The wages of spin
As tech advances make it easy to mix your own sounds, music lovers are seizing the chance to realise their digital dreams. Ben Sin checks out a boom in DJ classes
It's a warm September evening at Bisous nightclub in Central, and Craig Dungey is celebrating his 42nd birthday by recalling his youth.
You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC is blasting through the amps. The senior insurance professional has heard the song a thousand times before in his native Australia, but this time it sounds a bit different: Dungey watches, fascinated, as the young DJ manipulates the bassline using the EQ dial on the music mixer, altering the sound of the classic rock track.
When he realises the DJ is a student at Sol Passion Music, performing for the first time as part of the school's "Dare to DJ" programme, Dungey thinks about his missed opportunities. He loves music, and has told close friends and family of his regrets at not pursuing the hobby during his younger days. Fortunately, his wife Belinda believes it's never too late to go after your passion.
The next day, she booked a session at Sol Passion Music in Wan Chai for her husband and their 11-year-old son, Aiden.
A week later, father and son are in a studio, where they learn more about the fundamentals of being a "disc jockey", such as "beatmatching" (syncing the beats of two music tracks together so they don't clash sonically) and "phrasing" (transitioning between songs without breaking their musical structure). The Dungeys return for more sessions.
A month later, on Halloween, Craig takes the booth for the first time at a friend's party. A few months later, in March, Aiden makes his debut at the Beertopia craft beer festival. "I was a bit nervous being on stage in front of 100 people," the younger Dungey says. "But I got to play some of my favourite artists, like Deadmau5."