October 27th, 2015
About one month ago, I was asked by one of my friends if I was free on October 23rd. After verifying that I was, I asked her why and she told me that some of her friends were looking for a DJ to play at a party in Honatsugi. I must say I was quite delighted at the fact that she had even thought of me. Two days later, I met the organizer who is also a DJ/Producer. This was my first time meeting someone like me who DJs, makes music in Japan. My first thought: Might be making a track with him! Haha
So after that conversation, I started inviting people. He had made some pretty cool posters and videos to help promote the night. It seemed like it was going to be a good experience. Now I have DJed here in Japan at most of the Kaikan parties and even the International Friday Night in December last year, but none of these had given me the freedom of playing what I wanted. I always had to play music that pleased the crowd. But this time, maybe I had a chance!
The day came up and I headed there early. A Taiwanese guy from the Kaikan called Sorata said it would be boring to wait so he joined me. As soon as we arrived in Honatsugi, we rushed to the building, finding it in no time. I walked in, said hello and started setting up. Got everything in check, tested out a few tracks with the speakers of the place and then let the space open for the last DJ to set up.
(Set up ready, just missing the crowd!)
My friends took forever to arrive, but apparently the train had stopped due to an accident. Also due to that, about 30 people from the originally planned 80 didn't show up. At around 7:50, I was told to start getting ready. I started setting up, got everything ready and I pressed PLAY!
... nothing happened. They had switched everything around for that first DJ, and so it took us a good 7 minutes to finally get sound out of my mixer and into the speakers. Finally it was time to start. A nice introduction, and I was off.
It went well. I made a few mistakes here and there, didn't get the best transitions, but I got a lot of them dancing. My friends (Yusef, Islam, Khaled, Sorata) were the best because they didn't stop dancing. I even got to use a few of my tracks to which my friends who knew them started screaming out loud the lyrics.
(Our simple costume for the night!)
I finished up after an hour of playing. I then quickly stored my things away to make sure I didn't forget anything behind. After that, I joined my friends on the dance floor. The next DJ wasn't as good as I had expected. He had a lot of fans in the crowd, but as my friends also realized, he didn't play very well, which kind of made me feel good. Maybe they were just being nice.
(The crowd and my friends were lots of fun!)
(The three DJs! SONNY, REC PECK & Vroxyle)
We ended the night by ordering pizza and eating outside.
(A small accident that happened on our way back!)
The next day, I got to DJ again, but at the Kokusaikaikan's Halloween Party. This time, I only got 30 minutes, but I made everyone of them count. I barely made any mistakes, and I was also able to play some of my music as well as some more club style music too, which all received a good reaction. This was a great way to end my DJing here in Japan. I must say, I got a lot of good practice.
(The last time seeing this. I still remember the first time!)
(Happy Halloween!)
("Just smile. It'll get better.")
2:10 PM |
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