This, however is when artistry and creativity enter the scene, dividing the wannabes from the music heads. While many turn to DJing as - let’s face it - a way to look cool, it is only those with an inherent passion for music that tend to achieve any success. Their passion fuels the patience and dedication to learn the craft, the drive to fund an expensive pastime, and ultimately the bravery to become a performer and overcome the anxieties of people depending on you for a good night. Furthermore, good DJs will spend hours searching for new tracks and imagining new mixes, as well as being able to read a crowd and find the perfect next song to play to keep people dancing.
It must be said that DJing has been an inherently male-dominated space (with many owing this to technophilia being understood historically as a gendered stereotype), and as such there is a high demand for female or non-male DJs to join the scene. For those who may have thought it was a ‘laddish’ occupation, it only requires a look into the rich history of DJing and turntablism to understand that this is a skill for nerds, with Grandmaster Flash leading the fray as the ‘grandfather’ of the art.
What at first reads like a sphere for the ‘cool kids’ to take over, it is in fact these aforementioned qualities that make DJing a space for the nerds, with hours spent alone listening to music, and standing in the corner while others have fun and enjoy your work. Whether this is what holds the appeal for so many DJs, or the stereotypical braggadocio and high-risk-high-reward nature of performing, there can be no doubt that DJing is alive and thriving in student spheres. While historically and practically it is the creatives and engineers that make a good DJ, technology has reduced the barriers so that in fact, anyone can begin the journey of being a DJ; it is the dedication that defines the artist.
