DJ Morse Code Interview

Dainjazone: Where are you originally from?
Morse Code: Born and raised San Francisco. I graduated college in 2003 and became an elementary school teacher for a couple years. I was DJing the whole time so I was trying to balance the two out. I worked my way into the San Francisco scene until I was ready to make the jump to a full time DJ.

MikiWAR: Are any of those kids hitting you up on Facebook? (Room laughs.)
Morse Code: I use to coach a basketball team and now, all those kids are in high school. So, they’re hitting me up saying, “We’re going to be at the club in a couple years man!” (room laughs.) Some of them are trying to DJ so I give them a little advice to get them going.

MikiWAR: What are some of your favorite cities?
Morse Code: I love living in LA and I love New York to death. At one point I considered moving there. I spend a lot of time in NY so it’s the best of both worlds. I also love Chicago.

Dainjazone: What was your angle in putting your set together to win the Red Bull Thre3style Battle in LA?
Morse Code: I just wanted to make it fun. I didn’t want to over think it and I wanted to make it accessible to the crowd. They sent us the guidelines and it was a three part thing; technical skill, crowd reaction and versatility. I tried to cut, but not too much. Also, do some fun stuff to get the crowd involved. I always play different kinds of music, so the whole versatility thing was a no brainer.

Dainjazone: Now you get to face the rest of the country. What’s your game plan for the finals?
Morse Code: Kind of the same thing. I’m not going to over think it. I just play around in my room until I have something that’s fresh. I try to take myself out of the equation and think if I were in the crowd, would I want to hear this. Believe me, I know there is some serious talent coming out to Denver in October. J.R. is a beast! Vajra is a beast! The list goes on.

MikiWAR: I’m assuming this would be your personal playlist (referring to the first half of his set)…
Morse Code: What can I say? I went to Do Over yesterday and it was really inspiring. I’ve been going the last few weeks in a row. I’m in that summer mode. I play top 40 and all that stuff is accessible to getting people to move. I make it fun for myself by trying to do a lot of live blends, cuts and doubles. When I have an opportunity like this: a platform that allows me to go out there, I’m going to go out there.

MikiWAR: I remember seeing the video of you talking about records and what you personally like to collect. How deep is your collection now?
Morse Code: When I moved down from SF, I sold off about 2,000 records. That was actually really good because I trimmed it down. I basically have a couple big Ikea shelves filled with records. I probably should sell them at some point but I just love them. It’s like therapy: come home from a night of playing “All I Do Is Win” and just chill out to some jazz records.

Dainjazone: Have you been working on your production with Ableton?
Morse Code: A little bit. My crew has been teaching me. I did a live Phoenix blend at the Red Bull battle that made Mike B say, “I am not going to let you not make that into a proper edit.” Spider’s been showing me some stuff as well. I definitely want to expand and build my own studio.

MikiWAR: Where can we find your mixes?
Morse Code: Soundcloud.com/djmorsecode. That has the Phoenix edit for download. I put an indie/dance mix back in February or March called “Walking On The Moon”. It’s a fun little departure from the normal “steez”. I’m trying to put out a wide variety of mixes. I’m actually about to upload some older mixes that I had been selling in SF a few years ago. I was digging through a box of CDs and came across some old mixes. So I got to let my new fans know about the older stuff. I’m working on a project called Morsels. I want to make it into a series on this vibe for all the old heads haha. I want to do an intricate style of funk, breaks, and hip hop. Hopefully turn that into a little CD series or a podcast. We’ll see.

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