DJ Wax, aka Jason Mascarenhas, talks to justalilhype! about his career as a DJ from winning worldwide recognized competitions to rocking at parties and events. He also discusses some of his views upon the clubbing and music industry today.
Can you tell us more about yourself?
My name is Jason Mascarehas. I am a mix of Portuguese and South Indian, born and raised in Vancouver.
How did you get into DJing?
I started DJing at the age of 14. I have always been into music from the very start. I also learned piano for eight years. When I was young, I watched a movie made in 1992 called “Juice” which starred Tupac Shakur and it was a gangster movie which had themes of DJing as well. I saw scratching first in that movie and it inspired me. From listening to the sounds of the final DJ battle in that movie, I knew that DJing was meant for me and it was something for me to pursue. At the same day I watched the movie, I tried to scratch with my parent’s records.
What places have you traveled to and how has it help you as a DJ?
I have traveled to many places in the world which gave me insights and experience to DJing. I’ve been to Japan, Malaysia, New York, L.A. (Los Angeles), Taiwan and San Francisco. Traveling to these places made me more well rounded because it allowed me to experience different needs and wants from various crowds. I learned how to adapt and know what to expect. Of course, when I perform for different crowds, I would still have my style but I also want to include and combine it with their expectations. I think that’s what’s missing in a lot of DJs today; they play for themselves and not the crowd.
DJs tend to play their own same playlist in different cities and sometimes, that doesn’t work. For me, I freestyle according to the vibe of the night and I use a program called Serato. Organization is the most important in terms of DJing today through the digital age of music files. I spend around 3 hours a day just organizing music to the right folders which makes me a quicker mixer at clubs as I know where things are. You need to find songs and have them organized well to be able to find them in the perfect time.
At this moment, who is your favourite artist?
One of my favourite artists at this time is Pitbull because he experimented not just with his own style with renegade, hip hop and house. Also, he reminds me how fun it is to rap along to his music. He is able to bring different styles and elements of music which works well with my DJ sets. I can see the satisfaction from the reaction of my crowd.
How did you get the name DJ Wax?
Well, records are made of 3 elements: vinyl, plastic and wax… I wanted to associate my name with records. It was short, simple, and easy to communicate.
Please tell us more about the style of DJing that you do.
My style incorporates all the music I grew up with and all the different nationality of crowds I have DJed. I’ve picked up my own style using all kinds of genre and fitting it into one.
What is your insight on DJing as a whole and what do you see DJing as?
DJing could be many things. It’s definitely an art and a musical instrument. With my scratching background, I use those skills with the music to rock the crowd. A lot of DJs just scratch and don’t mix and there are DJs that mix and don’t scratch. I learned to control the balance between mixing and scratching throughout my 18 years of DJ experience.
Snoop Dog, Nate Dog, Dr.Dre, A-Trak, these are just some of the big names that you’ve worked with that other people die to just meet. How does this make you feel?
It was a like a dream come true to have the chance to work with these major artists. I have toured about 6 dates with Snoop Dog and the experience was amazing. You can’t even see the crowd because the stage spotlights are so bright. My job was to perform my winning DMC scratch routine between the sets. I had a blast. It was a very memorable experience as I got to play in front of thousands of people in the biggest stadium in Calgary, where the flames played. By entering various DJ competitions, it has earned me a lot of recognition. When you make it to that level, you can expect attention anywhere from promoters to club owners and those were the people that look for me to share the stage with major artists.
How did you get into DJing regularly for promotion company KooParty?
I met DJ 909 aka Yuta and he’s one of the head KooParty owners. We talked on MSN and he first thought I was a house DJ, which was pretty funny because I DJed hip hop all my life. That was the time when house and hip hop began and I was one of the first DJs within our city to mesh up hip hop and house music together. From there, I sent him my latest CD at that time in 2006 called “The Return” (My first hip hop mix CD) and he played it for the rest of the team. Shortly, they gave me the chance to play at Fabric Nightclub (known at the time as Sonar Nightclub) for a new night that time. From there I gained the experience and knowledge with their Asian based crowd. I noticed their crowd really cares about quality mixes and that they loved to dance. After 3 years with KooParty Entertainment, I would say I have definitely brought something new to the crowd.
Can you tell us more about FusionDJ?
FusionDJ is a DJ company that caters to events. We focus on weddings, school functions and corporate events. We provide sound and lightning to various events through professional DJ’s. The team is made up from myself, DJ Sunny and DJ Roman. We all have long term experiences and won awards in our fields. Our company is geared towards the Asian market meaning you can have your own ethnic songs played along with the Top 40. It’s a catch because no one in Vancouver has really focused on bringing professional club DJs in the Asian market. We bring a memorable night through mixing your own culture’s music and club hits together. Some of the music we have played includes Chinese, Korean, Indian, Filipino, Russian, and the list goes on…
What do you think about VideoDJing?
I have experienced VideoDJ before and I have it with my Serato Mixer. It doesn’t work with me since I like to mix songs quick and fast and I don’t have time to mix with visuals; it just clashes. The crowd is also a problem for me if you’re talking about VideoDJ. People tend to pay attention to the screen and not to the music. That takes away attention from the energy I try to bring to the crowd. Nevertheless, it’s a different form of art which I respect but I don’t have time to get into it at the moment. I appreciate VideoDJing and it’s definitely something I might experiment with in the future.
What is one fatal flaw of DJing?
Nowadays, anyone can call themselves a DJ. The guys that have been collecting records are overlooked by promoters and club owners. The DJing scene is over flooded with people that have the program I currently use at nightclubs that is capable of making anyone to become a DJ.
Being so prominent and attached to the nightclub scene in Vancouver, what challenges or problems do you think should be addressed?
People are always searching for the easiest and fastest way to make money. In the nightclub scene at this point, we definitely need to work together to bring back the energy our city had 5-10 years ago because people are forgetting the true meaning of promoting and hosting events. I guess the only way to make money is to love and appreciate what you are doing from the start in terms of throwing a good party. Money will come through hard work; do it for the love for throwing good parties. For people that want to promote, just have respect of the night scene. KooParty Entertainment that I work for on Friday nights makes me feel like we are all a family and a team and that’s very important to make a successful club night happen. If everyone works as a family instead of competing on who can sell the most tickets, our night scene will stay strong.
Being a professional DJ, do you think the nightclubs cater to the DJ’s?
Every club has different DJ booths and setups. Over the years I have learned to adapt to different DJ setups but it’s not easy. Most clubs don’t take the DJ booth very seriously. They think giving us a turntable and a mixer is good enough but it’s more than that. Some DJ setups don’t even face the crowd. I think good interaction with the crowd, by having the booth set up in front of the crowd, helps DJs build the energy we are trying to create.
What is HYPE?
HYPE is crazy, loud, and unique.
Check out more on DJ Wax at www.djwax.ca & www.fusiondj.com
Photography by: Ben Lee ( Submited by DJ Wax )