It’s hard to believe that only five years ago, the DJ stage at Spring Scream was placed in a corner of the park partially obscured by trees. Now, it has become one of the centerpieces of the whole festival and home to some of the wildest times because for the past two years, the main DJ stage has been in the shape of a huge octagon with speakers all facing inward from all corners. This means that the sound in the middle is booming and doesn’t bleed to other stages.
There are nearly 40 artists that will grace the two DJ stages at Spring Scream this year (full disclosure: I am the DJ stage manager). Their styles of music range from ethereal soundscapes to hard electro and everything in between. There are numerous virgins that will be popping their cherries behind the decks at Spring Scream this year including The Language Lab (語言實驗室), who sound like a soundtrack to a kung-fu flick, P-LaLa, a resident DJ at Brickyard in Kaohsiung who is getting quite the reputation for making people move to her combination of Latin and dance music sounds and Dronetonics, a synth-heavy, experimental band that uses an abundance of effects.
Surprisingly, 10-year veteran DJ, D. Hooker (birth name Dominik Tyliszczak), has never played at Spring Scream. This year, he’ll be doing double duty as a DJ and his alter ego video artist, Dr. DMT. “For the video, I’ll be trying to bring something that will have a strong visual impact and tantalize the retinas,” D. Hooker said. “We’re working on making this year’s DJ stage a memorable one, while at the same time not following set-ups commonly found at a typical outdoor party.”
Photo: Up Against the Wall
D. Hooker’s sounds are also a break from the norm. “Musically, I always try to bring something a little different to the stage with me,” he said. “With well over one million tracks on music sites like Beatport, it’s really surprising that in main clubs you are likely to hear only the same 100 or so tracks on any given night. The challenge is to get the audience responding but show them something different.”
The thing about the DJ stages is that you never know what to expect. If you like music hard, then you don’t want to miss Zo, Chamber, James Ho, Physical Chemical Brother (理化兄弟), and amSTEREO. If you love house music, then Digital D and Utopia will help you get your fix. If you like hip-hop, look for MC Yen (MC顏), FJ, or DJ NeKbrace. And if you have a burning desire to find out what trance metal sounds like, make sure and catch xzw.
Photo: Up Against the Wall
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