Podcast #8: Ronin – Live DJ set @ Nourish 9 – from the Archives
I’ve been taking Djing seriously on and off for the past twelve or so years, but I have been dabbling since I was in my early teens. I was into hip-hop, dancehall and R&B mostly. I worked security and primarily the door at many events, festivals, clubs and raves all over the place but never really took part in the events. They were mostly representing trance, techno and house which were not, at the time, interesting to me. I was a hip-hop head through and through.
A trip to Australia and a divine moment of truth turned me onto progressive trance and I played that for 6-7 years as well as concentrating a lot on the chill stage – usually shooting for the bumpy dance floor down through mid tempos.
A few years ago on a half day road trip and weekend festival in Alberta hanging with Ooah of the Glitch Mob changed my musical path.
That festival was my last trance set and I took a full year off to re-up the music crate. I decided that midi was the way to go, but not feeling Ableton for DJing I was inspired by a friend and went with a DJ controller and I dig it. I don’t use any syncing or anything like that. Just loops, filters, effects and samples. I like my pitch control and platters.
I have been trying to mix tracks from different genres that create a unique and emotional setting without going too hard, too cheesy, too glitchy, too dubsteppy, too hip-hoppy, too predictable, disjointed, too well planned out or boring. I have my moments for sure and am still working at it and learning every step of the way. I have slayed, I have just held it down and I have completely missed the mark. People are still booking me and I am playing as much as I would want, so somebody’s feeling it…

