I reached out to a DJ of the biggest hip-hop radio in the Czech Republic, DJ Poeta. We had a gratifying conversation over email and I got to ask him questions he probably wasn’t expecting. See for yourself!
Who is DJ Poeta?
They call me “Poeta”, I’m mainly a DJ and presenter, but I’ve also always written and blogged a lot. I’m the author of the first book about Czech rap, which is coming out in mid-October. It’s simply called “Czech rap” I’ve been broadcasting on the hip hop radio Spin for about 13 years, where I have my Monday night show Black Chart, and I’m also a resident of the M1 Lounge, Moon Club, and Duplex clubs.
Achievements Poeta is the proudest of
There will hopefully be more successes to come, so I never really thought about it, but I definitely consider the biggest success to be finishing my first book and not going insane while writing it, haha.
What makes a great DJ?
I think what makes a good DJ is mostly selection. Then the skill level and feel for the floor or some empathy. And it’s good to be a night creature because not everyone can do that.
Are you working on some musical projects of your own? i.e. original tracks, remixes, mashups…
Not yet, but I have a ton of ideas for mashups in my head. I’m just not able to get to it. Honestly, I’m thinking maybe I’ll save that stuff for retirement because for now I’m enjoying playing clubs and I’m not really into sitting in the studio. And to be a good producer and make good remixes, without those hours in the studio, you just can’t do it.
How do you put together a perfect DJ set?
There are two levels to this question. I would have prepared the set for the club by not preparing it. Right from the start, I found out that a prepared set doesn’t have to work (and probably won’t), you just have to react to the people and the atmosphere in the club. If I wanted to prepare a set that I would record and post, I would probably think of an idea or vibe that connects the different tracks. Mixing them isn’t everything.
How do you discover new music for your radio show, DJ sets, and for your own enjoyment?
I’ve been looking for music for years, mainly on blogs. I’ve always enjoyed discovering new ones, ideally with a specific focus. There’s so much music out there, it’s nice when someone enthusiastic sorts it out a bit or pushes what they think is quality. And I’ve been using Spotify a lot for the last couple of years because the algorithms are getting better.
Which artist would you like to recommend? (Any “guilty pleasures”?)
The lesser-known artists are actually the most interesting to me. Of the Czech ones, I like Schyzo, who has been around for a long time, but thanks to his uncompromising nature he is not nearly as well known as he deserves. Similarly, Pain. Lately, I’m really into Forest Blunt, Baby G, or Sawsane. From America, I got interested in the young rapper midwxst some time ago, he seems very interesting to me. I have a lot of Guilty Pleasures, but it’s more about individual tracks than artists.
How do you recover after a long night? You must be a master at it by now.
So this could be a very long answer because I’ve tried all sorts of things for hangovers and fatigue. But lately, I’ve found that the best of all (for me) are CBD capsules. One before the party, two after the party, lots of water and you feel much better the next day. The key is not to forget the water and try to get some sleep.
Any crazy stories that happened to you that people don’t believe actually took place?
I have endless stories related to playing at clubs. You’d think after ten years you’d have experienced everything, but something new happens all the time. The last one was in Brno. Every now and then, someone has the urge to play a song on my phone, saying that I will definitely know it and play it. Which you can’t do in a noisy club, but people try anyway.
In Brno, the lady took it even further by playing a video of me playing a track she liked and hoping I would play it again. The video was about ten minutes old and she probably thought I was going to play one song over and over again or I don’t know. It’s almost not surprising that a stoned dude is cramming himself behind the DJ desk, trying to walk through the wall behind it, and telling me there’s a door when there never was one.
Anything else you would like to say?
I’d definitely like to thank you for the space and fine questions! And of course, my main focus right now is the Czech rap book, so I invite everyone to visit www.ceskejrap.cz to order it, and hello to all music fans!
Note: Bookmark this page in case you would like to get back to it later!
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