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Brow-beaten achiever >> Catching up with DJ A-Trak by SCOTT C Photo by James Riddell
Mirror: So you were in Edmonton doing what exactly? A-Trak: I've become a male stripper. M: Oh, so you're touring out-of-the-way clubs on the "circuit." A: Actually, I was doing a show with DJ Swamp. He'll be at the show in Montreal. M: So I saw on the flyer. A: I heard they did like, a million flyers for the show. M: Tell me about it, they did a lot. So what's Swamp all about? He's supposed to be kind of wacked on stage, right? Is he like that off stage, too? A: Well, when he's not performing, he doesn't randomly break records or have evil looks in his eyes or anything. He's just really down-low normally, but when he gets on stage... M: Sounds like a turntablist to me. Most turntablists I know are pretty low-key characters when they don't have decks in front of them. A: It's a bunch of people who isolate themselves in their basements, like 23 hours a day. The result is a lot of turntable geeks. You meet them and all they talk about is scratching, "Hey, you know that double-triple-backwards-crab-flare? How do you do that with your left hand when your thumb is broken?" M: Well hey, I know you're a nerd, but do you consider yourself a nerd? A: Not to that extent. M: No? Are you trying to stay off the nerd path or what? A: Everything's about balance with me. It's all about balance. If I'm talking to DJs, yeah, we're going to talk about scratching, but I'm also very capable of talking about something else (laughs). M: (laughing) Like what?! A: Anything. I can have a normal conversation. M: Like we're having right now. A: Yeah. M: I understand you've been doing a lot of travelling? Where have you been? A: Australia, but most of my shows are in North America, so San Francisco, New York, Detroit, L.A., Edmonton, Vancouver. M: Your brother told me you're gone almost every weekend. A: Yeah, the last three weeks have been like that, but usually I do a show every three weeks. M: You were nominated for a YTV achievement award? A: Yeah, in the category of "specialty performance." M: Who else was nominated in that category? A: A comedian and a juggler. M: (laughing) Did you win? A: Yep. It's airing June 6 on YTV. M: I'm setting my VCR now. What did you win? A: I got a little trophy thing and some yo-yos. M: What?! A: The sponsor of my category was a yo-yo company, so they gave us yo-yos. M: (laughing) A: Kellogg's was also a sponsor, so I got a backpack with Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispie Squares and Frosted Flakes. M: What's all this about your monobrow? A: I'm getting paranoid about it, man. I notice it more now. I think it's getting thicker, but maybe it's all in my head. (announcement sounds in the background) My flight is pre-boarding. M: Well, I don't want you to miss the "pre-flight party," they might need a DJ.
At The Future Sound of Turn.Table.IZM, with DJ Swamp, DJ Craze, Turnstylez Crew, Turntable Dragun'z, DJ Blast, DJ P-Love, DJ Kid SL and breakers Power Femalia, Bag of Tricks and Tactical Crew; Saturday, May 29 at Metropolis, 9pm, $20-$25 advance, $30 at the door |
You all remember A-Trak, right? The little DJ prodigy from Outremont who stole our hearts and scratched his way to a world championship. He was so cute back then. But time marches on, and with the upcoming Future Sound of Turn.Table.IZM show at Metropolis fast approaching, it is my duty as one of A-Trak's devoted fans to shed light on the new and improved A-Trak. An older and wiser A-Trak. An A-Trak who now travels the world alone and not with his mother. I caught up with the not-so little jetsetter on his cell during a stopover flight in Toronto.