Vestax VCI-300

The additional control with jog wheel controllers as opposed to smaller DJ software controllers is apparent through the VCI-100 which has smaller jog wheels which act as the platters. Mobility remains a strength, as the unit is small, portable and built to rugged specifications. What makes it unique is the integration with Serato’s ITCH software, designed in direct conjunction with Vestax; the hardware and software were literally built for each other. ITCH is professional DJ Software that speaks directly to iTunes, and while not as full-featured as Traktor or it’s sibling Scratch, it gets the job done seamlessly.

Touch-sensitive jog wheels, full-feature buttons, mic/headphone input, along with two forms of output define the VCI-300 as a very compact and powerful controller. For the money, it is a great option for a DJ looking to jump right into powerful mixing with a reliable, easy-to use software.

Numark OmniControl

This jog wheel controller developed by Numark ships with Traktor LE software, and uses USB interface to connect to a computer. Like Serato’s ITCH, it is a diet version of the professional version of the software; so DJ’s looking for full-featured software for sampling or production purposes will need to do minimal. The unit has it’s own auxiliary and RCA outputs on the backside, and a headphone input on the front, which is oddly not complimented with its own independent volume knob.

Physically, the OmniControl is pieced together from high-grade aluminum and altogether showcases Numark’s recent efforts towards durability. Sacrifices arise when given the advantage of mobility; the OmniControl is not large, resulting in a crowded face. Multiple reviews have warned that careless fingers or large hands will have trouble with accidently tweaking knobs or bumping faders. While scratching on the jog wheels is possible, it comes nowhere close to the feel and performance of 12” vinyl, and most users of the unit will not use it primarily for scratching.

Overall, the OmniControl caters to some specific features well, and doesn’t sell itself on the ones it doesn’t, which positions the product towards the entry-level DJ who wants to learn the basics and develop skills at a moderately low price.

Cortex DMIX-300/600

Similar to the other jog wheel controllers in shape and size, the Cortex DMIX 300 offers similar features with a 2-channel mixer, 3 RCA outputs, but with an interface that speaks to an external storage device instead of designated software. The user can connect an external hard drive, a USB flash drive or an iPod, and play all tracks directly from that one device. Navigation is easy with LCD displays and keyboard support.

The easy-to-use, all-in-one system essentially eliminates the need for all other hardware, even a laptop. PC integration is possible however, and Cortex includes database software that allows the user to conveniently organize crates, update firmware & update the iPod.

Unfortunately, the unit is somewhat limited. Saving cue points is a hassle, because the iPod must be specially formatted through Windows, there are no full EQ kill switches, no BPM detection and no key lock – features that were added onto the older brother, the updated Cortex DMIX 600, which possesses the same qualities that set the DMIX 300 apart from other jog wheel controllers, with altogether better hardware and broader database management options.

A cheap option, with the 600 being the recommendation, as it is only $100 USD more than the younger 300.

Hercules RMX

Separating itself from other jog wheel controllers through its extreme level of durability and build quality, the Hercules RMX delivers full-fledged entry-level control, and comes with a diet Virtual DJ version. In contrast to a higher-end controller like the VCI-300, which runs on Serato ITCH, the differences are highly noticeable. Many reviewers dislike the native limited Virtual DJ software, which is unattractive and insufficient. However, you can map the controller with other compatible software. For some, the price and durability of this controller is right up their alley, but those who want a high level of performance and broader compatibility, it is in the shadow of controllers such as the VCI-300.

Numark NS7

Upon it’s release, the Numark NS7 was in a league of its own in the world of software controllers. Full 7” aesthetic vinyl turntables, a software navigation panel, a CP-pro crossfader, five hot cue buttons, strip search and professional build all around make this unit a software DJ’s dream. Like the Vestax VCI-300, Serato helped develop it’s ITCH software directly in conjunction with Numark’s hardware. The software navigation panel near the top of the NS7 allows the user to do 95% of track surfing without touching the laptop. DJ’s who have used software with latency issues will instantly notice the instantaneous reaction the software gets from the hardware. Scratching is more natural with the vinyl surfaces and much wider room to work in contrast to the cluttered jog wheel controllers. For beginning DJs who have never owned or operated any equipment before and are looking to get right into full-featured professional software mixing, this is the cutting edge setup. Numark’s price is steep compared to the jog wheel mixers, but compared to dropping thousands of dollars on CDJs, it is a rather reasonable solution.

Mobility is the only issue that raises a flag. The entire rig weighs in at about 35+ pounds, and is extremely unwieldy unless contained within a travel case, which cost another ~$300. Most reviewers agree, you get what you pay for, and if you are in need of new hardware or a solid upgrade, and money isn’t extremely tight, this won’t miss.

Recently, Numark added an effects controller, the NSFX, and also introduced the V7, which is essentially one of the NS7’s turntables sold separately, with the ability to work with any mixer and ITCH.

Overall, in recommending controllers for potential buyers, it essentially comes down to how much you’re willing to spend. Functionality, ease of use, mobility and build quality are all factors that are highly proportional to how much you’ll spend.

For controller searchers with a smaller budget ($100 – $300) I’ll recommend the Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol X1 for DJs who are looking for a great way to ease through their Traktor software, or DJs with an existing setup that want to integrate software into their spinning. The jog wheel controller that I feel provides the best value is the Hercules RMX; essentially the same price as the Numark OmniControl with a little more versatility and the build toughness worthy of the name Hercules.

Buyers with an intermediate budget will likely not regret the choice of a Vestax VCI-300. The sleek design, the myriad of features, the seamless integration with Serato’s ITCH, and the stellar reviews all reflect the wonderful value you’ll get out of this unit.

For high-end buyers looking to make an investment for the sake of professional-style mixing and scratching, the Numark NS7 is still in a legue of its own. At first glance, it’s still an expensive product, especially since it’s release was more than a year ago, but after dissecting everything you’re really getting, the reasonability of the price will reveal itself. If money isn’t a high priority in your shopping, this is the software controller that will keep raising eyebrows longer than it’s competitor controllers.

I had the pleasure of exchanging emails with DJ JayCeeOh from NY and he recently released a new mix to kick off his Summer Tour starting.  I know most of you are more interested in what he’s rocking up on stage.  Serato, Rane 56, Macbook Pro, Technics 1200 and Ableton are the mainstays of his toolbox.

Just in time for summer, Pop Models 3 is a high energy mix of Electro, House, Disco, Funk, and Baltimore Clubchalked full of original edits and remixes, weaved together like only JayCeeOh can. Look out for Highsnobiety x JayCeeOh (US/Europe) Summer Tour 2010 jumping off July 15- August 15th.

Highsnobiety
Presents
DJ JAYCEEOH
“POP MODELS 3″

DOWNLOAD LINK:

http://soundcloud.com/jayceeoh/highsnobiety-presents-pop-models-volume-3

1. Swizz Beats vs Krs One – Blow My Mind (JayCeeOh Edit)
2. EL Trago – Machete Mix (JayCeeOh Edit)
3. Classixx – I’ll Get You (Light Years Bass Remix)
4. Wiley vs  Diana Ross (B.A.R.T.O Edit)
5. Imma Be (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) (JayCeeOh Edit)
6. Bob Sinclair – New New (Julian Crediance remix)
7. Dragonette – Fixin To Thrill (Villians Remix)
8. Rock That Body – (Api De Ap & DJ Replay Remix) (JayCeeOh Edit)
9. MArk the 45 King – 900 Number (Fn Dannyboy Remix) (JayCeeOh Edit)
10. Crookers – Fly Away (JayCeeOh Edit)
11. Calvin Harris vs Soul Searcher
12. Noria – (Chaos In The CBD G-MIx)
13. Renco & Ruqiero Bootleg (JayCeeOh Edit)
14. A Mover La Colita (Interlude)
15. Surkin – Fan Out
16. Hot City – Hot City Bass
17. Bingo Players – When I Dip
18. Noob & Brodinski – Peanuts Club (JayCeeOh Edit)
19. No Worry (JayCeeOh All Night Edit)
20. Dont Stop The Body Rock (DJ Kue 1986 Remix) (JayCeeOh Edit)
21. Stash Horse – U Are The One
22. DJ Chuckie – Aftershock
23. Bass Line Pumpin Interlude
24. U-Tern – Syle Class Fair
25. Senor Stereo – Hot Damn
26. Gorillaz – Stylo (Remix)

“Living in Belgium since 2002, it hasn’t taken long for Timofey to make a name for himself in this flat country. A native of Russia, Timofey, at 27 years old, has become a local favourite in the Belgian clubbing scene, thanks to his personality, his extensive music production training and experience, and his DJ skills. 2006 saw Timofey release his album BREATHING, where the quality is found in the blend of various music styles such as Funk, Trip-hop, Jazz and Ambient. Following its release, he performed several ECHOES shows in close collaboration with the French band Woodish. Currently, Timofey spends a lot of time clubbing. He regularly mixes his electro house set live at Brussels. Apart from mixing, Timofey also remixes for other artists, composes and produces his own tracks, and has collaborated with well-known DJ’s such as Kylian Mash, Dave Lambert, Elektrokid, Goachim Garraud, Bartosz Brenes, Dave McCullen, etc.”

When deadmau5 put out his smashing hit “Ghosts N stuff“, Timofey recreated it with ableton, just showcasing the power of software production tools and the reality that you don’t need tens of thousands of moola to make dope tracks.  Sure, this created quite a controversy at beatportal with people arguing the “newsworthiness” of the track. Regardless, you can’t help but appreciate the precision and attention of this re-creation of a song from one of the biggest producers in the industry. Learn something from him and check out all his goods, not to mention ours.

So I was listening to the radio today and you know how they have those daily dj mixes in the noon time? Usually, some of those DJ’s will use gunshots, sirens, explosions to fill in those instrumental gaps or just to get your attention. Here are, what I think, are the top 3 sound effects you’ll hear in a DJ mix:

The Siren –

Download here: http://www.dbmlabs.com/blog/audio/siren.mp3

The Gunshot –

Download here: http://www.dbmlabs.com/blog/audio/guns.mp3

The Explosion –

Download here: http://www.dbmlabs.com/blog/audio/explosion.mp3

Any others you want to add?

-B

http://www.flickr.com/photos/renee_fuchs/3267867386/

So- what the hell is a “guilty pleasure?!” Remorse, resentment and guilt are tags associated with morality and ethics-not music, right? A “guilty pleasure” is a concept, or better yet a euphemism, that we use to rationalize and minimize potential shun and embarrassment from liking a particular song and/or artist. Depending on one’s scope of reference, “guilty pleasures” are usually associated with pop music. Despite the contrary belief, pop music itself is actually NOT a specific music genre- it’s shorthand for (pop)ular music. Any and all music can become popular due to the present market climate including but not limited to political, socio-economical and cultural changes, factors and shifts. One should certainly not feel guilty for liking a piece of music- regardless of who created it and/or how and why it was used (functionality). Why should one feel guilt for liking something that is popular? More important than what pop songs actually sounds like, one should ask themselves “why?” and “how?” certain songs are popular- try to lay out the dots and proceed to connect them. Perhaps you’re witnessing first hand a market or paradigm shift. Maybe music is evolving right in front of your eyes and the particular “guilty pleasure” is the missing link.

Legally, a person who is incapable of feeling remorse is said to be a “sociopath” in the United States or a “psychopath” in the United Kingdom. The reason for the quotation marks sandwiching certain words is due to the specific, jargon and/or legal meaning associated with them. Here’s a quite condeming scenario: What if one enjoys a certain song and/or artist that is said to be a “guilty pleasure” and feels no remorse? We sing it in the shower, pump it from our vehicles, post it on our Facebook and do not care who knows? I guess technically you’re a sociopath (or psychopath if you happen to be reading this in the UK).

Well here ya go you sick, cold, guiltless, INTJ type-personality, psychopath bastards:

Ke$sha- Tik Tok |SONY/Jive/RCA 2009| Prod. by Benny Blanco (Blanko) |Harem|OM Records|Azuli|Playhouse| Here is the unrestricted embeddable version.

As of December 30th 2009, Ke$ha set the weekly digital track sales record by a female artist and second best overall by any artist behind Flo Rida’s “Right Round”- about 610,000 digital tracks sold for Ms. Ke$ha. Wow. Almost 200,000 more sales than the former female artist record holder, Lady Gaga with 419,000 during the end of 2008. That’s a lot of digital singles being sold- aren’t we in a depression recession?!

At first glance, it seems real simple why Ke$ha has managed to sell over 500,000+ downloads:

1. Basically, you got a fun chick speaking directly to her generation..perfect.


4. This would be a hit for any artist that fit the demographic and look.

It’s good pop….you need to buy something after you buy Lady’s download, SO, here is another good track. That’s it.

That’s it? Really…it is as simple as that?! There is nothing else going on here?

First of all it’s “electro-pop.” That seems to be the music industry’s “tag du jour.” As with most music genres and interchangeable tags applied to recordings, electro (and synth) pop is a style that became butchered and bastardized throughout the 80s, disappeared for about 20 years, and now seems to be back in full force for the end of the decade into the next (i.e. Owl City, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, even the Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode are back on top of the Billboard Dance Chart). If you are reading this, then you most likely know your basic disco and all of her derivations from Italo-disco, synth-pop, electro-funk and hip hop to house and all of the modern day interpretations. The tags and genres record labels attach to certain recordings are as carefully conceived as the actual productions themselves. Ke$ha is a product as is with a majority of pop(ular) acts. People in marketing, publicity and a&r departments get paid good money to make sure their commodity sells and using the proper language, imagery and allusions are all tools of the trade. The track was released by Jive. Being that I don’t feel like writing, nor is one inclined to reading, an entire novel on Zomba; long story short is that Ke$ha belongs to Sony Records one way or another. If there’s one label that understands dance music, whether urban, synth-pop or any combination thereof, it’s Jive (and Zomba). Jive sold to BMG for $2 billion, making it the most expensive acquisition since EMI bought and acquired Geffen, Island, A&M and Virgin. THIS IS WHERE POP MUSIC IS GOING. Industry execs are trying to merge hip hop and electronic dance music with one another and obviously it is working.

This may be the most successful go at it but it’s certainly not the first. The 80s, from the beginning til the end, were absolutely littered with these types of sounds and creative, artistic mergers- musical synergy. In the 80s, it went by a few different names and genre tags, mostly known as “electro-funk.” Tik Tok may be the missing link between urban music and dance music. This track obviously hit all demographics and clearly appealed to a target audience that I don’t think Zomba/SONY necessarily intended. Like I said, this is NOT the first time this has occurred (in reference to “electro-funk” in the early 80s along with”fresstyle” and “hip house” in the 80s and early 90s) but there is a serious shift going on. No small coincidences in the business world. We are quickly approaching on the age-old, perpetual argument of Art v. Commerce- perhaps even more polarizing than the Digital v. Analog/Vinyl discussion.

Hip hop is dying, if not dead already. We have seen an incredible 25-year shelf life on this musical phenomenon and cultural shift and now it must evolve into something else. Hip hop culture and its music has dominated pop culture for the past two and a half decades and execs have already clearly and concisely seen the direction they want to push it. The whole rap-rock hybrid didn’t fare too well, even though Linkin Park continues to sell but even Kid Rock’s label pushed him in another direction. Fred Durst who? The show must go on. The only logical choice is forcing and crafting hip hop towards electronic dance music. Both of which already have their roots in dance music and the clubs and both are considered urban music in my book. If one has any trouble understanding this idea then look no further than the top publishers, writers and publishing songs. Currently, the top publishers are EMI Music Publishing Group (the Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West), SONY/ATV Music Publishing (Lady Gaga), Universal Music Publishing Group ( Pitbull) and Warner/Chappell Music (Katy Perry). The top producers and songwriters are Nadir “Redone” Khayat (Lady Gaga) and David Guetta (the Black Eyed Peas) and the top publishing songs are all produced by people you are incredibly familiar such as Nicola Fasano, David Guetta, Joel Zimmerman (Deadmau5) and Mark Knight. The charts are absolutely littered with producers, songwriters, and labels of the electronic dance music (EDM) realm. And by charts, I’m not referring to the Beatport or Juno Download Top 100 charts, I’m speaking about the Billboard Top 40 and Hot 100 Charts.
Remember this linear note from several paragraphs up:

Ke$sha- Tik Tok |SONY/Jive/RCA 2009| Prod. by Benny Blanco (Blanko) |Harem|OM Records|Azuli|Playhouse|

That’s right ladies and gentleman, Benny Blanco, the same man who created “Block Party” for Sultan’s Harem Records also penned and produced this record breaking pop single. I made it a point to include Blanco’s “underground” label affiliations as to an eye opener. To bridge this musical gap and to bring hip hop and its associated market into the next stage, industry execs and the big four record companies are commissioning your favorite “underground” producers to pen and produce hits for their next big things. I hope not to burst any bubbles or screw up one’s day, but this is nothing new in the industry. You know Ben Watt right? Ben Watt the top notch producer, DJ and label head of Buzzin’ Fly?! Well in case you didn’t know, Ben Watt was also half of Atlantic Records’ Everything But The Girl (along with Tracey Thorne). Not only is Ben Watt you favorite uber underground label’s owner and boss, he’s been a top selling producer of Atlantic Records since the mid-90s.

***Below is the well-known synonymous club remix by Todd Terry- original could be found here***

Everything But The Girl – Missing
Uploaded by MeGustaTuMusica. – Watch more music videos, in HD!

The same can said for most of your favorite present day and past producers including but not limited to David Bowie, Dave Spoon, Brian Eno, Martin Buttrich, Brian Transeau (BT), Kevin Saunderson, Charlie May, Alexander Coe (Sasha), Giorgio Moroder, Steve Angello, Stuart Price, David Guetta, Trevor Horn, Nile Rodgers, Nick Muir, George Martin, Bob Sinclar, Arthur Baker, Mark Knight, etc. If one only knew the different aliases and pseudonyms associated with some of the most “underground” producers. While some turn their noses up at pop music, one must realize what your favorite underground producer does during his down time- to put food on the table and a roof over his head. Making money from penning pop tunes also enables him or her to create the music you love so much.

In the past, music has evolved much slower and more fluently with very little attention given to the particular track, recording, and/or albums bridging the musical gaps and paradigm shifts. For example, when did disco become disco? When did soul, r&b and funk make the jump to disco? Was it when Neil Bogart (Casablanca) and the Cayre brothers (Salsoul) said so? Lines were incredibly blurred on the musical spectrum during the 60s and 70s- and it was not limited to just disco. If one cannot understand that, then go listen to Mother, Father, Sister, Brother (MFSB) and try to stick a reasonable label on that. Not so much now. The viral nature of (Al Gore’s) internet and other advances in technology have enabled the entertainment conglomerates (record companies, publishers, radio and television broadcasters) to control every aspect of the pipeline. Companies have more vehicles than ever to forcefully deliver their commodities. In other words, media management and other factors have sped up the evolution of music and have positioned the majors to be the ultimate taste makers of music leaving little to no room for free thought. I can assure you whatever thoughts are going through your head, whether it’s sticking it to the man or running out to buy the latest pop single are not preconceived or spontaneous decisions made solely by you the consumer- you can thank product branding and various commercial impressions for that. What normally took a generation, perhaps a cultural movement, maybe an unpopular war mixed with some discontent is taking a matter of quarters (as in maybe a few-under a year for sure). The changes and shifts in music nowadays occur rather abrupt. In under 12 months, fewer than 4 quarters, the masses have seen labels such as Interscope (Universal), V2 (EMI) Capitol (EMI) and Ultra (Indie but distributed by Warner Bros.) explode onto the scene Billboard charts and Soundscan data sheets with their house, synth and electro pop sounds. The Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode may be pre-established heritage acts, but the same certainly could not be said about the new breed graduating from “Pop U” this past semester, or quarter. And again, who do you think is producing and making this new music? Nicola Fasano, who produced Pitbull’s “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)”, could retire a happy man if he chose to after he tossed Ultra Records and Universal Publishng that Pitbull track (which had to be previously cleared along with writer disputes being settled due to the extensive sampling and origins of the track). I’ll do you a favor and not break any more hearts. Pryda and Cirez D couldn’t have occurred and come to fruition without the Steve Winwood/80s loving Eric Prydz.

Ke$ha’s track, Tik Tok, is making the leap in front of our eyes. Hip hop is evolving as it has failed and is done moving people- whether it be physically, emotionally or intellectually. It’s not working anymore. A 25-year shelf life is absolutely outstanding in this quirky, quickly paced, unpredictable and fast moving market place. To cohesively bring pop’s ears to the industy’s final destination, tracks such as Tik Tok must be utilized to ensure a smooth transition and to loose the smallest amount of people as possible along the way. Time is money and 125% of the population have ADD so this transition must be done as effectively and efficiently as possible. (The additional 25% on top of the technical limitation of 100% refers to 25% of the 100% who have ADD REALLY bad). This hip hop-EDM music merger/evolution/shift is nothing new in the music business and has been tried many times before but this is by far the most successful attempt. The fact that the music business has reverted back to an EP-based market has also nurtured this transition. Ditching the long player (LP) format has saved the industry an immense amount of money, time and energy. Dance music has always been a singles dominated market place while pop music has only finally accepted the consumer’s rejection to albums as of the past several years. Cost (as in the MSRP) and quality of the album or LP are among the factors leading to the long player’s unpopularity. All of the evidence is there in the form of tangible numbers. The entertainment industry could also thank the fashion industry because clothing retailers such as H&M, Urban Outfitters and American Apparel have almost ensured this transition with their hipster-80s-discotech-influenced urban chic fashions. I can’t wait to hear and see what’s next. Although the entertainment industry is said to be unpredictable, the individuals who make the big bucks are the sociopaths- the sick, cold, guiltless, INTJ type-personality, psychopath bastards geniuses who understand the functionality of music and lenses in which they are viewing something.

Let me leave you with my two expert “electro-pop” (cough cough) witnesses…

Danny Mullins

1. Mr. Greg Wilson (b. 1960 Wallasey in Merseyside) |EMI|Strut|Tirk|Mercury|DFA|
Greg Wilson Wiki Electro Funk

2. Mr. Kevin Donovan a.k.a. “Afrika Bambaataa” (b. ? Bronx River Projects) |Tommy Boy Records|EMI|
Afrika Bambaataa Wiki

I recently watched the Cleveland Show’s “Birth of a Salesman” and besides being hilarious, it paid respects to the great Herbie Hancock. Before I wanted to write anything about it, I came across Brandon’s posting on the hulu website which is exactly what I was going to say, put into much better words.

“I love that Cleveland Show highlighted Herbie Hancock and one of my favorite songs of all time. “Rockit” is one of the most influential songs ever recorded. Grand Mixer DXT spawned a whole generation of future DJs with this performance at the 84 Grammys, including Q-Bert, MixMasterMike, Cut Chemist, Z-Trip, etc. etc. etc. It was that performance of “Rock It” that stole the show on a night when Michael Jackson won seven awards (if you watch that performance, at the very end, you can see Michael and Brooke Shields in the front row, joining the crowd in a standing ovation). Speaking as a turntablist, pounds of respect to the Cleveland Show.”

My inspiration for this album is all music and all types of DJs hip hop ,trance,r&b ,salsa something that can be played in a club and be enjoyed by all people.

American DJ was created to honor all DJs and there craft.

Here’s a video of him a while back sportin our goods:

Here is a Biography of Masta Hanksta:

Masta Hanksta (born 3 March 1969) is the performing name of Henry Rivas a Mexican-American DJ, Composer and Artist of many mediums.

Henry AKA Masta Hanksta was born and raised in Northern California and is one of the most influential DJ’s of his time. A true pioneer in the Dj game with over 27 years of music experience. Hanksta was one of the youngest DJ’s to hit the streets in 1982.

Growing up poor in San Francisco’s Mission district in Early 70’s Hanksta Parents his six brothers and two sisters struggled in in a two bedroom apartment. until his Father Julian Rivas a migrant farm worker saved up enough money to buy a house in Daly City Where Hanksta would spend most of his childhood.

He began his record collection in 1977 when he was just 8 years old. Hanksta would walk to a near by Record Factory outlet with his older brothers and spend his weekly allowances on a 45” records.

In 1982 He heard a Disc Jockey on the radio by the name of Cameron Paul from a local station called KSOL. That is when Hanksta first realized he wanted to be a DJ. He began to experiment with his record collection using his mothers old turntable which was built into the cabinet.

His first gigs where garage parties for a local gangs in his neighborhood. He would use a wooden Sanyo turntable and a dual cassettes deck player attached to a radio shack mixer.

Hanksta and his brother began charging 50.00 a gig they soon saved up for better equipment and in 1985 they purchased there first pair of Technics SL-1200 turntables along with a Numark Mixer which he still uses to this day.

Working under the name MOB productions (Masters of Beats) Such famous DJ names like Dj Qbert and Mix Master Mike DJ Chuey Gomez AKA ChuDog from the California music channel have attended some of Hankstas gigs and have played at some of His wild and outrages house parties.

At the age of 15 Hanksta would become one of the youngest DJ’s in Northern California to perform in some of San Francisco’s premiere bars and nightclubs. Hanksta once dominated the DJ Scene in Northern California with as much as three bookings per day. He refused to join the battle scene but remained on top for most of his career. Hanksta fell a victim to drugs and alcohol and was forced to step away from the Club scene.

Hanksta graduated from Jefferson High in 1987 and obtained his bachelor degree in Computer graphics in 2002 from the Academy of Art in San Francisco.
After taking a 15-year break from being a DJ Hanksta has returned to the DJ scene and is now producing ,writing and creating his own style of music.

Hanksta just released his 3rd CD The American DJ.

Which is now being distributed digitally under his own independent record label Hanksta Records©

Andrew Friendly teams up with Boombox resident and all-round London DJ legend Rokk for a cheeky cover of Snap’s classic, restyling it into a nu-disco workout.

Andrew Friendly has recently featured in MixMag, DJ Mag, M8 and plenty more with his band Milke, or on his own projects.

This track is already getting plays of Kissy Sellout on Radio1 and support and nods from Who Made Who and Trevor Jackson, this is a tasty slice of analogue warmth and 80’s pads, with the hooks filtered and vocals stripped back.

I had a great opportunity to interview Andrew Friendly and here’s what he had to say:

dbmlabs: Out of all the other 90’s tracks, why did you decide to remix this track?
I’m loving the 90’s vibes at the moment though, my mispent yoof! I remember this track being pretty cheesy back in the day, but when you listen to just the bass progressions with the top line synths, they’re quite cool, it has a slightly hypno-disco feel about it, so we decided to lift those bits, and just add a smattering of vocals over the top. The breakdown is great too, quite dirty in a Moroder kind of way, so it all leant itself nicely to some new-disco vibes. I also love the fact that Snap were a really homophobic band, with Turbo B saying some pretty rank stuff (which is central to why they disappeared), and we’ve twisted it around, and made it sound like something that would work really well in the disco clubs of New York in the late 70’s. It kind of sounds like the cover predates the original! ha ha.

dbmlabs: What hardware/software did you use to produce this track?
Protools, for all the softsynths, recording and programming.
Vocals are recorded on a Rhode NT2a. Really nice. And through a TL Audio Ivory valve compressor.
I’ve got a bunch of analogue synths, and we tried out some vocoder options through a Korg MS2000, but we didn’t use them in the end.

dbmlabs:How long was the production time?
This took a bit longer than I wanted, because it was a collaboration, so you’ve always got to be sensitive to the other person. I think we spent three or four days on it.

dbmlabs: Anything cool coming up in the next couple months you guys want to share?
I’ve got another Andrew Friendly track in the pipeline, I want to have that finished in the next few weeks, but most of my energy is going into Milke, so that’s the priority. We’ve got LOADS in the pipeline there, including collabs and some really big name remixes, and we’ll be working with Philip Zdar on a track, and should be releasing a single in France before the end of the year. More coming soon!