THE DJ CIRCLE
EQUIPPED WITH CDJS AND A DETERMINATION TO ENABLE COMMUNITY ACCESS, DJ CONCÓN HOSTED HIS MUCH ANTICIPATED “DJ CIRCLE”.
Photos: @Junglexjulia
This installment was hosted by Eric Jimenez (New Haven’s beloved DJ Concón) at The Community Foundation, located at 70 Audubon. Admission was free with an rsvp that invited attendees to bring equipment and identify their interests.
6 stations were set up across the space, encouraging people to skill swap and collaborate with one another on their respective tasks. Participants hopped from station to station, identifying drops and perfecting blends.
Eric laid out the fundamentals of DJing and broke down the importance of inclusion before encouraging the students to explore beat loops and bpm matching.
“We’re witnessing a Renaissance in real time.”
Familiar Faces and On&On Radio members Jeff (Nusnce), Zamagee (DJ Multi) & Aldric (Chefboyricc) showed up and showed out, lending a helping hand to participants. Z and I even discussed the importance of pursuing one's passions and maintaining that inner light we all have, despite the state of the world.
Photos: @Junglexjulia
Profiles created by the attendees hung on the wall, allowing them to display their music taste, skills, and areas of interest. Beyond that, before the start of the event, the participants agreed on a list of community rules to adhere to in the space, mutual respect and inclusion were key to the event’s success.
As the instructor, Eric commanded attention in a manner that wasn’t intimidating and didn’t hesitate to share his enthusiasm about the learning process.
He spoke about his journey, how community building helped him stay dedicated to the craft, and how he felt it necessary to create that space for others.
“DJing is about sharing a unique perspective, but it has a lot of barriers to entry, which means there are a lot of perspectives that aren’t being shared.”
He’s looking to host the circle once a month to start and increase to two once they’re in the flow of things.
The members of On&On Radio seem dead set on being an incubator for the next generation of talent in the New Haven scene.
Gatekeeping isn’t in their repertoire - and we love to see it.
