Q&A: Student DJs open up about inspiration, methods
One of the two student DJs opening up for major acts Tyga and E-40 at this year’s Bruin Bash, Jeffrey Hsiao, also known as DJ SARS, thinks of his DJing as an improvising process. Hsiao has found his music is created best when he organically produces his mixes rather than when it is planned.
By Garrett Anglin
Sept. 22, 2013 12:00 a.m.
The Daily Bruin’s Garrett Anglin sat down with the two student DJs who will be opening for E-40 and Tyga to get an inside look into what they will be spinning tonight.
Daily Bruin: Bentley, what styles of music do you most typically mix when you DJ?
Bentley Montes: At Bagatelle, I’m spinning everything from like the Bee Gees to N.W.A., old school hip-hop. And I’m finding new stuff constantly, like ‘Oh, wow, I haven’t heard this song in years’ and I’ll just drop it and people go crazy. A fresh kid could potentially go into another club in Hollywood and he could kill it because if he’s just playing (electronic dance music) and playing all the right stuff, it’s not very hard. At Bagatelle, the place that I DJ at, you have to please people of every race and age, so you really have to know your stuff.
DB: Other than DJing, do you produce your own music? If so, what kind of music do you produce?
BM: In terms of production, I’ve really started out doing what they call bootlegs. Bootlegs are what like a lot of DJs are doing now, like Hardwell, where they take like an old song, the actual song, and then they’ll mix it into something more electronic. Hearing old songs brings back sort of a sense of nostalgia. I like bringing that sense of nostalgia to my sets.
DB: What have been some of the most surreal aspects of finding success as a DJ?
BM: It seems like each year is getting better and better so I don’t have any reason to regret anything. I did do this gig in Santa Monica, though, and the company that hosted it wanted me to do the gig that they were having down in Hawaii. So they flew me out there a few months ago and put me up in one of the nicest hotels out there in Honolulu. And I got to spin for three days and meet some of the DJs out there. And that was cool because it’s not as a saturated with DJs there like in L.A.
DB: Jeffrey, what is your method for making the mixes that you do? And what sources do you draw from?
Jeffrey Hsiao: When I’m making my mix, I just get a drink and I go through my list and pick my songs and make my mix. I don’t usually preplan it. I just improvise on the spot. My main sources are E-40, Problem, IAmSu!, and I’ll also play a lot of trap as well, especially artists from L.A., like Loudpvck. I don’t like to make my set entirely of one genre, but reflect the entirety of EDM.
DB: How did it feel to find out that you would be opening for E-40, being a fan and having him as one of the main sources for your mixes?
JH: It’s really weird. Everything’s happening so fast. But, honestly, I’m just thinking that I can’t play any of his songs anymore, because I might accidentally play some of the songs that he’s going to play. But I definitely feel like I have to step up my game. I was planning to just improvise but now I think I’ve got to be more prepared. I’m going to have to read the crowd too. That’s a big priority. I don’t know if the crowd will like what I play so I have to take that into account.
DB: Can you give us a sneak peak into what you’ll be incorporating into your set for Bruin Bash?
JH: I’ll definitely open with the “twerky” hip-hop but I want to transcend into more EDM and trap music with an electronic influence. Some of the artists like Hoochie and Loudpvck are L.A.-based trap artists who exhibit the EDM influence so I’ll be working them into my mix. Some of the other music that I’m looking at, like this Deep House genre, started in the U.K. and it just spread everywhere. That’s also a style I’ll be including.
