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ZOMBIE DISCO SQUAD
CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
ERR, HIS SOFT TOY MONKEY
“Monkey joined me in my studio about two
years ago. I had a pretty nasty fight with a
mate of mine (over a girl, obviously). My
friend bought me Monkey in what I thought
was a gesture of peace. I was wrong —
Monkey, frankly, is a bit of a dick. In the late
nights when I’m trying to meet deadlines and
finish songs he is there shouting drunken
abuse at me. ‘Work harder, you f**cker!’ he
screams. ‘But Monkey,’ I reply, ‘I’m trying my
best’.
“Monkey doesn’t care if I’m tired, Monkey
doesn’t care if I’m having a bad day. Monkey
craves sex lyrics, boom boom bass and stolen
beer.
“My last EP on Dirtybird contained no sexual
references and Monkey got kinda vexed, I had
to pacify him by getting Kill Frenzy in the
studio to work on some new material. The two
of them get on very well, they chatted for
hours about 2 Live Crew and the pros and cons
of having fur.
“Why is Monkey something I can’t live
without? The answer is, as much as he is a
pain in the butt, without him I would probably
be making classical music and have a
well-groomed beard. There is also the fact that
for the life of me I can’t seem to get him off
my shoulder.”
One of the most important aspects of
being a professional DJ is promotion,
and unless you are already a superstar
DJ with a team working behind the
scenes, this means self-promotion.
While the internet has made releasing
and promoting music easier than
ever, the sheer volume of releases and
information out there makes it harder
than ever to stand out from the crowd
and get some attention. One of the best
ways to build a profile as a DJ is to gain a
loyal following, both on the dancefloor
as well as online. The London-based
Mixcloud — which is now four-yearsold — is a perfect way for DJs to gain an
audience, a point that has not been lost
on some very big artists such as Moby,
Carl Cox and Fatboy Slim to name just a
few who are already hosting their mixes
on the site.
Mixcloud has just released a brand new
app for Android along with updates for
iOS, both of which are perfect for DJs
and clubbers to keep up-to-date with
hot mixes on the go. The user interface
for the app is very clean and easy to
use with separate screens for feeds,
categories and a discovery screen,
which suggests Cloudcasts (Mixcloud’s
name for podcasts and mixes) based
on your previous as well as your friends’
listening habits. DJs and content
producers can also keep an eye on their
profile to see how many followers they
currently have. With Soundcloud taking
down many DJ mixes at the moment, it
could well be Mixcloud’s time to shine.
BASS IN THE PLACE
VERDICT
9/10
DJs looking for extra feedback whilst in the booth should look
no further than the SubPac M1, a wearable backpack that
delivers the physical vibrations of a club soundsystem. DJs
wearing the SubPac M1 are able to feel the bass felt by the
crowd in the club whilst in the mix. The new version of
the SubPac follows on from
StudioFeed’s original studio
incarnation that was a
niche hit amongst the
production crowd.
Getting to feel the
bass as it happens
adds another
dimension to your
mixes.
SOUND DESIGN
Pioneer have launched yet
another controller
designed for Serato users.
The entry-level DDJ-SB is
even more compact and
portable than the
premium DDJ-SX and DDJSR controllers, and offers
DJs hands-on control to
all the functions of Serato
DJ Intro. The new
controller comes with the
industry’s first Filter Fade
that adds a high pass filter
to the crossfader,
enabling smoother
transitions with just one
control.
£199
pioneerdj.eu
STAGG NIGHT
One for the mobile DJ or
small club installs, Stagg
Pro Lighting have released
the Headbanger 10
Moving Head LED light
unit. The Headbanger 10
can be floor positioned or
mounted to deliver
amazing light displays,
easily programmable, with
user-selectable modes as
well as sound activation.
The Headbanger 10 is
perfect for anyone who
needs to add lighting to
their DJ rig or
set-ups.
£199
staggmusic.
com
£200
thesubpac.com
READY FOR THE WEEKEND
Sol Republic has teamed up with Calvin Harris to “change the world
one listener at a time” with its first professional-calibre headphones
the Sol Republic Master Tracks XCs, studio-tuned by the man himself.
The Master Tracks XCs have been created to deliver sound that’s
acoustically accurate for music artists to use in the studio, as well as
behind the decks. The stylish, lightweight design makes for a coollooking pair of headphones that will also deliver professional-grade
sound. Here’s your chance to win a pair of the Master Track XCs: send
your details to [email protected] and a lucky winner will be
plucked out of the hat.
£299.99
solrepublic.com
080 djmag.com
TECH NEWS
A MOMENT
OF YOUR TIME
JUST BE
JUST BE has held many guises in his journey
through electronic music. Launching his
career as Matthew B in the midst of the UK
acid house explosion, his identity and
sound have undertaken many a
metamorphosis, through Bushwacka, The
End Soundsystem, Layo and Bushwacka!,
to settle for the meantime on Just Be. His
continual evolution, thirst for new sounds
and epic touring schedule has ingrained his
many identities across the international
clubbing scene.
You’ve had a long and fruitful career?
“I think that I’ve been lucky. I’ve been
blessed. I must be doing something right
musically, but I also think I’ve worked
harder than I thought I did for the first 15
to 20 years, because all around people would
be telling me how h