DJ Rum & Monkey
How did you start your career as a DJ?
I started dj’ing at events that friends organised. People heard my music and got to know my dj name and now I am being booked to play all over.
Any tips and advice you would like to add about being a DJ?
My advice to people just starting out would be to first learn the basics of DJ’ing such as beat matching, also knowing the BPM of your songs will help to avoid crash mixing. Try to listen to advice given by more established dj’s and never be too proud to learn.
How to you get noticed as a great DJ in SA?
In short…be unique and play your own music. Mash-ups, bootlegs and remixes are also a good way to get known if you cannot produce your own music.
I know I will probably get shot down for mentioning this but I feel that the term DJ is being used too lightly these days. It seems like everyone is a DJ, seriously I cannot stress this enough fading a song in and out does not make you a DJ it simply makes you a playlist!
Please tell as a bit more about yourself?
This is always a hard one to answer. I think of myself as shy however my friends tell me I am an extrovert, so who really knows. I used to be very involved in pool championships and in soccer but I don’t have much time to play anymore with running events, having a full time job and still trying to find some awake time to fit in spending time on the love of my life…that being DJ’ing..if you were wondering!
Ja, apart from that I’m not sure what else to say, I love to work hard and play hard and lucky for me sometimes they are one and the same, so I guess I am fortunate to have found that joy and equilibrium.
What inspired you to become a DJ?
I guess music is in my blood, my father was in a band so I grew up loving music and have always had a passion for it. But if I have to say what inspired me to become a DJ specifically was watching one of my favourite DJs play at an event and seeing the crowd go crazy. I knew then that I wanted to be like him and have people respond to the music I play in the same way. I wanted to introduce people to different music genres not just the same stuff we hear over the radio all the time and to help people to step out of those musical comfort zones.
Who in the DJ’ing community “local or international” inspires you and why?
Locally I’d have to say one of the DJs that inspires me the most at the moment would have to be PsyAndy. His passion and love for Psy Trance makes him one of the most exciting DJs to go watch and listen to – besides that, every time he gets behind that DJ box you know that the dance floor is about to erupt. DJs such as Lady Lea, Drone 375, Funky B, Nightvision, Coco Loco, Trevor Walker and Tyronne Scott have also been an inspiration to me because of what they have done for their respective genres of music here in SA.
Internationally my favourite DJ would have to be Tiesto, he was the first DJ to play at an Olympics Opening Ceremony which I think is one of the most prestigious events a DJ can ever play at. Other international DJ’s such as TJR, Benny Benassi, Mark Maitland, Prok & Fitch, Neelix, Ricardo Villalobos, Mark Simmons, Markus Schulz, Mark Knight and Fedde le Grand have each influenced me in their own way.
Why do you have a passion for DJ’ing?
I absolutely love music no matter what genre and being behind those decks is where I am most comfortable. There is no feeling that can compare to what I feel when the crowd screams and jumps up and down from pure enjoyment to music I play.
What’s your favourite music style and why?
Now that is difficult since I just said I love all genres. My favourite style of music would have to be rock. Nothing puts me in a good mood like a good old rock tune.
When it comes to dance music I’d have to say Tech house is one of my favourites. It is the genre which got me started in the DJ community. Electro is another style of music I can’t get enough of. I love the build ups and the hard electro bass lines.
My favourite at the moment though is Progressive/Minimal Psy. It is a sub-genre of Psychedelic trance. For those of you who don’t know the genre let me explain. Psychedelic trance has a distinctive, speedy sound and uses a very resonated bass beat which constantly pounds throughout the song. The bass beat is overlaid with varying rhythms drawn from techno, funk, and acid house by using drums and other instruments. Progressive/Minimal Psy differs from that as it has a slower BPM range, around 125 to 140. It is probably better known for well-constructed percussion underlying a complicated series of musically rooted melodies. In my opinion it also has a cleaner, crisper sound than the other subgenres of Psychedelic trance.
Name and surname: Chantele Liang
DJ name: DJ Rum & Monkey
Email address: djrumandmonkey@gmail.com
Contact number: 079 890 3921
BBM: 29ACFF39
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