Dj Yoda

Nominated as one of the 10 DJ’s to see before you die, (now that’s a list I can get behind), Duncan Beiny, aka DJ Yoda has an original style filled with humour, musical knowledge and skillz. With two albums under his belt and many mixtapes and live performances, he’s definitely got hip hop down, but has also touched other genres like Country and Asian music. He’s playing at The Aquarium in Lowestoft in November, so let’s delve into his record crates and see what we can dig up.

How did you start DJ’ing?

I grew up around records - my parents were in the music industry and my dad kept his record collection in my bedroom. The first music I got into had scratching in it, so I would try and copy it using my parents hi-fi! When I inevitably broke that, I saved up and bought myself turntables.

What decks, mixer and headphones do you prefer to use?

That changes all the time, because I’m the kind of DJ that likes to keep up on the latest thing. I just got the new Pioneer PLX turntables and I’m enjoying them. And a Pioneer DJM 900 SRT mixer at the moment. Headphones I’m not so bothered about - I can’t really see a big difference between any of them.

Can you tell me about your new project, Breakfast of Champions?

It’s the first time I’ve had an opportunity to put together a band. So it’s been really satisfying to sit down and work out what instruments and voices I would like to hear on my own project without using samples for once. It’s coming together really well - almost like a British version of The Roots or something. There’ll be plenty of music to hear soon.

What would be your top three tracks for Desert Island Discs?

I had to choose this recently for Bestival - I went with:

Steinski “Lesson 3”

Bobby Womack “A Woman’s Gotta Have It”

Biz Markie “Just A Friend”

But it was virtually impossibly deciding, and I know I’d get bored of just these 3 songs after about an hour!

Is there decent hip hop being made now in your opinion?

Absolutely. If you had asked me 5 or 10 years ago I would have said no, but we’re in the midst of a second Golden Age! Artists like Your Old Droog, Jay Electronica, Action Bronson, Durag Dynasty, Hawk House - they’re not household names, but I promise you they are making some of the best stuff out there.

What do you consider to be the golden era of hip hop? Who’s your favourite rapper?

For me - I guess 1988 to 1993. My favourite rapper is probably Big Daddy Kane.

Have you ever had a DJing disaster when playing out?

Of course - every true DJ has had total disasters; it comes with the territory. My laptop has crashed in front of 5,000 people, which means the music just cut out totally for a minute whilst I rebooted. Great fun.

What role does humour/irony play in your music?

Humour is essential for me - I think a lot of DJ’s forget that what we do is ultimately entertainment, so if it’s not fun, it isn’t doing its job. Plus I like to do stuff that makes me laugh, because I’d rather be happy than miserable - it just seems obvious to me.

Irony - not so much. I think people sometimes think I’m playing certain stuff “ironically”, when actually it’s just because I genuinely love it.

What’s your opinion on vinyl vs laptop vs CD mixing live?

I think as a DJ, you choose your tools, and whatever you pick is fine, as long as you are doing something interesting, creative and fun with it. I come from a hip-hop background, so it makes sense to have proper turntables in front of me, and it feels weird without them. But for someone starting now that wouldn’t necessarily be the case, and I appreciate that.

You’ve got beautifully eclectic taste, and have covered Country and Asian music recently. How do you go about researching different genres of music that you’re not immediately au fait with?

I just get into different types of music naturally, because that’s how I’ve always been - DJ or not. I was into country music for a good year at one point, then it just made sense to make a mix collecting together all the stuff that I heard and enjoyed. I might spend a good year getting into African music or jazz or anything, then move on when I get bored.

If someone wanted to get into hip hop, can you recommend a few albums to begin with?

Wow. De La Soul “Three Feet High and Rising”. Nas “Illmatic”. Dr Dre “The Chronic”. Those would be a pretty essential three to start with.

Do you have a favourite sample of all time?

Bob James “Nautilus”. That song has been sampled and flipped a million different ways by songs of all genres.

DJ Yoda plays The Aquarium, Lowestoft on 22nd November. Tickets and further info from www.aquariumlive.co.uk.