As announced Friday on Data Transmission and Let’s Mix, Iceland’s BenSol takes the first slot in the We Love… Space competition – and consequently the first price: a DJ slot at We Love…Space on July 18th, and a Tonium Pacemaker. Here’s what the jury had to say:
“He impressed us with his excellent tune selection, great set structure and progression and tight mixing, with some really big moments that made us think of being stood in the middle of the dancefloor at Space with the whole place going off around us. Definitely a good sign.”
Great going! Could you think of any tracks in particular which really helped solidify your number 1 slot?
If I have to choose one thing, I would have to say the New York king, Danny Tenaglia – with his vocal from 1998. This vocal grabs you right away with its deep voice, you instantly wonder what will happen next. I figured that I needed to have something special and different in the first minute because the average listening time per mix is very short. You have to get everybody’s attention right away.
What, overall, set you apart from the competition? Don’t be humble!
Haha, tough one! Hmm… I spent a lot of time and planning and effort to put this together. It’s far from perfect but I think I bring my soul into it. I have been to Space two times and listened to many sets from there online. I asked myself many times; how could I make people dance their asses off? And I tried to see myself playing there.
No job/volcano could ever stop you from going?
I wasn’t even planning on taking a summer vacation. Anything can happen, and it sure did. No, nothing will stop me now, even if I have to steal a whaling ship and sail to the beautiful island Eivissa! Plus, the volcanoes are on pause during the World Cup, let’s hope it stays like that few more days after that.
Any advice for people looking to come out on top in a contest like this?
Plan well, write everything down and time it. Trial and error and adjust. Think what mood and feel your are trying to make and put a little of yourself into it. I would say song choice is 80% and timing and technique divide the rest. Making small beat match errors just underline the human part of it and can be positive. The first minutes and songs are the most important mainly since so many mixes are sent in, and average listening time is very low.
The most difficult part to be honest is getting the 50 votes! I was in the Next Generation DJ contest and I’m still in the Pioneer DJ Network, and now this one. Asking my friends and fans for votes for all these competitions was not an easy task but it paid off!
The top advice is, don’t give up no matter others think or say. Believe in yourself.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.