DJ Geometrix hit up me the other day to tell me that he was featured in one of America’s most popular newspapers, The Washington Post. I’m sure you all have heard of the Washington Post but they delivered an article showcasing his latest DJ school Geometrix is opening up in DC. It’s called Beat Refinery. He’s doing big things over there and leveraging his years of experience to teach others the art and skill of mixing and remixing records.
“Great DJs are like demigods around here: You depend on them to drop beats you’ve never heard before, and, if they’re really on, to keep you moving long past last call. They provide the soundtrack for almost every night that we’re out.
It’s no wonder that practically everyone in this town with a full iPod and 15 records wants be a DJ, too.
Banking on the idea that the area is teeming with wannabe DJ Shadows, a pair of D.C.’s better-known turntablists are helping to launch a local DJ school modeled after New York’s famed Scratch DJ Academy (which has branches in Miami and L.A.).
The Beat Refinery will be run by Chris Stiles (who, as DJ Stylus Chris, has regular gigs at Modern, Current and the 95 Live party at Steve’s Barroom;) and Brian Sadiarin (better known by Eyebar and Ibiza patrons as DJ Geometrix or, for short, DJ Geo). It will be run out of Bethesda’s Bach 2 Rock music school, and it opens May 3.
Stiles, who was one of the proprietors of DJ Hut, the late-great Dupont Circle go-to-spot for equipment and records, says he sees the school as the next step in his career (being a club DJ at age 50, he says, is not).
“Isn’t this what we’re supposed to be doing? Each one teach one?” he told me when I went to check out Beat Refinery’s turntable-filled classroom last week. He was handpicked by Bach 2 Rock’s chief exec Michael Chung last summer to curate the curriculum; Chung, a former DJ himself, had long wanted to launch a school for turntablists, and the moment seemed ripe.
For now, the school is offering an introductory course, Basic DJ Techniques. (Intermediate classes and a pair of Scratching & Turntablism courses are on the way). The classes — each accommodating 8 to 10 students — will be 90 minutes apiece, once a week for six weeks. Students can sign up for 18-and-older sessions, 18-and-younger sessions or choose one of the mixed classes. Sadiarin told me that every class, beginning on Day 1, will incorporate both traditional techniques and Serato Scratch Live, a “DJ emulation” software that some DJs publicly balk at, but if you look closely, many are using.
Which brings us to the pricetag: $375 for the intro course (private lessons are $76 an hour). It seemed pricey to me, so I checked in with Scratch in New York. The six-week introductory course there is $300, with each class clocking in at 70 minutes. So, it turns out, they’re pretty comparable.
With so many self-taught DJs in town — and I mean everyone from the fuzzy rockers playing vinyl-only nights at Velvet Lounge to the club DJs spinning “Single Ladies” — we want you to weigh in.
D.C. DJs: Do you think would-be DJs need lessons to get in the booth? Do you wish you had something like this when you were cutting your teeth?
We recently unveiled our latest creation in the labs, our new Waves Tee.
Waves is our most complicated design to date, especially because of how many rounds it took to get it just right. The further you are from the shirt, the more coherent the design becomes, making this tee a head turner for sure. Our new season includes the woven label at the bottom and slightly thicker shirts. Enjoy this one!
I’ve been following the beatport music awards for the last couple years and it’s an excellent way to get familiar with who’s hot and who’s not in the electronic music industry. Sometimes unknown artists, remixers, producers, and DJ’s find themselves at the top of the charts exposing them to the rest of electronic music world. It’s a large world and Beatport aims to select the latest and greatest talent for the last year.
From their website — “The Beatport Music Awards aims to recognize electronic music talent. With nominees based solely on Beatport sales data from March 2009 – March 2010, the awards are broken down by music genre.
There are 36 categories altogether: Best Artists (separated into 18 genres), and Best Track (17 genres, with both originals and remixes), with a final open question asking the public to name the ‘most influential, relevant and forward-thinking person in electronic music over the past 12 months’.
Voting closes on May 19th 2010, with the winners announced on or around May 27th.
Please note: voting is currently not compatible with Internet Explorer 8. Please cast your vote using Internet Explorer 7, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Opera.”
If you haven’t had the chance to go to Miami for the WMC and you are a electronic music fan, you are probably missing out one of, if not the, biggest yearly event to happen. DJs and artists such as Deadmau5, David Guetta, Armin Van Buren (just to name a few) show up to Miami to throw down their latest and greatest sets for the world to hear. We went last year and the music, stars, and people all lived up to their expectations. Not to mention, the opportunity to see international superstar DJ’s, walking around and not behind the decks is out of this world…
Not too many surprises this year. I’ve been following La Roux for a while and I knew that their beats would find their way into mainstream following their pop single Bulletproof. Britney Spears hitting the charts was a surprise, Lady Gaga continuing to move up the chain in the dance world, and David Guetta still doing his thing while producing for Black Eyed Peas…
Here are the official results from 2 weeks ago at the prestigious IDMA awards:
1. BEST UNDERGROUND DANCE TRACK
Hey Hey – Dennis Ferrer – Objektivity
I Like That – Richard Vission & Static Revenger feat. Luciana – Solmatic Records
In for the Kill – La Roux – Cherrytree/Interscope/Polydor
La Mezcla – Michel Cleis feat. Toto La Momposina – Strictly Rhythm
Whateva – Ralph Falcon – Nervous Records
Ninety – Sander van Doorn – Doorn Recors
2. BEST ALTERNATIVE/ROCK DANCE TRACK
Use Somebody – Kings of Leon – RCA Records
1901 – Phoenix – Glassnote
Bulletproof – La Roux – Cherrytree/Polydor
Heads Will Roll – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – DGC/Interscope
Uprising – Muse – Warner Brothers
We Are the People – Empire Of the Sun – Astralwerks Records
3. BEST LATIN TRACK
I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) – Pitbull – Ultra Records
Abusadora – Wisin y Yandel – Machete Music/Universal Music
El Amor – Tito El Bambino – Siente Music
Hotel Room Service – Pitbull – Mr. 305/Polo Grounds Music/J Records
Rap Das Armas – Cidinho e Doca – Ultra Records
She Wolf – Shakira – Epic/Sony Records
4. BEST HiNRG/EURO TRACK
Waiting – Dash Berlin feat. Emma Hewitt – Armada Music
Evacuate the Dance Floor – Cascada – Robbins Entertainment
Every Morning – Basshunter – Ultra Records/Hard2Beat
Feel Your Love – Kim Sozzi – Ultra Records
Let The Feelings Go – AnnaGrace – Robbins Entertainment
On A Good Day – Above & Beyond presents: OceanLab – Ultra Records/Anjunabeats
5. BEST HOUSE/GARAGE TRACK
Leave The World Behind – Axwell, Angello, Ingrosso, Laidback Luke feat. Deborah Cox – Ultra Records/Axtone
Back To You – Oscar G feat. Tamara Wallace – Nervous Records
Hey Hey – Dennis Ferrer – Objektivity
If You Knew – Chris Lake feat. Nastala – Nervous Records
La Mezcla – Michel Cleis feat. Toto La Momposina – Strictly Rhythm
When Love Takes Over – David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland – Astralwerks/Caroline
6. BEST R&B/URBAN DANCE TRACK
I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas – Interscope Records
Down – Jay Sean – Cash Money Records
Hard – Rihanna – Island/Def Jam Records
Make Me – Janet Jackson – A&M Records
Sweet Dreams – Beyonce – Music World Music/Columbia
DJ Shiftee cut and rips Bare Noize a new one following his latest DMC 2009 Championship win. He’s got some dope lights on his turntables and he’s rocking Traktor vinyl, his latest sponsor….
He was featured in several blog including MishkaNYC’s
“Signing off this installment of Serious Saturdays is an exclusive beat juggle routine by 2009 DMC Champion, Shiftee featuring Bare Noize’s remix of their own track, “You Stupid Cunt”. And if you’re still hungry for more then go on and download Bare Noize’s Stronger Than The Dollar mix.”
When you think Costco or Sam’s Club, you probably think of stuff for the family. Large portions at cheap prices. Did you ever think they would sell turntables at Costco?? I paid a visit to my local Costco and what do you know…A TURNTABLE???? I’m guessing that these turntables are targeted towards the older generation who still have vinyl sitting in their closets and hoping to use it as a way to get the music into their iPod. Or even better, looks like Mom and Dad want to take a crack and the 1’s and 2’s…
Here’s an excerpt from their website:
“TTUSB10 is an high-end turntable with USB connection enabling anyone to transfer music from records to computer. On your computer, you can listen to your music, record it to CD, or transfer it to your iPod or MP3 player and take it with you.”
DBM Labs is an apparel and accessories company dedicated to the lifestyle of mixing, remixing and producing music. Check out what we have in our store. Check the DBM Labs Store!
