How He Got Signed by The Martinez Brothers (feat. AJ Christou) | EF EP 149

0:00 A lot of people have got that mentality where they think that owed something. Yes, when there's everyone, there's so many of us trying to do this, you know, you can't just expect someone's going to give you the chance. Right. You know, so many talented people. So many. That's the thing. The talent pool is massive. More than ever now. Yeah. Ever wonder how top deejays actually built their careers? I had to do 15 years of hard work to get any of the recognition. That I wanted. Where I saw a turning point in my career is when I came true to myself. From marketing and mindset to networking and negotiation, I'm giving you the tools you need to build a lasting career in dance music. Give them bits of you and your everyday life. You have to change the way you view the word no like.

0:41 Me, I'm encouraged. By IT Join me, Olivia Mancuso and industry leaders as we reveal what it really takes to turn your passion into profit. This is elevated frequencies. OK, so AJ, tell me, even though I kind of already know the answer, have you always been into dance music or did you have to be convinced? I actually did have to be convinced. So there was a club in Manchester called Sankeys, do you know it? Yes, very famous club. When I went to college, I was into like rock music and hip hop and one of my friends moved to a different college to me and he started partying with these people and he was like, you've got to come to this club, it's called Sankies. He took me the first time, left straight away, hated it. What were they playing?

1:27 It was like it was boys noise Electro. OK. All right. So it's like a really aggressive introduction. It was heavy for me, like it's never been to anything like that. So and then again, then Zoo Project came and you know, remember Zoo Project? Everyone got like dressed up as animals and stuff. She was like, I'll come again, come again and try it out. And I did and I loved it. And then since then I just kind of kept going and going. Started selling tickets for sankeys. How old were you? You were young right about. 18 must have just been 18. Well, no, 17, yeah, because when I got my first gig at Sankeys, I was 17 and I was using fake ID. Really. So they didn't know that you were underage? I think they did, but I became friends with them and I was selling them a lot of tickets as well.

2:11 Yeah, so. So you went from not liking the music to becoming a DJ at that spot a couple years later? Within like a year, I'd say yeah. That's crazy. So what? What was the impetus to start DJing? Like you were just so in love with the dance floor that you wanted to be part of it. So no, it was really random actually. So I was going out a lot every, you know what it's like, you don't just go to Sankey's, you go to all the different events. And there was this guy that I knew like I was friends with him and he had a pair of decks. And I was like, you're doing like what they do in the clubs. So I was like, what, what, what is it like? And he explained these are CDJS. He was using tractor like with a laptop and I was like, I kind of like the idea of that.

2:55 And then at some point he decided to sell his decks and he hit me up and he was like do you want to buy them? And I bought them. They must have sat in my closet for like 6 months. I didn't know what to do with them. They had CDs and everything. And then my sister's 30th birthday was coming up and she was like making like a gazebo, having loads of friends over. And I was like, you know what I should do? I should learn to use these decks, and then I'll play my sister's 21st birthday party, Huh? And that's how I ended up D Jing basically. Was any of that because you wanted to impress her friends? No, actually, was it? My sister's cute friends over, Yeah. No, it was just, yeah, it was just all so random, random chain of events that just wow.

3:37 Yeah, wow, you just literally fell into it. Fell into it and at the time as well, like DJ is like the rock star now, isn't it? Yes. By the time it wasn't like that, it was like very underground. Not many people knew what a rave was like. I didn't even know. Yeah. So it was just so organic, honestly. And so the selling tickets for so you became a promoter, like promoters have such a different definition now because of how tickets are sold. What were you doing as a promoter? And were you doing it to just literally get free tickets yourself? Kind of, yeah. That was the motive to begin with. But it was more I was just in college and had access to all the college kids. Like everyone was wanting to go. I was in a town that was like 30 minutes from the city, so everyone travelled to go to this place, Sankey's. So I just had all these people that wanted to buy tickets and it was paper tickets back then.

4:30 So it was just easy for me to be in college, like you're coming to Sanchez this weekend. So I wasn't really a promoter. I just like was in college selling tickets. Yeah, no, you worry. Like that's like the grassroots sense of the word. I miss paper tickets, by the way. I hate not having like, you know what I mean? Like a keepsake from. When I see the tickets now, I'm like, wow, yeah, that's what it was like a little, you know, like a cinema ticket where you RIP it off and give it to someone. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow. So you got your start young, you're promoting, you start playing in the clubs. What do you think that the owners or the managers of Sankey saw on you to be like? Oh yeah, let's give this kid a chance to start DJing. So it was a, it was a mix tape that I did OK.

5:12 So I figured out how to record and then I recorded a mix and just put it on SoundCloud. And the guy, he was called Joseph K at the time, he was like the opener of Sankey's. Every week he opened, he was like the perfect opening DJ. Whichever DJ was playing, he could do it like perfectly. And I was friends with him. I spoke to him, that's how I used to collect the tickets off and he heard the mix and he was like, we really love your mix. We've got it on in Sankey's office. Do you want to play in the bar? And the bar was like a really interesting place because they would open the bar 1st and then when the bar filled up, they'd open the basement and everyone would go into the main room. So if you got the first slot in the bar, you'd always have like a crowd. So he gave me that slot and it was like, that was just like the beginning then.

5:53 And then it was like every other week I was playing the bar and then eventually moved to Spectrum, which was the second room on the top floor. And then eventually the basement. Wow. Yeah, it's crazy how like one person can kind of change the trajectory of your career just by giving you a chance. Exactly. You know, I, I feel that like I I can point to people in my life where I'm like, oh, this person said yes and took a chance on me and like that opened up all these other doors. I think that's like one of the coolest things about the music industry. It's also like the flip side of that. That's why everyone says things are gate kept, but I don't see it that way. It's there's only, there's few people at the top and they only have so many chances to give. And it's about like persistence and putting yourself out there, which you were doing by being a promoter.

6:36 Yeah, definitely. I agree. So I don't think it's gate kept. I think that a lot of people have got that mentality where they think they're owed something. Yes, When there's everyone, there's so many of us trying to do this, you know, you can't just expect someone's going to give you the chance. Right. And so many talented people trying to do. That's the thing. The talent pool is massive. More than ever now. Yeah. So you grew up in Manchester or near? Manchester, I've never left. Well, I left for one year. Yes. So did you move to New York at some point? Yeah. OK, so I moved to New York because I was I got to like my limit of where I was deejaying all over the country, like all the cities.

7:18 But I like reached my limit of I wasn't going anywhere else. I wasn't going to Spain or Italy to DJ. So I was like the next natural step is to learn to produce. So I looked at Point Blank in London, which is a great school, and then it was like super expensive. And then I was looking at, I used to watch these tutorials called on Dubspot and it was like a school in New York. So I was like looked it up and I was like, at the time 1 LB was like $2.00. So it was like I looked at the price. I was like, this is half price and I get to live in America. So I was like looked into it. How could I get a visa? And I was like, yeah, you can get the visa and it was like half the price for me to go and live in New York. So I was like, I'm going to do this. Like I've never done anything.

8:00 I've never left Manchester. I didn't go to university. I went to college but didn't go to uni. I just went straight into a job after college. So I was like, this sounds like my calling. I get to do music. It was focused on exactly the genre that I wanted to do. And I get to experience New York. And I was always like, drawn to America. So that's why I went to New York. Over like local Wow schools, yeah. So did you move back? Are you in New York now or are you in? No, I moved back straight after. Straight after I finished was when I actually came to my first, my only Music Week. So I finished New York and then I came here for a party and then went back to England and just locked in.

8:41 I got a job and then just all my spare time was producing, basically learning and perfecting it. So you have this unique perspective of spending some time living in New York and obviously growing up and living in the UK. Talk to me about the underground scenes. Are they different or have they kind of all merged to be very similar now? In like overall. Just overall between the UK and the US. Yeah, I don't think it's underground anymore, but I don't think that's a bad thing either. I just think that it's way more popular now. The genre has gone to like, you know, you've even got Drake making house music now. I.

9:22 Know it's crazy? You've got Travis Scott performing with anime. Like, you know, everything's just way more open. So I think it's very different, the vibes very different. But then there's other factors that have come into it as well, like, you know, technology, social media, phones, that's all come into play. So it's a lot more people are seeing it now. Whereas back then, unless you found like a tape on YouTube or something, you never existed really. Is that the phone thing specifically? Is that a problem in the UK like it is in the States? I think it's a problem. Yeah, well, I don't, I don't say it's a problem. Like, I mean, it definitely takes something away when there's less phones.

10:02 There's definitely a better vibe. I don't say it's a problem. No, I, I'm a fence sitter on that too, because it's like capturing for for me as a fan, I'm someone who takes out my phone like once to get one track just to remember the night or whatever, and then it's away. But there are people who literally have it out all night. And like as an artist, it's great for you to get that exposure through everyone's social media. But you're right, like they're it's just like I think people are not as discerning of when to take it out when, you know, I. Think it's when people get a little bit like drunk and they think there's like a big moment, they're like, oh, I've got to capture this and then. The flash is on and the. Flash like you ever can watch these videos back, but we kind of as artists rely on some of these videos to capture our tracks when they're getting played by big headline DJ's.

10:51 And you know, this is like probably helped quite a lot of people breakthrough. So it's like, you gotta, you gotta just like take the good with the bad, you know? Which is just like what you were saying, like the scene not being underground anymore, like there's always gonna be that comes with that. You can't just have all the good parts and like, leave behind the bad parts. Exactly, Yeah. And that's, I think I think like a lot of like more old school house heads like are taking issue with that and like, you know, struggling to like accept that like more people are coming into the scene. Yeah, it's, yeah. It's, I mean, I think it's a good thing. It's definitely, it's, it's just perspective, isn't it? I think it's like if you keep thinking about how it used to be and then how it is now, you, you just, you can't, you can't do that because the kids of today are going to look back on today's day and think, oh, remember how it was back then And there's going to be another problem. That's Yep, it's just one of them things, isn't it? Yeah, nostalgia is like very alluring. Like we always kind of want to remember the pack. But like, definitely.

11:53 But there's like for me personally, as someone who is still obviously I've, I've loved this music since I was 13 years old. I've been entrenched in the scene for a while as a fan. But like, the older I get, the harder it is for me to do late nights. So like, I love that a new thing is day parties. And like, yeah, I know people kind of joke about like, OK, the coffee rave is like overdone, but it's like, dude, if I have an opportunity to go listen to music for a couple hours at 11 AM, like, yeah, I'm taking that chance. Space Terrace. Yeah, well. That's always been the day. But like, that's usually like, I mean, I'm the type of person who would sleep a full night and then go to space, you know, then. I've tried it, yeah. How did that work for you? It's definitely better going to sleep and then going to space than staying in space, yeah. But.

12:39 Yeah, I've done both. But then you're also like around, like you're not drunk yet and you're around a bunch of people who are and probably don't like smell great and so you're more aware of it. I've got that, yeah, 'cause I get that problem a lot. You know, when I do gigs and you have to turn up to the cup at like 4 or five in the morning, you go to bed before and then you turn up, everyone's smoking, drinking, drunk and you like just fresh out of bed. Yeah, It's such a weird, is a weird feeling. Yeah, it's literally sensory overload. It's very like, it's almost like, do you just stay up all night just to like. Just so you don't have to go through that like mindset of. Yeah, totally, totally. So how many Miami music weeks have you been to? I've been say 5 or 6, OK. Yeah.

13:21 So something that I've been talking to, I don't know if you know the track stack guys, Cameron and Doran. Yeah, great guys. I've been speaking to him for quite a while, actually. They're they're phenomenal. And we've worked together on a lot of different stuff. And I asked Kim this, I was like coming in because I saw him last year at Music Week. I'm like coming this year. He's like, can't justify the cost. I have too many other things going on. I feel like I'm starting to see this real divide between like a lot of people from Europe and the UK, like don't come here as often. And then, like a lot of Americans, can't really have a hard time justifying going to SONAR or Ade. Do you feel like being at Music Week personally, outside of the gigs that you obviously get booked for, is a worthwhile investment for you?

14:03 I think it's important to be around all these people and showface and speak to people. You never know who you're gonna meet, who you're gonna, what you're gonna see or. But it has gotten crazy expensive. Like, I know DJs that are staying in Fort Lauderdale, like, right, just to avoid like, yeah, you know, the the price of the hotels. So I get it. I get it that some people kind of can't justify it. And depends how far along you are as well. If you don't feel like you need to be networking like that, then you could probably just skip it. Yeah, yeah. And I think it obviously depends too. Like if you're from the US, can you justify getting down in Miami? But maybe not Ade and then vice versa. Do you feel like do you do Ade as well? Yeah.

14:51 Because I mean, that's. Yeah, it's an hour away from me. Yeah. It's a no brainer. What do you feel like is different, better or worse about Music Week than? Ade There's a lot more Ade because Amsterdam is just like so rich in music. They've got so many clubs and festivals and locations. It's just like everywhere in Amsterdam. So I think there's just more at Ade. There's more panels as well to go and sit at. And whereas my Music Week is more like focused around just the club nights. Yeah, you know, mainly. Yeah, you know what I mean. Do you know how many meetings get cancelled for me during Music Week because everyone's too cooked, You know, like, there's no chance that, like, this person showing up to this meeting.

15:37 Yeah. Like when I was thinking about booking interviews this week, I'm like, I have one on Friday. I was like, I'm not going to book anymore because I know the chances of them showing up are like. Fridays there. So slim, you know. Getting close to the cut off point. Yeah, yeah, 100%. Whereas like at Ade, like I was able to interview Jamie Jones, which was amazing. That's a good one. Yeah. Thank you. I. Listen to it on a flight like maybe a month ago. Oh yeah, yeah, I mean. Because he doesn't do interviews. I know, so I know I was very lucky. I could have talked to him for hours but I also I brought all my own equipment to Ade which was nerve racking, like setting that up in his hotel room and stuff. Was it a nice hotel? Yeah, yeah, yeah, he was great. But yeah, I mean, I'm throwing a conference here tomorrow. I think it's really important to invest in your education, but I get as artists, you really have to decide like what what can I spare?

16:30 And also like, a lot of people have full time jobs and they're like, do I take off, you know, paid time off for this? And like, is it worth it? So I did that for a long time. Yeah, I think a lot of people as well, they have to decide what they come in here for. Like and be realistic with yourself, Are you coming to just party for a week or you're coming to actually, because a lot of people say I'm coming to network, I'm coming to do that, but then in reality, you're coming to party for a week. So if you know if you're going to spend the money to network, then make sure you do it. You know, what would you say is like, because I look back at my, I mean, I've been coming to Music Week for years, but like the first one I came to as a working professional was two years ago. And I can't believe like the growth that I've had since in my podcast two years ago, maybe had 20 downloads per episode. You know, nobody knew it yet.

17:18 What would you say? Like dating back to your first Miami Music Week 5-6 years ago to now. What's like the craziest accomplishment that you've seen in your career? Well, this is actually going to be my first Miami Music Week playing Wow because I only got my visa. I think this is my second year. Okay. So in the space of two years, I've slowly been coming back here and playing parties. So this is actually my first official Music Week playing Oh. That's exciting. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's I've. Just been coming here, like to come here, you know, because I love Miami and I love the music and wanted to be around it all. Yeah. So you haven't had your gig yet. They're on Friday. It's. On Friday at Wynwood Studios, OK. Yeah, that's really exciting.

18:00 What have you played? You haven't played in Miami before then, period. No, I haven't played. I've been here quite a lot actually over the past few months. I did like Floyd Jolene. I was meant to play it Space for Paradise but that was when I was just got getting my visa and it didn't arrive on time and I missed it. That's. A that was Basil like not last year, year before, OK. What? What is it about like the Miami crowds that make it so special and different? I think it's the the mix of cultures, you know, Yeah, the Spanish, everyone like, it's just they're all dancing and part. They just love it. I don't know. Yeah, it feels like Europe a little bit. It definitely. It definitely does. That's something like, I used to live here briefly years ago, Like I missed that multicultural aspect. You said you've been in Chicago and you love it. Yeah.

18:49 But we don't have that same element. It's mostly Midwesterners, you know? Yeah, Yeah. Which is great, but different, different vibe. You're right. Like the different cultural influences just make this a very yes. I think it's the like the, the trees, the ocean, everything, you know, people on the beach all day and they're partying and yeah. It's different. Yeah, 100%. What would you tell an artist who is actively investing in their career, trying to get to the next level? What would you say the most important thing is to invest in? Is it education? Is it production lessons? Is it networking? What is it? I think it's a balance of it all these days, you know your music, I think, I think these days a lot of people like they moan about like social media, but I think a lot of people now are breaking through music again, which is the most important thing. So obviously focusing on your music career. I think once you get to that point where you're releasing, DJs are playing your music, then it's important to start networking, showing people who you are, your face, saying, you know, going to the parties where like if Jamie's supporting music, go there, see if you can meet him so we can see who you are.

19:57 So I think the music's the number one thing, and then everything after that. Yeah, no, it's really good advice. The artists who are playing your music go to their shows. Definitely. I think that's probably helped me the most, you know? Yeah. Is there anyone you can point to that like you've done that with? I mean, the Martinez brothers definitely 100% have. If I didn't go there and be with them a lot more, they might not support me as much, you know? I know that, you know, go in there and they play a track when you're there and it's a moment and it inspires you as well, like, you know, seeing them play a track. Totally, yeah, that's something that no other genre like pop, rock, whatever, they don't have because they're playing their own music. Like pop stars are playing. Like there's cover bands, but that's not the same.

20:38 You don't necessarily get super famous as a cover band. So like, that's Cameron from Track SEC. He talks about that a lot. The peer-to-peer network is the thing that makes dance music so unique, and it's like it's you get more chances to breakthrough because other artists are playing your music. Definitely that that one video of him playing your track can be like the difference between you waking up the next day and having a signed release and your career is starting to take off. Because that's what happened with me. The Bros played a track of mine, signed it, and then I just built on top of that because you got the opportunity and then you build on top of it. 100% So what's the next chapter for you? What are you most excited about this year? Releasing more music, I've been like, focusing on, like, you know, building a more mature sound again and not just focusing on club tracks, you know, more musical stuff and just kind of like keeping the ball rolling, growing in all aspects, you know, social media, doing things like this. Yeah.

21:39 You know, yeah, it's crazy. Like 5, even five years ago, 5-10 years ago, this would weird most DJ's out. Most DJ's would never think like do it. Like there's always been on camera interview. Like I know Katie Knight in the UK, she's been doing them forever in Ibiza, but like it wasn't a popular thing. Like now I feel like artists are starting to realize like, oh, I kind of got to do some press too, like because it's just a great way. I think people want to know artists on a deeper level now. Like a lot of my favorite artists, like, I love other aspects about them besides that. Like the music is first. But like, like tennis is a great example of someone who like, loves cooking and like brings that. Like.

22:21 I just saw a video of him with John Summit at Space last night. Were you there? No cooking because I know you were shooting. Yeah, I'll still. Be there. If nothing but they were like cooking, they were cooking for people, you know, like 11 in the morning. Like I just think like the DJ's role is changing now and there's more which some people think is for worse, like almost like that pop star level of interaction with people now that you did not have before. Yeah, you just have to, you know, the market's big. You got to show people what you're about so people can relate to you a little bit more. Yeah. You know, and I understand because there's a lot of DJs that are like, they were quite awkward people, you know, you weren't quite. Introverted.

23:02 Yeah, yeah, yeah. But at the same time, we're really social as well. It's like, Yep. A balance between the two to having like lights on you and cameras, it can be quite daunting, but it's not that bad. No, you get. You get used to it. You've got to push yourself to do it. It's 100%. And like, like, again, I think for the most part, unless you say something really out of pocket and crazy, like it only helps your cause and like gets people, like people who like, love coming to your shows, like also get to learn something about you. Like, that's that's all. Yeah. Yeah. Would you have any like random fun fact that you've never told anybody before about yourself? Not really. I'll tell you mine. I got slimed on Nickelodeon. Do you know what Nickelodeon Studios was? How?

23:46 How old are you? I do write. Yeah, I know what? Nickelodeon. I'm 33. OK, so we're like the same age. So Nickelodeon Studios in the in the US was a big thing. I got slimed on Slime Time Live in 1999 or 2000. Nice. I got, I just posted these on Instagram the other day because someone told me like I was mysterious. I was like, all right, I'll tell you some. I got fired for throwing pizza at someone. I got fired from a job for throwing pizza at somebody. OK. And what else? When I so I was a news reporter Barbie, like the actual Barbie, like literally copied one of my outfit. Like the Barbie stole my look and it was like a big thing and like Mattel like tried to like, like their lawyers followed me and tracked because I was like posting about how Barbie stole my look and I I'm convinced that they did. I'll show you a picture.

24:30 The Barbie dolls. The Barbie doll look, they made a reporter Barbie and it was in the same dress, same necklace, same shoes and same hairstyle as me. Very suspicious. I never got a check from that. So those are my random fun facts. You got to have like, OK. I'll match your pizza 1 So I'm Greek so my parents used to send me to Greek school on a Saturday which was hell for me as a. Kid. Oh, totally, you know. So I decided I want to get myself expelled, so I threw a water balloon at the headmaster and got kicked out. It worked and. Mission accomplished. And then your Nickelodeon one, I used to be an extra in between. Like I used to go to college three days a week. So I was like, I don't want to get a job in between college. So I did extra work on TV shows.

25:18 That's amazing. That's a fun fact. Pretty funny to be fair, are. There a lot of Greeks in the UK. There's an area. There is, yeah. There's areas where there's like loads of Greeks. Interesting. I don't live in them areas but OK I. Was like, how do you guys unlock that part of the map and like get over there? There's like Greek, Greek churches like. Interesting. Yeah, I didn't know that. Yeah. Well, that's that. Those are all fun facts. Thank you. This has been great. It's it's great to connect absolutely, and hopefully we can. I love connecting with people like a couple years later on the podcast and seeing how they've accomplished so I'll. See you at Paradise. Sounds great.