Contrast Magazine

Hawaii’s own DJ Compose placed 3rd in the West Regional of the Red Bull Thre3style in a controversial decision, many credible DJ’s and music industry players alike had DJ Compose as the winner, but the judges saw it differently.

I remember anxiously finding the link to the live stream of his set and thinking, “He killed that.” Unlike his other competitors, DJ Compose had the audience (and random females dancing on stage) eating out of his hand, or turntables in this case. When it was announced that he placed 3rd, Twitter was in an uproar.

We all want to see DJ Compose in the finals. Don’t just vote for one of Hawaii’s best DJ’s but vote for the right DJ to represent our city and our state in the national final.

Voting is open until March 15th, let’s get Hawaii in the Red Bull Thre3Style National Final in LA.

Here are the goods, keep in mind that you can vote as many times as you want:

Link: http://win.gs/3SWC13
Hashtag: #RB3STYLE

Listen to Compose’s set at the RB3Style West Regional in Seattle and tell me that’s not first place material.

Click here for the jump off.

Red Bull Thre3Style Hawaii from mason rose on Vimeo.

On Friday, Ginza Nightclub played host to the Red Bull Thre3Style sub-qualifier when it returned to Hawaii for the second year. Five local DJs played to a crowd of 700 people in hopes of taking the title of Hawaii’s best party rocker. Competing DJs included Kowai Kowai, Sssolution, DJ Packo, Mike D and defending champion DJ Compose. Compose, member of Hawaii based Nocturnal Sound Krew, was the heavy favorite going into the night and lived up to the expectation. Throwing down a set packed with the right balance of skills, creativity and showmanship, he took the title for the second consecutive year with a unanimous decision from the judges. Local producer and Mike D took second place with Sssolution, also of Nocturnal Sound Krew, taking third.

When Compose took to the decks, it was obvious within the first two minutes that he knew how to work the crowd. Through the duration of his 15-minute set, the entire audience was engaged, throwing their hands up, filling in lyrics and dancing as if it was a pre-choreographed flash mob. It even took Flash, the host for the evening, a full minute to quiet down the crowd to announce the next DJ when he finished his set. When asked how it felt to take the title for the second year, Compose laughed and said, “Momma I made it!” Then in a more serious tone added, “The support was amazing and I can’t thank everyone enough.”

Compose will now advance to the West Coast Regional Qualifier, which will be held in Seattle on February 25. There he will compete against the winners of five additional sub-qualifiers taking place on the West Coast in Las Vegas, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. After that, the top five winners from the Regional Qualifiers (Seattle, Dallas, Chicago, Miami and Philadelphia) travel to Los Angeles on April 5 for the U.S. National Finals. In 2012, Compose narrowly missed the opportunity to compete at the U.S. National Finals when he placed first runner-up at the West Coast Regional Qualifier in Los Angeles.

Red Bull Thre3Style is an innovative concept that gives highly skilled DJs a global platform to showcase their skills, battle and gain notoriety by rockin’ the dance floor. Unlike other DJ battles that are based on solely technical aspects, Red Bull Thre3style has a creative and original format that seeks to find the DJ that has best perfected the true art of rockin’ the party. Competing DJs are given 15 minutes and the challenge to play three different genres of music while keeping the crowd rockin’ on the dance floor. A panel of music industry judges will select the winners based on track selection, creativity, mixing skills, stage presence and crowd reaction. Whoever is named best on the decks gets bragging rights, a prize purse and advances to the next step on the road to the world finals. Event schedule, updates and music from past competitions can be found at http://www.RedBullUSA.com/3Style

DJ Compose
DJ & RB3Style Hawaii Champion 2012
Twitter: @Compose_Nocboy
Music: soundcloud.com/dj-compose
URL: djcompose.com

Riana: Where exactly were you when found out that you were competing in the Redbull Thre3style? How were you invited?

DJ Compose: I was called in by the Red Bull boys to the office. They let me know threestyle was coming up…and I had an opportunity to defend my title.

What was going through your mind when you accepted the invitation? Were you already thinking of the set you were going to play?

I was very hesitant, honestly.  It takes a lot of time, energy, and motivation to do this. I really needed a few days to decide if I really was gonna commit to doing this again, because I’m not one of these “happy to be here” type of dudes. I’m here to win. It’s never been about the money with me… It’s all about the challenge. And although a part of me feels like “why?”, I decided “why not.” So… here we are.

Where does your inspiration for your music pull from? How would you define your style or sound?

Music is my life, literally. It’s my passion and my job, which is so amazing to me. I’m blessed. That being said, I do not take that fact lightly. I am constantly inspired by everyone and everything around me to push myself and stay ahead of the curve.

What do you think of your fellow competitors?

I don’t.

Why do you think you should win the Red Bull Thre3style Qualifier? If you won, how would you rep Hawaii in the West Regional final?

I came pretty darn close taking out one of the major cities last year (placed 2nd in Los Angeles), so I know what it takes. My approach is still the same as its always been since Nocturnal Sound started… preparation and execution is the key. I put a lot of time and effort preparing this set… Now it’s time to have some fun.

#RB3STYLE will be held tomorrow at Ginza Nightclub, doors open at 9PM, show starts at 10PM. First come, first serve! Entrance to event is subject to capacity. For more event details visit here.

This holiday season, as a gift to friends and family, DJ Compose and DJ Anit put together this mix called, “The Present.” After WORK! fans were excited to hear the duo’s next project. Released to the public last night at Addiction, The Present had folks dancing to this feel-good groovy mix.

Feel free to pick up a hardcopy of The Present at Nameless, Noteworthy and Fresh Café.

I got to sit down with DJ Compose and ask him about the mix. Enjoy!

Riana: After WORK! I don’t think anyone knew what was coming their way. When did you guys decide to do The Present? Was it immediately after you finished pushing out WORK?

DJ Compose: Me and Tina have a million ideas and projects going on… This mix was basically just something we wanted to do for everyone that has supported us this year. Our Christmas gift to y’all.

The Present is completely different in sound in contrast to WORK! What inspired you to do this mix? Did the sound just come about while mixing or was it more of an idea that you both came up with together?

We made a conscious effort to stray away from that sound because we wanted to show our versatility. we love all types of music. If you were fortunate to listen to one of Tina’s sets or caught one of mine, we go thru many types of of genres. That was mainly the inspiration: to Catch people off-guard.

I know that when you created the playlist for WORK! you both created track listings individually. Was your song selection process different this time?

Pretty much the same… We talk consistently about music (if we aren’t teasing each other about something). Work! Was a lot more aggressive… While the Present is much more groovy.

I think for me, the track that really stuck out was the refix you did of Star Slinger’s remix of Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe.” What sparked the idea to use Lady Gaga’s vocals in it? Will we be hearing more of your refixes in the future?

Growing up, listening to mixes from DJs… I would study and pick apart everything. I’ve learned it’s the subtle things that make the difference. That was just a little flavor added to the pot. And to answer the last part… Yes. Most definitely.

Please tell me you’ll be doing more mixes. If you do, any hint to what the next mix will sound like? If not, what’s in the future for C&A?

Keep everyone guessing… Haha.

Text by Aoloa Patao

You know when you wake up in the morning still drunk and exclaim, “Last night at the Addiction was so crazy!”? Well yeah, you can blame it a little on the alcohol, but let’s just say resident DJs Compose and Anit have a great deal to do with that. And now, with the support of that very nightclub, they’ve just released their debut, collabo mix entitled, “Work!,” so you can get turnt up wherever you go.

In today’s age of social media and instantaneous online-sharing abilities, mixes that are uploaded on the Internet tend to be live DJ sets that are recorded at one click of a button. It’s not too often that you’ll find DJs who go into the studio and carefully record track by track.

“It’s a little different because it’s a hard copy, which nowadays is not so common anymore, so we wanted to approach it a little differently,” says Compose. “Usually, to what people may or may not know, normally we just press record, which is cool too—it’s a different feel, it’s more organic that way. But this way was well-thought out, and everything was meticulously picked at.”

Throughout the interview, Compose and Anit would sometimes finish each other’s sentences, leading one to believe that DJing together would be no different. Together they would go into their sound engineer’s studio, DJ Mike D., and figure out what song would work in the right position.

“We actually [individually] created a list first and then we joined it together on my lap top and then went on from there,” says Anit. “That’s how we came with a common sound, but we actually had a lot of the same stuff we wanted.” Compose chimed in, “What was crazy was that [the mix] wasn’t done separately, we had input on each…” “Yeah, every transition we worked together,” Anit said, finishing Compose’s sentence.

This most likely has to do with the fact that they’ve been working together for the past two or three years—they’ve acquired an ear for each other’s likes and dislikes in music. They are very enthusiastic and supportive of each other’s disc-jockeying prowess and have a mutual understanding of what does and doesn’t Work! (pun intended).

“What’s really cool, I’m just speaking for myself, I’m lucky to have a DJ that I work with that I can still learn from,” praises Compose. “I always learn from everyone I work with, but especially her—I think we push each other and not in a malicious way.” “Which is rare because usually your partner will just be like, ‘Hey, what’s up,’ but we check up on each other—it’s a good relationship, he’s like my brother,” adds Anit.

But the process of creating “Work!” couldn’t be all smiles and positive attitudes, right? Much like with any creation, whatever the medium, there has to be some hardships. The biggest difficulty for the super duo? Wanting to add more songs to the mix. So much for hardships, huh?

“It’s kind of funny. We were working on it for about a month,” says Compose. “Literally to the last second we added a song at the very, very end, which was really cool.” Tyler Dickinson, the Addiction Nightclub GM, would second that. “It was to the point where literally, I sent it to get produced and they’d be like, ‘Wait, wait!’” he laughs. “I told the graphics guy doing the back [of hard copy holder], don’t kill me ‘cause they kept changing it. I was like, ‘Is this it? Is this it?’ Probably happened like five times.”

Despite their “hardship” creating this project, DJs Compose and Anit’s eclectic, aggressive 37-tracked mix is fire, no questions asked. Some have already obtained the hardcopy, most are waiting for the link to drop. Wait no more. Let it be known though—YEAH, there will be a “Work! 2.”

Summer is coming to a close and I’ve noticed that people have been hitting up the local watering holes and clubs more often. Maybe they’re getting their last cheehuu in before going back to school or work? For the people who work in the industry, however, the seasons are irrelevant. Work hard, play hard is their every day mantra.

So this week’s post is a tip of the hat to all those hustlers out there getting their own…I see you.

Here are my favorite tracks this week

Hawaii’s own DJ Compose was just recently featured on 2dopeboyz, personally (and probably a lot more others) one of my go-to websites for the hottest hip-hop joints across the country. His latest “Jump-Off” mix for L.A. Power 106 was played twice on the radiostation. Want to know why? Take a listen for yourself.

It covers all your BASSics, (see what I did there?) from Swizz Beats & A$AP Rocky to Ca$h Out. This is the kind of mix where you can extend its listening throughout the night from getting ready, to pre-gaming with friends, to the club, then to waking up not remembering what happened the night before.

Straight bang, bang.

Can you say, free download?

So every other month I obsess over a DJ’s mixes. What I mean by obsess is that I listen to every single mix they’ve done, all day. I listen to it then I make other people listen to it by constantly talking about it. I would like to apologize to those who I probably drove crazy by this weird compulsive disorder.

NSK is taking over my listening time, yo.

This month’s obsession is DJ SSSolution. Every track on his SoundCloud is saved as a favorite. Last week I featured his JAW JAM mix (which he actually has tangible mix tapes of! Get yours!) and I thought that was straight fire until I discovered his NZAMBI mix.

Sssolution named the genre on this mix, swerve trap and when I listen to it, it feels like a hybrid of power, futuristic, electronica, trap…does that make sense? Let’s just say it encourages very heavy head-nodding, fist-punching (not pumping!) and sporadic body movement.

I got to witness his set during First Friday at Manifest while I was taking photos and it was before I heard this mix. I was watching the crowd and they looked so confused because they loved what they were hearing but didn’t know how to interpret it through dancing. I admire that he plays what he wants and if someone requests a whack song, Sssolution always has tricks up his sleeve to switch it and flip it.

Did I mention that all his mixes are downloadable?

Speaking of switching it up and flipping it, one of my favorites, Star Slinger flipped the shit out of this Darq E Freaker feat. Danny Brown “Blueberry” track. Lately I’ve been really paying attention to the genres that DJs list their music under. This particular song had the labels “booty bass” on it. It sounds like an infusion of that and some crazy epilepsy electronica. Definitely booty bass though.

Every time I hear this track, it always reminds me to buy it -_-

I absolutely love how dark Ab-Soul f. Danny Brown & Jhene Aiko’s “Terrorist Threats” sounds. Aiko’s voice is hauntingly beautiful and the beat itself is creepy sounding but in a good way. Ab-Soul is definitely on the come-up being signed to two record labels. Before he went solo, he was part of Black Hippy with Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q and Jay Rock. They all seem to be doing pretty damn well separately though…

So funny, when I found this song and read some of the comments that people put, one person said that Lana Del Rey could sing the dictionary and it would still sound sexy. I 100% agree with them. I’m really loving how much A$AP Rocky is developing and really testing his range with different genres and artists. Excited to see how far he’ll come a year from now. Rumors are going around that A$AP Rocky and her are in bed together but I refuse to believe that because I’m incredibly loyal to Iggy Azalea.

Okay now here’s the real fist-pumpin’. I love this remix of DWNTWN’s “See My Eyes.” Clapping in songs always makes me all giddy and shit. It takes a lot for me to get excited about a electro track and I think this remix really does it for me. It just makes you want to dance!

Enjoy

After 5 years and 6 failed attempts at getting my driver’s license, this past Monday, I passed. I already know what you’re thinking, you’re 23-years-old, you just graduated from college, how the hell do you not have a license? The important part is that I have it now and I swear, I’m not a bad driver.

I am loving every second of driving alone, even in traffic. Because I’ve never gotten to experience that independence, driving alone is so liberating for me. Call it lame whatever, just makes me appreciate the luxury of leaving whenever and going to wherever I want. Well, if I have enough gas that is.

While I’m driving, I need the perfect music that matches my mood, otherwise it’ll just fuck everything up. More importantly, since I’m still new at this whole driver’s license thing, I can’t exactly use my phone, so the length of my song selections actually matter.

Enter the mix.

I feel that mixes are very underrated. DJs put effort and time into handcrafting and intertwining these 30 min. sometimes more than an hour, masterpieces. My appreciation for mixes have grown…I listen to them when I’m studying, working, cleaning my room and now driving.

Here are some of my favorite mixes this week

For 5 years and still going on, I’ve been listening to DJ Mike Rizzy’s mixes. I discovered him while I was watching one of my favorite Filipina Youtube stars, Happy Slip and I heard his remix of Rose Royce’s “Wishing on a Star” playing in the background. Ever since then, I’ve subscribed to his podcast and downloaded every single mix that he’s made. He mixes all kinds of hip-hop, mostly the Golden Era, which is my favorite. One of my favorite go-to mixes is “Stylin’ On U Part 1″ and “Dilla Lives On.”

To listen to more of his mixes, check out his website

One of my recent finds is DJ SOSUPERSAM from Brooklyn. I do love girl DJs! Not only is she cute and adorable, she can make some awesome mixes that cover all sorts of music genres. Right now she’s the touring DJ for Childish Gambino and has a massive client list ranging from Vans to the American Ballet Theatre. I’ve been obsessed with her mixes, especially her most recent one, “We Found Ourselves Lost.” How can you go wrong with an intro from (500) Days Of Summer? You go, girl.

Click here for more information on SOSUPERSAM
Click here for more mixes!

DJ Delve’s “Summertimefine Mix Part 1″ is a staple in my music collection. This holds so much nostalgia of summer for me, that I would listen to it even during the winter.

To listen to more of DJ Delve’s mixes click here

When Valentine’s Day rolled around, it was love jams galore everywhere. My favorite V-Day mix was DJ Roza + Rocky Rivera’s The Morning After Mixtape. The perfect combination of old and new with a touch of gangsta.

For more of DJ Roza’s mixes click here

When I want to dance (which is rarely, but this mix makes me want to dance!) DJ Compose’s Good Times 2 always gets these hips a’shaking and my heart a’pumping!

For more of DJ Compose’s mixes, click here

Two words: Body. Roll. DJ Revise’s Top Guap mix taught me that when in doubt, body roll.

Most of these mixes are downloadable Also stay tuned for next week’s blog post, I will have a free mix of all my favorite tracks for the month of May mixed by DJ Revise.

Drive safe and enjoy!

(Photo Courtesy of Red Bull)

Last week Wednesday, Playhouse Nightclub in Hollywood, CA became crowded for Red Bull Thre3Style Los Angeles Regional Qualifier. Participants in the DJ contest were to play a selection of at least three genres in 15 minutes. Here’s the fun part, it didn’t matter what music genre it was, as long as the DJ could mix it together.

With 8 competing DJ’s, DJ Compose was crowned 2nd place. “Hawaii’s champion, DJ Compose!” and #JayInLA tweets covered everyone’s timelines, making it even more nerve-racking for those waiting for results back home in Hawaii.

(Photo Courtesy of Instagram)

Model Justene Jaro was there to lei Compose, showing that he had come to rep the 808 hard, and of course Nocturnal Sound Krew.

Favorite tweet of the night: “On to the next…. Birdgang.”

Congratulations DJ Compose!

To listen to DJ Compose’s set, click here.

Text by Aoloa Patao

Last night, DJ Compose dropped his highly anticipated GOOD TIMES Vol.2 mix on his Soundcloud. Before the Red Bull Thre3style Hawaii champ released it, hungry people were tweeting if they could get an early leak. Relieved and excited, the mix prepares us for a night out, but also fits perfectly if you’re just driving around.

“I wanted to go with a cool dance mix in a way I’d like to hear it,” said the Nocturnal Sounds Krew member. “With this ‘Good Times’ thing I got going, I want to play great uptempo, disco and house music, but still keep a soulful vibe to it. Of course, I’m a hip-hop DJ first and foremost, but I love all kinds of music, and these songs are what I’ve been into lately.”

Give it a listen and download, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Tracklist:

1. Good Times Theme

2. U-Tern - You Don’t Know Me

3. Foster The People - Call It What You Want (Treasure Fingers Rmx)

4. Linda Lewis - Class, Style (DJ Pump Edit)

5. Them Jeans - Starlight

6. Drake Feat. Rihanna - Take Care (Junior Sanchez Really Cares House Mix)

7. Raymix - Watching You (The Way It Is)

8. Brass Knuckles - Lie To You (WhiteNoize Rmx)

9. Doman & Gooding - Runnin

10. Martin Solveig - The Night Out (A-Trak Rmx)

11. Foster The People - Don’t Stop (Joe Maz Rmx)

12. Afrojack & Steve Aoki Feat. Miss Palmer - No Beef (Panic City & Supersede Rmx) 13. Calvin Harris Feat. Ne-Yo - Let’s Go

14. Young Jeezy - I Do (Sammy Bananas Rmx / DJ Compose Grove St. Refix)

15. Alex Kenji & Starkiller Feat. Nadia Ali - Pressure (Marcus Maison & Will Dragen Rmx)

16. Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl Feat. Georgi Kay - In My Mind (Axwell Mix)

17. Sebastian Ingrosso & Alesso Feat. Ryan Tedder - Calling (Lose My Mind)

18. David Guetta Feat. Sia - Titanium (Alesso Rmx)

19. Bag Raiders - Snake Charmer (Cassian Rmx / DJ Compose & DJ XL Refix)

20. DJ Ayers - Flashing Lights

21. Jay-Z - I Just Wanna Love U (DJ XL House Mix)

22. Crystal Waters vs. Marcel - My 100% Pure House Love (Joe Maz Bootleg)

23. David Guetta Feat. Sia - Wild Ones (Nicky Romero Rmx)

24. Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (dBerrie Rmx)

25. Usher - Climax

Interview: Aoloa Patao

Media: Red Bull

SOHO Mixed Media Bar crowd is in anticipation—DJ Compose (Jay Ablan is his given name) of the two-time ITF World Champion Nocturnal Sound Krew is set to launch off into his 15-minute set. Everyone at the Red Bull Thre3Style DJ competition is screaming—even the buff dudes. Then, out of musical silence, he initiates Bone Crusher’s “Neva Scared.” The crowd gets even louder. The competition is done. He wins!

Contrast spoke to the Hawai’i champ to get an inside scoop on the competition, Red Bull and the haters.

Contrast: Congratulations on your victory at the Red Bull Thre3Style competition. How does it feel?

DJ Compose: Thank you. Feels great. Actually, I’m just relieved it’s over and looking forward to the next step in Los Angeles.

This generation really hasn’t been exposed to a DJ comp like this. What is the difference between past DJ comps you’ve been in and this one?

I know our reputation of being battle DJs is pretty well known, but it’s been 10+ years since we won; truly a couple of generations ago. So it was a good way to show those who never experienced what a true “battle” was to see what Nocturnal Sound was really about.

When did you find out that you were selected into this comp and how long did you practice your set for?

Red Bull invited Hawaii’s top DJs late last year—some accepted, some didn’t. We had that long to get our sets ready.

Do you know how the DJs were selected?

It was by invite only by an esteemed panel. Not sure exactly, but everyone deserved to be on stage.

What was the feeling like getting up on stage knowing that while you were given that 15 minutes, everyone’s eyes were on you to see what you could bring?

Nothing like it. It brought me back to the days when I was a bedroom DJ working on my craft. To my own fault, I haven’t been as creative with things as I could/should be because I’m so busy with the grind of being a working DJ. This battle challenged me to bring back that fire of sticking your neck out in front of your peers, your haters, and those who support you. Respect to those who actually accepted the invite. I feel like a lot of DJs, myself included, had more to lose than to gain. It wasn’t easy. That’s why I took this event extremely seriously.

Wings team thre3style: Maia, Tiare and Asia.

How did the competition work? Were you battling all the other contestants or was there an elimination process?

Basically, the threestyle battle was a battle amongst seven other DJs, all of which are talented and just as capable in there own right. You had 15 minutes to show your skill, versatility, showmanship—everything to show why you should be crowned Hawai’i’s best.

By winning this competition, what happens now?

The Hawai’i heat was a prelim to enter the LA heat on May 3rd. I have to battle 7 of LA’s best.

If you win that comp, what happens then?

If/when…I battle in the US Finals.

How do you feel Red Bull is changing the game?

More so than anything, it adds credibility to it.

Anything you want to add, feel free to.

I’d like to shout everyone who support Nocturnal Sound. Shout to Jami & Sssolution for sticking your neck out with me, DJ XL for helping me get my set sharp as hell and all those who doubt me and the crew, you know what time it is.

Thanks, Jay and good luck in LA!