The Polish Ambassador came to our attention in 2006. We like his style. @vervespot is kinda jealous of his jumpsuit. “Got that in a thrift store in chicago for 5 smackers.”

We were just minding our own business on Facebook when we came across a post that spoke to us. This is what many of us have wanted to say to the opening DJ.

Dear opening DJ,

If you hold the opening slot of the night, 8pm – 9pm, 9pm – 10pm, whatever it may be, it is your job to welcome the audience. Often times, an audience starts out small. There may be 50 – 100 people in the room and they may not be ready to dance. Like a connoisseur of fine wine that knows the perfect selection for any occasion, it is your duty to browse your multi-genre archives of digital music and curate an ambiance suitable to the energy level of the attendees, the time of night, the environment, and the acts you are supporting.

If you’re dropping the latest trap anthems and the newest electro bangers you found at the top of the Hype Machine to first 50 early birds, you’re doing a disservice to the attendees, the acts that follow you, as well as yourself. There are literally millions of songs for you to choose from! A true DJ is a researcher, a “crate digger”, a purveyor of many styles of music, not just electronic. They can navigate and read a crowd. They can effortlessly and gracefully transition from genre to genre or tempo to tempo. They are aware that music is an amazingly powerful tool that can set the tone for the entire night. They research the music of the supporting and main acts to get a good idea of how to start the night off.

A hack DJ, disregards all of the above, and abrasively molests the ears of the die hards that come out early. I can guarantee you that 99% of TPA show goers don’t want to hear your fist pumping mixes that sound like a cyborg jackhammer murdering an electronic toy horse.

I want to be clear. I’m not pointing the finger at any particular DJs, but rather a growing trend that is just downright silly. I have witnessed this trend at my own shows, as well as shows I patron myself, and it continues to leave a sour taste in my mouth.

Alas, there is hope! You can put out a new mix, let’s say tomorrow, that shows your diversity and knowledge of the vast chronicles of music from around the world! You can impress artists and promoters who have the power to book you again and again.

Whenever, I hear a DJ that pays attention to detail and curates a beautiful welcoming mix, I always go up to them, introduce myself, give them a hug and say “thank you for being awesome.” At the end of the night, I mark them in my little black book for the next time I come through, and I sing their praises to the promoter or talent buyer at a venue, in hopes that they get booked again and again.

Thanks for listening. I hope this helps,

Love Polish

Check out thepolishambassador.com for a whole lot of free music, photos, videos, and more…

The Fake DJ conversation has sparked a debate in the electronic music community that shows no signs of dying down anytime soon.

Deadmau5 called all DJs ‘button pushers’, A Trak responded, and Camoflaug3 wrote a song about it. Dozens of high-profile DJs have weighed in online.

When we heard ‘Fake DJ’, we knew they had more interesting things to say.

1. The whole ‘Fake DJ’ conversation is starting to feel like the East Coast v. West Coast rap wars from the 90s. Do you think these little Twitter battles could potentially hurt friendships and break down the bonds in the tightly knit electronic music community?

The Twitter battles are a little “Housewives of New Jersey” some of the time, and downright childish most of the time. Shit or Twit talking has just become part of the culture and DJs have had ego battles since day one. The important thing is that the posers are starting to get called out a little more which has fanned the flames of the “Fake DJ” controversy. The electronic music community is an interesting place right now because of the massive influx of neophytes that don’t know Derrick May from Derek Jeter. This is the nexus of the controversy, a huge number of uneducated young people jumping in this genre and not taking the time to learn about its roots. So hopefully we can shed some light on that with the track.

2. How do you feel about Deadmau5 saying anyone can be a DJ?

There is some truth to that, but anyone can be a baseball player, or a chef, or a race car driver too. Doesn’t mean you are going to be good at it.  Deadmau5 is an interesting guy and obviously very talented, he does make some good calls from time to time.  Especially about what they are doing up there on stage, he was really transparent about it and that’s something you have to respect, raw honesty with a dash of self deprecation.

3. What do you think about A Guy Called Gerald’s response to Deadmau5′ comments?

Gerald is frustrated like many of the original guys in this scene, he later apologized for his comment but we understand where the anger comes from. Everything moves so quickly now, there is no shelf life and the roots of this culture and the guys who built it are not getting the respect they deserve in the US right now. The newbies think that Skrillex and Deadmau5 started this new “EDM” revolution and that’s kind of a fucking joke. The silver lining here is that a lot of the artists like Skrillex actually do care about the roots of the music, and are trying to help spread a little bit of the gospel at least.

4. What do you think of this message from Felix Da Housecat? “Couldn’t imagine Prince telling MJ or Madonna telling Springsteen or Cyndi Lauper telling Thom Yorke what’s cred and not cred..so stupid.”

Credibility is something that is earned and universally respected amongst educated music fans and novices alike. An artist questioning another artist’s credibility is sometimes just folly or a press play, it all comes down to your shelf life and how you endure as an artist. Crap sinks to the bottom and cream rises to the top, it’s pretty simple. 20 years from now the Chemical Brothers will still be considered major and credible artists in the genre, it’s hard to say if we will see the likes of Rusko or any the new guys on that shelf. Time will tell.

5. What motivated you to put this track out now?

The biggest motivator was seeing guys like Alvin Risk and other new guys coming up who really don’t get what it means to be a DJ. They jump up on stage with a pre-recorded set in Ableton, flip open a laptop and then push the spacebar. The set is all pre programmed and you get what you get with a couple filters to mix it up, which is fine if you are an artist playing your own tracks live, but don’t call yourself a DJ.  We wanted to draw attention to the art of mixing and how it’s being lost in this new wave of electronic music.

A DJ goes to a gig and builds a set by vibing on the room, selecting tracks for the audience in front of him/her, every set should be different because every room/night is different. When you see a really amazing DJ like Louie Vega, Mark Farina, Richie Hawtin, Josh Wink or DJ Sneak, you will understand. Until you experience a DJ really mixing and doing it, you will never know what the fuck we are talking about.

6. Do you anticipate an answer record? Do you think the beef could turn out to be positive and drive music sales like the Roxanne battles of the 80′s?

We didn’t really think about that to be honest, we originally conceptualized the track as an art project or fake Public Service Announcement, it just kind of evolved into the track and we really liked it so we went with it. We don’t’ know how you would even answer back to be honest. Maybe the track would be called “Big LED Screen” or “I’ve Got Fireworks and you Don’t Bitch.”

7.  How much of DJing is technique and how much is selection?

This is of course a very subjective question, but we are going to have to lean on the side of selecting. We would rather listen to a DJ play great great records/tracks and make a couple train wrecks or fuck ups than a flawless DJ who was using all the latest technology and playing terrible records.

8. How will you stop the fake DJs?

Aside from wage war and get into stupid twit talk battles, we would rather just educate the new EDM fans out there. Most of the kids that end up becoming true fans of the music and not just the party will dig deeper and learn for themselves. There are always going to be poser shitheads out there and the best way to shut them up is by dropping knowledge like a sledge hammer.

9. What is your favorite part of DJ culture?

For us it’s about playing in front of a crowd and getting that “DJ High!” and no, we don’t mean “that” high, we mean the high that comes from mixing up the perfect set and really sending people on the dancefloor into another dimension. Most people go to the clubs so they can escape for a little while, and just get lost. So when you create that perfect storm where everyone is on the same groove and going nuts, there is nothing like that. It’s kind of like runner’s high, maybe anyways…

10. If she asked you to, would you collaborate with DJ Paris Hilton?

Paris Hilton? Never heard of her.

I first heard Beek’s music in the mid-90′s. I quickly fell in love with the musicality and rich detail he injected into his tracked tunes (chip or otherwise). Trackers compose music by entering notes on a grid. Creating dynamics and special effects in a tracker takes a lot more time and effort than it does if you just click record and play something. Beek isn’t one to overlook the little details that make music great. This album is packed with dynamics, effects, background textures and arpeggios, and of course, the bleepy video-game sounds everybody who ever owned a Nintendo has fallen in love with.

The songs themselves are a series of musical leads wandering around over simple, catchy chord progressions with effective (if sparse) percussion. Like many chip tunes, these tracks are all about the songs. You’ll hear some great effects, but they aren’t gimmicks. All of the effects work really well, and support the music. The only complaint I have about the album is that I wish it was a bit longer. Some of the songs ended before I was ready to stop listening to them, and the album itself ended too soon as well. Like coming to the end of a good book, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.

So I set it on repeat.

Pogo has made a wide variety of film remix videos, combining sound effects and voices from movies into magical music videos.

His Remix the World project is an ambitious and inspiring journey around the world to capture unique and beautiful cultures on film, and preserve them as musical masterpieces. He funds his trips around the world with Kickstarter campaigns and sales from previous projects. We’re impressed by his very cool independent spirit.