My favorite DJ's of Detroit and Beyond
Posted December 28th, 2007 by Jamin
Someone posted a comment if there were any good DJ’s out there. I don't really know the "who's who" list of salsa DJ's that are out there but here is a list of the people that I like:
DJ Latilladi of Chicago:
I first heard this guy at the Descarga Caribe Social in Chicago. Every track this guy played that night was pure gold. Every track was of the classic style, much of it, I had never heard before. It was one of those moments that made you realize that you don't know jack.
DJ Luis Rivera of Chicago:
I first met this guy at the Chicago Congress. He helped me out by providing me with some really good salsa tracks. Later I heard him play at the TDS Social. The style of salsa he played was very similar to DJ Latilladi. All good, all the time.
DJ Efrian of Cleveland:
I first heard this guys play at the YA social. Again he laid down track after track of dusty salsa grooves that pull your heart and soul into your dancing experience. I asked him where he finds all this stuff? He told me a lot of it is from vinyl records that are hard to find. I was so jealous!
DJ Roberto Ayala of Chicago:
This guy I probably heard spin at the several Chicago Congresses over the years but I didn't know his name until I met him at the Crofoot just a little while ago. What I like about his selection that night was the fact that it was a good mix of classic and “commercial” style of salsa with slow to medium tempo. Perfect for a crowd that was required to dress formally for the occasion.
DJ Isaac of Detroit:
This guy was the biggest surprise to me: I have known Isaac back when I first got into salsa. The entire time I didn't know that he was into DJ'ing. Then, much to my surprise, he asked to DJ a set at the YA social. The man didn’t disappoint either. He was laying down all of my favorite tracks and added some other really good classic style tracks that I have never heard before.
DJ Shekyla of Detroit:
How can Shekyla not be my one of my favorites! She always seems to spin all of my favorite tracks!! How does she always know?? She probably knows because she is my significant other and we spend every free moment together... Seriously though, one of the unique things about Shekyla is that she always makes sure to play a good mix of the classic style of salsa, and the “commercial” styles. When it comes to the few commercial tracks she does play, they are the good ones. She will even throw a Timba track in there once in a while.
DJ Koki of Detroit:
He only spins on rare occasions and last night at the Harem was one of them. Honestly, because of last night he is now on my list of favorites. One of the things that I really like in a DJ is the ability to surprise you with a really good salsa track that you have not heard before. And last night Koki brought a lot of surprises. Most all of them in the classic style from artist are no longer in print. There is so much good music out there that we could miss out on simply because we were born too late but thanks to DJs like Koki, we are getting all the good stuff from every era.
DJ Saif of Detroit & Dubai:
This guy lives in Dubai now so it will be a while before we hear him around here anymore, but while he was here in Detroit he was one of my favorites. Like the others listed he had a knack for tracking down good, soulful salsa tracks that inspired you to take your salsa a little bit further when you were out there on the dance floor.
DJ Cisco of Detroit:
A "favorite", but only when at the YA Social. That's may sound wierd but let me tell you why... Cisco's style of play changes completely when he is DJ'ing at the social as opposed to when he is working at his club nights. At his club nights he does all the things I find annoying when trying to dance to a salsa song: Mixing into a new song, sometimes right in the middle of the current one, looping, and really heavy on the commercial pop style salsa. When he is packing each of his nights with 300 to 600 people each week, why mess with a winning formula? BUT! When he is at the playing at the social it is a different story. The style of music he plays is still on the commercial end of the spectrum still but it is the good commercial stuff. He also does not do any mixing or looping. If he does mix it is at the end of the song and not in the middle of it. Another thing about him, at any of his nights, social or otherwise, he always keeps the air filled with sound. There is never any dead air. Dead air is something that can happen a lot when you don’t mix but Cisco has a way of not letting that happen even when he is not mixing. I guess that kind of versatility is style and technical ability explains why he is so popular in Detroit.
When asked, who do I think is a good “salsa” DJ, my choices are more based more on the DJ’s taste in salsa and less on their skill at mixing or remixing tracks. It seems to me that most of these guys spend their time researching music in order to pick out the hidden gems from the sea of music that is out there, and less time perfecting the art of mixing and twisting the music. Maybe that is because their is little value spending time on mixing salsa tracks for a "salsa" night since most salseros prefer not to have the music mixed anyway.
DJ Latilladi of Chicago:
I first heard this guy at the Descarga Caribe Social in Chicago. Every track this guy played that night was pure gold. Every track was of the classic style, much of it, I had never heard before. It was one of those moments that made you realize that you don't know jack.
DJ Luis Rivera of Chicago:
I first met this guy at the Chicago Congress. He helped me out by providing me with some really good salsa tracks. Later I heard him play at the TDS Social. The style of salsa he played was very similar to DJ Latilladi. All good, all the time.
DJ Efrian of Cleveland:
I first heard this guys play at the YA social. Again he laid down track after track of dusty salsa grooves that pull your heart and soul into your dancing experience. I asked him where he finds all this stuff? He told me a lot of it is from vinyl records that are hard to find. I was so jealous!
DJ Roberto Ayala of Chicago:
This guy I probably heard spin at the several Chicago Congresses over the years but I didn't know his name until I met him at the Crofoot just a little while ago. What I like about his selection that night was the fact that it was a good mix of classic and “commercial” style of salsa with slow to medium tempo. Perfect for a crowd that was required to dress formally for the occasion.
DJ Isaac of Detroit:
This guy was the biggest surprise to me: I have known Isaac back when I first got into salsa. The entire time I didn't know that he was into DJ'ing. Then, much to my surprise, he asked to DJ a set at the YA social. The man didn’t disappoint either. He was laying down all of my favorite tracks and added some other really good classic style tracks that I have never heard before.
DJ Shekyla of Detroit:
How can Shekyla not be my one of my favorites! She always seems to spin all of my favorite tracks!! How does she always know?? She probably knows because she is my significant other and we spend every free moment together... Seriously though, one of the unique things about Shekyla is that she always makes sure to play a good mix of the classic style of salsa, and the “commercial” styles. When it comes to the few commercial tracks she does play, they are the good ones. She will even throw a Timba track in there once in a while.
DJ Koki of Detroit:
He only spins on rare occasions and last night at the Harem was one of them. Honestly, because of last night he is now on my list of favorites. One of the things that I really like in a DJ is the ability to surprise you with a really good salsa track that you have not heard before. And last night Koki brought a lot of surprises. Most all of them in the classic style from artist are no longer in print. There is so much good music out there that we could miss out on simply because we were born too late but thanks to DJs like Koki, we are getting all the good stuff from every era.
DJ Saif of Detroit & Dubai:
This guy lives in Dubai now so it will be a while before we hear him around here anymore, but while he was here in Detroit he was one of my favorites. Like the others listed he had a knack for tracking down good, soulful salsa tracks that inspired you to take your salsa a little bit further when you were out there on the dance floor.
DJ Cisco of Detroit:
A "favorite", but only when at the YA Social. That's may sound wierd but let me tell you why... Cisco's style of play changes completely when he is DJ'ing at the social as opposed to when he is working at his club nights. At his club nights he does all the things I find annoying when trying to dance to a salsa song: Mixing into a new song, sometimes right in the middle of the current one, looping, and really heavy on the commercial pop style salsa. When he is packing each of his nights with 300 to 600 people each week, why mess with a winning formula? BUT! When he is at the playing at the social it is a different story. The style of music he plays is still on the commercial end of the spectrum still but it is the good commercial stuff. He also does not do any mixing or looping. If he does mix it is at the end of the song and not in the middle of it. Another thing about him, at any of his nights, social or otherwise, he always keeps the air filled with sound. There is never any dead air. Dead air is something that can happen a lot when you don’t mix but Cisco has a way of not letting that happen even when he is not mixing. I guess that kind of versatility is style and technical ability explains why he is so popular in Detroit.
When asked, who do I think is a good “salsa” DJ, my choices are more based more on the DJ’s taste in salsa and less on their skill at mixing or remixing tracks. It seems to me that most of these guys spend their time researching music in order to pick out the hidden gems from the sea of music that is out there, and less time perfecting the art of mixing and twisting the music. Maybe that is because their is little value spending time on mixing salsa tracks for a "salsa" night since most salseros prefer not to have the music mixed anyway.
Salsa DJs
I really like Latalladi from Chicago. The man is not only a great DJ but he also knows his stuff when it comes to the history of the music and artists. I learned a lot from him and got some great music from him as well. In Chicago you have a lot of good Salsa DJ's Luis Rivera, Alberto "Escandalo" Gomez, Latalladi, DJ Kimani, Marco Hernadez to name a few. They each have their own style. Then there is DJ Frank and Super DJ Robby from Los Angeles.
I think that what makes a good DJ is whether or not they make people enjoy themselves. You could have the largest selection of music and know how to mix it seamlessly but at the end of the night if the crowd doesn't leave happy then you didn't do your job.
Sabor
One more to add...
I personally have always been happy with Henry Knowles -- he just plays good music and leaves enough space in there for switching comfortably. A DJ that takes away the end of the songs is no friend of mine -- OK its not that bad ;) DJs that play Timba are on my good list too!
Geo-
Favorite DJ's
I agree DJ Issac was a great suprise, I hadn't known he wanted to DJ either. His taste in classic danceable salsa is great and he's comin' on strong.
Henry Knowles remains the dj king in my opinion, his taste in great danceable salsa (and knowledge of the salsa scene) is the widest and deepest. I once heard he owned 500,000 music tracks.
Cisco, unfortunately is no longer really a salsa DJ. He could be (and he has his moments), but classic salsa that real dancers like is just not in his program. He remains, however, the linchpin of the Detroit scene, and continues to draw the largest crowds - very much a tribute to his exceptional character and the loyalty he inspires.
DJ Sabor and DJ Ronnie are also two of my local favorites.
A personal opinion on newly minted "DJs" playing their newly discovered salsa tracks from the late 60's and 70's: it can be overdone! When I first started going to salsa congresses and heard (in some cases re-heard) classic tracks, I too was excited and wanted to collect them all. The problem is that although such tracks can sound very hip for a while, eventually one realizes that the quality of some is frequently much worse than modern salsa, and the musicianship (particularly of "B" groups) can be less than stellar. The best example I can think of is the LeBron Brothers. I thought they were the hippest salseros ever, at first, but now I'm a little fatigued by their sound due to overplay and the sort of muddy quality present in their older recordings. Another problem with old tracks lies in the rhythm itself. Classic tracks may be great for listening, but in many cases their mixing lacks the clarity of say (not to promote Romantica which I don't particularly like) a good Gilberto Santa Rosa track where the most talented writers, arrangers and musicians have collaborated to create a punchy and rich polyrhythm (that inspires the shoulders as well as the feet) and you can hear all the instruments. The best mix in my opinion alternates the best of the older with the best of the newer, and doesn't play too many of either back to back. How about some Willie Rosario? I have never heard a local DJ play one of his tracks yet Henry Knowles plays them all the time.
MORE ABOUT DJ'S
I have to agree with you . i belive that dj isaac is coming really strong, why? because i noticed that he plays realy good old school tracks and also he plays alot of the 80's salsa plus the new stuff so so far i think isaac is doing a good job as a dj and i think he has a lot of potential.
Thanks Jamin
I have such virgin ears for salsa that I am only beginning to recognize certain songs - and that's only because I recognize the music. I don't understand the lyrics or the differences in styles, what's new, what's old and following this thread helps me understand that salsa is very eclectic. Now I want to go out and start looking up the artists and DJs to get a better feel for what I like and become a better "salsa consumer."
Very enlightening discussions. Helps round out the experience.
Jess