The scary thing is when I did my set in Texas everyone was excited. The show was great. I was done and the next DJ put something on vinyl and the difference! The quality!!
I saw a DJ from Germany called Sven Vath. I saw him in the club, he played for six hours and I was just totally intrigued, because everything he played I'd never heard before and everything he did I'd never seen before. I was so blown away by what he did.
Most of the time - at the Grammys for example - a DJ will perform with just their hands in the air because they can't do anything and that makes it a little awkward, I think.
A good DJ is always looking at the crowd, seeing what they’re like, seeing whether it’s working; communicating with them. Smiling at them. And a bad DJ is always looking down at what they’re doing all the time and just doing their thing that they practiced in their bedroom
I have such respect for the art of deejaying. I hesitate to even call myself a deejay.
I have enough rhythm to blend at this point. I have enough rhythm to blend one song into another. But man, I have such respect for the art of deejaying. I hesitate to even call myself a deejay.
The DJs with a lot of hype are not necessarily the best DJs at creating a vibe.
I am a D.J., I am what I play.
When you go see a good DJ, you'll know it, man - you'll know it in your bones. Between the guy who's phoning it in and the guy who's obsessively working it to give you the best show of his life.
Now, the DJ becomes a star in itself because of the way he programs the songs with lows and then highs and then slowing it down. The big DJs, like Tiesto and Deadmau5 and all those guys, they are very, very creative.
I tried for a long time to make DJ-able dance tracks that were more specific to the stuff that I was playing. Ultimately, I found I wasn't really capable of doing that. The only type of music I was able to make that really made me feel something would just come straight from my heart or straight from whatever emotions I was feeling at that time.
But then I quite enjoy when something goes wrong, because when I watch DJs that take it very seriously, it's nice when you make a mistake and laugh about it.
I just think a lot of people don't give credit to EDM producers or DJs. People think they're just button pushers and just get on stage and don't really perform.
Doing DJ sets is like - is difficult to me. Cause you have to find that happy medium of playing what the crowd wants and what you want.
Playing a room, it's a real dictator-type situation - you can really move the crowd the way you want to. In a festival, there's a sea of people, and it's harder to lock in on any one group.
I can read a crowd pretty well. I know what to play and know how to keep it interesting for them and for myself as well. Most of the other DJs are more like producers so they become famous because they make hits and then they start DJ-ing. But I'm more from the other way around.
Some nightlife places, people aren't there for the music, and it's depressing. I'm not just a club DJ; I am a producer, and I'll only DJ when the crowd is there to enjoy the music.
This is the biggest night of my entire life and everybody's career rides on my DJ set
I had a lot of what they call turntable hits. A lot of them.
For me, I have the highest amount of respect for DJs. There's a real skill set and ability to hold a crowd's attention for four to five hours, especially with an R&B/hip-hop and open-format music.
Everything I make as a producer, I visualize it as a DJ first. And all those beats, I test them as a DJ.
There's nothing better than making music and hearing 3,000 people chant, 'Afrojack! Afrojack!'
I threw my son, Brandon, a rave for his birthday and I fully set it up like a crazy rave with lights and sound, me and my partner DJ'd - I got Mix Master Mike from the Beastie Boys to come DJ for a bit.
As a DJ, people expect a certain sound and a certain danceability for the music. As a producer, I really like to let go of any rules that may exist.
I use the echo effect a lot when I DJ because it allows for smooth transitions, especially at different BPMs. It also adds a studio quality to live DJ performances.
