On Sept. 30, student DJs from colleges across Metro Manila had the chance to learn from international DJ, DJ Byte, at the Red Bull 3Style University Workshop at Z Hostel, in Poblacion, Makati City.
Red Bull 3Style University is a one-day workshop that allows budding student DJs the chance to learn from internationally renowned and successful DJs. For many DJs, it’s the chance to give back to the community and share their knowledge to the next generation.
The workshop began with an open discussion where DJ Byte talked about his beginnings as an aspiring DJ in his native Chile to winning the Red Bull 3Style World Championship in Tokyo, in 2015.
“I became a DJ after I saw one guy using cassettes to mix music, I thought it was magic. I started with a little company, and played parties for my school”, DJ Byte reminisced. “After some time, I learned I had special skills and I started to push myself to another level. I was going to give everything I had to music and in 2015, at Red Bull 3Style, the music said to me, ‘Okay, you gave enough. It is time to give back.’.”
Two finalists from this year’s Red Bull 3Style competition were also in attendance, allowing him to share the tips that enabled him to become the World Champion in 2015.
“The 2015 3Style set took me one year to build. I spent six months writing ideas and four months developing them. It was a sacrifice and I was going to take it seriously”, said DJ Byte. “I realized that if I wanted to win the competition, I had to bring something new and I needed to build from the bottom. I did what no one else did before and it took me one year to break barriers and discover my tricks. Never forget that music is an art-form.”
This led him into a brief discussion on how student DJs can build their own brand while remaining true to their artistic vision.
“Be different and things are going to start to happen” DJ Byte added. “People are looking at videos, watching the latest routines, and we wonder, ‘What do these DJs watch?’. These guys don’t watch any videos; they practice for themselves. They try to bring something new to the culture and that is one of the hardest points of your career.”
A 3Style showcase was later held later in the evening at Pura Vida, Makati, with DJ Byte. DJ Roy de Borja (2015 3Style 2nd Runner Up), and 2017 3Style finalist, DJ Kouta Kutsuma (2015 3Style Finalist).
