Just back from a two week jaunt down to Colombia and it was incredible!
What a great time meeting great folks and DJing in 4 areas of the country: Bogata, Medellin, Cartegena, and Santo Victoria. Folks were super into what I was playing and how I was playing it as they don’t get many turntablist DJs performing down there. I felt honored to be able to share my love for DJ and Turntablist culture with an entirely new audience, even if it was a bit rocky communicating with folks in my terrible Spanish. Big thanks to my guy MH The Verb for organizing the entire trip and the MINDSpray homie DYALEKT for coming along for the ride!
Bogota was the first stop and sadly the shortest time we spent in any of the 3 city locales visited. That said, I took in a ton of great sites (mostly graffiti), dropped in at Spotify’s offices, and had a great time DJing at the Selina where we were staying.
Medellin felt like it was the longest we stayed in any one locale and with good reason, we did 2 shows and a studio session to record a posse cut with a ton of great local artists we met from the shows. I recorded my first show for Ibiza Club Radio (airs March 10 at 11am Ibiza local time) as well during the studio session.
On a walkabout in the city I happened on a DJ School, DJ Station Academy, and while I was looking at their doorway the GM, Robinson Valentti, saw me and came out to speak with me. I explained I was in town DJing and he asked if I wanted to come up and check out the school. Sure! Robinson explained the curriculum of their students which focus on 6 months of DJ training and 6 months of production training for a full 1 year program. To cap it off I did a 15 min scratch demo to boot. Shouts to Robinson and DJ Station Academy for welcoming me so warmly, amazing!
Getting into Cartagena felt like being in a totally different country tbh, def much more tourist and Caribbean vibes despite it actually being on the Pacific coast of Colombia. The show on the rooftop of the Selina we were staying was a great vibe thanks to all who came out to chill on a Friday night with us!
The next day we made out way down the Pacific coast to a town called Santa Veronica to meet up with a former NYC resident and friend of MH The Verb, Nico, to check out the town he has relocated to in Colombia. Santa Veronica is famous for it’s Kite Surfing (it literally has a season of 4 months of wind) and draws a ton of eco-tourism as a result. It was BANANAS how much construction was happening in this small town at the current time, if you are thinking of relocating to a place like this DO IT NOW. After being showed around the town and meeting some of the local kite surfers, we headed on to Club Tropique where we were all slated to perform that night. The food was great and the vibes were even better. Everyone there was ready to have a good time and my music and mixing style caught the ear of many folks who had to break out the phone and record what was happening.
Thank you to everyone I met who was patient with my “muy MALO Espanol” in communicating and making me feel welcome in your community. I felt safe and accepted by all I encountered down there but a special shout goes to our Colombian road dogs Samuel and Michelle (also check out her clothing line, Sanatas Couture, dope AF) for holding us down in ways I can’t even begin to get into that made the trip a 100% smooth experience from top to bottom. I can’t wait to return later this year!!!
halodoesntsuck 