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 the crisis, DJ Times will be presenting the questionnaire responses from talented music-makers from all over the world. Here’s our latest installment, this time from the north of England, Mancunian educator/techno artist Rudosa (aka Mark Bradbury).
What’s it like where you are? Since March 23, my DJ school, Make Me A DJ, which offers DJ/production lessons, has been closed. We are, however, still offering online classes and production tips on our Facebook and Instagram channels. My main focus has been securing its survival.
What income-producing work have you lost? I’ve lost all of my gigs, from a Colombia tour to playing a huge “Warehouse Project” show in my hometown. It’s not so much the loss of income that I’m bothered about – it’s more the loss in momentum which has been really starting to snowball. I just need to keep working hard to stay present and, hopefully, as soon as things settle, we can start rocking shows again.
Are you doing anything now that can or will produce music-related income? I’m currently working on a sample-pack series that will be on sale at the Moments In Time Bandcamp. I also have tons of music out at the moment, so this should help with keeping Rudosa in people’s minds.
What are you doing now that’s ultimately constructive to your music life/career? I plan to use this time to sort out all of my releases for the rest of the year and also work on label projects – so, after this, I can just focus on shows. I’m also taking some time to get fit, which became harder with the closing of my gym. Luckily, my girlfriend is a personal trainer and is currently using this time to build a gym in our garage.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve realized during this period of social distancing? How connected people and resourceful to take business and socializing online and make it work. Also, both my girlfriend and I run our own businesses and we’ve both been amazed at how caring everyone has been in checking that we are OK.
Are you doing anything online? Have you seen anything that’s impressed you? It’s in the pipeline, but I don’t just want to do any old live stream – it needs to be something fresh. I’m friends with the guys at G6 and they have a robot that holds a camera, so we are in talks of doing something with that soon. We also have a more traditional music stream on Soundcloud.
Any theme tunes recommended for the moment? I’ve been using the acapella from ITHAKA’s “So Get Up” over tracks in my sets.
Any advice on staying sane & relatively positive through this situation? I think you have to take each day at a time, set goals, achieve them and make real progress forward. Music helps me.
To check out more Life in Lockdown interviews, click here.
