When the Coronavirus shut us down, clubs and festivals ceased, and everyone was essentially forced inside with no definitive end in sight, DJ Times wondered: How is our tribe coping? How are DJs getting by? So, we sent out our “Coronavirus Questionnaire” to DJ/producers from all musical genres to find out.
During this period, DJ Times will continue presenting the questionnaire responses from talented music-makers from all over the world. Here’s our latest entry, this time from the Big Apple, the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based electronic talent bad tuner
What’s it like where you’re living? How did you spend most of your time? I’m living in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. When not working on new music, I spend my time listening to music, painting and cooking.
Did you lose important gigs, or income-producing work? Definitely. I had a tour booked that was cancelled due to COVID. Was also stoked to play SXSW for the first time. Thankfully, I have had some success with sync placements and a record deal since then – and that has helped me pay my rent!
Are you doing anything now that can or will produce music-related income? Have you learned anything in the downtime? I’m learning about mixing and hope to work with other people in the future. It is a new skill set that I am thoroughly enjoying studying.
What are you doing now that’s ultimately constructive to your music life/career? For example, any releases during this period? I have a monthly radio show on Mambo Ibiza, which motivates me to find new music on a regular basis. After six months of writing and finishing music, I am putting out lots of new original music. My latest is “Coast,” which came out in November.
What DJ platform are you using & why? And also, what’s in your studio? When I DJ, I like to use Pioneer DJ CDJs and, for producing, I use Ableton Live. I’m very excited to try Ableton’s latest update!
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve realized during this period of social distancing? The most surprising thing I’ve released is how important live music is to one’s community. It is an instrumental part of bringing people together and, during quarantine, that experience is hard to fill. People are more excited than ever to get back to shows when it is safe – so that is exciting.
Have you done anything online recently? Have you seen any DJ video streams that impressed you? I did a very fun “Rave The Vote” set with my friend Rob who danced throughout the performance. I think the hype of streaming sets wore off pretty quickly and getting people to engage is a challenge, for sure. Unless it’s part of something larger, it’s hard to drive traffic to a streaming DJ set.
Any theme tunes recommended for the moment? I’m really enjoying Off The Meds’ new album!
Any advice on staying sane & relatively positive through this situation? Remember, that we will get through this. Embrace the change and keep creating!
To check out more Life in Lockdown interviews, click here.
