The Smoke Signal

Check out the Smoke Signal‘s interview with MSJ Alumni and DJ Nicholi Reece, continued from our September issue.

By: Hannah Shih

The Smoke Signal: How would you compare the Sun City Festival experience to these other events?

Nicholi Reece: No two events are the same because the people are always different, but Sun City was on a whole different level. I had almost one thousand people in front of me listening to my music. I just fed off the crowds energy and had a blast.

SS: What interested you about the Sun City Festival in particular and how did you manage to secure such a coveted opportunity?

NR: I first heard about Sun City through Mixify.com. I do my live weekly podcast on that website, and sometimes they have contests. I saw that there was a chance to open at the festival and thought I would give it a try. At first I didn’t treat it as if I was going to win, but as soon as I hit top 10 I started marketing like crazy. On the last day, I jumped more than 500 votes in 20 minutes. I was shocked when I won. I will never forget that moment.

SS: How did you prepare for your set and what were some songs you played?

NR: To prepare I just picked out songs that I liked. For some of the songs I made special edits and bootlegs. I didn’t have an ordered setlist. I kind of just put songs that I liked in a folder and improvised. I have the mix with track list available on my iTunes if anyone wants to know what my set sounded like.

SS: Do you have even more DJ’ing goals for the future?

NR: I’m currently working on my production. That’s where I want to take my DJ career next. I also would love to play more festivals and bigger clubs.

Photo Credit: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/sun-city-music-festival