Appassionati!..Sensing the Vibe: Jad Jazzy Jay at SKYBAR

Appassionati!

 Effervescence, vibe, and umph.. Can’t miss it when you hear a passionate person talk!

 They say that the key to happiness is to follow your heart and do what you love with relentless determination- but how many of us really have the guts to venture outside the box and explore? How many hours do we spend at work or in our daily routines?

 Passionate people have always fascinated me. They believe each person has potential. I am on a mission to discover what makes them tick!

Sherine B.

SENSING THE VIBE: JAD JAZZY JAY AT SKYBAR

Jad Jazzy Jay shares with us glimpses of his challenging journey to doing what  he loves:

S.B. What is your secret to setting the place on fire?

J.J.J. A good DJ can always pull up a good party, it doesn’t depend on the place.

With minimum technical equipment you can turn your average evening into a great bash. I give the crowd my vibes: People will be having fun if I am having fun myself. They need to see you smile and enjoy what you do. A stiff DJ is like any other commodity in the place, he would be rendering a service and not be giving an artistic performance. Coming from a family of musicians, especially jazz lovers, many musicians and singers were around home. It was inspiring to me.

S.B. What overall change does one need to make in his life for starters?

J.J.J. You need to rearrange your life, but also your mind.

It certainly is a challenge to excel artistically; to free yourself from burdens and restraints as much as you possibly can. Make a conscious effort to go back to a positive frame of mind every time you drift. Catch yourself and move back to believing in possibility.

S.B. How did your approach evolve as you started DJing at SKYBAR?

J.J.J. At SKYBAR I learned a lot of new things from everyone.

From other DJs, from the staff, from the crowd and from every single aspect of work. It gave me more scope to understand and care to know about people as well as what moves them! I learned to make more people happy, not with technique, but through tips on how they react to different styles that I usually didn’t play before. I used to go for the groovy stuff  (like acid jazz, r&b, deep house, freebreaks, discohouse), now I have learned that also hard dance (tech house, progressive house, hard hiphop) and tunes can have the same impact, it all depends on sensing people’s mood as the evening progresses.

S.B. How do music trends influence DJing?

J.J.J. Music is like fashion, it changes a person’s perception and taste.

Tiesto, the pioneer of trance, does not play it anymore! People’s ears and minds get interested in different things throughout the years. In the 2000’s the Benny Benassi sound was popular, then the whole world moved towards trance with the rise of Tiesto and definitely other trance DJs. In 2005, electro and minimal started taking over the scene, then in 2008 tech house prevailed. Now deep house is back with a groovy baseline along with nudisco.

S.B. What are the hottest tunes you like to play the most?

J.J.J. Every track is a good one to play, to me it is about sensing the vibe!

All are personal favorites, now I like the nudisco groovy sound remixes done for ex Solomon and finnebassen. I also like R&B. I look at people as I gradually build up the beat, increasingly becoming in tune with the crowd. I increasingly put effort into recognizing emotions and understanding body language . I believe reading people and sensing their mood is essential in any discipline or  line of work.

S.B. What makes for a successful DJ?

J.J.J. Playing the right song in the right place and at the right time!

This will come to you through numerous attempts. Regardless of whether the song is commercial or not, putting the top 10 hottest tunes does not make a good DJ if it’s not at the right time. It is like developing anything you love, it requires perseverance and continuous fine-tuning. I continue to learn from everybody and always remind myself to be very humble because life’s teachings can come from the places or people I least expect.

My modest opinion about a DJ’s path is that there will be challenges and it will be tough, one just needs to keep at it, even when it feels you are getting nowhere or are encountering obstacles, the rewards and the state of happiness you will find yourself in are priceless. No matter what your age is or the competition on the market, there is a place for everyone, night time is the right time!

Jazzy lets us in on his insider’s tip!

Groovy Baby:

To Me, the most important thing in choosing the tracks is the Groove …

Growing up in the 80’s, I was majorly influenced by Funk/Soul/Hiphop.