We are so excited to have a DJ Spotlight guest straight from California!
Enjoy every second of Aidan's pick for this week's song!
1. Welcome to DJ Spotlight! How did you first discover West Coast Swing, and what drew you to become a West Coast Swing DJ?
I first discovered WCS when I was 11, there was a local ballroom studio that started a group class for teens, teaching all of the dances. I didn’t full understand West Coast until I was talked into attending MADjam 2009, after which I couldn’t get enough of the dance.
In a way, I feel like the community chose me to become a DJ, and I grew into the role throughout my journey. I began DJing both in my hometown, and later when I moved to Los Angeles due to slots needing to be filled, and I just so happened to be ready and prepared when the chances came around to step up and play music. I feel honored that so many dancers continue to enjoy my music and give me the opportunity to guide their dance experiences from the DJ booth!
2. Give us a glimpse into your musical library! Which styles influence your taste the most?
My library consists of a foundation floor of “Classic” WCS tracks from old-school stuff to late 2000s that I picked up from existing veterans when I first got started in the scene.
From there, I developed a taste for artists like Rhye, Lauv, A R I Z O N A, etc., that blend pop, R&B, and electronic into a rhythmic yet melodic and smooth experience that builds and provides a bit of an adventure within the song.
I do also have a sweet spot for some late 2000’s throwbacks, like Akon, Flo Rida, and Kesha, as well as acoustics of all varieties.
3. Can you share a particularly memorable or interesting experience you've had as a West Coast Swing DJ, and how did you handle it?
I think that’s got to be the year when my good friend Demetre Souliotes had the confidence to let me close all four nights at The After Party in 2017. While the closing shift is sometimes a chill experience at other events, at TAP it is a gauntlet like no other, especially as I was playing from the end of prime time or earlier most nights to a very expectant and enthusiastic ballroom.
Not only did I have to bring my A-game every night, keeping dancers from all over the world inspired until the 7am breakfast club, but I had to switch it up four consecutive nights, digging deeper into my library as I tried to figure out ways to one-up my previous night's set.
I joke that I earned the right to never close any consecutive nights again, but I’ll also never forget that experience as the ultimate test of my DJ abilities both in endurance, variety, and attentiveness.
4. Do you think that being an All Star influences your music picks? How? Especially when you play comps music!
While I’m not sure if my dance ability has as much to do with it, I think that my longevity on the scene helps a lot in being able to appeal to a wide audience when DJing.
Nothing beats experience, and having danced to DJs of all kinds throughout three different decades now I feel like I have a clear timeline and understanding for the trends of WCS music, and how they’ve been shaped both from the DJ booth and on the dance floor. I really believe that there’s no better way to improve your DJing that to just exist in the ballroom during other DJs sets, either as an onlooker or a dancer, and just feel the energy shifts.
Where does it drop? What songs elicit an electric wave of excited chatter when they end, and which elicit a sigh of relief? When does it feel like we’ve lived in a certain genre pocket for too long, and it’s time to move on to something different?
5. Budafest was the first event you attended in Europe: what was your experience in matter of social and competition music, compared to what you’re used to in the US?
I had an absolute blast dancing at Budafest, during both social and comps. My read on social music is that slower tempos are definitely preferred, as well as less straight rhythms. There was also a lot less blues, and when R&B is played it was more of the old-school variety rather than newer styles. It felt like mood and feeling were prioritized over a variety in rhythm and genre, I definitely found myself sinking into a flow of dance style across consecutive partners more often than I do in the states, due to the more unified style of musical genres played.
The comp music was a bit closer to the American style, more blues was played, and ironically much faster songs than most DJs play in the US. I found it very refreshing actually, I find when I get songs I know too well in competition, especially finals, it’s hard to pull anything truly creative out as my brain assumes too much.
Both of my finals songs were ones I had never danced to, my second song I had never even heard before. I think that element of unfamiliarity was actually quite nice, and helpful, as I think it puts my brain in a state of learning/attentiveness that it wouldn’t be during a song I know by heart.
6. What advice would you give to someone who's just starting out as a West Coast Swing DJ?
As I said earlier, be in the ballroom during other DJs sets and pay attention to what lifts or lowers the mood in the room, both in a good way and a way that makes people give up/sit down. Do your homework. Listen through Spotify playlists from other DJs, and go all the way back to the beginning.
Grab the songs from old WCS videos on YouTube, don’t get stuck in the current era. Sometimes the coolest songs are gems from the old days that everyone’s forgotten, maybe you can be the one to give that hidden gem its time in the sun again.
And most importantly, vary your genres. I almost never play the same genre back to back, I’m always cycling genre as I play, because too long on a single genre is guaranteed to make the same people upset.
Try to upset and please a different group of people with each song you play ;)
7. Outside of West Coast Swing DJing, what are some of your other interests or hobbies that help inspire your music selection or style?
I would describe my DJing style as cinematic. I studied (and practiced) filmmaking for quite a long time before I got deep into WCS DJing, editing specifically. One of the skills that is most crucial when editing is the ability to create a feeling or mood, and then maintain it.
From there, you can either build or release tension, and in certain genres it’s a game of how long you can hang onto that tension, how hard you can build it before the inevitable payoff and release.
I pretend that I’m editing a film when I DJ, I think about what mood would be appropriate or desired in the moment, then I imagine where I want to take the mood, and how long I have to get there, whether it’s an hour-long set before champ finals in which I need to end on hype, or a lazy Sunday night dance during which people only have a limited amount of energy to expend.
I also produce music as a hobby, something I’ve always dabbled in and have gotten more into recently.
I’m planning to release an album of work pretty soon, which will hopefully have a few WCS-worthy tracks in it. All the listening while DJing over the years has definitely helped train my ear to build sounds and arrangements of my own.
8. Is there anything else you'd like to share with our audience about yourself or your journey as a West Coast Swing DJ?
It has honestly just been such a fulfilling experience DJing over the years. I hope I’ll always have a place in the DJ booth, even as I’m transitioning into more judging and focus on my dancing, I plan to continue pushing my skills as a DJ and taking on new challenges.
8. Lastly, share with us any upcoming events or projects that you're excited about!
I have such an exciting roster of events rounding out the year including Swing Fling, Swing Time, Trilogy, Desert City, Paradise, Halloween SwingThing, Mountain Magic, DCSX, The Open, and of course The After Party (the first event I ever DJed).
In terms of projects, I have an exciting set of lists I’m working on that I can’t wait to share soon, the idea being that I want to give new dancers a slice of each era of WCS I’ve been a part of (from ‘06 to 23).
Once ready, I’ll be posting a list from each significant set of years that I’ve been dancing, giving a feel for what the music was like with each change in style.