Tuesday, November 11, 2008

solid as a rock!


Esta noche (Nov. 11) i'll be spinning up some tunes at TILLMANS. a really dope lounge spot owned by Ashford and Simpson. (26th street between 6 - 7 Aves)

i've been djing a long time - about 11 years now - and it's been interesting to see music and our lives evolve. i now use a system called Serato to play out. it allows a dj to utilize a laptop - and pull down tracks digitally onto platters that resemble traditional vinyl. same look and feel, without lugging 200 lbs worth of records around. a saviour. there are a whole bunch of other things you can do with the program, but i don't. i think it's kinda cheating. see, i had always used wax until 2 years ago, when the digital djing revolution really took hold. the problem is, with some of the technology out now, it makes anyone think they can be a dj. simply put - djing is 20% tactical (the actual mixing was never the hurdle). djing is 80% listening/ feeling/ knowing the music and what the flow should be -- and of course, reading the crowd to see if they like the vibe or whether it needs a shift. as such, technology should just better aid our journey to that place - that feeling - that music can deliver us to. through serato to marvin.

anyhow, i look forward to rockin' it for an hour-and-a-half tonight for heads who enjoy soulful music blended together to create a journey, and not just a doling out of hit-pop mickey-mouse tracks. despite the state of hip-hop right now -- soul music remains SOLID... SOLID AS A ROCK!

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