Do the Diejei

Diejei is the little touch of Europe mixing the hottest tracks south of the 20 at Skratch LaSalle.  You might think that DJ’s who mix at pool bars are limited to band music or old hip hop but Diejei expands beyond this perception by also focusing on a wide variety of house and trance songs.  The best way to get a hold on what kind of music and songs you can expect to hear when Diejei hits the turn tables is by checking out his site (www.diejei.com) where all his mixes of the past year are listed.

Cycling through the tracks of some of Diejei’s latest mixes such as White Snow or Euromix 2008 I found myself bobbing my head on several occasions.  Not being a big fan of trance because of the repetitive nature of most of the songs I thought that I would become bored of White Snow quickly like many other mixes I’ve heard, but I must admit the song selection and the way that they were pieced together made me listen to the set from beginning to end.  Diejei is a prime example for all up and coming DJ’s putting together a trance set, he broke up the more instrumental songs with vocal pieces, this is key to keeping a casual listener’s attention for the duration of the set and cannot be emphasized enough.  I can’t remember how many mixes I’ve heard from local DJ’s trying to showcase themselves and putting out mixes that put people to sleep.  Of course hardcore trance fans won’t like the breaking of trance with house however to become successful in an industry that is clogged with DJ’s is to showcase VARIETY through proper music selection coupled with a good mixing style.  This is however where I believe Diejei has to put some more energy into because at more than one occasion I found myself really getting into a song and then hearing another song mixed in that’s not being played either at the same audio level or tempo as the one before.  These hiccups were minimal as I listened to the newer releases but were more prominent throughout the older sets such as the Old School Remix which was an assembly of many disco classics.  Understandably mixing these types of songs together is more difficult than the typical house song but growth as an artist always takes time and patience and I could get a sense of progression in his work.

Focusing on Old School Mix, I have to say that besides the transition blips I loved it.  It brought back memories of hanging out with my folks at weddings or family events and as corny as that sounds it really works for me.  The one hope I have is that Diejei will use his talent of mixing modern hip hop, trance and house songs to bring back the classics of the 70’s and 80’s in an “Old School Remix Revamped” set.  My dream of hearing Barry White and Deadmau5 in a duet will have to wait for now sadly.

Diejei is a great role model for DJ’s trying to make a name for themselves in the clubbing/bar scene.  His mixes are filled with great songs but with noticeable flaws in the transition and tempo department, however the fact that Diejei’s drive and ambition to be the best and to better himself is what will ensure that his name will stand the test of time in Montreal’s crazy music scene.  Just by listening through his mixes I can tell that Diejei has progressed a lot in the short time he has been uploading sets online, and that says a lot for his character.  Best of luck to Diejei and I can’t wait to see what’s next for the man!

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