Jason Mascarenhas, better known as Wax to clubbers and turntable enthusiasts, is easily one of Canada’s most established and internationally recognizable DJs.
He might also be the shyest person with platinum white hair you’ve ever met.
Having shared a stage with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Destiny’s Child, The Roots, A-Trak and DJ Craze to name just a few, Wax is soft-spoken for someone with his credentials.
He credits 1992’s seminal hip-hop movie Juice, starring the late Tupac Shakur, as the spark that set off his lifelong obsession.
“Uh, should I say all this stuff?” he asks before elaborating. “When I first heard the scratching from the records, I tried the same thing with my parents’ turntable. I actually got slapped by my mom, like ‘What are you doing? You’re ruining the record!’”
Aged 14, Wax procured his first set of low-end turntables by squirreling away his lunch money and selling off his collection of sports memorabilia.
“Since I was in Grade 8 all the way ’til now, I haven’t stopped once,” Wax said. “I practice everyday.”
At 16, he began playing in clubs, often at venues he wasn’t legally allowed to be in, and, much to his parents’ dismay, stayed out past curfew.
“I actually failed a lot of my [school] courses,” he said, “but my teachers actually respected what I was doing and passed me anyway.”
Now, 19 years later, with the 1999 Canadian DMC gong as well as the International Turntablist Federation Championships under his belt, and having toured Asia, the US and Canada, he’s earned a reputation for his unique style, which combines scratching and turntablism with more traditional methods of mixing and melds diverse genres into new forms.
Although unassuming, when Wax steps behind the decks he transforms into a globe-trotting party rocker.
“I like to interact and feel the crowd,” he said. “Even before my set I like to show up at the club earlier just to get a feel for the space. It all starts from the moment I walk in.”
When Wax isn’t playing in a club, he takes care of business as CEO of Fusion DJ, a collective of Vancouver DJs that he founded, whose aim is to reshape and redefine what services a mobile spinmeister can provide.
And what about Taiwan?
“I love the food here and the people are so friendly ... ,” Wax said. “I could come back every month and I wouldn’t get tired of this place.”
Hopefully he’ll consider it.
Wax’s upcoming gigs:
Tonight from 10pm at Club W, B1, 67, Roosevelt Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路二段67號B1). Admission is NT$700 for men and NT$350 for women at the door. On the Net: www.clubwtaipei.com
Tomorrow from 10pm at Spark, B1, 45, Shifu Rd, Taipei City (台北市市府路45號B1). Admission is NT$700 at the door. On the Net: www.spark101.com.tw
For more information on DJ Wax you visit www.djwax.ca, and for Fusion DJs, check out www.fusiondj.com
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