ON&ON & IN THE STU
ON&ON RADIO - A DJ-DRIVEN COLLECTIVE - HAS SO MUCH MORE TO OFFER THAN JUST THEIR EVENTS; THROUGH THEIR LOVE OF MUSIC, THEY’VE BUILT AND FOSTERED A CULTURE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
Video Courtesy of ON&ON Radio
The collective has been years in the making, and what started as an attempt to livestream has become a cornerstone in the Connecticut music scene. Trying to coordinate 5 people’s schedules is as hectic as it gets, but thankfully, we were able to have a sit-down with founders Luke McDonald, Jeff Cisneros, Aldric Joseph & fellow DJ and video editor Bryan Cisneros.
From their ‘Mixer’ series, where they host open decks for newcomers to packing out Orange Street for Block Parties, they’ve been working hard to make sure we can play harder.
They always seem to have more on the way; they’ve even opened their own studio space in West Haven at 140 Captain Thomas Blvd, open to the public for booking as of June 30th.
After absolutely housing some buffalo wings, they broke it all down for me.
Photos by @JunglexJulia (Poses by them)
Julia:
How did you all end up working together? How did On&On Radio happen?
Jeff (DJ Nusnce):
“I guess I can start from the VERY beginning, my first rave experience was in Brooklyn at Elsewhere - it was pre-COVID, like 2019. It wasn’t even a rave, not in the traditional sense; it was Soulection. But it introduced me to that feeling of everyone coming together just to listen to music and dance. I realized then that it was something we needed in Connecticut. I kept going, finding out about more DJs and how things are set up out there - they have a DJ network- something Connecticut didn’t have at that time.”
Julia:
Yeah, NYC has a DJ infrastructure. So the idea for ON&ON came through your own enjoyment of the scene?
Luke (Luke Mcdoozy):
In Connecticut, there were always parties, but we wanted to put pride and emphasis on the DJs themselves. We wanted to honor their craft. We put a lot of thought into event curation. We work specifically with producer DJs, and we love introducing their work to our community.
Julia:
It’s amazing to see how effortlessly you breached the Connecticut-New York line. Even at the block party, you had some heavy hitters from NYC like @hiimsydthekid & @kushjones.
Bryan (DJNotBryan):
Yeah, honestly, it’s been years in the making. In 2022, we’d attend these artists’ shows as audience members, and now it’s so cool to have them play for New Haven, it’s like bringing them into our backyard.
What about you, Aldric? How did you join the On&On crew?
Aldric (ChefBoyRicc):
Well, I met Jeff (nusnce) as a fan, met his whole family, then ended up managing him. Luke was throwing a show, so I reached out to introduce Jeff.
Luke:
Yeah, Aldric put me onto Jeff, he DM'd me like there’s this insane DJ in New Haven. You’ve got to book him. I had no idea about his music, so I went on his SoundCloud and was blown away.
Julia:
Did you (Jeff) grow up out here?
Jeff:
Yeah, I just didn’t know anyone. I never really used to pop out. I would just stay in my room and make beats.
Luke:
You’ve got to check out his SoundCloud
Aldric:
Nah, FORREAL that Sade Edit.
Luke:
But yeah, Aldric sent me his SoundCloud, and I went down the rabbit hole, and I thought it was insane like this dude is just here and no one knows?
Aldric:
So he threw the first party and stayed connected after that. But what’s crazy is that we almost didn’t make it. On & On Radio started as just a live stream, but that fell through. So we ended up just turning it into an event.
Luke:
At that point, we already had everything in place, a venue booked, a lineup - we felt like there was no point in canceling it. So we did it. In September of 2023, we turned up at Gather - an old coffee shop. We had no set expectation, but here we are - 2 years later.
Julia:
In a physical studio space, at that. I’ve always believed that things fall apart to fall together. It usually turns out that whatever doesn’t work out brings you closer to what’s meant to be. Being here talking to y'all is proof of that.
Video: @junglexjulia
The space itself is a phenomenal representation of how all of their worlds have collided. Aldric shared with me how he’d even been the one to put down the floors - a man of many talents. Then they each told me their account of the hurdles they overcame to be able to open this space to the community they’ve built.
Photo: @junglexjulia
Julia:
How did you end up renting this space?
Aldric:
OuttaFocus (Zack) was the person who brought the idea to us (& the employee of the month photos on the wall). He shot the promotional videos for the real estate space, and he was already connected with the agent.
Jeff:
It’s crazy, I mean, we met him as an event goer.
Aldric:
Yeah, he came up to me mid-show like ‘there’s potential in this space’. He’s our suite neighbor - I was hesitant. I thought we’re mid-event, it’s 2 AM at Café 9, and renting a studio space sounds like it costs money. But he followed up, and it started to make sense the more we thought about it.
Luke:
For context, this (conversation) was in February of this year. We didn’t have any of this equipment, no decks or speakers.
Jeff:
We didn’t even have furniture *laughs*
Aldric:
Or floors!
Luke:
Photo: @junglexjulia
We didn’t have anything to start- but they pitched the idea to us, and they already had an entire photography studio set up.
Bryan:
We had nothing but a yes.
Luke:
Nothing but a yes - so it was a rush to figure everything out. We signed the lease in March and did the ribbon-cutting in May. It took us a good three months to get everything together, but we’re here now, and we’ll be ready to start taking bookings this upcoming week.
Julia:
For only having four months, this is such a well put-together space. Y'all killed this. What’s your plan for the studio? Do you intend to revert to the original concept? The live streams?
Bryan:
We want to stream live sets on YouTube - the goal is to start our radio station. Allow people to explore new sounds. It’s gonna be awesome giving people a peek into Connecticut's music scene.
Luke:
It’s a two-fold thing. We know we want to do the radio sets, but we’ll also be opening our space to the public. You can book a time to rehearse, and we’ll even be offering lessons here.
Julia:
Oh wow.
Luke:
Yeah, it’s open to all skill sets. Just have your USB ready and come jam out with us!
Aldric:
*gestures to Bryan & Jeff* You’re looking at the potential teachers. Jeff introduced me to the world of DJing, but Bryan locked in & taught me how to DJ.
Bryan:
Yeah, we were like teaching all of our friends, and then we realized we could just add that as a booking option. I enjoy teaching people; DJing is fun.
Aldric:
Also, despite what people think, we don’t have enough DJs, we need more variety - more women DJs, more LGBT+ DJs - just .. more.
Julia:
Absolutely. It’s an art form. I respect the craft - I tried once for my friend and my dog and almost lost it! Like, how do you do this in front of crowds of people? I could never!
Aldric:
Nah, Bryan’s the best; he made it so easy to understand. He’s very patient, and the way he explains everything, there’s no way to mess it up.
Bryan:
I make it as simple as possible.
Jeff:
The Zen way of DJing - he’s the DJ Monk.
Julia:
points at Bryan - DJ-Not-Monk?
*laughter*
Julia:
What else can we look forward to from On&On?
Jeff:
We have our CITA Park Residency.
Luke:
Every Last Saturday of the month this summer. We also have some crazy line-ups on the way for Cafe 9.
Jeff:
The next one at CITA, we collaborated with NYC's @TellTheHomies.
Julia:
Sheesh, what a link-up! If you’re not tapped in yet, you’re about to be!
Aldric:
For sure - shout out to everyone who shows up for us. If you love us, shout out to you - we couldn't be here without you.
Jeff:
Nah, honestly, we feel the love - we appreciate it.
Julia:
Honestly, thank you guys for sharing this with me and CT as a whole. Because of ON&ON, I’ve been exploring so much more music. Mainly House - it’s such an amazing genre to dive into.
Bryan:
It’s like... a rabbit hole.
Luke:
*laughs* some would say that… it never ends.. ♾️
Julia:
It’s crazy, it’s like it... goes...
“On & On” 😉
