Dj of the week - JSA

Tell us more about your background?
Well, I was born and brought up in Cape Town South Africa. I always had a strong passion for sports and music, at the age of 18 I decided to follow the sound of music, and pursue a career in it. I studied Classical Piano at UCT (University of Cape Town) for 6 months. I then went on to study Sound Engineering as well as music production over the next 2 years. All while DJ’ing in Cape Town, South Africa. At the age of 21 I had the opportunity to visit Dubai. Dubai caught my attention, with the help of my mom(I love me mom), cousin and some close friends I was able to make the move here, I’ve been here ever since.
 
When did you start DJing?
I started DJing in my final year of high school, I was 17y/o.
 
What/who were your early influences?
My early influences has to include DJ Kent(South African DJ), as well as Swedish House Mafia.
 
What's you favorite tune of all time?
My favorite song of all time would have to be “ghetto gospel, by Tupac”. He uses an Elton john sample. The song has some very powerful lyrics, have a listen.
 
What was your first record you bought?
Wow, the first cd (never needed to buy vinyl) I bought was “Club Anthems 2”  3 cds of Club bangers.
 
What inspire your music today?
At this moment in time I am inspired by the “funk” music created by Grant Kwiecinski, better known as “GRiZ”.
 
What are the challenges of being a successful DJ today?
There are a number of challenges that we as professional djs face in todays scene.
I feel one of the main challenges is knowing our worth as a DJ, technically and musically, and getting booked for that. Not getting judged on the amount of people we can bring to an event.
 
What do you usually start with when preparing for a set?
I would select more tracks than needed, according to the type of crowd that would be expected at the certain event. Then take it from there.
 
What defines a good crowd for you?
A good crowd for me would be people not subject to a certain genre of music , but a body of people coming out to have a good time, not worrying about “status”.
 
 Why do you think so few women are DJ’s?
I feel that older generation do not see DJing as a career, and due to parents usually having more control over a daughter than a son, DJing is then automatically over shadowed by the more stable/”feminine” careers. My opinion.

What advice would you give to aspiring female DJs?
I would advise them to stay true to the art of DJing, learn everything they can, practice whenever possible and strive to be called a “DJ” not a “female DJ”.

Where do you think the scene is headed? One year from now? Five years from now?
One year from now I feel the Dubai music scene will be filled with more festivals/concerts, which means big venues, big stages, big sound and big lights. As for 5 years, I can’t really say, as the scene in Dubai changes all the time.

Tell us more about your upcoming projects and gigs?
The near future will see me working with Dubai based entertainment company “Non Stop Entertainment” as well as my own company “Signature One”. You will also see a track release very soon with a South African artist, by name of Chad Saaiman. To keep up to date visit www.thejsaexperience.com