Needle Exchange: A DJ Questionnaire with Saltfeend

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

IMAGE: Courtesy of Saltfeend.

Years DJing: Around 1996, I slowly started piecing together a proper DJ setup, and have been DJing regularly around Portland for 18 years or so. My first "break" was a residency at the now-defunct 1201 Club.

Genre: Dub, downbeats, bass, hip-hop, loungecore, boom-bap.

Where you can catch me regularly: I am a resident at Signal, showcase of local and international dub-reggae artists and DJs, every third Saturday at Valentines. In March, I'm starting a new residency at Gravitate, every third Thursday at the Spare Room.

Craziest gig: I played the Red Dress party some years ago. I was set up "in-between" dance floor areas, so they were going for a purgatory vibe. I was dressed as a priest, on a platform looking down on hundreds of sloppy men and women in red dresses. Many blessings were given that night.

My go-to records: KutMasta Kurt and Kool Keith, "Let Me Talk to You (DJ DSL Remix)"; Digi G'Alessio, "Critical Mass"; Aphrodelics, "Rollin' on Chrome (Wild Motherfucker Dub)"; DJ Vadim, "If Life Was a Thing"; Deft, "Emeralds."

Don't ever ask me to play…: What is currently spinning on the turntable. And no, you can't freestyle over this tune.

NEXT GIG: Saltfeend spins at Gravitate at Spare Room, 4830 NE 42nd Ave., on Thursday, March 16. 9 pm.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.