These opportunities are why I’ve worked so hard over the last 5 years building this publication with the help of some incredible friends and family. Being able to feel the rush of spinning tunes in front of people again was always the ultimate goal. Me putting on other DJs and Artists is just a way to give back at this point. Here is my POV.
So here we are. My lovely girlfriend and life partner driving me to The Moustrap to open up an incredible line-up of fast rising local, and regional DJs brought by Collage Artist & Entertainment. The usual butterflies were fluttering through my stomach in the anticipation of spinning. I get my hand stamped and run into the club to see if anyone wants to buy any girl scout cookies, because Kristen had a van full of them. I just wanted to give a personal thank you to those that came out, got in line and bought some. It was now time to take the stage and do some partying.
I chose to play a plethora of various genres of house music from Tech-House, to Funky-Jacking, to some Ghetto-Tech, and even a little bit of classic house. I was very excited to play brand new tracks from DJ MES, Gettoblaster, STELLA, The Sponges, Jamie Jones & Darius Syrossian, and more.
Next up was Becca Brainz. Becca brought great energy and presence behind the decks. She banged out a set full of Latin flavor and Jacking House that brought big vibes to the dance floor. Becca dropped tracks from Infamous DK, AYYBO, ero808, Sam Collins. It was a super fun set, and she did great work at getting the growing crowd warmed up nicely.
Trung Ngo darkened things up a bit for us. Trung was very sufficient at balancing his own taste of progressive, while playing some great Funky/Jacking house with some Hard Disco sprinkled in, that was continually shifting the vibe in the room.Trung had a knack for selecting some deep cuts. I could only get 2 IDs in the entire set. One was the new Ben Sterling tune, “The Way I Am” fitting into Trung’s set very nicely, along with the beautiful “Himmelblau” released by Boris Brejcha from 2021. All this, not to mention the flawless transitions, being able to change the moods in the room on a drop of a dime, Trung did the homework, and he sure delivered!
It was then time for Cam Miller to get busy. Cam got pretty nasty with his set, executing some pretty slick mixes. His set had a more EDM based sound to the 4 to the floor he was dropping. Miller held a strong stage presence as the crowd continued to get down gleefully to his selections. Cam played tracks from Bart B More, Kyle Watson, and LOR, just to name a few.
1:30 A.M. and the crowd was still hype as Uriah G took the stage. At this point, to my excitement, Paul of Gettoblaster had shown up to support the night. We discussed many thing, one of the things that is appropriate for me to share here, was the agreeance on what I’ve been saying here for the past year… Uriah G got this shit dialed in. Seeing my friend of 25 years, being able to work a crowd after spending just a few short years working on the craft, still blows my mind a little. To add to this, not one track he played was I able to ID. All tracks had yet to be released. I was able to get a look at his thumb drive though. One track was a new very low-end version of the classic rave stomper “Renegade Master” by G-POL. Me and Paul were up on stage busting a little move of our own during this one. Another great mention is the Kendrick Lamar “Backseat Freestyle” remix I’ve heard twice now during his recent sets. I’m definitely keeping my eye out to get my hands on this. G kept the people on their feet until the last track dropped and the lights came on. Epic set!
Collage Artists and Entertainment are doing a great job with these events. I got to say, it was a really fun time with each DJ on the bill bringing their own unique sound producung a full spectrum of dance music at this event. The minimal lighting gave room for a more organic, and intimate experience, bringing me back to that nostalgic place I love being so much. This is one if the many reasons I avoid festivals. These small rooms is where I feel the magic most and feel closer to this city’s underground. That’s where I want to be. This is definitely the year to support grass roots kids.
With that, I’d like to tell you about Collage’s next 2 events. Both are at The Mousetrap. This Saturday, Collage is collaborating with Martian Gang to bring out Digital Ethos. Then in April, Collage Artist and Entertainment will be bringing out Artifakts. Check those flyers out below for all the details. Click on either image to get linked up with tickets.
