Elements of Life: Heineken presents Juice DJ Quest 08

Already in its fantastic sixth year, Heineken presents Juice DJ Quest is back and ready to rock the dancefloor with more new talent than you can shake a stylus at. Polish your Topman shoes, head out sharpish, support the new wave of DJ talent soon to take over the Pioneer controls and vote with your feet. DJs Gaijin, Jonvu, Anowl, Ndroid and Elf have stockpiled a sonic artillery spanning new rave to electro, drum and bass to house. The battle of beats, bleeps and bass commences at the consoles of the new and improved Zouk Mainroom.

Edmund, DJ Ssense, DJ Low and Chloe

So, let's talk about our DJs

1st contestant was..
DJ Jonvu - A guy who enjoys his beer with chocolate, he got bitten by the DJ bug at the age of 18 and was schooled by the renowned Bryan Burger. His influences ranges from Deadmau5 to Steve Aoki and has showed off his skills at events like ‘Lovebomb’, ‘Hotel Scandalous’ and ‘Sessions’ under Excessive Records. His versatility of playing house to electro-clash sets himself as force to be reckoned with.

2nd contestant..
DJ Gaijin - ‘Gai’ means outside in Japanese and ‘jin’ is person, so it literally translates as an outside person. It reflects himself as he stands out in the multifaceted Malaysian society. This 25 year old plays a sexy mix of Minimal, Deep House and Electro with influences mainly from Mark Mendes, Steve Angello, Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Richie Hawtin amongst others. He currently works as an assistant producer at Astro.

DJ Gaijin

3rd contestant..

DJ Elf started by setting a DJ console with his friends on their own without any idea how to work it and eventually he joined Royale Academy to pursue the bug. Elf got the chance to play on Sessions at The Loft, Zouk on Thursday nights and from then he has got people on their feet from KL to Kota Kinabalu. He cites Eric Prydz, John Acquaviva, Olivier Giacomotto, Adam K, Dubfire and Deadmau5 as his influnces. He was also named 1st runner up at Capital FM’s Turn It Up competition.

DJ Elf

4th contestant.. who's also the Champion of the battle..

DJ Anowl plays a sharp mix of liquid, jungle, jump up, techny, hardstep, neuro funk to technoid. Supporter of the drum ‘n’ bass scene, he became a part of the movers of the genre’s scene and got himself gigs at Xlive, Rock on Rave and Merdeka Rock The DJ 2008. Anowl also earned him a third placing at the 2007 Pioneer Digital DJ Battle and he is still going as strong as he is was 8 years ago.

DJ AnowL

5th contestant..
DJ N_Droid - Started as a self-taught bedroom DJ and now under Soundbox Agency, he’s been in doing numerous parties in town and getting recognition for his skills. He got his first big gig at Penang for the ‘Caremistry’ launch, which was followed by the massive ‘UV Nation’ outdoor event which also featured Benny Bennassi, Scot Project and local acts such as Blink, Altered Image and Bass Agents. He now holds residency at a club in town on Tuesdays. Since then, he has performed alongside big names such as Victor G, Ian Ross, Nutek (UK) and Gregoire Pagnoux (France).

DJs with their award

And the panel of judges..

Adam Mathews
Adam Mathews, the Head of Marketing and Communications for Zouk Club KL, has been an active player in the industry for more than 10 years. After completing his degree in UK and working for Gatecrasher, he formed his own company and brand, Pin-Up Club and worked with the likes of Paul Oakenfold, Pete Tong, Arman Van Helden, DJ Sneak, Roger Sanchez and other renowned names. He returned to KL and in no time helmed the marketing for Zouk Club. A lover of soul, disco, hip-hop, British indie-rock and, especially, Chicago style jackin' house, his talent lies in his ability to find the right sound for the right time as evidenced by the exciting music policy taking shape at Zouk KL.

DJ Gabriel
Malaysia's leading techno export, DJ Gabriel juggles a full deck as a producer, a radio show host and a veteran DJ of 15 years whom pioneered the local dance music scene. With his company, Tempo, he has promoted events by the likes of Jon Carter, Carl Sox, Sasha and Ritchie Hawtin. Fresh from his Miami Winter Music Conference debut with Back 2 Basics, DJ Gabriel is globally renowned with a huge following in Eastern Europe. Constantly evolving, his style spans Techno, Tech, Tribal, Minimal and Electro. Together with Joey G on KL's Capital 88.9 FM, he champions unexposed music, especially from South East Asian producers and DJs. He has a monthly residency called GUM (Grown Up Music) at Zouk and a new night at The Loft (a subsection of Zouk). In addition to his well-received turn at the helm of Camelia's Mysticam in 2007, he release his debut vinyl track, ‘Omie’ and nurtured a growing relationship with Singapore imprint Onewithmusic on which he remixed Aldrin and Akien's ‘Everything Else’ and released his own ‘Minimermaid’.
See DJ Gabriel perform at: www.youtube.com/gabrielmustaqim

Matt Armitage
Matt Armitage is a writer and consultant who has worked with Heineken on platforms including Heineken Thirst Studio and Heineken Green Room. He has been active in the SE Asian music scene for a number of years, both as an editor and writer in the publishing sector, as well as organizing numerous electronic dance music and street culture events, and serving as PR Director to large scale festivals like Recharge Revelation Global Gathering.

Muna Noor
Muna Noor, former editor of JUICE mag, current Editorial Director of Catcha hasn't lost sight of the dance floor. Approaching music as an experience rather than a list of likes and dislikes you might stick in your blog, she digs a diverse set of sounds from grime to disco punk, funk and hip hop to thrash metal, but it's mash ups that set her pulse racing. No surprise then that from a clubbers perspective, she's on the hunt for a jock that knows his/her music and has the onions takes risks.

Our crowd..