The quad echoed with the slap bassline that begins Justin Bieber’s hit single “Beauty and a Beat.” Jacob Villaruz (11) and Nate Reyes (11), president and vice president, respectively, of the DJ Productions club, listened carefully to the song blasting from the speakers next to them.
Both wore headphones: one ear in to hear the true mix and the other out to hear the noise coming from the speakers. They could have been studying for their upcoming semester finals, or eating their lunch. But instead they were working together to provide music to lunch-goers. They were DJing.
The buildup to the drop began. Synths and 808s boomed out of the speakers as Villaruz and Reyes got ready to switch to the next song. Villaruz had an idea for the perfect transition.
“I just remember thinking to myself, you know what, let’s try this mix,” Villaruz said. “It sounded super good at home but I never thought it would turn out good in real life.”
He looped the drop and then began to slowly increase its speed. He started to slowly mix in the lows of the next song, “Clarity” by Zedd, to hint at the coming drop. His palms began to sweat as he held the knobs of the controller in fingertips with eager anticipation.
“It was freaking scary,” Villaruz said. “I felt like I was about to throw up.”
He turned the knobs. The buildup of the Beauty and the Beats techno synths gave way to the distorted base of “Clarity.” He had accomplished the mix perfectly.
Reyes was shocked, he knew that Villaruz was going to try something crazy but he didn’t think he was going to do something like that.
“I was going ballistic afterwards,” Reyes said. “I didn’t know what the mix was, so I was already thinking ‘oh boy what’s going on here’ and then he just pulls up with this crazy transition.”
Villaruz didn’t get much recognition from the passersby for his feat but that’s not what he was focusing on, as Reyes was hyping him up for his transition.
“I didn’t see anyone in the quad notice it but Nate was going crazy,” Villaruz said. “It honestly felt amazing that I was able to just pull through with it.”
Villaruz and Reyes had known each other since elementary school but became close friends after reconnecting as freshmen.
Villaruz was taught the basics of DJing by his uncle last August, a seasoned DJ in his own right. They both shared the same taste in music—classic hip hop and RnB—which helped Villaruz breeze through the early stages of learning the craft.
After a few months of learning how to use the controller as well as the software, he finally got his first gig—a birthday party for a family friend. His uncle bought him a controller to use for the gig and Villaruz called up Reyes to help him work on the set.
“Nate was known as the music wiz and producer in our friend group,” Villaruz said. “I wanted to partner up with him because I knew he already had a lot of experience with music.”
Reyes had already been producing music of his own for around three years before Villaruz called him for help. He had traversed different genres starting with hip-hop before moving through different types of techno and settling comfortably in EDM. The skills he learned while producing music digitally as well as the time he spent in band made learning the ins and outs of mixing much easier.
“A lot of what I know already from producing carried over to DJing,” Reyes said. “Mixing with an equalizer, and the concept of highs, mids and lows, as well as just [general] music knowledge, I learned from band like phrasing, the strong beats versus the weak beats.”
Since collaborating on their first gig together, Villaruz and Nate have started the DJ Productions club, focusing on improving their own DJ skills as well as teaching others the art of mixing. On Fridays, they perform their mixes during lunch for the student body.
The first few sets they performed as a duo were much more planned and both Villaruz and Reyes were focused on the technical aspects—making sure the beats were perfectly aligned, creating a hard set list, etc. Since then, the exposure and experience they have gained from performing weekly has boosted their skills and confidence.
“Our skills have improved so much from our first set because now we are just not afraid of messing up,” Villaruz said. “We dont panic if a song doesn’t work, we will just commit to a mix if we are already mixing it.”
Nowadays, having fun and being creative has become a priority for the duo. Sure, not every transition goes as well as they initially planned, but to Villaruz and Reyes that’s just part of the process of becoming a better DJ.
“There are definitely times where I’m just like, ‘yo, watch this crazy transition,’ and it’s just the most wild two songs together and it just doesn’t work,” Reyes said. “There is a lot of trial and error that goes into learning your style and comfortability. Mixing a lot of music in a variety of genres and moods gives you exposure to a wide range of music and you get to learn which type you enjoy or are better at.”
They work in tandem to create sets with a certain mood and flare while still maintaining variety. They feed off of each other’s knowledge of certain styles and times in music to create more dynamic and well-rounded sets.
“We fill each other’s holes,” Reyes said. “We depend on each other when we are mixing a genre we are not too comfortable with. When we mix music that is older I generally rely on Jacob to help me and when we mix more modern music I’m there to help Jacob out.”
This dynamic is what has allowed both of them to improve so much as DJs. Having the experience to trust one another with the set they work on allows for more room for creative expression.
“We are a good duo because we just know how to work together well,” Villaruz said. “We have a hive mind when we DJ. One person matches up song BPMs while the other is DJing, Nate will do the announcements. [But most of all] we hype each other up. After every mix we will be like ‘Oh my god’ that was the best thing ever. The energy is what I think just makes it work.”