DJ Dossier

DJs Roya and Funkfinger on Tongue Tied's Best Moments

The Southwest's Best Turntablists Are Facing Off This Saturday — Here's Why

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Markus Schulz on How DJing in Arizona Helped Prepare Him for Superstardom

By Benjamin Leatherman
Jan 15, 2016

Trance superstar Markus Schulz has racked up more than a few honors during his 25-year career as a DJ and producer. He's crisscrossed the globe countless times over, become one of the highest-paid electronic dance music artists in the world, sold out hundreds of venues, and has been ranked as...
Motown on Mondays Phoenix Moves to Last Exit Live

By Benjamin Leatherman
May 8, 2015

Motown on Mondays is on the move. The DJs behind popular dance joint -- which focuses on remixes of the Motown hits of yesteryear, as well as old-school soul, funk and disco classics -- are planning to pack up their tracks and head across downtown Phoenix from the Crescent Ballroom...
Phoenix's DJ Akshen Aims to Win the Red Bull Thre3Style National Finals This Weekend

By Benjamin Leatherman
Apr 2, 2015

Whenever DJ Akshen steps behind a pair of record decks, he tends to become a tempest of motion befitting his moniker. Such is the case on a recent morning in his Arcadia home, where the veteran turntablist is busy painting a small side room with a slew of scratching over...
Alkemé: "If It Were Up to Me, Everyone Would Go Home and Make Babies After My Sets"

By Benjamin Leatherman
Sep 12, 2014

Dancing, as famed poet Robert Frost once wrote, is a vertical expression of a horizontal desire. In other words, when some couples take to the dance floor at your average club night, it's not only from a desire to show off some sweet steps and fancy moves. More carnal intentions...
Mayra E. on Hip-Hop's Bias Against Female DJs and Giving Crowds What They Want to Hear

By Benjamin Leatherman
Aug 22, 2014

When Mayra Sias got into the DJ game about five years ago, she probably couldn't have asked for a better instructor -- namely, her husband Les, who's renowned around the Valley hip-hop scene as turntablism guru LES735. Getting schooled on the ones and twos by her better half, who placed...
2ToneDisco on Their Chiptune Sounds, Crazy Performances, and Reasons for Moving to L.A.

By Benjamin Leatherman
Aug 15, 2014

Remember that old chestnut from your Psych 101 days about how the whole being greater than the sum of its parts? Well, it happens to be totally true, and not when it comes to gestalt psychology. Its also can be easily applied to the music world, whether we're talking about...
DJ Squalor on This Weekend's Fight Club Sadisco* and Fighting Cancer With Food

By Benjamin Leatherman
Jun 20, 2014

Despite all it's nihilistic, anarchistic, and pugilistic leanings, Fight Club is actually a tale of hope and redemption. No, really. Strip away all the brutality, bedlam, and bathing products, and the overall message of both Chuck Palahniuk's original novel and David Fincher's flick is that one can attain salvation, albeit...
DJ Organic on His Love of Soft Rock and How He Used to Buy Old Ladies' Record Collections

By Benjamin Leatherman
May 16, 2014

Despite the fact he sports snapbacks and Coolin' Out T-shirts, spins at the Blunt Club, and has a new project with Phoenix rapper Very G., local selecta Dominic Khin Htay doesn't consider himself to be purely a hip-hop DJ. The 35-year-old, who performs as DJ Organic, prefers to be versatile...
DJ Thomas James on the Most Important Skills That Every Club DJ Must Master

By Benjamin Leatherman
May 9, 2014

Drop by El Hefe in Scottsdale on any given Sunday afternoon and you'll find yourself in the middle of a party, and quite the epic one at that. The Saddlebag Trail spot is a bit infamous for its weekly 4-2-10 Sundays affair, which is one the wildest club events in...
Michele "Roya" Chinichian on Tongue Tied's Silliness and One-Year Anniversary Party

By Benjamin Leatherman
May 2, 2014

Michele Chinichian knows a thing or three about throwing a boffo birthday bash. For proof, look no further than the magically delicious affair she threw in honor of her own b-day in January, which overflowed with unicorns, balloons, rainbow-colored party favors, and other playful revelry. Chinichian, who performs as DJ...
DJ McBoy on How He's Prepping for His Big Gig at Wet Electric

By Benjamin Leatherman
Apr 25, 2014

It's going to be a big weekend for DJ McBoy -- and a very "electric" one at that. The 21-year-old is scheduled to perform at tonight's Summer Electric party over at the Arizona Event Center in Mesa, followed by a gig on the local stage during the first day of...
The Black Madonna: "Dance Music Needs Some Discomfort With Its Euphoria"

By Benjamin Leatherman
Feb 21, 2014

The members of Rebel Disco are being tight-lipped about their newest hangout. Though they haven't dropped dime on its location just yet, however, they've ecstatically announced the headliner and inspiration for tonight's "We Still Believe" party, The Black Madonna. Per Rebel Disco's Facebook: "We are excited about our new venue...
Listen to Z-Trip's Takeover of BBC Radio 1Xtra

By Benjamin Leatherman
Nov 26, 2013

Call us huge nerds for making such a comparison, but local superstar DJ export Z-Trip has a few things in common with Doctor Who. Stick with us on this one for a moment. Both, for instance, scamper through the annals of history in pursuit of their raison d'être via equipment...
10 Best DJs in Metro Phoenix

By Phoenix New Times
Oct 31, 2013

Any time you go out to a club in Phoenix, you're putting your night in the DJ's hands. Sure: You'll pick the style of music you'd like to hear, and the venue, and the drinks. But if the DJ's having a bad night, it'll take an industrial-strength pair of earplugs...
DJ Silent-J on How He'll Cause "O" Faces During His Set at Sound Wave Block Party

By Benjamin Leatherman
Sep 20, 2013

Attention local EDM junkies: If you're planning to roll into tomorrow's Sound Wave Block Party sometime around the late afternoon or the early evening, your asses are gonna miss out on a few cool things. Like, say, the "Bad Bitch Anthems" of she-jay Brazzabelle inside Maya Day and Nightclub, the...
DJ Hazardous on How Mill Avenue and ASU Parties Hard, In Or Out of Underoos

By Benjamin Leatherman
Jul 12, 2013

Thanks to its close proximity to Arizona State University's main campus, wild times are often afoot on Mill Avenue. And most nights, you can find Damion Hernandez helping stoke things up at some of the rowdier bars along the Downtown Tempe thoroughfare. The 33-year-old, known to the scene as DJ...
Big Beats, Big Parties, and Big Pimping: Local DJs Share 16 Years of Axis-Radius Memories

By Benjamin Leatherman
Jun 28, 2013

The nightlife-loving cats at Scottsdale's Axis-Radius are planning one helluva party this weekend that likely will go down as one of the most memorable in the club's 16-year history. Sadly, that's because the iconic and influential establishment is about to become history. If you haven't heard the news, the double-sided...
DJ Jon Dread: "[I'm] a White Redhead Trying to Come Up in a Predominately Black Genre"

By Benjamin Leatherman
Jun 14, 2013

Ronnie Styles hasn't sported long-ass dreadlocks for years, but he's still just as big into reggae culture and Rastafarianism as during his kinky-haired days, if not moreso. As such, the 32-year-old busies himself with spinning irie and dub sounds as DJ Jon Dread at The Sail Inn's Reggae Roots Unwind...
DJ Funkfinger on Tongue Tied's Daft Punk Party and Why He Doubts the Robots Will Ever Visit Phoenix

By Benjamin Leatherman
May 31, 2013

Daft Punk has sorta been the focus of Jay Wiggins' world lately. Random Access Memories -- that 13-track gem from the electronica-dispensing, quasi-robotic Frenchmen that everyone's going bonkers over the last couple weeks -- has admittedly been on repeat, and the living room of the DJ's Phoenix home is "full...
Phoenix Comicon Schedule: DJ S.Alien on Performing at Geek Prom and Geeking Out This Weekend

By Benjamin Leatherman
May 24, 2013

During the daylight hours this weekend, local artist and music fiend Aaron Moore can be found waltzing through the aisles at Phoenix Comicon and perusing its vast repast of dorky pursuits and offering. After the sun goes down on Saturday night, however, the 33-year-old will become his DJ alter ego...

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DJ Dossier

DJs Roya and Funkfinger on Tongue Tied's Best Moments

The Southwest's Best Turntablists Are Facing Off This Saturday — Here's Why

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