November 10, 2016
Mr Smooth EMT Presents ‘UK Street Heat’ Mix
London's Mr Smooth EMT drops the first entry of his new mix series called UK Street Heat. He curates a 42 track playlist into a 78-minute mix featuring 100...
Wednesday 21 March 2018
A-Trak: Must-Have Items in My DJ Bag
Photo source: A-Trak
A-Trak is one of the busiest DJs on the planet. From performing live and producing music to running his Fool’s Gold label, Days Off festival, and Goldie Awards, the Montreal native puts in a lot of miles. Given all of his experience, which includes serving as Kanye West‘s DJ in the mid-2000s, A-Trak has become an authority in the DJ community. People from around the world pay heed to his advice and opinions on the art of DJing, DJ technology, etc.
Check out his must-have travel items below, and download his new single “Ride For Me” with Young Thug, Falcons, and 24hrs.
“This is my greatest discovery in recent years. I always want to have every imaginable cord or adaptor with me on the road. I’ve had so many emergencies. You’re overseas, and you suddenly need to boot one laptop in Target Mode from your other laptop. Or you forgot that your backup drive uses a different kind of port than what your new laptop has. Or you somehow need to use an ethernet jack. You need all these emergency cords, but how do you actually pack them? This Grid-It thing is the most zen-like order that I’ve ever had with my cords and adaptors.”
Comme Des Garçons Travel Wallet
“This Comme Des Garçons wallet has been my travel companion for a long time. It’s where I keep my frequent flier cards and any random reward program cards, and I can stick my passport in it when I don’t need it. I can even keep a few foreign currencies in it too. None of this needs to be in your regular wallet.”
Kiehl’s Cactus Flower & Tibetan Ginseng Hydrating Face Mist
“Airplanes are your skin’s worst enemy. Keeping up a few little habits can make a world of difference. No one wants to be told ‘you look tired,’ or feel their own skin turn into leather. I like this mist because hey, who doesn’t like Tibetan ginseng?”
Fool’s Gold x Stokyo Needle Case
“I used to carry the classic blue Shure needle case, but it’s kind of big. Then we made this smaller Fool’s Gold case with Stokyo. It’s way more portable. I also love how it has a little compartment where you can keep spare styli.”
The Bag Within the Bag
“As DJs we travel the world to secure the bag. So it’s important to have a good bag strategy. I always carry-on, I’d say 98% percent of the time. It’s extremely rare that I check something in. So the bag I travel with is bigger, but that doesn’t mean I’ll bring that to my gigs. That’s where you need a bag within your bag. Going to gigs with only a tote bag has changed my life.”
Follow A-Trak on Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, and Twitter.
