Latest news with #DJing
CBC
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Fredericton workshops teach people how to be good DJs
Two Fredericton artists have created a workshop series for community members interested in DJing. Disco Nexion is a collective that takes would-be disc jockeys from their first lesson to playing their own set at one of the organization's featured dance parties. "We see the value in running workshops and teaching people," founder Oscar Tecu said. "We have been running free workshops around the city teaching people how to DJ and the people who we teach perform at our Disco Nexion events." Lessons begin with a large "trial workshop," where students are introduced to fundamental DJ skills such as beat matching, transitioning, volume control and adding effects to the music. If participants are still interested, Tecu and his partner, Natasha LeBlond, will provide one-on-one sessions. "It's for beginners, from beginners," Tecu said. "I am not a pro DJ myself, and I think we all teach each other." WATCH | 'We wanted to have more dance parties,' workshop founder says: Take a step behind the DJ booth with new workshop series 3 minutes ago DJing is the art of song selection. When performing, it is the job of the DJ to observe the crowed and play the style of music the audience is responding to. Though the the instruments have changed over the years from vinyl records, CDs and now digital music players, the skill of "reading the room" has remained the same, students learn. So far, the crew has hosted workshops at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre, the Cap and CHSR FM. Rey Cascante, who performs under the alias DJ Reyving, began DJing in December as a hobby. He connected with Disco Nexion, did some one-on-one sessions with Tecu and played his first event in February. "It was nerve-racking but in a good sense," Cascante said. "Just having that community and Disco Nexion behind me, felt like I had a stepping stone and somewhere to fall back to." He said that DJing is like any other musical pursuit; and practising every day is the key to growing your skills. "I think I've built some type of confidence in how I carry out my life," Cascante said. "I've learned that DJing is like any other discipline, you have to trust in your capabilities." Part Disco Nexion's goal with the workshops is to create a pool of trained DJs to play at their monthly events at the CAP, contributing to their vision of having an underground-rave scene in the city. "We wanted to have more dance parties," LeBlond said. "I think Oscar saw my vision for DJing and he said we mesh really well together." LeBlond was also trained by Tecu. The pair hoped that by empowering new DJs, they could create a niche event, focused on electronic music and dance. "I think there are a lot of dance scenes in Fredericton, but I think we're bringing one that people might not have had before," LeBlond said. "To me, Disco Nexion is about disconnecting from your body and your thoughts when you're dancing." Emilio Reyes regularly attends Disco Nexion events and has watched the community grow. "I think it's important to give local artists the opportunity to shine," Reyes said. "Through collaboration you experience growth and I think that's something that the Fredericton night life can really be benefiting from." Reyes attends these events to support his friends who DJ. He says that the Disco Nexion nights are unique among things he's attended in the city. "I was not really sure what to expect but it's a vibe when you walk in the door," Reyes said. "A bunch of DJs are showcasing their music in genres that, I don't want to say are not established, but need to be a little reinforced."
BBC News
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Stendhal: Twelve-year-old DJ Fionn ready to mix it up at festival
At just 12 years old, DJ Fionn says he is more than ready to perform at one of Northern Ireland's biggest independent music and arts O'Kane's passion for DJing began at just two years old after his dad gave him his first set of young musician has already turned heads with his talent on the turntables in his hometown of Limavady, and is now preparing for his biggest gig to is on the line-up at this year's Stendhal Festival in County Londonderry, joining The Lightning Seeds, Brit Award–winning singer-songwriter Kate Nash, Joshua Burnside, and one of Fionn's DJ idols, Mark McCabe. From school halls to Stendhal "My dad has always done a bit of DJing, so I grew up with it, and I used to watch YouTube videos of DJs when I was younger, and that's where it just started for me," Fionn told BBC News NI."Like my dad, I like all sorts of music, a bit of everything, but mostly I like to listen to things like house and techno and that's the genre of music I play."Fionn said one of his first "official gigs" was at Termoncanice Primary School when he performed at his school assembly hall as part of a Christmas event in front of all his classmates and teachers. He said performing at Stendhal will be his biggest performance yet and he cannot wait to take to the stage in front of a large crowd. "I have most of the set finished already, I am just tweaking the last few things for it," he said with a big smile. Fionn said that he and his family always loved going to Stendhal, and being on the billing was a real "pinch yourself" moment. Parents only told after application sent After coming across an advert on social media, the 12-year-old put his name forward to be a part of the festival line-up "I applied more in hope than anything else," he admitted. And he only told his parents, Andy and Kerry O'Kane, after he had submitted the application. Fionn said they are incredibly supportive of his DJing, provided it doesn't interfere with his schoolwork. As well as being very excited to perform his own set, he is also really looking forward to seeing Irish DJ and producer Mark McCabe take to the Stendahl stage."I really like his music, especially Maniac 2000, it's a massive tune." What is Stendhal? Now in its 15th year, Stendhal Festival, is an annual event featuring music, comedy, dance, poetry, workshops and family-friendly name is a reference to Stendhal syndrome - a psychological condition resulting in dizziness experienced by people exposed to things of great festival, which runs from 4 to 6 July, is taking place at Ballymully Cottage Farm in Roe Valley, outside festival bill this year also includes comedian Ed Byrne, country singer Lisa McHugh, and electronic group The Orb .DJ Fionn will be performing on Friday 4 July on the Woolly Woodland stage, and you can see a full line-up of all the acts performing at this year's Stendhal Festival here. A number of BBC Radio Ulster programmes will be broadcasting from the festival, including a special programme with Vinny and Cate, Your Place and Mine with Eve Blair, and Sunday with Anna Curran.
BBC News
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Lincolnshire DJ Adam Wareham takes music lovers back in time
An antique dealer with a love of old records is taking music-lovers back in time with his nostalgic DJ Adam Wareham regularly performs by playing records that were popular during the early to mid 20th Century on two vintage in period clothing next to his DJ set-up and vintage HMV memorabilia, Mr Wareham said he was at odds with today's world of digital interest began in 2014 when he bought a gramophone at a fair, tidied it up and sold it on. Since then, it has become his obsession. "I thought it was so nice that I went straight out to source some more gramophones," he said."It's kind of taken over the whole house. It's a bit of an obsession, if I'm honest."It's a step back into the past. It might have been their mother's favourite song or their father's favourite song, or they might have heard it on an old film. People just love the kind of the vintage vibe of it all."Unlike most digitalised DJ set-ups these days, Mr Wareham spins 78RPM shellac records on a turntable at weddings and at 78 revolutions per minute, the records were made from shellac until the late 1940s, when vinyl replaced performances are very visual, alternating between his wind-up twin deck with a 1915 traditional Swiss horn gramophone waiting in the wings."We use two of them because when I'm setting up one, that one's playing and then when that one stops I'm straight back on this one, so it's the traditional sort of twin deck set-up." The showpiece horn is an important part of his show."There aren't that many of them left, really. A lot of them have gone abroad," he modern DJs, he has no volume control on it and relies on the old trick of literally "putting a sock in it" to adjust sound levels."People quite often think that I'm faking it when I wind it up like this and they think that there's an electrical point somewhere."It's just working off a clock spring", he Wareham said 1940s tunes were most popular, but he also plays rock and roll and is pleased there are other people who share his added: "You get a lot out of it. Even if just one person comes up to you at a gig and thanks you."They come up and say 'thank you for keeping the music alive'."Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Arab News
05-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Saudi Arabia is getting creative and everyone has a chance to shine, says DJ Viva
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is experiencing a boom in all the various forms of creative expression and this is creating a wealth of opportunities, according to Saudi Canadian musician DJ Viva. Appearing on the third episode of the seventh season of The Mayman Show, the artist — who has performed across the Kingdom and around the world, opening for global stars including David Guetta — recalled her first international performance, describing it as a nerve-racking experience. 'I was in Cannes at the Cannes electronic music festival, (which) happens every August over there,' she said. 'It was very nerve-racking, but I loved it. 'It was good to see the difference between what's happening here, locally (in Saudi Arabia), and how things are conducted internationally.' Despite the nerves, she said was proud that she had been able to step out of her comfort zone and noted: 'The audience there is very different. I feel like it is a bit more difficult to read them; maybe because I'm used to here (in the Kingdom).' DJ Viva told how she left behind a career in academia to pursue a creative career and her adventure began as a result of a bold challenge from a friend. 'I used to teach at the business university in Jeddah,' she said. 'One day, my friend, he was a DJ, came up to me. It was the first big event that happened here — at King Abdullah Economic City, when Tiesto was there — and he (my friend) was DJing on one of the yachts for the VIP guests.' The friend asked her why she has not tried her hand at creating music. Given that she was an educator, she explained, the question initially seemed strange, but her friend wanted her to see how much time and effort it takes to be a music creator and his question was actually more of a challenge. Beyond the musical realm, DJ Viva is also a certified aerial artist, the founder of an art gallery, and a brand collaborator who combines music, fashion and storytelling in her projects. She is also clear about what motivates her. 'For me, it's the part that I get to create an impact on people's lives and create a feeling,' she said. 'I mean, I always say that in a lot of my interviews; whether it's visual arts, which I also do, or aerial arts or music, it's all creativity. You must go inside yourself and take something out to give to people.' It is all about giving something back and making an impact on the people around you, she added. 'With visual arts, it's about people seeing your paintings,' she explained. 'With music, it's about what they're hearing and how they react to it.' DJ Viva appears very content with where she is at this stage of her career and has no regrets about her decision to shift from the halls academics to the creative world. 'I like the space that I'm in right now,' she said. 'I love the creative realm. I find it much more fulfilling.' Her upcoming plans include further work on a long-running project related to cosmetics. 'That's something I'm going to be revisiting later this year,' she said. 'I started during COVID-19 and it did take off very nicely. But unfortunately my partner in that (project), she passed away. So I kind of froze it for a while.' In 2023, DJ Viva founded the Sensation Art Gallery in Jeddah, described as a modern, luxury, holistic art experience. Her concept for it is that it represents an expression of all the various types of creative work in which she is involved. 'If you attend the gallery, you'll see that there's the visual arts and then we have the DJs and the musicians outside,' she explained. 'We also have mixology and all the different types of food art happening there, as well as the aerial arts.' As for the evolution of the creative scene in Saudi Arabia, DJ Viva said the country is 'hungry for entertainment. That's really such a good thing. It's nice to see the excitement and to see how they appreciate music here — and creativity as a whole.' As the wider development and transformation of the Kingdom continues, she said that the progress in all the creative industries is happening quickly and on an even bigger scale. 'I think, in the coming years we are going to be continuing that trajectory and there's going to be a lot of growth,' she predicted.
BBC News
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
DJ keeps injured woman's passion for spin alive
"I'm just doing what I used to do, just in a different way."When an accident left Sue Frost paralysed from the chest down and unable to get on a bike, it looked like her days of leading online spin classes might be with the help of a DJ and producer, the 60-year-old has found a new way to keep her passion Gribby, from Nottingham, is sharing his skills with Sue so she can pump out top tunes while instructing at future spin sessions. Sue, from Lincoln, told the BBC she has had a passion for spin for about 15 years and ended up teaching 11 classes a week after her instructor stepped down - before she broke her neck falling down the stairs at her home three-and-a-half years ago."It's changed my life completely," she said."I've gone from a very active life with my spin classes, cycling and working full-time to doing basically nothing, but just trying to reintroduce things that I was doing before in a different format."She had resigned herself to giving up spin before meeting Paul through SoundLincs, a community music charity based in Lincolnshire, and he then introduced her to the world of DJing. "I wanted to help Sue because I believe that no matter your situation, there's always a way to try and do things," Paul said. "It's just a matter of trying to find them."The 49-year-old, who hosts DJ workshops, told the BBC within the first two hours of meeting Sue, they had come up with the idea of her DJing spin classes."It would actually be something good for Sue to focus on, give her something to do away from spin classes as well," he said."Finding music, creating playlists, practising DJing and just being in a happy place."Paul said after a bit of research they found some decks that fit on Sue's lap, which then connects to an iPad and from that to a speaker. Sue said: "It's something I've never thought about doing before with DJ decks, I honestly thought I was a bit too old for that."But Paul's showing me that you can do anything. If music isn't your life, it can become your life."It was my life before, I've always enjoyed my music, but now I'm just moving on to a different way of doing things."She said she plans on practicing more on her decks before getting people together for an online class."I'm doing what I used to do, but in a different way. I can't get on a spin bike anymore, but that doesn't really matter - I can still teach online," she added: "It's just really inspiring to see, because originally I think Sue just wanted to have a go to see what was going to happen."I think she's always wanted to have a go at DJing and then I think it just spiralled into a whole new area which Sue and I didn't even think we could do,."But I think there's always a way, you've just got to find it."
