Tag Archives: video remixes

Feature Friday: DJ Glenn

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We caught up with Philippine native  and resident DJ Glenn today and asked him a few questions about his experience as a VJ.

 

When did you start DJ’ing?

I started DJ’ing in 2008. Worked as a radio jockey and just started DJ’ing/

When did you start VJ’ing?

The next year in 2009. I saw it in a club and just wanted to do it for myself.

Where do you work?

All over the Philippines

What is your favorite piece of equipment?

Pioneer 2000

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What advice would you give to any aspiring VJ?

Make sure you learn how to edit your music videos, its very important and memorize tem as well.

Most importantly who would you pick LeBron or Durant?

I would go with Durant

Good answer!!!

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Welcome back Mr.Electronica

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Jay Electronica has been enjoying the spoils of his relationship with the lovely Kate Rothschild, he hasn’t necessarily been making noise with his music. His once promising rap career seemed top be derailed by his partners wealth, she did after all leave her husband to be with Mr. Electronica.

Well now he’s back and he brought controversy with him, in the form of Jay-Z. A few weeks ago Drake had made a comment on Hova’s reference to owning expensive art that as something that most people cant relate to, and I cant say I disagree. Either way Jay-Z didnt take to his comment and made a comment of his own, even referring to him as Miss. Drizzy. So is this real beef or just a fabricated argument strategically placed for promotion? Only time will tell.

 

Rane 64

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Rane has been playing second fiddle to Pioneer when it comes to mixers. The Rane 68 did not receive the best reviews so it’s important that the 64 make a positive impact. The 62 was the predecessor to both of these mixers was much more popular and widely used, the 64 seems to capitalize on that success with a few new improvements to make this a very competitive mixer.

The days of mixers priced at $200 and under are over, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Rane 64 boasts integrated Serato DJ software.  This makes the 64 a great mixer for a wide variety of DJ’s.  Just plug it in sync it up and your ready to mix.

Sometimes it’s the little things that count. Dual usb ports give this particular mixer an added selling point. With today’s technology constantly improving, just about everything electronic can be linked with a usb fitting. These ports also allow separate midi messages to each individual port, allowing DJs to toggle back and forth.

Ultimately the 64 sits right in between the 68 and 62. The integrated software and multi function put it in the high end mixer talk and gives pioneer products a run for their money. Having the availability of these two companies dueling for the best product only leads to better tools for DJ’s themselves. The Rane 64 definitely lives up to that concept.

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You know what department that skirt was in…

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and fashion is not a luxury, it is a statement. Whether it’s flashy or low key an, fashion can say a lot an individual. Hip hop culture has always been on the fore front of contemporary fashion.  Thru the years we have been blessed with ingenious conceptions such as: Hammer pants, cross colors and the always popular rolled up pant leg. When it comes to clothing trends hip hop’s influence has been expansive on the fashion world and that theme still rings true. More and more artists are developing their own clothing lines that encompass everything from shoes to shirt, giving their fans the opportunity to represent from head to toe.  Their approach has been fearless, so naturally the next step in this musically inspired culture is skirts for men?

Coachella | Day Two

Kanye West has always been fashion forward and bent on establishing himself as an icon in the industry. On many occasions he has voiced his desire to break into the fashion design realm. Nike has given him the task of occasionally developing a sneaker that is always well received. In a recent rant with Sway he attributed himself with the conception of the leather sweat pant, but spoke on his displeasure with the lack of backing in regards to his own clothing line. He did what any other scorned aspiring designer would do, he started to wear a skirt. He debuted this trend with Pusha T and 2 Chainz donning these wraps and sparking this trend and it caught on.

 


A$AP rocky has been daring with his appearance as well and not shy about his love for the eccentric. Attending many fashion shows for inspiration for his next big outfit. He has been daring with his fur coat collection. His shoe game always has been and always will be on point. The only logical step from here is obvious, a skirt is what will take him over the top. Rocky did not disappoint and became the next one to wear a skirt or in one case a dress.

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With gender lines getting blurrier every day and same sex becoming legal, these men can be viewed as trend setters. While Omar Epps defended his skirt with an honorable ode to his African roots the true message is equality. Forget how they look or of they serve a purpose, men wearing skirts breaks down barriers.

Can’t outrun the trap

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Will trap music last longer than dubstep did? It would depend on who is asked. Dubstep was the misunderstood offspring of electric dance music. It came onto the scene with gusto, Dj’s were making dubstep remixes of mainstream songs and seeing success, companies like Microsoft and Ovalitine were running commercials with a dubstep theme.  Then it just died. Trap music seems to be gaining a familiar steam and potentially setting itself up for a fall like its misunderstood predecessor. The roots of Trap music would lead to believe otherwise.

The trap genre was propelled into recent fame in 2012 with a culmination of Flosstradamus,Major Lazor and Baauer giving this new sound a bright and exciting future. Baauer’s Harlem shake went viral, Flosstradamus made Orignal Don slow down and everyone paid attention.  Major Lazor walks hand in hand in harmony with dance, trap and hip hop music. These are all very good signs in regards to the music’s longevity but its greatest strength is the fact that it has been prevalent in some form for a long time.

 

The sounds produced by the 808 drum machine are the tie that binds two generations together.  In the early 90’s and late 2000’s trap music was defined by artists like Three 6 Mafia, Jeezy and the always unpredictable Gucci Man. The term trap referred to the block or part of the neighborhood where drugs were sold. The lyrics in the song reflected that lifestyle T.I. even named one of his albums “Trap Muzic”. Little did we know that base lines were going to keep beating into the next generation?

t.i. TRAP MUZIK 2003

t.i. TRAP MUZIK 2003

Anything that can inspire a dance style that makes women shake their ass will always last. While Miley is off somewhere twerking, trap music is having the same effect on the dance floors. While dubstep gained notoriety from remixes of mainstream song it didn’t necessarily make them better.  It’s a dance floor killer, the majority of the people don’t or should I say can’t dance to dub step. Despite the fact it was spawned from electronic dance music it truly only appealed to the eclectic ear.  Sadly the advertising and movie industries also had its hand in dub steps demise, flooding television commercials and block buster movie fight scenes saturating the public with exposure.

Deep roots in both hip hop and now electronic dance, trap music has made the generational leap possible. With its propensity of making women dance provocatively and flexibility between hip hop and dance mainstream success is inevitable. Trap music looks like it’s here to stay and if you need more evidence of how far it’s come, just watch the video below.

 

DJ SOUNDNINJA

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Meet DJ Soundninja, originally from Marceline, Missouri is now residing in St. Joseph, Missouri. His interest for DJ’ing started his sophomore year in geometry class while daydreaming of DJ names, as you can see he chose DJ Soundninja and stuck with it since then. In 2007 he was a drummer for his band called “Our Last Run” and on the side he would DJ for small parties, bars, and weddings. After his band broke up he decided to pursue his DJ’ing career. Starting off as a campus DJ at Missouri Western State University and eventually becoming a resident DJ at the Belt Sports Complex. DJ Soundninja also shared with us that his first gig was at his cousins house party while his parents were out of town, he said he a blast and made good tip money, too bad the fun ended when his cousins parents came back. 

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Being a full time DJ and loving every second of his job, DJ Soundninja also enjoys recording in his home studio, Soundninja Studios working with his artist Tres (@Tres314) and performing with Daniel Cole (@DColeDrums). Being St. Joseph’s top DJ he also had a chance to open for touring acts such as 3OH!3, Sammy Adams, XV, and Timeflies! DJ Soundninja loves Hip-Hop and Dubstep so if this your type of music make sure you check him out at Headquarters Nightclub on Wednesdays and Fridays, Hammerjacks Dance Club on Thursday nights and he will be at a lot of venues around Kansas City this summer. You will find him playing the hottest club bangers, tracks with a lot of bass and anything with Kendrick Lamar. Some of his favorites that never fail are “Wobble” by V.I.C., “Pop That” by French Montana ft. Rick Ross, Drake, & Lil Wayne, and when he really wants to turn up he plays “No Hands” by Waka. Sounds like if you want to have a good time you really need to go party with DJ Soundninja!

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He has traveled all over Missouri and Kansas and will be going to different states this summer. He hopes to be living his dream and playing in other countries; we have no doubt that he will be performing with the big time DJ’s. Surely if follows his advice that he recommends to all DJ’s “Always reach for the next big thing and never settle for less and keep working to move forward” he is sure to make it far! He tells us that a good DJ is someone who can go to a venue and feel the vibe and make create something personal and unique just for them while knowing your mix. Some of the DJ’s he looks up to are; DJ AM with his ruthless mixes, DJ Spinbad and  he is a huge Deadmau5 fan!

 

DJ tips

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New DJ’s are constantly up on the rise everyday all over the world trying to make it big but don’t know where to start or how. A couple these pointers will definitely determine whether you rock the crowd or go not only empty handed but a little less determined about being a DJ from the start. Of course, no one said it was going to be easy but with faith and constant practice you could be the next big thing opening up at Ibiza and touring worldwide!

 

 

Birthplace of house music

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As of today 2/18/14 according to thedjlist.com the top house Dj’s are: Avicii, David Guetta and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, what these DJ’s all have in common is geographic. House music is without a doubt thriving in European countries and as it would seem laying claim to what would be the best performers in the musical genre.  This is not a trend or phenomenon, this is a common theme in house music that it is dominated by European influence.  Each year the digitally inspired music gains more fame and followers, if any of these listeners were stopped and asked on the street if they knew where house music started the obvious answer would be Europe and they would be wrong.  House music had a very enigmatic beginning in the United Sates.

In 1976 disco was in full swing monopolizing dance floors all over the country.  Disco would eventually spin off into many genres, but the first was house music.  The south side of Chicago is known in many ways but famously for its rugged streets reputation, excellent high school basketball and of course windy weather but few regard it as the birthplace of house music. A few young DJ’s came up with a technique geared at keeping the crowd dancing. Silky Hurley described it as “We had a technique were we would take the bass out of the song and wait for the exciting part of the song and bam!”.  As it would seem not much has changed instead of disco music being used its electronic or fabricated beats produced by the DJ.

SILKMIXSteve “Silky” Hurley

The night club called The Wharehouse was at the time was known for its availability to all races and ways of life. The gay, straight, thug and prep groups were all represented on any given night in the Wharehouse. Since it is the beginning of the genre, it’s only fitting that the name be spawned form the original club that played the music.  The resident DJ Frankie knuckles and Larry Levan were the first to spin this type of music. Although Frankie Fingers is considered the godfather of house it is Larry Levan that is attributed with the idea of spinning house music. Levan went on to work at the paradise garage in his home town New York and spread the house music culture.

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 Frankie Knuckles                                                                          Larry Levan

Like most new styles of music house was birthed before its time. America wasn’t ready for a genre of music that was dominated by the gay and ethnic communities. House music saw its earliest success in predominately gay clubs and spun by gay DJ’s. It was frowned upon due to the nature of the culture that was at the fore front of the movement. It’s a shame that it was not well received, the techniques used by these DJ’s were preparing the industry for an exciting change.

House music has now flourished into a musical giant. DJ’s from all over the world produce dance tracks that snowball with popularity. It’s a versatile style is music that caters to DJ’s and keep the dance floor moving. The European acceptance and promotion has undoubtedly taken the music to the level it currently is on, it is interesting to know it got its start in the South side of Chicago. It was inspired to bring all walks of life together and finally is.