Stereo The Contest

A couple of weeks ago I participated in Stereo The Contest organized by TK Projects at my home town Turnhout. I had been selected among 14 other deejays to perform on stage and play a 20 minutes DJ-set. Every participant had to stick to one out of 3 different styles:

• electro
• house
• minimal / dubstep

A professional jury consisting of music business members had to select one winner in every genre. Brian-V, a well-known house DJ and owner of the Prime Records Belgium label, had not only been invited to play at the afterparty, but he fulfilled a crucial role in the selections after the contest as well.

To prepare for this contest I took the opportunity to join DazZs Audio (Jordi) and Wezzelby (Wesley) during their promodays at fashion store Labels. I had a great time spinning records, distributing flyers and making lots of fun. I could already drop some tracks and watch the people’s response in the streets. This helped me when picking the right records for my electro set back home. I wanted to make it sound dirty without loosing its funky character. To highlight this even more, I chose Kraak & Smaak‘s brand new track called ‘Dynamite’ to kick off with. You’ll be sensing the same groovy beats throughout this set.

This is the complete playlist of my Stereo The Contest set:

1. Kraak & Smaak – Dynamite (Original Mix)
2. John Acquaviva & Lützenkirchen – Zombie (Original Mix)
3. Boys Noize – Oh! (A-Trak Remix)
4. John Acquaviva – Monster (Original Mix)
5. Jin Sonic & Dive – Play (Wolfgang Gartner Dub)
6. Acid Jacks – Awake Since ’78 (Original Mix)
7. Savant Garde – Trigger Happy (Olivier Giacomotto Remix)
8. Dada Life – This Machine Kills Breakfasts (Original Mix)
9. Kid Dub – Tetris (Tocadisco Edit)
10. Wolfgang Gartner – Front To Back (Original Mix)
11. Deadmau5 feat. MC Flipside – Hi Friend (Original Mix)
12. LFO – Freak (Original Mix)

During the afterparty at Club 1900, I shared the decks with DazZs Audio (Jordi) and Wezzelby (Wesley) again. These guys already have a strong reputation as DazZelby, thanks to their quick mixing skills, original track selections and self-made mashups.

Conclusion: the first edition of Stereo The Contest was a great success and I’m looking forward to the next one. Bonkers!

Advertisement

Petrol Demo Mix 2008

Last week I was very busy making a new demo mix to participate in Petrol‘s yearly DJ-contest called ‘Microob’. It took some time before having a smooth mix with nice transitions between the tracks. So let’s tell you a little secret to get your own mixes right.

When the current track is almost finished, obviously the next track has to come in. But when is the right moment to switch over to the next track? Each track consists of 3 parts: begin, middle and end. In the beginning a track is building up and bringing the crowd to a climax when reaching the middle part. Then it’s holding on this uplifting sample to keep you dancing on the beats and finally it starts running down till the end of the track. The trick lies in detecting when the current track will start running down. This moment triggers the next track to come in. Now you get a cross-over period between both tracks. You’ll see that the new track reaches its first climax while the old track stops playing. This way of mixing makes you a good performing deejay!

This is the complete playlist of my I love Electro House set:

1. Djuma Soundsystem – Les Djinns (Trentemoller Remix)
2. Dave Spoon – At Night (Breaks Mix)
3. Plastic Funk feat. Dollarman – Let me see your hands (Original Mix)
4. Black Strobe – Innerstrings (No Shuffle Mix)
5. Evermore vs Dirty South – It’s too late [ride on] (The Disco Boys Remix)
6. Ida Corr – Let me think about it (Fedde Le Grand Remix)
7. Natural Born Grooves – Candy on the dancefloor (Lick That Candy Remake)
8. Corenell feat. Ann Bailey – Pride [a deeper love] (Electro Clash Mix)
9. Wess Vall – Los Banditos (Original Mix)
10. Fedde Le Grand – Put your hands up for Detroit (Original Mix)
11. Shameboy – Strobot (Original Mix)
12. Digitalism vs The Similou – All This Zdarlight (Bootleg Version)
13. Kurd Maverick vs Outwork – Electro Rub (White Label Mix)
14. Booka Shade – Darko (Original Mix)
15. Djuma Soundsystem – Les Djinns (Def Jaguar Remix)

So listen to my contest demo mix and start practicising yourself. Good luck!

Birthday Party Ditmar & Lore

Last Friday we were invited at the Birthday Party of Ditmar & Lore in Turnhout. Starting with Dimsel and some hot R&B / Hip Hop / Disco sounds, the crowd got warmed up for a massive Electro / House set of Martino and myself. The three of us continued to spin the records till 3AM in the morning. Let’s hope we gave Ditmar & Lore a party night to remember?!

Happy New Year 2008

Wishing you all the best for 2008! I’ll continue to provide you with the latest electro and progressive house tracks in the mix. Last week we made some fresh DAVE CANTO vs Dimsel mixtapes. It was a great warming-up for the New Years Party “Dirty Dancing” @ Club 1900 in Turnhout. Don’t forget to sign the guestbook!

I love House

Another demo of DAVE CANTO vs Dimsel is available for download. We keep on spinning the best electro and progressive house tunes. Listen to our groovy beats and give us your feedback!