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DJ – Have you heard the heart beat?

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DJ M-Doc joins us once more on his epic journey through music in the stunning conclusion to this 2 part series.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series and feel like I know M-Doc on another level now, a lower level. Jokes.

One thing’s for sure: DJ M-Doc can wield a pen!

When I originally hit him up to feature in the blog, I asked him to give me as many details as possible. M-Doc wasted no time and he had given me an essay in 48 hours.

I’ve had to cull a lot but I think I captured the best bits. Big ups bro.

DJ

where were we..

“At 19 I was introduced to the hippie side of rap:

Native Tongues, Early black eyed peas, J5 and all the backpacker Rawkus stuff. Big shout out to my boy Chewba. He could see me straying from hip-hop (I was getting into house and techno etc.) so he started slipping classic tracks from The Roots, Common, DJ premier… That’s kinda how dj-ing works for me… 

That’s the whole philosophy of good dj-ing. If ever my sets sound good, it’s because I LOVE the music. To some extent a good dj can rock any crowd (except when things get too niche- i.e. I don’t like hardstyle techno. I have never bothered to learn what appeals to that crowd but… if I went to a few events and learned what makes them tick, I reckon I could get some arses moving.”

M-Doc

but..

“it will never be the same as the guy who’s been going to hard-style events constantly for years and LOVES that shit. As a dj you can get away with a lot more than a vocal artist. 

Like, no one wants to listen to a rapper who’s heart isn’t in it. It’s that heart connection that brings us all together through music

Even if the content is horrible, a good example is Chillinit. I don’t love the message- the misogyny, the drug abuse etc. but the way he delivers it and the beats he uses… Wow! I feel that shit. That’s the passion… He loves what he does and it comes through the music.

Don’t get me started on mumble rap. Smh! it seems like those whack punks are too messed up on molly and cough medicine to be passionate about anything. And this is kind of where I’m at.”

Love it! When did you start Dj-ing?

“I started dj-ing when I got divorced 6/7 years ago. Despite what i’m doing now, (house and techno) I was all about hip-hop at the time. But I hate the current direction of mainstream hip-hop.. and RNB? I can’t even tell what’s EDM and what’s RNB most of the time. David Guetta and Snoop Dogg on the collab? I’m out! 

And if anyone says ‘Mdoc’s just a hater coz he can’t scratch- that’s true! lol I can’t scratch to save my life. I don’t even like playing without auto sync. i can if I have to but why? it sounds better with sync on. I’ve got a lot of respect for proper DJ’s who can play vinyl and sound perfect but that’s not what really matters to most crowds. 

It’s like if you found out your bus driver, who gets you to and from work every day… if you found out he can’t drive manual… Would you refuse to get on his bus? I’d probably lose respect for him but it makes fuck all difference to how he drives that bus every day. 

That’s kinda what I’ve been noticing over the last few years as i delve further into dj-ing. As long as I’m playing the right tracks and mixing them well, I’m rocking crowds. And going back to an earlier point – it’s my love. Yaknowcheck was watching my livestream the other day and told me he could feel my love for the music. That’s the best compliment I could hope for. Shoutout to yaknowcheck!

DJ

what does music give you?

“I love when I hear a perfect track for the first time. I just wanna live inside that feeling forever. It’s like a religious experience.

Everything else fades away and all that’s left is that perfect track… what I do is obsessively listen to that track, keep finding other tracks that work around it and keep finding more great tracks… I’d like to get back into producing my own. I’ve made a couple of beats but we’ll see. I found lack of musical ability an impediment in the past. I could program decent drums but that was about it. “

what inspires you etc etc.

“One of my biggest inspirations is the artist formerly known as the Black Madonna (now the blessed Madonna). I saw a short documentary about her. She was 30 something, had been DJ-ing and making music for fifteen years and almost had to move back in with her parents.

All of a sudden, one track she produced got some traction. A few years later she was DJ Mag’s number one dj. I particularly like how she’s not the typical, sexy house/techno dj. (She’s a big girl.)

She doesn’t let her physical appearance stop her from absolutely rocking every performance. I also like how she mixes it up genre wise. I love House but it can get boring. when anything from soul to funk to disco to techno is fair game, it’s far less predictable.”

 

DJ Live sets

I try to add those little surprises to my sets whenever possible. Like, I played this boat party in summer and I found a clean version of the lonely islands “I’m on a boat”. The crowd loved it ha ha… 

Mall Grab (from Newcastle NSW) is another inspiration as a dj. He also is a wildcard. When I first saw him play, I was obsessed with his early productions- (soulful deep house) – like, old school deep house- with actual soul singer vocals. When I saw him, he played everything from acid house to elector breaks to gabber!

And every transition was flawless, kid’s a freakin genius on the decks (and on the production side- I hate him!)”

“On a more local tip, I get inspired by my friends in Aus music. I was worried that meeting other DJs would be intimidating but they’re the coolest, friendliest people, the only DJ’s I don’t like are the has-beens. 

Old dudes who don’t get gigs anymore and have to lecture everyone on how it used to be and how new DJ’s ain’t got no skill

It’s like, dude, if it’s so easy, you do it! I’m not stopping you for learning cdi’s/controllers. Yes vinyl sounds nice but it’s never gonna be industry standard again. Fortunately I’ve only met one such dick in real life. It was on the night before my first paid gig however, so I’m still a little resentful! I see a lot of hate online too. Not towards me so far luckily.”

WHAT'S NEXT FOR DJ M-DOC

“I’m trying to decide if I’m gonna go back to uni myself.. this time to study psychology. Like you, I’m a recovering addict and I want help others get clean and sober. “

What a dope message to end on. 

Big shoutout to M-Doc for taking the time to share in such detail. 

I love how much you went into the subjects and I certainly agree with you on many points DJ M-Doc.

See you at Uni maybe.

until next time, peace fam!

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