Think of a twinkie. Its fluffy texture with juicy but also thick cream inside. Maybe you want to fry it to give it just that extra twist to make it absolutely perfect. But maybe you hate it. Who knows? What is it like to hate or love a twinkie? No logical reduction will tell you. Emotions need to be felt, sounds need to be heard in order to really know what they are like. Music is different for each and everyone of us. There is no noise, only organised sound events. A chirping bird, the wind moving the leaves of a tree, artificial sounds created with a digital or an analog instrument – all these are possible sources for music. Each source allows for different ways of processing and creation. All together, this means countless possibilities for creating and experiencing music – and yet there aren’t many different “musics”, but just one abstract and manifold body of sounds. To make it easier for us to access this body, we tend to categorize it – however this does not and should not mean that it makes sense to fully restrict oneself to thinking in terms of these categories. On the contrary, thinking of music fully separated into rock-solid categories defies the original project which is and must be getting to know the whole and not just one particular aspect of it. Similary, musicians draw from the entirety of music and try to isolate a particular value – their piece of the whole - which they give to other artists, producers or business-men in order to merge it with other aspects of aesthetics and so to form a product. What is a DJ? A DJ is not a musician. Musicians create a value, DJs do not create, they mix. They are tied to and dependent on the parts of that mix and only very few can ever create something over and above their sum. But what, then, is the art behind DJing? Is there not a creative process involved somewhere? First and foremost, the task for DJs is to gain an insight into the body of music in its entirety. This is a process which requires activity on behalf of the person striving to become a DJ and it cannot solely consist of listening to pre-selected mixes and one’s favourite radio-station. Otherwise Djing becomes imitation. Even though music is not factual but perceived through emotions, one can distinguish between music which comprises a lot of know-how and a creative element on one hand and merely expedient music on the other hand. A DJ, then, is much like a cook in that she acquires excellency by knowing a lot about her field and using her know-how to create something over and above the mere sum of ingredients in her work. However she does not create the music, as the cook does not create the vegetable and fish. Everyone can be a DJ if they only know enough about their ingredients and the technicalities of mixing them together. What about DJs who play 130+ gigs a year? Can they still satisfyingly fulfil these criteria? We think not. Since the musical body is sheer endless, acquiring excellency in the field of DJing must be a continuous process. It does not stop some day when, for example, one knows most relevant techno-records. On the contrary, knowing most of only one genre is an indication for failing as a DJ. Playing a gig every other day, then, may mean that one has a great pensum and is a hard-working performer, however it does not qualify one as a good DJ. Good DJs need time to do the selecting and to get to know more of music. Time that is not available if one tours around the world from festival to festival, from club-night to club-night. The hype nowadays evolves around the persona, music is often neglected, sets are constantly repeated, sometimes even pre-recorded before pulling of the “show”. DJs become “acts” “performers” who sell their names to promoters and not their music to people. As with a sommelier, the focus should be on the wine she selects and not on the person who selects the wine. Especially in the so-called “underground”, borders between “performing” and “DJing” are not so clear-cut as they should be. Djs are not supposed to look good, come from a certain place, nor be famous or connected, DJs are supposed to provide a service which, however, notably, does not consist in playing what the audience demands (for this would evidently defy the whole purpose of there being a “selector”). In short, DJs ought to constantly amend their know-how and put it at the service of providing everyone with a good time. What's left for us? Of course, this is utopia. But utopia, if not accessible, is at least worth striving for – and that is what we try. When has music stopped to be a free form of communication where the roles of narrators and listeners are not clearly distributed? We try to meet the requirements music and the audience place on us through doing as good as we can what is truly a matter of heart for us. We emerge from the audience as part of the audience. We try to let the music speak and our selection be judged by the people (not labelbosses or promoters). Join us in exploring music together.