What DJing means to me...
I have been DJing semi-prefessionally since 1997 and have been training the art of turntablism since late 2001. The first time I DJed I didn't have any equipment of my own and used this deck the club had which were 2 techincs CD player and a Graphic Equalizer that had a crossfader. Why CD players you may ask? That's cuz the party thrown at the club was a Korean party, and there are no Korean vinyls these days. The second time I DJed was at a Semi Formal Party at Sheraton Hotel down in Station Square. The third time was at Club Taipei for a 30 minute session. Then that summer I saved up some money to buy myself some stuff and it all really began. One draw back to my beginning was that, right when I was deciding between a turntable set up and a CD setup there was a great need for a Korean DJ spinning for the Korean crowd. That semi-forced me to stick to a CD set up. I wonder how different it would have been if I were to have chosen to stick with a turntable set up from the beginning. But, now I have 3 turntables... ;) So, these days I'm researching the root of Hip Hop and its history as I get more and more in to the art of turntablism. A colleague of mine make fun of me for not knowing all the big names in Hip-Hop, but hey... I gotta start somewhere. I'm also trying to get to know as many DJs as possible in order to exchange information and spread the art!
I really have a simple philosophy. I guess it really ties in with my philosophy on music in general. I like music that appeals to me. I don't care if it's N' Sync, Britney Spears, KRS one, or Pantera. If I like it I like it. Same goes for DJing... I just want to make sound that I enjoy and hopefully others enjoy as well. It's not really about skills. If you can create amazing sounds with just elementray skills, then I think you're much better off than having all the skills and still not being able to create the sound that you want. I'm not a "Hip Hop DJ" per se... If you mean "Hip Hop DJ" in the sense that I spin Hip Hop at parties, then sure... But, I just want to find interesting sound and appeal to my senses. Jazz, Drum and Bass, Soul, classical, and traditional Korean percussion tracks are my main appeals at the current state... Let's see where it leads me to...
I'll update this section later with more thoughts on music, so please do come back. :)
Brief History
- Fall 1997 to Spring 1998
WRCT radio show host DJ
- Fall 1998
Club YBK weekly party DJ
- Fall 1998 to present
Independent freelance DJ spinning around the East Coast. (mostly in the NY, DC, PA area)
- September 1999 to February 2003
Head remixer / Resident DJ for iFS
- March 2003 to present
Head producer / Resident DJ for ToTaLnUtCaSe productions
e-mail me at dj (at) djslim.com for more info.
