Jonathan Kauffmann: “DJStudio is a place where every DJ can practice, record and stream”
Longtime creative and Chase partner Jonathan Kauffmann breathes music. While you can already see his weekly DJ livestreams on monday, he’s not done with his music projects yet. Meet DJStudio, a place where all DJs can satisfy their creativity.
Text by Jeroen Poelmans
How did you get involved with Chase?
I’ve always been very fascinated about DJ livestreams. I was constantly watching Mixmag’s LAB Sessions, and at a certain point I realised that there wasn’t anything like it in Limburg. We lacked platforms where you could watch and discover local and upcoming DJs, so I decided to start one myself.
I started Powerbox and began with a few livestream sessions. After a while, I spotted the Chase videostreams. At that point, they were only streaming from Antwerp. So I reached out to them, explained what I was doing and how I could contribute. Eventually, I got a studio in Hasselt, from where I started doing weekly livestreams up until this day.
Has working with Chase helped you to launch your project?
Absolutely. By doing these weekly livestreams, I was able to experiment with gear, cameras and setups and thus improve Powerbox. I managed to grow and build a certain reputation. Now, I’m not only doing studio sessions, but festival streams as well. I’ve already worked with Extrema Outdoor, 12 Inch Lovers and Secret Garden, to name a few. Chase was definitely a stepping stone for this project.
I even got to know my colleague Martijn Maes through Chase. As a DJ and producer, he has quite some knowledge as it comes to sound and sound design, which comes in handy when you're doing DJ livestreams. Besides that, he’s also doing background visuals for certain livestreams.
And now, you're already launching another project: DJStudio.
DJStudio is a creative space in Hasselt where DJs can practice, record and stream their sets. With the gear you find in the clubs, of course.
It’s something I wanted to do for quite a while now. The idea is based on my personal experience: when I was a DJ, I couldn’t afford club-standard gear, so I had to settle with a cheaper setup. But then it’s not easy to switch to the newest gear when you’re playing a gig in a club. It’s a problem a lot of starting DJs have to deal with. DJStudio offers them the opportunity to discover the club gear and practice with it.
Besides that, you can also record mixes or livestream your studio session. So if you’re participating in a DJ contest and you have to send in a mix, you can easily record it here.
How can DJs apply for a studio session?
It’s pretty easy: they just have to visit our website. There, they can fill out the forms, choose the services (rehearsal, record session or livestream) and the gear they want to use and pick a date and time. Simple as that. The price of a session depends of course on your needs, but you can book a session starting from 15 euros.
Prior to the launch of DJStudio, you’re organizing something special too.
Yes, a 24h livestream! For 24 hours straight, we will be livestreaming from our studio. There will be a lot of DJs, who will each play a refreshing 30-minute DJ set. No genre restrictions, just cool music. We’ve invited some hosts like Muziekodroom and Noctis to provide some local talents.
As a sign of appreciation, every DJ will get a free studio session. But we’re also gonna reward our viewers: every hour of the livestream, we will pick one viewer who will get a discount for a studio session. So you better be watching!
Will DJStudio extend its services in the future? With workshops or lessons, for example?
We are definitely not looking into workshops or DJ lessons. We think there are plenty of schools and organizations where beginners can learn how to DJ. We just want to offer them the opportunity to practice with good gear.
In line with that, we would love to offer production gear in the future too. There are a lot of starting producers who only work within Ableton, without any hardware. It would be cool if we could provide them with keyboards, drum computers or synthesizers, for example. Again: no production lessons or something like that, just gear producers can hire and use in our studio. But these are still hopes for the future, of course!
The DJStudio 24h Livestream takes place May 29. Make sure to check it out!
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