Every
month we will be featuring DJ profiles from around the
globe. Big or small, If you’re a DJ and are interested,
please contact justin@hybridmagazine.com
for submission info.
DJ Destro
First acquiring a taste for Drum
& Bass as an extension of his love for Hip-Hop,
Destro became more and more intrigued by electronic
music through the mid 1990s. After nearly ten years
of wishing and dreaming, Destro finally purchased his
first pair of decks in 1999 and began his assault. Motivated
by the sounds and production of Public Enemy, Frankie
Bones, Premier and Terrence Fixmer; Destro sought to
forge a sound that would incite people to act against
the prevalent injustices of our society. In 2001 Destro
founded RiotRecordings. An extension of his vision,
RiotRecordings would serve as an events production company
as well as a propaganda machine. In the summer of 2002
RiotRecordings produced its first event; titled Industry
Shakedown the NYC event was designed to bring attention
to the growing divisions within our community as well
as raise money for the Electronic Music Defense and
Education Fund. In September Loot Your Home Records
was created as a vehicle through which RiotRecordings
will introduce several original releases in the second
half of 2003. Producing two more events before the closing
of 2002, Destro and RiotRecordings are now exploring
a broad range of options in the New Year.
To book Destro or to receive promotional
materials please email: Rage@RiotSound.com.
Janel Roland
It seems as if the ladies are the
only ones getting off their asses lately and sending
in their mixes! Well it’s certainly not a problem
when we get to check out DJ’s like Janel Roland
adding something a little different to their set. Based
in Chicago, Janel’s love music started early on
during her studies in classical music. She ended up
studying classical voice in college where she discovered
her love of house music and by 1999 she started messing
around with mixing. Judging by her fluid mix, she must
of picked up on the basics pretty quickly and has since
learned to lay down a storming deep house mix with a
heavy Chicago vibe. In addition to switching up the
styles of music, Janel has added that vocal training
to the set by dropping the occasional freestyle house
vocal during the mix. At first I thought the idea seemed
odd but it really works. However, only try this if you
have a voice that sounds like hers! In addition to her
bookings at underground parties, Chicago clubs like
Smarbar and Red no 5, Janel has also collaborated on
vocal house tunes with Ron Carroll and Kenny Carvajal
as well as writing lyrics and melodies for future projects
to be unleashed this year. Can’t wait to hear more.
Madame Buddafly got in touch with
Levelheaded and sent over her latest mix, “Erogenous”
which we must say is perfect for keeping the motivation
during these sweaty summer work sessions. Her energetic
and brutal set of hard techno and trance must of went
over well when she DJ’d for two thousand kids in
Berlin. I bet Germany ate this stuff up. Her set has enough
punch and fucking references that it could throw your
mind into meltdown. She got her start in 1994 and the
Connecticut resident has since layed down tracks at the
Tunnel and Sound Factory in NYC and events in Mexico,
Germany, and various U.S. appearances. Aside from her
DJ work, Madame is also co-founder of Swarm records and
has produced her “Dirty” and “Dragonslayer”
singles. Hell, she was even introduced by no other then
porn star Ron Jeremy at one of her dates and has been
featured in Jive, XLR8R, Lotus, Feedback, LoveParade.com,
and the New Haven/New York Advocate.
DJ/Producer Derrick Daisey aka
DJ Vitamin D isn’t a fresh face on the scene, he’s
been around a long long while and I fondly remember the
huge number of mix tapes and cds this guy used to put
out sometime during his switch from California to Denver.
At a time when a lot of dance music was difficult to come
by, Vitamin D offered up some of the craziest hardcore
and breakbeat tunes we had ever heard in those days. Well
a lot has change from those days. His track “The
Lift” was a massive tune and made it into the Rolling
Stone charts and Derrick has since perfected both his
studio and DJ skills and found his passion in house music.
He’s also released “That Latin Track” on
the IHR label and has been working very hard on sixty
plus tunes including some as member of the Floorfillerz.
If the production work and DJ tours weren’t enough,
he’s also released a full-length for the wicked Terraform
label who is also based in Denver. It just proves that
while many others had split Denver for other cities, these
guys stuck around and made a big name for themselves.
Talent is talent no matter where you come from and you
don’t have to live in a major city to accomplish
your goals.
DJ Veronica is a shining example
for any underground DJ that wants to learn how to push
themselves ahead of the billion other DJ’s on the
scene and the amount of promotion it takes to land a lot
of quality gigs. Her slick
site, features a bio, gig photos, music, and updates
and is an excellent way to check out her wicked skills
and love of diverse deep house. Veronica started DJing
in Vancouver, Canada in 1998 where she produced a deep
house radio show and has made massive leaps since then.
As a current resident for Girlgig and My House productions,
Veronica has staked her ground on both a local level as
well as dropping sets in large clubs and events in New
York City, Spain, Australia and Hong Kong. She hasn’t
limited her outlet for gigs either, having performed and
clubs and after-hours but also at smaller lounges, charity
events, fashion shows, and throwing her own My House after-hour
parties. She was also featured on MTV Canada in February
along side Miguel Migs. She builds a diverse and skillfully
selected house set and can work up an excellent downtempo
set as well. Watch out. In addition to all this DJ work,
she has a double major in Criminology and Sociology!
DJ Dr. Prozak, aka Mark Wilson, got
his start playing hip-hop and electro in '88 at the
local youth club before the acid house movement took
the UK by storm and clearly made an impact on his DJ
and production style. He continued on during the underground
party circuit before landing work at various club nights
and producing tracks with partner Grant Sullivan as
Dr's of Funk. The released a number of releases before
Wilson launched his Sound Surgery label in 1999. In
addition to some 12" for the label, they also recorded
tracks for the 'Chillout 2000' compilation series. He's
planning additional releases and hammering away in the
studio while continuing residencies at clubs in London,
Wolverhampton, and Cornwall. His DJ set and production
style is a unique combo of breaks and electro that fuse
the darker aspects of the music and seem to draw inspiration
from old-school breaks and edgy tunes with brutally
hard bass lines. Be sure to check out the Sound Surgery
releases and one of his sets if you're in the area.
He'll appeal to fans of many sub-genres of the style.
Finally we get a little diversity
in genres for the profile section! We've received a lot
of techno/house mixes lately (but please keep them coming)
so it was nice to check out a powerhouse of a drum &
bass mix from the west coast by way of DJ Jade. Her passion
for electronic music started around '95 after years of
music involvement in one fashion or another. Jade was
in band and choir as a kid, dedicated to the punk scene
and has now taken that energy into DJing through the support
of her friends. Currently her sounds seems to primarily
stick to UK heavy-hitters like Ed Rush and Bad company
and drops a flawless and relentless set at every one of
her west coast appearances. In addition, Jade aka Maressa
is getting involved in event promotion, web-design, photography,
vending and has created the Northwest US online rave community
http://www.kandieland.com and hopes to possiblly move
into vocal work in the future. If your looking for some
fine D&B at your next event, she has our vote! For
more sounds and info, check out her site.
Gruvgirl After
getting her first exposure to electronic music in 1994,
Gruvgirl decided to give it a go behind the turntables
and by 1999, she was addicted. With the help of her
husband DJ Mation and the kind support of her friends,
Gruvgirl shapened her skills and has since rocked clubs
all over Florida and has recently ventured to some out
of state clubs as well. While the mix she sent us is
a moving and thumping mix of hard house and techno,
she has a vast amount of styles in her crates, spinning
everything from nu-school breaks to drum & bass,
and 2-step. In addition to her increasing work behind
the decks, she is also busy in the studio with DJ Mation
producing what she calls experimental "nu disko"
and combo of disco and nu-school break styles. We hope
to hear a lot more from her and check out a live set
in Florida some day soon.
Note: "Husband & Wife Tag Team"
bookings also accepted "Gruvgirl vs. Mation"
PLASTIK The
talent has been in DJ Plastik's family for some time.
His cousin is vocalist / guitarist, Todd Park Mohr, from
Big Head Todd & the Monsters and his mother, a professionally
trained vocalist. Growing up around these musical experiences
and an interest in hip-hop lead Plastik to pick up the
turntables. The Los Angeles native has been perfecting
his DJ skills for 8 years and creating a head-rushing
blend of progressive, techno, and trance. He started off
spinning at Southern California parties and is now the
resident of Blue After Hours in Hollywood and The Crystal
at the Catch One in Los Angeles.
In addition to DJing along side such
talent as Christopher Lawrence, Taylor, Mark Lewis,
Kimball Collins, Doran, Dave Aude, DJ Micro, and Eddie
'Flash N' Folkes, Plastik has signed a deal with AM
Recordings and releases the intense Crystal mix CD featuring
tracks by Oliver Lieb, Timo Maas, and Doran. Plastik
has a dedication, down to earth attitude and passion
for the music that must be heard. -Justin Hardison
Dayv The
self-taught Denver resident Dayv Mckernan got his start
about three years ago in college and is now working
to take his excellent progressive/ UK hard house sets
to the next level. His dedication and practice is such
a huge priority that he is leaving his job for a year
in an attempt to make a career out of it and plans on
playing some larger events by the end of summer. "I
will be leaving my regular day job, to pursue my goal/dream
of being a DJ. I have one year to put all of my efforts
into something that I love. At the end of that year,
I have to decide whether to go back to my old day job,
or to continue with the new path. Realistically, I know
that I'll likely be back to work in a year, but I will
at least know that I gave it all a shot." He already
has a fine-tuned talent for mixing and track selection
on his bustling sets and a year should be more then
enough time to build some steady residencies. As any
dj will tell you, things don't always go as planned
and Dayv seems to keep his feet glued to the ground
with his "no bullshit" attitude to his work.
"I think that would be the perfect mix of life,
being able to have a good job, and do a little spinning
on the side."-JH
For booking info:
303-393-9115
ynoT DJ
ynoT (Anthony Plamondon) is an electronic music veteran
for 15 years. Originally from Detroit, now in West Hollywood,
ynoT has taken his driving deep/tribal house, Detroit
techno, and downtempo sets all over the U.S. In the early
90's, he hosted mix radio shows at Ann Arbor's WCBN, held
a residency at the SOMA districts Mariposa Loft as well
as Club Arcadia in Santa Monica. Recently, ynoT has signed
a contract with Vinyl Voyage Management, launched Hyperborean,
his production company and landed memorable sets at events
BROKEN and Hollywood's GIANT along side Sven Vath and
Pascal F.E.O.S. His sets are moving, diverse and skillfully
built and he shows no signs of slowing with plenty of
events booked for 2001. If your in the area, you can catch
him during his residency at Essence, at The Room in Santa
Monica, Tangent in Hollywood, or Sanctuary in Los Angeles.
Booking Info:
Vinyl Voyage Management (VVM)
Paolo Suaya: 818-635-7302 paolo@vinylvoyage.com
Kevin
O Those
in search of fine Deep House in the south need to look
no further. During the six years that he has spent mastering
his skills, Kevin O has appeared at a large number of
clubs with the likes of Josh Wink, Nick Warren, and Deep
Dish (just to name a few). His residency at Nomenclature
was voted “Best Crowd” by Details magazine and his Karma
residency was voted sexiest U.S. Club. His current Mix
CD’s ‘Late Output,’ ‘Chen’s Palace,’ and ‘Selected Audio’
are all slamming examples of his tune selections and flawless
mixing skills. He knows how to build a set and his selections
will keep a tight grip on your ears with seductive rhythms
and tight melodic structure. If your visiting the Atlanta
area be sure to check out one of his nights or check out
the links below or call (404) 624-9259 for booking info.
Residencies: Menage, Oxygen, Baja Beach Club, Groove Park, The
Vault, Masquerade, Makos, Huslter@ Nomenclature, Cobalt
, Karma, Geshia, House Arrest @ Kaya, Mumbo Jumbo
Jonathan Schippers Twenty-one
year old Jonathan Schippers has been DJing for five
years. After receiving his first pair of turntables
from a friend, Schippers was clueless as to where to
begin, spinning mainly Hip-Hop until a friend took him
to the Tunnel where “Danny Tenaglia was doing something
amazing, from that point on I was hooked.” He says.
Jonathan was inspired, began spending much of his time
at Satellite records and spinning at various parties.
His he created an intense set of heavy-hitters tracks
that primarily combine the darker and deeper elements
of House and Techno. The middle of his mix peaks out
into some abrasive air raid sirens, tracks that sample
Depeche Mode as well as Pink Floyd and ends with a minimal
Plus 8 tune. Look out for more of him in the future
or book him for your next event.
year old Jonathan Schippers has been DJing for five
years. After receiving his first pair of turntables
from a friend, Schippers was clueless as to where to
begin, spinning mainly Hip-Hop until a friend took him
to the Tunnel where “Danny Tenaglia was doing something
amazing, from that point on I was hooked.” He says.
Jonathan was inspired, began spending much of his time
at Satellite records and spinning at various parties.
His he created an intense set of heavy-hitters tracks
that primarily combine the darker and deeper elements
of House and Techno. The middle of his mix peaks out
into some abrasive air raid sirens, tracks that sample
Depeche Mode as well as Pink Floyd and ends with a minimal
Plus 8 tune. Look out for more of him in the future
or book him for your next event. 
