Documentary

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Watch the ‘Beyond the Music Retreat’ Documentary

BTMR

Beyond the Music Retreat

In March, DJcity and DJ/producer Vice joined forces to host the inaugural Beyond the Music Retreat in Black Hawk, Colorado.

The event, which took place over two days, featured some of the industry’s brightest minds. The panelists included A-Trak, Chuckie, Z-Trip, Justin Credible, and Miles Medina.

The retreat made an impact on the attendees, including A-Trak, who took to Twitter to reflect on the experience.

Watch the mini-documentary below and check out the photos of the attendees at beyondthemusicretreat.com.

Related: Watch DJ Vice’s ‘MikiDz Show’ Set

| DJ Culture, DJcityTV, Music Industry, Videos
Beyond the Music Retreat, DJ Vice, Documentary,
Thursday, March 28, 2019

Watch: ‘Making Mad Noise’ Turntablist Documentary

DJ Woody

British creative collective Boom City has released a turntablist documentary, Making Mad Noise – 10 Years of Community Skratch.

The Community Skratch event series brings turntablists together from around the world for showcases and networking. It began with the Community Skratch Games in 2006 in Galway, Ireland. It later expanded to Brighton, UK, with DJ Manipulate‘s Community Skratch BBQ.

As the turntablism community grew, the event series branched out with UK and European tours. Community Skratch has also begun to collaborate with Battle Avenue, expanding the turntablist network even further.

Watch the documentary above.

Related: DJ Woody Launches Scratch Sample Subscription Service

| DJ Culture, Turntablism, Videos
Battle Ave, Boom City, Documentary,
Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Watch: Red Bull Music 3Style World Finals IX Mini-Documentary

Red Bull Music 3Style World Finals IX

In January, we traveled to Taipei, Taiwan to attend the Red Bull Music 3Style World Finals IX. The week-long event included five nights of battles, pre- and after-parties, panel discussions, tours of the city and surrounding area, plus more.

Watch our mini-documentary above.

Related: Watch: DJ Jazzy Jeff’s Q&A at Red Bull Music 3Style IX World Finals

| DJ Culture, DJcityTV, Turntablism, Videos
Documentary, Red Bull 3Style,
Thursday, August 23, 2018

Watch: Inside DJ Jazzy Jeff’s 2018 PLAYLIST Retreat

DJ Jazzy Jeff
DJ Jazzy Jeff at the PLAYLIST Retreat in Delaware in August 2018. (Credit: Julian Melanson)

At the beginning of August, DJ Jazzy Jeff hosted the fourth annual PLAYLIST Retreat at his property in Delaware. The multi-day event brought together like-minded DJs, producers, and songwriters to network and collaborate.

In attendance were legendary DJs like Z-Trip and Skratch Bastid, music producers such as Lord Finesse and DJ Khalil, and companies like Serato and Roland, among many others.

Like previous years, the retreat featured a song making competition that grouped random artists into teams.

Watch DJcityTV’s mini-documentary about the retreat below.

Related: An Inside Look at DJ Jazzy Jeff’s 2017 PLAYLIST Retreat

| DJ Culture, DJcityTV, Turntablism, Videos
DJ Jazzy Jeff, Documentary, Music Production, PLAYLIST Retreat,
Friday, October 20, 2017

House DJs Discuss the Mental and Physical Toll of Touring

Pete Tong

Pete Tong
Pete Tong at Blue Marlin Ibiza. (Photo credit: Alex Caballero)

In 2016, Avicii surprised the dance community when he retired from touring at the age of 26 due to health concerns. Now, more DJs have shared their struggles in a new documentary from Pioneer DJ’s DJsounds.

Why We DJ – Slaves To The Rhythm explores what drives DJs to put themselves through rigorous schedules and the toll it has on their health.

“I’m addicted to the feeling of connecting with a crowd and controlling the vibe,” says legendary DJ Erick Morillo.

The New York City native’s sentiments are echoed in the documentary by renowned house DJs like Pete Tong, Carl Cox, Seth Troxler, and Ben Pearce.

With their addiction to performing comes consequences, however. The side effects include deprivation, loneliness, drug and alcohol abuse, and pressure from fans and management.

“I was deeply unhappy,” Pearce says. “I was drinking every day and basically chugging my life down the drain. And I think it got to the point that I knew that if I didn’t do something about it, I wouldn’t be around much longer.”

Tong adds: “It’s a very hard job to get any sympathy for because everyone has this image in their heads of private jets and spraying champagne. But the touring life of a DJ is really hard.”

The documentary was premiered on Wednesday during the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) in association with Help Musicians UK and the Association for Electronic Music. Both groups are dedicated to helping musicians with mental health issues.

Watch it below.

Related: Pioneer DJ Brings Live Sampling to the Booth With DJS-1000

| DJ Culture, Videos
DJsounds, Documentary,
Thursday, August 17, 2017

An Inside Look at DJ Jazzy Jeff’s 2017 PLAYLIST Retreat

DJ Jazzy Jeff
DJ Jazzy Jeff takes a group selfie at his PLAYLIST Retreat in Delaware. (Photo credit: Julian Melanson)

Last week, DJ Jazzy Jeff hosted his third annual PLAYLIST Retreat at his estate in Delaware. The invite-only event brought together like-minded DJs, producers, and songwriters to collaborate and network.

This year’s retreat was the biggest yet and featured acclaimed names such as J. Cole, DJ Dahi, Mr. Carmack, Lord Finesse, Young Guru, Z-Trip, Peanut Butter Wolf, and Skratch Bastid.

There were a variety activities, including a producer challenge in which artists were randomly grouped into teams and tasked with making a track.

DJcity was invited to the event and captured it on video. Watch below.

Related: Watch DJ Jazzy Jeff’s ‘Boiler Room’ Set

| DJ Culture, DJcityTV, Turntablism, Videos
DJ Jazzy Jeff, Documentary, Music Production, PLAYLIST Retreat,

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