Needle Exchange: A DJ Questionnaire with J-Prez

His go-to records, his craziest gig and the music you should never ask him to play.

IMAGE: Courtesy of J-Prez.
By Matthew Singer

Years DJing: It's been about 12 years from the day I bought my first pair of turntables and started getting deep into vinyl. Before that, I had played a few parties on my laptop in college using Ableton Live. In high school and before the invention of Bluetooth speakers, I would carry my laptop with me everywhere and jam tunes for people constantly. Basically, my whole life I've always loved sharing music with people.

Where you can catch me regularly: I have monthly gigs at both Aalto Lounge and Toffee Club. Occasionally I'll play High Dive, Holocene, Liquor Store and always have a ton of fun playing Dig A Pony a couple times a year. I also DJ with the world-renowned local freak Etbonz as a duo named Journey Men—or Journey Boys, depending on how we are feeling.

Genres: Disco, Balearic, Italo, cosmic, house, techno, all things psychedelic and general party music.

Craziest gig: Around 2005, I DJ'd next to a baby-shark tank in the Washington, D.C., aquarium for my high school prom as an alum. Best dance floor ever. I also remember the kids flipping out to Baltimore club remixes.

My go-to records: Dr. Dunks' remix of Bubble Club's "Violet Morning Moon"; Project Sandro's "Blazer"; all of Red Axes' Shem Vol. 1; Idjut Boys' "Saturday Night Live." I also enjoy busting out my OG copies of the Other People Place's "Lifestyles of the Laptop Cafe" and Pepe Bradock's "Deep Burnt" if we're getting deep.

Don't ever ask me to play…: "Something I can dance to." I play a lot of weddings, so I have to be accommodating depending on the gig. I have definitely vetoed plenty of requests when I disagree. It's never fun to clear the dance floor for some bogus, not-cool jam and have everyone look at you like you have bad taste. However, there have been a few times that the request was just what the party needed and I might not have known it. It's always pretty cool when that happens.

NEXT GIG: J-Prez spins at Aalto Lounge, 3356 SE Belmont St., on Saturday, Sept. 23. 21+.

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