Today we’d like to introduce you to DJ Waffles, Lumin3x.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In May of 2019, Lumin3x reached out to me from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina about an idea he had revolving around a DJ show. He had one goal in mind: To find another DJ who shared his same love for EDM music. This way, they could record crazy EDM mixes for people to jam out to at home, in the car, at the club, or whenever they felt like it. Of course, I was ecstatic at the idea because I always wanted to start an ongoing DJ show like this.
The following month, we decided that there should be a short “theme song” that we play at the beginning of each episode. That song ended up actually being part of a track that I made titled Our Home. I picked it because it was a dope progressive house track that gave off happy, energetic vibes. After playing around, I told myself that there needed to be some sort of tag in the beginning. That was when I hit up a good friend of mine in Albania asking if she could be the person to record it. In the end, it was the right choice because her Albanian accent blended together perfectly with the song making it so unique.
That July, I arranged for Lumin3x to make the 300 mile trip down to Atlanta where we would meet for the first time and record our first four episodes. We were spending one afternoon prepping our shows when I told Lumin3x, “I really feel like we have a sort of chemistry when it comes to DJing.” I could feel both our energy and emotions in the studio while going at it back and forth on the DJ decks. That night, we made big plans to record our sets live in public so that we could get real-time feedback. After prepping, loading, unloading, booking a photographer and videographer, and setting up all our gear, the weather took a turn for the worse and started to downpour on us. All we could ask was why this had to happen especially because Lumin3x was leaving the next day. It was already extremely late and we had 3 hours of recordings to accomplish, so we decided to head back to the studio and stay up all night to record.
Once Lumin3x headed back to Myrtle Beach, it was time to start the marketing and promotion process for Nightlife. Later that week, I opened my inbox and to my surprise, there was an email from a radio station sitting there. It was a UK based radio station called Real Dance Radio and they wanted to feature our DJ show. As of today, Nightlife is starting to become less and less of a dream and more of a reality. In addition to having our episodes on Soundcloud, it’s still continuing to air on Real Dance Radio. “We have many plans for the future when it comes to Nightlife and we can’t wait to show you what we have in the future.”
Has it been a smooth road?
Our only problem we’ve faced so far is age. Since Lumin3x is 20 and I’m 16, we couldn’t promote and play Nightlife in clubs or bars. We had to find alternative events where the crowd shared the same vibe as a crowd at a club or bar would have.
Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
To put it simply, Nightlife is a DJ radio show in which we bring you an hour-long episode featuring some of the best EDM tracks and remixes. A new episode is released every other week in which it airs Saturday at 10 pm GMT on Real Dance Radio. The next day, the episode gets uploaded to Soundcloud for streaming.
We take pride in not being just that ordinary DJ show. During each episode, Lumin3x and I love to play around and try different crazy things vs “pushing play” and doing nothing else. We understand that it can be hard to draw people in and keep them focused, so we use these various crazy techniques to help keep the audience engaged and listening. Another thing that you don’t see a lot of DJ shows doing is bringing in special guest DJ’s. We have certain episodes that will feature guest DJ’s. This way, the audience can listen to a different DJ’s style while still listening to the same type of music we have in each episode. “Our hope is that you feel our positive energy though the songs we play in each mix.”
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The music industry is definitely growing and we have a strong feeling that Nightlife will benefit from it. Each day, more opportunities arise and we’re always evaluating them. Over time, we’ve seen that a lot of big-name DJ’s and EDM artists started off by DJing for free in the side room of a club while promoting who they were. It’s a popular trend that we hope to try when the time is right. In addition, we’d like to expand even more into Europe because of the big EDM music industry there.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.djwafflesatlanta.com/
- Email: jsburrows02@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djwafflesofficial/
- Other: https://soundcloud.com/djwafflesofficial
Image Credit:
Steven Yang
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