Tuesday 29 September 2015

Interview with DJ Q





Second Life Name: Qawi Aji 
Second Life Rezz Date: 15th June 2006

DJ Name: Q the Physicist
DnB Genre: Liquid
Real Life Location: Budapest 
Soundcloud & Mixcloud: q_the_physicist 





Rosie Helendale: tell me what brings you into second life?
Qawi Aji: It was dnb that brought me into second life the first time, back in 2005, and dnb brought me back. actually, the first time then i was looking to find a place to dance, a dnb club in second life
Let me tell you the story right quick...
 I was at a party in Budapest, pretty high, and the DJ changed. it was the morning already, btw and when the DJ changed the music changed from good to bad.
Rosie Helendale: ahh not good
Qawi Aji: I saw right there that I would get a computer program to be able to make my own mixes. So after that party, as soon as I got home, I downloaded virtual DJ.
It was at the same time after I had finished playing star wars galaxies where my character was a musician and dancer, that I was looking for a place to continue that. In swg, I used to socialize with bar patrons in the game, turn down the music, and watch my character dance while i listened to drum and bass.
Rosie Helendale: so how did you get from there to second life?
Qawi Aji: so, right after I got vdj, I also simultaneously came into second life. After a couple of days, I found a club that sometimes played dnb, so I went there to dance and by coincidence there was somebody in the club asking about how to be a DJ. The club gave lessons, so I jumped into their conversation and said I wanted a course, too. and they taught me how to stream and gave me a job. That place was called voodoo lounge. So for three years, I played dnb in the voodoo club and essentially learned how to be a DJ.. I had my first rl show at an exhibition here in Budapest because my painter friend thought it was stupid that I was playing as a DJ in a game, lol
So sl gave me my start and now I  have a residency in a bar about 170 meters from my house in Budapest every month :)
Rosie Helendale: OH nice one.  A game? how dare they say its a game lol
Qawi Aji: hahaha
Rosie Helendale: What genres of DnB do you like to play?
Qawi Aji: I only play liquid. At first I played every dnb style, I had three shows, one with neuro, tech step, one liquid, and one raggamuffin jungle. I found that I can't keep up with that much new music so I stuck with liquid
You know, as a DJ, you have to go through so much crappy music to hear the gems. That takes time.
Rosie Helendale: ahh yes I can imagine the quest for good tunes is a time consuming and never ending one,,,, whats the most enjoyable part of DJing for you?
Qawi Aji: Hearing the tunes. I just love dnb, so I am happy to hear the tunes over and over again. A close second is hearing a good mashup in my mix, when it makes a new tune for about 20-30 seconds
A close third is knowing that people like what I am playing, when someone says "choon!" I love that too, but I can still play to an empty crowd as you know so those other two are first
Rosie Helendale: How do you go about making a set?
Qawi Aji: I used to plan all my sets, but now I just look through the list and select a new tune based on how it "feels" while the other tune is playing. I use a key selection system so when I choose a new tune, it should blend well with other tunes
What nomally happens is that while one tune is playing another can often just pop into my mind. then I play that.
Rosie Helendale: all about being in the moment
Qawi Aji: yes, now it is. I still like to prepare a mix, though, because then I can be in the moment during preparation for a much longer time and hear a lot more mashups
Rosie Helendale: ahh I see,, it works well,, I always enjoy your sets.
Qawi Aji: also, when i started connecting with people on soundcloud and they started to send me tunes, my stable of DJs got smaller and I realized I play the same few producers alot.
Rosie Helendale: I think all Djs tend to do that
Qawi Aji: yeah, I think so too, but in the past , they were basically forced into playing the same songs because they were limited by what  they could carry. Now we are limited by what we can see in the playlist. I think i have about 4000 tunes, mp3, and my list is long so sometimes I play a new song just because I was looking and scrolling the list too long and its time to put a new track on.
Now its all about folder management
Rosie Helendale: Do you DJ in any other clubs in second life?
Qawi Aji: When I first came back a couple of months ago, I played in a few different places, looking around till I found you. so no, just here.  Someone, I forget who, recommended your place. I'm glad they did
Rosie Helendale: ahh thank you for the compliment :) and very happy  you came!
Qawi Aji: The fact that you switched to  dnbheaven is great
Rosie Helendale: hehehe, its my favourite station, and lots of others like it too,, How did you get to be a DJ on DnB Heaven?Qawi Aji: I was actively searching for an online radio to DJ at and they were looking for DJs
Rosie Helendale: So you applied and then what happened?
Qawi Aji: They listen to the mix and decide on that
Rosie Helendale: Nice one,, Whats been your biggest influence?
Qawi Aji: Random movement for sure
Rosie Helendale: And finally, What's your favourite tune at the moment?
Qawi Aji: Random movement - soul on fire
Rosie Helendale: thank you so much for chatting with me today,,,I've enjoyed listening to your story

Thursday 17 September 2015

Pow Wow party

Tranquil Tribe Pow Wow ~ 11th Sept 2015

A sucessful get together, everyone enjoyed chilling to wicked DnB tunes. Thank You to the DJs and everyone that came to enjoy the party

Click the link below to see a video of the party

Tuesday 15 September 2015

The Story so far......When our favourite DnB beach hangout closed in April of 2015 we thought noooo, we want this to continue,,, so we opened our own beach. Now five months down the line, we have a small community of DnBers that regularly hang out together, welcoming anyone that wishes to join us.  We are lucky to have some talented DJs who come along to share their music mixes every week, including Rippledee, Mak, Menor, Q the Physicist (a DnB Heaven Radio DJ), Wookie, Devour, Joe Bass, Bouche, Barbarick to name a few.  Here are some photos,,, there are alot more which will all go on a Flickr page eventually