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Thursday 1 September 2016

The Mix


Sweat trickles down his upper left brow as he stares in the mirror, his black and red Studio Beats Headset draped around his neck. This was the night, his time to shine. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, and then walked out of the restroom. His hands were wet and clammy, and twitched intermittently while he walked down the hall. He felt the Sonic milkshake he had drank hours prior start to churn in his stomach. What if he messed up? So many ways to screw up, and everyone would notice. After all, this wasn't concerto piano where little mistakes went unnoticed. He paused at the door, heard the roaring crowd just beyond it. *Gulp* Ok, breathe in.....breathe out.....breathe in........As he exhaled once more, he stepped through the door onto the stage. The last DJ was just finishing his final set, the crowd going crazy, jumping up and down. He felt his stomach churn again. Wow, he thought, How the hell am I going to follow up after THAT? Before he even knew what was happening, the crowd had broken into applause and cheers, and the DJ walked off the stage, hands held high and triumph. The MC picked up the mic. "Give it up one last time for Oliver Heldens!!!! Once again, the crowd roared, and the DJ disappeared behind the stage. As the crowd's cheers died down, the MC paused momentarily, glancing at the crowd, then back at the the other DJ. "We have something special for you tonight everyone, Performing his very first mix session at EDM Sub zero, hailing all the way from Seattle, Washington, please give it up for DJ SHAKA!!!!!!!" As the crowd roared back to life, the MC motioned to the DJ to step forward. DJ Shaka, staring transfixed at the tens of thousands of people, didn't notice. He wiped the sweat off his brow as the MC walked over and lightly nudged the jittery DJ toward the center stage. The DJ walked like a robot toward the MacBook sitting by the mixers. He slipped in his thumbdrive, and tentatively grabbed the mic from the mic stand. He stared at the crowd for a good 15 seconds, holding the mic. Inhale....exhale...."How are you doing tonight Atlanta?!!!" Once again the crowd erupted. "I may just be a nerd from Seattle, and this may be my first official mix session, but I , and that's exact have some sick stuff for you tonight, so enough chit chat. Let's TURNNN UPP ATLANTA!!!!"  As everyone pumped their fists and cheered, Shaka began his mix. He started with some light cymbal combos, then he added a low synth to carry the cymbals. He noticed people had begun head bobbing in the crowd, lifting their hands, nodding at him. He added a few fx for the buildup, then some classic stereo claps. Almost everyone was moving their bodies now, feeling the beat. The buildup continued, the claps quickening. He added another synth, observing the crowd. So far so good  he thought to himself. As the buildup approached its climax, DJ Shaka broke out into a sweat again. If he didn't hit this drop right, he could blow everything, in front of tens of thousands of people. He walked through the drop one last time in his head, then slowly but confidently adjusted a few things on the soundboard. 3....2......1.......Shaka dropped the bassline, subwoofer blaring, overlapping snyths reverbing around the building, Everyone was on their feet, jumping, head bobbing, yelling, sweating like maniacs as they danced like their life depended on it. Well, that was easier than I thought thought Shaka as he smiled to himself. He cupped one hand around his Studio Beats, stuck his fist in the air, yelling, "Let's GOOO Atlanta!!!


As his 45 minute mix session came to a close, DJ Shaka no longer felt anxious, but ecstatic. He had nailed his debut, and couldn't be happier. I wonder who's gonna follow me up. My mix is going to be hard to beat haha. No sooner had he thought that did the MC say "Now put your hands up for the final mix of the night, the people who all came to see, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike!!!!!!!!! Umm...what??!!! Just then the duo themselves walked right up to DJ Shaka, hands prepared to fist bump him out of respect. "Mate, what a show, you KILLED it. I'm not sure if we can one up that, but we'll give it our best go won't we Mike? Haha" Stunned, mouth open, DJ Shaka watched as the two megastars walked up to the mixer to get ready. He looked as if he had just seen a ghost. Wow, um....ok then. He grabbed his hoodie and walked out, wearing a grin so large it could be seen a mile away.

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