BEHIND THE SCENES: DJ SESSIONS

DJ Sessions, a project kindly funded by MAES, started with a bang on Monday the 14th of February (a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, don’t you think?). Led by DJ, producer and record label managerJoe Roche, this six week programme focuses on how to DJ, self promote and source what opportunities are out there, presenting individuals with a chance to play out in Manchester. 

With only one week to get savvy with the decks, the participants entered the space at Reform Radio keen to learn and become the DJ that deep down, they always have been.

On day one the participants came into the space and were introduced to the nuts and bolts of deejay land. We are talking USBs, headphones, the do’s and the don’ts and the best softwares for organising your music. But it’s not all about equipment and the technical stuff. Although this is a huge proportion of becoming a DJ, discovering your personal style and image that you want to show the world is equally as important in becoming a full-fledged artist. 

Now let’s get one thing straight. In order to be a DJ, one must become one. To immerse themselves into the disc-jockey world & phenomenon, the young people invented their DJ names and put forth their new alias; to cement, commit & complete their transition into their shiny new DJ personality. 

Creative juices were certainly flowing in the studio, with names ranging from DJ Zambezi, KayBee, Los Lopez, The Blessed Les Dennis and Red Hicks to name a few. One of the participants named Monique chose the DJ name MIQUE, a shortened adaptation of her full name. 

Another individual called Jesús chose the name MXANNA (pronounced mx-anna); the MX being a presentation that’s genderqueer and XANA being the name of a mythological creature or Spanish nymph from the forests in Northern Spain.

With their DJ names finessed and the decks ready to be spun, participants were posed with the question: What do you want to get out of the week? 

Manchester-born Kim, who is part of ‘Double Trouble’ with her sister who MCs and is a regular on MCR based radio station All FM, is used to mixing vinyl. As a selector, Kim started spinning tunes in the vinyl days but decided that if they are going to get booked out again, they need to learn how to mix on CDJs. 

Ben, who is also from Manchester and studied Music Technology at college, saw DJ Sessions as a ‘great opportunity to blow off the cobwebs and get back into DJing’. 

The rest of the week was jam packed with hands-on learning, activities and break out rooms to get the group feeling confident with the decks ahead of the last session of the week. During which, participants were tasked with coming up with a playlist of their choice, to mix and perform in the space to promoters and venues across Manchester.

Lauren from Newcastle had previous experience mixing during her student years and upon finding an old USB filled with Liquid Drum & Bass, decided to get back into it because she ‘loves the music and club scene’. Lauren also commented on how the DJ industry is somewhat ‘relentless’, but participating in DJ Sessions is a great opportunity to bridge that gap. 

As the group dynamic began to skill-up and individuals started to think about what songs they would like to choose to impress the promoters, all kinds of genres started bursting out of the studios. 

Another participant with previous experience, Ben, who normally plays Jungle, decided to slow things down and go with ‘middle of the road House music’ for his playlist of choice. Whilst other participants such as Jesús were pumping Industrial Techno before switching it up and playing Last Dance by Donna Summer, which really got the vibes rolling between the group and the Reform team. 

Although each person has their own unique style and preferred genre of choice, they were encouraged to think out of the box and pick a style of music that would be most enjoyed at bars and venues across Manchester. With popular genres ranging from RnB, Hip Hop, House, Reggeaton, Disco and Indie music to name a few, the young people got their thinking hats on. 

Some of the favoured genres chosen throughout the group were RnB, Hip Hop and House, with individuals such as Monique thinking that ‘employers will prefer RnB because of the types of venues’. 

Although there was lots of physical learning, the nitty gritty of professionalism and etiquette were brought to the table during the week, with industry talks and inside knowledge of how to approach agencies and promoters. 

On the big day of the showcase, the group came to the space in the morning and got their mixing fingers ready to play for the promoters.

The energy in the studio during this session was truly impeccable, with an atmosphere of support and individuals hyping each other up. Unfortunately due to Storm Eunice, some of the promoters were unable to come into the space. However, in true we-live-in-the-digital-age style, Zoom came to save the day and both promoters and friends of the group took to the screens to enjoy the show. One of the participants, Magic, took on the hosting duties and provided the vibes for the day.

A resounding success, the group rounded things up feeling proud of themselves, with one person commenting that they felt like a ‘star’ for the day. In the following weeks, the individuals will be meeting every Wednesday evening to shadow Reform’s DJs and take their DJ careers to the next level by gaining fundamental experience in the studios and working collaboratively with industry professionals.

If you are keen to get your hands on decks or have any questions about this or our other projects, drop us an email at projects@reformradio.co.uk