Diary of a Disabled DJ — Entry 2. If Ya Wanna Cook on the Decks, Act Like… | by Sam Henry Cliff | Jun, 2026 | MediumSitemapOpen in appSign up<br>Sign in

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Diary of a Disabled DJ — Entry 2

Sam Henry Cliff

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If Ya Wanna Cook on the Decks, Act Like a Professional Chef<br>Sometimes it helps to listen to somebody who finds the right ways by also recognizing they did things the wrong way along the journey to expertise. That’s my lead in, and any aspiring Rekordbox / CDJ user who wants to maximize the experience for their listeners will due themselves a solid and check out the following video…maybe in a new tab please? I do hope you’ll read my latest entry, it does relate to what Chris is pointing out!

The Very Real and Brutal Curse of Having Great Taste in Music That Pops Off<br>Maybe that comes off as arrogant, but after 30 years of exploring music from the past, the present, and staying in the know via industry publications to get intel on the future where possible, I have a really good track record with picking out hits. Not singles for Top 40 particularly, nope that’s way, way too easy because Max Martin and the decades old RIAA algorithm projects that try the Sweet Swede Sound basically are a given. All that industry really needs is the marketing push…<br>Top 40 Pop charts are dictated by what 14 year old American Girls think is cool.

I’m not sure where I first heard that quote but I love it. What I mean by picking “hits” is stuff that simmers up naturally through the “indie” or “sub-label” systems often given press by Pitchfork , Stereogum , and MusicRadar .<br>While Pitchfork goes through so much stuff and so many genres they can’t possibly have a long-term positive success rate where their Critical Acclaim helps “break” a band or talented solo artist, they often agree just often enough to end up with a Julien Baker as a consensus up-and-coming-artist-to-watch.<br>Though I’m limited by budget — and I don’t f-with streaming services at all, not a single one — I still find ways to pick up new releases over the years. I only buy digital tracks from Beatport and rarely from the “Top XX List of XX Genre” go-to pages. My “feed” has been built over 10 years of picking artists, labels, and sub-genres that tickle my dancing bones or sound like bank robbing music.<br>There’s RARELY cross-over with mainstream outlets like the ones name checked above, but some “Electronic” acts they review would get lost in the Beatport volume that comes out weekly…I mention this because EDM has an incredible appreciation for pushing sound dynamics — stuff like SubFocus or AndyC or Best Of Hospital Records will absolutely put a sound system through its paces y’all.

One of the finds from the past decade through industry press announcement was Bomba Estereo . I think I received my CD of Amanecer within two weeks of its release, no preview tracks, just the Pitchfork review. When I put it on, I knew the thing was magic. Why?<br>Bomba Estéreo: Amanecer<br>Recorded between LA and Bogotá, Amanecer marks the first time electro-cumbia heavyweights Bomba Estéreo have brought in…

pitchfork.com

Indigenous Ingredients, Michelin Star Kitchen<br>Growing up in the 1990s, major label records pretty much had a lock on “studio quality sound” outside of very, very few talented geeks like Trent Reznor. Yes, some home-grown power houses like Dimebag and Vinne Paul Abbott recording in their Dad’s studio could keep up with LA sound in the hair metal days, almost, but the quality of “Cowboys From Hell” versus “Great Southern Trendkill” is night and day. Surprise, surprise, Trent Reznor had a hand in that too…<br>Anyway, back to Bomba Estereo…

Amanecer, as I learned from the liner notes and some additional research, was basically an LA Studio Producer/Engineer bringing his toolkit of big bass, thumping rhythm samples, and becoming like a “musical medium” for what the artists brought from their Colombian sound and dreams. That album got extensive play right out of the gate. I studied it with headphones. If you listen closely, I think there’s an Easter Egg of a vibrating mobile phone in one of the tracks. Clever, kind of a little sneaky, but hey, their album and I respect their choices, all of them.<br>Then tracks from Amanecer started showing up in TV commercials. Target was using “Soy Yo” for a while I think. My reaction? GET THAT MONEY!

On the other hand, when I heard what Will Smith did to “Fiesta” I wanted to slap the shit out of him. Backhanded. He totally bit on their popularity to try and make his nothing without DJ Jazzy Jeff big mechanical spider fighting corny-ass relevant and it was a punk move because, as the record clearly shows, Your Honor, he’s a Punk in a Man Suit.<br>Did you hear Will Smith released a new album in 2025? You didn’t? GOOD BECAUSE IT SUCKED AND YOUR LIFE IS BETTER BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T SUBJECT YOUR BRAIN TO THAT TRASH.

However, despite the big-name collaborations, the album...