I have in my possession a copy of How To DJ Right: The Art and Science of Playing Records by Frank Broughton and Bill Brewster and I want to give it to one lucky person!

How To DJ Right is a great reference book for beginner DJ’s and this is your chance to win my copy. How To DJ Right takes you from the basics of DJ gear, beatmatching and finding records all the way up to promotion and finding gigs.

All you have to do is tweet the following message:

Just entered to win How To DJ Right on BeginnerDJ.com (http://bit.ly/cT4vXd) Just RT for your chance to win!

It’s as simple as that.

One lucky tweeter will win the copy of the book.

Remember: the more you retweet, the better your chances are at winning!

Contest ends Friday 3/19/10.

You may also like these posts...

• The Vinyl Record Pricing Guide
• The Beginner DJ Equipment Guide: Building Your First DJ Setup
• How To Build A DJ Stand For Under $30
• Hallucination Before Christmas – The Aftermath
• How To Clean Vinyl Records

His mixes of Progressive and Psychedelic Techno has given him great recognition and allowed him to play at some of the best parties in the great white north.

When he’s not mixing, he runs the netlabels Ektoplazm, Drumlore, and Omnitropic which have seen some very impressive releases and millions of downloads.

Recently I’ve had the honor of talking to DJ Basilisk about DJing, parties, his labels, Ektoplazm and more.

Let’s get to the interview shall we?

Hello, please Introduce Yourself

My name is Alexander, otherwise known as Basilisk. I have been DJing
for a decade now and I operate a free music portal and a group of
netlabels dedicated to psytrance, techno, and downtempo music.

What Made You Become a DJ?

It all started by accident. Back in my teenage years most of my
friends were swept up in the burgeoning rave moment in Toronto.

Buying turntables and learning how to DJ was a participatory aspect of this subculture. I had no real interest in it at first but my friends coaxed me into messing around with the decks at various house parties.

Soon I was accompanying them on record buying missions downtown and, once I landed my first real job, I began to amass my own record collection.

I didn’t want to become a DJ and play parties or anything–it was only when the music turned minimal around Y2K that I decided to get halfway serious about it. Even then, it was only to play some of the more colourful and melodic music that I found poorly represented at parties in those days.

Before I knew it I was DJing fairly regularly and, with every passing year, I went deeper into it.

Where Has DJing Taken You?

It has been a wild ride at times but only in the last 3 years have I
really begun to travel. I’ve made a lot of really great connections in
different parts of North America, particularly in British Columbia.

This year I expect I will be playing out even more with many festival
bookings this coming summer.

Last season most of my bookings were for smaller grassroots festivals, perhaps because I am generally aligned with free music and the Creative Commons. And this is fine by me; I really enjoy visiting new communities and seeing within them echoes of other pockets of this scene.

Tribal dance culture is more connected than it knows!

What Is Your Favorite Memory from All This?

It’s really hard to say as there are so many different experiences
that I have had.

Certainly I am quite proud of the success of my web site but this is less a memory and more a diffuse sense of general satisfaction and contentedness.

I suppose that playing Eclipse last year would qualify as a highlight.

Even though it was very early on in the festival there is nothing like playing on such a big sound system and pulling off a really good set.

And, further back, I have a very fond memory of playing a night set at an outdoor bush party under a meteor shower on the Niagara Escarpment.

Now that we’ve been taken through the life of Alexander, let’s ask those technical questions that’s been on our minds.

What Kind of Equipment Do You Use?

I’ve been playing on CD decks for five years now but hope to transition to laptop DJing soon.

CDs are very reliable (when you know how to burn them right, anyway) but creatively limiting compared to what you can now do with software and a controller.

What is Your Favorite Genre to Spin?

These days I am really into cutting edge techno on the borderlands of
psytrance, minimal, tech house, and progressive.

I’ve been playing psytrance for so many years that techno feels extremely revitalizing to me. So much psytrance is overproduced to the point where invasive mixing really detracts from the musical experience.

At that point the role of the DJ is to choose tracks and otherwise let the music speak.

It is more fun for me to spin techno–this is music you can rip apart and reassemble, moreso with the new creative tools DJs can use–but even with a regular CD or vinyl setup there is a lot of room to mess around.

I might get back into psytrance eventually, but for now… techno is what I am really into spinning.

This is reflected in my new project, Drumlore, the techno netlabel I founded alongside DJ Lexicon.

Where Do You Think DJing Is Going?

The future is looking wide open: expensive equipment is no longer a
barrier to entry, music is abundant and easily obtained, and all the
formerly obscure technical details are readily available on the
Internet.

Anyone can become a DJ but it still takes a lot of work to
be any good at it. For the pros, new software and technologies promise
to blur the boundaries between DJing and live performance.

Still, even with all this new technology it is important to remember that the point of DJing is to shape a meaningful human experience of music.

What Advice Could You Give to a DJ Just Starting Out?

Skip the physical media and jump straight into digital.

Don’t forget to learn the basics–I hear too many new DJs playing tracks out of phase or straight-up trainwrecking without even noticing it.

You can’t always rely on software to match tracks perfectly–you need to train your ears to tell the difference between a solid mix and one that is slightly (or even completely) off.

Beyond that, be original. Don’t stick to the Beatport charts; that’s boring. Dig deep into music and hear what there is to discover. Blaze your own trail.

How do you find tracks for your DJing?

It has never been easier to find great new music but it does require a significant time investment.

Think of it as doing your homework!

For techno I regularly scan Beatport and Juno to see what my favourite artists and labels are up to. This accounts for the majority of my purchases but I also like to incorporate fresh material into my sets–and that means making new connections to unfamiliar labels and artists.

The best way to accomplish this is to check out tunes listed in top tens or featured on mixes from names you already follow.

Besides DJing, Basilisk also runs a variety of netlables. The one in particular we are going to cover is Ektoplazm, a netlabel which releases free psytrance and other psychedelic music. Let’s get some questions in…

What is Ektoplazm and Why Did You Start It?

Ektoplazm is a free music portal and netlabel family incorporating
psytrance, techno, and downtempo channels.

I started it up to provide artists with a professional alternative to the commercial music industry. It isn’t meant to replace the existing distribution system–I just wanted to give artists a choice.

Over the years I have known far too many exceptional artists who have struggled to release their music simply because it did not have a particular bass line or BPM.

The psytrance marketplace operates with such tight profit margins that most commercial labels have to be fairly risk-averse to survive–they develop a specific formula and stick to it over the years.

End result: many artists making non-standard or unconventional music are shut out, and that isn’t right. I developed Ektoplazm to give these artists a voice.

Of course, the site has grown to encompass a wide variety of artists–some of whom have genuine commercial potential–who feel that giving their music away for free is the way of the future.

What Sort of Response Have You Received From Ektoplazm?

It has been nothing short of fantastic, growing more each and every
year. People really respond to the concept and it shows: Ektoplazm has
become one of the top 10 psytrance sites in the world.

My mission is to continue improving the quality of the offerings on the site–to raise the standard of free music and really demonstrate what is
possible with this different mode of thinking.

What is the Future of Ektoplazm?

The release schedule is already looking very busy for 2010 with
several albums, EPs, and even a new compilation on the go.

I also have some ambitious new features planned but this will have to wait.

After all, I am a full-time university student and Ektoplazm is just what I
do in my spare time!

Now that we’ve had a tour of Ektoplazm, we have one last question to ask Alexander:

Where Can We Find You?

Come visit Ektoplazm at http://www.ektoplazm.com, become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ektoplazm, and follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Ektoplazm.

Bonus! DJ Basilisk Set

There is a great set posted on YouTube by DJ Basilisk, be sure to give it a listen. This video is 1/9 so be sure to check out the others!

Big thanks to Alexander!

There you have it folks, a round of questions with DJ Basilisk.

I hope you found this interview as entertaining and helpful as I have. There is over a decade of knowledge you can learn from Alexander.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Alexander for such a great and inspiring interview. Whenever you are visiting Canada or want to chat to a great guy, be sure to leave him a message on Facebook/Twitter and be sure to check out his netlabels!

Did you find this interview interesting or helpful? Tell us what you thought in the comments below!

You may also like these posts...

• Where to Find and Buy Vinyl Records Locally
• New Years Eve At Level 3 – A Night To Remember
• 10 Tips For Surviving A Music Festival
• BeginnerDJ Interviews DJ Psyence: Life, DJ Tips and The Next Generation DJ Contest
• 6 Excellent VJ Resources To Find Visual Loops

Hey BDJ readers,

I just wanted to give everyone a little heads up on what’s going on at BeginnerDJ.

I figure it I owe it to everyone to keep them in the loop.

First off, thank you so much for reading BDJ. It’s great to see so many people visiting the site and commenting on the posts. I really appreciate it, it keeps me going

So, I’m sure you’ve noticed a few things that have popped up on BDJ but if not, I figure they’re worth mentioning.

The BeginnerDJ Shop

After getting asked a bunch of times for recommendations for gear, books, music and more, I figure it would be great to include a shop for BeginnerDJ.

This store is a simple Amazon store built into the site.

It does mean that anything you buy will earn me some affiliate cash, I don’t want to keep you in the dark about that.

The additional money that comes in through Amazon will ultimately come back to you in the form of gear reviews, being able to attend parties and write about them and so much more.

Be sure to check out the BDJ shop here.

The BeginnerDJ Archives

I recently found a great plugin called PS Auto Sitemap which allows me to place a single line of code to generate a sitemap on the site.

Up until now I’ve been using Google XML sitemaps for the search engines but I wanted you to be able to read back through the archives without having to click from page to page.

This creates a really nice list of the posts.

Check out the Beginner DJ archives here.

BeginnerDJ Facebook Page

I created a Facebook page for BeginnerDJ a while back but never got around to placing it on the site.

As you can see, it is up on the site currently.

I did this because RSS and Email subscriptions just don’t really cut it anymore. A lot of people may have no idea how to use RSS or don’t want to read posts through their Email. I figure a Facebook page would be great because everyone already has an account.

Check out the BeginnerDJ Facebook page here.

Google Ads on BDJ Wut?

I’ve been a bit hesitant about placing more Google Adsense ads on the blog because I don’t want them to distract you from the content.

In the end, I wanted to have a nice block on the sidebar and toward the bottom of the post.

Again, much like the BDJ Shop, this is mostly just to pay the bills and so I can pick up new gear to review for you guys.

Also, if it gets to the point where it pulls in any additional money, I’d love to hold contests for everyone. I’d love to eventually hold a contest where someone can win a full set of decks!

I want everyone to voice their opinion about the ads, if you don’t like them, speak up and I’ll remove them. Remember, the blog is for your benefit, not some advertiser.

BDJ Input and Suggestion

Over the last few months I’ve been able to talk to a lot of great people.

Some of these people have been DJs, avid readers and people really interested in the music – big ups for them!

If you ever have any post suggestion, guest post, things you want to share or comments, please fire away – I’m always open to new ideas and helping others get promoted.

Thanks again

Just wanted to thank everyone again for a great reception of this blog. I’ll continue to do my best to provide some really great content.

Keep checking it out in the future for more posts, reviews, interviews and more. As it builds up, I hope to be able to give more back to everyone so keep up the support!

Thanks,

Muxx

You may also like these posts...

• Become A Fan Of BDJ On Facebook
• BeginnerDJ – One Month Later
• Coming Soon To BeginnerDJ
• BeginnerDJ Relaunch

A great outdoor party or rave will be hosted by promoters that know their law and can keep the cops at bay but eventually the system will break in and shut the party down. During your partying, knowing the following tips will help you avoid getting arrested.

The last thing you want to do is to be arrested for having a good time but it also take responsibility and knowning what you need to do to avoid getting in trouble.

The following are some tips to avoid getting arrested at parties:

Don’t drive drunk or under the influence

The easiest way to get arrested is to show up or leave drunk or under the influence.

Driving drunk or under the influence is already a bad idea. Landing a DUI or getting arrested will be quite the buzzkill before or after the party.

Sober up before you leave any party. Generally cops will sit outside on the road just waiting for you to drive by so they can bust you.

If possible, camp out or hang around a few hours after the party is shut down. Cops will hang around the party after the music is off because people will tend to leave, this is when they jump on people driving out.

If you do need to drive home, call a cab or get a designated driver. It’s better to get home so you can go to the next party than to be dead or arrested.

Keep the illegal talk on the downlow

It’s important to know your rights when partying. There may be undercover narcs walking around asking you for party favors, telling them you have supplies will quickly get you busted.

Likewise, running around asking everyone you see for supplies or taking them in public will put you on the top list of any cop that catches you in the act.
Be smart about what you talk about, don’t bring additional attention to yourself from acting like an ass.

Know your rights

If you are partying on private property, behind gates, the cops do not have the right to enter the premise.

These entrance laws apply for house parties. If at all possible, talk to the cops outside of the house, close the door behind you and don’t let them enter.

Cops need a warrant to enter property and homes, take it outside so they can’t look around, trying to find contriband or something to arrest the people there.

Don’t start fights or trouble

If you’re partying in a club, keep up the good vibes, don’t bring anything from your outside life that is going to get in you trouble.

Starting fights with bouncers and other clubbers will quickly get you in a headlock and thrown onto the streets.

Besides a beatdown from a hulking bouncer, finding yourself on the street while drunk can land you public intoxication or a DUI if you get pissy and drive off.

Don’t tailgate or hang around the parking lot

You may head out to your car at times to grab something or just to chill out. The only problem with tailgatting and hanging in your car is that, if it’s not on private property, the cops can come up to your car and begin questioning you.

Use your privacy rights. Don’t sit in your car blasting music and flashing lights, you’ll quickly call the attention of the cops over to you.

Be careful with what you’re carrying

Driving around with empty beer bottles in your car will get you in deep trouble with the cops.

Likewise, carrying around party supplies isn’t smart when the cops are around. A quick search and you’ll be ending your night behind bars.

If possible, never carry anything on you. If you do carry things on you, try to conceal them in stash boxes or where they aren’t likely to be found.

Don’t carry weapons

Carrying weapons is already a stupid decision, especially when alchohol or drugs are involved.

You do have the right to carry protection but don’t do it if you don’t have the paperwork to back it.

Don’t set guns on your seat, don’t carry around knives in the club and don’t bring items which can cause harm. Not only will you kill the good vibes but you’ll also pick up a nasty felony charge.

All-in-all: don’t carry weapons that will get you in trouble.

Don’t resist arrest

If you do happen to be caught during your partying, don’t resist arrrest.
Starting fights, running or causing a scene with the police will quickly land you in jail. You may also feel a nasty sting of a taser or a club over the head if the cops are feeling particularily hot headed about your behavoir.

Don’t bring any additional charges on yourself besides the one the cops originally planned, you’ll only make it worse for yourself.

Be careful with your warrants

Not everyone lives a straight life, it’s okay.

Partying with warrants of your arrest or previous DUI charges will really screw up your life if you are arrested again.

If possible, let these warrants wear off or clear them from your name.
Don’t party if you know you may get in trouble again. Many states have adopted the 3 strikes and you’re out. You can’t party if you’re behind bars.

Additional Resources

There is a great video called: BUSTED: The Citizen’s Guide to Surviving Police Encounters.

This video will help you learn your rights as a citizen and can be applied to partying. Check the vid:

Just be smart

Following these tips will ensure that you arrive and leave a party a free citizen.

Use your common sense and knowledge of the law to avoid being arrested at parties.

Keeping your partying within the scope of the law will allow you to continually attend these events. Like I mentioned throughout the post, being arrested means no more partying – bummer.

Go out, have fun but be safe.

What do you do to avoid being arrested at parties? Share some of your knowledge in the comments below.

You may also like these posts...

• How To Find Minimal Techno Tracks For DJing
• The Next Generation DJ Contest
• What Should I Store My Vinyl Records In?
• Become A Fan Of BDJ On Facebook
• How To Create A Mix CD Cover In Photoshop: Tutorials And Inspiration

Your first time attending a music festival can be quite overwhelming at times but using a few of these tips will help curb some of the unexpected events that may pop up along the way.

Yeah, once you get there you’ll be so overwhelmed with what’s going on that you’ll say “eff it” to everything you forgot but once the morning rolls around and you’re without supplies, you’ll be cursing yourself.

In this post, I want to give a few tips on what to bring to music festivals. Although some of these aren’t necessary, you’ll always be thankful when you have them.

Any other drink besides beer

How many times have you made the mistake of just buying cases of beer for a festival then later down the line you could really use water or an energy drink.

Beer will dehydrate you in mass quantity, bring drinks that don’t contain alcohol for a change.

Extra sets of clothes

I admit, I generally don’t care at all when it comes to my personal hygiene when I’m at a festival, I’m there to get dirty and go wild.

However, when the temperature drops by 50 degrees and it begins to rain, you’ll really wish you brought an extra hoodie or pair of pants.

Lights

I don’t know how many times I’ve bought a battery lantern only to forget it just as I leave. It’s always helpful to have a light that isn’t your cigarette lighter.

The light can sit in your tent so you can actually see where you’re going, instead of throwing everything in and just laying on top of it (you’ll end up doing this anyway).

Food

Food?! Do I really need to tell you to bring food? Apparently, yes.

Food is one of those items that you weight against the alchohol. Not enough room to fit food? Oh well, throw in another case.

You have to eat at some point, it may as well be something other than granola bars and banannas.

A (good) tent

Don’t skimp out on buying a good tent. Yes, the $20 childs tent looks like a great deal but these things leak, are way too small and generally get lost very quickly.

Opt for at least a 4 person tent, this way you could invite people back or if you’re with your buddies, there’s ample amount of room for all of you.

Sleep (once in a while)

Out of everything that you’ll do at a festival the main thing that will catch up to you is the lack of sleep.

Going at it for 2 or 3 days straight is very admirable but your body will feel miserable once it starts to shut down from exhaustion.

Try to grab a nap when the music dies down, sleep on something comfortable (aka. not the ground) and give your brain a rest for a change.

Acoustic instruments or MP3 players

Depending on the festival, the music may die down in the early mornings for the people that are finally crashing.

If you’re apart of the group that is staying up the whole time, you’ll probably want to hear something.

A drum circle is always welcoming at parties and when you want to try to catch some winks in your tent, an MP3 player is a godsend to chill you out.

Hell, just 2x of everything

This is more of a general tip because it seems like everyone runs out of everything by late night on the 2nd night.

Cigarettes, beer, fire wood, clothes, you name it and it’s pretty much exhausted at this point. Pack up twice you think you’ll use and if you don’t end up using it, give it away to people.

Good Vibes

I don’t think this necessarily needs to go on here but I think it’s worth mentioning.

Bring good vibes to the party, help each other out, give stuff away, let people chill out with you, share your fire, share some food, talk to people and don’t be grumpy.

People are there to have fun and let go of the world for a while, they don’t need people to complain about their jobs nonstop, just be a good spirit.

Something to barter with

If you didn’t take the tips about bringing extra supplies and things other than beer it may be good to bring things you could eventually barter with.

I’m not saying to do anything illegal.

Bring items people may want to trade for food, water, a tent or any other item. Trade some glowsticks for cigarettes, play some music for beer, hell, anything works at festivals.

Of course, bring some extra money as well.

Go with the flow (but be smart)

In the end, just go to have a great time. I usually don’t think to hard about the things I’m bring, I just try to cover the essentials and eventually note what I should bring next time.

After a while you’ll be able to deal without certain things while others you’ll really be happy you brought. You can read a bit more about How To Prepare For A Summer Music Festival with this handy guide.

Remember, you’re going to be camping out for multiple day, it’s best to be prepared before you end up cold and miserable.

Happy partying

Did I forget to mention anything you usually bring to festivals? Share some tips in the comment section below.

You may also like these posts...

• Ghreg on Earth – T3
• Various Ways To Organize Your Vinyl Collection
• TouchDJ – DJing On The IPhone
• 5 Cables Every Beginner DJ Should Know
• How To Buy Vinyl Records – Tips and Tricks

No surprise that there has been quite a few funny “How to dance to dubstep” videos popping up. Sure we could watch people that could actually dance but who cares, right? That’s why you wanna take the most ironic video and add in a filthy tune – pure comedy gold.

Wobblegirl

As disturbing as this video is, it’s utterly hilarious. Look at her skank all over the place!

Obama vs. McCain (Dubstep Version)

This is the dance off video that made waves during the election between Obama and McCain but now it’s been remixed with Dubstep.

How To Dance To Dubstep

This one is a classic. Pulling the video from some weird bollywood movie, the timing of the music really makes this video awesome as hell.

How To Dance To Dubstep (Over 75s)

What would you do if you were really old and happen to walk by a street concert blasting Dubstep? If you’re this cool dude, you’ll start dancing.

The Dubstep Dance Revamped!

I’m sorry guy but your dancing is making be laugh. I’m not sure if it’s the stomping or the fist pumps, either way, this one will make you laugh your ass off.

George Dubya Bush – Skankin’ To Dubstep

Okay this one is a bit cheating, I made this when I was bored at work. Nothing too fancy but I figured it would be funny enough to see Bush get filthy.

Parrot Dubsteppin’

Look at this little guy go, he knows what’s up.

Rubba Dub Dubstep (Dubstep Dance)

The fact that it has Christopher Walken steppin’ is enough to watch the vide, creepy as hell.

Got any other “how to dance to dubstep” vids? Share em in the comments below. Tell me what you think.

You may also like these posts...

• Dubstep: The Music I Love

I figure it would be a great way to start posting some of the things I’ve found throughout the week that have caught my ear or was really helpful and post them on the according day, Monday!

#MusicMonday posts will be about new and old music, tutorials I’ve found while lurking on the deepest of the nets, great articles and interviews with top notch DJs and producers and much, much more.

To make it a bit interesting, I’ll try to tell you the journey I had while finding these items (hopefully it doesn’t bore you).

So, to kick things off right, let’s begin the the first #MusicMonday post.

#Music

Umek: 150+ Sets

While searching for a song I heard Umek play, I came across a forum that was listing an amazing 150+ sets! Not only did I find what I was looking for but this list goes waaay backin into Umek’s DJ career, don’t miss it.

Umek is absolutely amazing. I’ve been a huge fan of Richie Hawtin for quite some time but I think I’ve finally found someone to take his throne. I can’t believe Umek has flown under my radar for this long.

Umek Livesets 150+

Klaus Schulze and Pete Namlook – Careful With The AKs

A friend of mine linked me this late one night and I’m really happy I clicked on it. This song really shows some old school psychedelic synthesizers, it’s from the album Dark Side Of The Moog.

Electrypnose – Life Is A Sinus

I’m a big fan of Dark Psytrance and this song takes the cake for me. The hard computer hissing and bubbling effect in the middle has turned this into my favorite Dark Psy tune by far.

Paul Elstak & Firestone – A Hardcore State Of Mind

Okay, I admit it, I like some Gabber. It’s not everyones cup of tea but this song is absolutely brutal. Just wait for the kick to start.

Plastikman – Krakpot

Richie! My friend Dez recently picked up this single on vinyl and couldn’t wait to show off his new loot. I’m jealous. Classic tune.

#Awesome Videos – Parties and Trippiness

Ozora Festival 2009

This video chronicles the Ozora Festival of 2009. It’s divided into various parts on YouTube. Throughout it are some big name hitters in the Psy world such as Man With No Name, Hallucinoge, Shpongle and more.

7th Heaven Pot Smoking Episode

This video is absolutely hilarious, look how serious everyone is. It’s sure to give you a few laughs.

Crooked Rot

I love stop animation, it always has this really creepy effect if done right and this video really does it for me.

Only a few minutes long, by the time you’re done watching it, you’re going to say “WAAAAT?!”

#Media

Demen1 on deviantART

While browsing around for party fliers, I came across the portfolio of Demen1.

To put it into words: these fliers are some of the most beautiful I’ve seen in a long time. Each work blows your mind and 1 up’s the next.

Definitely check out the Portfolio of Demen1

The Psychology of Cyberspace

I’ve been a big cyberpunk fan for quite some time now, hell, I grew up on the net – it’s in my veiiiins. This is a really great read. It’s a bit dated but it’s such a vivid portrayal of the web.

Read The Psychology of Cyberspace

An Interview With Dr. Alexander Shulgin about Ecstasy

Shulgin has given the world a lot that we should all be thankful for. Besides the hundreds of research chemicals he’s synthesized, he’s best known for Ecstasy. This interview gives so great light to the birth of the love drug.

Read the interview with Dr. Alexander Shulgin

Stay Tuned!

So, there we have it, #MusicMonday.

I don’t want to overload you with hundreds of links to boring crap, I really want to make the effort to share with you things I’ve found that really got me excited.

Dez and I talk about Novelty. This idea is covered thuroughly by Terence McKenna as he discusses Time Wave Zero. Basically it means when something monumental happens in the world, it’s a rare form of novelty.

How does this relate to the #MusicMonday items? Well, most of them are always found through some weird coincidence or at the perfect time (you know when something just hits the spot?).

I hope you enjoyed this post, hopefully it passes some time and you can discover some new music and read about some really cool things.

Be sure to share what you’ve found lately in the comments below!

You may also like these posts...

• New On BeginnerDJ: BDJ Shop, Facebook, Friends and More
• The Beginner DJ Equipment Guide: Building Your First DJ Setup
• 5 Reasons To Choose CDJs Over Vinyl Turntables
• Electronic Music – My Electro Voyage
• How To Buy Vinyl Records – Tips and Tricks

After looking at a few parties, we decided to swing by the U Name That Party at Rock Bottoms Farms Compound in Orlando. The flier said it all:

I’m a big fan of the Tampa electronic music scene, TEK is doing a great job to bring a lot of parties to the area. Additionally, Ybor is a really amazing place to find some very fun clubs (plus they serve alcohol til 3am). The problem is that Tampa is 2 hours away, quite a trip to make when you’re going out for only 4 hours at a club.

This is why Orlando is quickly becoming a really great scene for electronic music. Recently Orlando has begun to resurge with electronic music that isn’t just in clubs. What we found on the outskirts of Orlando was truly amazing.

In a dirty warehouse, dark electro, minimal, tech house and more was blasting. As we pulled up, we didn’t know wither we should worry about all the homeless people wandering around or all the glass we were driving over.

The line up was:

• Dirty Fidget Thug – Fidget House
• J Sly – Hard Electro/Minimal/DnB
• DJ E – Tech House
• DJ Ken-E – Minimal/Tech
• Matt Shea – Funky House/Techno
• DJ Emessee – Hardcore/Hardstep/Dnb

Once a month a party is thrown at this small warehouse, it can only hold about 200 people but the people you find here are the die hard fans of the music and the scene.

Grafitti littered the walls, cracks, wood, glass littering the area and you could get some nasty cuts if you weren’t careful; this was raw.

The people we met there were a class of their own, they were there to party. They weren’t there just to stand around in their popped collars, they were there to dance and have fun.

The music was pounding. With such a small venue encased in concrete, the sound echoed and boomed. The crunch of electro house filled the room while lasers and lights flashed in our eyes. It was like being locked in a building full of the craziest, wildest people that you instantly fall in love with.

Because Rock Bottom Farms Compound is on the outskirts of town, there are some small “rules” to the party. Technically you aren’t allowed to bring alcohol on the premise, it’s a place people are partying at but it’s definitely not a club or bar – cops will show up.

The actual location is really awesome, the Orlando skyline lights up the night yet you feel like you’re in the middle of no where. The compound opens up to a courtyard were we played dodgeball and wall ball – hey, it was fun. The warehouse was small and opened up to a fire pit for everyone to chill around.

The DJs had passion – real passion for the party and the music, they really gave everyone a great vibe – cheers to them!

As the party went on and we met more poeople, found drinks, finished packs of cigs, found glowsticks, danced hard, the DJs really stepped up and played some slamming minimal/tech house.

The best part about the warehouse was, since it was so small, that we were able to get to know people without being lost in a gigantic crowd. The people there were real, they all had stories, these were the people on the fringe of society, raw people.

The party wained on and we continued to get lost. The smells of dirty ravers filled the air, thick smoked flooded the room, lasers danced in your eyes, the bass crushing your chest and people going crazy.

The night was dying down but the people were still at it. We converged on the fire pit and watched the flames dance as the smoke poured from our mouths – cigs. Everyone had a chill vibe and knew the party spirit filled us all.

With an hour to drive home and the exhaustion of dancing hard for hours on end, we decided to call it a night. It was such a perfect night to get out, we really needed this.

Talking to a few people on the way out, we knew whenever we’re back in Orlando again, we’re coming to another party here.

It’s hard to describe what went on, you had to be there and I highly recommend coming out and helping to promote the Orlando scene. Tell all of your friends, bring in your crew, let’s fill this place up with as many people as we can get, hardcore people. We will bring back that raw experience in a city that continues to become full of people that don’t seem to care about the music – let’s take it back for us.

Come and hang out, listen to music, get the raw experience, support the Orlando scene, have fun, be safe and jam out.

Til next time.

You may also like these posts...

• Learn To DJ Online: 10 DJ Courses To Teach About DJ Techniques and Club Life
• Coming Soon To BeginnerDJ
• The Top 100 DJ List Is Bullshit
• How To Build A DJ Stand For Under $30
• A Basic Guide To Club Drugs

Let me begin by telling you that drugs can harm you, you know this, but I’m not going to stand on my podium to tell you “Just Say No!”, instead I find that understanding what drugs can do to you is much more effective than just telling someone not to do them.

With that being said, let’s take a look at some of the drugs you may encounter at an electronic party. Remember, I’m not telling you to do them, simply informing you so you know what to expect and not be caught off guard.

Cigs

Are cigarettes a drug? Yes in my book. Look, their addictive, they give you a nicotine buzz and is generally a way people socialize, just like drinking.

If you’re a smoker, it’s always nice to bring an extra pack in case people ask you. Additionally, you may want to carry a few extra lighters because no doubt people will take them throughout the night.

I know it’s a kind gesture to hand your lighter off to someone but ask for it back, it’s annoying when you’ve lost all your lighters.

Alcohol

Alcohol has been around since the beginning of man, they’ve been brewing this stuff for ages. Even back during the Egyptian times people would throw parties that included alcohol, but I highly doubt they were blasting filthy dubstep.

Alcohol intoxicates you, slows down your reaction time and is generally accompanied by slurring of speech, not being able to walk very well and, depending on the type of person, will either make them very cheery or piss them off.

Buying your drinks in a club is expensive, you could easily head over to a smaller bar that offers great deals and “pre load” before heading to the club.

I don’t have to tell you the dangers of drunk driving, simply don’t do it. Get a friend to drive you home or call a cab, you can’t party if you’re dead. Be smart.

Weed

People have been smoking weed for a very long time, yes it’s illegal but much less dangerous than drinking. Not to go into a deep debate but anyone that knows about smoking culture will agree that it’s a stupid law.

You’ll run into groups of people that are going to be smoking. It chills you out and makes the music much more intense. Don’t be an idiot just going around asking for weed, it’s a good way to get busted in case there are narcs in the crowd.

The general effects are: increased sensitivity, sometimes wobbly vision, increase hunger and a very relaxing effect. There are many different strains of weed which you’ll run into over the course of your partying days, each have a different strength and characteristic, the prices also vary depending on the scarcity and strength.

People smoke it to chill out and groove to the music, others smoke and get right into the party, standing on the bassbins.

Ecstasy

Ecstasy, the love drug, has been heavily used in the party scene for quite some time. Hell, the whole Summer of Love was fueled by ravers full of the pills.

Ecstasy is a bit tricky at times, people are always selling bunk or mixing it with other things like meth (speedy pills eh?). E can range from $5 – $15 each depending on the area and are usually stamped with little logos like Transformers. A pure form of MDMA, street named: Molly, will be more expensive but being pure, it leaves you with a much more intense trip.

It’s important to be educated about the types of pills. There are always talk about dangerous pills but just to be on the safe side check sites like PillReports.com to see if they are bunk or not.

The general effects of Ecstasy are: Very intensive feeling, increased happiness, music becomes very colorful, you become very sociable.

There are some drawbacks to heavy Ecstasy use. Serotonin depletion will leave you with some bummed out days after the party. In cases where people take extremely heavy amounts of Ecstasy, psychosis will happen.

Acid

Acid, how could we talk about party drugs and not mention Acid? LSD, or by its street name Acid, one wild trip – a true hallucinogen. Remember Acid House? Yeah, despite many people saying it was because of the “acid” house sound, there was plenty of tripping going on during these raves.

Acid comes in many forms but you’ll often run into people selling blotter papers with drops of Acid on them. One tab will send you into a whole new world. Acid is a much more intensive drug for the party scene but there are still many people that regularly take hits. Music will become very visual, dancing around you while you’re flying through space land.

Acid can range anywhere from $10 – $20 each blotter but one will be more than enough to really take you for a ride.

General effects of Acid are: hallucinations, a very intensive buzzing, some loss of motor skills (because you’re too busy staring at stuff)

Heavy doses of Acid has lead many people to experience permanent psychosis, just look at Syd Barret of Pink Floyd.

Mushrooms

Where you have the synthetic drug Acid, you have the natural Mushrooms. Mushrooms can be comparable with Acid, you will receive many visual hallucinations at higher doses and there will be a twing to your thoughts that can’t be described.

Along the same reason for taking Acid, Mushrooms will make music come to life visually and feel very colorful. Shrooms aren’t the best party drug if you plan to dance, they are much better taken around the fire where you can explore your thoughts deeply and have long conversations about life with your friends.

General effects of Shrooms are: hallucinations, introspective thoughts, increase sensitivity of touch.

Because shrooms are natural, they have a much lower risk of damaging your body but much like Acid, heavy doses may cause psychosis – be weary. Shrooms will generally run you about $40 a quarter (depending on your area).

DMT

You ready for a trip that’s going to take you beyond the stars to contact aliens? Yeah, that’s what’s going to happen with DMT.

DMT is naturally produced in your minds which is often released during very stressful times such as a near death experience. This release of DMT will trip out your mind harder than you can even imagine, you loose all control of your body.

General effects of DMT are: very heavy hallucinations, complete lose of body control, short duration (roughly 15 minutes).

DMT can also be mixed with natural herbs and barks to create Ayahuasca. Ayahuasca has been a sacred drink of shamans for many years, it will give you the effect of DMT for hours on end.

Salvia

Kind of like the younger brother of DMT, Salvia is a plant that has similar effects to DMT.

Salvia was legal for a while in many states but after the authorities got wind of it, it was quickly banned in most of the states. Salvia isn’t necessarily a party drug, you’re not going to be doing any dancing (much less listening) while under the effects, it’s more of a communal drug where each person takes a turn while others sit and make sure they don’t do anything stupid (is that an oxymoron?).

Salvia comes in many forms and extracts, you can buy whole leaves or buy various levels of extracts which are more potent than the previous.

General effects of Salvia: hardcore hallucinations, lose of body control, uncontrollable giggling or terror, space peoples

Research Chemicals (RCs)

RCs have been around for a very long time, Alexander Shulgin synthesized hundreds which is detailed in the books PIHKAL and TIHKAL.

Each RC is a bit different from each other but the main ones you may run into are 2CI and 2CB. 2CI is a bit similar to ecstasy but not nearly as intense. 2CB is more like acid but again, not as intense as the real thing. RCs are taken in very small dosages and can last for many hours.

Through many countries, RCs are still very legal and can be bought in head shops or online. Other countries have downright banned them. The prices range on the availability (they are being synthesized you know) so 1g can run you about $400 – but that will last you nearly 50 hits!

Overall, RCs are sort of the “lite” versions of the drugs that they are similar to but they are very potent.

Cocaine

Cocaine is one of those drugs that has been a part of the party scene since the Disco days. It’s certainly been around longer but Disco was what really shot it into the mainstream.

With all the abundance of the money during the 80s, pretty much anyone with extra cash seemed to be doing cocaine. Nowadays, it’s much less common to see cocaine at parties just because of how much trouble you can get into and the general attitude from coke heads.

General effects of cocaine: you feel like a god (for only a few minutes).

The main problem with cocaine is that after the first time, you’re never going to have the same feeling so it leaves people chasing it, blowing tons of money and really screwing up peoples lives.

Drugs to stay away from

I know this is rather ironic that the entire post is about party drugs but I want to tell you that there are some drugs that you absolutely want to stay away from. These drugs are highly addictive and are a by product of the general drug culture making its way past the “club” drugs into some hardcore junkie fixes.

Stay away from: Meth, PCP, Heroin, GHB, Roofies, Crack

You will eventually run into people slinging these drugs, just avoid them. Yes you can easily recover from a bad Acid trip but when you’re chasing the Dragon, you’re life is pretty much going down a really bad path.

Additionally, some of these drugs like GHB and Roofies are pretty much used by with the intent of date rape. The effects leave the unsuspecting people helpless and will often result in them being taken advantage of. Protip: don’t set your drink down.

The more you know

As I mentioned previously, the more you know about the effects and law of club drugs, the better you will be prepared when the situation arises.

You ever wonder why highly repressed people end up becoming such deviant people? (Think catholic school girls). People aren’t being properly educated about drugs so they jump right into them without knowing what will happen.

For some great information and resources, check out:

http://www.Erowid.org

http://www.GrassCity.com

http://www.420chan.org

Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility to the actions you take from the information of this post. Seriously, don’t be stupid. Be informed but don’t do anything stupid.

You may also like these posts...

• BeginnerDJ Interviews DJ Psyence: Life, DJ Tips and The Next Generation DJ Contest
• The 10 Best Beat Matching Videos On The Net
• The Top 100 DJ List Is Bullshit
• The 10 Best Rave Movies of All Time
• Why I Love My Sennheiser HD555s And How I Almost Got Fired

Many consider Bruce Haack as one of the pioneers of Electronic Music. Haack’s experimentation with synthesisers gave us a unique sound unheard of at its time. Haack invented his own synthesisers, produced many albums and was a genius.

So, why has Bruce Haack’s contributions been lost in history?

Let’s take this opportunity to explore the obscure, genius and pioneer of Electronic Music: Bruce Haack.

A Short History Lesson About Bruce Haack

Bruce Haack, born on May 4th, 1931 in the great white north (Canada), had a remarkable talent in playing pianos by the age of four.

Haack would eventually begin to give piano lessons at the age of 12. At a young age, Haack also had the opportunity to take Peyote with Native Americans – this would explain the future direction of Haack’s music.

Before long, as he grew into age, Bruce would seek a college degree at NYC’s Juilliard School – a music school. It didn’t take long for Bruce to become agitated with the programs offered at school so he left only after a few months.

Bruce began to write and compose music for dance and theater productions.

By the time Electronic Music was beginning to make an appearance in the 60s, Bruce fell in love with the limitless potential of the genre and began to being his first productions of this new sound.

Seeing this potential for Electronic Music, Haack and friend Esther Nelson created Dimension 5 records. Dimension 5 brought children dance and sing-a-long tunes, the first step towards Haack’s darker sound in his later years.

The sounds Haack wanted were hard to produce, they weren’t even invented yet! So, like any great musician (and pioneer) he created his own instruments to create these sounds.

Bruce took full advantage of the sounds of Moog synthesisers, drum machines, vocoders and the instruments he built himself. Haack’s unique sound would gain him acclaim from many music enthusiasts citing Haack created a unique sound of his own.

During Bruce’s early career, he sees success through production for Parker Brothers Games, appearances on shows such as The Tonight Show and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and begins to sell records through his Dimension 5 label.

When Psych Rock became the norm in the late 60’s, Haack released his most well known album: Electric Lucifer.

Bruce used his genius ability to invent instruments with his skillful playing to create both Psych Rock albums while continuing to create children’s sing-a-long songs.

The 70’s were hard for Haack, his failing health and increase in drug use compelled him to create much darker albums such as Haackula and Death Machine. These albums were cynical and depressing but Haack’s sound continued to improve with each release.

Eventually Haack’s health turned for the worst but before passing away he collaborated with Russel Simon’s to create one last song: Party Machine.

On September 26th, 1988 Bruce Haack passed away, leaving a legacy of experimental music and influencing thousands of artists.

Bruce Haack: The King Of Techno

Bruce Haack has been honored by a short but very informative documentary called Bruce Haack: The King of Techno.

This documentary takes you from his early childhood in Canada, his school days, creating Dimension 5 records, major releases and finally to his ultimate end.

Throughout the documentary are interviews with musicians who have been influenced by Haack. Joining the interviews are people that personally worked with Haack on Dimension 5 releases.

The documentary only runs a total of 48 minutes but any longer would be too much. Just like many of Haack’s releases, this film is rather hard to find but can be tracked down online.

A Legend Not Forgotten

I only learned about Bruce Haack a few years ago as I was exploring the roots of Electronic Music.

I find that it’s an amazing thing to know the history of the music you love, it gives you a deeper appreciation.

It’s very interesting to see how obscure Bruce Haack has become and how he’s often skipped over within the history books. Bruce Haack deserves to be mentioned, he helped create the music we love today.

There are probably countless others in the world that do not receive the credit they deserve, I will continue to search for them.

Here’s to Bruce, cheers.

Do you know of any other obscure Electronic Music musicians that don’t receive the credit they deserve? Leave a comment below and help shed some light on these people.

You may also like these posts...

• Electronic Music – My Electro Voyage
• A Beginner DJ Guide To Turntable Cartridges
• Hercules DJ Console MKII Review
• New Years Eve At Level 3 – A Night To Remember
• Where to Find and Buy Vinyl Records Locally