New York DJ

As I mentioned in a post in May about multicultural events, one of the reasons we love DJ-ing in NYC is the high prevalence of people of varied ethnic backgrounds at events. This gives us the ability to both play music from around the world for people and turn them onto it, and to receive requests from clients or from clients’ guests that turn us on to great music from around the world. But, most importantly, it usually means there’s an openness to – and often an expectation that – an international mix of songs will be played thoughout the night. This is something that we can’t thank the city for enough.

One artist we recently spun at a multicultural wedding reception at a hotel overlooking Central Park was Alabina, a group (now likely disbanded) comprised of an Isreali-born vocalist Ishtar Alabina (pictured), and a Spanish backing band from France named Los Ninos de Sara. Together, Ishtar and the band mix Arabic and Latin rhythms in their songs. Now, this might to some seem like it would turn out a bit forced, but Alabina makes it sounds seamless and irresistibly festive, even making you think why this musical hybrid isn’t more commonplace. At our recent event just described, Alabina worked perfectly on the dance floor for the incredibly international crowd, many of whom were from Armenia, and others who were from Israel, Russia, France, and Mexico.

Here’s an Alabina song which I think best captures the magic they make with their mix of sounds. “Habibi de Mis Amores” (basically translated as “Love of My Loves,” the first word in the title being Arabic for love or beloved, the last word being the Spanish plural for love) combines Arabic and Spanish not only in lyrics, but also in the wailing Middle-Eastern-style female vocals of the verses, and the Flamenco-y guitar and Salsa-ish percussion of the instrumental break. In the chorus, though, everything comes together as Arabic music dramatics and Latin music celebratoriness combine to create an elegant, sexy and euphoric tune. And while at the event described above this tune resulted in guests dancing, because the song isn’t ever overpowering in its energy, I think it also would work great to spice up any cocktail hour.

(This is another in my series of posts about how to avoid hiring bad DJs. To read the first three posts, locate the "Categories" list at the right, and click "DJ Fear.")

In slang, “ill” often means to be supremely skilled at something. But in the case of this post, the “ill” in ill-prepared isn’t a good thing. It simply means that the DJ isn’t as ready for an event as he or she should be, like this poor DJ in the photo. But not being well-enough prepared is something that you’ll have to worry about much less if in your meeting with prospective DJs you cover the following areas – ones that I’ve found tend to be the most important in terms of a DJ knowing their stuff:

Insurance Coverage – Ask your DJ if he or she has the minimum requirements for your venue. Don’t be afraid to ask the DJ to fax you a copy of his or her policy; this is something that DJs should be completely willing to show you if they indeed do have insurance. Clients might not be aware that many venues will ask several weeks before your event to see proof of the DJ insurance policy, and if they don’t see it, they won’t allow a DJ (no matter how good!) to perform.

Quality / Appropriate Gear – Find out when meeting a prospective DJ if they have 1) quality gear for your event, and 2) enough of it to handle your event. You don’t want a DJ setting up home audio speakers in wood cabinets for your event, and also, you don’t want a DJ to bring top-of-the-line equipment to your event, but only have one mixer downstairs for a dinner reception when you also need one upstairs for a cocktail hour! To help determine if the DJ is well-prepared in both of these areas, ask them to write down a list of what (and in what amounts) they intend to bring with them after you describe your event. This requires you, though, to prepare for the DJ, in that you should get him or her accurate dimensions and location(s) of the venue in which the DJ will be performing. Then, do a little internet research on the kind of equipment they are using, and make sure it is trusted and generally good. You don’t need DJs to bring a gold-plated mixer, but you should be confident that their gear does not have a history of technical problems or is considered the Ford Pinto of pro audio equipment. Also, contact your venue and ask what past DJs usually have brought for past similar events, and compare the amounts on your prospective DJ’s list to see if it roughly matches.

Back-Up Gear / Back-Up DJ – Make sure to verify that a DJ brings back-up equipment in case of a system failure, as well as can line up someone as a replacement if they are unable to perform at the event. It might seem a bit paranoid to ask this long before your event, but if something doesn’t work technically the day of, or if the DJ suddenly gets sick, you’ll be glad you made sure the DJ had this area thought of for you.

Knowing Your Requests – Has the DJ studied your music requests for integration into your event? This one is the hardest to verify, as it usually can only be seen after the DJ is hired. The best way to ensure DJs familiarizes themselves with your requests is to agree before you hire them that you will check in with them in a reasonable amount of time and ask to hear what they thought of the music, where they think it will work during the event. You should not expect an intimate, life-long familiarity with your requests (unless they are fairly mainstream, then this step might not be needed), but you should expect that the DJ has listened to your requests enough that it can be brought in smoothly with music the DJ knows already and you want to hear. This point is especially important when the DJ is going to be spinning a type (or types) of music that he isn’t familiar with, which often is the case with multicultural events. (For more on this, please see this previous post about hiring DJs for multicultural events.)

Experience / Background – Ask the DJ about their experience – what kind of events they’ve played, for how long, and what their “style” is. Some clients I’ve met with want a club-style DJ for their wedding so it feels more unique, other clients I’ve encountered want a Top 40 DJ for their corporate event so things don’t get too esoteric – so be sure to inquire as to if they have the kind of experience that can pull off the mood you want for your event.