Issue 14

Ever wondered how superstar DJs like Laurent Garnier learned how to spin? TOS’s resident turntablist Sabrina Lee takes a journey into the halls of deep house

Before you start playing an instrument, you question whether you have what it takes: the passion, the motivation, the facilities and, of course, the cash. I wondered the same thing before I started deejaying. Passion was never a problem: I’ve always loved music and get excited about the idea of creating a professional-sounding mix tape with everything from Tom Tom Club to Glass Candy. But that can’t be all that it takes. 

Consider the people who do it – DJs like Tim Sweeney, Laurent Garnier and Osulande. At ZoukOut last year, Osulande made me dance till sunrise with his deep house. He knew exactly when to cruise and peak; I was at his mercy, in a trance with a towel in hand, my T-shirt drenched in sweat and my feet exfoliated by the sand by the time the set was over. How could a mere human possess such power with just a pair of hands, some vinyl and a turntable? Like a born-again Christian, I was fervent about my new-found religion. And so my DJ journey began. 

First came a stop at second-hand record store Pop Trash (#02-01 Peninsula Shopping Centre, 3 Coleman St; 9766 9493), which was empty on a Sunday except for a DJ console, a few T-shirts for sale and dusty shelves of 12-inch records. DJ lessons were on offer for $350 up front, and in return, a minimum of 12 lessons. Sign me up! My first lesson with Ashe, 36, owner of Pop Trash, who has been deejaying for 18 years, lasted for an hour and a half, but went quickly. Every time we put on a track, this tall, dark and handsome man (I’m not kidding) would start gyrating his hips and throwing his hands in the air. I was too shy to reciprocate at first, but as we spent more time together, I was getting my groove on and soon we were having our own dance parties in his shop – all the time learning more about the art, of course. 

He showed me a pair of turntables by Technics (www.panasonic.com), a trusted brand name on the DJ circuit, and how to work the instrument: balancing weight on the tone arm and adjusting the pitch control. It was overwhelming at first, but once you’ve had some practice, it wasn’t so hard. Considering I’d had absolutely no experience until now, I wasn’t doing badly. By the end of the lesson, I was beat-matching (making seamless transitions by matching beats between back-to-back records) and slipcueing (holding the record in place while the turntable revolves underneath, then releasing it at exactly the right moment, effecting a smooth segue from the previous track). 

I was hooked after that first lesson, which was also the day I bought my very first record, Prince’s ‘Erotic City’, a funk/ soul track released in 1984. Six months later, I had about a hundred records. As soon as my friends heard about my crusade, they graciously introduced me to Juno (www.juno.co.uk), an online record store, and Discogs (www.discogs.com), a web-based community that shares music information on different genres like hip hop, funk/soul, reggae, deep house, disco and synth-pop. There is also a virtual marketplace where members of the community can buy or sell records. It was a bad, bad place for my latest addiction. 

But despite my ever-growing collection, I remained deckless. Turntables were expensive and required space (something I did not have). In the end, I had to trade my double bed for a single futon to create space in my room for decks, a mixer and speakers. I bought a pair of second-hand Technics SL-1200MK2 decks two months later for $1,100 (a steal!), instead of the usual $1, 800 for a brand new set. In total, I spent close to $2,000 for the whole set-up, which is a considerable amount of money. It may not be necessary to buy decks, but deejaying takes a lot of practice; it helps to have a pair waiting for you at home if you work irregular hours. Alternatively, you can opt for the cheaper CDJ ($690-$705; available at Hin Huat Electronic, Sinemax and Valentine Music Centre), a player that uses CDs and doesn’t require as much space as turntables. 

I started dropping by Pop Trash more to mix around with the turntables. Each time, As he would bombard me with music-history lessons, telling me how bands like Telex, Electric Light Orchestra and Kraftwerk were pioneering electronic music back in the ’70s. He taught me that every track has a family tree; for instance, I learned that ‘minimal music’ is a stripped-down form of techno out of Detroit, in which tracks are composed with little embellishment. I started out with minimal but soon I was going disco, which makes it more difficult to match vocals and the mish-mash of electric guitars, pianos, strings and horns. After much time and effort put into categorising my tracks according to tempo, I was able to gauge which tracks would make for a good set. The thing about deejaying is that once you know the basics (beat-matching and slip-cueing), the rest is practice, practice and knowing your tracks. 

I was starting to get the hang of it when my DJ friend Kai asked me if I’d be interested in booking a slot at Home club’s open-deck sessions. I jumped at the chance to spin live. I’d never heard my records through club amplifiers; the experience is nothing like practising in a studio or your bedroom. I found myself going two or three times a month, spinning for up to three hours a night. Soon I was ordering more records to expand my repertoire. From electro to disco, minimal to deep house, I brought at least three new records with me each time I went back to the club. And I’m still going. 

Being a DJ means making an investment (see below), but don’t go overboard with the big buys. Spinning is as much about your love and knowledge of music as it is about technology. On their 1982 single Indeep sang of how ‘Last Night a DJ Saved My Life’; you might not manage that, but if your new-found skill makes the music sing, you’re on your way to becoming a DJ. 


Vinyl destinations
LEARN: See ‘DJ BootCAMP’. 
MIX: Check online forums like djforums.com, beatportal.com, globalunderground.co.uk and mercuryserver.com. 
SHOP: Hin Huat Electronic Pte Ltd (#01-13 Sim Lim Square, 10 Jalan Besar; 6296 9168) sells Stanton and Technics turntables and CDJ players, as well as top-of-the-range headphones. Sinamex (#B1-34 Parklane Shopping Mall, 35 Selegie Rd; 6338 8657) carries DJ equipment by Numark (www.numark.com). Valentine Music Centre (451 Race Course Rd; 6338 7890) stocks Stanton (www.stantondj.com) and Technics turntables, vinyls and DJ bags.