Name: Airek
Age: 35
Single/Girlfriend/Married: Single
Where are you from?
Well, I was born in Pennsylvania. But I have spent the majority of my adult life traveling from big city to big city for entertainment. I guess if I had to call one place, I would say Miami, because that is where I really had to grow up and face the world.
Tell us a little-known AIREK fact:
Not a lot of people in San Diego are aware of this, but I have been a drummer since I was 6 years old, and I put myself through one of the best recording engineer schools in the country at age 25. I have been in the underground dance music industry for 12 years total now. I am also getting to be a pretty good Hip Hop DJ. We’ll keep that one quiet for now, but anyone who wants to get the Airek version of Hip Hop like you never heard it, just ask me and I’ll slip you a little sample. You can hear another sample mix on www.airek.com.
How do you like playing in SD/Vegas etc?
I prefer playing out of San Diego actually. The reason for that is that usually out of town people don’t know you as well and it makes it easier to make them go off to your sounds. Because San Diego is so small, there is always that looming pigeonhole of what “style†the people put you in. People will say, “Oh, that’s Airek, he plays trance,†or, “that’s Airek, he plays house, and I don’t like kind of music.†When you go out of town, people have no expectation, you rock it, they go crazy, and it’s really a simple deal. I don’t have a single style. Coming from the generation of DJs that I was mentored by, I was exposed to multiple genres and multiple nightclub situations. Every appearance causes me to mix differently. You can’t call me just one style of DJ. I love the support that the San Diego people give to us. They love their DJs here and I will continue to give them what they want. Vegas is always fun too!
Where do you like playing the most?
Out of Town always means a new, exciting, experience, so that is definitely a like of mine.
Are there any specific clubs you like playing?
However, if I am local, which is more than I am out of town, I prefer to play Ole’ Madrid. Why: Well, Ole’ has the best DJ positioning in the city. You are right there with the people. The sound system may need some adjustments, but as far as the vibe at the right moments, Ole’ Madrid takes it. The club has so much history as far as the San Diego dance scene is concerned. Some of the biggest DJs in the world have stopped off there to perform. And, if anyone remembers Club 555, then you know that Henry Diaz and Joey Jimenez set that place off. Ole’ has always been a DJs club. When I came back from Brasil, I had a residency there for quite some time on Friday nights. Ptolemy Productions was pumping Aura every Friday night. They turned that place around on Fridays.
What do you enjoy the most about being a DJ?
I enjoy the fact that I can help people relieve all of their troubles for a few hours during the weekend. People go to work all week, punch a clock, do tasks that they hate, listen to a boss who doesn’t know his %$#@&* from a hole in the wall. All those things cause stress on the human psyche. There is no feeling like the one you get when you are standing in the middle of the dance floor, moving back and forth to the music, dancing away to a killer DJ. Nothing matters anymore, your stress is released, and you feel free. I enjoy putting people in that state. Nothing is more moving internally than listening to a DJ really mix two records together. If he does it right, you can’t possibly think about anything else.
What’s the best thing about being behind the decks in front of a live audience?
Feeling their energy. The DJ has the incredible power of controlling the room with sound. The sound is the most dominant thing in the room. How could it not be, it is so loud. So, the DJ must fuel the fire of the dance floor so they may return the energy to the DJ. It’s a synergy. Neither one can exist without the other. Ask any DJ the same question. The DJ feeds from the crowd, and the crowd feeds from the DJ. You must have both, otherwise, its just not going to go off. If the DJ provides no quality energy, it doesn’t matter how big the crowd is they are just going to stand there and look at him stupid, but if the DJ comes strong and with power, it doesn’t matter if there are two people there they will dance.
What is Djing to you?
Djing is my most serious hobby. I love doing it. However, unless you are the guy running the club and taking the doors earnings, you’re not going to live in a big house anywhere around here. San Diego’s scene just doesn’t have the resources to support an active DJs lifestyle through compensation for performance. It is a sad thing. I stay in the scene for the people and the promoters in this city who actually believe in the music and aren’t driven by the money. There are a few and you all know who you are. San Diego is such an entertainment environment, what will it take to bring the DJ scene to the level of L.A. or San Francisco? You tell me.
How would you define the role of the DJ?
My role as a DJ is to make the girls dance. If the girls in the club don’t dance, then no one does. Girls will start dancing and dance with other girls, guys however, will not. Everyone knows that once the girls start dancing it’s a sealed deal, the dance floor gets packed. So the role of the DJ is to make the girls dance. Buy records that the girls like and you will be their hero.
What would you do if for some reason you couldn’t DJ anymore?
I am going to do what every other DJ does….Produce. Thanks to the recording school I attended in San Francisco, I feel so much further ahead of doing what I want to do. I have 20 years of my life dedicated to performing and following the music market trends, and have been witnessing the new appreciation the dance music industry. Corporate America is salivating to get their hands into what we have been doing for years alone. I will not however run into the studio and bang out a track just so I can say that I have one. The lab will yield only one blood, sweat, and tears creation to which jaws will drop. Then a second. Then a third. The scene is due for a jaw dropper. There is way too much cookie cutter producing going on. I want to take it back to the memories and the music theory and fundamentals of music production. I want to also take this time to thank the individuals, and teachers, and professors, in my past that have properly guided me and taught me the way to properly create music for the world. It will all pay off.
What music do you listen to in your free time?
I listen to a lot of experimental fusion styles of music.It keeps me motivated and keeps my brain excited about the new trends in electronic music. I try to listen to things that aren’t on the market yet, the things that are about to drop on peoples heads. That way I can know how to incorporate it into what I’m doing before anyone else. I am really into artists that have stands and opinions on life and society in general. I really like Alanis Morissette, Sarah McClauchlin, Smashing Pumpkins, Blink 182, and Stone Temple Pilots. I am also really into the Hip Hop movement. These three worlds of Electronic Dance and Hip Hop and Alternative Rock, are going to cross paths in a very unexpected way very shortly in the future. Some see it, some don’t.
Tell Who’s rocking’ your car stereo right now?
DJ Scott Martin playing Hard House on The Digital Groove.I bet a lot of people don’t know that Scotty throws down the hard house with the best of them.
What made you start spinning?
This is actually a really true statement. A girl. I was dating a girl for like 5 years and we broke up. I was crushed. I couldn’t take my mind from it for anything. Djing seemed to give me relief from the thoughts. It was either Djing to distract me from the pain of the break up, or other unnatural things that would have ruined my life for good. I chose the DJ life because I loved it more than the unnatural things that would have killed me. I still haven’t had a serious girlfriend since I broke up with her. I have two girlfriends now and both their names are Technics!
And how old were you when you started?
I was 21 when I first started playing around with the decks. I sucked. I wouldn’t consider myself a pro still to this day, but I am closer than I ever have been in my life. It doesn’t matter if you can match beats and nail a few mixes, its what you have to do at the moment, in the booth when the needle goes out and you have two minutes to mix out. Or, what you do when some idiot bumps your tables in the middle of a mix, or how well you deal with the girl that broke into the booth while your in the middle of the best mix of your life. There are so many more things that make you a pro than just being able to mix some records and not trainwreck. I would call myself a semi-pro working in the industry. When you get to hang out with the pros like we do at given times, you get to see how much further they are than you, actually how much further than any DJ in this city. There are some seriously good DJs in this city; we just don’t have the proper environment to test them to go to the next level.
Where was the first place you performed?
One man and one man only gets the credit for seeing the potential in DJ Airek. His name is Anthony Masters. The first official San Diego spot I DJ’d in was the city famous Baja Brewing Company. Anthony was a serious visionary at this time and brought the city what it needed. He exposed and influenced San Diego’s dance scene with the now played out styles of Progessive and Melodic Trance. He was a pioneer in developing a culture that was imminent to arriving in every major city in the USA. I was a resident DJ for Anthony and Prophet Productions. Glitter was and still is the best vibe and party environment that San Diego has ever seen. If she (Glitter) was still in the same place, there is no way that the city would allow her to operate. Glitter hosted some of the worlds big gun pro DJs.
Name a few major influences that lead you to the style of vinyl your mixing:
Sander Kleinenberger, Dave Seaman, Darren Emerson, Seb Fontaine, Judge Jules, Donald Glaude.
Do you have a set routine or do you go with whatever you think the crowd is feeling?
I am yet in my DJ life to plan a set or even have records lined up in my crate. My DJ crates are living-breathing things. I don’t even know what record I am going to start with. If I pull out a record a half an hour before I start the other DJ may have already switched the vibe by the time I hit the decks. I bring a catalog of what I think is appropriate for the night that the promoter hired me to play. I feel that if you try to play a set you do a few things that will stunt your creativity. The first thing that can happen is you can get yourself into a bind if one of the records from your set is scratched or clears the dance floor. You can spend a great amount of time confusing yourself on the spot about what to do. If you spend all that time planning a set and something goes wrong, your brain disregards all that energy coming back from the dance floor and goes into crisis mode. Where as if you just play strictly off the energy of the crowd, your creativity will take over and melodies will pop into your head and your brain can become vibrant and excited over what is going on. You become absorbed by the environment and the energy. Playing off the vibe does take a bit more confidence, but if you don’t have the confidence in the first place you probably shouldn’t be playing in front of people yet. When I first started playing I didn’t have the confidence, but I had bad ass records and I knew how to program them. Regardless of how I first mixed, the crowd didn’t care about the little trainwrecks because I fed off of their energy and they got over the mistakes within a few measures of the next song. Now that I don’t think about beat matching anymore, because it comes natural, I feel all the wealthier that I never programmed a set. My advice to any up and coming bedroom DJ is to NEVER PLAN A DJ SET!
Give me your 5 favorite tracks of all time:
1) Sasha – Xpander 2) Tina Cousins – Mysterious Times (Cyrus and the Joker Mix) 3) Paul Oakenfold – Sugar Rush (Raw Cane Mix) 4) Alchemy – Bruiser ( Test Press/White Label ) 5) Art of Trance – Madagascar ( Ferry Corsten RMX).
How about your favorite album of all time?
Rabbit In The Moon – Out of Body Experience.
What’s your favorite 12-inch right now?
Dave Angel – The Ambush.
Tell What was the first record you bought?
Dario G – Carnival de Paris.
Any advice for the younger DJ’s starting out:
Don’t try to be a rock star until you watch some one else go through it first. Don’t be afraid to make some mistakes. Learn lessons from the guys that have been in the industry and paid their dues. There is nothing more annoying than listening to a rubber mouth that thinks he is going to take every Djs job in the city. Its just not that way kids. Above respect the music or you’ll find yourself sitting on the curb with a bruised ass. People who give their hearts, time, blood, sweat and tears to an industry like this hate brand new DJs that think they’re the next big thing. On a final note, never tell anyone that you’re the next big thing, if you are the next big thing, I can assure you other people will talk about you to the necessary people, and you won’t have to say anything, just smile and say “Thank You.â€
How do you see the scene developing over the coming year?
I feel there will be a lot of shake out here locally in San Diego. The scene is saturated by a million little fly by night production companies. It takes a lot of contacts and a lot of respect from the existing scene to survive as a new production company. There is a top ten echelon of steady production companies that will remain, but it is inevitable that a lot of these guys are going to be gone when winter hits. Respectable production companies take years to develop relationships with the nightclub management here in San Diego. Its so small here, that if you burn one person, everyone else is going to know and your days are numbered if you can’t put out fires fast. There will be a greater appreciation for dance music and electronic music in general here in the next coming three years. Typically we (San Diego) are 3 years behind whats going on in London and Europe in general. If you want to know what’s going to go down here in a few years, look at whats happening in London and Europe right now.
Do you have a dream gig?
I want to do Club Stereo in Montreal, Canada. I was booked to do it, and it fell through at the last minute. That put a taste in my mouth that I can’t get rid of until I fulfill that booking. They have the greatest sound system in North America. I also wouldn’t turn down a gig to play in Ibiza. I’ll play a basement filled with old family hand-me-downs with no people, just to say I played in Ibiza.
Where are you playing in the upcoming month(s):
I am playing two Saturdays in Phoenix next month. I am also traveling to Pittsburgh, Pa before the summer is over, and back to Brasil in November for a month and a half. Locally, I play on August 8th for Foreplay Entertainment @Ole’ Madrid. I also appear on The House of Z on Jammin Z90 at least once a month, and I am performing with an All Star line up for the Black Flys ASR Tradeshow Party in September.
Is there anything you would like to say to your fans out there?
Seek the real underground. The reward is there, you just have to look for it. If you go somewhere and you don’t see a lot of the DJs or other culturally motivated people there, you probably aren’t as deep in the underground as you want to be. Educate yourselves on the music and don’t listen necessarily to what a promoter tells you. Their jobs are to accomplish one thing, get your money form your pocket, into their club. If you want to know about music ask DJs, not promoters. There are some very educated promoters out there, but there are, however, promoters who care nothing more than about their money.Go where the heart is.
Have you ever spun anywhere outside the US? Where?
Yes Where: Brasil. I DJ’d all over Brasil for almost 8 Months. I had a Blast. The Brasilians feel music very deeply.
Tell Do you see a big difference between audiences in Europe and America?
I produce music They party a lot harder in Europe. Clubs stay open all night; we all know what that means to the human body. They sell alcohol all night and the DJ doesn’t have to stop at 130am. They are much more exposed to the dance culture there. You don’t have to go looking for dance music there. It’s everywhere. Not just in a club, its in McDonalds, the mall, in elevators, restaurants. Its common place to find dance music playing in public. We are just beginning to reach some further levels of exposure outside of the club scene.
For club goers who really look forward to hearing you perform – when can we expect you back in SD?
I live here and travel whenever possible. It’s never too hard to find me around town somewhere. The problem with me is that I play sporadically so many places that people have a hard time keeping up with me. The best thing to do is look at www.airek.com regularly; they always know where I am.
Do you have any advice for aspiring superstar DJ’s?
Like I said before, don’t be afraid to learn, and do a lot of listening and a little talking
(hugs)
