“Always remember: the DJ is there for
the fans. You're the reason the music is made. To make your heads
bob, and make your booties shake. Never be afraid to approach a DJ.
We're there to make you happy.” DJ Virtek says this with a smile on
his face, and a light in his eyes. He's just spent all night working
on his latest mix, a set he entitled “Don't Hate the Game, the
Player Made You Lose...”, a video-game inspired, 8-bit mix from one
of his latest live events, Kandiland, held at Grafitti Warehouse in
Balitmore, MD. The set was cut down from a live ninety minutes, to a
CD-Friendly sixty-one minutes worth of music to be posted for
download on his Mixcloud.
Virtek has put in a lot of long nights
and early mornings, mixing, searching, playing, recording, and
enjoying each and every moment of the DJ life. Starting out in 1999,
Virtek went full-force into the scene when he Djed his first set
spur-of-the-moment at a New Years Eve party leading into the
millennium. Virtek says, “The Dj wanted to party more than play, so
I saw a prime opportunity, and had to give it a shot.” After
watching the Dj play for the first half of the night, Virtek knew
that was all he wanted. Two hours later, he had been playing
non-stop, and had found his musical calling.
Only earlier that year had Virtek come
into the scene. Paul Oakenfold's Global Underground 007 was what had
him hooked after one listen, and he has never looked back. Other
musical inspirations come from Rabbit in the Moon, a group sadly no
longer together. Their psychedelic trance, house, and break-beat
styles, however, can still be heavily found in inspiring Virtek's
music. His favorite genres to play include progressive house and
electro house, followed very closely by trance, which is his
over-all favorite style of music. In upcoming mixes, all of these
genres will make an appearance, with an addition of some intelligent
trance. Virtek also alludes to an upcoming project with a friend,
including combining traditional instruments with EDM, a style he
describes as “rocker metal infused house.” Within a year, Virtek
plans to upload ten more mixes to his Mixcloud, keeping most
CD-friendly at around sixty-minutes worth of play time for easy
download for fans.
Most local appearances by Virtek have
been at the Lion's Den, a hookah lounge located in Hagerstown, MD,
and Grafitti Warehouse in Baltimore, MD, where most recently he
played Kandiland and Highway to Hell. Live, Virtek infuses his own
styles with what is expected from the crowd, and the theme of each
event. Whether this means taking requests first hand at small venues,
or watching the crowd for a reaction, Virtek is there not only for
himself but for the listeners; this, with his passion, is evident
through-out his set, both in himself and the dancers found on the
floor. Upcoming, Virtek is scheduled to appear at Mountain Madness 5,
on Saturday, September 14th; time slots still to come. If
there was any event in the world that Virtek said he could could
play, it would be Electric Daisy Carnival, an interactive event that
hosts big and small names. Included are carnival rides, entertainers,
dance performers, over 100 artists, art installations, and more. Just
this year, Electric Daisy Carnival became the confirmed largest EDM
event in the USA.
Outside of the immediate area,
Virtek's favorite venues were Club 5 in Jackonsville, FL, and God's
Basement, in Philadelphia, PA, both unfortunately shut down today. He
speaks about God's Basement, and the extravagant outlaws
once held there, and passion for the past enriches his voice. Given
the choice between attending a Massive or an Underground, Virtek
lists the perks to both sides of the scene, choosing an indecisive
stance of “it depends on my mood.”
“Massives are
more commercialized these days, which is both good and bad. They're
more money, but it's worth it for the musical heroes that all collect
for one weekend that you get to see.” As far as Undergrounds go,
Virtek describes them as, “Something special, because they were by
word of mouth. You were just so happy to have heard about it and then
found the party. They're more chill and friendly, as well. People are
more open to you and having a conversation during the event.
Massives, everyone is doing their own thing. Undergrounds also expose
you to new styles of mixing, and hearing things you haven't heard
before. That's game-changing.”
When it comes to
playing, however, Virtek laughs and speaks honestly. “I'm a sell
out. I enjoy both, but would love to see thousands of people dance to
one of my sets.” Undergrounds have their perks though. He says,
“They are more intimate. People at undergrounds are more likely to
hear your entire set, and compliment you based on that, where-as at
Massives, people will only hear a few minutes of your set, and
compliment you just because you were on stage, not strictly because
of what they heard. It's the hero-rock-star quality.” Where-ever he
plays, Virtek encourages listeners to come up to him after a set and
talk with him. Meeting the fans is something he loves, and all
critiques on his sets are welcome; “it's all about making the music
better for you,” he says.
In the
ever-changing game of music and events, Virtek considers where the
EDM scene and DJ styles were when he started, and where they will be
five to ten years from now. “Every generation says the same thing –
I heard back when I was starting, and it's what people say now, then,
and in-between: those days were the glory days.
“It was about
the reverence people had for the scene back then, and the effort
promoters had to put into each outlaw that was thrown,” he
continues. “Promoters really had to promote. They would walk to
other parties, pay to get in, and pass out fliers all night. They
would wait at the back door, catching people as they left at the end
of the night in a hype. It wasn't just a post on facebook that
everyone shared. It was about talking to people face to face,
catching them while they were still amped up and excited to hear
about the next event.”
As far as music
goes, years from now, Virtek predicts House being a lot stronger, and
Trance making a comeback – although this may be more hopeful
thinking than most anything else. He would love to see the style of
breaks making a comeback, and to see trap, dubstep, and drum-and-bass
have a falling out. On the scene over-all, Virtek sees only one
drastic change or another in popularity: either EDM will be an
intricate part of every music genre, incorporated where-ever it can,
or it will be a fad that fades out completely, “like synth pop in
the 80's.”
Making his own
music instead of just mixing is in the works for Virtek in the
upcoming years, and no matter what, it will always be a part of his
life. “Music will never not be a part of me,” he says. Outside of
the scene, however, he plans to have his Bachelors Degree in Cyber
Security in five years, and be working on obtaining his masters, and
within ten years he wants to be working on his doctorate. Eventually,
Virtek wants to settle down with a family, once he has completed his
short-term goals in life. On a shorter scale, within a year he plans
on having his own place, roommate free; schedule himself some
decently paying Dj gigs; achieve a raise at work; and become a
healthier person by eating more apples, because “apples are great.”
Virtek confesses he is an amazing cook, when he isn't too lazy to get
up and whip up something great. In his downtime, the one piece of
equipment Virtek could not live without is his laptop, due to making
music, finding music, listening to music, browsing the interwebs, and
he's a dork with his cyber security.
Online, Virtek can be found on facebook under “DJVirtek”, and at www.mixcloud.com/Virtek/.
His advice to all other starting Djs
is this: “You're going to fuck up. It happens to everyone. And with
the worst timing. And sometimes you don't even know you fucked up,
but everyone else does. Just prepare yourself for how to handle it.
Breathe, ready, set, go again.”
Contact for Virtek should be made through
his Facebook Page and his Mixcloud
Upcoming Events to find Virtek:
Mountain Madness 5 - Saturday, Sept. 14th
All photos can viewed Here;
facebook.com search "Coryn Rose Photography"
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