by RAF KATIGBAK

Chatting with Diplo this week was dope. Part of our hour-long conversation also revolved around what he thought his job as a DJ was. It's a question that's been bugging me for a while: Are DJs there just to keep the crowd happy? Well, if you're a DJ at a bar, then the short answer is yes, your job is to keep people in the club drinking until it closes. The bar is happy, you get paid, it's all good. But as any DJ can tell you, there's something undeniably whore-ish about taking requests all night, hence the "I'm a DJ not a jukebox" idiom. And what about the idea of "DJ as cultural propellant," taste-makers who are there to break new music and push tastes forward? Well, perhaps nothing would please some DJs more than to play whatever they wanted all night, without regard for the crowd. Of course, if you've ever been to a club night like that, they're invariably snooze-a-licious. Diplo believes that it takes guts to be a real DJ, someone who's willing to take risks for what they believe is a great new sound, and to push it at any cost. Hollertronix were dropping dirty South hip hop before it took over urban music airwaves and it took a certain amount of courage to do that - my boy got booed off the stage on more than one occasion before heads caught on.

Maybe the answer is really a mix of the two: DJing as a conversation going between what people want to hear and what people don't realize is some amazing new shit that they never heard of but will suddenly love if they hear it alongside shit that they already love. I'm not sure, what do you think, dear readers? Are DJs playing it too safe? Should they be more fearless? Or are you there just to have a good time, hear music you love, dance your ass off and that's that? Or does nobody even care what a DJ plays?

All this thinking about fearless DJs also had me wondering, "Whatever happened to DJ Fishead?" As one of Montreal's craziest DJs, Fishead was never afraid of dropping '80s hits with gabber while juggling two copies of weird German prog rock and a jungle bootleg of Pat Benetar. Well, no sooner had the thought crossed my mind than I got the word that Fishead and DJ Tobias will be starting a weekly online mix hosted by Burn.FM every Thursday. For more info check www.thisistheonlyart.com/controltochaos.

Finally, mad props go out to everyone that represented at the Saphir for the DJ Shit vs. Dr. Octoboobies/DJ Luv extravaganza last Thursday. The place was bananas, whipping between techno, '90s dance, booty, drum & bass and of course Joe Jackson, while Luv continued to show how versatile he can be with a hard thumping acid jump-off. For those who've never been, the Mix Thursday crew continue to step up their game every week, so if you've ever wanted to hear a crazy mix of electronic styles from quality local DJs, this place is choice. This week, peep guests the Oz Squad, with Screwhead, Galaksy, Dysklo and a live set by Deyond.

ANY REQUESTS? Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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