Throughout all the madness that has been February, I kinda left you all hanging in the wind with no mix for the month. Although it’s been a bit delayed, here is my February mix for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!

http://www.letsmix.com/mix/32559

Tracklisting as follows:

Maetrik – Purr Baby
Nic Fanciulli – Feed the Freezer
Christian Smith – Almaviva
Dimitri Andreas – Snickerz
Steve Mac – After Sundown
Psycatron – Directions
Reset Robot – NW1
Secret Cinema – Reaktive
Umek – Sinful Ladies
Christian Smith – Fidelidade
Vitalic – Bluesy Tuesday
Zenia Beliayeva – Analog Effekt
Marc O’Sullivan – Relapse

For the last 2.5 Months, I’ve basically blogged non-stop about the NGDJ competition. All of the blogging, tweeting, facebooking, myspacing, mixing, remixing, video-making, etc…etc….All comes down to tomorrow: The day that Letsmix.com is scheduled to announce the winner of the Next Generation DJ Competition. As the competition draws to a close, I’d like to thank all of my fans/friends for putting up with the constant barrage of NGDJ related posts.

No matter who wins tomorrow, I’d like to thank all of the sponsors (Letsmix.com, Pioneer, Beatport, and DJ Mag) for putting together one hell of a competition. As I’ve mentioned previously, this has been one of the most challenging 2.5 months of my DJ career, and I hope that I’ve lived up to the expectations of the sponsors and (most importantly) my supporters. I’d also like to thank all of the other competitors that kept the bar nice and high. I’m so passionate about my love for Electronic Music, and it’s great to see so many others who have that same passion and drive.

And in closing, if by some miracle I manage to win this thing, I’d like to let everyone know that they can expect one hell of a party tomorrow night in Phoenix, and that the drinks are on me! So let’s see how this all pans out. I’m as big a FAN of this competition as I am a competitor. GOOD LUCK to everyone who is a finalist.

Remember, when you get to Miami and play that first show at the pool, it’s not about you, it’s about them! Keep them happy, keep them dancing, and enjoy the moment!

WMC - 08 photo by Inertia

As the Lets Mix Next Generation DJ Competition draws to a close, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about Miami. If you’ve attended WMC a few times, it’s easy to get a little jaded about the whole thing. After all what was once a mostly industry attended event, has become in recent times more geared toward the Electronic Music tourist. And yet, I still find myself giddy at the prospect of being able to attend this year as the winner of the competition. Yes, the odds and the strong competition make it highly unlikely that I will be rolling into this years conference as the winner. But if I do (having attended in several years past) I’ve got a pretty good idea of how to best balance my time for maximum productivity AND maximum fun. So here’s a few tips based on what i’ve learned from previous years attending.

1) It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. – Eat well, sleep well, and don’t overdo it. Pace yourself. Any questions about this? Take a tour of Miami International Airport on the last day of the conference and you’ll see what i’m talking about.

2) Make time for smaller events and discover some new talent.. – Big Lineups mean big crowds: At the door, at the bar, and at the bathrooms. Hit some smaller events and get away from the crowds for a while. You might just be the first to discover tomorrows superstar DJ or Producer.

3) Be Spontaneous. : Make time for old friends. – Some people you may only see once or twice a year at industry events. Make some time for them, have a few drinks and catch up. Some of my favorite nights have started by randomly running into someone on the street, and ending up watching the sun rise from the beach having a heartfelt discussion about the future of Electronic Music.

4) Don’t be an ASSHOLE. – Remember, 50% of the people at WMC have been doing it longer than you, better than you, and more successfully than you. Since you aren’t psychic and don’t know which ones, be humble. You never know if the person standing next to you is just on vacation, the A&R guy for Ultra Records, or the booking agent for the Coachella Festival.

5) Most of all HAVE FUN. - Yes it’s an industry event, but that doesn’t mean you can’t cut loose a little bit. Just remember, the guy who’s lap you puke on may be next years superstar DJ. So aim wisely.

Here it is boys and girls, the mix I’ve been working so diligently on for the last week. It’s now up for the judges consideration, and your listening pleasure. My most sincere thanks to everyone who voted for me in the qualifying round. Without you I would not even be in the finals. I love my fans!

Inertia’s New Sound of Miami from Inertia (www.djinertia.com) at Letsmix.com.

A very young Inertia

In one of the hardest tasks I’ve ever had to complete as a DJ, I’ve completed my Next Generation DJ Mix for the Final Round. In this (the last) round of the contest, I’m going up against 100 other finalists who have had to meet the same criteria. 30 minutes max length, containing 1 original track, and a theme of “The New Sound of Miami”. I’ll be uploading the mix later today. Oh…and in case you didn’t know. The new sound of miami is Dark, Techy, and oh so Delicious.

Some highlights about the mix: I created the track “Throwback” specifically for the competition. I opened the mix using elements of “Papua New Guinea”. Every song has been re-edited to fit into a 30 minute time limit. And finally….While recording the mix, I added my own acid over the top of “Slap” by Umek, just as I have been during live performances lately. Technology rules, and I love that it allows me to do things such as glitching, transform scratching, and adding my own instrumentation all while still delivering a “Standard” DJ set where songs are chosen 1 at a time, just as with tables or a CD decks.

Anyway…Here’s the tracklisting. I hope you all enjoy the mix !

1. Papua New Guinea  (Intro & Elements) – Future Sound of London
2. Inertia – Throwback (Inertia’s NGDJ Edit)
3. Henry Saiz – Madre Noche (Original Mix) (Inertia’s NGDJ Edit)
4. Kay D Smith and Marc Tall – Hoipolloi (Wippenberg Mix) (Inertia’s NGDJ Edit)
5. Depeche Mode – Hole to Feed (Popof Vocal Mix) (Inertia’s NGDJ Edit)
6. Roland M Dill – Low Go (Secret Cinema’s Dusk till Dawn remix) (Inertia’s NGDJ Edit)
7. Umek – Slap (Original Mix) (Inertia’s NGDJ Acid Rerub)
8. Wolfgang Gartner – Firepower (Inertia’s NGDJ Edit)

I read a quip the other day that went something like this: When Earnest Hemingway was asked to write a novel in 6 words or less he was able to respond “Baby shoes for sale, never worn.”

As I move into the final stage of the Letsmix.com NGDJ competition I’m faced with a DJ’s worst nightmare. I’ve been informed by the contest judges that I must define myself as a DJ, in 30 minutes of music or less. And while the DJ side of me says “What a pile of dung.”, the Artist and Competitor inside me screams “Brilliant!” It’s a horrible situation to be faced with really. How does a DJ define his essence as a music lover, performer, taste maker, and producer in roughly 5 songs. But as I said, there is side of me that loves the brilliance of this puzzle. As technicians, the members of the competition have proven themselves by outlasting 3500 other entries to get into the final 100, and now it becomes a thinking mans game. Even if this wasn’t the intention (i’m fully aware that no judge wants to sift through 2 hours X 100 mixes) it still turned out brilliantly! A tip of the hat to the sponsors for putting together the mother of all mind games for a DJ to wrap his head around. If this was a novel, and I was Hemingway, my 6 words might be: “Pondering all possibilities, the needle drops.”

Thank you to all of the people that took time out of their day to vote for my mix in the Next Generation DJ competition sponsored by Letsmix.com, Pioneer DJ, Beatport, and DJ Magazine.

I’ve made the finals, and now the real work begins!

Thank you Thank you Thank you!

Now the hairpulling and nail biting starts. That’s right. Round 1 has ended, and the officials over at letsmix.com are mulling over the top 100 list. All the competitors are impatiently waiting for the announcement of the 100 finalists. In the meantime Letsmix have announced the judges in the final round and it reads like a who’s who of some of the most powerful brands in EDM today. They also announced the rules, and while I’m a little disappointed with the 30 minute length, i also understand that these are busy men. Here’s the finer points of today announcement.

The Judges

Dean Wilson, 360 Group
One of the driving forces at the Three Six Zero Group with global responsibilities for all of 360’s business for Deadmau5, among several other artists.

David Waxman, VP/GM Ultra Records
David is Vice President and General Manager at Ultra Records, the No.1 dance label in the US market.

Sebastian Ingrosso, DJ & Producer
Sebastian is one of the world’s leading DJ’s and Producers, Swedish House Mafia founder and Refune label founder.

Jonas Tempel, CEO & Founder Beatport
Jonas is the founder and CEO of Beatport, the recognized leader of electronic music downloads by DJs and fans alike.

Mark Grotefeld, Head of Marketing Pioneer DJ
Mark is responsible for bringing to market the next generation of Industry standard DJ equipment from Pioneer DJ).

Ben Murphy, Editor in Chief DJ Mag
Ben is responsible for what is covered in DJ Mag the world’s leading publication for DJ’s.

The Rules

Each NGDJ Finalist will be judged by the following:

Compliancy with rules

Each mix must be under 30 minutes and contain a complete track list (artist, track names, approximate starting times). Finalists will be contacted and asked to reply back with mix links before February 10th, 6.00 PM CET.

Conceptual interpretation of task (“The new sound of Miami”):

Style of arrangement and sequencing of tracks and energy level of mix. Mix must have signs of mass appeal, while also containing bleeding edge artists, tracks and styles.

Mixing Skills

A solid mixing craftsmanship with precise transitions, beat matching and timing paired with relevant and value adding EQ:ing, effects and mix levels.

Producer qualities of own tracks

Each Finalist mix must contain a track produced by the DJ, where the DJ is correctly credited the DJ as main artist. Quality and production value of DJ’s own tracks.

Brand potential

The strength of DJ’s brand concept in terms of name, appearance, promotional style and graphics. Some embedded media in the description fields on Letsmix.com profile is allowed, optionally portraying a live situation.

I tried to give everyone a little bit of insight on what my strategy is as things move into the finals of the NGDJ competition. I also talk about what I think being a “Next Generation DJ” is all about and what attributes the winner should have.

Enjoy the Video, and thanks for all of your support during the competition.

Republik Records (of which I am the founder), recently held a contest via 99designs.com to find ourselves a logo. For those of you not familiar with 99Designs, I highly suggest you check them out. They run graphic design competitions (thousands of them), which are submitted by companies and people who are looking for things like logo’s, t-shirt designs, website graphics, etc… The companies put up a prize, and describe what their looking for, and the member/designers submit designs. It’s far more in depth than I have the patience to write today. Check it out for yourself!

We wanted to keep true to the ideas behind Republik so we turned the job our logo design over to the Internet community. One stood out from the rest, so here it is. Thanks to N4TW1K for the wonderful work.