So after a long hiatus I returned to my music passion in 2022. We are now over half way through 2023 and I thought I would use this space to jot down what I have been doing since getting back to it.

Back in the days

I grew up learning how to mix tracks on crappy turntables in the mid-90s the old fashioned way. These were second hand belt-drive turntables from a thrift store paired with a RadioShack DJ mixer that I still have stored away. I still have my Technics turntables, but they are not the first Technics on which I learned to really mix on. I swore by vinyl for decades. I was a vinyl enthusiast before the digital age boomed. I still love collecting vinyl, but today I prefer being more of a minimalist. I don’t have a lot of space for records at the present time, anyway. Regardless, I will say I was stoked this b-day year when I was gifted Weezer’s The Blue Album that was released in 1994. I have never mixed out at a club because I never really pursued it, but I have mixed live DJ sets at plenty of house parties, college radio and internet radio. DJing has always been a passion for me. Due to circumstances around 2013 I stopped DJing and messing with music production that I had no proper production gear for.

What’s new?

So fast forward to 2023 I was mixing on turntables and decided I needed to finally learn to mix on a full digital setup with CDJs. I started off with a Pioneer DDJ-1000SRT since the only DVS I used was Serato back when it was called “Serato Scratch Live”. The parts shortage is still a big problem today, so waiting on new DJ gear can take months. I got acustomed to CDJ jogwheels pretty fast using the DDJ-1000SRT controller.

Not too long after that I picked up a couple Pioneer CDJ-3000s and the latest Pioneer DJM-A9 mixer. Boy is that A9 a beast I gotta say and I think the DJ world, too. For portability and fun on the go DJing, I picked up the Pioneer DDJ-FLX4 controller. It looks like a kid’s toy, but DJing with its simplistic layout design is enjoyable. Rekordbox in now my favorite DJ software next to Serato. I find Rekordbox superior to Serato in many ways.

Over time I put together a proper home studio. Gear Acquisition Syndrome is definitely real. I have gone down the music production rabbit hole and am very excited to start creating, but I haven’t jumped the gun fully, probably because I am too focused on DJing. I have been buying a lot of underground music and programming playlists in Rekordbox for DJ mix recordings. Once the DJ mixes are mastered, I post them on, SoundCloud and YouTube.

Eventually I will be streaming on social networks like Twitch and Kick. It is a work in progress. I will likely be using Restream’s service to multistream live video across networks.

Recording

To record my DJ sets I could just use Rekordbox software, but I took it a step further. I picked up an iRig Stream Pro audio interface that connects to the back of my DJM-A9 mixer’s REC OUT. The other end of the iRig connects to an iPad Mini with a USB-C to Mini-DIN cable. On the iPad I purchased the SoundLab Audio Editor app and it works great for recording my DJ sets. The raw recordings are exported as uncompressed audio files for the best audio quality.

What’s next?

Right now I am focused on building an online music presence and following. I currently live out of state, but I have plans on moving back to North California soon where I will be in a better position to focus on live streaming. As things slowly build I will be looking to play out at any gigs that support underground music. I am in a better place in life and am excited for the days ahead.

Thanks for reading~