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Live the life YOU love

Slovenian Tech House Takes the Main Stage at Beyond Wonderland

As always, Insomniac’s undying commitment to provide an immersive audiovisual experience is our ultimate priority. It’s an all-encompassing adventure built around YOU (the headliners). And even though that same defining experience goes well beyond The Conductors’ role on stage, these sonic curators are bestowed with the great honor of constructing the soundtrack around our intimate gatherings. At Beyond Wonderland, Slovenian techno/tech house mastermind, Uroš Umek, dominated the main stage with his driving, high-powered performance. UMEK, one of the Conductors of Wonderland, took us Behind the Experience by letting us dissect his mind.

You have been crafting music for about 20 years now. When and how did you realize your calling for techno/tech house?

In the beginning I was playing just everything that sounded electronic and had a good beat to dance to. In the early 90s electronic dance music was not yet very stratified, so it was not that unusual for deejays to play various genres of electronica in one set or to have a party with deejays who played various styles of electronic music in one arena, one after another. I focused on techno sometime around 1995. I become intrigued with at that time very popular dark, hard, industrial techno sound of Birmingham artists such as Surgeon. My transition from techno towards more tech-sounding production is happening for the last three or four years. The same goes for my label 1605, which always reflects a similar sound that I’m promoting as a producer and deejay. I’m not sure if this transition to tech-house is finished or if it’s going to go all the way at all. The funny thing is that when I play some tracks labeled as tech-house on the Beatport, people in the clubs consider that techno and they don’t believe me that I’ve bought them as tech-house. And at the same time most of tech-house purists don’t consider my music tech-house at all.

What has kept you faithful to techno culture?

I always admired techno deejays that don’t sell out, and rather do what they truly believe in independently than in a company with majors. There was never such hype around techno as it was a case for house and trance, so techno never became really huge and faded in couple of years as some other genres. And that’s why many people consider techno relatively small genre, although all around the world you can find huge techno festivals and superclubs dedicated to techno music. Our scene is global, it was strong since the early 90s and it seems it will continue to be strong. Mostly because it’s a kind of bastard of electronic music: the sound is rough, still quite alternative and futuristic, and because this sound is not that mainstream and mass appealing it was never exploited commercially so intense as some other genres that became huge and were thrown in the gutter after market got saturated with it.

How would you describe your signature sound? Did growing up in Slovenia play a role in shaping your style?

In the 90s we developed something called Slovenian techno sound, which was know globally. It flourished out of the fact that we were using similar hardware and production techniques - including mistakes that made our sound special - so our records sounded unique. Now my sound is not that geographically determined anymore as I can afford to buy any software I want, I know how to use it properly, and I can get all the music and information about how it is produced if I want. So Umek and 1605 sound is much more global now. But I’m known to play very energetic, bass driven music that is inspired by what’s happening on the dance floor and produced to do mayhem on it. So, I believe I still have signature music identity as a deejay and producer as well but it’s not that geographically determined any more.



If you could choose one career defining track thus far, which one would it be and why?

‘Gatex’ on Tiesto’s Magik Music and ‘Lanicor’ in my own Consumer Recreation label have marked the time of my big international breakthrough after the year 2000 – but they don’t have much in common with the sound I produce and play now. They are considered classics. ‘Posing As Me’ was huge in Slovenia and my home region, and ‘Ricochet Effect’ is my favorite, but it was best selling tracks like ‘Back in the Race’ (with Beltek), ‘OMG WTF’ and other Beatport number ones that were big internationally in the last couple of years. Even bigger as ‘Lanicor,’ which was huge track on techno scene. ‘Gatex’ on the other hand did cross over in other genres and mainstream electronic music already at that time.

In terms of music genres, do you have any “guilty pleasures?”

I don’t hide this really but it’s not that well known I was also one of the pioneers of house music in Slovenia. I produced some nice house tracks under the moniker of Kemu in the past, I have a great selection of classic house on vinyl from 1987 onwards and I still follow what’s happening in house today although I don’t do house gigs. That’s not the mainstream house sound of David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia and such artists. It’s what guys like DJ Sneak used to produce in Chicago back in the 90s. Though I played a classic house set two months ago at my 20 anniversary special in Ambasada Gavioli, Slovenia – as unannounced surprise in a backroom after a headlining techno set in big arena, so most of the audience didn’t even know about it till they read about it the next day on forums. ☺

One of your recent releases is a collaborative effort with Pleasurekraft entitled ‘Korea’. What’s the significance behind the track name?

You should ask this Pleasurekraft as they choose the title. ☺ I choose titles of my tracks randomly. I try to give them names that sound intriguing when you speak them out. There are only two or three track titles in my whole opus that are connected to something really substantial. The similar goes to my music. I don’t produce music inspired by events and incidents. My inspiration is the energy I get from the audience during my gigs and when I produce music I try to imagine how it will influence happening on the dance floor.

What characteristics do you look for when deciding to work with other producers? What are the pros and cons of solo productions vs. collaborations?

Till couple of years ago I wasn’t really keen of collaborations, I’d rather produced music alone. But then one day something changed, I don’t know what, and suddenly I started to enjoy working with other artists. Most of this collaborations happen spontaneously, and we do them sending files back and forth trough the e-mail most of the time. One artist creates an idea and the other finishes the track. Sometimes it takes us a bit longer and we have to repeat this process couple of times till all parties involved get satisfied with final results. I also did couple of proper joint studio sessions in the last couple of years. All collaborations with Beltek started with studio sessions and I also like to work this way with Mike Vale. When you work with another artist your artist freedom is limited a bit as you have to do compromises. That can be good and bad at the same time but in general it’s good to get another artist’s perspective on your work as sometimes you become too emotionally attached to some elements in a track that are not sounding good or don’t bring anything substantial to the track. At that point you have to trust your partner and start working on alternatives and in the result is something else that what you’d produce on your own.



Your 1605 imprint is a platform for up-and-coming, forward-thinking producers. What determines whether a track should be released on the label?

That would be my personal taste in music. My production, DJ sets, 1605 label and Behind the Iron Curtain radio show are all part of one big story, they are ran by the same ideas and principles. I always play, endorse, support, chart and release only music that I like and don’t care if it’s produced by established or unknown artists. We are releasing music from reputable and fresh artists from all over the world now, but we do focus a bit more on the Western Balkans and Eastern Bloc as there’s a lot of unexploited talents that don’t get attention which they deserve.

The Mantra of 1605 is “Music Therapy.” How does music act as therapy in your own life?

Music is my whole life and I believe it’s the best therapy in the world. Its very intimate and individual thing and at the same time it brings together all kinds of people. You’re never alone when you have music. Every time something bad happened to me in my life, when I was really down, music shook me up. All World can act against you but when you come home and press play button music triggers all kinds of emotions - that a proper music therapy. When I was a kid and music was not so easy to get as today, it sometimes took me even half a year to finally get some record that I wanted … that was a divine feeling with goose bumps and the whole rainbow of good emotions.



Your set at Beyond Wonderland saw you sharing the Queen’s Domain stage (main stage) with acts like David Guetta, Steve Angello and Markus Schulz. How did it feel to represent the tech scene amongst that type of lineup?

Maybe this will come as a surprise but this wasn’t my first gig with David Guetta or even Markus Schulz. Not in the States though, but I did some big events with David back in Europe, I remember playing with Markus at some nice boat party in Sweden but that wasn’t the only time we gigged together. Many tech deejays would refuse to do that, but I see that kind of gigs as a special challenge and I always think a lot about what’s the best way to present my sound to the crowd that is used of more commercial music without loosing my artist integrity. It has to be music for a main floor but with Umek signature at the same time. So Beyond Wonderland was something special for me and I hope the audience as well. I always like to promote my sound to new audience and hopefully I open the door to a new chamber in the electronic music wonderland to some who would not consider open it on their own at all. Most of Americans are very open minded though, they get excited by anything new and if they like something what they hear for the first time they go online to look what that is, where does it come from and if there’s more stuff like this. I like that!



At Insomniac, we place a huge emphasis on the overall experience we create. Can you describe that experience from the DJ’s perspective?

That’s something I envy the audience. The only thing a DJ gets at the party is a feeling of mixing music and communication with the crowd on the dance floor. Sometimes I really miss experiencing those grand visualizations behind my back at the same time. When I come home and watch You Tube clips I’m amazed how attractive the party looked from the dance floor. All these elements are important addition to music as they play on other senses and this way people experience sets on a totally different level than I do on a stage. During my performance at Beyond Wonderland I was thinking how amazing it must be on the dance floor when fireworks started to blast - on top of great sound and light system, visuals and ecstatic crowd on the dance floor. It would be amazing to be able to at least once beam myself into the crowd to see me playing on stage. That’s something I will never be able to experience.

Gutter Brothers Entrap Beyond Wonderland

Behind the black bandanas are two self-professed nerds. Colin Overholt (primary DJ) and Valentin Cain (primary producer) met while working as video game testers. In fact, the name Gutter Brothers originated from two characters in a game they were testing. Once they each fell in love with producing music, they quit video game testing and have never looked back since.

For Cain, Beyond Wonderland was unforgettable. It was “probably the best experience of my life so far,” he said. “To do something that you love to do just because you love to do it, and other people appreciate it. It was beautiful.”

Holt was surprised at the turnout for the Discovery Stage. “I wouldn’t expect so many people to come out to see someone they either haven’t heard or don’t know much about. When we started our set, I saw a sea of people back there. I could see people looking at the stage forty meters back. And we’ve never played to an audience that large before, so for us, it was definitely amazing and very fun.”

It wasn’t long ago that Cain and Holt began attending club shows. As soon as they heard dubstep mixed with other genres and had their first taste of trap, they were sold. “The Original Don Flosstradamus remix pretty much changed everything for us,” Holt said. “We were like, ‘We’re all in, this is what we want to do.’ Dubstep was in our rear view mirror from then on out.”

Now, the Gutter Brothers have released an EP, “Kiss Me I’m Gutter,” and are working full-time producing music. Insomniac caught up with Colin and Val minutes after their Beyond Wonderland set. To find out how this duo dropped their video game controllers and picked up turntables, read below.

What did you think of your set? How did everything go?

VC: All I could think about was how it looked. It looked beautiful out there… It was just a total blow my mind experience.

What made you guys apply to the Discovery Project?

CO: I was looking into these guys called The Esseph, who also make trap music. And so when I saw that they won the competition, I was like, if trap music can be at a festival through winning a competition, then that’s probably the only way we’re going to get in a festival now. Honestly, when we found out [we had won], we absolutely couldn’t believe it. We entered thinking it would be something that we would never think about again, other than it was a way for us to work on our craft, for us to practice mixing as well as producing.

So how did you guys meet and become the Gutter Brothers?

CO: We were working at a video game publisher called 2K Games as video game testers, and that job sucked. So we were both testing on Borderlands 2 for the past year, kind of when trap came about…and for us, dubstep was really cool, a new type of music. It was very intense but at the same time slow and it made people move. And that attracted us to it.

VC: And that was all we were going to produce. At first we were going to produce dubstep, but we just couldn’t deny [trap]…We felt like that’s where our brains think, that’s why we related with it so much when we heard it. We sort of made music we liked; it just happens to be built around 808s and a lot of “yeahs” and “heys.”

And what are the bandanas for?

VC: We’re nerds when it comes to it. It’s just a creative way to express [ourselves] a little bit more. At this point, we’re just having fun. And we’re not trying to hide our identities or anything. We’re just like… We’re the Gutter Brothers. So we just go on stage looking as gutter as we possibly can.

CO: Also the bandanas, it’s something where you could become a character. You can put it on and become someone else while you’re on stage. And for that point in time you don’t have to think about anything else in your life other than that who that character is, and it feels good.

Do people ever mistake you for the other Gutter Brothers?

CO: The English skiffle band?

Yeah!

CO: My father, he called me three days ago, and he was asking me “I googled Gutter Brothers, and I found this English band. You guys know about those guys, or are you guys making fun of them? What’s that all about?”

VC: We didn’t even know that they existed.

I just thought it was really funny because it’s so different from your music.

CO: I want to know what skiffle is. I really do.

VC: If we start digging into a lot of their music maybe we’ll pull out some samples.

CO: Long-lost brothers.

Maybe a remix

VC: Skiffle-trap

So what do you guys see for the future? Any goals, plans?

Both: This.

VC: I think this, all the time.

Producing full time?

CO: Yeah that’s what we’ve been doing. Like getting shows and being able to, you know, afford to live in Los Angeles while trying to play trap music. It’s the most ridiculous thing. But it’s to the point where we’re actually really close…it’s been amazing because not only did we win this, but we won the MNDR “Feed Me Diamonds” Remix Contest in the same week as this.

That’s so exciting!

VC: It was like the floodgates opened up.

CO: We’re getting there. We’re getting things done.

VC: We’d love to come back and do this again but then be on an even bigger stage and not have to win a contest. To just be asked to come back.

CO: Maybe trap will be there by then.

VC: This is all we do; this is all we care about. We’re pretty cut-throat to ourselves about getting this done and putting music out. We love it, [and] we have fun, but we also treat it like it’s our profession.

Trap is definitely getting up there.

CO: That’s great. And that’s a great change of pace. We’ve got all this four [on the] floor, full-time music going. It’s nice to be able to chill out for awhile.

VC: It gives people different options. I’ve always loved downtempo. We still listen to all types of EDM. It’s not just strictly trap. We’re just surprised — why didn’t all of us think of this sooner? How did it take so long?

Right time, right place.

VC: Yeah, right time, right place. Exactly. We just kind of caught the wave. We’ve been doing music and doing things in music forever, but this was the first time where we felt like it’s so open, so much to create. You could take samples of people screaming outside your house and cut it up.

CO: Nobody’s expecting anything when it comes to drops. When it comes to dubstep drops, you know, late 2012, early 2012 really, everybody was just expecting the hardest, most aggressive drop every time a drop hit. Not only does it get tiring after forty minutes, [but also] it’s not interesting. It’s the same problem I have with house and drum and bass. Every time it gets to a drop you know exactly what beat to expect. With trap there’s 808s, but I don’t know what pattern they’re going to be in. So there’s more room to create, there’s more room to just do things that feel right, even if it’s not by the book.

Party Ghost Increases His Visibility

Chris Mehrtash, aka Party Ghost, almost didn’t make his 9pm set time for Beyond Wonderland. After making the two-and-a-half-hour drive from Fresno to San Bernardino, Party Ghost found himself stuck behind two trains, waiting for them to pass so he could enter the festival. “The first one came… it was like ten minutes. Then this other one came. It was like twenty minutes just waiting for it,” he said. “I made it right at nine.”

As if that wasn’t enough, the music went out during his set. Unfazed, Party Ghost swiftly took action, and before the audience could think twice, got the music back on. “It’s happened before, so I kind of know what to do. I try to unplug it, then plug it back in [laughs], basic things,” he explained. “But it came back, so I’m happy.”

It’s hard to believe that Party Ghost has only been producing for nine months. He’s traded in his guitar and mic from his band days and entered the world of dance music. So why the move? “It’s the music, it’s the energy, everything. I think it’s a revolution… it’s completely something new.”

Insomniac chatted with Party Ghost after his high-powered set, during which a stranger put a giant mask on his head, leaving him unable to see while spinning. To find out how Party Ghost has transitioned over to becoming a DJ, plans for his upcoming EP, and his worst DJ experience ever, read below.

How did your set go? What did you think?

My set was awesome. It was crazy.

It was so high energy!

It was. I really had a lot of fun. It’s probably one of my best gigs that I’ve played.

What else have you played?

I played in Texas. I play a lot in Fresno, California, and I’ve played in Los Angeles before. That’s pretty much it. Texas is the farthest one away.

And how long have you been producing?

I’ve been producing for about like nine months now. I was in a band for three years before this, so I play guitar, sing.

How’s making your first EP going?

It’s going good. It’s taking a while but it’s going good. It’ll be done probably by launch. I’m going to launch this summer. That’s what we’re planning on right now.

How did you come up with your name?

There’s no actual good story behind it. I just like partying. I like the word “party” and I like the word “ghost,” so I just combined it. That’s pretty much it.

So how has your journey as a DJ been so far?

It’s been going pretty fast. I was in a band before so I kind of know how to push as an artist. I kind of know what to do as in trying to get my name out there.

Do you still do the whole band thing?

No, that stopped. Once the band stopped, I started doing Party Ghost.

Do you work on the side?

I used to be a tutor, and now I’m getting enough money to actually sustain my brand. My rent’s $300, so I can do it. Because you live in Fresno. Exactly.

So this is your first Insomniac show right?

Yeah, this is my first Insomniac show. This was pretty fucking crazy. Twenty minutes before my set I was ten miles out.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a DJ?

I don’t know. I’ve been doing music since I was seventeen, so I really don’t know what I would be doing. Probably something with business, more marketing, PR stuff.

During the day what do you do?

I’m doing Party Ghost almost 24/7. This is my job, so I have to. I keep pushing. It’s fun; I don’t mind it at all.

What are your best and worst DJ experiences?

I played a show in Fresno and then my laptop turned off. It was during mid-set. It was probably a ten-minute downtime. So that was probably the worst experience that I’ve ever had. Nothing too crazy.

What was the crowd’s reaction?

They always do the same exact thing, “OOOOOH!!” And then I just try to get them clapping.

I could see that today too.

I came prepared.

Do you have any piercings?

I just have my ears pierced. I lost my other one [earring] on stage. I saw it flying out. I’m like, “No!”

What are your goals for the future?

Just keep pushing out new music, keep pushing my name out there. Just go hard.

Do you use any marketing techniques?

I do a lot of remixes, so I try to push that out. If it’s not official, we try to do it through blogs, so a lot of blog pushing.

What’s the best and worst piece of advice you’ve gotten?

The best advice I’ve gotten… “Don’t take advice.” It’s something I think everyone learns on their own.

Your EP is coming out soon. What other goals do you have?

It’s just basically building my profile out, getting as many shows as possible. One of my biggest goals is to play Ultra or EDC.

By Anum Khan

Three different people, one sound: Let It Be Known

Harnick Atur, Keith Buhler, and Eugene Shun want to Let It Be Known. The trio was selected as one of the winners of the Discovery Project: Beyond Wonderland, affording them the opportunity to play in front of thousands of people. This is especially impressive considering that their largest audience before was a mere 250 people. “It was just absolutely amazing,” Buhler explained.

Let It Be Known hails from Northern California. They spent the car ride down practicing their set, making sure that everything went smoothly, and the effort certainly paid off, with Atur proclaiming that the Beyond Wonderland set was Let It Be Known’s best to date. “We were trying a lot of Beatport remix contests, trying to find our sound, and I think we actually found our sound with the Discovery Project,” he said.

While the crowd at Beyond Wonderland may not have known, Let It Be Known are true bedroom producers in every sense of the phrase. Atur and Buhler are roommates who live and produce at Atur’s parents house. “He’s [Atur’s dad] into like 70s rock, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and all that. I grew up on that stuff,” Atur said, “and when you hear our music, it’s like we’re trying to bring the old school back to the new. We’ve just got to propel on that and make it a known entity, and let everyone know.”

Up next for Let It Be Known is an EP that they are aiming to complete within the next sixth months. “We actually played it earlier, and seeing the crowd reaction, it was awesome,” Shun said. Insomniac caught up with the group minutes after their Beyond Wonderland set to ask them about the past, present, and future, and most importantly, how they want to Let It Be Known.

So how did you meet? How do you know each other?

HA: I’ve known Eugene since the first day he moved to the United States. So we’re like best friends.

ES: [It] was like seven, eight years ago.

HA: Back in 2006. And Keith we met at a gig.

ES: I actually met Keith first at a clubhouse in downtown San Jose. Then we started contact, and we started making music together.

KB: Eugene messaged me on Facebook. He’s like, “Dude, you want to come play at Sin Lounge with me? I’m doing a little show.” And I’m like “OK.”

HA: We wanted to start something like a small DJ thing going on.

ES: Exactly.

HA: Like bring house music to San Jose because it’s predominantly a very, very hip-hop driven community. So trying to bring it in, massaging it in.

KB: Kneading the dough, so to speak.

So what was it like winning the Discovery Project? How did you guys find out you won?

ES: I was at work, and I received an email from Insomniac. And I was just texting them [Atur and Buhler] as I ate, “Have you guys gotten an email yet?” And they were like, “No, no, what are you talking about?” And I was like, “We’re going to play. We won the competition.” We couldn’t believe it.

HA: It was super surreal, like, we [couldn’t] believe it. It was like, “No, no, you gotta pinch us. Is this real right now?”

KB: I gotta say, tonight was unbelievable. That [learning they had won] was unbelievable; this was just astronomically unbelievable.

You talk about being different ethnicities. How has that influenced your music?

HA: I come from Punjabi descent. I love bhangra. Everything’s very, very percussion-based, so I have that influence in the music. Mr. Buhler right here, he’s actually of Dutch descent, so he got the dirty Dutch in him, you know.

KB: Yeah, I love my dirty Dutch beats. Nicky Romero, Alvaro… There’s kick drums that get you bouncing. That’s what I love.

HA: And then this guy [pointing to ES], melodies.

HA: We have that one sound that we all can be in unison with, you know? And that’s really, really hard. If you’re an individual artist, you’re kind of finding those ways. We’re having three brains to make one entity. And for us, I think that’s…

Three heads are better than one.

HA: Exactly!

KB: Today, it’s especially hard to find your sound. So if you can develop a unique sound that individualizes you from everybody else, that brings everybody to you for your sound, then you have something going, and we feel like we’re kind of getting on track with that. We kind of realized it a little bit tonight, so we’re going to keep going down that path, and see where it takes us.

What are some challenges or obstacles you’ve faced?

KB: When we first got into it, we didn’t know too much about the producing side of house music but we all had the love for house music. We just got together, and we’re like, “Let’s make music at my house. I’m going to buy some speakers. Let’s do this.” And then we did it, for like a year.

ES: We actually finished the first single within two, three weeks.

KB: To add to that, in our remixes we try to add dubstep.

Yeah I heard that towards the end.

KB: Yeah, you heard that Madeon-style part. We’re trying to add different kinds of genres at the same tempo so it’s danceable, but it’s different. We feel that many people don’t do that today.

That’s definitely true because when you guys played dubstep, I was actually able to dance to it, and that doesn’t usually happen.

KB: Awesome.

How did you guys come up with the name?

HA: We were in the car one time, and we were listening to Tupac.

KB: And you were like, “Let it be known.”

ES: Since we just started, we want the group to be known, so let it be known. LIBK, that’s where it started.

KB: We hope someday that if we are successful with what we’re doing, that it becomes a statement, like, “Let it be known!” Whatever you’re doing, let it be known. You gotta work hard to get to where you are.

ES: We’re not just a group; it’s a lifestyle.

KB: If you can think like that everywhere you go, then your life will be better, and you’ll bring everybody up with you, so that’s the way we think about it.

HA: And hopefully with this, you might see us at a festival close to you. I think this is our best set, to a point where we actually have this huge crowd feeding off our energy, and they’re giving it back. It’s such a surreal feeling.

KB: I wasn’t even on that stage, I was like 10 feet above the stage.

ES: That was an awesome party, I really cannot hear anything.

AK: Do you guys wearing any hearing protection?

All three: No

ES: We should after tonight.

KB: What’s the last thing we want to say?

All three: Let It Be Known

By Anum Khan

Explore. Dream. Discover.

Todd Daggett is the ultimate multitasker. By day he’s a marine biology major and aspiring scientist who repairs computers at his part-time job, and by night, he’s DJ Deformaty, spinning sets that have literally brought audiences to tears. Deformaty was selected as one of the winners of the Beyond Wonderland Discovery Project with his electro/break-beat remix of previous Discovery Project winner James Egbert’s track “Back to New.”

“The James Egbert remix I did it starts out as electro-house, then it goes into breaks, then it goes back into electro house, and I think that’s probably what people’s favorite part about that song is it just changes,” Deformaty explains. “And a lot of people don’t realize what just happened, it went into breaks. And they’re just like, ‘what happened?’”

The Portland-based DJ originally found out about the competition through a friend. “I made a post on Facebook, and I said, you know what…I’m going to be playing EDC someday, Deformaty said. “I guess one of my friends wanted me to put my money where my mouth is, and sent me the link for the competition, and I was like, ‘yeah!’ I’ll do that.’”

Insomniac sat down to interview Deformaty after his explosive set at Beyond Wonderland that literally had the whole Wide Awake Art Car shaking. “I’d start jumping up and down, and everyone else would jump up and down and launch me up in the air a little bit, and I’m like ‘oh [crap]!’” he explained.

Read below to learn what life-changing experience charted his course towards becoming a DJ, where he sees the future going, and what the Discovery Project means for him.

Q: How did you think your set went?

D: Well, except for hitting the Cue button when I wasn’t supposed to and stopping the track, it went really well…when something like that happens you just have to move on and hope no one remembers, and usually they don’t.

Q: Were you nervous at all?

D: No, but when I get up there I get really pumped up and start feeling lightheaded…and jumping around.

Q: The energy was really great on that stage!

D: Yeah it felt really awesome. It’s probably one of the better sets I’ve played so far, and I’ve played a lot of them.

Q: You said you’ve been DJ-ing for awhile

D: Yeah 13 years

Q: So how did you get started?

D: I was a troubled youth, just doing my own shit and not listening to anybody. And I went to my first rave in Portland, and I knew nothing about it. I had a John Digweed CD that I had burnt from the internet, and I was totally amazed. And so my friends convinced me to go to a party once and I went there…and it changed my life forever.

Q: How did it do that?

D: I was looking for something to make meaning out of my life. I had no direction and no role models and suddenly, this music was incredible and the energy was incredible…and it was that moment I decided, that’s what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.

Q: People have been ‘overwhelmed to tears’ during your sets. Can you describe how that felt?

D: The first time I saw it happen I was playing at “Where Life Begins” (festival). It was 2010, I think…and I noticed this girl sitting right in front of the stage and she was just bawling her eyes out and [had] tears rolling down her face. I thought maybe someone broke up with her or whatever, [maybe she was] being dramatic, but after I got off stage she ran up to me and gave me the biggest hug and said ‘Oh my God, it was almost too much, and you made me cry, and thank you so much.’ The sweat was just pouring off of her. That was a really big motivator for me to keep going. I think every artist, when they’re starting out…it’s really tough, and you want to stop all the time. It’s really frustrating, and you just got to find reasons to keep going….If my friend hadn’t told me about this competition [Discovery Project] I wouldn’t have bothered to enter. I almost didn’t bother to enter anyways.

Q: So that’s how you found out, through your friend?

D: [Yeah] I kind of sat on it for awhile and I go to school and stuff, so it takes time. I get one day a week to work on stuff. I have a math final as soon as I get back into town, doing a little studying while I’m here.

Q: So where does your DJ life fit into that?

D: Music, you only get one shot. If you stop for any reason, for any amount of time, you lose your momentum. You can never ever build that momentum back up. School you can always drop out and come back in and drop out and come back in…It’s probably going to come to the point where I’m going to have to take a break.

Q: And now is the age to pursue music, when you’re young.

D: It is, and electronic music is exploding, and it’s really the place to be right now.

Q: What did you feel like when you won the Discovery Project?

D: I was really excited, but I was also really stressed out because I knew I had a final, and I have a job too.

Q: Where do you work at?

D: I do computer repair and assembly at a computer repair shop in Portland. It’s mostly part-time, it’s really flexible, my boss is really cool, but something’s got to give at some point. Obviously I wasn’t going to turn this down, so I kind of moved everything over to make room for it, and then just went for it; we’ll see how it turns out.

Q: So what are your goals for the future?

D: I played for Insomniac now, that was a big goal of mine….One of the things that excited me was that Insomniac said something about winning the competition you get considered for artist management so I kind of got my fingers crossed about that. There’s a couple of people that are offering me management that I don’t think I’m going to go for because they don’t seem to know what they’re doing….I started out with techno, tech house, trance, psy trance, and a little drum and bass. And then I got hooked on breaks, and I just hadn’t stopped, and so now I’m doing breaks, electro house, kind of hybrid blending….And honestly they work so well together that I think I can probably brand myself with both and do pretty well.

Q: It’s definitely an idea to pursue.

D: You just kind of have to test everything out,…Basically I just write what I want to listen to, I write what I like to hear and so that I know at least I’m always happy with my own work.

Q: Not just doing it for popularity.

D: Exactly! I don’t want to make cookie-cutter breaks, cookie-cutter electro-house. I want to do stuff that’s original and unique and that people are going to hear and not forget, and so far, so good…. One thing I pride myself on is I play only my own stuff, I don’t play anyone else’s stuff. I really appreciate people who do that, because a DJ has always played other people’s music, it’s been like that forever, that’s how DJ-ing started. When someone plays all their own stuff, I think it just makes them a cut above, it’s just unique.

Q: Anything else you want to add?

D: I definitely want to thank Insomniac for giving me this opportunity.

By Anum Khan

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