PowerUp Manchester Finalists Announced
The DJs battling it out alongside Illum Sphere & Synkro at South Nightclub
Regular readers will have noticed weekly updates on the Intel PowerUp DJ competition in association with DJ Mag and bass music legend Benji B.
Well, the entries have all now been judged and we are glad to announce the regional finalists who will battle it out for a coveted spot in the final - and the chance to play alongside Benji B, in London.
The Manchester heat takes place at South Nightclub on Wednesday 3rd October (tonight!) and is headlined by local bass heroes Illum Sphere & Synkro. So lets introduce you to the DJs who will be battling for a place in the final!
Age: 34
How long have you been DJing? 15 years on and off, though mostly off! Put it this way, I could mix by age 19/20.
Describe your sound? Mostly Techno with a bit of house and electro thrown in the mix.
How did you go about the PowerUp mix? I took a section that I’d commonly play in a longer set. 20 minutes leaves it quite tight for techno DJs but I sorta ended it in a way that suggested more was to come.
How do you plan to impress at the regional heats? I hope the tunes will speak for themselves and I’ll be mixing live
Age: 21
How long have you been DJing? 5 years
Describe your sound? UK Underground Music 130BPM and above
How did you go about the PowerUp mix? Just kept it simple, soulful melodies and understated drum patterns.
How do you plan to impress at the regional heats? By playing across the board, slowly increasing the tempo.
Age: 23
How long have you been DJing? I’ve been bedroom DJing for around five years, I’ve got to play in clubs on and off in that time too, but never really got the opportunity to play my sound to an audience.
Describe your sound? In a nutshell its house & trance. I love big melodic, atmospheric breakdowns, but also short stabby bass-lines really creates the energy in a room.
How did you go about the PowerUp mix? I had recently been listening to a few of the recent releases on Anjunadeep, and had been blown away by the quality. I did some homework on deep house and decided to make a mix, the next thing I know it won!
How do you plan to impress at the regional heats? I’ve been hard at work the past week making an insane number of edits and mashups of my favourites and some classics. My selection of tracks will make that crowd go crazy!
Age: 20
How long have you been DJing? 2 Years
Describe your sound? housey/techno/bassy stuff
How did you go about the PowerUp mix? Crafted an intricate set list that went perfectly together, then threw it out and played tunes that I liked.
How do you plan to impress at the regional heats? By playing music that you can’t help but move to!
Age: 18
How long have you been DJing? Live mixing since 2010, producing since March 2012.
Describe your sound? Heavy dubstep influences deviating into sub genres like glitch and electro, I like to concentrate on heavy remixes whilst trying to keep the sound as natural as I can.
How did you go about the PowerUp mix? Using computer software, some of my own samples and my own intuition I found the tracks I thought suitable for the mix and pieced them together to create an energetic mix with some loud surprises.
How do you plan to impress at the regional heats? By moving from my familiar dubstep styles and out of my comfort zone to other genres and remixes. I want to include multiple genres however I intend to keep a tight grip on my roots of dubstep. DJing is about my audience and I hope to make sure my performance reflects that!
How long have you been DJing? Over ten years.
Describe your sound? I like to say I'm unique in my style combining fresh and new beats to create an atmosphere.
How did you go about the PowerUp mix? I saw an advert online so decided to put a short mix together. I was thinking funky fresh with a bit of an old skool vibe going on too as thats my way.
How do you plan to impress at the regional heats? I'm gonna throw some fresh underground sounds at the crowd maybe ones they aint heard before but tunes that are sure to get anyone going!