the SPD-SX-SE to load in samples, and there are dedicated MIDI inputs and outputs to sync up other gear.

The SPD-SX SE has two separate mono ¼-inch audio input jacks and two trigger input jacks, supporting up to two additional pads per jack, for a total of 13 pads. These trigger jacks allow you to connect a number of external electronic drum pads or electronic cymbals, a kick trigger pad, or even drum triggers mounted on acoustic drums.

If the pads are more than enough for your arms to handle, you can extend your limbs further with up to two footswitches supported through a single footswitch input. These footswitches can trigger their own sounds, or they can be set to execute

a particular function of the SPD-SX-SE, such as cycling through your drum kits or effects.

For audio output, the unit offers ¼-inch master outputs, ¼-inch sub outputs, and a single ¼-inch stereo headphone jack.

Effects: The SPD-SX SE has dedicated “master effect” buttons to apply a filter, delay, or a short loop. There’s also a custom FX button that can be configured in settings. Options for this custom effect include a stereo delay, sync delay, tape echo, chorus, flanger, step flanger, phaser, step phaser, equalizer, compressor, customized filter, filter + drive, isolator, “touch wah,” distortion, ring modulator, pitch shifter, vibrato, reverb, and slicer.

Only one of these four “master effects” can be applied at a time, but with two control knobs, users can modulate two parameters of a chosen effect at once. For instance, if you select the master filter effect, you can simultaneously change the frequency and vary the depth of the effect.

Performance Pads: Since its inception, the SPD-S has featured nine easy-to-play, velocity-sensitive rubber pads with LED illumination for dark stages. The pads are laid out in a 3x3 grid, with the lower six pads being of a square shape.The top-row pads are rectangular, very slim, and have a raised edge, making them easy to be played like the rim of an acoustic drum or a cymbal.

If you’re programming a particularly involved live set, you can creatively link two pads together, so that hitting either of the pads will play both sounds simultaneously. You can also set a default volume and tempo for each of your kits.

Supported time signatures include 1/4 through 16/4 and 1/8 through 16/8, with the number of beats per measure supported between one and a whopping 999. I’m honestly not sure what you

might use the latter setting for, but perhaps there are performers or producers of ambient music reading this that know just the right application of 999 beats per measure.

If you’re triggering or layering sounds one after another, “mute groups” allow you to silence a specific pad when you hit a new pad. Samples can be set to play at the same dynamic level—which I found preferable when performing on the SPDSX-SE while DJing, to prevent volume spikes—or the pads can be sensitive to the force at which you strike them. I noticed that there’s support to pan sounds left or right, but many club systems are mono, so make sure your system supports stereo output before doing so.

Built-In Sounds: Out of the box, the SPD-SX SE comes with 16 factory-loaded, pre-programmed drum kits, with the ability to store 84 more kits — totaling 100. [From Roland: The 16 factory kits can be overwritten and the internal samples can be deleted.

All factory samples and the 16 factory kits can be reloaded via USB flash drive. The file with the factory samples and kits is available as a free download on the Roland website.]

The first six of the preloaded kits aren’t traditional one-shot drum samples. They are practically songs themselves, as the pre-constructed loops can loop on forever, and they sound quite nice when you get several pads going together. While the absence of a massive pre-loaded sound library isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it will require extra work for entry-level users who don’t already have massive sample libraries built-up for music production or other uses.

Kits seven through 16 are one-shot drum loops intended for use across several genres. There are acoustic drum sounds, Latin and Indian percussion sounds, electronic drum sounds made for hip-hop, house and disco, plus harsher drum sounds intended for use in dubstep and drum-n-bass music. There are even a few kits with effects pre-applied, such as the “808 Reverb” and “909 Delay” kits.

Sampling: The SPD-SX allows you to sample approximately 180 minutes of stereo sounds or approximately 360 minutes of mono sounds into its internal memory. This includes the samples that come preloaded on the device. WAV or AIF/AIFF files are supported, but they must be 16-bit audio with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz. You can adjust a sample’s pitch, normalize volume if it’s not loud enough, and even reverse the sample.

All things considered, the SPD-SX provides six different methods of sampling: 1. “Basic Sampling” to a single pad.

2. “Multi Pad” sampling successively to multiple pads.

3. The “Merge” method combines two samples

into one.

4. “With FX” sampling applies an effect to a sample.

5. “Chop” sampling allows you to cut a sample

into slices.

6.“Perform & Record” sampling records the audio

of a performance.

“Multi Pad” sampling pad-to-pad offered a workflow that I found to be the quickest and easiest. In comparison to other pad-based instruments struck by a drumstick, the SPD-SX SE’s single most competitive feature is its sampling prowess.

Samples and settings can be loaded in easily via USB flash drive. Alternatively, the SPD-SX Wave Manager application can be installed on your com-

puter, allowing you to import audio files using a much more intuitive drag-and-drop interface that imports and assigns a sample in a single step.

A final option is connecting directly to the SPDSX SE via two mono ¼-inch inputs. Roland missed an opportunity to add a built-in XLR input for sampling via microphone. A stereo ¼-inch input would have been another nice improvement.

In The Studio: The included Ableton Live Lite license gives you the power to produce your own original samples and even use the SPD-SX SE as a controller for Ableton. You can also stream audio directly from Ableton Live Lite through the SPDSX-SE and tweak the sound with the on-board master effects.

But the unit isn’t limited to being used with Ableton Live. USB MIDI provides the option to trigger your production software in creative ways, such as using the SPD-SX to control your favorite software drum machine.

Producers, once you finish a track, I recommend muting your drum tracks and thinking about how you could perform the missing elements live. You don’t have to play out every part of a drum track live, but maybe you could fill in a breakdown, or trigger a rhythmic melody with the SPD-SX. On Stage: Complementing the SPD-SX-SE’s sparkling red paint are bright red lights that blink in time with the music, when a pad is struck, or when any of the unit’s buttons or knobs are pressed. These lights will come in handy on dark stages or in environments with poor monitoring, assuming your SPD-SX-SE’s internal clock is synced up to your DJ software or other electronics via MIDI. At 5 pounds, 9 ounces (2.5 kg) and with a 143/8- x 13-1/16-inch footprint, the SPD-SX SE is lightweight and easily transported while on tour.

But before you get ready to step onstage, you’ll want to consider investing in Roland’s official (continued on page 42)

SOUNDING OFF PLAYBACK…PRO AUDIO…PROCESSING

MULTI-PURPOSE: YAMAHA’S STAGEPAS BT

By DJ Deets

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

Bluetooth-Enabled: STAGEPAS units go wireless.

32

Obviously, the cornerstone of many DJ set-ups is its loudspeaker system. From small monitors to the most-robust line arrays, the right speakers allow DJs to share their music with a variety of audiences.

And, much like the variations in other types of DJ gear, there is a plethora of speaker systems available to DJs. Home set-ups and studios can make do with small, highly-responsive monitors. Large concerts, touring acts, and many clubs rely on installed line-array speakers. In between monitors and the installed sound of large venues, mobile-DJ setups often use powered PA systems with inbuilt amplifiers and additional powered subwoofers. These are known for their portability and sound quality, allowing DJs to transport them to various venues.

Such is the case with Yamaha’s S TAG E PA S l i n e o f p o r t a b l e PA systems, which promises to offer a complete, all-in-one solution for anyone looking for a portable PA system.

Initially launched a few years ago, Yamaha’s STAGEPAS series of portable PA systems ships with two speaker units and an analog powered mixer that sends sound signals to the two speakers through included cables.

STAGEPAS comes in two sizes – the 400 or the 600 – loosely referring to the overall wattage. The 400 comes with a two-band, 8-channel mixer, and the 600 gets an upgraded three-band,

10-channel mixer.

N o t o n ly u s e d by D J s , t h e s e systems are purchased by bands, venues needing live sound, mobile s p e a ke r s g i v i n g p re s e n t a t i o n s , and entertainers – and they have been known for their versatility, reliability, and portability. Legions of fans purchased thousands and have made them currently one of the most popular PA systems currently available. For DJs specifically, they offer an exciting all-in-one solution that provides good sound coverage for small- to medium-sized events, especially with background music or additional zones of sound.

Updating them, Yamaha in 2018 launched the second version (STAGEPAS BT), which stays true to the original design and adds wireless Bluetooth functionality to the mixer.

The mixer now features a Bluetooth receiver that can be paired to any Bluetooth-enabled device. Yamaha claims the Bluetooth range is 10 meters or about 33 feet, and I found that to be mostly true.

With any Bluetooth device, there are other factors that impact range, including the room dimensions and layout. For instance, I would probably hesitate to leave the STAGEPAS system running a Bluetooth connection in a different room, even if it was less than 10 meters away. If I wanted to run an additional room of music, I would probably use a laptop, an MP3 player, or a phone connected

via headphone jack directly to the mixer.

Similar to many other PA systems, unboxing the STAGEPAS BT system is a simple, straightforward affair. The large box that the speakers come in is split into two separate compartments, one to accommodate each speaker.

To avoid damage during transit, each speaker is wrapped with a protective covering, and the box offers ample padding all around. Inside the box, there are the two speakers, the mixer, and an assortment of cables and wires. The mixer receives power and, in turn, powers the speakers via cables. This makes setting up the STAGEPAS easier, as only the mixer needs to be plugged in.

Weighing in at either 17 pounds or 24 pounds, depending on the wattage, each speaker is housed in a plastic casing with a robust metal faceplate covering the subwoofer driver. The 600BT uses a 10-inch, low-frequency driver and the 400BT uses a smaller 8-inch, low-frequency driver. Both deliver a healthy performance, with the 400BT reaching a maximum of 125 dB, and the 600 BT reaching 129 dB. Despite being plastic, the speakers seem plenty durable for mobile use.

For the user’s convenience, there are handles on the top of each speaker and a sturdy hole on the bottom for mounting them to a speaker stand.

The mixer that accompanies the unit has a dedicated stowage location at

the back of one of the speakers. To ensure it doesn’t fall out, it locks in place and is detached with the flip of a spring-loaded switch. For more compact setups that might not have room for the mixer, it is still fully operational when stowed. On the other speaker, there is a concealed cubby where the mixer would go that can carry cables and other extra accessories.

As for the mixer itself, it certainly is a nice addition to the STAGEPAS speakers. Not only powering the speakers, it can easily serve as an analog mixer for general studio use or other applications. It receives signal from either XLR, TRS, RCA, or an 1/8-inch stereo input (to connect the headphone output of a phone, PC or other device), easily enough to support several DJs, multiple microphones, or even a full band.

I really liked how Yamaha was able to incorporate so many potential inputs into such a small form factor, especially considering that the STAGEPAS is marketed as a one-stop PA solution.

For condenser microphones, the mixer can even support 48V phantom power. The only drawback of the external mixer and amplifier is the fact that it needs almost constant cooling, meaning that there is a perceptible hum coming from unit’s cooling fan, which, according to the company, allows it to put out (continued on page 40)

MOBILE PROFILE CAREERS…INNOVATIONS…SUCCESS STORIES

DJ TURNS CASINO LUCK INTO A CAREER

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

By Stu Kearns

34

Ithaca, N.Y. — Mike Melice’s DJ career started at the blackjack table, when he was just out of college and working at a grocery store.

“I knew that I wanted to be a DJ, but working a part-time job, I could barely afford my rent,” says Melice. He couldn’t see himself dropping everything to pursue a “dream” at that time. It was then that the risk-embracing aspect of his personality emerged. He found himself at the casino, with the last $50 he had to his name.

Quickly, Melice lost $25 at the blackjack table. He was left with $25 in chips, and a decision to make: Should he save this money to be able to eat, or take a chance and go all-in at the craps table?

“I was ready to make this bet,” he says. “I told my friends with me that night, ‘If I win, tomorrow I will buy turntables and become a DJ.’” He bet on number 21, and somehow, that white ball landed on it, as if by some divine intervention. Melice walked out of the casino with a little under $1,000.

The next day he purchased his first set of turntables and a mixer. “I relied on a friend of mine, Pete Murphy, who had been DJing for a while and battled in a few competitions, to teach me basics, and was able to show me how to use the mixer, how to bring songs in, mix and scratch, and he let me use some of his crates of records to learn on.”

Melice was on his way to fulfillment because he had always been a huge fan of music. “Throughout high school I was ‘that guy’ who always needed to have all the newest cassette tapes and CDs. I was also the first at my school to get a CD burner and Napster – in 1999, that was a big deal! I was even into burning CDs in exchange for homework assignments with classmates.”

After graduating high school in 2002, Melice moved out of his parents’ house and into a small apartment with a friend. “We lived for the weekend life,” he says. “Partying at frat houses at Cornell University, just as any 18 year olds would do.”

There was one frat party he’d never forget. “The DJ playing that night was absolutely killing it,” he recalls. “Every song, every mix, every scratch was onpoint. I was fascinated what this DJ was doing.This was the first time I realized something else was more important than partying, and I knew that night I wanted to become a DJ.” He began playing for Cornell fraternities under a multi-op that offered DJ and security services.This lasted nearly five years, and in that time he was able to upgrade his equipment and survive. He transitioned into the club-and-bar nightlife all over central New York, and in 2003 he became an independent DJ. “Fifteen years later, I am very proud to say that DJing has changed my life forever. I have been able to work with amazing corporate clients, brands, couples and even share stage with artists like Maino, multiple members of the Wu-Tang Clan, Yung Joc, and DJ Shiftee, to name a few.”

Melice has remained a single-op because he’s able to work with his clients from start to finish. “I love to turn their vision into reality by using the latest and greatest technology,” he says. “I do this by using DJ lighting, special effects, and audio. Unlike most DJs, I take chances with new technology to help separate myself from my competition.”

He packages tech enhancements into his offerings, including multimedia with video messages, animated monograms, Chauvet DJ’s SoundSwitch with interactive light shows custom-built for special entrances, Pro X spark indoor fireworks, dancing on clouds, drones, a Hollywood-style photobooth, CO2 and confetti cannons, intelligent club lighting, etc. — features that have helped him increase the price on the “average” event. Says Melice: “They’ve made diverse clients very happy.”

On the further gear front, Melice has access to a variety of systems. Depending on the event, he’ll use two Pioneer DJ CDJ-2000NSX2 media players, two Technics SL-1210m5g turntables, a Pioneer DJ DJM-S9 mixer, and/or a Pioneer DJ DDJ-SZ2 controller. He has a MacBook Pro i7 with Serato Pro 2.0 and MixEmergency software. For PA, he uses RCF loudspeakers – EVOX tops and RCF HD32-A subs.

Young Vet: Mike Melice, a 15-year single-op.

For microphone presentations, he uses a Sennheiser G3 Series wireless system. For mic EQ, feedback suppression and remote gain control, he uses a QSC Audio TouchMix-8 compact digital mixer. In addition to SoundSwitch, he uses Chauvet lighting, including Intimidator Spot 255 IRC and Intimidator Beam 140SR units.

He says one of the best parts of being a DJ in 2018 is having multiple record pools available to be able to stay current on music, while having the best possible sound quality. He uses Ableton Live software to do his own edits when needed.

“But, for the most part, I rely on record pools like DMS, SmashVision and the newest record pool Crate Gang, started by a good friend and one of the best DJs I know, DJ Ragoza. Having the best version of the music you play and being able to mix it well helps keep more energy on the dancefloor. One of the biggest mistakes I see is DJs being complacent with technology and music. The most important part of being a DJ is reading your crowd and being able to play music based on the reactions you get with previous songs.”

Melice’s recipe for a packed dancefloor? Being able to read the crowd, having the best audio edits, and the ability to mix seamlessly — a skill he first saw at one of those frat parties, which inspired him to get into this crazy business 15 years ago. “One of those DJs,” he says, “is now one of my good friends and still amazing on the turntables — DJ Double A.” Melice hopes that he can use his current position as a mobile DJ to inspire others — as he did at this past DJ Expo, when he co-moderated a panel on tech innovations for DJs. “The more DJs who are passionate about the industry… it just raises the bar for the rest of us.”

SALES… MARKETING…SOLUTIONS… BUSINESS LINE

By Miles Burke

MISSED DJ EXPO? HERE’S SOME SCIENCE FOR YOU

Who Are Millennials?

Millennials are people born between the early 1980s to the mid-1990s.

What Defines a Generation?

A generation is a group of people born around the same period who were affected by the same life-changing events and share the same attitudes and values.

Events That Defined This Generation: 9/11 Columbine Shooting Iraq & Afghanistan Wars High-speed internet

Technology dependent: As DJs we use a lot of really amazing technology to take events to the next level (explain some of the unique features that you offer). Millennials will want to hear what you have to offer. Also being very tech-dependent, the best way to contact your millennial clients is via email or text messaging.

Delayed Adulthood: Most millennials are getting married, buying a house and starting a family at an older age. Expect most of your wedding clients to be in the late-20s to mid-30s.

So when you talk about music try to think back to their high school/college years and what songs were big around that time.

Instant Gratification: You have an 80-percent higher closing ratio when you do one simple thing – respond to inquiries within the first five minutes.

Millennials love when you respond quickly since they are probably looking at their phone waiting for you.

Welcome Diversity: Don’t be afraid to advertise images of different types of events, same-sex weddings, biracial weddings, etc.

What Are Some of the Characteristics of Millennials?

Technology dependent Delayed adulthood Instant gratification Welcome diversity Outcome-driven Least-religious generation They all believe they are special and unique Socially connected

Outcome-Driven: Show pictures, videos of your past events, make sure to have reviews your clients can see. Ensure your clients that they made the right choice by booking you and their event will be amazing. Envision what you are going to do for them.

Least-Religious Generation: You will find that many wedding clients choose to get married at the same location as the reception. Also, ceremonies are getting shorter every year.

The average ceremony length is about 20 minutes. Let your clients know that you have the right equipment to ensure that everything goes smooth during their ceremony.

They Believe They Are Special & Unique: Cater to each and every client differently. Let them know that their event is your No. 1 priority and that everything will be customized to fit to their style, colors and theme.

Socially Connected: Don’t forget to share your social-media pages with your clients. Millennials love showing family and friends pictures and videos of the vendors they just hired and makes them feel more connected to your company. Also, by doing this, they will be tagging your company for next time they see a friend looking for a DJ. Also using programs that support social media integration will help you score brownie points when you mention this during your first meeting.

SOUNDSWITCH TECHNOLOGY From Chauvet DJ comes SoundSwitch, which gives DJs the ability to seamlessly integrate DMX lighting with live audio, through a software-hardware package. It’s opened up the doors of creativity by allowing me to control all of my lights in the room and coordinate them to a specific song.

This is a great option to present to your brides who want to do a choreographed first dance. When my couples come to my office, I give them a demonstration on how I am able to control the lights and how we can make a special sequence just for them. They absolutely love the ability to have a personal touch on the lighting for their first dance.

You can’t pull this off in every venue. For a venue with a lot of natural light, I would not recommend the special light show for their first dance... unless you are able to move the first dance to later in the evening when the natural light is not as bright.

I am also able to win over couples that may be on the fence when it comes to uplighting because their venue has uplighting.

I have run into two frequent occurrences when venues have their own uplighting. Either there is not enough or they are not familiar with the lights to unlock their full potential. A great example of this is only showing the bride the stock colors and not showing them that you can custom mix colors.

JAMMText JAMMText is a service that I picked up last year and have had great success with. JAMMText allows your guests to be able to send text messages or photos to TVs during the open dancing portion of your wedding reception.

I am very confident that all DJs are at least on Instagram and Facebook and understand the importance of a hashtag. I have noticed that wedding receptions that create their own hashtag do not get a lot of photos from their guests. On the other hand, since JAMMText can automatically share the photo to their hashtag, the weddings that have used this service are loaded with fun photos.

Each photo that is sent in will show up on your screen, so you can either approve or deny the photo. This is very important to watch, especially towards the final hour of the night.

What’s great about this service is at the end of the night the bride and the groom will receive photos from all of their friends and family, some of which were saved on their phone for years that eventually were forgotten. This also adds entertainment to their dancefloor and is another way to connect everyone not just through dancing.

Another plus for us is all of the phone numbers that sent the photos in are saved. The next day I always send out a thank-you text with social-media links. This service is monthly subscription-based and I typically will include this in the cost with the Video Voice Over as I will be using the same TVs. Thank you all!

FALL 2018

After introducing ourselves, we explain what makes us qualified to run this seminar and why it’s so important to target millennials.

LET’S USE THOSE CHARACTERISTICS TO SELL TO MILLENNIALS

DJ TIMES

For the who did not get the chance to attend the DJ Expo this past August, here’s the outline from Mick Uranko and Mike Felice’s seminar, “Tech Innovations for DJs.”

35

GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

Batting 6000 Audio-Technica 1221 Commerce Drive Stow, OH 44224 (330) 686-2600 www.audio-technica.com The ATW-T6002x Handheld Transmitter is part of Audio-Technica’s 6000 Series High Density Wireless System. The unit features a metal construction body, high-visibility OLED screen, soft-touch controls and switchable RF power. In addition, the ATW-T6002x comes with an industry-standard thread mount that allows for the use of six new interchangeable A-T microphone capsules—the ATW-C510, ATW-C710, ATW-C4100, ATW-C6100, ATWC3300, and ATW-C5400.

UNO Dos Tres IK Multimedia 1153 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy Sunrise, FL 33323 (954) 846-9101 www.ikmultimedia.com UNO Synth is IK Multimedia’s first hardware synthesizer. The portable, battery-powered unit features 100 presets, 80 of which are fully rewriteable. Each preset also includes an associated arpeggio and sequence. There are 40 onboard controls and a keyboard that features selectable scales and an arpeggiator. It comes with a powerful engine that offers an all-analog audio path with two VCOs, noise generator, resonant multimode VCF and VCA, as well as seven LFO waveforms— Sine,Triangle, Square, Up Saw, Down Saw, Random and Sample-and-Hold—to modulate pitch, filter, amp and continuous oscillator wave shapes.

Noun & Reverb Reverb 3345 N Lincoln Avenue Chicago, IL, 60657 (888) 726-2728 www.reverb.com

DJ TIMES

Reverb.com has launched a new online marketplace for buying and selling records called Reverb LP, which can be found at LP.Reverb.com. Reverb LP provides curated collections for DJs, record stores, collectors, and music fans to help them discover new music and build their record collections. According to the company, users will get a “painless selling experience [with] the lowest fees in the industry.”

36

AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

GEAR

Print It! DNP Photo Imaging 4524 Enterprise Dr. NW Concord, NC 28027 (704) 784-8100 www.dnpphoto.com An addition to DNP’s line of DS Series printers, the DS620A is an ultra-compact, professional-grade photo printer that can produce up to 400 prints per hour – perfect for mobile DJs and event companies working with photo booths. At 10.8- by 14.4-inches deep by 6.7-inches high, the DS620A has a small footprint that allows for easy transportation and stacking with additional printers for high- output functionality. The DS620A is capable of quickly producing photo strips and square prints in a variety of sizes and finishes. Environmentally friendly, both energy consumption and media waste have been optimized in the DS620A.

All About That Bass Loopmasters 1 Regency Mews Silverdale Road Eastbourne, East Sussex BN20 7AB United Kingdom www.loopmasters.com

ACID & Nancy

Loopmasters’ Bass Master is a synth that features a curated set of 217 waveforms across two layers, resulting in almost 50,000 possible combinations. Bass Master comes with over 350 mix-ready presets, each of which comes with parameters ready-mapped to the three-slot mod wheel matrix so that every patch is ready to modulate throughout the track. There is a frequency booster, as well as an onboard filter that offers 13 filter types, including a range of low-pass, band-pass and highpass models, ladder filters and a comb filter. Also included are three effects—distortion, stereo chorus and reverb.

MAGIX Software GmbH Quedlinburger Strasse 1 10589 Berlin Germany +49 30 293 92 -200 www.magix.net ACID Pro 8 is the DAW’s first major update in 10 years, offering a 64-bit architecture that MAGIX Software says will “offer all the latency free power you need and support for state-of-the-art 64-bit instruments.” The company redesigned the GUI to enhance working in a dimmed environment and added a variety of instruments, loops and effects that includes 11 Vita solo instruments and a 9GB library of all new ACIDized loops and samples. Additional features include 24-bit, 192kHz multitrack recording and advanced MIDI and audio editing features.

37

GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

XPRS Yourself Pioneer DJ Americas 2050 W. 190th Street Suite 109 Torrance, CA 90504 (424) 488-0480 www.pioneerdj.com Pioneer Pro Audio expanded its XPRS Series with the XPRS10 two-way full range speaker and the XPRS115S single 15-inch subwoofer. The wedge-shaped XPRS10 has a 10-inch LF driver, a 1.75-inch titanium diaphragm compression driver, and four EQ modes with built-in DSP. It can be placed on the floor as a foldback monitor or pole-mounted at a zero- or seven-degree tilt. The XPRS115S features 15-inch drivers and a crossover switch that lets users adjust the low pass filter cut-off at various stages between 80 Hz and 150 Hz. Both models are housed in 15mm birch plywood enclosures.

Basic Training Transformizer www.transformizer.com Building on the adaptive engine of Transformizer Pro, the Transformizer Basic plug-in is optimized for music production, according to the company.

Transformizer Basic “lets the user work with one master and one child audio file and kick in the magic instantly, using a Randomizer feature.” This plug-in allows one audio file’s pitch and/or amplitude control the behavior of another and allows users to define the length of one or more bars in the Master file section and lock it to the project’s tempo. Transformizer Basic is available on Avid Marketplace, as well as on the Transformizer website.

Suite Tooth

DJ TIMES

MAY 2018

Mastersounds www.mastersounds.co.uk

38

Mastersounds and Union Audio released a next-generation product suite that includes the new 4V flagship analog DJ mixer series, which comes with four fullyfeatured channel strips with Aux send, input level trim, illuminated input select switch, three-band asymmetric EQ switch and more. Also included is the MasterSounds FX unit, which offers three products in one box—an analog-emulating FX section with analog output, an analog filter unit, and an analog distortion system. The suite also comes with the LinearPOWER power supply accessory and v2 of the Radius 2 and 4 mixer range.

Paul van Dyk

TRACKS…MIXES…COMPILATIONS “MUSIC RESCUES ME” u Paul van Dyk feat. Plumb u Vandit

u Fabo feat. Lostcause u Stranjjur Lowerdz & Stereo do remix justice to this 2012 track – originally, a deep-house cut – by reworking it into a high-energy, electro groove. With reverbed vocals, hard-hitting synths and killer drops, this mix will work the floor.

– Jennifer Harmon

– Jennifer Harmon

“FALL TO RAISE UP”

u MK, Jonas Blue & Becky Hill u Area 10/Ultra

Heavyweight stuff, as this one sees DJ Meme team up with Jay Sebag from Rockin’ Music fame for a peaktime vocal number. For the remix, Eric Kupper takes matters down a deeper route.

On this seriously grooving house cut, Hill’s powerful vocals really carry it over the top. Also, check out the wicked “MK Dub,” for its build-up/ breakdown and chopped/rewound vocals. Terrific.

– Curtis Zack “LOST WITHOUT U” u HiFi Sean feat. Paris Grey u Glitterbox The Glitterbox juggernaut rolls on with this classic-sounding cut. Only one mix at present, however, that’s plenty with Grey’s strong vocals, plus its deep piano melodies and haunting strings.

– Curtis Zack

– Jennifer Harmon “ROCKET SCIENCE”

u Above & Beyond u Anjunabeats On this pulsing floor-burner, A&B drops a terrifically tingly breakdown and a whopping synth build-up to round out the robust sound. Dramatic and euphoric, as one might expect.

– Jennifer Harmon

ESCAPE

u Gorgon City u Capital Overflowing with bright basslines, irresistible hooks, vibrant synths and captivating vocals, GC’s new full-length stays true to its winning, hallmark sound. Pop-house dancefloor killers include the single “Real Life,” plus “Never Enough,” “Night Drive” and “Let It Go.” Well-crafted and tight.

– Jennifer Harmon

“JOSEPHINE” (REMIXES)

u Ferrari & Bergamasco feat. Marc Evans u King Street One of Evans’ biggest tracks to date gets a reboot from Mark Di Meo and Rightside. Unsurprisingly, it’s a super-soulful workout that brings out the best in the vocals. Also check the organ-led dub from Terrence Parker.

– Curtis Zack

“HIDEAWAY”

u David Morales feat. blondewearingblack u DIRIDIM

MK

Reprising De’Lacy’s 1995 hit, Morales and crew deliver hit the right chords with this emotional, ladies-first, deep-house anthem. Go with the Classic Mix and the dancefloor will approve.

“EASY LOVIN’”

u DJ James Ingram & Sheree Hicks u Groove Culture Australia meets Chicago via Italy for this latest release on Groove Culture. A peak-time disco offering with a full vocal and driving disco bass.

– Tommy D Funk “FOLLOW YOUR EYES”

Above & Beyond

– Curtis Zack “YOUR TOUCH”

u Sounom & Sagou feat. The Nameless Girl u IBZ Deep

u Kathy Brown & Booker T u KB Records

Goth Fan Alert: Here’s a terrific dancefloor rework of The Cure’s early classic “A Forest.”

Maintaining the original’s hypnotic vibe, echoes and breathy vocal resonances, this club version works perfectly for early-evening or sunrise sets.

With her unmistakable vocals, Ms. Brown hooks up with the sharp production Gary Booker T for a track of pure quality. A sublime vocal, a skippy groove and some devastating organ stabs make this an essential vocal track.

– Jennifer Harmon

– Curtis Zack

Guy Williams

GUEST REVIEWER: GUY WILLIAMS

“EROTIC TENDENCIES” Lee Curtiss feat. Desmond “DSP” Powell Classic Music Recordings On the “Luke Solomon & Honey Dijon Feel Like Dancin' Remix,” I’m loving the low-slung, funk groove.

It’s driving with purple shades of Prince and a great vocal – impossible not to shake your hips to.

What's not to love?

FALL 2018

David Morales

“BACK & FORTH”

u DJ Meme feat. Jay Sebag u DIRIDIM

DJ TIMES

Gorgon City

“WHERE I STAND” (REMIX)

PVD delivers another epic, gorgeous, vocal trance tune. The club mix begins with pounding kicks and spacey synths, as if you’re settling in for a tough track, but it gradually shifts into uplifting territory with its earworm chorus. And check the mid-track, orchestral breakdown – breathtaking.

39

Alan Walker

(continued from page 8) new things, because people will get tired of the same old stuff after a while. You have to be true to yourself as an artist but willing to experiment with sounds.

DJ Times: Compared to mainstream-EDM sounds, many of your productions are more quiet and emotional. How do you translate these tracks to festival audiences?

Wa l ke r : G o o d q u e s t i o n . I t

Sounding Off

(continued from page 32) more power than similar, competing products. When there is music playing loudly, it’s impossible to hear, but when there isn’t audio coming from the speakers, the hum is certainly noticeable, especially close to the mixer.

Personally, I used the STAGEPAS for mobile applications, as studio speakers, and as stage monitors. In the studio, I enjoyed having the flexibility of the included mixer, which allowed me to plug in several different inputs.

As a booth monitor, the STAGEPAS system performs well, giving DJs a good, clear sound that is distinguishable from the main house sound.

However, it was in mobile applica-

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

Misstress Barbara

40

(continued from page 15) chances I’ll pull vinyl out again and throw in some old classics – but usually that’s at Piknic Électronik. Even when I play four-hour sets at Stereo, for example, I don’t necessarily bring vinyl. I think it has more to do with the type of event. Maybe with Piknic being a classic gig for me, I bring out classics.

DJ Times: Moving onto the studio, what’s your DAW? Barbara: Depends on the type of music I produce. If I make techno, I’ll use Ableton Live, no questions asked.

If I make pop or a more song-oriented project, in general, I’ll use Logic or Pro Tools. I really love Logic to work with vocals or any live recording because of how easy and enjoyable it is to comp.

I also love mixing down on Logic. But to make tracks, Ableton is really easy and fast.

DJ Times: Favorite plug-ins?

Barbara: Lately, I use less and less plug-ins and more hardware, but I really enjoy some of the FabFilter plug-ins, Arturia, Applied Acoustics and Native Instruments. I know it’s not very specific, but the list is way too long.

DJ Times: So what vintage gear do you use?

Barbara: I use my [Roland] TR-909, as well as the [Roland] Juno-106 a lot.

DJ Times: I’ve read that you seem to take on the responsibility of being a strong woman in a DJ/production field dominated by men, number-wise.

You’ve obviously succeeded in this field, but does it remain something that drives you?

definitely helps to use various remixes and edits, either by myself or others.

But I also try to take the audience on a journey that continuously builds energ y during my sets, and var y between different tempos and keys.

It’s all about reading the room.

DJ Times: Is it difficult to switch from performer to producer?

Walker: Personally, I don’t think so. But there are some different as-

pects to take into consideration. As a performer, you get an immediate reaction. You can actually see how the crowd moves. As a producer, however, you won’t get that feedback until later. So, producing, you are putting in a lot of work before you get that positive energy thrown back at you.

DJ Times: You are currently sitting on an artist album (World of Walker).

What was it like to make a full body of work rather than standalone singles?

Walker: The album is something that I’m constantly working on, and it is always evolving. But it’s definitely interesting to work on a cohesive project with multiple songs that will work together as well as individual tracks. Excited to get it out!

– Ryan Hayes

tions where the STAGEPAS really shone. I found the STAGEPAS system decently loud for small-to-medium events, especially when coupled with an external subwoofer or two. Its low weight and self-contained form factor eliminated my need to pack an additional analog mixer, which decreased my setup and teardown times. In terms of sound quality, the speakers aren’t designed to be as crystal-clear as hi-fidelity audiophile speakers, but they certainly do a good job amplifying music at high volumes with minimal distortion.

It should also be noted that STAGEPAS includes some nifty effects and other features. They include: SPX

digital reverb, which gives users access to four reverb settings (plate, room, hall and echo); Reverb footswitch for instant, hands-free control – good for quick muting when MCing events; 1-Knob Master EQ; and Feedback Suppressor.

In conclusion, the STAGEPAS BT line of speakers is a good choice for anyone looking for an all-in-one PA system that fulfills live-sound applications – DJs or bands. I could also see frequent house partiers, or even corporate customers purchasing these if they regularly need amplified sound.

In a competitive pro-audio market, the biggest competitor to the

STAGEPAS BT, in my opinion, might even be the original STAGEPAS. The addition of Bluetooth connectivity isn’t a must-have feature for many, unless wireless operation is necessary from the get-go; in that sense, the original STAGEPAS line make fine speakers and are incrementally cheaper than their Bluetoothequipped stablemates. That being said, the STAGEPAS BT speakers are definitely worth checking out.

STAGEPAS 400BT costs $699, and S TAG E PA S 6 0 0 B T c o s t s $ 8 9 9 .

Thumbs up, Yamaha.

Barbara: It has never been a goal or a driving force for me to fight for women rights in this business. Rest assured that it’s not a pleasant activity for me. I do it naturally, just because I know how tough it is. I’ve been there, dealt with it and still deal with it regularly – even though nowadays I might deal with that more as a producer than as a DJ. Believe me, if I could just focus on music without having to deal with that or fight for that at all, life would be much simpler. It is not a subject that pleases me, but unfortunately it’s a reality that we shouldn’t be oblivious to.

DJ Times: As a global DJ, what’s the biggest challenge in bringing out your best at each gig?

Barbara: What’s important is to stay alert and aware of new music, new releases. It can be a challenge if you suddenly stop liking all that’s new. It’s happened to me a few times throughout my career, where I felt lost and didn’t like anything new anymore – and I actually started wondering if maybe I didn’t love my job anymore.

But it always comes back. I think it happens to everyone, especially when you’ve been doing this for so long and you’ve gone through a few generations of DJs. We can’t love everything at every moment.

DJ Times: So what are you digging now?

Barbara: I feel lucky now because I really enjoy the new techno that’s being made and released at the moment.

It’s very old school, raw, hard and back

to the roots. But a couple of years ago, I wasn’t into the new releases so much and I was struggling in my DJ sets because there was nothing much that was new that I liked – and that’s tough.

I know that same feeling will come around again – it’s inevitable. It’s like fashion. Some years, we go shopping and we hate everything that’s on the shelves, and some years we could go broke because we want to buy everything. Everything is a cycle. Everything constantly changes, thankfully!

DJ Times: Which producers are you feeling these days?

Barbara: There are a lot of producers I really love at the moment!

Thomas Schumacher. Anna. Wehbba.

Petter B. Coyu. 2pole. Drumcomplex, and the list goes on. I think it’s a really exciting time for techno. I don’t know where it will be going, but it will change again. Old styles will come back again and then be gone again.

DJ Times: Which DJs most influenced you?

Barbara: To be brutally honest, I’ve always been more inspired by producers than other DJs. I’ve rarely been mind blown by other DJs. No one quite ever has the groove I like or does things the way I would. And by that, I’m not saying I am perfect, but simply that music is something we feel. If at a precise moment, I feel like I want something, in particular, but the DJ doesn’t give it to me then, or brings me somewhere I wouldn’t have gone, or maybe not yet… then it means we’re not on the same wavelength. It’s

a bit like lovemaking… I find many DJs lack subtleness, lack telling a story, or perhaps they tell a story that I simply don’t follow or understand, and I’m sure it’s the same for me with some people. It’s the nature of tastes, and it’s OK. DJ Times: Any advice for up-andcoming DJs? Barbara: The only advice I have ever given since the beginning of my career, 22 years ago, and that I still give today is: Do what you love! Don’t play the music you think will make you popular because it’s trendy right now, simply because if it’s not the music that moves you, you won’t be convincing and authentic. Don’t ever do anything just to be popular or successful as the ultimate goal. Do it because it touches you and it moves you. Only then will you be able to move other people, and people will buy your story and they will want to come back for more.

DJ Times: What’s next for Misstress Barbara? Any new music on the horizon?

Barbara: I’ve been making quite a bit of music this year that I’ve been sitting on for months. But now it’s time I send it all out and start releasing it. So you can expect new releases from me in 2019. Also, I’m very excited to have recently joined Analog North America Agency, so I’m hoping to start coming back to the U.S. in 2019, as it’s been a while that I haven’t toured there and I hear things are getting exciting again for techno in the U.S. n

MP3s in 56

Compiled As October 5, 2018

NATIONAL CROSSOVER POOL CHART

NATIONAL URBAN POOL CHART

1 Metro F/ Nelly Furtado Sticks & Stones Radikal 2 Emily Perry Summer On Lock Dauman 3 Hilary Roberts There For You Redbird/Dauman 4 Cash Cash F/ Abir Finest Hour Atlantic 5 Rita Ora F/Cardi B.Bebe Rexha & Charli XCX Girls Roc Nation 6 Christina Aguilera Accelerate RCA 7 Maroon 5 F/ Cardi B Girls Like You Interscope 8 Ariana Grande No Tears Left To Cry Republic 9 Djs From Mars Somewhere Above The Cloud Radikal 10 Tiesto & Dzeko F/ Pr Jackie Chan Republic 11 Sir Ivan Get Together Peaceman 12 Kygo Remind Me To Forget Ultra 13 Axwell & Ingrosso F/ RØMANS Dancing Alone Capitol 14 Jonas Blue F/ Jack & Jack Rise Capitol 15 Cara Alessia Growing Pains Def Jam 16 Clean Bandit F/ Demi Lovato Solo Big Beat 17 Celine Dion Ashes Columbia 18 Seeb X Dagny Drink About Island 19 Backstreet Boys Don't Go Breaking My Heart RCA 20 Foster The People Sit Next To Me Columbia 21 Diana Ross I'm Coming Out-Upside Down Motown 22 Selena Gomez Back To You Interscope 23 Cardi B / Bad Bunny I Like It Atlantic 24 Chris Cox & Lee Dagger Messin With My Mind Carrillo 25 U2 Love Is Bigger Than Anything Island 26 Halsey F/ Big Sean & Stefflon Don Alone Capitol 27 Ariana Grande God Is A Woman Republic 28 Adam K & Soha F/ HALIENE Twilght Vs Breathe Armada 29 Enrique Iglesias F/ Pitbull Move To Miami RCA 30 Galactic Marvel / KC Get Down Tonight Armada 31 Drake In My Feelings Republic 32 Armin VanBuuren F/ James Newman Therapy Armada 33 David Guetta & Sia Flames Warner Brothers 34 Kim Cameron Fearless Lovers Side FX 35 Manuel Riva Alexandra Stan Miami Radikal 36 Janet Jackson Made For Now Rhythm Nation 37 Shawn Mendes In My Blood Republic 38 Bazzi Mine Atlantic 39 Sabrina Carpenter & Jonas Blue Alien Hollywood 40 Kylie Minogue Stop Me From Falling EMI

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

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

Lenny Kravitz Martin Garrix F/ Khalid Cara Alessia Loud Luxury F/ Brando The House Enthusiast Anne Marie F/ Ed Sheeran Calvin Harris Adam K & Soha F/ HALIENE & Matthew Steeper Galactic Marvel F/ KC & The Sunshine Band Janet Jackson

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

OMAP Carlos Cabrera Gary Canavo Blake Eckelbarger Chris Egner The Dance Environment Manny Esparza Ilan Fong Howard HK Kessler Sam Labelle Dan Mathews Randy Schlager Brian Stephens Peter K. Productions Steve Tsepelis Jackie McCloy

Low Ocean Growing Pains Body New York Made Me 2002 Promises Twilght Vs Breathe Get Down Tonight Made For Now

BMG RCA Def Jam Armada BDK Atlantic Columbia Armada Armada Rhythm Nation

Al Chasen Washington, DC Nashville,TN Masspool Saugus,MA Dj Stickyboots Goshen,NJ Victors Milwaukee,WI Powered By Spectrio Nexus Radio Chicago,IL Kahoots Columbus,OH In The Mix With HK Minneapolis,MN Soundworks San Francisco,CA Klubjumpers / RHYTHM 105.9 FM KRYC Sacramento, CA Music Manager NA / Soundtrack Your Band Seattle,WA Mixxmasters Lithonia,GA Peter K Pacific Coast DJs Long Beach,CA New York Music Pool New York,NY

LOOKING FOR THESE TITLES? YOU CAN HEAR THEM AND BUY THEM AT WWW.DANCEKINGS. COM. JUST CLICK ON THE LINKS IN THE CHART. DDK HAS LIMITED MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE

Ella Mai Drake Cardi B / Bad Bunny Lil Baby & Drake Carters Childish Gambino Cardi B G-Eazy F/ Yo Gotti & YBN Nahmir J. Cole Yg F/ 2 Chainz & Big Sean Miguel Janelle Monae Drake Jay Rock Tyga F/ Offset Kanye West Post Malone F/ Nicki Minaj Queen Najja Juice World Lil Duval F. Snoop Dogg

Boo'd Up Nice For What I Like It Yes Indeed Apes**t This Is America Be Careful 1942 Kod Big Bank Come Through And Chill I Like That In My Feelings Win Taste Yikes Better Now Medicine Lucid Dreams Smile

Interscope Republic Atlantic Capitol Roc Nation RCA Atlantic RCA Interscope Def Jam RCA Atlantic Republic Interscope Empire Def Jam Republic Capitol Interscope Empire

Most Added Tracks 1 2 3 4 5

Travis Scott Livvia F/ Quavo Tory Lanez & Rich The Kid Cardi B F/ Kehlani MadeinTYO F/ A$ap Ferg

Sicko Mode Workin Me Talk To Me Ring Ned Flanders

Epic Capitol Interscope Atlantic Commercial Intl.

NATIONAL LATIN DANCE POOL CHART 1. Bori Saborearte De Nuevo Hot Song Music 2. Gretchen G Soltera CD Music Ent. 3. Daddy Yankee Dura El Cartel 4. Karol G Mi Cama Universal 5. Ely Holguin Aventura Medley Cookies Empire 6. Grupomania ft Omega & nejo Chorro E’ loco Mania Music 7. Pabanor feat U4ria So Sexy/Tan Sexy Pegassus 8. Soleil J feat Maffio No Me Arrepiento Crossover 9. Tito Rojas El Doctor TR 10. Adassa M.B.S. Sky Urban 11. Romeo Centavito Sony 12. Alsikiatra Dame Un Besisto DA 13. Baby Rasta & Gringo Envuelta Wolflow Music 14. Luis Fonsi & Karl G Calypso Universal 15 Zion & Lennox La Playera Summa Ent. 16. Fherramy Al Diablo Lo Que Diga La Gente Hi Song Music 17. Justin Quiles feat Zion & Lennox No quiero Amarte Warner 18. Raymix Oye Mujer Raymix 19. Tony Marino I Can’t Stop Loving You Enforce 20. Willie Gonzalez Cuando Estoy Con Ella I.M.

Most Added Tracks 1. Ala Haza 2. Maluma feat Nego Do Borel 3. Jennifer Lopez feat DJ Khaled & Cardi B. 4. Maluma 5. Kenny Man

Mi Forma De Ser Corazon Dinero Marinero Ni Gucci Ni Prada

Carbon Sony Epic Sony Universal

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

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

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

News

(continued from page 3) Also, Susan Staff of Marque III Entertainment of Lumberton, N.J., won the Ultimate DJ Giveaway. The winning system included gear from the following sponsors: ADJ (Pocket Pro Pak lighting system); Bose (S1 Pro speaker); Global Truss America (GLO TOTEM 2.0 truss); Technics (SL-1210GR turntable) and Pioneer DJ (HDJ-X10 headphones, DDJ-1000 mixer and two XPRS10 speakers). Ten daily giveaway winners on the showfloor took home prizes from Bose, DJ Expo, Hard Rock Hotel, Odyssey, and Peavey.

The Reaction: “In moving DJ Expo to a great venue in Atlantic City’s Marina District, we believe we gave exhibitors and attendees another quality show – as a host hotel, Harrah’s was terrific,” said Vinny Testa, President of Testa Communications. “As always, the staff of DJ Expo and DJ Times thanks the exhibitors,

sponsors, panelists and attendees for the continued support. It’s their dedication to the DJ industry that has allowed us to produce such a successful, long-running show – one that’s been presented annually since 1990. Stay tuned for announcements early next year about DJ Expo 2019.”

Response from exhibitors and attendees was upbeat: “This year’s show had the best energy and excitement I’ve seen in years,” said Chris Roman of inMusic Brands, which saw the debut of Denon DJ’s SC-5000M Prime media player. “Attendance was strong, and the new venue really made this show – it should help in building it further. Also, when product launches happen at the show, it makes Expo the place to be – that’s why you come to DJ Expo.”

Added Peavey Electronics COO Courtland Gray: “The Expo had a

great energy this year. We were excited to see that reflected in an amazing turnout at our booth and at our ‘Peavey/Technics Open-Bar Party’ DJ showcase. Special thanks to Technics for co-sponsoring such a successful after-hours event. We had a lot of happy customers, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s show!”

Marco Araujo of Bose Corporation was also impressed: “DJ Expo 2018 was an absolutely amazing experience,” he said. “Attendees were delighted with the amount of gear and events around the Expo. We fulfilled our purpose to give the best of the best, live on the mainstage, the booth and the sponsored party. We are looking forward for a newer and richer experience in 2019.”

Syndicated radio-mixshow jock Howard Kessler of HK Productions in Minneapolis attended Expo, and liked what he saw. “Whether you’re a

part-time DJ getting your side-hustle on,” he said, “or a full-time, six-figure jock working parties and the clubs, you need to be at DJ Expo rubbing shoulders with your peers and seeing all the latest gear from the hottest pro DJ/audio manufacturers. Consider it an investment in yourself.”

M o b i l e j o c k M i c k U r a n ko o f Bloomsburg, Pa., agreed: “I look forward to the DJ Expo every year and I enjoyed having the event at Harrah’s because everything was in one location,” he said. “The best part of the Expo is catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. Each year, I treat the Expo as a benchmark and compare how far I’ve come since last season. Every time I leave the Expo, I feel refreshed and full of great ideas that I can implement right away. I highly recommend attending the DJ Expo in Atlantic City to anyone that wants to improve their business.”

mapping required many hours of work, and I am continuing to tweak this setup to get it right. Those of you that have made custom Traktor mappings will know how meticulous and frustrating this process can be.

Once I had enough of the SPD-SX unit’s functions mapped to Traktor, I began cutting up loops and one-shot samples in Ableton Live. I then created my own Traktor remix decks with these samples to use while DJing.

I also experimented with running Traktor and Ableton Live at the same time by syncing up their MIDI clocks and using the SPD-SX to trigger samples in Ableton Live, but my paranoia

about running the two CPU-intensive programs at the same time when DJing prevented me from pursuing this option much further.

Another cool feature is the SPDSX-SE’s “MIDI Visual Control” function, which users control images alongside live performances. When a video device supporting MIDI Visual Control or V-LINK is connected, users can switch kits to switch videos or control images by turning one of the control knobs.

Final Thoughts: While the SPDSX-SE’s much-needed facelift and storage upgrade are appreciated, a few things are left to be desired with

the new SPD-SX SE. It still lacks a dedicated stand that ships with the unit, the LCD screen could be a much higher resolution, and a built-in XLR input for sampling via microphone would be very useful.

With the SPD SX still retailing around $800, and the SPD-SX-SE retailing around $900, you’ll have to decide if the SPD-SX SE’s improved appearance and increased storage capacity are enough to make you pay the premium. Existing SPD-SX owners may not opt to upgrade – still, I would encourage SPD-S owners and newcomers to upgrade to the SPD-SX-SE.

Making Tracks

(continued from page 31) PDS-10 pad stand – otherwise, you’ll be at the mercy of whatever table the venue provides you. If there’s no room in the DJ booth or if the table is too high, then you may have a bad performance. Rather than go with the all-in-one stand, I chose to purchase Roland’s APC-33 mounting clamp and attached it to one of my heavier cymbal stands that I already owned for use with my acoustic drum kit.

There are myriad ways to use the SPD-SX SE in live situations. I chose to use it as a MIDI controller linked to Traktor Pro’s remix decks, and Serato users could do something similar.

Creating the Traktor controller

The Vote: America's Best DJ 2018 Who won America’s Best DJ?

Tune in next month & find out!

DJ TIMES

FALL 2018

The suspense is killing me.

42

ABDJ ’18, Next Month in DJ Times