Dennis Gagaoin (pronounced "GA-ga-win") was looking though Spokane, WA's Craigslist when he came across an ad looking for an event DJ. "What caught my attention was the emphasis on electronica music, which is what I am particularly fond of spinning," he explains. In fact, DJ Gaga used to host "Spintronica" on radio station KYRS. "Little did I know that it was for a contra dance until Terra Price contacted me about the details." The event in question was Spokane's Deca-dance, held on October 29 and called by Ray Polhemus. I had never even heard of a techno contra but the idea intrigued me, and when I researched it online and saw videos of techno contra events in other parts of the country, I was extremely excited to DJ the event. I thought it was a great concept and I knew I had to be a part of it."
In preparation, he met with organizer Terra Price and caller Ray Polhemus to figure out how to match tunes to the dances. "[We] discussed at length what a typical contra dance was like for the Spokane group and I created a mix CD with songs that I thought would work well. We then held a small practice contra dance at Terra's house with Ray calling and unfortunately the speed of the music that I mixed was too fast for the group. Typical techno music that I play is usually in the 130+ beats-per-minute [bpm] range, but Ray advised me that their group usually danced to music in the 112-120 bpm range. I was a bit disappointed that I would have to slow down the music, but I was open to trying it. I also decided to play somewhat popular/mainstream songs that were in the bpm range earlier in the evening and also some songs that would be recognizable by the older dancers, most of which wouldn't be considered 'techno.' It turned out to be a truly eclectic mix."
The resulting playlist featured artists like Janet Jackson, Herbie Hancock and Ke$ha and later evolved into "slowed down electronica stuff, mostly funky, jazzy house music" like Mighty Dub Katz and Afrojack. As DJ Gaga explains, "At the peak of the night, I started playing harder, progressive tunes such as" Candi Lynn's "Lunatics (Riddle Revolution Mix)," 2DJs on a Mission's "The Fist Pump Anthem (Club Mix)" and original mixes of AN21 & Max Vangela's "Gama" and Bodynox & Luciana's "Shut Your Mouth." As he notes, all of these were slowed down to 120 bpm.
"From my perspective and from what I gathered from the crowd, electronica and contra dancing work seamlessly together. I equate it to current mainstream music that has rap and hip-hop merging with electronica. It's a beautiful mix and hope it catches on even more as it provides another great way to enjoy the music and an alternative dance style. I believe it can even help people who aren't comfortable dancing since it provides a structure. All you have to do is know how to follow instructions!"
Since DJ Gaga came into crossover contra from the electronica world rather than the contra world (which is the source of a lot of the people involved in these events), I asked what made a techno contra event different for him than a normal DJing gig. "The biggest difference is working with a caller. I had never done a gig like this with a caller and having to break in between sets so the caller could teach people the next dance. I'm used to just playing four hours straight of non-stop music so hitting 'pause' was unusual for me. So the next time I do this gig, I'm going to have some ambient/trance-like instrumentals to signal the end of a set so that there's still background music while the caller teaches the next steps. I would also time my mixes better toward the caller's flow and phrase the mixes to match the caller. I was mostly freestyling my mix the entire night, which is what I'm used to doing, but next time I'll have it planned or structured a little better while still allowing myself to freestyle.... My advice for another DJ would be to make sure you communicate with the caller ahead of time and understand the expectations and preferences for the flow of the music and the overall night. Make sure you know the speed of music that is comfortable for the group and the caller. Also, make sure you time your sets for 3-4 songs or if you 'quick-mix,' have 6-8 tracks ready to go."
"DJing my first techno-contra ranks up there with my most memorable gigs and I look forward to performing at the next one. I hope more people get into it and I'd love to see this turned into a massive styled event."
The resulting playlist featured artists like Janet Jackson, Herbie Hancock and Ke$ha and later evolved into "slowed down electronica stuff, mostly funky, jazzy house music" like Mighty Dub Katz and Afrojack. As DJ Gaga explains, "At the peak of the night, I started playing harder, progressive tunes such as" Candi Lynn's "Lunatics (Riddle Revolution Mix)," 2DJs on a Mission's "The Fist Pump Anthem (Club Mix)" and original mixes of AN21 & Max Vangela's "Gama" and Bodynox & Luciana's "Shut Your Mouth." As he notes, all of these were slowed down to 120 bpm.
"From my perspective and from what I gathered from the crowd, electronica and contra dancing work seamlessly together. I equate it to current mainstream music that has rap and hip-hop merging with electronica. It's a beautiful mix and hope it catches on even more as it provides another great way to enjoy the music and an alternative dance style. I believe it can even help people who aren't comfortable dancing since it provides a structure. All you have to do is know how to follow instructions!"
Since DJ Gaga came into crossover contra from the electronica world rather than the contra world (which is the source of a lot of the people involved in these events), I asked what made a techno contra event different for him than a normal DJing gig. "The biggest difference is working with a caller. I had never done a gig like this with a caller and having to break in between sets so the caller could teach people the next dance. I'm used to just playing four hours straight of non-stop music so hitting 'pause' was unusual for me. So the next time I do this gig, I'm going to have some ambient/trance-like instrumentals to signal the end of a set so that there's still background music while the caller teaches the next steps. I would also time my mixes better toward the caller's flow and phrase the mixes to match the caller. I was mostly freestyling my mix the entire night, which is what I'm used to doing, but next time I'll have it planned or structured a little better while still allowing myself to freestyle.... My advice for another DJ would be to make sure you communicate with the caller ahead of time and understand the expectations and preferences for the flow of the music and the overall night. Make sure you know the speed of music that is comfortable for the group and the caller. Also, make sure you time your sets for 3-4 songs or if you 'quick-mix,' have 6-8 tracks ready to go."
"DJing my first techno-contra ranks up there with my most memorable gigs and I look forward to performing at the next one. I hope more people get into it and I'd love to see this turned into a massive styled event."
Dennis "DJ Gaga" Gagaoin lives and spins music in Spokane, WA. Thanks to him for spinning Spokane's Deca-dance and sharing his thoughts!
