Student DJs want Copenhagen alive again

The talent of top international DJ’s goes to waste when they come to Copenhagen. They have had to adapt to mainstream musical styles demanded at the clubs.

»It’s kind of different,« says Alex Vickers, an American DJ who goes by the name Dirty Dumbo and who studies political science.

»Los Angeles is on the cutting edge of house music. Copenhagen likes the top forty and pop music. You can’t play a lot of the harder stuff. In Copenhagen, it kills the dance floor.«

The DJ is responsible for keeping the party going until the early morning. Vickers and his fellow DJ Georg Cohen don’t take this lightly. They have taken their mixing talents from their home countries to some of Copenhagen’s biggest clubs such as Vega, Rust and K3.

Shut the club down

Vickers and Cohen were originally both fortunate enough to find friends in Copenhagen with nightlife connections. From these contacts they were able to perform short sets at city night clubs and student parties. The Copenhagen club scene, however, has different challenges for the artists.

»The biggest difference is when the bars close down,« says Georg, who is from Nuremberg, Germany, where he DJs with a friend under the name DigiDataDuo when he is not studying economics.

»We have to stop at three am. But in Germany, we go to six or seven in the morning.«

However Vickers welcomes the change. He benefits from the extra hours enjoyed by Europeans.

»All the music would get shut off at midnight, so parties start at ten at University of California Santa Barbara,« offers Vickers. »But here you don’t leave your house until eleven and it goes until early in the morning. I like that better.«

Lure them in with Jay-Z

While both students enjoy DJing in Copenhagen, they miss some of the freedoms that playing back in their home countries allow. Both share a love of house music, which isn’t as popular in Copenhagen.

»You have to lure them in with Jay-Z and Rihanna, and then you can play the crazier stuff toward the end,« explains Vickers.

Cohen finds the same pattern, but views the restriction as simple give-and-take.

»In Copenhagen, you play what you want 50 per cent of the time, and the other 50 per cent you play what the people want,« explains Cohen. »When you play for the people, you need to give them some sugar.«

Check out Georg at K3 on Wednesdays for the student party nights. Alex is DJing the Life Science faculty today Friday 15th October.

uni-avis@adm.ku.dk